Thirty people. Neja counted twice to be sure, and that was everyone he could see. In front of his eyes just a small distance away was a small village.

Homes were built close to each other with a small wooden fence around the entire village. Outside the walls people were working, as they plowed the fields and harvested their grains. Honest work, nothing that he was used to doing.

While stronger than them, Neja had the option to take what was theirs and claim it as his own. However, he was not going to play that way today.

Instead, Neja got down from his spot on a tree branch and strolled over to the village. Upon seeing him approach, many of the villagers ran into the safety of their homes.

To them, all shinobi were bad news. The few that stayed placed their farming tools close to their chest as they took up a guarded stance. In this era, this was normal. The strong dominated the weak.

Neja furrowed his brows. "Lower your weapons, I'm not here to rob you." Neja told them as he got closer.

"W-What do you want? We already paid you guys what you asked for. We have nothing left!" A man spoke up with a shaky voice, scared that his words would be his last.

"If you're here for the children, we already sent them away." Another man said.

Neja shook his head. He stopped as he stood ten feet away from the group of three. Consisting of two men, both middle-aged and an elderly woman.

"You are mistaken. I do not belong to whatever clan you are thinking of. I am here for something else." Neja told them.

"A-and what is that? Our women? Y-you can't have them! They aren't here!" The man with the shaky voice spoke up again.

Neja took note of this and figured the man's words to be true. From what he saw from a distance, there were neither middle-aged or young women in this village. Nor were there any children around.

He guessed they were hiding someone close to the village.

"No. I want to trade." Neja said honestly which caught both men by surprise.

"What kind of trade? And why do you want to trade with us?" The other man asked.

"I'd like a steady supply of grains, maybe some meat too. If you have any extra you need to sale." Neja said. "I'd rather trade with you than any other clans, because we can both benefit. You more than me. And I don't have to worry about any sudden attacks from your village." Neja explained.

"What do you have to trade? We don't need any of those ninja tools you folk carry around. Be more than happy to have a steady supply of apples and flour."

Neja shook his head which caused the middle-aged man to be confused. If they were not trading goods for goods, then what kind of trading were they supposed to do? Or did this mean Neja did not have those resources?

"I was thinking of freedom. For you and your village men. Wouldn't it be nice not to have to worry about attacks from random shinobi?" Neja asked them.

Both men looked at each other and whispered some words.

"H-how do we know this isn't a trap?" The man with the shaky voice asked.

"You don't. I'm willing to show you my goodwill first to prove that I'm serious."

"Goodwill you say? Alright. How about you get rid of those Hitare bastards. They always take our food. Sometimes they steal our women and children too."

Neja listened to the man as he thought it over. He was unsure if this was a good idea, as going to war with a clan he was unfamiliar with was not something he wanted to do. But, he also did not want to go hunting daily either.

His clan needed to use as much of the time they had to rebuild and become stronger. To do that, they needed to cut out a few tasks from their daily routine.

"That depen-"

"Yeah, figured as much. They have all you guys shook." The middle-aged man interrupted Neja before he had a chance to finish. After he heard the word Neja was about to say, he knew how that sentence would end.

Neja eyed him for a moment but said nothing about it. He disliked being interrupted but he also wanted this to work. Without making them fear him.

"Depends on how many there are and where they are located. What can you tell me about them?" Neja finished saying what he was going to say as he caught the attention of the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man opened him mouth to speak, however, the elderly woman moved forward by a step. "You're different. Full of dreadful sins that are holding you down, but full of life too." She started. "Come. Exchange a few words with an old woman why don't you."