"I'm so glad you're okay."
Seeing the lively and energetic ninja in front of him, Shiratori smiled with curved eyes and said happily.
Chiba looked down at his chest again in disbelief and suspicion. Then he looked around. Aside from himself and the child in front of him, there were no other signs of people in the entire forest.
"You saved ?"
How was that possible?
He couldn't believe that this child had the ability to do such a thing.
A wasn't without dical-nin, but he had never seen any dical-nin capable of healing such severe wounds.
Shiratori nodded innocently. "Yup! I saved you."
He didn't seem to notice Chiba's shock and continued, "Good thing I got here in ti. If I had been even a bit later, I probably wouldn't have been able to save you."
Relief flickered across his features.
Chiba stood frozen in place. It was really this child who saved him?
How was that even possible?
It was nothing short of a miracle!
A flicker of calculation passed through his pupils. He asked, "You know dical ninjutsu?"
Shiratori scratched his head, a shy smile tugging at his lips. "Yeah, I'm actually pretty good at it."
To be this young and already so proficient in dical ninjutsu?
Chiba instantly made up his mind. He had no suspicion that this child was a spy. Because no ninja village would ever send a child with powerful dical ninjutsu as an undercover agent.
"Where are your parents?" he suddenly asked a question unrelated to dical ninjutsu.
He already had a rough idea in his heart.
Since A beca a battlefield, many children had lost their parents to the war. The number of war orphans in the village was countless. Since there was no adult around this child, he was most likely one of those countless orphans.
Shiratori's smile faded. His gaze dropped to the forest floor, fingers tightening on his backpack straps. When he spoke, his voice was quieter. "My mom and dad are already gone. But I'll always listen to what they told , I'll live well, no matter what."
The last words ca out with renewed conviction, his chin lifting slightly.
Looking into the bright eyes of the boy, Chiba felt a mix of emotions in his heart.
Due to its special geographical location, A inevitably beca a battleground between Konoha and Suna.
Later, Hanzō led them into war against both Konoha and Suna in an attempt to prove the strength of A, to stop the other villages from using it as a battlefield and to ensure that their war-torn holand would no longer be exploited by conflict.
However, that move once again plunged A into the quagmire of war. It was a vicious cycle. But for the future of A, they had to endure the pain of the present. They had to drive out Konoha and Suna, sign treaties, and prevent them from ever stepping into the village again.
That was exactly what Chiba and his comrades were trying to accomplish. They weren't blind to the suffering of the villagers, they were just powerless to stop it.
If A was to enjoy lasting peace in the future, they had no choice but to sacrifice the people of the present.
The sacrifices of the ninja were no less than those of the villagers. But they couldn't wallow in grief, enemies were still waiting to be driven out.
"Where are you headed?"
He noticed the pack on Shiratori's back and asked.
"I'm going to the central district."
"That place is full of ninja. What are you going there for?"
A wasn't large to begin with, and now the entire village had been dragged into war.
The central district was full of ninja who followed Hanzō's orders and fought against Konoha and Suna. The civilians had long since fled from the area. So had hidden deep in the valleys, others had escaped the village entirely. Children like this one, heading toward the central district, were exceedingly rare.
"I'm going to save people."
Shiratori looked at Chiba.
"My mom and dad died protecting A. Even though I don't have the ability to protect the village like they did, I can save ninjas who are injured while protecting it, just like my parents."
His clear, childish voice carried surprising weight.
Chiba felt sothing constrict in his chest. He raised a hand to his forehead, eyes slightly red.
"Do you know how dangerous it is there?"
He took a deep breath, lowered his hand, and looked at the boy in front of him.
Shiratori nodded. "Of course I do! I've seen lots of foreign ninja before. If I hadn't hidden from them just in ti, I might already be dead."
His arms wrapped around himself briefly, a small shiver running through him.
"Then aren't you afraid of dying, going to the central district?"
Shiratori's confident facade wavered. "Of course I'm afraid…"
Chiba looked at him, sothing softening in his eyes for a mont.
Even adult ninjas fear death, how could a child not?
"I'm all alone. Anywhere I go will be dangerous. Since danger is everywhere, I might as well go sowhere I want to go."
Shiratori's lips pressed together. He sat down on the ground, arms wrapping around his knees, shoulders curving inward. "A is my ho, where I grew up. Mom and Dad are here too. I don't want to leave. I don't want to leave them behind."
Chiba felt a sharp pain in his nose. His throat felt clogged, as if stuffed with cotton, he couldn't make a sound. His younger brother, who died in the war, had said the sa thing to him once: "I don't want to leave you. Wherever you go, I go…"
"Nisan, let's go together!"
Shiratori's voice brightened suddenly, looking up with hopeful eyes.
"That way, I won't be as scared!"
He scratched his head, a genuine flush coloring his cheeks.
[Emotional energy detected: Reminiscence 3000 points]
[Insufficient threshold for cursed spirit activation]
[Energy stored for future use]
The way the child called him "Nisan" made mories of Chiba's little brother surge even more vividly in his mind. He took a deep breath and nodded to Shiratori. "Don't worry, I'll protect you."
Even if this child didn't have powerful dical ninjutsu, he would still protect him.
"Really?"
Shiratori's face lit up with genuine joy.
Reminiscence points?
What kind of cursed spirit would that activate?
He was truly curious.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Chiba. Since there was such a thing as reminiscence points, he wasn't going to hold back.
"My na is Shiratori! You can just call whatever you want!" he said cheerfully.
Chiba nodded.
Shiratori's eyes sparkled with mischief. He asked, "Nisan, what's your na?"
"Chiba."
"Then I'll call you Chiba-nisan!"
Before Chiba could respond, he started chattering away:
"I've always really wanted an older brother! Every ti I get scared, I think, if only I had a big brother, maybe I wouldn't be so afraid! Because a brother always protect his siblings…"
He carefully reached out and took Chiba's hand.
Chiba froze, but didn't pull away.
[Reminiscence detected: 5000 points]
[Total accumulated: 8000 points]
[Insufficient threshold for cursed spirit activation]
[Energy stored for future use]
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