"Intentionally causing harm..."
Ryuji's brows knitted together tightly.
He didn't know what happened between Jiraiya and the Kagero Clan, but judging from Jiraiya's writings, he could tell Jiraiya had complicated feelings towards the Kagero Clan.
But there was definitely no hatred among them.
Yet now, Kana said the Kagero Clan wanted to harm Jiraiya. He was a bit confused.
"You've read Jiraiya's novel about the Kagero Clan, right?" Kana said, looking at the scenery below.
"Mm."
"Actually, the descriptions of the Kagero Clan in that book are all true."
"True?"
Ryuji's frown deepened.
He remembered very clearly: the book's content was described like this: the protagonist travels to this beautiful, secluded place and meets six beauties. Each is born with a naturally seductive charm, stunningly beautiful. Each falls for him at first sight, even competing for his affection, jealous of each other.
All sorts of seductive tactics were used, even escalating to physical fights.
Frankly, when Ryuji read that part, he almost wanted to drop the book.
Because this kind of plot wasn't even used on Webnovel ten years ago in his past life.
Not only vulgar, but also too much wish-fulfillment, belittling women as too vulgar and lustful.
But now Kana said it was all true. He found it very hard to believe.
Because he couldn't see any trace of the Kagero Clan's nature as described in the book from Kana.
He initially thought it was just Jiraiya adding adult content to attract readers.
But thinking about it now, perhaps Kana was unique.
However, that wasn't the answer.
"In his novel, Jiraiya used the protagonist's romantic encounters to downplay the Kagero Clan's malice towards him. But what about the real situation?" Kana said self-mockingly, "There were no romantic encounters. No one falls in love at first sight with someone who is neither handsome nor proper. But everyone's first reaction upon seeing him was to want to have relations with him."
At this point, Kana glanced at Ryuji, whose brows were almost knotted together, and couldn't help but smile. She continued, "Don't get the wrong idea. The women of the Kagero Clan are born with seductive charm, not born wanton. My aunts reacted that way purely for the sake of the clan's continuation."
"Clan continuation?"
"Right, clan continuation." Kana seemed to have decided to reveal all the secrets, letting out a long sigh. "By my generation, the Kagero Clan only has one person left."
Hearing this, Ryuji's brows relaxed.
He roughly understood.
The Kagero Clan's special constitution destined the men who loved them to have only one night of passion.
But not everyone in the world is a sharpshooter; how can one hit the target with just one shot?
If a Kagero Clan's woman doesn't conceive the first time she is with her beloved, it means the clan will lose a man.
Even if she does conceive, having only one child merely maintains the population.
In the long run, not only would females far outnumber males, but the overall population would keep declining.
It was a clan destined for extinction.
"Several hundred years ago, the clansfolk didn't want to harm others, so they chose seclusion deep in the mountains. But because of the special constitution, the clan grew fewer and fewer. By my mother's generation, only seven people remained, and I was the only child born. To continue the clan, they abandoned their wish not to harm others and targeted Jiraiya when he accidentally arrived at our clan's land."
Kana's words confirmed Ryuji's speculation.
He felt a sense of reflection about this.
Reproducing offspring is a biological instinct. That's why humans form families, develop further interpersonal relationships, and concepts like nations and races emerge. Even Shinobi, whose profession is killing, feel joy and warmth from having family and friends.
Precisely because of this, Ryuji, who could have relied solely on puppets, still chose to help the village.
Because this was the place that gave birth to him and raised him.
As long as he existed as a human, he would still possess such feelings.
"So, the story about 'learning about the exciting outside world from Jiraiya and secretly running away' was also a lie?"
"Not entirely a lie." Kana swung her slightly plump legs. "My aunts wanted to conceive children through Jiraiya, so they tried all sorts of methods. But Jiraiya was someone with a lecherous heart but no guts… full of flirty talk, but when it came to actual action, he wouldn't cross the line. They were forced to resort to violence."
'He wasn't just a lecher without guts; he gave his heart to a woman named Tsunade.'
Ryuji thought sarcastically to himself, but his face showed no change, speaking calmly, "In the end, your aunts lost, right?"
"Yes." Kana nodded. "To me as a child back then, those aunts were invincible powerhouses. But they were defeated by Jiraiya as if he were toying with them."
At this point, the girl showed a smile, as if remembering something happy.
Combined with Jiraiya's improper personality, Ryuji guessed the fight was probably similar to the comedic scenes in the original anime.
