"Everyone says the same thing," Ino sighed tiredly.
She had spent the last thirty minutes asking questions, but she hadn't found anything.
Looking up at the sky with discouragement, Ino sighed once again.
"It's getting dark already... What am I supposed to do?" she complained.
The little information she had found was already written in the scroll.
'Maybe the others had the same problem... Should I just give up?'
Suddenly, a small gust of wind rustled nearby. Ino looked behind her; nothing...
"That's strange..."
Thinking it had been her imagination, she continued walking, but in a distant location, the man with the spear was watching her. A second later, he disappeared into the shadows.
—Somewhere with Hinata—
"Um... Excuse me... Can I ask you a few questions?" Hinata asked, but she was completely ignored.
She had been trying to question several random people, but everyone ignored her as if her very existence had no value.
'Why are they ignoring me?'
She tried to be friendly and polite to avoid causing trouble, and although her shyness made things difficult, she did everything she could to ask her questions. The result...
"I haven't been able to gather any information..." Hinata sighed, looking at the scroll in her hands.
But she didn't let that discourage her. She was trying to become better.
'I have to find someone who can answer me...' she thought, looking around until she found someone.
It was a teenager who looked like a foreign shinobi.
"Good afternoon," Hinata greeted him.
The boy paid attention to her.
"Yes?"
"Um... can I ask you a few questions?" Nervously, she tried to keep her eyes on the boy's face.
"Of course. What kind of questions?"
"Um... About the disappearances. Do you know anything about them?"
"I know a few things. Besides, if you've been asking everyone in the village, you should have noticed that nobody knows anything," he said with a kind smile. "That's because everyone here prefers to ignore the subject. A lot of people are afraid of those things."
'Afraid...'
It was obvious that the villagers would be afraid, since the people who disappeared never returned, but even so, Hinata hesitated because no one seemed scared or worried.
"There are also the rumors about a giant spider. They say it's the one kidnapping people and eating them, but that's just a rumor. It's made the villagers afraid."
"A giant spider... Do you think it could be someone's summoning?" she asked, her expression serious.
She was doing a good job.
"Well, it's unlikely, since there aren't any ninja around here with enough chakra to summon a giant beast. Still, it's just a rumor. That's all I know. I hope I was able to help."
Hinata looked at the ground. She had finally managed to find valuable information.
"I understand. Thank you for your time," Hinata said, bowing slightly. Then she walked away.
'Giant spider, fear... It's strange. I can't understand what's going on here. Nobody seems afraid, but he said everyone prefers to ignore the situation. He contradicted himself several times...'
Looking at the scroll in her hands, she closed her eyes for a second as she thought. After a while, she opened her eyes and made a decision.
'I should tell Yamato-sensei,' she whispered, but just then, she felt a current of air behind her. "Wha—?!"
She looked around and immediately activated her Byakugan. In the distance, she saw someone watching her.
"Who are you?!" Hinata asked.
Even so, thanks to her Byakugan, she had been able to make out the silhouette of the person who had been spying on her.
'They disappeared...'
This was bad...
—A Few Minutes Later—
Night had fallen, causing the villagers to light the lamps inside their homes.
"Here is the dish I'm best at making," Miroku said with a smile as she placed several plates filled with food on the table.
At that moment, Team 11 was at Miroku's house for dinner.
"It looks delicious," Ino said.
There were different dishes ready to be enjoyed. Among them was the famous ramen that Toru usually ate whenever he didn't have time to cook.
"Thank you for the meal," Toru added as he brought his hands together and said a short prayer.
Immediately, everyone began eating, but there was something strange in the atmosphere that made Toru's eyes gleam strangely.
'An odd smell...'
The scent was salty and metallic, almost like rust, and it could be felt in the air, but Toru wasn't entirely sure because the smell was slightly masked by the aroma of the food.
After thinking for a second, he recognized the smell.
'It's... blood.'
He looked at Miroku suspiciously. Then he came to the conclusion that there was definitely something strange about this village, but he couldn't jump to conclusions until he confirmed it himself.
