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Naruto: IHCS Ch. 107
🕑 Added 2025-08-27 02:18:05 +0000 UTCIn the northern part of the Land of Rain, there was a small village called Kikyōhara.
The village lay nestled among rolling low mountains. Because bellflowers grew in every direction around it, the place was named Kikyōhara.
This place was remote, close to the Land of Birds. Compared to elsewhere, wars were fewer here, and the impact of battle was relatively small.
When Shiratori and the others arrived at this village, Yahiko almost couldn't believe that such a pure land still existed within the Land of Rain.
They stood upon a high slope, the wind stirring their clothes, taking in the entire village resting in the valley below.
There was no flying artillery fire, no ruins scattered everywhere... only tranquility.
From time to time, figures moved across the afternoon streets.
Konan crouched down, gently stroking the wild bellflowers growing on the slope. She lowered her head, inhaling their fragrance.
Her lips remained curved in a smile, her eyes flowing with happiness.
Nagato stood beside Shiratori, while Yahiko shouted loudly in front of them.
"Let's hurry and go take a look inside!"
Pointing toward the village, Yahiko turned back to call to them, his face full of excitement, as if he had already forgotten their main purpose.
Shiratori gazed at that peaceful village and nodded slightly.
Konan stood up, and the group began walking toward the depths of the valley.
Clearly outsiders, they soon drew plenty of attention. The roadside vendors eyed them warily from their stalls along the stone-paved street.
"Wow! That's a candied apple shop!"
Yahiko pointed excitedly at a little store ahead and ran toward it. Konan followed after him.
"Are there bad people here?"
Nagato, who had stayed quietly at Shiratori's side without running around, asked at last.
He glanced at Nagato. At least someone still remembered why they had come.
They were here to drive out the missing-nin causing trouble in this land, not to sightsee or take a vacation.
But Yahiko and Konan had clearly already been deceived by the village's calm façade.
They had completely forgotten their true purpose. Their reactions were not outside his expectations. Konan was kind and gentle by nature, while Yahiko was carefree and unrestrained. They never imagined people in the worst light.
Especially in a village as deceptively peaceful as this one.
"Hard to say," Shiratori shook his head toward Nagato.
"The definition of 'good' and 'bad' is too vague. Without truly understanding a person, who can precisely judge them as good or evil?"
He smiled as he spoke.
Nagato paused, looking at him for a long moment, then slowly nodded. "You're right."
"Although there are many missing-nin hiding in this country, that doesn't mean every one of them is evil," Shiratori continued.
"Just like Jiraiya-sensei."
"Then why are they hiding in the Land of Rain?" Nagato asked in puzzlement.
"Perhaps they were disgusted by the battlefields of their homeland and no longer wished to commit sins in war. But that's only my guess! The truth, I don't know. Every person has their own truth, and only they themselves know it."
Shiratori began chasing after Yahiko and Konan.
Looking back at Nagato, he called, "Come on, Nagato! I'll buy you candied apples!"
Nagato watched his figure running farther ahead. For a moment, he was lost in thought, then quickly broke into a run after him.
[Affection detected: Yahiko +1000 points]
[Curse Growth - Love: 32.9%]
"Shiratori! Nagato! Hurry up!"
Leaning over the shop counter, Yahiko waved at them.
The owner of this candied-apple shop was an elderly man with a head of white hair. His gaze toward them was kindly, at first glance, it was clear he was a gentle old man.
"You're not from this village, are you?"
There were many kinds of candied apples, and Yahiko and the others were dazzled trying to choose. Just as they were picking, the old man spoke slowly.
The shop was filled with the sweet fragrance of sugar. Yahiko froze for a moment. Shiratori, looking at the old man before them, nodded.
"No, we're not from this village."
"What brings you here, then?"
Unlike the others in the village, the old man did not seem wary.
Yahiko and Shiratori exchanged a glance. Yahiko scratched the back of his head with a helpless smile.
"We're looking for a place to settle down."
"Ah?"
The old man blinked, his eyes shifting back and forth over the four of them. It was as if he suddenly understood, and a trace of pity entered his gaze.
"When you came to Kikyōhara, were you seen by anyone?" he asked anxiously.
Shiratori shook his head.
"No, it was just us."
"How did you discover this place?" the old man asked again. His tone was mild, but very serious.
In truth, it was Shiratori's crow that had found it.
"We were wandering around and came across the bellflowers. Since we wanted to take a closer look at them, we stumbled upon this village by chance," Konan answered this time.
She leaned over the counter, looking at the old man cautiously.
Seeing her, the old man's expression softened.
"So that's how it was... Do you still have any family?"
Nagato fixed his eyes on the old man.
"We are each other's family."
The old man froze for several seconds. Looking at the children with pity, he could not fail to understand what their words truly meant, he himself had lived through war.
"Stay here," the old man said to them.
"It's very safe here. Unlike the outside world, where war rages everywhere, you can remain here."
He nodded firmly at them.
"Won't the ninjas discover this place?" Shiratori asked, feigning concern.
The old man shook his head.
"No. The Great Mountain God will protect us."
"Mountain God?"
Yahiko and Shiratori exchanged a glance.
"Yes, the Great Mountain God will protect us."
The old man nodded with conviction.
"Come, pick some candied apples! No charge!"
Warmly, he handed the treats to them.
Unable to refuse his kindness, they accepted them.
After leaving the little shop, Yahiko couldn't help but ask,
"Do you think the Mountain God really exists?"
"Of course not," Shiratori replied firmly.
"But that old man believed so strongly. He looked as if he had actually seen the Mountain God." Yahiko thought back on the respect in the old man's voice when he mentioned it. It hadn't sounded fake.
"There is no Mountain God. But there can be ninjas," Shiratori said.
