At the top of the tree he had climbed to check his direction, Sasuke looked around once more with those eyes. Several clouds of white smoke puffed up into the air beyond the forest he was perched in. Not from fires, though. It was steam. He was that close to Yugakure, a village where hot springs welled up out of the earth, often used as a hot-spring resort. It was in the Land of Steam, which was not far from the Land of Lightning, and ships always departed from there to the Land of Water.
“Maybe I’ll head for the Land of Lightning, then.” Given that he could reach it via a land route, Sasuke first set his sights on the Land of Lightning, and dropped back down into the forest.
Until around the time the sun was setting, Sasuke charged forward silently, without resting, racing through a bamboo thicket. It was hard to jump through the supple, elastic bamboo the way he did with trees. As he moved across ground littered with bamboo leaves to quickly make his way out of the grove, Sasuke thought about the situation.
He was still in the Land of Steam. He wanted to be in the neighboring Land of Frost by the time the date changed, and then in the Land of Lightning and the village of Kumogakure the following day.
Abruptly, a small settlement came into his field of view. It was the sort of country village you’d see anywhere, but he unconsciously came to a stop.
There was not a single light in the village.
Although the sun had set, it was too early for everyone to have gone to sleep. And he had also just heard about the disappearance of a large number of ninja.
Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment and focused his power in his right eye. When he opened his eyelids, the eye was dyed red, three tomoe marks visible in it. Sharingan.
He looked at the village with that eye. There were indeed people inside the houses, which made ample use of the surrounding bamboo in their construction. But all of them were still like they were holding their breath. Almost as though they were afraid of something.
His curiosity piqued, Sasuke took a step toward the village.
“So you show yourself! You fallen Dark Thundeeeeerrrr!” Someone leapt out with a great deal of force from beneath the bamboo leaves.
Sasuke looked in that direction to find a balding old man, all skin and bones, charging at him, bamboo spear in hand. His movements were not quick, and he wasn’t strong; he seemed to be a normal person with no connection with the ninja arts.
Sasuke jumped backward and lightly dodged. But in the spot where he landed, he felt chakra behind him.
“Water Release: Rain Barrage!” The high-pitched voice of a young girl rang out, and countless tiny pellets of water like the icing sugar on a sweet cake flew at him.
Sasuke wove signs, took a breath, and brought a finger to his mouth. Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!
Fire Style was the specialty of the Uchihas. The flames he released enveloped the water pellets of his opponent, evaporating them instantly.
“What?! Water Style can be done in by Fire Style?!” his opponent shouted, upon seeing her own technique disappear without ever touching Sasuke. He looked over and saw a short girl with a childish face standing there.
“Chino, get back!” Now a brawny man appeared, as if to push the girl “Chino” back. Kunai at the ready, he tossed it at Sasuke, the tip aiming straight at his heart.
It stabbed into the bamboo behind him. Rrrrrip! The oversized grass exploded backward.
“Wind’s changing nature, hm?” Sasuke noted. The kunai, cloaked in wind chakra, had expanded the air inside the node of the bamboo and ruptured it.
“Hey! You youngsters, what are you at?! Hurry up and take him down!” the old man shouted.
“Whaaaat?! No one told me he was this strong!” Chino frowned and stared at Sasuke. And then she gasped and pointed at his eye. “No! No way! Look, Nowaki! That eye … the sharingan!”
A surprised look rose up on the face of the large man, who was apparently Nowaki. “Is that real?”
“You listen, you spineless brats! You’re gonna be like that, then I’ll do it! Dark Thunder, I’ll get vengeance for my daughterr!” Clutching his bamboo lance, the old man charged once more.
Sasuke didn’t have a chance to even ask what was going on; in any case, he had no choice. “Hah!” He pushed out a hard breath, and took his sword in hand.
“Diiiiiiiieeee!” The old man pushed the bamboo lance forward.
Sasuke easily cut the end of it off. With incredible speed, he then sliced the lance into thin rounds up to the old man’s hand, before bringing the tip of his sword up against the old man’s windpipe. Sasuke pressed the blade against his throat as if to make him keenly aware of the cold sensation of the sword.
“Ee, eeep.” The bamboo, chopped down to a single joint, fell from the old man’s hand. Droplets of sweat popped up on his dry skin and fell to the ground.
“Ah, ah, w-wait, brother! Boss! Handsome! Manly! Don’t kill the old man!” Panicked, Chino came at Sasuke as if to calm him.
Not responding to this, Sasuke said to the old man, “You’ve got the wrong idea.”
“Hah, hah …”
“I don’t know this Dark Thunder.”
“Eee, eee …” Sasuke’s words didn’t seem to make it into the old man’s ears; he kept breathing shallowly, trembling with fear. They wouldn’t get anywhere like this.
Sasuke moved the blade of his sword the tiniest bit away from the old man’s throat. “I am not Dark Thunder.”
“What?”
“That’s the first time I’ve heard the name.” Sasuke lowered his sword, and the old man crumpled to his knees on the spot.