On the third day, Shikaku's group of tens of thousands all saw the corpses discarded in the grass by the roadside.
Flies buzzed over the corpses, and foul stench drifted into their noses, making stomachs churn and throats itch with the urge to vomit.
Beside the corpses, there were no signs of their children, they had likely been snatched away to be sold.
Some of the villagers looked on with unbearable expressions, turning their heads toward Shikaku. They looked at Shikaku because he was the one who had driven them out. One could say that their falling into such a fate was Shikaku's responsibility.
Though no one said it aloud, the atmosphere carried that exact meaning.
Most of the ninjas were indignant. Shikaku had given them a choice, and they hadn't taken it—how could they blame Shikaku?
Shikaku naturally understood the human heart. He could easily say now, "When Konoha is destroyed, it will be because we abandoned it," making tens of thousands of villagers sinners along with him but the conscience in his heart made it impossible for him to do so. And so, he remained silent.
In the eyes of the villagers, this was a tacit admission. Invisibly, he shouldered the blame for the deaths of these shrews and thugs.
This caused the gaze of the villagers toward Shikaku to become somewhat questioning.
However, the ninjas showed no change in expression.
The villagers needed to rely on the ninjas now, so no one said anything.
The procession continued forward in a silent, oppressive atmosphere.
Although they had departed only two hours later than the Uchiha clan, their speed was far slower.
First, the population was large, making basic needs like eating and sanitation very troublesome.
Second, the villagers made up the vast majority, outnumbering the ninjas ten to one. Several thousand ninjas protecting tens of thousands of villagers was a significant burden.
Because of this, many bandits along the way wanted to take a bite of them. Even a little bit would be enough for them to live without worry for ten years.
But before the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan, there was no such thing as a surprise attack.
Combined with the sensory transmission of the Yamanaka clan, the tactical arrangements of Shikaku, the trap detection of the Inuzuka clan, and the surprise attacks of the Aburame clan's Kikaichu...
Nearly a thousand bandits were easily dealt with before they could even get within a hundred meters.
Shikaku and the others could not hide their movements. Therefore, Shikaku intentionally let a few bandits escape to spread word of their combat record—nearly a thousand bandits killed, not a single villager lost, while only two or three of the attackers survived.
When the bandits along the path of these tens of thousands heard this, they hurriedly packed their belongings and fled their strongholds, fearing these tens of thousands wouldn't have enough food and would come to raid them instead.
This made the great migration of Shikaku's tens of thousands very stable, as easy as a spring outing. Even if someone fell ill, the medical ninjas could treat them.
The villagers who followed were sensible people who knew the dangers outside, so they all settled their hearts.
However, the massive event of Shikaku leading an entire village's people in migration made the entire Ninja World very uneasy. Especially since the route they were following was the same as the Uchiha clan's.
—
Iwagakure.
Tsuchikage Building, Meeting Room.
"Everyone, speak your mind." Onoki said, leaning back in his chair with a furrowed brow.
The high-ranking officials of Iwagakure participating in the meeting began to speak one by one.
"Logically, Konoha should have used an open scheme like the Chunin Exams to display their military power."
"Yes, why is it that at this time, the Fifth Hokage suddenly abdicated, the Uchiha left Konoha, and the Nara and those other clans left as well?"
"And they are even following the Uchiha clan's route."
"Following the direction the Uchiha are heading, it should be the Land of Fire's Daimyo's residence."
"The Daimyo's place? What is this group of people going there for?"
"Could it be..."
Someone recalled the personality of that tyrant and was instantly struck with terror and shock.
Others thought of it too—occupying the Daimyo's place and declaring themselves kings.
For a moment, the pupils of the Iwagakure high-ranking officials shrank sharply, and their expressions became uncertain.
Is it really as they thought? Would the Uchiha really dare to do such a thing?
Onoki said in a low voice, "It likely is. Aside from that, there is probably no other purpose."
"If that's the case, won't the world fall into chaos?" The Iwagakure officials were very worried.
This seemingly had nothing to do with them, yet it directly affected them as one of the Five Great Ninja Villages. After all, the Daimyo would not ignore such an event.
But beneath the worry, a flicker of ambition was also stirring. Since the Uchiha can do it, then Iwagakure...
The Iwagakure officials were thinking a lot. They all knew that their Daimyo would certainly fear they might follow the Uchiha's example and declare themselves kings.
Therefore, the Daimyos of the major nations would surely, in order to preserve themselves, have the other villages unite to kill these national traitors, the Uchiha, together.
But killing the Uchiha was easier said than done.
In the Fourth Great Ninja War five years ago, Hiromi's terrifying combat power had already let them know that a head-on confrontation was definitely impossible, it would only lead to self-destruction. They could only slowly wear them down.
Hiromi is also human, he needs to eat and has emotions and desires. They would have to wait until he gave up on his own.
That was one path.
There was also another smooth, wide road: Follow the Uchiha clan's example and declare themselves kings.
The Iwagakure officials all looked at Onoki, their expressions showing subtle excitement and ferocity.
Onoki's expression was dark, but he did not object. Instead, he said enigmatically, "The bird that pokes its head out gets shot."
As soon as these words were spoken, the eyes of the Iwagakure officials flickered. They bowed their heads slightly and quickly retracted their exposed ambition.
The bird that poked its head out was already the Uchiha clan but the gun couldn't kill them. So the second one would be the real bird to get shot.
Seeing that the high-ranking officials no longer mentioned becoming Daimyo, Onoki felt much more at ease, no longer worrying that they would do something stupid.
The current situation was not that simple. Before Hiromi revealed his fangs, the existence of the Daimyo was very important. Only with the alliance of the Daimyos could the villages unite, giving them the ability to oppose Hiromi.
And then there was Akatsuki, that dangerous organization filled with S-rank rogue ninjas from various villages.
As for that empty shell of Konoha, it was tempting, but Hiromi would definitely not let it go so easily.
Now, the situation seemed like muddy water, but whoever dared to reach in would die.
'It's better to observe quietly, the situation is unclear.' He thought to himself.
—
Kumogakure.
Five years ago in the Fourth Great Ninja War, A died in battle. The most favored successor, Darui, died in battle. Dōdai, the examiner for the qualified successors of the Double Lariat, also did not escape. Even the Jinchuriki Bee and Yugito died in battle.
Their high-end combat power was almost completely wiped out. Fortunately, by spending a vast amount of money, they successfully bought back two Tailed Beasts from Konoha.
Bee and Yugito were both perfect Jinchuriki, which caused the two Tailed Beasts' hatred for Hiromi to be as deep as Kumogakure's hatred for him. Therefore, the sealing was very successful.
After five years, the two new Jinchuriki had successfully become perfect Jinchuriki.
Karui, the Jinchuriki of Two-Tails, Matatabi, had dark skin and red hair. Her name meant "light," and she had a fiery personality. In the original story, she was Bee's student.
Omoi, the Jinchuriki of Eight-Tails, Gyuki, had dark skin and white hair. His name meant "heavy," and he had a pessimistic personality, often seen eating a lollipop. In the original story, he was also Bee's student.
This time, although they hadn't been taken in as students by Bee before he died, Samui, who was Bee's student, was their teacher.
Therefore, both of them harbored immense hostility toward Hiromi, the man who had killed their grandmaster, Bee.
And Kumogakure wasn't just pinning their hopes for high-end combat power on them.