Chapter 326: The Stone of Gelel
"Rogue ninjas, the Tadashi and Iezane brothers… hmm, these are the heads. Let me confirm again, one has a red spot on his face, the other is missing half an ear. Hmm, this mission is considered complete. The bandits of Mount Hirohashi? I've finished that one too. Check, complete!"
Ino sat alone under a tree, carefully examining Big Sister Kurenai's mission log, item by item.
It had to be said, men also affect the speed of completing missions. Big Sister Kurenai had accepted many missions before her marriage, but her time was almost entirely spent on Asuma. The number of accumulated miscellaneous missions was too large!
Ino was like a delivery person. She would first plan her route, trying to ensure she could complete seven or eight missions in one trip, then run over for a round of slashing.
She flipped through the thick, book-like mission list, constantly adjusting and planning new routes with a map.
As she looked, she paused.
"Why did she even accept a D-rank mission? This big sister really is… sigh."
Since she had accepted it, even a D-rank mission had to be done.
Investigation, sensing, tracking—she quickly found the ferret mentioned in the mission and spent a day finding the client to hand over the mission.
The client for this ferret-finding mission was an old man with a brandy nose, dressed in rags. He and his clansmen were driving horse-drawn carriages filled with luggage and supplies. They had a bit of a Gypsy vibe from her previous life; their clan had been wandering and migrating all over the world.
Now that the clouds of war were about to descend on the Land of Fire, they were preparing to migrate to a southern country to seek refuge.
Ino was quite curious about this so-called southern country. After completing the mission, she casually asked a few more questions. The old man's words greatly surprised her.
"Old sir, is the southern country you speak of to the south of the Land of Fire?"
The old man was a bit drunk and laughed smugly. "Hahahaha—Miss Ninja, this world is not just the Land of Fire, nor is there only one East Sea. At the southernmost tip of the Land of Fire, across the sea now called the South Sea, after sailing for about thirty days, you can see another continent. That was once our homeland."
Ino was truly astonished. "You come from another continent?"
In her view, the Land of Fire, Land of Earth, and Land of Lightning were all countries on one continent. To the south was an endless sea, the continental plates that had been shattered by Kaguya Ōtsutsuki and the Sage of Six Paths. There should be nothing to the south, but now there was land there?
Recalling these past events made the old man feel that his ancestors were very impressive. His beard trembled. "Our ancestors once had a brilliant civilization. At that time, our ancestors cut down forests, dug mountain passes, and filled rivers. The natural world submitted before us, and the resources of an entire continent belonged to mankind."
"At that time… hic… at that time, our ancestors' civilization was something unimaginable now… Wells that never ran dry, livestock that could grow up overnight, food that could never be eaten up. Sounds incredible, right? What made all this possible was that incredible energy, hic, the incredible Stone of Gelel!"
The old man soon fell asleep. Ino was very interested in the southern country and the Stone of Gelel he mentioned. Energy was of paramount importance in any world, and wars sparked by energy ran through the entire civilized history of humanity, or rather, of all intelligent races.
If that ore was truly as he said, with abundant energy, it would be absolutely priceless. And what did he say? A mine? Was the entire underground of the southern continent made of this stuff?
Wanting to inquire more carefully, she temporarily stayed with this migrating group of travelers.
The next day, when Ino asked again, the old man started to play dumb. Gelel what stone? Ge-what-el stone?
Just as Ino was preparing to use some methods that couldn't be described in detail, the rear of the caravan was attacked.
The smoke and dust from the explosion could be seen from a hundred meters away. Men and women in rags were running forward frantically.
Three shining figures were chasing behind them, very fast, their attacks even more fierce. A group of commoners was powerless against the attackers' pursuit.
Ino smiled. She looked at the old man. "You weren't actually drunk yesterday, were you? You deliberately told me about some stone crap just so I would be your bodyguard today?"
The old man's expression was bitter. "What choice do I have? I can only grasp at any hope I can find. We bear a heavy burden, and every day is a struggle."
Ino nodded. "That's true. Life isn't easy for anyone. Commoners have their difficulties, ninjas have their dangers."
Seeing that he hadn't aroused her sympathy, the old man could only use his last trick.
He had too few cards in his hand; this was the only one he could play.
"The Stone of Gelel is a precious ore of our continent. Only those of royal blood can open the device and mine the ore. You can't use it, but I can tell you the specific location of the mine vein…"
Ino didn't believe in any royal bloodline. Is your royal family also from the Ōtsutsuki clan from outer space? These days, there isn't a single mine vein that "Moving Earth Core" can't bring up! What royal bloodline, that's all nonsense.
She memorized the location the old man mentioned, saying she would go and see it later. "What else? Is that all the information?"
The old man pointed at the three approaching figures. "Our ancestors' brilliant civilization collapsed. They split into two factions. The powerful ones with authority and military might crossed the sea two hundred years ago to come here and thrive. They took away the last mined Stones of Gelel and the Book of Gelel. These pursuers… are probably related to those ancient royals who left. If I'm not mistaken, the Book of Gelel is most likely in their hands."
Ino asked, "Then who are you?"
"We are the remnants who migrated to this continent thirty years ago. The natural environment of the southern continent became more and more harsh, with scarce resources and constant natural disasters. It was simply impossible to live there anymore. It's a hell there now…"
Ino felt she understood. It was probably the world-destroying battles of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki and the Sage of Six Paths that had destroyed the local environment. The royal family retreated first, and the commoners held on for another hundred years or so before they couldn't take it anymore and migrated to the northern continent.
The three figures got closer and closer, so close that Ino could see their ferocious faces.
They were three women wearing strange armor. They were not ninjas. In Ino's perception, their armor contained chakra equivalent to a chunin's level, which provided them with power, allowing their strength, speed, and endurance to reach a superhuman level.
The caravan's guards with spears and bows were powerless against their assault.
"Is the energy source in their armor the Stone of Gelel you mentioned?" Ino asked.
The old man couldn't see clearly and said uncertainly, "Perhaps."
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