As he goes checking his traps, Zoro finds more of those traces. He's sure those are outsiders' traces because he never saw those shoe patterns. They also look quite heavy and the steps are strong, which are very unlikely to be of the villagers who are mostly old people whose steps are weak.
'3 people? Their shoe patterns are the same, so they should've come from the same village. But their shoe sizes are different. Maybe there are more of them that didn't come down and keep hiding.'
Zoro thinks of that while killing a rather big snake caught by a snare trap. Those people tried to erase their traces, but their works were sloppy, so he still could see them. Maybe it's also because he has a lot of experience tracking animals, so he can see even the faintest trace quite easily.
'Hmm, there's also a chance that they are not high-ranking ninjas. But I still can't confront them because they have more people. Even so, doing nothing also doesn't seem to be a good idea. Tsk! I'll discuss this with Torao later. For now, let's act normally while staying vigilant.'
Zoro is sure if these people are ninjas, then he would've been discovered by now. But they don't attack him, which means they want to hide and don't want to cause problems here. Maybe they were really starving so they stole 3 of his prey.
Luckily, he still catches some more animals so the villagers can still eat meat and he can preserve some. So the only problem left is surviving against the ninjas in case they suddenly attack the village and he who lives on the outskirts may be the 1st target.
For the next few days, Zoro still finds traces of those unknown people in the forest. But they don't steal his prey again. Probably don't want to expose themselves. It will obviously attract suspicion if they keep stealing the village hunter's prey every day.
Luckily too, they don't attack the village even though they are roaming around the forest near the village. So Zoro assumes they are ninjas from Village Hidden in the Cloud, which is a force of this Land of Lightning, that's why they don't attack their people.
Their presence here is still worrying though, so he can't get relaxed. Them being here for this long means their enemies are also near. He never knows when they will come to the village and threaten his life, so he still needs to be careful.
Then after a few weeks, what he fears finally happens. He is invited to the village chief's house for dinner when they suddenly hear a loud explosion from outside. So they go out and see fire in the distance.
"Oh no! Have the fights of those shinobis really reached this place?"
"Dear, what should we do now?"
"Let's hide inside. Little Zoro, come here quickly!"
Zoro is about to turn around when his instinct suddenly screams danger. He jumps at the old couple and pushes them down. Then suddenly some kunais and shurikens hit the front door and wall.
Seeing the sharp weapons that almost hit him and the old couple makes Zoro shiver as he turns his head around. On the street in front of the house, Zoro sees 3 people with black cloaks and animal masks standing there looking at them.
'Anbu!'
Zoro's eyes widen because the opponents are high level. He's thinking of what to do when one of the 3 Anbus suddenly charges forward. But then he suddenly jumps back and a kunai hits the ground that he was about to step onto.
Suddenly 4 ninjas with grey vests jump down from the roof. He can't see their headbands, but Zoro is sure those are vests of Kumo ninjas. They must've chased those 3 Anbus.
"Damn Konoha Anbu! How dare you attack civilians?"
"You guys, hurry up and run!"
The Kumo ninjas only say that much before they charge to fight the 3 Anbu. Zoro quickly helps the old couple get up and they run away. The ninjas start fighting and as soon as they leave the house's vicinity, the ninjas' ninjutsu destroy the house.
But they can't care about it now because their lives are more important. They meet with other villagers who also run away and start moving together. The villagers seem to know where to go because everyone runs in the same direction, even those who are in different groups.
"Chief, where are we going?"
"To the river. I've told you a few times that if the war really reaches this place, you need to go to the big bridge on the river, right?"
"Yeah, but I don't understand why. The bridge and river aren't really safe."
"They aren't, but they can help us find a safe place."
"Ah! The boats!"
"Correct. We will use the boats to escape."
There are quite a lot of rather boats around the bridge that the villagers use to catch fish. Zoro prefers using traps than nets or fishing. He just doesn't have time to do it, after all, because he also needs to train every day.
They arrive on the bridge after running for a while and the villagers quickly get on the boats. There are 3 boats left when they depart. The chief says those 3 boats are left in case there are still villagers left behind.
The boats move following the river's current and the professional boatmen control the boats to move safely. As for the villagers, they just sit and hold the boats tightly. They might get thrown out of the boats if they don't hold tightly.
Zoro is also holding the boat tightly with Torao inside his shirt. They keep looking around because the ninjas are fast enough to chase these boats. So Zoro still can't be careless.
Then as he feared, they are chased by some ninjas who catch up quickly from behind. The ninjas are running on the water and they are faster than the boats.
"Why are they so persistent to chase civilians like us?"
Zoro can't understand why those ninjas are being so persistent to chase them. It just doesn't make sense because catching them won't be beneficial. They can get valuables in the village like food or precious items, but the people themselves shouldn't be valuable enough for those ninjas.
"Village chief, it seems we can't hide any longer."
"..... You're right. Get the children to safety. We'll fight."
The villagers are having conversations that Zoro can't understand. But the next scene makes his jaw drop. The old people suddenly jump out of the boats and they stand on the water. Only the children and some young adults stay on the boats.
"W-what the hell happens?"
"Those old folks are retired ninjas from Kumo. Our village is a place for retired ninjas who don't want to stay in Kumogakure. It's a highly kept secret, but it seems the enemies finally discover this secret."
Zoro and Torao get even more surprised because it means their secret might have been found too.
"Don't worry, Little Zoro. We won't say anything about you to the hidden village. We are not parts of the hidden village anymore. Well, at least for now because we will return there now that we've been found. You can follow us or go anywhere you want after this. But we will make sure you get into a safe place. The village chief has ordered us to let you do whatever you want."
Zoro shivers a little when he hears that the villagers have found out about his true self. Well, what they found must be just that he is a swordsman, not just a hunter because he only trains his swordsmanship.
"So what will you do? If you want to follow us to Kumogakure, then I'm sure the village will accept a talented swordsman like you. The village chief has prepared a few things to help with it. You will be his adopted grandson if you want to join Kumogakure. He had a rather high rank before he retired, so there won't be any problems."
Zoro thinks about it and it gives him a headache. No matter what he chooses, it will be a problem. If he joins Kumogakure, then the chance of him being sent to the war is high. But if he doesn't join, then Kumogakure might see him as a threat.
He knows he is still weak compared to the hidden villages, but he is also as strong as young ninjas. So Kumogakure will see him as a threat. Maybe he's not a threat now, but he can be a threat in the future. They won't let such a talent and possible future threat roam free in their territory.
Torao talks to him telepathically. They can start talking through telepathy not long ago because Zoro's chakra has reached a chuunin level. Both of their souls are bound to each other, similar to those jinchuuriki, except that Torao isn't sealed in his body, so they are more like a ninja and his contracted beast.
But because Torao's soul is bound to Zoro, his growth is also dependent on Zoro's growth. As Zoro gets stronger, Torao will also get stronger and get more abilities. This telepathy and the escape method that Torao mentions are the result of their growth.
Zoro takes a deep breath before answering the man. "Thank you, but I will not go to Kumogakure. I like being free." The man looks very disappointed, but he still nods. "Then we will drop you off near a town." "Thanks." Zoro stays vigilant until they really drop him off near a town. The boats leave quickly after dropping him off. Zoro and Torao also leave quickly. They obviously don't believe that they will be let off that easily, after all. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Read up to +20 chapters ahead in my p@treon page p@treon.com/creampuffs69 Please like and support this book too if you like it, thank you