"In that fight, Jiraiya displayed strength beyond my understanding. It also made me realize how vast the world is, filling me with anticipation for the outside world..." Kana's smile gradually froze, then completely sank. "But that fight also made me feel the insignificance of our clan. From then on, I secretly vowed to find a way to save the clan."
"..." Ryuji remained silent.
Although he couldn't empathize completely, from the girl's words, he could somewhat understand her feelings.
Several women... beautiful women born with seductive charm, exhausting various methods to have relations with a man for the sake of the clan's continuation, even resorting to violence, yet still failing.
It was undoubtedly tragic.
But as a former enemy, now an unrelated party, he couldn't say anything comforting. He just instinctively asked based on the girl's words, "So you came out to find a man?"
Kana turned her head, staring intently at Ryuji.
Ryuji felt nothing, silently meeting her gaze, indifferent to the killing intent in her eyes.
After a moment, the girl conceded.
"If you put it that way, it's not entirely wrong." Kana let out a long breath, lowered her head, looking at the clouds passing beneath her feet, her face full of loneliness. "Although I wanted to solve the problem at its root, after over two years out here, I haven't found any solution. If I still can't find one by the time I'm older, I'll probably have to first find someone I like, have children, and then consider other options."
"Is that so..."
Ryuji responded, then fell silent.
"Anyway, thank you for sparing my life."
Kana stood up, patting the dust off her buttocks as she said, "If you ever need my help in the future, come find me. For the sake of your kindness this time, I'll do my best to help you."
Finished, she took out a crimson paper crane from her bust and handed it over. "This is a communication paper crane made with the Kagero Clan's secret technique, stained with my blood. Activate it with Chakra, and it will lead you to me."
"Blood?" Ryuji instinctively stepped back half a step, then glanced at the red paper crane. "Are you sure it's not poisonous?"
"..." Kana seemed to want to speak but stopped.
She opened her mouth, ultimately suppressing the urge to curse him out, took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
"No."
"What if you fall in love? Will it become poisonous then?"
"You..."
"I understand."
On the verge of the girl's outburst, Ryuji accepted the paper crane, then threw it like a paper airplane.
Kana stared dumbfounded at the drifting red paper crane, her gaze following it until it disappeared from sight, then she came back to her senses.
"Ryuji!"
Kana glared angrily at the man, especially seeing his indifferent expression, making the anger in her chest even harder to suppress, her ample chest heaving.
She really wanted to punch this guy.
But remembering she was no match and charging forward would likely get her beaten up by this clueless man, she lowered the hand she had raised.
"Hah~"
She took a deep breath to calm her furious mood.
'Calm, calm, be calm...'
Kana comforted herself like this, and truly calmed down.
She slowly exhaled, then looked calmly at Ryuji, giving him a deep bow. "I was rude just now. Please forgive me. If you don't mind, please send me down now."
"Have you thought about where to go?"
"That question..."
"If you want to solve the Kagero Clan's constitution problem, you won't return to the deep mountains, right?"
"This is my..."
"You're from the Kagero Clan, and you joined Shimogakure midway. Without acquaintances, no other Shinobi Village will take you in."
"This is my own business. You don't need to concern yourself."
Having been interrupted multiple times, the girl finally couldn't hold back, quickly finishing her sentence in one breath, then looking at him coldly.
But Ryuji acted as if he didn't hear the girl's words, continuing on his own, "Have you considered staying in Sunagakure?"
"Sunagakure..."
The girl's expression became serious, staring blankly.
Then, she thought of something, her eyes moistening on their own.
She covered her forehead, lowered her head, not wanting the person before her to see her loss of composure.
She tried hard to calm her mood, taking a while to adjust.
She raised her head, about to refuse, but just as she said "Thank," she was interrupted again.
"So women are so emotional!" Ryuji said indifferently. "I'm only offering to take you in because I value your worth."
'Worth?'
Kana's hard-won calm heart became chaotic again.
Indeed, as a Sensor-type Shinobi, she had great strategic value.
But because of the Kagero Clan's constitution, she was also a ticking time bomb.
In the two years since joining Shimogakure, aside from the three teammates who gained trust through missions together, everyone else in the village kept her at a distance.
Slander, fear, curses... at first, it was just gossip behind her back. Later, seeing she didn't speak up, they cursed her openly.
They cursed her as the Kagero Clan's wanton woman, cursed her as a scourge, wished she would never find a man in her lifetime, telling her to get lost quickly.
But bearing the mission to save the clan, Kana endured it all.
Such a her… actually being told 'you're being taken in because you have value'…
If she truly had that much value, Shimogakure wouldn't have refused to ransom her.