After a moment of silence, Yujin seemed to understand what the other person was really asking.
"We've been hiding in the forest this whole time, so we haven't exactly been keeping track of the days. But if you're asking how long it's been since you were being hunted… I can tell you this: it was autumn back then, and now winter has already arrived."
That method of tracking time sounded a little… primitive.
But even with such a vague answer, the Uchiha ninja visibly relaxed.
"Thank you for saving me. My name is Uchiha Mei. May I ask your name?"
Uchiha Mei struggled to sit up and leaned against a tree trunk that supported the tent. Turning slightly, she looked over at Yujin before shifting her gaze to the campfire burning in the clearing.
"Yujin. No real background, just a wandering ninja," Yujin replied, feeling his introduction sounded rather plain.
"You're… all wandering ninja?"
"Yes. We used to be from small, scattered ninja clans. But things changed… Long story short, yes—we're wandering ninja now."
Yujin had intentionally concealed the name Hanemiya for situations like this, so this explanation had been prepared well in advance.
Uchiha Mei nodded and added, "That's pretty rare. Seems like you've been through a lot."
In the ninja world, a shinobi without the protection of a clan usually couldn't survive for long. Small groups of wandering ninja were often survivors of a single fallen clan. To gather different drifters together like this was certainly uncommon.
Of course, that "uncommon" was based on Yujin's lie. In reality, they weren't that different from typical wandering ninja now.
"By the way, I should also apologize… I'm sorry for bringing trouble to you. That brat from the Senju clan didn't cause too much trouble, did he?"
"He almost caused a fight at first, but luckily we managed to 'persuade' him in time."
Senju Tobirama had stumbled upon their camp while chasing Uchiha Mei—meaning she had indirectly led him there.
Handled poorly, that could've meant annihilation for their small group. A light apology clearly wasn't going to cut it.
Yujin couldn't be sure whether Uchiha Mei's actions were careless or deliberate, but it was fortunate that Tobirama had been in a weakened state at the time and could be dealt with relatively easily.
"I didn't mean to lead him to your camp," Mei explained. "I was fleeing in panic and my special ninjutsu for hiding and escaping doesn't activate on demand. It's… unreliable. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't."
Unreliable? So, basically her ability wouldn't activate when needed? That actually sounded plausible.
Which meant… Mei couldn't properly control her Mangekyō Sharingan?
She seemed sincerely apologetic about bringing Tobirama to their camp. Compared to the help she was receiving now, it really did seem like they were repaying harm with kindness.
"It's fine. He didn't cause any irreversible damage."
Yujin didn't express outright trust or doubt about Mei's explanation. But since she felt guilty, she should offer something in return.
Mei looked slightly embarrassed—she could clearly sense Yujin's distrust.
"I just didn't expect that stubborn Senju brat to actually be persuaded. I kept telling him I had no intention of fighting them, but he still chased me like a madman."
Yujin thought to himself, "Persuaded physically still counts as persuaded."
"In any case, thank you for helping me despite what happened," Mei said again.
Yujin thought for a moment and decided to share some truth:
"We didn't help you out of goodwill… We had no choice. We can't afford to offend the Uchiha."
Under normal circumstances, the Uchiha could easily wipe out their group just by sending a single elite jōnin.
Mei didn't seem to understand. In the current state of the ninja world, death came for everyone. What was so serious about one Uchiha's death?
Even the great ninja clans didn't always value the lives of their own members.
And besides, Yujin's group hadn't even killed her—at worst, they would've just left her to die.
Seeing her puzzled expression, Yujin decided to make his point clearer:
"I saw your Sharingan. That wasn't an ordinary one… I've heard of a special Sharingan far stronger than the regular kind. Even within the Uchiha clan, those eyes are extremely rare."
One Uchiha's life, or even a pair of regular Sharingan, wouldn't matter much. But Mangekyō Sharingan?
Just like when Yujin revealed that Tobirama was the brother of Senju Hashirama, he now exposed the truth of Mei's identity—without a doubt, she was one of the Uchiha's key figures.
Mei's expression grew even more awkward.
She didn't seem arrogant like most Uchiha, nor did she think others were ignorant fools. Still, knowledge about Mangekyō Sharingan wasn't something a common drifter like Yujin should have.
The awkward part was… Yujin did know. And she had tried to hide it.
Otherwise, why would Tobirama pursue her so relentlessly?
"This eye is called Mangekyō Sharingan. It does possess stronger powers than the ordinary Sharingan, but mine is actually not very useful.
First, I can't control it well. And second, I can only use it to escape… and even then, it doesn't always work."
Not very useful? Yujin didn't buy that for a second. At the very least, Mei had used her Mangekyō to perform a space-time jutsu—something that put her at the top tier even among those who had the same eye.
Which raised a new question: why was there no trace of her in the original storyline?
Yujin quickly found the answer—if their camp hadn't happened to be in this remote forest, Uchiha Mei would've most likely been killed by Tobirama, who was already known for his ruthless tactics.
Seriously though, why is Tobirama literally everywhere?
Yujin was about to say something else when he noticed Mei had already closed her eyes. Her hands were neatly folded over her abdomen, and her breathing was calm…
She looked almost… peaceful.
Almost as if she really had died.