Naruto: My Hiddden Village-Chapter 42: Cooperation Offer

"Is that true, Tsubasa?" Ozora asked with clear confusion, his eyebrows furrowing as he heard the surprising fact from his younger brother.

"Is that true, Tsubasa-sama?" Kyoya asked in a surprised tone that he rarely showed.

"Wow, if that's true, I'm really curious who would dare to live in a place like this?" Ginga chimed in with a burning curiosity.

Meanwhile, Benkei remained silent, looking a little dazed and pale; the near-death experience of falling freely earlier still traumatized him a bit.

"Well, yes, it's true, I sensed a lot of strong human chakra down there earlier," Tsubasa explained calmly, confirming his surprising discovery. "Quite a number of them, maybe hundreds."

After that, they discussed briefly, carefully considering their next steps.

Following the discussion, they unanimously agreed to further investigate the situation in the forbidden valley.

Tsubasa once again coated himself and his friends with a layer of dark black 'Venom' chakra.

Calmly, they then pierced the ground at the edge of the ravine and moved back towards the depths of the mysterious valley.

Arriving at the bottom of the valley, which looked gloomy but had its own allure, Tsubasa released 'Venom' from their bodies.

They landed smoothly on the damp and mossy ground.

They walked openly, without trying to hide their presence from the inhabitants of the forbidden valley.

Tsubasa wanted to show that they came with good intentions and only wanted to know more about this hidden community.

Not long after, they arrived near what seemed to be a settlement of the valley's inhabitants.

Thin smoke billowed from several simple-looking huts within the village.

Suddenly, their group was immediately surrounded by many people who emerged from behind trees and huts.

They looked surprised but also wary of the arrival of strangers in their territory.

However, Tsubasa and his team were not afraid in the slightest.

They remained calm and showed a friendly attitude, as they indeed came with good intentions and genuine curiosity.

"Excuse me everyone, did our arrival disturb your peace? May we visit your village for a moment?" Ozora asked politely, taking the initiative as the current group leader.

He put on a friendly smile, trying to make a good impression on the people across from them.

Tsubasa deliberately gave his older brother the opportunity to lead the conversation, while he would act as support and observer, ready to act if the situation turned unfriendly.

A middle-aged man with a sharp gaze and a strong aura of leadership stepped forward from the crowd of villagers.

"Who are you?" he asked in a wary but not rude tone.

He observed Tsubasa's group from head to toe, trying to figure out the purpose of their arrival.

"Why have you suddenly appeared in our territory?" The man was clearly the leader of this group, and he showed a natural wariness towards strangers who suddenly appeared in their territory, which had been isolated from the outside world for so long.

"Please forgive us for not introducing ourselves earlier," Ozora replied with a friendly and apologetic tone. "We are from the Takagami clan. You may not have heard of it, but that's alright. Regarding the purpose of our arrival, I will gladly explain." Ozora took a breath before continuing his explanation.

"We are tracking a very rare white eagle with silvery-blue feathers on its wings. That eagle has a unique ability to use lightning element chakra to accelerate its movements. Have you ever seen it around this valley? Oh yes, before that, may we know the name of your group or clan?" Ozora asked politely, trying to build good communication.

The man seemed to think for a moment, weighing the answer he would give.

He glanced at the other members of his clan, as if seeking unspoken approval. "Oh... you're looking for that bird. A group of birds with those characteristics are often seen nesting on the cliff over there. Do you intend to capture it?" The leader pointed towards a high cliff towering in the distance, confirming the information about the eagle they were looking for.

"As for our clan's name, we are the Chinoike clan," the leader continued, finally revealing the name of their clan, which might have disappeared from the history of the ninja world.

'So they're the Chinoike clan...' Tsubasa thought to himself.

He briefly recalled information about the clan that possessed a unique and terrifying eye Kekkei Genkai, eyes known as the 'Ketsuryugan'.

"Thank you very much for the information," Ozora said politely, bowing his body slightly as a sign of respect. "Would your group mind receiving outside guests like us? If you object, then we will immediately continue our search and will not bother you any longer."

After a moment of silence, the Chinoike clan members whispered and discussed among themselves in low voices.

They seemed to be considering Ozora's offer and debating what they should do.

Finally, their leader spoke to Ozora again in a more open tone. "Alright, you may enter our village and rest for a moment, as long as you do not come with bad intentions and do not threaten our safety."

"Besides that, we also want to ask about the current situation in the ninja world, because it has been a very long time since any outsiders came to this valley," the leader continued.

The Chinoike clan's decision to accept them showed their great curiosity about the outside world after years of living in isolation and cut off from civilization.

They might have felt lonely and longed for information about what was happening outside their valley.

The leader then welcomed them with a friendly hand gesture to enter the Chinoike clan's settlement.

They were led to a house that was quite simple but looked neat and clean among the other houses.

Apparently, that house was the residence of the clan leader.

After they sat down on clean straw mats, the Chinoike clan members began to ask various questions about the situation in the ninja world.

They asked if wars were still frequent like when they were active in the outside world decades ago.

They also asked about news of the Uchiha clan, showing their concern for the clan that had once exiled them to this valley.

Then, the Chinoike clan leader recounted in a sad tone the reason why they were forced to live in this forbidden valley.

Long ago, the Land of Lightning's daimyo's wife became very jealous of the daimyo's new wife, who was a member of the Chinoike clan, because of her beauty.

The jealous daimyo's wife then framed the Chinoike clan with false accusations and exiled them to this remote valley by hiring the Uchiha clan to attack and forcibly drive them out.

That was why they were very worried about the current situation of the Uchiha clan.

