Chapter Forty-Two: The Setting Sun Bleeds Like Blood

After collecting the scroll, Higashino Yu and Kakuzu didn’t set out immediately. It was already evening, after all, so they decided to wait until the next day to continue their journey. Since they were already at an izakaya and hadn’t had dinner yet, the two of them planned to eat here before looking for a place to rest.

They ordered a few snacks and found a random spot to sit down.

“Sir, aren’t you going to have a drink?” Kakuzu asked casually.

“No.”

It seemed that most wandering shinobi drank, but precisely because so many of them did, not drinking made one stand out. Of course, the main reason was simply that Higashino Yu didn’t like alcohol.

He’d seen too many drunken fools, which made him detest alcohol by association.

Kakuzu didn’t comment further. He sipped the sake that had been served ahead of the food, waiting for the rest of the dishes to arrive.

“Is it any good?” Higashino Yu asked offhandedly.

“It’s ordinary. Not good sake, but barely drinkable,” Kakuzu replied indifferently.

Spending the past few days together had brought them a little closer.

Higashino Yu asked nothing more and waited quietly. Soon, their food arrived.

Tempura, fried tofu, dumplings, and other small dishes.

He picked a piece up at random and took a bite. Higashino Yu glanced at Kakuzu, who happened to look back at him as well; both understood immediately why there were so few customers in this place.

The food was awful.

Neither commented; they simply continued eating. Even though it tasted bad, both of them could stomach it.

After finishing their meal, they found somewhere to rest. The next morning, they set out early.

This time the journey was much shorter, and their pace had increased as well. In less than half a day, they reached their destination.

It was a camp, heavily guarded. As soon as Higashino Yu and Kakuzu approached, several people surrounded them.

“Who are you?” asked one of the Kusagakure ninja.

Higashino Yu produced the scroll. “Bounty hunters, here to help you.”

The other party remained wary as he took the scroll from Higashino Yu and Kakuzu and examined it.

A long silence passed.

“Come with us,” he said at last—neither hostile nor friendly.

Higashino Yu and Kakuzu didn’t mind and followed.

Soon, they were led to a tent at the edge of the camp.

“You’ll stay here for now. When the fighting starts, someone will come fetch you. Also, during ceasefires, try not to wander around unnecessarily. Otherwise, we can’t guarantee you won’t be mistaken for spies and dealt with accordingly.”

Higashino Yu and Kakuzu said nothing in response, and the Kusagakure ninja left without waiting for an answer.

After glancing at the rather simple tent before them, Higashino Yu surveyed the surrounding area.

They were not the only ones with a tent here—there were many others. Some had people standing at the entrance, and Higashino Yu noticed that these individuals didn’t wear Kusagakure forehead protectors. Some even wore the slashed headbands of missing-nin from other villages.

It seemed that most of the people around them were bounty hunters like themselves, contracted for this mission.

Since the small nations lacked the military might of the five great countries, hiring bounty hunters made sense.

But considering the camp’s location and the attitude of the Kusagakure ninja just now, it was clear that they didn’t trust these bounty hunters much either.

After observing everything with his eyes, Higashino Yu swept the camp briefly with his spiritual sense. There were Kusagakure ninja running hurriedly, probably to report something; others were cleaning their weapons with numb expressions, preparing for battle; injured people wailed, some as young as eight or nine, others elderly.

A tense yet numb atmosphere hung over the entire camp.

Higashino Yu didn’t probe too deeply, not wanting to be discovered and arouse suspicion.

“Let’s go,” he said to Kakuzu, and stepped into the tent.

The space inside was neither too small nor too large—just right for two people. There was even a small table.

After settling in, Higashino Yu and Kakuzu sat down at the table.

“Kakuzu, have you taken similar jobs before?” Higashino Yu asked.

“I have.”

“So what counts as victory? Or rather, if I want to finish this mission quickly, what should I do?”

“The simplest way is to slaughter all the enemies,” Kakuzu replied.

“And?” Higashino Yu clearly didn’t accept this suggestion. He would kill, but not indiscriminately.

Kakuzu thought for a moment. “Use overwhelming force to crush them completely, so they realize there’s no chance of winning if they continue.”

“That sounds promising,” Higashino Yu considered seriously.

After that, neither said much more, each minding their own business.

Another half day passed. The sun was setting, and just as Higashino Yu thought there would be no battle today, the whole camp suddenly erupted in commotion.

Hearing the noise, Higashino Yu and Kakuzu stepped outside just as a Kusagakure ninja came to summon them.

“Takinogakure is attacking! Come with me, quickly!”

Higashino Yu and Kakuzu had nothing to prepare. They joined the Kusagakure ninja, and once the other bounty hunters had gathered, everyone followed him toward the front lines.

As they hurried along, the Kusagakure ninja explained, “From now on, you’re under my command. I don’t expect much—just follow me into the charge when the time comes, understand?”

“Understood.” The responses were scattered; people like Higashino Yu didn’t reply at all.

But the Kusagakure ninja didn’t care. His mission was to break through the enemy lines at any cost, which meant that their squad was the spearhead, and he was the tip of the spear. The bounty hunters were just cannon fodder to distract the enemy.

Soon, they reached the battlefield.

The scale of the clash made it clear that both the Land of Grass and the Land of Waterfall were small nations; each side had only about a thousand shinobi. There were pitifully few jonin—mostly chunin and genin, who could hardly be expected to know many advanced ninjutsu. The battlefield was dominated not by spectacular jutsu, but by kunai and shuriken flying everywhere.

Alongside the ninja, ordinary samurai fought as well—probably reinforcements sent by their respective feudal lords. In battles of this level, even samurai could make a significant difference.

It was Higashino Yu’s first time on a battlefield. He could clearly smell the blood in the air and feel the oppressive atmosphere of imminent death that hung over the entire area.

The setting sun was as red as blood, painting the land crimson until it was impossible to tell whether the color came from the light or actual blood.

“Humans are truly detestable,” Higashino Yu muttered, his expression as cold and indifferent as ever.