It's perfectly normal for the Sound Four to have five members, right!

Yamazaki, his eyes vacant, mechanically carried a mountain of grilled meat to the table. It rapidly shrank as the boy dug in.

Yamazaki, too miserable to cry, lamented inwardly without cease. Ever since this devilish boy had come to the base, his once plump, ball-like body had grown so thin.

Dōmeki, enjoying his meal, was immensely pleased with himself. There was a reason he had chosen the forest considered forbidden as his training ground. It was the dumping ground where Orochimaru discarded defective test subjects, and animals like this boar, whose bodies had mutated or who had mastered Chakra, were far from rare there.

He could hunt to improve his meals while training, and Orochimaru didn't have to go out and earn money because of excessive food expenses. Even Uncle Yamazaki got some exercise. This was more than a win-win; it was a huge win for everyone!

Having gone from a greasy uncle as fat as a ball to a muscular hunk all the widows in the village lusted after, Uncle Yamazaki had to be happy!

At that thought, Dōmeki gave Uncle Yamazaki a gentle, easygoing smile, without noticing how Yamazaki's legs went weak at the sight.

"Phew!"

Dōmeki patted his full belly, marveling at how plentiful things had been lately.

In the few short years since coming to this world, Dōmeki had lost both parents and struggled to survive against death. Life-threatening danger had always followed him, yet unexpectedly, his most peaceful days had been spent at the side of Orochimaru, a scientist acknowledged as evil throughout the Shinobi World.

But this life wouldn't last!

That was why, despite his cheerful appearance, Dōmeki was constantly accompanied by a sense of danger and vulnerability. It was also what drove him to train without the slightest slackening.

Suddenly, as Dōmeki flipped through Orochimaru's Ninjutsu notes, his mind went blank for a moment. He stopped opening the notebook, and his brain abruptly raced to process the information that had suddenly appeared in his head.

Making progress every day. The Shadow Clones gained quite a bit today!

In a fine mood, Dōmeki put the notes away and prepared to find some more fun at the base's training ground.

He didn't notice that, as he headed toward the training ground, someone had already run out ahead of him in terror.

Before long, faint cries of "Bad news, Lord Orochimaru's Akainu..." and the like echoed from the training ground.

So when the boy entered the training ground, all that greeted him was an empty space. At this hour, there wasn't a single Sound Ninja training there!

Dōmeki couldn't help raising an eyebrow. "This is too much! They're Orochimaru's subordinates, yet they're slacking off like this?"

"How can a bunch of pests like that make the Sound Ninja prosper?"

Just then, Dōmeki caught sight of a spiky-haired passerby out of the corner of his eye. The cow-patterned scarf gave away the man's identity, and a brilliant smile immediately spread across the boy's face.

The young ninja, who had been watching the Sound Ninja hurry away with curiosity, suddenly felt an arm clamp around his neck. His face turned pale with fright.

Who could appear beside me without making a sound?

Before he could voice his question, an excited voice sounded in his ear.

"Is that you, Brother Zaku? I knew you were completely different from those good-for-nothings, Brother. Come help me test the results of my training!"

Sweat immediately broke out on Zaku Abumi's forehead. "I just remembered, Kin needs me for something..."

Yet the enormous strength in the boy's small body dragged him toward the training ground against his will.

Zaku Abumi stood facing Dōmeki, sighing inwardly over and over.

Just a few years ago, he was a little underling who followed me around. How did he become the person Lord Orochimaru trusts most in the base, someone people even secretly call Frenzied Akainu?

"Thank you so much for helping me train, Brother Zaku. I don't know why, but lately I haven't been able to find anyone to experiment... ahem, to practice fighting with!"

Dōmeki scratched his hair, seemingly troubled, like an ordinary, guileless boy sharing his worries with a trusted senior.

"I thought I'd made quite a few friends among the Sound Ninja, but lately they've all started avoiding me?"

Experiment! You definitely said experiment! Zaku Abumi roared inwardly. No wonder this monster keeps coming to the training ground and grabbing one or more unlucky people at random, supposedly to spar but actually to beat them up with all kinds of bizarre Ninjutsu!

If this had been a game world, Dōmeki Shun would probably have earned achievements like "Kick the Orphanage" or "Beat Up Otogakure" long ago!

"Maybe you should reflect on yourself, kid..."

Before Zaku Abumi could finish, he met the boy's "sincere," "kind" gaze and swallowed all his complaints.

Seeing that his "sincerity" had moved Brother Zaku, Dōmeki kept chattering. "Speaking of which, your outfit has been way too flashy lately, Brother Zaku. Is that 'death, death' on your chest some kind of fashion? And Brother Dosu and Kin..."

Zaku Abumi felt the veins bulge on his forehead. Even as he kept warning himself to hold back, his right fist swung out first.

His fist hurtled toward Dōmeki's head. Dōmeki, seemingly not yet having reacted, continued to chatter away about Dosu Kinuta's mink-fur cloak.

Got him!

Zaku Abumi was delighted, but the next moment, he felt no solid contact whatsoever.

The afterimage of Dōmeki's body, which his fist had passed through, gradually faded away. Sensing trouble, Zaku Abumi tried to pull his fist back, only to feel it caught in a firm grip.

The bones in his right hand crackled. Feeling that monstrous strength, Zaku Abumi sucked in a cold breath and instinctively sent a roundhouse kick slicing through the air toward Dōmeki.

Bang!

The boy raised his right hand to block Zaku's leg, then caught it with a turn of his wrist and hurled him away.

Zaku Abumi's body skimmed along the ground for several meters before he braced himself and flipped upright. He watched the boy warily, rubbing his right hand all the while, but roared, "Kid, are you trying to crush my right hand?"

"Huh?" Dōmeki scratched his hair sheepishly. "I barely used any strength against you, Brother Zaku!"

"Barely... any?"

Hearing that, Zaku Abumi glared at the boy in even greater anger.

"Let's say two-tenths of my strength!" Dōmeki said with a guileless smile.

"Bastard, I'll fight you with everything I've got!"

Zaku Abumi pressed both hands to the ground and shouted as the Chakra in his body surged.

"Ninja Art-Extreme Decapitating Air Waves!!!"

A little while passed, but nothing happened.

Zaku Abumi and Dōmeki stared awkwardly at each other. Only when Zaku looked down did he discover that the air holes in his palms had been plugged with fine sand and dirt at some point.

"Um, Brother Zaku, although modifying your body is very convenient, don't you think carrying a musical instrument as a weapon would suit you better?"

"Damn it, when did you use Earth Release..."

"Trash!"

Just as Zaku Abumi's anger flared, a sharp shout from behind him cut him off. He turned stiffly and stammered.

"L-Lords of the Sound Four!"

Four ninja led by Sakon and Ukon passed Zaku Abumi as though he were thin air and came to a stop directly opposite Dōmeki.

"Dōmeki Shun, the perfect disciple Orochimaru spoke of..."

"Looks like he's just an arrogant brat who loves showing off..."

"A cocky newcomer who needs to be taught a lesson..."

"How about we teach you how to respect your seniors today?"

The four who had been granted the title "Sound Four" spoke one after another, undisguised malice and killing intent bursting from their voices. The entire training ground was suddenly filled with murderous intent.

Dōmeki narrowed his eyes at the four who had appeared out of nowhere, then suddenly broke into a brilliant smile.

"Sure!"

"Actually, there's something I've always found puzzling. You're called the 'Sound Four,' but there are only four of you. Don't you seniors feel like something's missing?"