Under Sara's leadership, the people of Loran packed their belongings and began their journey toward Konoha Village with Takuya.
To ensure their safety, Takuya decided to accompany them. This increased Sara's admiration for him, and the people of Loran were grateful for his protection.
Because Loran was located in the desert in the northwest of the Land of Wind, Takuya first led everyone through the desert into the Land of Birds. From there, they traveled to the Land of Rain.
Upon arriving in the Land of Rain, Takuya noticed that all the ninjas in Amegakure (the Village Hidden by Rain) had retreated. It seemed as if something terrible had occurred. Driven by curiosity, Takuya secretly infiltrated Amegakure. After some investigation, he discovered that Hanzō of the Salamander, the leader of the village, had been killed. The new leader, calling himself "God," was very mysterious. Takuya knew that this so-called "god" was likely Nagato. However, he decided not to make contact with Nagato at this time.
After leaving the Land of Rain, Takuya and his group arrived in the Land of Grass.
"Wow," Sara exclaimed, looking at the lush vegetation everywhere. "The environment here is so beautiful."
"Indeed," Takuya agreed. "The location of the Land of Grass is excellent."
The Land of Grass was not as dry as the Land of Wind nor perpetually cloudy and rainy like the Land of Rain. Nestled between the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire, the climate was like spring all year round. Even compared to Konoha, the environment here was superior.
"Takuya, we're almost at Konoha. Why am I still so nervous?" Sara said anxiously.
"Don't worry, as long as I'm here, everything will be fine." Takuya gently poked Sara's forehead, smiling warmly.
Seeing his smile, Sara couldn't help but laugh too. She always felt a sense of security around him.
"Stop the caravan in front!" Suddenly, dozens of ninjas appeared, wearing the forehead protectors of the Land of Grass. They stood in front of the people of Loran, their eyes filled with murderous intent.
"What do you want, blocking our way?" the leader of the Grass ninja demanded sharply.
"Sir, we are citizens of Loran," Sara said, stepping forward. "We seek to settle in Konoha."
"Settle in Konoha? Are you joking?" The Grass ninja leader snorted disdainfully. Konoha, the most powerful village in the ninja world, was also prosperous and had a pleasant climate. Who wouldn't want to live there? But allowing a caravan of nearly two thousand civilians to settle in Konoha was unthinkable.
"Sir, it's true. This was personally promised to us by the Hokage of Konoha. He's with us right now," Sara explained, seeing the disbelief in the leader's eyes.
"Enough! Do you take me for a fool?" The Grass ninja leader's anger grew. He believed Sara was insulting his intelligence. "Kill them all! We'll split the goods among ourselves."
Nearly a hundred more ninjas appeared behind the leader. Sara, realizing their intent to kill and rob, took a few steps back in fear.
"If you're to blame anyone, blame yourselves for being weak. The weak are prey for the strong in this world," the leader sneered.
"Katon: Gōka Mekkyaku!" Just as the Grass ninjas were about to attack, Takuya stepped forward. With a clap of his hands, a massive wall of fire erupted from his mouth, transforming the front into a sea of flames.
With a roar, nearly a hundred Grass ninjas were instantly consumed by the fire, their screams filling the air, making it seem like purgatory.
"Who... who are you?" the Grass ninja leader asked, terrified.
"Me? I'm Senju Takuya," he replied calmly.
"The Hokage Takuya? Impossible! How could you be here?!" The remaining Grass ninjas paled at the realization.
"We meant no harm. Please, spare us!" the leader pleaded, trembling.
"No. If you want to blame anyone, blame yourselves for being weak. The weak are prey for the strong," Takuya repeated.
"Damn it, attack!" Seeing no way out, the Grass ninja leader ordered his men to attack Takuya.
"Fools," Takuya muttered, effortlessly breaking the neck of one ninja and taking his sword. He moved through the group with ease, more like a stroll than a fight. Every swing of his sword accurately cut down a Grass ninja.
In a matter of moments, nearly a hundred Grass ninjas lay dead, leaving only the leader, who clutched his throat, eyes filled with unwillingness.
"Damn you, Takuya. If we had that tool with us, we wouldn't have lost," the leader muttered before succumbing to his injuries.
"Tool?" Takuya thought, pondering the leader's last words.
---
"What a terrifying power. Is this the strength of Takuya-sama?"
"So many Grass Ninjas, how could they be defeated so easily?!"
"It's so scary. It feels like those ninjas were crushed like ants in front of Master Takuya."
"Thankfully there is Takuya-sama, otherwise, we might have been the ones to die."
"Yes, it turns out that human beings can be so powerful!"
Seeing nearly two hundred Grass Ninjas being easily killed by Takuya, the people of Loran showed expressions of horror.
As civilians living deep in the desert, most of them had never seen ninjas before. The few they had seen were only Elite Chunin at best. Further up, it was a level they couldn't access.
