Chapter 118: Unexpected Harvest
The sky gradually darkened over the depths of the uninhabited forest.
Kael suddenly appeared in the clearing. High above, the faint silhouette of the Thunder-Wind Eagle could be seen, looking like nothing more than a moving speck of dust from the ground.
Thump!
Haru and the stout man were unceremoniously dumped onto the ground.
Standing before them was Kael, his face cast in deep shadow by the moonlight. Goldie and Little Gray sat quietly on his left and right, yet their mere presence exerted immense pressure on the stout man's heart.
"Speak. For a village that's supposed to be hidden from the world, why are strange ninja secretly meeting with your Hidden Frost Leader?"
Kael asked softly, but his words made the stout man's expression change drastically, staring at Kael in horror.
A faint smile played on Kael's lips. According to Haru, the Hidden Frost Village was practically isolated, and its few ninja were as unremarkable as ordinary civilians.
Hidden Frost ninja rarely left the village, and due to its remote location, outsiders rarely visited.
But Kael knew that, besides himself, another group of ninja had recently been spotted in the village, their presence fleeting.
Unfortunately, Haru didn't know their identity.
The sky was dim, with only the bright moonlight filtering through the thick clouds to hit the ground. In this world of extreme silence, it seemed as if only Kael and his captives remained.
A faint sense of unreality filled Kael's heart. When the world became too quiet, it felt fake, giving him the illusion of being detached from reality's orbit.
But it was just an illusion. The terrified face of the stout man before him pulled Kael back from his trance.
"Judging by your expression, you seem to know something. Why don't you tell me?"
Kael spoke indifferently, his voice barely audible.
But the stout man knew the words were meant for him.
His expression shifted several times before finally settling into a calm resignation. He stared intently into Kael's eyes.
"If I tell you, will you let me and Haru go?"
Kael smirked. "As long as you don't lie to me, I will keep my word."
As soon as he finished speaking, the stout man spoke, looking relieved.
"It's the Hidden Cloud!"
"Hm?"
Kael's expression changed slightly. His puzzled look made the man think he hadn't heard clearly, so he quickly added:
"It's Hidden Cloud ninja. Including this morning, they've been appearing in the village more and more frequently. It seems the Leader has some unspeakable business with the Hidden Cloud Village. Neither Haru nor I are his trusted aides, so we don't know the specific details. I only noticed their movements out of curiosity..."
"Did you see what they looked like?" Kael asked, narrowing his eyes.
The stout man looked troubled, thinking for a moment before saying, "They hid their appearances well, so I couldn't see their faces clearly. But the Cloud ninja who came to the village this morning... the leader should be the Cloud's Elite Jonin—Dodai!"
"Him..."
Kael's expression shifted.
Dodai didn't appear much in the original story, but Kael remembered him. In his youth, he was a trusted aide to the Third Raikage and the proctor for the "Double Lariat" compatibility test for A and B. His strength was not to be underestimated. He possessed the Lava Release Kekkei Genkai. Later in the story, he used Lava Release to help Naruto multiple times and served as a commander in the Fourth Division of the Allied Shinobi Forces during the Fourth Great Ninja War.
"What does the Hidden Frost Village have that's worth the Hidden Cloud making such a big move?"
Kael couldn't figure it out.
If they wanted to borrow a path through the country, they wouldn't need to visit the tiny Hidden Frost Village repeatedly, let alone meet with its leader. They could have just marched through.
"Are they after the Hidden Frost's meager ninja forces and supplies...?"
This was the only explanation Kael could come up with; otherwise, it made no sense.
The Hidden Frost Village was remote. Unless someone was specifically looking for it, they wouldn't find it. Even Kael hadn't found any information about it in the Hidden Hot Water Village; he had only found his way here by asking for directions.
From Haru's intelligence, Kael knew there were only a few dozen resident ninja in this village. The scale was shockingly small.
In the original story, when rogue ninja from the Akatsuki were described as having "the power to easily destroy a nation," they were probably talking about destroying ninja villages and countries like this one, which didn't even appear on the map!
Just as Kael fell into thought again, a blindingly bright light suddenly shot out from the dark forest.
The light rapidly expanded into a boundless line of orange fire. From a distance, it looked as if half the forest was being covered.
The beam of light pierced through space, shooting straight toward Kael.
Without Kael needing to give an order, the Thunder-Wind Eagle, connected to his mind, dove down from the high sky, breaking the sound barrier.
Kael flickered. The next moment, he grabbed the two men and his other summons, reappearing on top of the Thunder-Wind Eagle's head.
RUMBLE!
The line of fire swept violently over the spot where Kael had just been standing.
Monstrous flames rose, gradually covering the entire mountain top.
Only now, from a closer distance, did Kael see that this wasn't ordinary fire at all—it was a boundless sea of bubbling, scalding magma!
"Good thing I have Little Wind..."
High in the sky, Kael breathed a sigh of relief.
The acrid smell of burnt matter wafted up from below.
Facing a move that was akin to a natural disaster, even Kael felt it would be troublesome to deal with.
Wherever the magma passed, it incinerated all life and completely destroyed the terrain of the mountain, turning the area into the unknown enemy's home field.
This ability was incredibly tricky. It was similar to the Earth Dragon's Earthquake Wave, but with even more terrifying destructive power.
He had no choice. Although Kael had multiple ways to dodge the attack, engaging now would undoubtedly put him at a disadvantage due to the terrain.
The magma below continued to spread wildly. In the distance, the villagers of the Hidden Frost Village had been startled awake. Dim orange lights flickered on in every household, but no one dared to come out and investigate.
The scene, resembling a volcanic eruption, had utterly terrified the ordinary civilians.