Fugaku looked at the two teenagers in front of him. He hesitated for only a second before saying to Kazue, "Be careful."
"Don't worry."
Kazue and Minato quickly entered the room, their figures disappearing from sight.
Haruki watched their retreating figures, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.
He and Nagato had checked room after room, and there was nothing inside except dust and cobwebs. The owners had clearly fled.
"Follow me." Fugaku said to the two teenagers in front of him.
Nagato looked at Haruki. Haruki nodded. They followed behind Fugaku.
Haruki stepped on the harder floor, the change in sensation making him look down.
The border of the Land of Grass was vast grasslands, only transitioning to shrubland and forest closer to the interior.
From the moment he entered the Land of Grass, the ground beneath his feet had been soft, and damp grass roots would occasionally wet his shoes.
But from the moment they walked into this uninhabited small village, the ground became harder, the grass shorter, and the grass roots no longer had dewy moisture. This indicated that there was something underground.
Haruki glanced at the house Kazue and Minato had entered, they still hadn't come out.
Haruki and Nagato had been inside every room here.
Without a secret passage or a hidden room, it was impossible for Kazue and Minato to stay inside for so long.
Fugaku led Haruki and Nagato to hide behind the last house. He surveyed the surroundings, his brows tightly furrowed.
The environment at the border of the Land of Grass was too unsuitable for hiding. The land was open, and it was difficult to find even a single cover.
As long as someone appeared here, they could be seen from afar at a glance.
Thinking of Kazue and Minato, a deep worry flashed in Fugaku's dark eyes. His gaze quickly fell upon Haruki and Nagato.
Fugaku squatted down, staring at Haruki and Nagato as he spoke, "I don't know what your true purpose for coming to the Land of Grass is, but you'd best return to your Land of Rain now."
"Otherwise, Iwagakure will not show mercy just because you are young."
After speaking, he watched the reactions of the two teenagers intently.
To Fugaku's disappointment, they showed no reaction, as if they hadn't heard his warning.
Haruki looked into Fugaku's eyes, speaking each word distinctly, "Since we have already arrived in the Land of Grass, we will not leave."
"At least, we will only leave here after the war in the Land of Grass has subsided and the civilians are no longer suffering."
Fugaku frowned, staring coldly at Haruki. "Do you know what you're saying?"
"Hmph!"
Before Haruki could answer, he began to undermine Haruki's confidence.
"Naive! Do you think courage alone can stop war? Do you think your strength alone can save everyone? Stop dreaming! You should just stay safely in the Land of Rain where the war has subsided, instead of trying to be a hero here."
Haruki stared back at him without yielding, saying, "If I weren't here playing the hero, you'd already be dead."
Fugaku took a deep breath and averted his gaze. He looked at the blue sky above. Although the process had changed, the outcome would not.
Entrusting such a mission to the three of them, wasn't it just sending them to their deaths?
A hint of sarcasm flashed in Fugaku's eyes.
His peripheral vision swept past the two teenagers beside him. It was just that there was no need to involve two innocent people in their deaths.
"The items are buried!" A familiar voice sounded in Fugaku's ear.
He turned and found that Kazue and Minato had appeared behind him.
Fugaku's heart tightened.
Kazue keenly said, "Fugaku, what were you just thinking about? You were too engrossed. You didn't even react when we appeared behind you. If it had been an enemy, you'd be dead by now."
Minato glanced at Fugaku, trying to smooth things over. "Let's leave quickly. This place is about to explode. We'll retreat under the cover of the smoke from the explosion."
Fugaku nodded.
Kazue's hand reached out towards Haruki, who dodged.
"I can walk by myself! Don't worry!"
He touched the ring on his finger, calming the somewhat anxious Rika.
Time was running out.
Kazue didn't force Haruki into her arms, but instead admonished him, "You must keep close to us."
Haruki nodded.
A fierce blaze suddenly shot out from deep underground within the house. The deafening roar of the explosion made their eardrums ache.
The air was rapidly compressed, and a powerful shockwave expanded wildly in a spherical shape from the basement's center.
The ground trembled violently as if in an earthquake.
The house where Haruki and the others were hiding shook violently, and sawdust and dust fell in a steady stream.
The ground was easily blasted open like a fragile eggshell. Huge cracks spread in all directions at an astonishing speed.
Fire, thick smoke, sawdust, dust...
Everything on the ground was propelled high into the sky.
Kazue, Minato, and Fugaku began to move under the cover of the rolling thick smoke. Haruki and Nagato followed closely behind them.
Haruki looked back at the source of the explosion, which had already become a pile of ruins.
When the explosion occurred, he saw countless metal fragments blasted high into the sky, scattering like shrapnel in all directions, littering the ground.
He bumped into Minato's back. Minato and the other two stopped.
The three of them shielded Haruki and Nagato behind them, gravely looking at the dense black shadows appearing in the dust and smoke around them.
Killing intent was almost solidifying.