Shindai forcefully shattered the Seal on the coffin. He didn't find any treasure—only a young girl inside, roughly his age.
"Wait, this doesn't make sense. There should be a corpse in here. Why does she look so rosy-faced and glowing? Yet this place should've been abandoned ages ago."
Shindai felt something was seriously off. The last time he'd come to Kannabi Bridge was nearly a year ago.
Even if someone had been buried alive here with no food or water for a whole year, they should've died long ago and become a desiccated corpse.
Strange! Extremely strange!
Shindai reached out and poked her face.
So elastic! She even had body warmth, though the temperature was a bit low.
Then Shindai felt her breath and immediately leapt back in fright.
"Oh Pakura! This girl's breathing!"
He had assumed it was a dead body, but when he felt her breath, he realized she was actually alive. It scared Shindai so much his heart almost jumped out of his chest.
After taking several deep breaths, Shindai cautiously approached the coffin again, wanting to take another careful look to confirm whether his senses had deceived him earlier.
However, just as Shindai got close to the coffin, the little girl suddenly sat up abruptly.
"Ahh!"
Shindai let out a sharp scream and threw a punch toward her.
Ever since childhood, Shindai had been terrified of eerie, ghostly things. This wasn't simply being cowardly—it was instinct. Right, exactly, pure instinct.
However, the little girl raised her hand, spread her palm open, and caught Shindai's punch.
"Y-you, who are you?"
It seemed like she hadn't spoken in a very long time. Her voice was stuttered nervously, quiet and hoarse.
Shindai stared at the little girl in fear. "Are you human or ghost? Are you really alive?"
The little girl released Shindai's fist and looked at her own hands. "I-I think I'm still alive…"
Hearing the little girl say she was still alive, Shindai immediately relaxed slightly, forcing a laugh. "Heh, see? Although souls do exist in this world, what're the odds I'd actually run into one? I'm not scared at all! Seriously, I'm the bravest—I'm not afraid one bit!"
Speaking of which, who exactly are you? How did you get sealed here? There was even a Double Seal outside, and another seal placed directly on the coffin too?
Perhaps because she'd been sealed away for so long, her mind still seemed hazy. The little girl tilted her head with a furrowed brow, looking deep in thought.
After a while, the little girl suddenly seemed to remember something. Her expression continuously changed, filled with hatred.
"Hey? What's wrong all of a sudden? You look like you're about to devour someone?"
The little girl didn't answer Shindai's question. Unlike her earlier innocent demeanor, she now sharply retorted in a cold voice: "Then who exactly are you?"
Shindai scratched his head and replied, "Hmm... Me? I'm a ninja from Konoha."
The young girl tilted her head in mild confusion. "Konoha? Where's that?" she asked innocently.
Shindai looked shocked. "Come on, seriously? Konoha! One of the Five Great Shinobi Villages! That's common knowledge—even kids know it! You've never heard of it?"
The little girl furrowed her brows. "Do you know about the Uchiha clan and the Senju clan?"
Shindai now felt extremely puzzled. "You know about the Uchiha and Senju clans, but not Konoha? Konoha is the ninja village founded by these two clans together! Did your brain get messed up somehow by a seal?"
The expression on the girl's face became one of utter disbelief. "What? That's impossible! How could that bastard Tajima Uchiha ever ally with his sworn enemy, the Senju clan!"
Now Shindai was completely baffled as well. "Huh? Tajima Uchiha? Who's that? I don't think I've ever heard of him in the Uchiha clan. Who exactly are you anyway? Not knowing Konoha but knowing about the Uchiha and Senju...this is really strange."
Lowering her head, the girl remained silent for quite a while before saying softly, "They call me Nameless."
"Nameless? What an odd name. So where are you from originally?"
"I don't know."
Shindai now found things very troublesome. "Tch, this is complicated indeed. Haven't gotten my hands on the treasure yet, but encountered a kid who knows nothing when asked, except about the Uchiha and Senju... Could it be you've lost your memory?"
Nameless didn't respond. Testing cautiously, Shindai asked, "Hey, why don't you stay here thinking slowly? I won't disturb you anymore, shall I go first?"
Looking up, Nameless said to Shindai, "Then tell me where Konoha is. I'll go myself."
Shaking his head, Shindai refused, "Ah? Your identity is unclear; I can't possibly take you to Konoha. This is within Grass Country territory, so you're most likely from Grass Country. Why don't you go ask at the Hidden Grass Village?"
Nameless climbed out of the coffin, staggering slightly due to weakness, nearly falling down.
Immediately stepping back a pace, Shindai thought: What if Nameless fell into me and blamed him for hurting her? In such a deserted place, he wouldn't stand a chance explaining himself—even with a hundred mouths.
"Hmm?"
Shindai's eyes sharpened as he noticed the mark on Nameless's clothing behind her.
A fan-shaped symbol, red upper half and white lower half—wasn't this the Uchiha clan's emblem?
Shindai asked, "Are you part of the Uchiha clan?"
Still not answering his question directly, Nameless said instead, "If you won't take me there, then just tell me where Konoha is. I'll go myself."
Now it was Shindai's turn to fall silent.
This Nameless might very well belong to the Uchiha clan, but how come she ended up sealed here?
And knowing about both the Uchiha and Senju clans, yet being unaware of Konoha—it was truly strange.
"You must have lost your memory."
Shindai sighed, feeling like he had brought trouble upon himself.
"Fine. I'll take you to Konoha. If you're really from the Uchiha clan, there might be people who recognize you. Let's go."
Shindai decided to bring Nameless to Konoha. If he hadn't seen the Uchiha crest, it might have been acceptable to ignore him, but now that he had, it felt wrong to just leave Nameless behind.
Walking toward the cave entrance, Shindai took a few steps before realizing Nameless hadn't followed. He turned around in confusion and asked Nameless, who was still rooted in place, "What's wrong? Didn't we just agree to go to Konoha? I already promised you. Why'd you stop suddenly? Should I bow and say, 'Princess, please do me the honor of walking'?"
Nameless' face flushed slightly red. "I... I can't walk anymore. I'm starving and completely drained of strength."
"Ah, right — you're hungry. You should've told me sooner. Here, this is Tsubaki's homemade jerky. It tastes amazing and is great for hunger."
Shindai took out the dried meat that Akimichi Tsubaki had given him and handed it to Nameless.
Nameless accepted the jerky, took a bite, his eyes lit up with delight, and immediately began devouring it hungrily.
After eating several strips, Nameless was full, but his body still hadn't regained much strength.
"Sigh, I'll carry you. When you regain some strength, walk by yourself. Great — no pay, just free manual labor."
Shindai squatted down in front of Nameless and patted his shoulder to motion him to climb on.
Nameless hesitated for a moment. Under Shindai's urging, he climbed onto his back. Shindai hoisted Nameless up and walked out of the cave.
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