Gisei Shiraishi now had only one thought in his mind: What on earth have I been doing for the past two years?
He had risked his life to raise a life-devouring worm, thinking it would turn into a cocoon and eventually become a butterfly. But in the end, he was told that without money, this butterfly wouldn't even be able to fly.
Finally, he made his choices: the Multi-eyed Butterfly, the Thunder Butterfly, and the Water Butterfly.
The Multi-eyed Butterfly was a reconnaissance type. Its eyes grew on the top of its head, allowing it to observe the surroundings in all directions without any blind spots, covering a range of about a hundred meters.
Gisei already had sensing abilities. The reason he still chose this specific ninja butterfly was because he... was afraid of death.
He had already felt the deep malice of this world, especially now.
As for the Thunder Butterfly and Water Butterfly, they were both auxiliary types. Their existence could enhance the effects of his ninjutsu. And they had another significant advantage: they were cheap.
Seeing that Gisei looked unhappy, Eisawa Shiraishi spoke up to boost his morale. "Actually, the Exploding Butterfly is okay too. It's just that your chakra can't keep up, so raising it would be useless. As for the Gluttony Butterfly, our clan has flying ninjutsu anyway."
Unfortunately, Gisei didn't believe a single punctuation mark coming out of his mouth anymore.
Even if the clan really did have flying ninjutsu, it presumably wasn't something that could be learned easily.
Children are harder to fool as they grow up; Eisawa felt a bit awkward.
"Since you've made your choices, let's start. Are you ready, little guy?"
As Mei spoke, she waved her hand, and a swarm of butterflies flew out from her body, circling around Gisei.
Gisei nodded. After choosing the butterfly species, only the last step remained: blood extraction.
He originally thought he would have to use a knife to cut his wrist, but he didn't expect that the butterflies would extract the blood themselves.
These butterflies seemed to be Vampire Butterflies.
Books recorded that they could suck a person dry in an instant. They were very dangerous to ordinary people but seemed rather second-rate against trained ninjas.
He took off his shirt, and the vampire butterflies began to land on his body to feed. Thinking it would be painful, he closed his eyes tight.
After a while, realizing he didn't feel any pain, he opened his eyes again and carefully observed them. Apart from their bellies starting to swell, there didn't seem to be anything special about them.
Gradually, however, he felt something was wrong. His whole body went soft, and he couldn't muster any strength. His legs gave way, and he almost collapsed to the ground.
Fortunately, Eisawa caught him just in time. The sated Vampire Butterflies began to fly toward the outside of the main hall.
"Come back to have blood taken once every half month from now on. You may leave. I am somewhat tired."
After Mei finished speaking, she closed her eyes. Eisawa carried Gisei on his back, said goodbye, and left.
Back at the square, Eisawa didn't rush to leave immediately. instead, he asked, "Do you want to see this place? This is the Pure Land of our clan."
The term "Pure Land" appeared in Eisawa's mouth once again. Gisei was very curious about this place, and he happened to have some doubts he wanted to clear up.
Seeing him nod, Eisawa simply held him in his arms and said, "Did you choose the Gluttony Butterfly because you wanted to fly? Actually, flying is a very simple thing."
As he spoke, a dense swarm of butterflies flew out from Eisawa's body, combining and shifting in the air, gradually forming a wide chair.
Gisei was dumbfounded. This works too?
Noticing his surprise, Eisawa sat down on the chair, holding Gisei securely. "Butterflies can dance in the sky, and as Butterfly Users, naturally, we can fly too."
The butterflies carried the two of them, gradually rising into the air and flying slowly toward the outside of the village.
This method of flight was quite slow—only a little faster than an ordinary person walking.
Just for show, Gisei thought, though he didn't have the energy to complain out loud.
However, no matter how slow the speed was, he was ultimately flying. His first flight still made him very excited.
After flying out of the village, Gisei felt as if he had entered a fairy tale world. Everything he saw was dazzling.
Under the azure sky, a sea of flowers stretched boundlessly, and countless butterflies danced above the blooms.
The clear breeze brushed past his cheeks, gentle and pleasant. Birds flew past him, chirping curiously.
Is this the Pure Land?
He had never been able to understand Eisawa's calmness in the face of death, but now he finally understood a little.
If the Pure Land really looked like this, then why fear death?
Looking at the sea of flowers beneath his feet, Gisei felt his soul being purified. His heart opened up, and he couldn't help but shout out loud: "Ah~~~"
Ever since he was reincarnated into this inexplicable clan, he had felt a strange, persistent nervousness.
As clansmen and family members disappeared one by one, this anxiety reached its peak.
Fear of death, fear of disappearing, fear of the unknown.
A dying person will grasp at the last straw; a blind man will yearn for light.
At this moment, he felt like he had grasped the future.
He knew very well that this was just an illusion, but the feeling was really nice.
It was a beautiful dream, and no one wants to wake up from a beautiful dream.
Hearing this shout that sounded like a release, Eisawa's expression grew complex. His lips trembled, but he couldn't say anything.
After a while, Gisei finally sobered up and immediately felt very awkward. Eisawa just smiled and stroked his head.
"Uncle Eisawa, what exactly is the origin of Butterfly Habitat Valley? There are no such records in the clan archives. Also, there were clearly people living in the village just now—why didn't anyone come out to take a look after we arrived?"
