Chapter 953 : Absence of Conflict!

The change in Fujin's alertness went unnoticed by the villagers. As they stepped into the small village, they immediately attracted everyone's attention. It was the first time in over 3 decades since they reached this island that a new face had appeared.

In no time, a dozen villagers gathered, their eyes set on Fujin. The older generation tensed, alarm visible on their faces. On the contrary, the younger generation was filled with curiosity. Murmurs rose, voices overlapping wondering of Fujin's origins. Finally, two voices cut through the chaos.

Rikuya, the man whose memories were read by Fujin not too long ago, asked, “Who is this? Takuma, where did you find him?”

His brows were drawn in suspicion, completely unaware he had leaked every detail about the village to the young man in front of him. Another lady, just slightly younger than Rikuya, stepped forward and directly asked Fujin, “How did you find our village?”

Fujin glanced at her. She was a sharp-featured woman in her early fifties, her long black hair tied in a loose knot and faint streaks of silver showing near her temples. Fujin identified her as Nobue from Rikuya's memories.

To calm down the curious and tense folks, Takuma immediately said, “Calm down. This is Naoki. His boat crashed onto our shores in the storm. You all should’ve felt those winds earlier. I’ll explain more later. Where’s Genzo-sama?”

Rikuya frowned, “Storm? So that's what those intense winds were. Still, that's very odd… I can't remember the last time there was one…”

He shook his head, wondering if he was overthinking and answered, “The chief is at his home.”

“Good, I'll head there.” Takuma said, before turning his attention to his companions. He instructed, “Sayuri, take him to Hatsue-san. Itsuki, Akari, help Naoki get there. I'll speak with the chief.”

Even though Takuma didn't suspect Naoki, he didn't want to be careless. The reason for sending Itsuki and Akari with Naoki was more for Sayuri's and Hatsue's safety than to look after Naoki.

Unaware, Sayuri and the rest nodded. They helped Fujin over to Sayuri's house. Meanwhile, Takuma walked into the house at the center of the village and entered it.

He quickly saw an old man, in his mid seventies, sitting in his chair with a hint of worry on his face. This was Genzo — the village chief — a wiry but dignified man with a lined, weather-beaten face and wisps of white hair framing his brow. Another couple of individuals, both in their sixties, were present in the room and looked even more worried than the old man. The man was broad-shouldered despite his age, with thinning gray hair and a scar down his cheek; the woman, slender with neatly tied silver-streaked hair, had a face that still carried traces of elegance in her youth. They turned around and saw Takuma. Takuma realized that they had rushed there to inform him about Naoki's presence.

Genzo looked at Takuma and said, “Takuma, good that you are here. Tell me everything that you saw. Don't leave out any details.”

Takuma nodded and began reporting every small detail of the strange encounter on the beach.

——

While Takuma filled in the village elders about the details, Sayuri guided the way, bringing Fujin into a modest house where the scent of dried herbs lingered in the air. An elderly woman with silver hair tied neatly back looked up from sorting bundles of roots. She was immediately taken aback when she saw a stranger being supported by Itsuki. She cautiously asked, “Who is this?”
Her eyes narrowed, “And why is he in such bad shape?”

“Granny, we found him after the storm…” Sayuri explained quickly.

Hatsue's sharp eyes softened as she instructed, “Lay him down. Sayuri, tell me more…”

Itsuki and Akari helped Fujin lay on the bed while Sayuri filled her grandmother in on the details, while avoiding topics that could reopen Fujin's ‘mental wounds’. Hatsue paid careful attention to her granddaughter's words, while examining Fujin's wounds at the same time.

Having got a gist, she said, “The wounds aren’t too deep, but he’s taken a beating. Sayuri, bring the tools needed to clean his wounds.”

Sayuri immediately got to work, bringing her grandmother the necessary tools. Hatsue wasted no time and started cleaning his injuries as she instructed, “Fetch the ointments too. After the wounds are cleaned, you'll apply them.”