Next, it was the Yorozuya group's turn to provide an explanation.

Ozora then began to explain the current situation of the ninja world according to his knowledge.

He recounted the fact that almost the entire ninja world was still in the Sengoku period as before, with various inter-clan wars continuing to occur.

He also explained that the Uchiha clan was still constantly at odds with the Senju clan as they had been since ancient times, without any significant signs of peace.

As they were talking and exchanging information, the Chinoike clan leader's wife had prepared simple drinks and food for their guests.

However, Tsubasa's group was a little surprised to see that all the drinks and food were a deep reddish color, looking like they used water from the valley's river, which was the color of blood.

Seeing this, Tsubasa's group frowned slightly and exchanged glances with expressions of uncertainty.

The deep red color of the food and drinks looked unappetizing and raised some doubts about their cleanliness.

Meanwhile, the Chinoike clan members looked a little embarrassed and uncomfortable with their situation.

They realized that what they could serve as a meal for guests from the outside world was somewhat below the standard of food out there.

"Please forgive us everyone, this is the best we can serve you," said the clan leader in an apologetic tone. "If you can't eat it, we will understand and will not force you—"

However, he stopped speaking because he saw Tsubasa had already taken and was eating the food served in front of him with relish.

Tsubasa even looked like he was enjoying his meal.

The clan leader was surprised to see that Tsubasa didn't mind their simple, red-colored food at all.

"Friends, as guests, we must respect our hosts by eating the food they have served with gratitude," Tsubasa said with a smile after taking a sip of his drink, which was also red.

Then he continued in a wise tone, "Besides, maybe you have been too comfortable all this time and haven't experienced the difficulties that others face. Perhaps by being here, you can appreciate what you have more." Tsubasa's wise and understanding words made the atmosphere, which had been a bit tense, become more relaxed and warm.

Then, Tsubasa continued eating heartily, showing his acceptance and sincere respect for the Chinoike clan and their circumstances.

In the end, Ozora, Kyoya, Benkei, and Ginga also joined in eating, although with a bit of initial hesitation.

They followed Tsubasa's lead and tried to appreciate their hosts' hospitality.

After they finished eating, the Chinoike clan members looked at them more kindly and gratefully.

However, Tsubasa also had an important question he wanted to ask this clan. "Have you never thought about leaving this valley and returning to the wider ninja world?" he asked in a serious tone.

"Initially, we really wanted to return to our home," explained the Chinoike clan leader in a sad tone, "but we are very worried that our clan will still be the target of revenge from the new Land of Lightning daimyo. We fear our group will be completely wiped out after we return to the ninja world."

The trauma of the past was still clearly etched in their hearts and made them afraid to take the risk.

"Oh... I see," Tsubasa replied in an understanding and empathetic tone.

Then, he made an unexpected offer. "To thank you for giving us information about the group of eagles earlier, would you all mind if we held a big feast in this village tonight? You must have not eaten delicious food from the outside world in a very long time, right?"

The offer of a feast was Tsubasa's way of thanking them for the information they provided, and it was also a clever way to establish a closer, more friendly relationship with the Chinoike clan.

After hearing Tsubasa's surprising and kind words, the Chinoike clan finally couldn't refuse this generous offer.

They looked at each other with joyful expressions and agreed with great gratitude.

That night, they all held a lively feast in the middle of the forbidden valley.

An atmosphere of closeness, joy, and warmth was created between these two newly met groups.

A group of Tsubasa's shadow clones swiftly acted as impromptu chefs, preparing various delicious dishes they had never tasted before.

The appetizing aroma of the cooking spread throughout the settlement.

The Chinoike clan ate the food made by Tsubasa's clones very heartily, as if they were possessed by a very hungry Saiyan.

It was only natural, as it had been a very long time since they had tasted such delicious food after years of living secluded in the valley.

During the party that lasted until late at night, Tsubasa's group and the Chinoike clan became increasingly close to each other.

They introduced each other's names, shared stories, and laughed together.

The name of the Chinoike clan leader was Chinoike Hiiro, and his friendly wife was named Chinoike Kyoka.

This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.

In the midst of the festive atmosphere, Tsubasa asked Hiiro if the Chinoike clan had any other special skills besides their ninja abilities.

Hiiro proudly replied that their clan was quite skilled in forging swords or ninja equipment of very high quality.

Because their eyes had the ability to control iron in liquid form like blood, their eyes could also help control molten iron with extraordinary precision and shape it into various sharp weapons such as swords, kunai, and shuriken with an incredible level of accuracy.

Hearing this, Tsubasa's eyes sparkled with interest.

He saw great potential in the weapon forging skills possessed by the Chinoike clan.

This could be a very valuable asset for his village in the future.

Then, in a serious but friendly tone, he made an offer that might change the future of the clan.

Because they were not yet ready to return to the dangerous ninja world, Tsubasa offered to make them the exclusive weapon suppliers for the Takagami clan and his ninja village that he was building.

In return, his group would regularly exchange those high-quality weapons for daily necessities such as food, spices, and medicines that were difficult for the Chinoike clan to obtain in this remote valley.

He did not offer money as a medium of exchange in this transaction, as money was almost useless to them in such a remote place.

In the end, after discussing among themselves for a moment, the Chinoike clan happily agreed to the profitable offer from Tsubasa.

A mutually beneficial cooperation agreement was firmly established between the Takagami clan and the Chinoike clan on that night full of camaraderie.

Tsubasa felt very happy and satisfied that he had found a new ally who had the potential to be very useful in strengthening his village in the future.

The party lasted until late at night under the moonlight and dancing torches, filled with cheerful laughter, interesting stories, and high hopes for a better future for these two different groups.