Could he not have been sent by the enemy to gather intelligence?
Was he really just a skinny, frail...
Ordinary person?
From Zong Mi's tone and expression—even the slight tremble of the hand clutching the forehead protector and his whitened knuckles—Chiba could sense his tension and fear without even looking at him. Tension and fear directed at Chiba.
And those microexpressions and bodily reactions did not look feigned.
Although this Zong Mi had previously acted calm and kind, deep down, he was actually quite wary and afraid of Chiba.
At the same time, Chiba understood why Zong Mi had not come straight in and had instead sat at the doorway. It was not because he had considered Chiba's wariness and did not want to make him too nervous. It was because the boy himself was deeply wary of Chiba, too nervous to dare come inside.
"You're right. That's my forehead protector. I'm a Konoha ninja."
Looking at Zong Mi, Chiba pursed his lips, hesitated briefly, then lowered his guard and admitted it.
Although I can't rule out that Zong Mi is an even better actor than an Oscar winner, I've never seen a liar capable of concealing things so thoroughly through microexpressions and body language. No matter how skilled a ninja is, they couldn't possibly lie so perfectly. At that level, even a polygraph probably couldn't tell whether they were lying.
That thought flashed through Chiba's mind.
"Really? You truly are... a Konoha ninja?"
Upon hearing the admission, Zong Mi spoke with considerable excitement, as though he dearly hoped Chiba was a Konoha ninja.
Hm? What... was this about?
Even while tense and afraid, he was especially glad that I'm a Konoha ninja? What exactly is going on with this Zong Mi?
Though Chiba's expression did not change when he