Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 131 Old Purple

After settling the guests from the Bird Kingdom in, Jinlun went to the village office, where he looked through official documents and asked more sensitive questions.

"I didn't have a chance to ask you earlier, what's your name?"

"My name is Batur! Lord Golden Wheel."

Jinlun smiled and gestured for him to sit down, saying, "It's a very nice name. Batur, don't be so formal, relax, just treat me as your friend."

Although Batur sat down, he sat very upright, not at all relaxed. Jinlun didn't insist, flipping through official documents and records while casually inquiring about the village's recent situation. Batur knew Jinlun from written records; things he wouldn't have dared to think of or do in his life, Jinlun dared to say and do, and constantly guided the team to do better.

Only under Hui's leadership can he live like a human being.

"Has things been a bit unsettled around here lately?" Just as Batur was relaxing and getting into the swing of things, Lord Jinlun's sudden question startled him again.

He thought it was already outrageous that they could tell the growth of the hemp fields and the changes in soil quality in such a short time from arrival to entering the village. He never expected that they could even guess this.

"It's actually very simple. I passed by the place where you raise camels and checked the records again. I found that one camel was missing." Jinlun saw the little guy's panic and explained, "If it's for transporting goods, one camel is far too few. Besides, Moyu and Yuzhi are not here. Something must have happened."

Batur's admiration deepened, and he honestly replied, "It is indeed a matter that is neither too big nor too small."

"Little Tuna is lost."

"The child is missing?" Jinlun's brows furrowed immediately. "Where is he missing? How many days has he been missing?"

“She got lost yesterday when we went to the market in town. It would have been easier to find her if she had been lost near the village,” Batur sighed. “Little Tuna is the cutest child in the village, and she’s always so excited to go to town. We reported it to the authorities, but we ran into several other parents looking for their children at the government office. There are so many people coming and going at the border; it’s really hard to find someone who’s lost…”

Lord Jinlun gently patted Batur on the shoulder and said, "Aren't we already trying to find them? Don't be discouraged, I'll help too. I've never been here before, so I'm not familiar with the situation. Do people go missing often?"

“Our village used to be very isolated and didn’t communicate much with the outside world, so I don’t know anything about it.”

It was indeed inappropriate to burden a village lad with information that even the intelligence department hadn't obtained. Jinlun didn't ask any more of those kinds of questions, but instead inquired about the details of the child's disappearance and what the child looked like. Batur pulled out a photo album from the bookshelf, filled with black and white photographs.

"This was Ms. Yuzhi's idea. She said she wanted to record everyone's most beautiful moments. She took many photos of each child, and she took one to the authorities and to make a missing person notice. But I remember there should be more... I found them." Batur turned to one of the pages. A little girl with her eyes almost hidden from smiling was comparing her height with a stalk of Apocynum venetum. Although the little girl was a bit short, the happiness on her face overflowed from the photo, making the viewer smile involuntarily.

"She will come back," Lord Jinlun said confidently, stroking the little girl's round face.

Early the next morning, Batur, still half asleep, led Lord Jinlun to a monk who had settled in the village. Strangely enough, almost the entire village had come out to join the commotion the day before, but he just couldn't remember whether Lao Zi had shown up or not.

"You go ahead and get busy, Batur. Thank you for keeping me company while I work overtime for so long."

"It's no trouble at all! Lord Jinlun, you can come to me anytime!"

Batur left full of energy, showing no signs of having tossed and turned all night without a wink of sleep.

Jinlun exclaimed, "He really is a young man; his energy is truly boundless."

"Mr. Jinlun looks about the same age as him, doesn't he?" the red-haired monk joked.

Old Zi knew this day would come, but he hadn't expected the newcomer to be so young. He stayed because he had witnessed the immense power behind those three outside ninjas and wanted to find out their background. But he truly hadn't imagined that there were actually people in this world who would work so hard to improve the lives of ordinary people in remote mountain villages.

This was a barren land, neglected even by the official authorities of the Land of Earth, yet somehow the villagers managed to cultivate wild hemp covering the mountains and fields. With this, they wove special hemp cloth, dried precious medicinal herbs, and the entire village's quality of life skyrocketed, finally ending their days of hunger. Moreover, whenever the East Wind caravan passed through, they would always make a special detour to the village, buying up the vast majority of the wild hemp leaves and woven cloth at a very fair price. They could also barter for grain and goods from various regions. Therefore, to this day, the Land of Earth remains unaware that the fabrics so popular among the nobility actually originated from this small place.

The longer he stayed here, the less wary he became. He had no intention of disturbing the peace and even considered living as a hermit in the countryside. He knew very well what would happen if the nobles discovered this place; he had already witnessed countless tragedies.

However, he had an identity he could not escape, an identity that would follow him like a shadow until the moment of death.

He is the Four-Tails Jinchuriki of Iwagakure, Rōshi.

Han and he still had some connection; the two had forged a deep friendship during the Third Shinobi World War, facing life and death together. Therefore, he gradually learned about a special merchant caravan, Dongfeng, which originated in the Land of Craftsmen's maritime trade and gradually expanded to land transport. Given the familiarity the three visiting ninjas had with the Dongfeng caravan, it was clear that Dongfeng was not just a transport fleet; it was also quietly sourcing production areas, raw materials, and processing, creating them out of thin air if necessary. Old Purple didn't understand economics or supply chains, but he could see the enormous manpower and resources required for this business. Moreover, both the caravan leader and the dispatched ninjas were all exceptionally skilled, at least at the Jonin level. To suppress a free organization with so many ninjas, its leader must be more than just a strategist; Kinrin or his most loyal subordinates must be incredibly powerful ninjas. Since they were in the ninja world, discovering his identity was only a matter of time.

Just yesterday, Lao Zi confirmed that the powerful figure was indeed Jinlun himself, and that he came alone without any subordinates.

"Hello, Mr. Old Purple, I apologize for disturbing you. I am the leader of Dongfeng, Namikaze Kinrin."

No matter how many times he heard that surname, Old Zi would instinctively feel a slight tremor in his heart. The hair and eye color of the person in front of him had nothing in common with the Namikaze in his memory, although the face shape was somewhat similar, but he was certain that this person was not that dead legend.

Because Jinlun was unleashing his chakra without any concealment, to the point that even Jinchūriki felt slightly pressured.

"Hello. Would you mind having breakfast together?" Old Zi shook hands warmly and stepped out the door.