Yahiko's eyes widened in shock.
"Kikyōhara is very closed off, they don't even know that the war in the Land of Rain has already ended. They've always lived here, content with their lives. There must be a ninja in this village. I suspect it's that ninja who's been protecting this village."
"What?"
At his words, Yahiko immediately cried out in shock.
By this time, they had already reached a sparsely populated country path. No one paid attention to Yahiko's startled reaction.
"How could that be possible?"
How could a ninja ever protect ordinary people?
Ninjas only slaughtered helpless civilians, then looted their homes.
During the past wars, he had seen far too many ninjas like that.
Except for Jiraiya.
All these years, he had only ever seen Jiraiya as the one righteous ninja.
"Why would it be impossible?"
Of course, Shiratori didn't expect Yahiko to answer, because nothing good ever came out of his mouth.
What he needed to do was hasten Yahiko's change of view toward the Ame ninjas and Hanzō.
"Every ninja I met on the battlefield fought to protect their comrades, their villages, their nations."
"The Ame ninjas protect Ame, the Land of Rain, and its people. The Suna ninjas protect Suna, the Land of Wind, and their people. That's why they fight desperately, only hoping to provide peace for those behind them."
His gaze fell lightly on Yahiko.
The candied apple in his hand was already starting to melt under the sun. He still hadn't taken a bite.
"But, but... if it weren't for Hanzō, the Ame ninjas wouldn't have to fight against the Suna and Konoha ninjas!"
Yahiko gripped the candied apple tightly, shouting at him, desperately trying to defend his position.
Hanzō was a bad man!
A war criminal who started the fighting!
After Yahiko shouted, he realized Shiratori hadn't refuted him. He only looked at him with calm, gentle eyes.
Yahiko's face began to flush red. He couldn't even explain why. Clearly, he was the one who should have won the argument, yet he felt deeply ashamed.
"Yahiko."
"The Land of Rain has always been the battlefield for Konoha, Suna, and Iwa. The great nations wage war, but it is the Land of Rain that suffers. It's on this land that the three sides ignite their flames of war."
"The Land of Rain has been robbed of peace, stability, and the chance to grow."
"If Ame had not been established, if the Ame ninjas had not resisted, then the Land of Rain would have struggled to survive between the great powers."
"Peace would only be a distant dream."
"A brief sacrifice in exchange for lasting peace, I believe that is worth it."
The four walked along the rural path.
Shiratori's calm voice echoed in the ears of Yahiko and the others. His attitude was nothing like Yahiko's fiery outbursts.
Instead, it was gentle. And yet, that quiet explanation had far greater effect than Yahiko's shouting. All three of them fell into deep thought.
"But..."
Yahiko couldn't get the words out. Of course, that didn't mean he had no rebuttal, nor that he truly accepted Shiratori's words as correct. Rather, he simply couldn't put into words the strange feeling in his heart.
He still felt that Hanzō's way of doing things was wrong, but he truly couldn't sort out his thoughts well enough to clearly express them.
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore."
Shiratori glanced at the conflicted Yahiko and suddenly spoke.
Yahiko felt like he was left hanging in midair, neither up nor down, but in truth, he didn't want to argue with Shiratori over Hanzō anymore.
He forced a smile and tried to push the matter out of his mind.
At some point, they had already left behind the dense clusters of low houses and arrived at the back of Kikyōhara.
Here stretched a lush forest.
Bellflowers grew thick at the base of the trees.
Shiratori heard the call of a crow.
"Let's go in and have a look."
Yahiko stared at the dense forest ahead and asked doubtfully, "Why are we going in? To look for the Mountain God? Oh, right! If it's the Mountain God, then of course he must be living in there!"
He didn't need Shiratori to explain, he convinced himself.
"Could it really be the Mountain God?"
Konan suddenly hugged her innocent little fantasy.
Walking in front, Shiratori led the way, since he could share vision with the crows.
Hearing Konan's words, he chuckled softly and looked at Nagato, "There are no gods in this world."
Konan lowered her head in disappointment.
"Really...?"
She had been looking forward to meeting a god.
As they went deeper into the forest, the air grew steadily cooler.
Refreshing breezes brushed past, and the great tree canopies above rustled with a whispering sound.
"Let's rest a while."
Hearing Konan's breathing grow heavy, Shiratori turned back and spoke.
Yahiko and Nagato agreed without objection.
They leaned against the thick tree trunks and sat down, sunlight filtering through the leaves shifting gently across their bodies.
Konan squinted, sleepiness spreading through her.
Soon, all of them felt drowsy.
The forest remained quiet. From the dense trees, a figure slowly emerged. He wore a loose yukata, a gourd at his waist, wooden clogs on his feet, and walked toward them.
Shiratori lifted his gaze, his eyes met the man's.
"As I thought, you're not ordinary children!"
The man smiled, looking at him.
His voice startled Yahiko and the others awake.
Yahiko's eyes widened, and he pointed at the man in front of them: "Th-the Mountain God!"
"..."
This blockhead really was just like someone else he knew.
Shiratori smacked Yahiko on the head with his hand.
"He's obviously just a man!"
"Ow!"
Yahiko clutched his head.
The man squinted happily as he watched their interaction.
"It's fine if you want to call me the Mountain God."
"No way!" Yahiko shouted at him.
If he wasn't really a Mountain God, why should they call him one?
"Hahahaha..."
The man laughed heartily.
"You're not from Kikyōhara, are you? Why did you come here? Why are you looking for me?"
The man asked a series of questions.
Shiratori studied him, but found no hint of hostility in his demeanor.
The man before them seemed more like a friendly dude from the neighborhood, radiating openness and warmth to everyone without a shred of defensiveness.
