When Famine Struck, the Dead Filled the Moats

The rain poured without end…

Within the curtain of rain, only gray and white remained. Not even thunder could awaken the silent world.

Even the once-bright sunlight had become incomparably gloomy as it shone through the gaps in the heavy clouds.

Yet amid this desolate scene, gaunt figures staggered along.

Their expressions were numb, their steps unsteady, like ghosts.

But they were not ghosts. They were people—refugees fleeing disaster.

Rumble!!

Thunder followed the flash of lightning. Someone trembled and collapsed to the ground, never to rise again.

The others wore only numb expressions. Their dull, lifeless eyes stared ahead, and none turned back to look at the fallen.

Because such cruel deaths occurred every moment in the Land of Rain.

People like them vanished in death like water disappearing into water.

As civilians of a small country, numbness was all that remained in their hearts.

They did not know whether there truly was a way to survive ahead, but they knew stopping meant certain death. They could only crawl and stagger aimlessly toward the capital, untouched by the flames of war.

Like mud-covered stray dogs…

No, like stalks of straw in a field. A gust of wind could knock them down, and even without wind, they still swayed on the verge of collapse.

However, some were different from those walking corpses who had nearly lost consciousness.

"Hey, um…"

"Yahiko! You need to use an honorific!"

"I-I know! But…"

Hearing the muttering of the two children behind him, Yun Chuan, who was following the refugees, turned around. He gave the awkward Yahiko a long look before smiling faintly. "If you do not mind, just call me Yun Chuan. I am not that much older than you."

Konan froze for a moment, then hurriedly waved her hands. "Th-that would not be proper! You were the one who saved us…"

Ignoring Konan’s concern over forms of address, Yun Chuan turned to look down the desolate road ahead.

"Do not worry. We are almost there."

They no longer knew how far they had traveled. Though the world around them remained barren, countless wheel tracks and hoofprints had begun to appear beneath their feet.

The horses had not been eaten, which meant there were people ahead. That place was not lacking food.

The number of refugees had visibly increased. Unlike before, when there had been nothing but corpses, people were clearly gathering here.

Perhaps they believed that as long as they reached the capital, they would survive.

"Konan, Yahiko." Without turning around, Yun Chuan asked, "Were you planning to go to the capital to trade for food?"

"Yes, Yun… Brother Yun Chuan." Konan hesitated before finally nodding.

"It is obvious, isn’t it? At a time like this, only the capital is safe. Only Lord Daimyo can shelter some people!" Yahiko blustered, then cursed under his breath, "Damn Ninja. If it were not for them…"

"Yahiko! Enough!" Konan hurriedly tugged on his sleeve, signaling for him not to continue.

After all, in their eyes, the boy before them was also a "Ninja."

"Ninja" were all cruel and heartless. They did not care whether civilians lived or died, and they were the ones who had brought war to the Land of Rain.

Yahiko had always believed this, yet he had been saved by a "Ninja" he hated. His attitude toward Yun Chuan was therefore deeply conflicted.

Under Yahiko’s subtle influence, Konan had once believed the same. But now, for some reason, she felt…

"Brother Yun Chuan seems different from those Ninja."

Watching the figure walking ahead and recalling his earlier gentleness, Konan’s pupils trembled slightly.

"…Brother Yun Chuan." After a moment of silence, Konan asked softly, "Do you mean that even if we reach the capital, it will still be difficult for the two of us to survive?"

As soon as she said this, Yahiko, who had been clutching his ninja tool pouch and shouting about trading for bread and fruit in the capital so he could eat his fill, choked abruptly. He turned toward Konan with an incredulous expression.

How could Konan possibly think that?

"I can tell you have never been to the capital."

Yun Chuan merely chuckled and shook his head. "But casually denying your chance of survival would not suit my personality."

"Let us go see it with our own eyes. I happen to be passing through the capital…"

After saying that, Yun Chuan spoke no further. Ignoring Yahiko, who seemed to want to say something but stopped himself, Yun Chuan looked at the staggering figures ahead with eyes slightly curved yet devoid of any smile.

Compared with Yahiko’s anxious uncertainty, Konan noticed the unusual implication in Yun Chuan’s words.

"Passing through the capital…" Konan lowered her head slightly. Does that mean he does not live in the capital?

Though they also had the system of one country and one village, the situation differed from that of the Five Great Nations.

Because the Land of Rain’s territory was pitifully small, its ninja village and country were not separated. Amegakure lay within the capital’s boundaries.

Thus, the capital, where all of Amegakure’s Ninja had gathered, was already the safest place in the Land of Rain.

With the abilities Yun Chuan had displayed earlier, he would certainly receive favorable treatment in Amegakure. Yet he had not chosen to remain in the capital?

Why?

Just as Konan lowered her head in thought, she noticed Yahiko suddenly stop beside her.

"We are here. The capital of the Land of Rain."

Hearing Yun Chuan’s voice, Konan instinctively raised her head.

But the instant her gaze fell ahead, her expression became identical to Yahiko’s.

She stood frozen in place as if struck by paralysis, and only blankness remained on her childish face.

As far as the eye could see, outside the capital lay nothing but cold desolation.

The black curtain of rain washed over their vision. The houses on either side remained mostly dilapidated. Though dusk was approaching, barely a wisp of cooking smoke could be seen. Rats and insects scurried everywhere among broken walls and wild grass.

This scene bore no resemblance to what Yahiko and Konan had imagined.

Even the rotting stench in the air and the piled corpses far exceeded anything Yahiko and Konan had ever seen.

The Rain Capital was surrounded by a moat dozens of meters wide and bottomless in depth. Only a single bridge led into the city, but the gates were tightly shut. It was clearly under lockdown, with no one allowed to enter or leave freely.

Yet more and more civilians seeking a sliver of hope continued gathering there, completely ignoring the cold rain soaking their bodies.

Countless figures slumped against the city walls. Their heavy eyelids could barely open, and their confused, numb faces were haggard beyond measure.

They were nothing but skin and bones, their eye sockets deeply sunken, like living skeletons. Their twig-like arms hung at their sides, trembling without cease.

They exhaled more than they inhaled, like lamps running out of oil, liable to die at any moment.

Some had already died. Others still drew breath.

And those who were still alive…

Sniff! Sniff sniff!

Konan and Yahiko instinctively twitched their noses. They could smell an endless bloody stench swirling through the air.

Yet beneath the rotten stench of decay, they could also smell something strange.

The smell of meat.

A smell of meat so strong that even the stench of corpses could not conceal it.

"Urgh!!"

At last, Konan collapsed weakly to the ground and vomited uncontrollably.

Yahiko’s face was equally pale as he trembled and stared at everything outside the capital.

"I do not know whether later generations will record this war, or how they will describe the harm war inflicted upon civilians."

A faint pity filled Yun Chuan’s eyes, while the frost on his face surpassed even the coldest depths of winter. He said softly, "But to describe it with a line I once read, it would be…"

When famine struck, the dead filled the city moats. Captives were taken as food, thousands consumed each day. A hundred giant mortars were set out; bones and skin were ground in them and eaten together.