Dropped into Naruto, Breaking the World Apart

The innkeeper had mistakenly assumed that Samui's team had come to aid the Land of Hot Water.

Samui neither confirmed nor denied it—she just made a few vague comments.

"How did the Land of Hot Water become so run-down? Where did all the villagers go?"

The innkeeper looked baffled.

"The Land of Hot Water has always been like this!"

Now it was Samui and her teammates who were dumbfounded. But on second thought… that might actually be true.

As far as they could recall, the Land of Hot Water had never had any large towns—only a few small villages tucked away in the forests. Yugakure had once been a minor shinobi village, barely worth mentioning, and was later wiped out by a fanatical cultist. Ever since then, it had fallen into ruin and only existed in name.

Still, Samui felt something wasn't quite right.

The innkeeper ushered them in.

"You must be exhausted, honored shinobi. Let me take you to your rooms first. We can talk about the mission later."

"Alright." They nodded and followed him into the guest rooms.

The hot spring inn was a little crude, but the setting was peaceful. Sunlight filtered through the fresh leaves of the trees outside the window, casting a soothing green glow into the room.

A few kittens hopped up onto the windowsill, curiously watching the people inside.

That's when Samui noticed something strange—a chubby orange cat perched on a branch outside. Its black-and-white eyes held an oddly sharp, appraising look. Its body was tense, ready to spring, and it clearly didn't blend in with the other cats.

Samui frowned. What's with that cat? Something feels off… Is it a summoning beast?

Karui saw Samui locked in an intense stare with the orange cat and couldn't resist waving at it.

The cat flicked its tail a couple of times, gave them a long, deep look—and suddenly turned and darted away.

"Huh…" A chill ran down Samui's spine. She finally realized what had struck her as strange—it had human eyes.

She was just about to bring this up to the others when a knock came at the door. The innkeeper had returned, bringing complimentary dinner.

"Thank you," Samui said politely. But her instincts as a shinobi—and a faint sense of unease—kicked in, and she began probing for intel again.

"About the mission in the Land of Hot Water, do you know any more details?"

The innkeeper shook his head.

"I'm just an ordinary person. The village chief is the one who handled the commission. I don't know much."

Samui replied, "That's alright. Just tell us what you do know. Even rumors are fine."

The moment she said that, the innkeeper smoothly picked up the topic and began talking about the hardships in Yugakure—and the Land of Hot Water.

"Jashin-sama foretold that a catastrophe will befall the world… The entire shinobi world will be destroyed."

"…Jashin?" Samui was stunned.

"Yes, Jashin-sama." The innkeeper beamed. "The Land of Hot Water has always worshipped Jashin. Everyone in the Land of Hot Water is a devoted follower."

Samui's expression twitched. A bead of cold sweat formed on her fair forehead.

She wasn't unfamiliar with the term "Jashin." In fact, she knew the Land of Hot Water had once suffered greatly at the hands of a cult that worshipped such a deity. And now they were… worshipping Jashin again?

That didn't make sense.

But Samui quickly composed herself to avoid arousing suspicion. She asked calmly,

"If you worship Jashin, then why send a commission to Kumogakure? Why not pray directly to your god?"

The innkeeper didn't seem fazed. "Because Jashin-sama has already fallen. He can no longer protect us."

"…What?" The twist caught Samui off guard. "Jashin died?"

Would a true believer even think that their god could die?

"Gods can die?" Karui suddenly interjected.

To most religious followers, such a question would be deeply offensive. But the innkeeper remained calm, like he'd been asked this countless times.

"A god's fall isn't the same as human 'death.' Back then, the entire shinobi world joined forces to hunt Jashin-sama. They managed to make Him fall… but as long as someone remembers Him, He will return."

"Wait, the entire shinobi world hunted Him down?" Karui barely held back her smirk. As someone of decent standing in Kumogakure, she had never heard of such a monumental event.

The innkeeper didn't seem to notice Karui's skepticism. He went on wistfully, as if Jashin's fall had happened just yesterday—or perhaps centuries ago.

"Why was Jashin hunted down?" Samui asked.

"I'm not sure," the innkeeper replied. "The village chief said Jashin-sama invited all the shinobi villages to play a game. Somehow, that angered everyone. But we've always believed He did nothing wrong."

Samui's lips twitched. Play a game? Seriously?

After a long silence, Omoi finally spoke. "Does your Jashin have any other names?"

"Yes, many," the innkeeper nodded. "Each one represents a different domain of power—Mother of Meows, Guardian of Cats…"

…What???

Karui turned away, face twisted with silent laughter. Omoi cleared his throat.

"Okay, let's set aside Jashin's nicknames for now and get back on topic. If He was hunted down by the shinobi world, why would the Land of Hot Water turn to Kumogakure for help? That's contradictory."

The innkeeper was momentarily speechless.

It was as if he'd never considered these details before—like all the logical inconsistencies had just been conveniently ignored.

"Young man, you've found the blind spot…" The innkeeper scratched his head in confusion. "It's like I've lost some important memories."

"Uh…" Samui's face twisted. She didn't even know how to respond anymore.

How had this conversation gone so far off the rails?

"…Is it possible," Omoi said slowly, "that the Land of Hot Water never sent a commission to Kumogakure at all?"

"No! That's impossible!" the innkeeper snapped. His expression turned crazed, and he nearly lost his balance. "Damn it, this is insane!"

"Are you okay?" Samui stepped forward instinctively to steady him—momentarily forgetting all the caution a shinobi should have.

The innkeeper furrowed his brows.

"There are memories that I thought were buried deep in my mind… but the moment I try to recall the details, they vanish. Even the act of 'forgetting' itself seems to disappear—like a fog settling over my thoughts…"

"I've seen this before." Karui said with a sly smile.

"Oh? Really?" The innkeeper's eyes lit up.

"We usually call that condition senile dementia," Karui patted him on the shoulder with mock concern. "You should take your medicine before it gets worse."

"You…" The innkeeper looked like he wanted to retort, but seeing they were shinobi, he swallowed his words and forced a smile. With that, he quickly backed out of the room.

Samui watched him go, then turned to Karui and Omoi—but the words on the tip of her tongue died in her throat.

What was she about to say again?

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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