When I realized something huge was approaching, it was too late to leave.
The Konoha ninjas, who felt like they were above the mountain-like monster, were on guard back to back.
A few minutes later, the expected attack did not come, and the black shadow under the water did not leave. Instead, a strange long neck and strange head appeared on the surface of the water. After opening it, several people in very simple clothes walked out of it. type creature.
"Looks like a human!"
"What does it look like? It is!"
Yayoi whispered, and Xiaoxi made a very definite judgment.
Baiyun Yeshan's hand on the sword behind his back tightened. Bai hid one hand, ready to attack with ice escape at any time.
"Are you the ones inquiring about Dragon Palace City?"
A man with long algae-green hair who looked like a leader came out of the crowd and looked at the appearance of several people.
"A grown-up and three children, if they stumble into this place by mistake, they just need to be honest. Do they still want to do anything extraordinary?"
The contempt in his tone was palpable, and even from a distance, the Konoha ninjas could hear the strong disdain.
"We are indeed from the outside world, but we are not malicious. We are just entrusted by others to investigate the strange stories of mermaids near the Kingdom of Waves. Otherwise, it is true."
"The Country of Waves? I seem to have heard of it, but I can't remember clearly."
The leader thought about it secretly for a while and muttered to himself.
"Seeing as you don't have the ability to cause trouble, let's just go with me and explain the whole story clearly, and then I'll send you out."
"No, no, we have a place to stay. The mayor of Zuodu Island warmly entertained us."
Poof!
The leading man couldn't help laughing after hearing Baiyun Yeshan's words.
"Do you think that fat guy with a knife hidden in his smile is a good person? If I hadn't found out your details, you would have been captured last night. How can there be so many people who are nice to you for no reason in this world!"
They provided accommodation and food, and without receiving any reward, they revealed all the precious information.
Even in this isolated place, innocence has its limits.
"Are you saying that Mr. Shiranui has malicious intentions? Do you have any evidence? He slandered others just after we met..."
"Slander? Haha..."
Unbridled laughter came and went, as if Baiyun Yeshan had told some outrageous joke.
"This world is all the territory of Dragon Palace City. Zuodu Island is a 'garbage dump', a settlement built by all the abandoned criminals and bandits. If there is nothing wrong, serious people will not go there. Use your heels. Just imagine, what kind of good people can you find in a severe punishment prison? Isn’t the elected ‘prison leader’ the bad guy among the bad guys? Some people actually think that those guys are kind-hearted and laugh to death.”
"how come?"
Bai asked in shock,
"I see that the people there are working very hard, and there are many simple children."
"You guys, don't know how scary that island is!"
The leader spread his hands,
"Why do you think those hopeless guys stay on the island and live a peaceful life without running around?"
Without waiting for the Konoha ninjas to ask questions, the leader replied calmly:
"That island of exile is also called the Island of Forgottenness and the Island of Atonement. If you stay there for a long time, the memories of the past will gradually be forgotten. As you continue to forget, you will gradually no longer know what kind of person you once were. I can live my life as I am now, step by step. Zuodu Island is a very large stage, where thousands of people come to play the house drinking game based on the real experiences of thousands of people."
"how come?"
Because the time they came here was too short and they didn't have time to communicate in depth with the people there, the Konoha ninja group didn't find anything special. They just felt that everything on Zuodu Island was very comfortable.
"Conflicts will gradually be forgotten as time goes by. Doesn't it mean that there will be peace in nature?"
"You finally understand, this guy's reaction speed is pretty good..."
After a few glances at Bai Ji, who couldn't accept it, the leader Neng said sarcastically,
"The loving couple you see may have forgotten their enemies of life and death, and are good neighbors who are willing to do good. Maybe they were a big devil who killed countless people a few years ago..."
Amid bursts of ridicule, the Konoha ninjas were silent for a long time, and Baiyun Yeshan couldn't help but ask:
"Then...what is the role of the mayor?"
"Sheepdog! The townspeople are just domesticated and docile sheep. Suddenly, a few foreign sheep broke in. If they could stay, they might make their owners happy. Don't treat yourself like a sheep..."