“Me?” Sayuri asked in surprise. She had been educated and trained by her grandmother to succeed her as the village's doctor, but she was still a long distance away from Hatsue's level. She didn't possess the confidence to directly treat a patient by herself.

Hatsue nodded without any hesitation and said, “You have already completed the required training. You only lack practice. Naoki's wounds are very superficial. It's the perfect opportunity for you to practice.”

“But…” Sayuri was still unsure, but her words stuck in her throat when she saw Hatsue's gentle and reassuring smile. Hatsue calmed her granddaughter down by saying, “Don't worry. I'll be paying attention to you.”

Sayuri finally nodded. Fujin winced regularly as Hatsue cleaned his wounds. He also occasionally glanced at Sayuri bringing in herbs and preparing ointments. For an ordinary individual, those glances wouldn't discern much. However, Fujin was an excellent medical ninja and had also made all of Kabuto's knowledge his own during the last year and half. He immediately understood the extent of the medical capabilities of this small village.

Fujin noted, ‘They lack modern tools or medicines. All their medicines are locally made from the herbs available on the island. This is to be expected of a village cut off from the remaining world for over three decades. Hmm, Rikuya's memories also had this information, though I skipped over it. Along with planting food, they also plant several herbs, making the village quite self-sufficient.

However, for a village to function for so long without any problems, be it a disease breakout, famine, natural disaster or simply internal struggle, the root cause of most problems in human society, none of them have made an impact here.

I could attribute most of it to the Jashin cult living here previously. Even though there are no longer any seals here, the existence of those seals for multiple centuries may have caused a permanent change in the natural environment. However, how could they suppress the basic human desire for conflict?

No matter how united a society is, a power struggle will eventually take place. Even in Konoha, where Hiruzen and Danzo were so close to each other for decades, their relationship fractured as Danzo's lust for the Hokage seat grew beyond a limit.

Even if I assume the older folks here are tired of conflict, how could the younger generation be this peaceful despite the absence of any extreme indoctrination? Once again, the only thing that may explain this is an external intervention.’

Once again, Fujin reached a conclusion that made him believe the Jashin cult still maintained active influence in the village. Unfortunately, he was again without any concrete leads towards the cult. It only strengthened Fujin's resolve to stay in the village and dig deeper into the matter.

——

Silence reigned in Genzo's house as the elderly people considered the consequences of a stranger stepping into their paradise.

After a while, Saburou, the old man with broad shoulders muttered, “This is strange… Too strange! The waters around the island are very calm. In the last 32 years, we have only seen 2 storms, the last one being 14 years ago! And, there was a build up for both the storms. A storm appearing without warning and dissipating so quickly is suspicious. Not to mention, bringing a stranger with it…”

Orino, the old lady, sighed, “It's the first time we have a visitor from outside. It's unsurprising that we feel suspicious. The strangeness aside, his life has truly been tragic, much like ours before we moved here. I think he's just an unlucky soul…”

Saburou frowned. But before he could say anything, Genzo got up and walked towards the window. Staring outside, he said, “We are no experts at knowing how storms work. There's no point in debating about it.”

Saburou's face showed a hint of embarrassment. It was true. He, and no one else in the village, had much knowledge about how the sea behaved. They initially lived in a village that was hundreds of kilometers from the seas. When they moved to the island, they banned the creation of boats, thus preventing them from gaining any experience and knowledge about the seas. The unusually calm nature of the seas surrounding the island made it even tougher to study it.

Genzo continued, “Besides, we always knew this day would come. This island is only 10 kilometers away from the mainland. It was inevitable that someone would stumble upon it like we did. We should only be glad that it took so long, and the one who stumbled isn't a ninja, but a good-hearted fellow.”

Saburou argued, “His nature wouldn't matter if he tries to create a boat and leave our island. Once he does, our youngsters would learn how to create them and at least half would follow him to see what the remaining world looks like.

That'll collapse our little village. Even if we somehow sustain, there will always be a danger of someone leading back more people from the mainland here, destroying our peaceful lives!”

His expression hardened as he said, “We can't take this situation lightly. We have to deal with him, in one way or another!”