"I don't know the origin of Butterfly Habitat Valley either, and no one in the clan can explain it clearly. It has simply been passed down like this, generation after generation. Perhaps Lady Mei knows something, it's just..."
Eisawa hesitated, then stopped. "Anyway, you don't need to worry about the origins of this place. You just need to know that this is our summoning ground. As for the village, what lives there aren't humans, but Ninja Butterflies—all of whom are our deceased clansmen."
"Cocoon Binding Technique? Ninja Butterflies living like humans? Since they are clansmen, why don't they come out to meet us? And how exactly do you distinguish between Ninja Butterflies and Summoning Butterflies?"
"Ninja Butterflies are the race formed after clansmen use the Cocoon Binding Technique. Summoning Butterflies are butterflies cultivated for us by the Ninja Butterflies. Most of them have no consciousness and have short life cycles."
"As for why they don't see us... that's because many things have happened here."
"Can't you tell me?"
Gisei was genuinely curious. Everything here was unheard of, never having appeared in the entire Naruto series.
"Not really. Anyway, you will encounter this problem in the future. Telling you now can help you prepare."
Eisawa hesitated a bit, then probed, "You already have an understanding of this place. What do you think about becoming a Ninja Butterfly and living here after death?"
"Seems pretty good?"
This was Gisei speaking against his true feelings. He wanted to live as a human, not a bug.
"This place is indeed very nice, but in the past, not everyone in the clan thought this way."
"They believed the clan had been bewildered by butterflies, and only by staying away from butterflies could the clan be saved. Over the generations, the clan has been divided into two factions arguing endlessly about this issue, and there is still no resolution even now."
"As for the reason... it's the suicide of clansmen."
Suicide?
Gisei was stunned.
"Everything here is too beautiful, simply like living in a dream."
"The outside world is the complete opposite of here. The chaos and disorder brought by war, the sinister nature of human hearts—all of it impacts every clansman's soul."
Gisei was thoughtful.
Overly bewitching flowers often carry poison. The human heart is surprisingly fragile. Even stones beaten by wind and rain will develop cracks; how can humans of flesh and blood be spared?
"In times of peace, the suicides are relatively few. But once war breaks out, this behavior reaches a peak. Every generation of clan heads has agonized over this matter but couldn't come up with any solution."
Hearing this, Gisei couldn't help but say, "Wouldn't it be fine if the Cocoon Binding Technique wasn't passed down?"
"It's not that simple. A ninja's corpse hides a considerable amount of intelligence. Only by using the Cocoon Binding Technique can intelligence leaks be avoided."
"The Butterfly User Secret Technique doesn't have bloodline restrictions. Once outsiders learn of it, not only the clan, but even this place will be invaded by others."
"Butterfly Habitat Valley is the clan's greatest foundation. No matter what, we cannot lose this place."
"Even if the clan is defeated and scattered until only one person remains, as long as we have this place, we can make a comeback."
Speaking of this, Eisawa sighed. "If you want to revitalize the clan in the future, these are all problems you have to solve. Do not repeat the same mistakes."
Revitalizing the clan... this topic has strayed a bit far...
"What do the suicides have to do with those Ninja Butterflies in the village not seeing us?"
Eisawa's expression was complicated. "The more people in the clan who commit suicide, the more people there are who hold that kind of idea. About a hundred years ago, they used the Reverse Summoning Technique to come here and started a massacre."
"They wanted to destroy this place to prevent the suicides. Although they were suppressed later, the relationship between the clan and the Ninja Butterflies—or rather Lady Mei—dropped to a freezing point."
"After several years of mediation, Lady Mei finally reached a reconciliation with the clan but established many rules."
"Non-direct descendants are not allowed to enter here; violators die. Ninja Butterflies will no longer fight for clansmen, only cultivating Summoning Butterflies for us. There are also many assessment systems; if you can't pass the assessment, you can't learn the secret techniques."
"It's just that now the clan only has the two of us left, so your assessment is unnecessary. Do you remember that summoning scroll I made you sign?"
Gisei nodded.
"That scroll could originally summon all the Ninja Butterflies. Now, even if you summon them, they won't respond."
"Unless they are direct blood relatives, such as your parents. But even then, there won't be a response if the relation exceeds three generations."
"And even direct blood relatives are not allowed to help us fight. Ninja Butterflies who violate the rules are not allowed to return here and can only stay in the ninja world forever."
What kind of broken rule is this? Gisei was speechless.
Although he didn't know how strong the Ninja Butterflies were, what was the point of signing that scroll if they couldn't participate in battle?
Thinking of this, he simply asked directly, "Then are we raising the butterflies, or are the butterflies raising us?"
It was no wonder he asked this. Clansmen used the Cocoon Binding Technique to become Ninja Butterflies, and Ninja Butterflies didn't fight for the clansmen now, so who was raising whom?
"A butterfly's life is at least a few months, at most a few years. Compared to humans, it is too short."
"We raise butterflies with our bodies to create the Ninja Butterfly race. Their lifespans are extended because of us."
"Without us, they are just ordinary butterflies without consciousness, and their numbers will never increase."
"Without them, we would lose the secret techniques to establish ourselves in the ninja world. We have a mutually complementary relationship. The question of who is raising whom that you mentioned doesn't exist."
Is that really so?