Night had fallen, and the snowfall from the sky seemed to be intensifying. Snowflakes were gradually accumulating around the camp.
Yujin added more firewood to the campfire. As the wood crackled and caught flame, the fire regained its strength, and only then did he sit back down in his original spot.
The flickering firelight danced intermittently, occasionally illuminating one side of his face.
From time to time, the crisp calls of birds echoed from the forest—coded signals from the night-watch ninjas, indicating that everything was normal.
Yujin was deep in thought.
Through his recent conversation with Uchiha Mei, he noticed that her manner of speaking occasionally revealed a kind of seasoned, world-weary tone. Yet, based on her appearance, she seemed to be the same age as Senju Tobirama, who had been hunting her.
To awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan at such a young age was, in a sense, a talent comparable to Uchiha Madara... Well, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration.
Considering the harsh conditions required to awaken the Mangekyō—experiencing the death of multiple loved ones, close friends, or blood relatives—it was possible her past was even more tragic than Madara's.
Factoring in the space-time fluctuations when Mei appeared, the dried blood around her eyes, the fresh wounds she sustained before fainting, her confusion upon awakening about the current date, and the subtle traits she revealed during their conversation, Yujin formed a hypothesis about her Mangekyō Sharingan's special ability.
It was very likely a form of time-jumping technique.
Uchiha Mei may have used her Mangekyō Sharingan to leap forward in time, escaping from Senju Tobirama's pursuit in the past to arrive months into the future in an instant.
If this were true, then her Mangekyō Sharingan was undeniably a very powerful one.
However, judging from Mei's behavior, she didn't seem to have a good grasp on using her Mangekyō—suggesting that she couldn't activate her time-jumping ability at will, nor precisely control how far she leapt.
She could have landed a few months, a few years, or even longer into the future. That would explain why she felt relieved to learn that Tobirama's pursuit had ended only a few months prior.
As for her claim that the ability was only useful for escaping—clearly, that was just because she hadn't fully explored its potential yet.
A power that could transcend the boundaries of past and future shouldn't be wasted solely on fleeing. That would be too narrow-minded—it had the potential to create miracles.
But what kind of miracle could it create?
Yujin couldn't answer that question.
Ultimately, everything he had thought of was just speculation based on some scattered clues. If her Mangekyō Sharingan didn't have this ability, then all of it was moot.
For now, there was no way to be sure.
The next morning.
After a night of rest, Uchiha Mei had regained some mobility—at the very least, she no longer needed to rely on a stretcher.
"It seems you've recovered a bit. What are you planning to do next? We'll be heading west," Yujin said to her.
More accurately, they were heading northwest.
Upon waking, the temperature had plummeted. Each of Yujin's breaths turned to mist in the cold morning air.
Due to the lack of intel and having previously existed at the bottom rung of the ninja world, Yujin didn't fully understand the current power dynamics. But one thing was clear—staying far away from what would eventually become the core of the "Land of Fire" was a good idea.
They weren't short on food for now, but they did need warmer clothing.
Mei thought for a moment, then asked somewhat awkwardly:
"Can I travel with you for a while?"
Given her condition, she wasn't suited to travel alone. And she was also curious about this group of wandering ninjas.
How had a group of drifters from different clans come together around a single person, trusting him enough to follow? Such unity seemed downright fantastical in today's ninja world.
It wasn't unusual for wandering ninjas to band together, but usually, each had their own agenda. It didn't take long for these makeshift groups to dissolve into chaos or even internal bloodshed. Trust, if it existed outside a single ninja clan, was a luxury.
Mei suspected there was something special about this group, and she wanted to learn more… though perhaps she was overthinking it.
Still, her reaction confirmed one thing—Yujin's orders had been carried out to perfection. His people had played their roles well, disguising their clan, Hanemiya, as a ragtag coalition of ninjas from various backgrounds.
"Of course. We're just a group of wandering ninjas huddling together for warmth. We're open to new faces, even temporary ones. Traveling together for a while might be too much to hope for, but joining us for part of the way is absolutely fine."
Yujin lied with a straight face.
"Then I'll trouble you for now," Mei replied thoughtfully.
"No trouble at all. Honestly, we're just as uncertain about the road ahead. Fortunately, someone in the world is always in need of a ninja."
With their own forces being so weak, Yujin had no choice but to play by the ninja world's rules—finding clients willing to hire them. Unless they were desperate, he wouldn't consider "soliciting donations" from non-ninja factions.
(Though "soliciting donations" from other ninja factions was fair game, so long as he was strong enough to win—such was the law of the land.)
It was a bitter truth. Would you believe it? They'd left their carefree agrarian lifestyle behind… just to go job hunting.
Uchiha Mei thus became a temporary traveling companion, nursing her injuries while journeying westward with Yujin's group.
Their movements were stealthy—extremely so. Yujin wanted to avoid conflict with other ninjas for now. Sometimes they only traveled between midnight and dawn to reduce the chance of getting caught up in battles between rival groups.
But in an era teeming with shinobi, no matter how careful Yujin was, it was inevitable that they'd eventually run into "colleagues."
In theory, a group of ninjas should send out forward and rear scouts—ideally, sensory-type ninjas.
But Yujin's group didn't have any sensory ninjas. They could only stick together and move as a unit.
Without a sensor, even if Yujin wanted to set up a proper perimeter, he doubted whether his scouts would even have time to sound the alarm when encountering enemies.
The most likely outcome was that their "forward observation unit" would be wiped out instantly.
Because without a sensory ninja, the battlefield was one-way transparent—surrounded by a fog of war, while their enemies could see them clearly.
Under those conditions, they were better off sticking close together.
And so, after five days of cautious movement, they finally ran headfirst into another ninja force.
Unfortunately, the enemy outnumbered them.
Fortunately, they were clearly survivors from some defeated group—and they looked even worse off than Yujin's team.
When the two sides collided, the other party was even more panicked than Yujin's group.