Torifū was contemplating how this clan, bearing a grudge against the Uchiha, could pose a future threat to the village if the animosity wasn't resolved. Naori, on the other hand, wasn't thinking as broadly as Torifū. She merely felt that if her clan had truly committed some error in the past, then they should try their best to compensate for it. If the clan had done no wrong, then she wouldn't allow just anyone to insult the Uchiha clan.
The three, each with their own thoughts, set off on the journey to the Oyashirō clan's abode. According to En, their clan was quite far from here, located in the border region of the Land of Lightning. It was also extremely desolate, with almost no vegetation, only strange rocks and mountains. That's why he risked coming near Kumogakure to gather medicine. He considered himself very cautious, yet he was still caught by the Kumogakure ninja. Those battle-crazed lunatics mistook him for a spy, and even the herbs he had just gathered were ruined.
Torifū asked why his clan didn't move from such a harsh environment and remained in that valley. But En didn't answer, only saying, "You'll know when we get there." This left Torifū and Naori to speculate. During their journey, Torifū successfully found two more of the herbs, based on their known habitats. He initially intended to pick all of them, but En stopped him: "One is enough for a month. I'll come back for this one myself next month." Torifū shrugged, indicating it didn't matter to him, as he didn't need the herb. He had fulfilled En's request, successfully finding the herbs, and even two of them. Now it was En's turn to keep his promise. He hoped En wouldn't just abandon Torifū and Naori in some remote place, otherwise, he wouldn't be pleased.
The three traveled quickly. Torifū and Naori maintained the same pace as En. After nearly a day of travel, in the early morning of the second day, they stopped in front of a tall mountain. The mountain face was incredibly steep, with no handholds for climbing; even animals skilled in climbing would find it difficult. Moreover, the mountain face was very high, approximately a hundred meters tall. Such a tall mountain was considered very high even in the Land of Lightning. Their path was blocked by the mountain face, with only a very narrow cave-like opening that seemed to be an entrance or exit. There were no trees around the mountain face, only the skeletal remains of some unknown animals, making it appear exceptionally eerie. From the cave entrance, blood-red steam continuously drifted out, carrying a strong sulfurous smell that made one want to cover their nose. But En acted as if nothing was amiss; he must have been long accustomed to it.
"Welcome to Hell Valley, the hell of the Chinoike Clan."
As Torifū heard "Hell Valley," the name Oyashirō En became incredibly clear in his mind! En Oyashirō En... wasn't that one of the only two surviving ninja of the Chinoike Clan? Though that was the Chinoike Clan several decades in the future. Currently, there should still be some ninja remaining. And Torifū now understood why En had said the Uchiha clan was their enemy.
In the early Warring States period, the Daimyō of the Land of Lightning married a woman from the Chinoike Clan as a concubine. However, within a few years, the Land of Lightning's Daimyō suddenly died, and coincidentally, the woman from the Chinoike Clan awakened the Ketsuryūgan.
Ordinary people naturally couldn't understand what a Kekkei Genkai was, and the crimson Ketsuryūgan certainly instilled fear. Therefore, the Daimyō's wife believed that the Chinoike Clan woman had cursed the Daimyō. She then colluded with the ministers to exile the Chinoike Clan to Hell Valley, a desolate, isolated place. They also branded the Chinoike Clan with labels like evil, cursed, and forsaken by heaven.
Hell Valley was filled with crimson hot springs, which was also why they were called the Chinoike Clan. While the hot springs could enhance their combat abilities, the toxins in the springs also significantly shortened their lifespans, with weaker individuals even collapsing directly. The environment here was simply unbearable for humans. After a large number of clan members died from being unable to endure the environment, the clan head once led them in a desperate charge out of the valley. But the ones hired to guard the valley by the Daimyō were none other than the Uchiha clan!
In the Warring States period, no one was unaware of the Uchiha clan's name; their clan's Sharingan instilled dread. Although the Chinoike Clan possessed the Ketsuryūgan, they were no match for the Sharingan. After this battle, the Chinoike Clan suffered heavy casualties. Their capable ninja were reduced to less than one in a hundred, and the Chinoike Clan completely declined. They were beaten back into the valley by the Uchiha clan and never came out again. The Uchiha clan also sealed the entrance from the outside with massive boulders, leaving only a narrow opening.
Later, a major war erupted between the Uchiha clan and the Senju clan, and they no longer had the inclination to concern themselves with matters in Hell Valley. After leaving, they never returned, and the Land of Lightning's Daimyō had long forgotten about such a group in Hell Valley. The Chinoike Clan was completely forgotten; neither the Land of Lightning nor the Uchiha considered them a significant enemy.
The Chinoike clan members who were driven back into the valley no longer dared to venture out. The clan head also committed suicide out of guilt for the excessive casualties. Although they still wished to leave the valley, their strength did not allow it, and they could only silently accumulate power. However, the poisonous gas within the valley was slowly claiming their lives. By the time they realized it, it was already too late.
Presumably, En is the only one capable of normal movement now, otherwise, they wouldn't send a six-year-old child to find herbs for miasma treatment.
Although Torifū already understood the whole story, Naori was unaware. She was still frantically searching her mind for who the Chinoike Clan was and what grudge they had with the Uchiha clan. But in the end, she found that the family records genuinely contained no mention of the Chinoike Clan.
En saw Naori still looking puzzled and said, "Indeed, the Uchiha clan wouldn't remember us. How arrogant." In truth, this matter couldn't be called Uchiha clan arrogance. Essentially, it was just a mercenary mission the Uchiha clan had taken on, helping to guard a gate and quell a riot. If such mercenary experiences were written in the clan's secret traditions, it would be too cheap, wouldn't it? Moreover, it would seriously undermine the clan's dignity. For the venerable Uchiha clan to act as a mercenary organization wouldn't fit their status.
However, Naori didn't refute En's words, as she hadn't yet fully understood the true situation. At this moment, rushing to explain anything would only be futile.
En saw that neither of them had anything to say, so he pointed towards the mountain cave. "Go in through there. You two should have no problem fitting through."
[T/N: I wanna try eating Steak. ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ https://ko-fi.com/claychampion]