With a faint smile on her face, Miroku got up from her seat and sat beside Toru. Everyone watched Miroku's strange behavior, but she simply smiled pleasantly and gently held Toru's cheeks between her fingers.
"Smile a little, sweetheart. You'll ruin that cute little face if you keep making that deadpan expression," she said, stretching Toru's cheeks.
'What is she supposed to be doing?' Ino wondered.
Toru frowned. Miroku was surprised.
"Oh, I'm sorry," the woman said, but Toru remembered something else important.
Yamato had said that the village had been established five years ago, but the torii gate at the entrance looked much older. The next thing was the attitude of the people. For some reason, every time Toru interacted with someone, there seemed to be a slight delay before they answered his questions, as if they were trying to process the information.
The last thing was the man with the spear and the man with the spiked rings. Both of their voices sounded dull, as if they were hypnotized. With all of that in mind, Toru came to a conclusion.
"I'm not hungry anymore," he said, abruptly standing up and causing Miroku to fall backward.
For a second, Toru looked at the two men standing in the corner of the room, and they glared back at him in annoyance. Yasu, who carried the golden spear, and Kouta, who had both eyes covered.
Toru sighed and tried to leave, but Ino stood up and stopped him by grabbing his shoulder.
"You're being too rude, Toru."
Yamato, who had remained silent until then, decided to do something about it.
"Toru, Ino..." Yamato said sternly.
After that, Ino released Toru's shoulder.
'This idiot... Does he actually want to ruin the mission?' Ino thought as she looked at Toru.
'Toru-kun...'
Even Hinata was confused by what had happened.
"Don't worry. It's only natural for the little one to get upset because of my teasing. You don't have to worry about it," Miroku said, getting up from the floor and dusting off her clothes.
"Yasu-san, Kouta-san, could you help me clean up?"
After that, both Ino and Hinata headed to the inn, but Yamato decided to stay behind and help clean up.
—Later, on the Roof of the Inn—
From the roof, Toru looked at the daggers in both of his hands.
'I hope I'm wrong. Otherwise...' Toru thought as he recalled all the information he had gathered. Then he tightened his grip on the daggers, his eyes gleaming with a strange, sinister light.
—Inside the Inn—
Someone knocked on the door.
Yamato approached the door and asked:
"Who is it?"
"Good evening," Miroku said in her usual kind tone.
Yamato remained silent for a few seconds before answering:
"Good evening. What is it?"
"I haven't been able to sleep these past few days, so I was wondering if you'd like to go for a walk with me."
Yamato opened the door. Believing he might be able to get something useful for the mission, he said:
"I've been awake this whole time, so I don't see a problem with that," he said as he stepped out of the room.
Miroku smiled, a dark look in her eyes.
—On the Roof of the Inn—
'Sensei?'
Toru watched Yamato walk alongside Miroku. For a few moments, he could feel a strange bloodlust, but the sensation disappeared in the next instant.
'I can't waste time.'
Toru leaped silently across the rooftops and, within a few seconds, he was standing in front of the largest house in the village, Miroku's home.
'The smell is gone...'
Toru was certain there was something strange about the house, and he had been able to confirm it when Miroku began acting strangely during dinner.
'I have no choice.'
With great stealth, he entered through one of the windows. His feet slowly touched the wooden floor. It didn't take long for him to begin searching.
Carefully, Toru investigated every corner of the place, but strangely, he found nothing.
'Could it be?'
Following the hallway in front of him, he came across a sliding door, which he opened while making sure not to make a single sound that could alert Miroku.
'What the—?!'
The instant he opened the door, a horrible smell of blood reached Toru's nose. He immediately covered the lower half of his face with his scarf to avoid breathing in any more of the stench.
He followed the path until he reached another door. When he opened it, he frowned. Bad memories from the past came rushing back, making him close his eyes in anguish.
Blood was still flowing from the lifeless bodies scattered across the wooden floor.
"You shouldn't have come in here," a voice said behind Toru.
The instant he turned around, a powerful kick sent him flying, making him crash through the walls before slamming into a tree.
"I didn't think you'd be this bold," the man said as he swung his spear.