At the forest's edge, blinding flashes of firelight erupted intermittently.
Twisted tree shadows stretched nacingly across the ground. They resembled monsters lurking within the forest.
The dull explosions grew closer and closer to Haruki and his two companions. It felt as if they were right on top of them.
Each ti an explosion sounded, the ground beneath their feet trembled slightly. The sll of gunpowder in the air grew increasingly thick and acrid.
Haruki, Nagato, and Aoki had already left the quiet town and entered the gloomy forest.
The forest was dense, and the night air was even more damp and cold, with an increasingly strong scent of blood perating the air. The sll of blood reminded Haruki and his two companions that they were getting closer to the battlefield ahead.
Haruki and his companions were only there to observe, not to participate in the battle, so every movent was exceptionally cautious. They made no sound, not even their breathing was audible.
Gigantic tree canopies intertwined above their heads, forming a relatively concealed barrier, but also making the light beneath the trees extrely dim.
Aoki's face was taut. From the mont he entered the forest, he was like a tightly strung bowstring, constantly ready to react to sudden attacks.
Nagato's Rinnegan scanned his surroundings. He followed behind Haruki like a shadow.
Haruki stared intently ahead, his fingers gently caressing his ring. A faint black mist swirled around his ring, but due to the extre darkness in the forest, Aoki and Nagato did not notice it.
The further they went, the more complex and nauseating the strange odors in the air beca.
The sll of gunpowder, burning, blood...
These scents perated the air, lingering and relentlessly entering their nostrils.
Haruki's body stiffened, and he stopped walking. He crouched down, and Aoki and Nagato crouched beside him.
He leaned forward, carefully parting a dense clump of bushes in front of them that completely obscured their figures.
The scene before them, viewed through the narrow gaps in the bushes, ca into the sight of Haruki and his two companions.
The forest ended here. Ahead was a relatively open area, which had been utterly destroyed. Huge craters were visible everywhere, with wisps of smoke still rising from their edges.
Broken trees lay scattered in disarray, so still burning, emitting orange-red flas that illuminated the rapidly moving figures all around.
This was the edge of the Iwagakure and Konoha battlefield.
Everywhere Haruki and his two companions looked, there were corpses.
Ninjas wearing Iwagakure's brown armor and ninjas wearing Konoha's green armor lay in various twisted postures on the ground, in craters, on broken trees...
Blood soaked the earth. Dismbered limbs were everywhere, and even unrecognizable fragnts of flesh and blood could be seen.
The aura of death pressed down on this battlefield like a mountain, making it difficult to breathe.
Further away, the battle continued. Kunai and shuriken ripped through the air, flying and emitting sharp shrieks.
Explosive tags detonated without warning across the battlefield, the shockwaves almost strong enough to knock people off their feet.
Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!
A massive earth wall rose with a roar. It blocked a dense volley of shuriken attacks. But it didn't last even a minute before being shattered by a violent Lightning Release Ninjutsu, sending debris flying.
Haruki and his two companions, hiding behind the bushes, squinted and raised their arms to shield themselves. The surging shockwaves kicked up gravel, which flew in all directions like bullets.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!
A fireball roared past, sparks landing on the corpses along its path, and flas imdiately shot up, igniting the bodies and simultaneously engulfing an Iwa ninja who was too slow to dodge.
Piercing screams echoed across the battlefield.
Nagato's pupils contracted violently. Everything happening before him was reflected in his eyes. His fingers unconsciously dug deeply into the mud beneath him, his knuckles turning white from the effort. His face, illuminated by the firelight, beca as pale as paper.
This was the first ti Nagato had witnessed a battlefield still in the throes of combat.
When the Land of Rain was not yet at peace, the wars that broke out were small-scale. As a wandering orphan, Nagato always hastily avoided wars, sotis glancing inadvertently, but besides seeing the warring ninjas, he dared not look further and quickly left.
This was the first ti he had seen a large-scale war so clearly and at such close range.
Such violent death and destruction made his stomach churn. He was on the verge of vomiting, but he forcibly held it back.
His Rinnegan trembled violently, reflecting the bloody carnage before him. Imnse shock and discomfort assailed his heart.
After an unknown period of daze, a deep sense of compassion and pain swept over Nagato's entire body.
Was this the kind of war Haruki had participated in?
Such a terrifying, cruel, and painful war!
No wonder Haruki was so determined to create a peaceful world. This world full of war was simply unbearable to live in.
Aoki looked at everything before him, it was all too familiar. He, too, was once one of these people.
Pain and hatred intertwined in Aoki's eyes.
Haruki scanned the nearby ground with his eyes. He saw a young Konoha ninja not far away, probably only in his teens, his abdon sliced open by sothing sharp, his intestines spilling out. He wasn't completely dead yet, his body twitching slightly, and blood gushed from beneath him.
A cold, strong hand grabbed Nagato's wrist. Nagato sharply snapped out of his trance from the horrific scene. He looked at the hand that had grabbed his arm.
It was Haruki.
Haruki, at so unknown point, was intently watching him, his expression grave, his face serious.
"Haruki?" Nagato's voice was extrely low.
Aoki noticed their actions. His gaze quickly fell on Haruki.
Seeing Haruki's expression, a bad premonition flashed through Aoki's mind.
"What do you want to do?" Aoki asked Haruki in a hushed voice.
His pupils trembled with tension, as if Haruki was about to say sothing that would fill him with dread.
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