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Chapter 117: Yahiko
Creak—
The rusted iron door let out a teeth-aching screech, a sound insignificant amidst the cacophony of the rain.
Dragon pushed the door open. Biting chill wrapped in rain instantly assaulted his face.
The street was a muddy mess. Puddles mixed with oil reflected the dim light of streetlamps.
Two Rain ninjas wearing gray raincoats and gas masks stood at the neighbor's door. The taller one was dragging a girl of twelve or thirteen by her hair; her cries sounded particularly shrill in the rain.
"Let go of me! Dad! Help!"
The other ninja kicked the middle-aged man who tried to rush forward, knocking him into the muddy water. His hard-soled military boot ruthlessly crushed the man's chest.
"Behave yourself! This is for the village's war! It is your honor to contribute to Lord Hanzo!"
The man under the boot coughed up a mouthful of bloody water in pain. His hands clawed desperately at the ninja's pant leg, cracking his fingernails, yet he was powerless to stop any of this.
Dragon stood at the doorway. Rain instantly soaked his thin shirt, dripping from the tips of his hair.
He watched this scene coldly.
There was no angry roar, no impulsive shout.
His gaze was terrifyingly calm, as if he were examining a corpse.
This body was weak, so weak a gust of wind could blow it over.
But he still had countless ways to kill these two Genin before him.
The throat, the back of the head, or perhaps... the unguarded crotch.
This was a dungeon.
This was not reality.
He didn't need to worry about the Marines' pursuit, nor the survival of the Revolutionary Army, and certainly didn't need to dance in shackles in this twisted world.
Since he had chosen this path, let it begin with slaughter.
Dragon's fingers curled slightly, gripping a sharp piece of iron hidden in his sleeve. He had just broken it off the bed frame inside the house.
He stepped forward, his foot landing in a puddle without making a sound.
Just as he was about to launch a sudden attack.
Whoosh!
The sound of something tearing through the air rang out abruptly.
"Argh!"
The ninja pulling the girl's hair suddenly screamed, stumbling backward while clutching his forehead.
Blood flowed through the gaps of his fingers, dyeing his mask red.
A bloodstained stone rolled into the muddy water.
Dragon's footsteps paused. His tense muscles slowly relaxed as his gaze shifted upward.
atop the complex drainage pipes, amidst the gray rooftops.
An orange-haired boy stood there.
The boy wore oversized, ill-fitting old clothes, tossing two stones in his hand. His face wore an expression of undisguised mockery and anger.
Rain soaked his dazzling orange hair but could not extinguish the fire in his eyes.
"Hey! You bastard ninjas down there!"
Standing on high ground, the boy pointed at the two below and cursed loudly.
"What kind of skill is bullying women and children! If you don't have the money to fight on the front lines, you rob your own people here? You've completely disgraced the Hidden Rain Village!"
The two ninjas froze for a moment, then flew into a rage.
The one with the broken head trembled with anger. He shoved the girl aside, pulled a kunai from his pouch, and stared viciously at the roof.
"Where did this stray dog come from! You're courting death!"
"Nyeh nyeh nyeh! Come catch me! Idiots!"
The orange-haired boy made a face, turned, and ran, moving as nimbly as a monkey shuttling through a rainforest.
"Don't run! I'm going to kill you!"
The injured ninja roared. Pushing off the wall with both feet, he launched himself upward, chasing after the boy with murderous intent.
The other ninja stepping on the man hesitated. He glanced at the father and daughter on the ground, then at his companion's back, and spat.
"Consider yourselves lucky!"
He also jumped onto the pipes, chasing in the direction the orange-haired boy had vanished.
Clearly, for these low-level ninjas, the humiliation of having their head broken by a brat was far more unbearable than collecting that pitiful grain tax.
Crisis averted.
The neighbor father and daughter hugged each other and wept.
Dragon stood in the rain, watching the two figures chasing into the distance, his brow slightly furrowed.
That orange-haired boy...
Although agile, he was just an ordinary child after all, with no chakra fluctuations.
In this world of ninjas, when an ordinary person provoked a ninja, the outcome was usually only one.
Death.
Dragon looked down at the iron piece in his hand, then looked back at his mother and Konan, who were peering out worriedly from inside the house.
"Lock the door tight. Don't open it for anyone."
Leaving these words behind, he turned abruptly and rushed in the direction the ninjas had disappeared.
Although this body was frail, breathing techniques could squeeze out its potential to the maximum.
Dragon adjusted the rhythm of his breathing, every step landing on the most energy-efficient spot, his figure shuttling rapidly through the complex alleyways.
The rain fell harder and harder.
Vision became blurred.
A chaotic sound of metal clashing came from ahead.
Dragon slowed his pace, sticking to the slippery wall, and peeked out soundlessly.
In a dead-end alley ahead, the orange-haired boy was jumping awkwardly on several thick sewage pipes.
"Run! Why aren't you running anymore!"
The injured ninja stood below, clutching two shuriken in his hand, his eyes venomous.
The orange-haired boy was panting heavily. The pipes beneath his feet were covered in moss from the perennial dampness.
Just as he prepared to jump to the roof on the other side, his foot suddenly slipped.
"Crap!"
The boy lost his balance, fell heavily onto the pipe, and then slid down along its curve.
"Die! Brat!"
The ninja grinned savagely, ruthlessly throwing the shuriken in his hand.
Cold light tore through the curtain of rain, aiming straight for the boy's chest.
The orange-haired boy's pupils constricted. Watching the rapidly approaching death, his body stiffened, unable to move.
In this moment of imminent peril.
A pale but powerful hand suddenly reached out from the shadows beside him, grabbing the back of the boy's collar.
A fierce yank!
Thunk! Thunk!
Two shuriken embedded themselves deeply into the iron pipe where the boy had just been, sparking upon impact.
The orange-haired boy felt the world spin as he was dragged into a narrow crevice nearby by a powerful force.
"Who is it?!"
The ninja roared in annoyance after missing his strike.
"Shh."
Dragon pressed down on the boy's head, holding him firmly against the oil-stained ground, signaling for silence.
The boy's eyes widened as he looked at this black-haired peer who was even thinner and frailer than himself.
In those black eyes, there was not a trace of panic, only a calmness that made his heart palpitate.
"Shut up if you want to live. Follow me."
Dragon lowered his voice, speaking extremely fast.
The footsteps outside were getting closer.
"That little animal must be hiding nearby! Search!"
"Be careful; there seemed to be another person just now."
The two ninjas began to split up to search.
Dragon looked around.
This was an abandoned sewage channel. The end was sealed by iron bars, and the only exit was blocked by the ninjas.
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