"Then...who is the shepherd?"
Baiyun Yeshan asked in a deep voice, but was greeted with a few incomprehensible and perfunctory words.
"If you want to know, come with me! Lucky for you, you left the island after only one day, and you happened to meet a kind-hearted person like me on patrol."
The person who said that turned around and walked back to the giant beast's mouth.
"Believe it or not, it's up to you whether you want to follow me or not. If you want to go back to Zuodu Island, you are free to do so. Just bear the consequences."
Looking at the backs of several people leaving, the three genin looked at Baiyun Yeshan, waiting for the leading jounin to make a decision.
The sword-carrying ninja gritted his teeth, finally took a step forward to follow, and walked into the big mouth with sharp fangs, followed by three students.
After the giant beast's mouth closed and the light dimmed, the Konoha ninjas felt the ground beneath their feet sliding. After about ten seconds, the four of them regained their sight again and were already in a spacious corridor.
"Where is this? In the belly of a monster? It looks a bit like an underground secret laboratory."
Yayoi couldn't help but sigh.
The Konoha ninjas didn't expect that the inside would be like this.
"The cloud ninja has a giant turtle island whose location cannot be determined. There should be something similar here."
The well-informed Baiyun Yeshan thought for a while and then guessed,
"It's such a good thing."
Its value is definitely no less than that of a large psychic beast.
"What are you guys doing standing around stupidly? Follow us!"
Not far away, the man who had just called the Konoha ninjas in took off the coat he was wearing, revealing the scaly marks on his neck and arms.
Bai, who has outstanding observation skills, even saw webs between the fingers of the opponent holding the harpoon-like weapon, and then pulled Baiyun Yeshan's sleeve to signal the opponent's attention.
Baiyun Yeshan, who was also aware of it, asked curiously:
"Are you...the mermaids?"
"I don't know if this is what you are looking for, but if it refers to mermaids who can move on land and live in water, we should be the ones! Even if we also live in the sea, we are very different. We are considered to be the same as humans. I have relatively few interactions with them. I have heard before that some tribes have deep connections with humans on land, and even secretly hide among normal people, living a life of debauchery and debauchery, which is really the envy of others."
"You live in Dragon Palace City and also yearn for the outside world?"
"It would be great if we really had the final say in Dragon Palace City!"
As they were talking, several people passed through a hatch, and then saw huge fish monsters and sea beasts with brilliant lights on their bodies outside the translucent shell, heading in one direction.
"This is……"
"Oh, it's your first time seeing this. No wonder you are curious. The vortex channel is a waterway formed by the intersection of ocean currents and seafloor mountains. It is easier to walk from here. You see, everyone is moving in the same direction, just like the sea. The boats on board set their sails in the direction of the phase to take advantage of the wind."
"Are these all alive?"
"Of course, we finally tamed these big guys, fed them well, then modified their bodies without affecting their vitality, and mounted some peripherals, and it became what it is now. You land humans are not taming wild beasts. Is it for your own use? Why are you making such a fuss?"
"This is too big. If it is equipped with weapons, wouldn't it mean that it can roam the sea?"
"Where is this? It's too small! The real 'weapon-level' sea beasts are all controlled by the nobles of Dragon Palace City. They can only be used to patrol, carry people and pull goods, so it's no big deal."
"What does the weapons-grade one look like?"
Xiaoxi, who still didn't know the seriousness of the problem, asked curiously. The mermaid who led the way pointed to the dark and undulating sea bottom below. It seemed to be a mountain composed of several small hills, with small figures shuttled in the middle.
"That is!"
"Where is it? Why can't I find it?"
"Everything you see...is everything!"
"What?"
Before he finished speaking, he saw the "little earth bag" below suddenly swaying, and bubbles suddenly appeared on the nearby seafloor. Something the size of an island seemed to be aware of the movement outside, and after a slight surge, it lay still again. , allowing it to be covered by the mud from the seabed, the hills that a few people just saw were just a few bumps on its back.
"You guys actually have such a thing?"
