Naruto: From Novice to Grave

The ninja world is a distorted world, and Higashino Makoto has a deep understanding of this since he was reborn into this world and became a member of it.

When you stand on a high point outside Hemo City and look down at the city, you can feel a strong sense of temporal and spatial dislocation.

The city is filled with tall buildings, and the streets are bustling with pedestrians. Dense power lines connect every corner of the city like a spider web, and lights have been turned on in some dark places.

From this perspective, it already begins to resemble a modern city.

However, there were no modern means of transportation on the road; people still used various oxen and horses to make carts, as if it were an ancient society, which formed an extreme contrast with the high-rise buildings and neon lights in the city.

The technological development in the ninja world is severely unbalanced. Various electrical appliances have even become common in ordinary households, and biomedical technology is also remarkable, but the development of transportation facilities and tools is seriously lagging behind.

Higashino Shin didn't study this in depth, but only guessed that it might be related to the scarcity of oil resources in the ninja world.

Traditional fossil fuels, which were common in the previous life and supported modern industry, are not abundant in this world. Perhaps this is the difference between the Ninja World Earth and the previous Earth.

After all, the moon here isn't even native; it's a secluded garden the two brothers built for their mother, a testament to their filial piety.

Unlike Higashino Makoto, who often felt something was off, Gekko Hayate and his two companions, being native residents of the ninja world, didn't think there was anything wrong with the world.

When they looked at Hemo City, they would only compare it with Konoha in their minds. In the end, they would say that it had the characteristics of a port city, but Konoha was still better, and that was it.

However, the four's destination for this mission was not in Hemo City, but in Donghe Town, which was dozens of miles away.

When they arrived in town, it was already late. Moonlight Cloud and his team checked into an inn.

While enjoying the complimentary seafood feast provided by the hotel in the room, Moonlight Cloud said, "Now I will explain the detailed information about this mission."

Recently, a group of bandits known as the Sea Shark Gang has appeared around Hemo City. No one knows where they come from, but it is known that since they appeared two months ago, they have committed several major crimes in a short period of time.

Their crimes included robbing surrounding villages, abducting young women, and kidnapping wealthy local merchants for ransom. Their last crime occurred in Toga Town, after which they disappeared. The local law enforcement couldn't find any leads, so they brought the case to Konoha.

Hayate Gekko asked, "Teacher, can you confirm if there are any ninjas?"

"It's uncertain, so the lowest level for the mission is C, but it could very well rise to B or higher at any time."

Higashino didn't care, but Uzuki Yugao was full of enthusiasm: "Very good, then let's find these bastards and defeat them all, so they'll know the consequences of causing trouble in the Land of Fire."

"Very good, very energetic!" Moonlight Cloud praised his female disciple at the right time, and then instructed, "After you finish eating, go out separately to gather intelligence. The school should have taught you how to do it."

"Yes, teacher!" x3

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After the meal, Higashino and his two companions used transformation techniques to change their appearance, concealing their Konoha ninja characteristics, and then dashed out of the window.

The town was not bustling at night. It was only early evening and the streets were already desolate. There were only a few shops with their lights on, and most of the pedestrians on the road were in a hurry, as if they were afraid of something.

Higashino Makoto now appears as an adult. He found a small izakaya, went in, ordered some snacks and sake, and sat on the long counter in front of the kitchen, listening to the head chef and a half-drunk customer chatting.

A little while later, he joined in, listening to the complaints of the other patrons in the izakaya and trying to glean useful information from them.

Although he appeared to have drunk the sake, it was actually poured into the storage bag on his person.

If Moonlight Clouds finds out he's been drinking, she'll definitely go back and tell Higashino Megumi all about it.

Well, that's why this world is so bizarre. He's already graduated and can legally go out and kill people, but he can't drink alcohol. Luckily, he didn't like drinking in his previous life, so he's not addicted to alcohol.

The izakaya remained noisy, and no one noticed that a 9-year-old child had sneaked in. It was far too easy for ninjas to deal with ordinary people; they had no chance of resisting and would never know who had done it until they died.