Therefore, although they knew that Takuya was very strong and was the Hokage of Konoha, they never had a clear concept in their minds. But today, after witnessing Takuya's god-like power, the people of Loran were completely impressed.
Even Sara truly realized the power of Takuya for the first time.
For a moment, everyone's eyes changed when they looked at Takuya. If in the past they respected Takuya from the bottom of their hearts, now there was a little more fear. That is the natural fear of the weak towards the strong.
"Husband, thank you so much," Sara said, coming to her senses and falling into Takuya's arms excitedly. She really hadn't married the wrong person. This man saved the entire Loran once again!
"Takuya-sama, thank you so much!"
"Yes, without you, we would definitely have died this time."
"You have already helped us solve our housing problem, and now you have saved us from the brink of death again. It's really causing you trouble."
"Please accept our sincere gratitude!"
The people of Loran all knelt down in front of Takuya. They had now completely surrendered to him.
"Okay, from now on, don't just kneel down and kowtow. Everyone, get up," Takuya said helplessly.
In his past life, as a new young man who grew up in the 21st century, he didn't like others kowtowing to him at all.
"As you command," the group of people responded and stood up.
"Husband, what should we do now?" Sara asked, looking at Takuya.
"You all wait here for a while. I'll go to Kusagakure to take a look," Takuya said softly. He had become somewhat interested in the so-called "tool" that the Grass Ninja leader mentioned. If he remembered correctly, he should have grown up in Kusagakure when he was young, right?
After leaving behind a Wood Style clone, Takuya arrived at Kusagakure based on his own senses.
To call it a village was generous. It was more like a camp. The houses were all thatched, and the roads were dirt paths. The village was still full of weeds, like a place where a group of uncivilized primitive tribes lived.
Following his senses, Takuya came to a dilapidated thatched house.
"Squeak."
Takuya opened the door and walked into the dark and damp thatched house. Immediately afterward, there was a sound of chains sliding and colliding. A woman with disheveled hair rushed out and knelt at Takuya's feet.
(A/N: Karin Mother)
"Sir, please give me some food. If you don't, Karin will starve to death. My body doesn't matter; you can use it as you wish," the woman begged through tears.
Takuya noticed that her body was covered with horrific bite marks. Indeed, this woman should be the "tool" that the Grass Ninja mentioned. If he guessed correctly, the little girl in the corner should be Karin.
"Don't cry. I'm not one of those Grass Ninjas," Takuya said softly. Even though his heart had long been as hard as iron, he couldn't help but feel a little sad when he saw the miserable condition of the woman in front of him. This woman had suffered so much inhuman torture to become what she was now.
"Aren't you a Grass Ninja? Then who are you?" The woman looked at Takuya, blocking the girl behind her. Her eyes were full of vigilance, as if she was ready to shout loudly at any unusual movement from Takuya.
"May I have your name?" Takuya asked softly while standing there. The woman did not answer but looked at Takuya silently.
"If you want to escape this hell, you'd better not challenge my patience. Let me ask you one last time, what is your name?" Takuya said firmly.
Seeing that the woman still didn't move, Takuya turned around and left.
"Karanashi! Who are you?" the woman named Karanashi said anxiously.
"Takuya," he replied calmly.
Karanashi didn't react much. Ever since the Uzumaki clan was exterminated, she had been imprisoned in this dark place. The name Takuya meant nothing to her.
"I'll take you away," Takuya sighed and said calmly to Karanashi.
"Can you really take me away? Can you guarantee the safety of Karin?" Karanashi asked tremblingly. What she was most concerned about now was whether the man in front of her could take Karin and leave safely. If they were discovered while escaping, they would most likely die. In that case, she would rather stay here with Karin.
"I promise you, the Grass Ninjas outside can't hurt you even a hair," Takuya said seriously. Now that he had met her, he would not let Karin encounter the tragedies in the original story again.
"Okay, I'll go with you!" After a moment of silence, Karanashi managed to stand up. In Takuya, she felt a strong sense of confidence. She knew that a ninja with this kind of temperament would definitely not be lacking in strength. In this case, she would take the risk and give it a try. She had had enough of this hell.
"Very well, you will be glad you made this decision," Takuya said before turning around and walking out of the thatched house. Karanashi followed closely behind him.
"It will be discovered," she exclaimed, seeing Takuya walking openly down the road.
"Don't worry. I have a fire in my heart right now, and I just want to vent it," Takuya said coldly.
Hearing his words, Karanashi was still anxious but could do nothing about Takuya's decision.
Soon, some Grass Ninjas discovered their whereabouts.
"Someone is invading! Gather quickly!" a Grass Ninja shouted loudly.
Not long after, several hundred Grass Ninjas surrounded Takuya and the others.
"Quick! Get out of here with Karin!" Karanashi handed Karin to Takuya, panic evident on her face.
With so many ninjas, she feared they were doomed.
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