Baiyun Yeshan sighed in disbelief.
I was comparing it to Giant Turtle Island just now, but unexpectedly I saw the real thing.
"Only senior 'deep divers' know how to cultivate that kind of thing. We are not qualified to covet it. It is said that there are more terrifying monsters, but I have never seen them. I don't know if they are true!"
"It's so big, what do you eat? All the nearby sea beasts are eaten, so you can't raise many, right?"
"So, most of the time, I sleep and save energy. Otherwise..."
The mermaid guide smiled.
In a normal world's ecosystem, it is impossible for a species to suddenly emerge with an almost crushing advantage. For example, such a large sea monster would be hard to find food to feed them.
Outside, there are not only behemoths, but also many "hitchhiking" fish, shrimps, turtles, and even a large octopus that looks quite powerful. It grabs the transparent shell with its suction cup and slowly crawls forward.
The IQ of this thing is not low. After looking at each other for a while through the translucent shell, it seemed that it had reached its destination before leaving "reluctantly".
"If you encounter this guy outside, run away quickly. Not only are they poisonous, they are also very smart and can eat a lot of people easily."
"So dangerous?"
The first time I went down to Baiyunye Mountain in the deep sea, I found that my past experience seemed completely useless.
"In the sea, the more beautiful and cute you are, the more eye-catching things are, so be careful. In a world where the jungle is strong, the fact that it is so conspicuous and has not been exterminated is enough to prove its danger. Those beautiful patterns, no matter how obvious they are It’s just a warning.”
A few people chatted intermittently. They were still some distance away from Dragon Palace City. They first came to what seemed to be a tavern.
After ordering some special dishes, a few people sat down and talked while eating.
"It seems to be similar to the food on the shore."
“The ingredients are different and the cooking techniques are slightly different!”
Facing Bai's question, the guide said as expected,
"We are just people living in the sea, not sea monsters that look like humans. Is it strange that we are similar to you? If there is no contact between our two races, it would be incredible to be able to communicate with each other. thing."
"makes sense."
In the center of the tavern, there was a stage, with several people with obvious mermaid marks on it, dressed in artistic styles, playing music.
"This seems to be a popular song in the ninja world a few months ago."
"That's right! Maybe someone who went to the outside world brought it back when they came back."
"But……"
It stands to reason that here we know a lot about the ninja world, but there are only sporadic unconfirmed stories about mermaids in the ninja world, which seems a little wrong.
"Just because you don't know, it doesn't mean that no one knows! There are more secrets hidden behind the scenes in this world than you think. What you see may not be true, and what you hear may not be false. It's not a bad thing to think more..."
The mermaid leader drank a few glasses of rice wine and seemed to talk more. After chatting about some trivial matters, he said carelessly:
"On Zuodu Island, it is rare to encounter outsiders who come directly. Those who really want to explore, most of them never return. You didn't receive any guidance and just showed up there directly. It's so strange."
"We came here after meeting a man named Urashima Taro who gave us advice..."
Then, Baiyun Yeshan explained in detail what happened along the way.
"Urashima Taro five hundred years ago? Never heard of it..."
The tipsy mermaid leader recalled for a moment, but found nothing, and finally gave a very definite answer,
"Anyway, I have never heard of the legend of Urashima Taro. Is there a turtle who wants to repay his kindness after being rescued? I will ask someone to ask. As for the goddesses, there are several "goddess" titles in Ryugu Castle. They have been there for nearly five hundred years. Come on, no one can tell how many there are. Don’t have too much hope. Most of the aquatic species, including mermaids, do not live long. Except for a few species, you humans have gone through more than 20 years in five hundred years. It has been passed down from generation to generation, we mermaids may have been over forty generations, and after such a long time, many things have long been forgotten."
"Then...do the mermaids go to the coastal areas of the mainland to play tricks?"
This is the key task of the Konoha ninjas, and they must try their best to figure it out.
"Who knows! Under normal circumstances, mermaids don't interact with ordinary people, and even if they meet in person, they won't be noticed. Mermaids are not dangerous, the ones who are in danger are your own people."
