Xingtie: My silly online friend is actually a raccoon!

Fifty years into the history of Konoha, the Third Shinobi World War is drawing to a close.

The smoke of battle has not yet cleared, and the remnants of war continue to ravage this land.

The border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Grass has long been a desolate frontier abandoned by various ninja forces.

The cold rain continued incessantly, the leaden-gray clouds hung extremely low, and the icy raindrops relentlessly washed over the broken walls and ruins.

The old bloodstains were soaked by the rain, spreading out in patches of dark brown in the mud, leaving only a damp and cold silence between heaven and earth.

The mountain path was full of potholes and muddy pools, and a group of twenty-two refugees were struggling to trek through the mud.

The group consisted mostly of the elderly, women, and children; not a single able-bodied man was to be seen.

They are survivors of ordinary villages on the border of the Land of Rain, whose homes were destroyed by war and bandits.

Clinging to a sliver of hope, they braved the rain to travel to the Land of Grass, seeking refuge with distant relatives, hoping to find a place to survive in this chaotic world.

In the group, there were elderly people walking with difficulty, children crying incessantly, and a pregnant woman with a swollen belly who had difficulty moving.

Everyone's clothes were soaked through, their coarse cloth garments clung tightly to their bodies, and their trouser legs were covered in mud. Every step required tremendous effort.

Eleven or twelve-year-old Shiki is squatting in the mud, bandaging the wounds of an injured villager.

She came from an ordinary family, and her patched hemp clothes were already soaked through, her dark hair clinging wetly to her cheeks.

Her technique was clumsy yet she was extremely earnest, tightly wrapping the torn flesh with rough strips of cloth. Rainwater washed over the back of her hand, but could not wash away the faint bloodstains between her fingers.

The Third Shinobi World War dragged on for years, with the Land of Rain caught between various ninja villages, repeatedly ravaged by the flames of war.

Even the border of the neighboring Land of Grass has become a battlefield for ninjas to fight.

Although the large-scale war between major powers is nearing its end, the order in smaller countries is collapsing, and countless desperate bandits are taking advantage of the tail end of the war to roam and plunder.

Their village suffered this calamity.

The only able-bodied men left in the village risked their lives to hold off the robbers, thus giving the elderly, women, and children a chance to escape.

The group was already exhausted. When they saw an abandoned village ahead, they struggled to go in, hoping to take shelter from the wind and rain and catch their breath in the dilapidated houses.

But as soon as they stepped into the village, a sinister laugh suddenly rang out from behind the broken wall.

Seven figures slowly emerged from the shadows of the ruins, sealing off all entrances and exits of the abandoned village and surrounding the refugees.

This is a gang of bandits who took advantage of the chaos.

Captain Hayato, a roaming ninja, is skilled in Water Release techniques and is inherently brutal.

He leaped onto the highest section of the broken wall, looking down at the refugees below as if they were ants.

Confirming there was no threat, Hayato grinned, raindrops dripping down his chin, and cruelly issued the order.

"Kill all the old, weak, and burdensome. Tie up the young women and children and sell them on the black market."

The remaining six ordinary bandits rushed forward.

Pushing, yelling, and wailing erupted instantly.

Refugees were brutally kicked to the ground in the mud, and the pleas of the elderly and the sobs of children mingled with the sound of the pouring rain.

The old village chief, Gennosuke, staggered and knelt in the mud, kowtowing repeatedly to the bandits.

"My lords, we are penniless and beg only to have our lives spared... We beg you."

His response was a heavy kick.

Gennosuke groaned and rolled in the mud, his chest wounded, unable to utter a complete sentence.

A bandit stepped forward and placed his knife directly against the pregnant woman's neck, the sharp blade grazing her skin.

The pregnant woman trembled violently, her legs gave way and she collapsed into the sewage. She clenched her teeth tightly to keep from screaming.

On the other side, an old man tried to protect the child beside him, but the bandit raised his hand and slammed the back of his knife hard into his forehead.

The old man's eyes rolled back, and he fell heavily to the ground, his breath rapidly weakening, blood slowly spreading beneath him.

Seeing this, Maki-e in the group could no longer hold back.

Ignoring all attempts to stop her, she rushed to the old man's side, knelt down, and pressed her slender hands firmly against the bleeding wound.

The girl's futile attempt to save people only drew laughter from the bandits.

Hayato's gaze swept over Makie in the rain, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he spoke up to remind his companion.

"This girl is pretty. Be careful when you do it, don't hurt her face. She'll be worth more if you sell her intact."

A bandit strode forward, grabbed Shiki's collar, and lifted her off the ground.

With her feet dangling in the air, fear gripped the girl.

Maki-e kicked and screamed desperately, her cries echoing through the rain.

"Let me go!"

Gennosuke, despite his injuries, tried to rush over to save the person, but was kicked over by the bandit and could only lie in the mud and water, watching helplessly.

The remaining refugees huddled in the corner of the broken wall, tightly protecting their children, too afraid to resist.

As Maki's strength waned, she was about to be stuffed into a sack and plunged into the endless prison of the black market.