On the branches above the battlefield—
The smoke bomb disguised as a poison-gas canister exploded into a thick white mist, blocking the view between the lightly-injured Ringo Amayahoe and Kaito, who stood atop another tree.
The next moment—
BOOM!!!
The ground trembled lightly.
Ringo's eyes widened as Nagashi burst through the fading smoke… while behind him, a fierce red glow flared from the center of the blast.
"Jinzōrō!!!"
He shouted—and at the same instant, a soft splurt sounded behind him.
Ringo swung his blade backwards on instinct.
Slash—!
His sword cut clean through half of Kaito's face… blood seeming to spill—
Poof!
"Nani?! Another shadow clone?!"
Kaito's voice came from behind him.
"Your application and combination of ninjutsu still need some work."
"How about this time?"
Shick!
Kaito appeared behind him, kunai in his right hand locking Ringo's blade in place. His left hand formed a seal as his eyes met the man's.
"It's over."
"Demonic Illusion: Binding Technique."
"Damn—!!"
Shing! Shing!
"Aaaargh—!!!"
Ringo's hands were severed in an instant. Blood poured from the stumps as his palms rolled across the ground.
Kaito struck the man in the neck with a precise hand-chop, knocking him unconscious, then began emergency treatment—just enough to keep him alive for interrogation.
"That's that," Kaito said expressionlessly.
Nagashi finished off the Mist chūnin he'd been fighting and hurried over.
"Kaito! Kaito! I defeated… that ninja!"
Still thrilled, Nagashi froze mid-sentence as he spotted the two severed hands on the ground, Ringo's contorted face, and Kaito's cold aura. The boy was suddenly at a loss for words.
"You didn't check the body? Confirm whether he was dead or unable to move? And you just ran over here?!"
"I—I'll check immediately!"
Nagashi scrambled back toward the area he'd fought in.
Kaito's expression earlier had genuinely frightened him.
But when Nagashi reached the previous battlefield—
The Mist chūnin's body was gone.
Only the charred marks left by the exploding tag remained.
"Huh…?"
"Where'd he go?!"
A direct hit from an explosive tag should have killed him—or at least left him critically injured.
How could he still have the strength to escape?!
Just as Nagashi was puzzling over it, a red-haired man dashed out of the nearby underbrush. Nagashi instantly raised his guard.
"Who are you?! State the password!"
Even if the man looked like Uzumaki Makoto, this could easily be a transformed Mist-nin.
Makoto exhaled in relief when he saw the two boys alive.
"The Uzumaki clan is Konoha's eternal friend and closest ally," he recited calmly.
Nagashi finally relaxed and returned the second half of the code:
"The enemies are the Mist and Cloud shinobi—we must protect our bonds."
"Makoto-senpai! We ran into two Mist-nin just now. It was so dangerous!"
"But don't worry—I took down one of them with my own strength~!"
"I know," Makoto muttered, glancing at the headless corpse beneath the tree. He hesitated, unable to bring himself to tell the pure-hearted boy the truth just yet. "About the number of enemies…"
Before he could finish, white mist suddenly spread around Kaito.
"Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Technique!"
In the center of the field, Kaito inhaled sharply as the dense fog thickened.
Great… another one.
"Jonin have already entered the area," Kaito muttered. "If they're here for him… you two won't be allowed to walk away either."
Clink!
A senbon darted out of the mist toward Ringo's unconscious head—
Kaito deflected it instantly.
"So the target is you," he murmured.
"What loyal comrades… They won't even let you die peacefully."
"Seeking death, are you?"
Before he finished speaking, countless projectiles shot out from within the fog—
Completely sealing off any escape route.
Kaito flashed through three seals.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
RUMBLE—!!
A rising wall of earth blocked the incoming barrage.
"Good thing this isn't Tenten," Kaito muttered behind the earth wall.
"Otherwise I'd be dealing not just with cheap weapons like shuriken and kunai… but actual quality armaments."
Only after confirming there were no further attacks did he release the wall.
The earthen structure dissolved, sending the embedded weapons clattering onto the ground.
At the same time, the mist began to thin.
"…Gone?"
Kaito didn't relax. His ears remained sharp, listening for any movement—but there was none.
Makoto and Nagashi landed beside him from the trees.
"You're not hurt, right?! Genin Kaito!"
"I'm fine. They were probably trying to silence him, but I stopped them."
"Makoto-senpai, please handle the interrogation."
"Leave it to me."
Makoto formed more than twenty hand seals, one after another—
Kaito felt numb just watching it. He glanced helplessly at Nagashi.
The younger boy looked completely dazed by everything he'd witnessed.
The brutality of battle… the cruelty of shinobi… the contradiction of mercy and killing…
For someone so young and kind, the reality of the world was beginning to twist something inside him.
Especially at this age.
"What's wrong? My expression earlier scared you?" Kaito asked.
"No," Nagashi whispered, shaking his head. "I just… don't understand."
"Why do we have to fight to the death?"
"Why did those Mist-nin rescue one comrade… only to kill another?"
"Just because he couldn't escape?!"
"Why do they have to be so cruel?!"
Kaito looked at him calmly.
"Who told you the one you fought ran away?"
Nagashi blinked in confusion.
"If he didn't… then why isn't he…?"
Kaito sighed lightly.
"As a shinobi, shouldn't you check the surroundings after a battle?"
He glanced back at Makoto, who nodded and created a shadow clone to guard him. Only then did Kaito lead Nagashi back toward the base of the tree where he had fought earlier.
"—Urgh!"
They hadn't even reached the roots when the stench of iron filled Nagashi's nose.
He stumbled to the tree trunk, gagging.
Kaito stopped before the headless corpse, silent.
"The shinobi world is cruel."
"You saw me cut off his hands earlier. You thought I was being ruthless."
"You thought I destroyed his future as a ninja."
Nagashi's eyes trembled. He covered his mouth and nodded.
Kaito sighed.
"Nagashi… from the moment he lost the fight—
he no longer had the right to choose anything."
Silence settled heavily around them.
Nagashi's breathing steadied slightly. His eyes, however, were hollow—staring at a reality he wasn't ready for.
Footsteps.
Makoto reappeared.
"Interrogation is over. Genjutsu was almost useless; his will was too strong. Even with his chakra sealed… he bit through his own tongue and killed himself."
"I kept the head. When Yamanaka-senpai returns, we'll send it for mental probing."
Cold words. Routine, almost.
For Nagashi, they were shattering.
"Mm. Let's head back."
Kaito walked a few steps, then stopped.
Nagashi still stood frozen where he was.
Kaito turned back slightly.
"If this"—he said quietly—
"is the limit of what you can handle…"
"Then maybe…
you shouldn't be a ninja."
You shouldn't be a ninja.
Shouldn't be a ninja.
Shouldn't… be a ninja.
Ninja.
Ninja.
Ninja…
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