Sunny and cheerful Konoha Genin

"Be careful."

The closer they got to the village, the more alert Tsunade became.

"Walk behind me and be ready to fight at any time."

"I didn't sense any signs of life. Perhaps someone has hidden their breath."

"Ok!"

Karin nodded seriously, and followed Tsunade's example, moving forward carefully.

Kimimaro also had a serious look on his face. After all, this was a task assigned by Lord Orochimaru, and he wanted to complete it well.

“…”

Looking at the three people walking cautiously in front of him, Ito Toru's mouth twitched slightly.

Although he knew some of the plot, he couldn't say it directly, so he could only sigh slightly and follow Tsunade's example to fight wits and courage with the non-existent enemy.

It didn't take long for them to reach the village entrance.

"Something's wrong. There really seems to be no one in this village."

Tsunade first stuck to a house, then sensed it and frowned: "I don't feel any chakra either, it doesn't look like there are ninjas lying in ambush inside."

"After all, no one would ambush in this wilderness..."

Ito Toru complained: "It seems that there should be no one here for a long time."

"Not necessarily. Let's look for it first."

Tsunade summoned the slug: "Please, search this entire village!"

"Okay! Tsunade-sama!"

The slug's voice was unexpectedly gentle, and then it instantly transformed into countless small slugs, quickly searching the entire village.

"We have completed the search, and there is indeed no one else."

The slug came back shivering from the cold.

Looks quite pitiful.

"And it seems like he's been gone for a long time. Many places are covered in dust."

"I see, thank you for your hard work."

After understanding the situation, Tsunade quickly lifted the summoning technique and allowed the slug to return to the Wet Bone Forest.

Weather like this is the most unbearable weather for slugs.

She had to use spiritualism in order to ensure the safety of her disciples.

After all, this was Karin's first time as her apprentice and her first time out on a mission, so Tsunade wanted to make it as perfect as possible.

"What's going on?"

After removing the summoning technique, Tsunade was a little confused.

"There's no one here, so is the target you're looking for not here either?"

"not sure."

Toru Ito felt that if he didn't come out to lead the way, Tsunade would probably lead everyone back like this.

“Just because there’s no one in the village doesn’t mean there’s no one around.”

"But for now, let's find a suitable house to use as a base. It's getting late now. If we go back, we have to travel in the dark, which is very dangerous."

"makes sense."

It didn't take long for the few of them to choose a relatively clean little house near the village entrance.

"Everything was packed up very neatly, and it seemed like they weren't in a hurry when they left."

Tsunade checked the layout of the room and came to a conclusion.

“They must have moved away.”

"Why would you move away when you live so well?"

Karin was a little confused.

"This place... can't be connected to where I live well."

Ito Toru spread his hands: "It's an isolated village. I guess you have to walk a long way to buy some daily necessities."

"Besides, because the mountains are closed due to heavy snow in winter, it is impossible to grow crops nearby."

"The living environment can be described as harsh."

"makes sense."

Karin nodded ignorantly.

"However, this village seems to have existed for a while, why would they suddenly choose to move away?"

Tsunade pondered: "Could it be related to the goal of your mission this time?"

"I feel so too."

Ito Toru's heart moved, and he quickly followed up: "Lady Tsunade, how about we go and take a look around later?"

"I think the mission target should be nearby."

"That Jūgo?"

Tsunade's expression was a little tangled: "This village has been deserted for a long time. How does he live alone?"

"Hibernate like a bear?"

"It's not impossible, Lady Tsunade. Think about it, bears will hide in caves and sleep soundly in the winter."

Ito Toru's eyes lit up, and he made a big progress

"There are several mountains around here. As long as we find a cave, we will definitely find him!"

When a few people were chatting.

Outside the window, a little squirrel was jumping and shaking its big tail as it ran quickly in a certain direction.

The little squirrel was very agile and due to its light weight, it only left a few shallow footprints on the snow.

It quickly passed through another snowy forest and stopped in front of a mountain.

This is a mountain covered with white snow. The rocks are pale, and the heavy snow hides the hideous scratches and deep pits under the mountain.

"Jiji!"

The little squirrel moved its small nose and looked at the snowy mountain in front of it in confusion.

"Chirp~"

Suddenly, the sound of birds was heard in the air, a little bird flew across the sky, and then a small black dot fell down.

pat.

Somewhere there was a small dot on the snow.

"grumble!"

The little squirrel waved its little paws and began to dig frantically. Sure enough, after digging for a while, a hole appeared. It squeezed along the hole and its little body slipped into it.

The birds flying in the sky flew over the snow, smoothing out the holes dug by the squirrels.

In the cave.

Because it is buried under the snow, the cold air does not blow in, and the temperature here is not that cold.

Just darkness.

And in the darkness, there was a tall figure sitting on a stone, his back against the wall, his head lowered, and his facial expression could not be seen clearly.

"Chichi! Chichichichi!"

The little squirrel came to the tall figure, stood up, gestured with its little paws, and made a series of calls.

"Someone is coming? Didn't everyone in the village move away a long time ago? What are they doing here?"

The figure stretched out a hand, and the little squirrel quickly ran to his hand and continued to gesture.

"Chi chi chi chi chi!"

"It has the same forehead protection pattern as some people who came here before..."

"That means ninja."

"grumble!"

"I understand, thank you."

Shigeo gently put the little squirrel down and said, "Be careful when you go out. Do you have enough pine nuts?"

"Chiji~"

The little squirrel had a smug expression on his face.

"That's good. Although you will definitely forget some things, those seeds will sprout in the spring."

"Chiji, chijiji?"

"Leave? No, it's better for me to stay here alone."

A gloomy look flashed across Chongwu's eyes.

"A monster like me will only hurt others if I go out. Okay, you should leave too."

"grumble……"

The little squirrel was a little reluctant, but still obediently left.

After it left, the cave fell into silence again.

"Well……"

Jūgo's body trembled slightly and he covered his eyes in pain.

"Is this feeling...coming again?"

Black marks were spreading on his skin.