At the agreed time, the three of them returned to the hotel at the same time.

"So, what did you all learn?"

Uzuki Yugao said angrily, "Those bastards are inhuman. They've made this town panic. I heard from others that several remote villages outside have been looted and many people have died. There's even a village where not a single person survived. It's outrageous."

The little girl had a strong sense of justice and couldn't understand this kind of thing, but Tsukikage didn't explain. This was the ninja world; you get used to it after seeing it many times.

Moonlight Gale said, "I managed to infiltrate the home of that wealthy family in town. He was indeed being blackmailed; his daughter was kidnapped. She's back, but she's a bit mentally unstable, maybe..."

He may not have said anything, but everyone understood. Even Uzuki Yugao knew that although she was only 9 years old, she had received proper ninja education. Children in the ninja world are generally precocious and understand matters between men and women.

So she became even angrier, wishing she could kill those bastards immediately. She had only heard about it before, but now, this kind of thing was happening right in front of her, which was simply unforgivable.

Moonlight Cloud nodded, then looked at the last disciple: "You've been drinking?"

Higashino Makoto immediately shook his head in denial: "I didn't, that's impossible, teacher, don't talk nonsense, the smell came from the izakaya."

"That's good, otherwise Hui would kill you. So, what did you find out?"

"The exact number of these people who call themselves the Sea Sharks is unknown, and they did not appear suddenly. They are likely pirates at sea, because some of them were robbed when they were transporting goods on ships before, so they know some of them."

I suspect that the war between Kirigakure and Sunagakure in the south has temporarily deprived them of their living space, which is why they have come to the mainland.

"Hmm, that's right, very likely. In that case, there's a possibility that there might be rogue ninjas or wandering ninjas among them. Can you be sure of that?"

"No, no one has ever seen any of them use ninjutsu."

"You've all done a good job, very good. Take a rest now, we'll start the investigation first thing tomorrow morning."

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The next day, Makoto Higashino and his group appeared in a remote village.

The place is now abandoned; the entire village has been burned to the ground. There are cordon lines set up by local security personnel outside, and the locations of the bodies are marked with lime on the ground.

However, many days had passed, and the body had long been taken away and disposed of. The lime, after being washed away by the rain, only left a faint, loose white mark.

The group carefully examined the village for any possible traces, but found nothing.

Gekko Kumo asked, "Can you detect any signs that ninjutsu was used?"

"No!"

"The remaining traces were all left by ordinary weapons."

"The flames erupting from multiple points are just ordinary arson, not fire-style esoteric techniques."

Moonlight Cloud said, "Not bad, you checked very thoroughly. Let's go, let's go to the next location."

The four men were naturally faster than ordinary security personnel, and they quickly arrived at an abandoned shrine not far from the sea.

This place used to be a place for worshipping the sea god, but it has been abandoned for many years. The reason for coming here is that a wealthy merchant sent people here to trade with kidnappers in order to save his daughter.

This happened a few days ago, so there are still many clues left behind. Although it was intentionally covered up, how could it escape the eyes of a ninja?

While teaching his disciples how to follow experiences, Moonlight Cloud led them to a cliff edge by the sea.

The terrain here is steep and treacherous, with a huge drop. Even if a ninja accidentally fell in, it would be extremely dangerous, making it unsuitable as a port for ships.

Once he arrived, he passed the question on to his students.

Soon, after searching the area, the three of them found an underground passage hidden by grass.

Uzuki Yugao looked at Higashino Makoto and asked, "Makoto-nii, was this created using Earth Release techniques?"

Only Higashino Makoto here knows Earth Escape Technique. He looked at the stairs leading underground and said, "You're right."

Moonlight Gale: "Looks like those bastards got away on a boat."

Moonlight Cloud smiled and posed a difficult question: "So, there are two problems now. First, there are ninjas among the Sea Shark Clan, but we don't know their strength."

Second, they disappeared at sea by boat. Although Chayu Bay is not a large area, it has many islands. How to locate the target is up to your abilities.