Chapter 152: Fog Whale Village
"Damn it, I refuse to believe this nonsense today!"
Li Jiexuan went door to door, knocking on every house in the village. But the moment the villagers saw him, they screamed and ran away—without a single exception.
"Only this last house remains!"
Staring at the stone house built from blue bricks, Li Jiexuan gritted his teeth and knocked on the door.
"Meow…"
A cute black cat slipped out through the wooden door.
"Xiao Luo, don't run off."
An elderly man well into his eighties hobbled out after it, leaning on a cane.
"That symbol… a Konoha ninja?" The old man seemed to notice Li Jiexuan, his cloudy eyes filled with caution. "Such a young Konoha ninja—what are you doing here?"
At least this one was knowledgeable. Though not exactly polite, he hadn't run away. Li Jiexuan couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. "I'm here looking for the Hidden Mist Village!"
The moment the words "Hidden Mist Village" left his mouth, the old man's eyes widened. In his murky gaze surged hysterical terror.
After a long while, the old man finally suppressed the trembling of his body. Lowering his head, he stepped aside. "Come inside and we'll talk."
Ten minutes later, Li Jiexuan finally understood what was going on.
This village was called Fog Whale Village. Because it lay deep in the mountains, far from the flames of war, it had never been prosperous, but it had been peaceful—almost a paradise cut off from the world. The old man was the village chief, named Wu Jing Sanlang.
The turning point came with the founding of the Hidden Mist Village.
In the previous era, ninjas rampaged everywhere, burning, killing, and plundering. Fog Whale Village, being located near the border, had managed to live relatively peacefully. But when the First Mizukage unified the entire Land of Water and gathered all ninja clans near Fog Whale Village to establish the Hidden Mist Village…
Fog Whale Village's nightmare began.
The Hidden Mist Village adopted an iron-blooded policy—only the strongest could become Mizukage. They also relentlessly hunted down those with kekkei genkai. Rather than developing the economy, they indulged in endless duels and slaughter, turning the entire village into a place of brutality.
Soon, Hidden Mist ninja began sneaking out to Fog Whale Village to throw their weight around. Eventually, they escalated to arson, murder, and looting—committing every conceivable atrocity.
Facing the most powerful ninja village in the Land of Water, Fog Whale Village had no recourse but to endure. Now its population had dwindled drastically, not far from extinction.
"That's why they're so terrified of ninja now. The moment they see one, they run without hesitation…"
Hearing this, Li Jiexuan couldn't help but feel puzzled. "Doesn't the Hidden Mist Village do anything about it?"
"Do anything? Of course they do!"
Wu Jing Sanlang let out a scornful laugh. "We reported it to the Hidden Mist Village. The higher-ups of the Mist ninja came to the village. One minute they apologized and claimed they would severely punish their subordinates. The next minute, they put on masks and personally killed the villagers who had reported them."
The chaos within the Hidden Mist Village was beyond ordinary imagination.
"Enough of that. Let me pour you a cup of water." Wu Jing Sanlang set down the black cat in his arms, smiled faintly, and turned toward the kitchen.
Li Jiexuan shook his head helplessly. This peace negotiation journey was not going to be easy. The Hidden Mist Village had always been a den of bloodthirsty lunatics. In the anime, the madness of the "Bloody Mist" period only began to improve after Mei Terumi became Mizukage.
As for now…
"Looks like I'll need to prepare for a fight."
Li Jiexuan accepted the cup of water from Wu Jing Sanlang and narrowed his eyes with a faint smile. "Grandpa Village Chief, do you know why ninja are called ninja?"
At those words, Wu Jing Sanlang's expression stiffened. He forced a dry laugh. "I don't know. Grandpa hasn't seen much of the world…"
"Because ninja are monsters who remain vigilant at all times!"
Li Jiexuan sneered and suddenly grabbed the black cat by the neck beside the table, forcing the cup of water down its throat. The instant the water went down, the cat's eyes bulged wide, and it shrieked nonstop!
"Xiao Luo!"
The village chief let out a heart-wrenching wail, collapsing helplessly onto the ground, tears streaming from his cloudy eyes. In just a few short moments, the black cat named Xiao Luo died before his eyes…
There was poison in that cup of water!