Chapter 31 Lucky Koi

Naruto spent two full days moving stones, moving wood, clearing rubble and mud, and collecting the remains of the victims one by one.

He couldn't just leave their bodies exposed in the wilderness. He couldn't do it.

When he first discovered the skeleton of a child, he couldn't help crying and almost collapsed.

These people once existed vividly in this world, but now they are forgotten here until their bones are bleached by the sun.

He also found other skeletons, but they were all incomplete, as if they had been gnawed by wild beasts.

Whatever force protected the remains of the people of the Whirlpool Kingdom, it did not benefit their enemies.

As he moved heavy rubble and dug out body after body, he always felt that someone was watching him secretly.

This felt very strange because since he came here, he had not seen even a mouse, let alone a human.

Just when he was wondering if there was no living thing on the island anymore, he suddenly realized that he was not alone.

The Land of Whirlpools was once a prosperous city, and its architectural style was completely different from that of Konoha Village, which was built on the mountain.

From what he had gathered, the Whirlpool Kingdom was much smaller and more complex.

The entire city was built along the river, extending from the narrow valley to the river's mouth.

All the buildings are built along the mountain, following the terrain and complementing the shape of the valley.

The river divides the city into two parts, north and south. Some remaining bridge piers can be seen on the river bank, indicating that there used to be many bridges here.

He bent down, dug his hands deep into the mud, and carefully searched for the corpses buried underneath.

His knuckles were raw and blisters formed on his palms, but he didn't care anymore. The pain he had experienced in the past few days was much more intense than this.

He had to recover his chakra as soon as possible - he could feel that the Nine-Tails chakra in the seal was beginning to stir again - he just hoped that his chakra had not been completely exhausted. The pain of being corroded made him feel sick.

He was digging the silt with great concentration when suddenly a dark shadow flashed through the water. It was a black object about as long as his arm, which stood out particularly in the muddy river water.

Before he could see it clearly, the thing disappeared upstream.

Just when he thought he was dazzled, the black shadow appeared again. It swam around his legs gracefully twice, then stopped not far from him, motionless.

It was a fish, a very beautiful koi.

Naruto had seen this kind of fish before in the Hyuga family pond, but this koi was bigger than any he had ever seen, and the color was completely different from the red and white koi that Hinata raised.

He really wished he had listened carefully to Hinata's explanation about the koi, because now he had no idea how to describe this fish.

He remembered Hinata saying that the koi she raised were called "Red and White", and there were some koi that were snow-white with only a red dot on the top of their heads, called "Red-crowned".

But this koi is mainly black with a golden ridge down its back that looks like armor.

Its fins are long and flowing, like ribbons, and there are some golden spots on the edges of its pectoral and caudal fins, like decorations on a silk dress.

Its scales sparkle like tiny gems, and look particularly dazzling against the black body of the fish.

He remembered Hinata saying that black koi were very rare, not to mention that this koi also had golden stripes. He didn't know what kind of environment could give birth to such a beautiful creature.

Moreover, this koi is so large and its color is so bright that it should have been eaten by other fish long ago.

Maybe he was right, maybe there were no other living creatures on this island except this koi.

Koi looked at him quietly, its big gray eyes full of spirituality.

Naruto didn't dare to move, for fear of scaring it away.

The koi in Hinata's pond are very afraid of him and they stay away from him whenever they see him.

The eldest daughter of the Hyuga family once casually told him that koi are generally docile. She thought the koi were afraid of him because they were scared by him, but the koi did not approach him until he left.

And this koi fish didn't seem to be afraid of him at all.

Even when Naruto stood up straight and pulled his hands out of the water, it didn't run away, but swam closer.

It gently flapped its fins as if dancing in the water, and seemed to be expecting something.

It swam around in the water excitedly as Naruto turned to the backpack and he realized what was happening.

It wants to eat.

Hinata would often feed her koi some chopped melon and lettuce leaves, and every time she went to feed them, the koi would surround her, scrambling to grab the food.

He suddenly remembered that he had some cut cantaloupe in his backpack.

So he walked to the river and looked back at the koi.

For a moment, he thought it had swum away, but soon he saw the golden figure.

The koi fish followed him all the time, swimming in the shallow water at his feet.

"Okay," he murmured, pulling his lunch box out of his backpack, biting the lid open with his teeth, and pulling out a piece of cut cantaloupe.

He was grateful that the koi fish could temporarily relieve him from his sad mood.

Seeing him take out the cantaloupe, the koi fish swam excitedly in the water, and its golden tail drew graceful arcs in the water.

Naruto threw the cantaloupe into the water and pushed it in front of the koi.

"Here you go, eat."

The koi fish looked at the cantaloupe floating on the water but did not move. Instead, it kept staring at the lunch box in his hand, as if it was more interested in what was in his hand.

Naruto made a face at the fish.

"Why, my food doesn't suit your taste?"

The koi fish turned gracefully in the water, as if it understood what he said, and swam forward a little.

Naruto didn't move. It swam forward a little more, then suddenly hit Naruto's calf with its head, then quickly retreated to its original position and continued to stare at the lunch box in his hand.

It seemed to be asking Naruto for something else.

This fish is quite smart.

Naruto didn't know what it wanted, so he squatted down and wanted to observe this strange koi carefully, and the koi stared at him straight, with eyes full of expectation.

Naruto pulled another piece of cantaloupe from his lunch box, causing the koi's tail to wag in excitement.

Obviously, it wanted to eat cantaloupe, but it didn't seem to like the way Naruto fed it.