Darkness always came early in the canyon.
Even while the sky remained a clear blue, Jiusen Village had already sunk into dimness.
Under such lighting, the villagers could no longer work safely. They ended their labor and hurried home, preparing dinner in the fading light.
Just then—
Several villagers rushed in, shouting at the top of their lungs.
"Village Chief! Village Chief!! The water—the water—!"
Hearing the cries, the chief immediately rushed out of his house and shouted, "What about the water? Has the flow stopped?"
"Not stopped—it's a flood! The flood is coming!"
"Flood?!"
The entire village erupted.
People poured out of their homes and rushed to the cliff's edge, looking north.
Sure enough—
Under the dim light, a white line of water appeared in the distant northern valley.
The roar hadn't reached them yet, but the faint southern breeze had already died away.
The village chief squinted, staring for a long time.
Only when the northern wind began to rise, and the distant sound of rushing water faintly reached them, did he burst into laughter.
"Good! As expected of Konoha's ninja. They solved the water problem in just two days!"
The villagers were overjoyed.
Some even shouted loudly—
"Let's have a proper drink tonight! Tomorrow we can start sending the rafts!"
"That's right! Rafting is hard work—we need some wine to build strength!"
The chief didn't object at all.
In these damp, misty mountain valleys, drinking wasn't indulgence—it was necessity.
Without it, the cold would seep into the bones. When exerting force, the joints would weaken and ache.
And if someone standing on a raft lost strength while pushing against rocks with a pole—
It wouldn't just be him who died.
It would be the entire convoy.
For the rafting men—
Weak joints were far more dangerous than a slight buzz from alcohol.
…
The speed of a flood in a mountain canyon far exceeded what outsiders could imagine.
Before the sky had even fully darkened—
The roaring white crest of the flood surged past Jiusen Village.
Behind it—
The water turned thick and reddish, clearly having scraped away the thin soil of the valley, making it murky and heavy.
The three-meter drainage tunnel Yoru had designed had been calculated at twice the maximum flow of that tributary.
The water pouring out now matched the intensity of a storm-driven flash flood.
That was the terrifying part of a barrier lake—
The sheer volume it could accumulate.
If this had not been controlled release through a tunnel—
If the dam had collapsed outright—
That initial surge would have swallowed Jiusen Village whole.
Even now—
The situation was far from safe.
The vigilant village chief quickly noticed that the flood was still rising.
It showed signs of engulfing the entire village.
He didn't hesitate.
Grabbing his rounded iron fork, he struck it forcefully.
Amid the roaring flood, only the sharp metallic clang could cut through and alert everyone.
Under his urging, the villagers abandoned all thoughts of money or possessions.
They grabbed their families and whatever food they could carry—
And fled uphill.
Jiusen Village was built halfway up the slope.
The terrain forced the roads into zigzag paths, with houses lined along the inner side in three tiers.
The height difference was enormous.
The top row stood nearly fifty meters above the bottom.
All villagers gathered there.
…
Soon—
The flood reached the village.
The first row of houses was swept away one after another.
Women cried out in despair.
But when the flood reached the first bend of the zigzag road—
The men also let out unwilling, anguished roars.
That was where the timber stockpile lay.
Stacks of logs—
Worth more than all the village houses combined.
Even as the rise of the flood began to slow—
No one dared go down to save the wood.
They had seen it with their own eyes—
Houses they had built with their own hands—
Rocks that human strength could never move—
All crushed and swept away by the flood.
How could flesh and blood resist that?
Anyone who went—
Would die.
…
Just as despair settled over the village—
A figure suddenly burst out of the flood.
Uchiha Yoru had endured the torrent for five full hours.
He had smashed through countless rocks.
Broken through endless debris.
At last—
He reached a wider stretch of river where the current slowed.
And that place—
Was Jiusen Village.
Without hesitation, he extended his body, straightened his limbs, and used the momentum of the current to launch himself out like a flying fish.
He flipped lightly in the air—
And landed on solid ground.
The moment he sensed something was wrong, he turned his gaze.
He saw the piled logs against the cliff.
He heard the villagers' desperate cries from above.
And instantly—
Understood everything.
Miwa Masayo understood as well.
"Are we stepping in, meow?"
Yoru nodded.
"We are."
"This is within my capability."
"And right now—my state of mind matters more than anything."
"At worst, I'll spend some effort afterward to deal with their memories."
"There are only about four hundred people in the village."
"Four hundred isn't a lot, meow?!"
"If we were killing four hundred people, then yes, that's not many."
"But erasing memories is the same thing, meow?"
"Killing takes only a few—or at most a dozen—techniques."
"But wiping memories?"
"You'd exhaust yourself to death. Even with your three-tomoe Sharingan being stronger than other Uchiha, it's impossible!"
"Impossible, meow!!"
Yoru smiled.
His hands began to form seals.
Not fast.
Because he was mobilizing both chakra and natural energy, and to avoid mixing them prematurely, he had to slow down.
The fusion into senjutsu chakra—
Happening outside his body—
Could never be rushed.
"Miwa Masayo, you misunderstood."
"I'm not planning to erase the memories of four hundred people."
"I just need to give them a suggestion."
"Immortal Art—"
"Ten-Thousand-Mile Stone Flow Wall."
The earth trembled.
From beneath Yoru's feet—
Stone surged outward.
Then bent upward—
Growing into a massive granite barrier suspended in midair.
The wall stretched left and right—
Extending beyond the limits of sight.
As if it spanned the entire canyon.
The suspended dam stood firm.
Facing the raging flood—
It did not tremble in the slightest.
Though it was thin compared to a true mountain—
It stood like one.
Forcing back the rising waters.
Shielding the village behind it completely.
…
This—
Was the power Uchiha Yoru could display with his feet planted firmly on the earth.
Completely different from the helpless state he had been in while tumbling through the flood.
The contrast—
Was overwhelming.
High on the slope—
The villagers of Jiusen Village witnessed this display.
Their cries fell silent.
Every single one of them was stunned.
Before their eyes—
A human had suppressed the might of nature itself.
A miracle.
They stood frozen, unable to speak.
Only the well-traveled village chief murmured hoarsely—
"A ninja…"
"…is as powerful as a god…"
"It's fortunate we treated him with enough respect…"
"And fortunate this Konoha ninja is kind-hearted…"
"But I can't rely on kindness alone…"
"I have to do something…"
"I must do something…"
"The mission…"
"Yes—the mission!"
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