Keeping Secrets, Entering Amegakure

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh."

A series of faint sounds rang out.

By the lantern light carried by the ninjas outside the alley, Rinto saw seven or eight ninjas turn into afterimages and vanish without a trace.

It seemed these Rain Ninja were quite professional. They knew to guard against enemies lurking in the shadows.

The leader of the group wore a broad raincoat and a specially made breathing mask over his face. He was tall and powerfully built.

With his excellent eyesight, Rinto could see a patchy black birthmark beside the man's eyes. It stretched from his forehead all the way to his cheekbones, covering nearly half his face.

Seeing that uniquely ugly face, Rinto instinctively shrank his neck and brushed his right hand over his chest.

The enormous wound across his chest and abdomen had already healed. The thin membrane clung tightly to his breastbone, making him look severely malnourished and skin and bones. Fortunately, as long as no one cut open his stomach, no one would be able to tell that there were no organs at all beneath that membrane.

Seeing this, Rinto finally breathed a sigh of relief. The gruesome wound had recovered after all.

The secret of his immortal body probably would not be exposed.

With that thought, Rinto braced himself against the wall with one hand and struggled to rise.

Suddenly, a sharp tachi appeared from nowhere and pressed against Rinto's neck.

"Don't move!"

Rinto froze slightly, immediately stopping his attempt to stand. He slowly raised both hands.

"Sure! I won't move. Big brother, hold your blade steady. Don't cut me—I'm scared of pain!"

The conversation was not loud, but it immediately drew the leader's attention.

Holding up a rain-shielding lantern, the ugly-faced man strode into the alley. Stopping before Rinto, he fixed him with a stern gaze and looked him over from head to toe.

"Who are you? Why are you here?"

Rinto forced a smile. "Sir, my name is Zhu Kangping. I'm an orphan."

Rinto had no intention of giving these Amegakure ninjas his real name. After all, he could not be sure whether Ineyū's corpse carried a scroll containing information about him.

If it did, the chances of him being imprisoned and sliced up again would be rather high.

Sure enough, one of the Amegakure ninjas searching Ineyū's body found a Sealing Array marked with a strange symbol beneath his arm.

The seasoned ninja directly dipped his thumb in some of Ineyū's blood and smeared it over the Sealing Array.

"Poof!" A cloud of white smoke dispersed, and a huge scroll appeared in the ninja's hand.

While keeping an eye on the ninja's movements from the corner of his eye, Rinto split his attention to answer the ugly-faced man's question.

"As for why I'm here, it's simple. I was captured by people from the Jashin Cult before, but I found an opportunity to escape yesterday. I thought hiding in powerful Amegakure would be safe, but I didn't expect the Jashin Cult to chase me here anyway."

As he spoke, he pointed at Ineyū's corpse not far away.

"You killed him?" the ugly man asked again.

Rinto nodded. There was no need to lie about something like that. The signs of battle in the alley were too obvious. Any somewhat experienced ninja could analyze the rough course of the fight at a glance.

"How did you kill him?"

"Uh..." Rinto paused before answering, "Reporting, sir: Substitution Technique, traps, Explosive Tags, and a little strategy."

At that, the ugly-faced man's lips tightened almost imperceptibly. Deep in his eyes as he looked between Rinto and Ineyū's corpse was a barely concealed trace of disdain.

It seemed he looked down on Rinto's little tricks—and even more on Ineyū for being killed by a child.

Just then, the ninja who had finished his inspection hurried over to the ugly-faced man. Covering his mouth with one hand, he leaned close and muttered into his ear.

"Lord Shinda, the deceased has been identified. He is Ineyū, the Messenger of the Jashin Cult, with a bounty of twenty million Ryo. The scroll on him cannot be opened in the short term."

Upon hearing this, the man called Shinda swept a disdainful glance over Ineyū's corpse and asked in a low voice:

"How did he die?"

"The deceased first had both legs blown off by Explosive Tags, then his chest and abdomen were blown apart by another Explosive Tag at close range.

"As for who killed him, it should be this child before you. The pit on the ground appears to be the trace of Earth Style: Headhunter Technique. Its depth is close to the child's height.

"There is also a wooden stake in the pit. It should be from the Substitution Technique, and it was performed the instant he was struck by the Earth Style technique. The timing was extremely precise."

After hearing the ninja's report, Shinda looked at Rinto with some surprise, the light in his eyes flickering uncertainly.

"By the way, how much was the bounty on that dead piece of trash?"

"Twenty million Ryo," the ninja replied quietly.

At that, Shinda's lips curled slightly as a plan formed in his mind.

"Go. Take this brat back and lock him up. Since the corpse can no longer be identified, throw it into the river to feed the fish."

After speaking, he gave the ninja beside him a silent wink.

The ninja had followed Shinda for a long time and immediately understood. He nodded hypocritically and turned to leave.

Although Rinto's hands were bound behind his back, he was not worried.

He had not heard their conversation, but he could clearly see the look in the ugly-faced man's eyes.

That guy's eyes kept brightening and darkening. He was definitely plotting something, and it could not be anything good.

Still, Rinto did not care. Everything related to Ineyū was less appealing to him than a set of Weighted Gear.

Besides, an adult soul lived inside his seven-year-old body. The greatest difference between adults and children was that, after being beaten down by society, he understood that one had to bow one's head under another's roof.

Most importantly, he looked like a child. Not only was he of no use, but he would also waste a great deal of food.

Still, that bastard had swindled him out of twenty million Ryo in bounty money. He would remember this grudge. Once he mastered the Eight Inner Gates Formation, the first person he would kick to death would be this guy.

After memorizing the ugly-faced man's distinctive features, Rinto put on a weak, helpless, pitiful expression and obediently allowed the Rain Ninja to escort him out of the alley.

In the dark, damp cell, Rinto slept blissfully through the night.

Now, dim daylight shone through the fist-sized window. It was already broad daylight.

Whistling, Rinto sat cross-legged against the cell wall, holding a kunai and scratching words and drawings into the wall.

It was the second day after leaving the Jashin Cult, and he was in a very good mood.

Although I had just gained my freedom only to be caught and locked up by the Rain Ninja again, I believe these kind people will let me out soon. (#^.^#)

That was what Rinto wrote, and what he truly thought.

Not only did his cell have a fist-sized window with decent lighting, but the ninja who had locked him up had only given his Ninja Pouch a cursory search. He had not even taken the kunai inside.

Taken together, that meant Amegakure did not think much of him. Or rather, even though he had killed Ineyū, they did not think much of his strength.

That attitude was rather telling.

Still, Rinto could more or less guess the reason.

Amegakure's two successive leaders were Hanzo of the Salamander, known as the God of Shinobi, whose strength needed no explanation—he was simply powerful; and the next generation's Nagato was even ridiculously strong, having once single-handedly destroyed Konoha's entire real estate industry.

No wonder they did not care about a small fry like him. With village leaders that strong, who the hell would care about a seven-year-old brat?

They were keeping him locked up now only to claim the bounty without involving him.

Once they collected it, they would naturally let a little brat like him go.

As for Ineyū's twenty-million-Ryo bounty, Rinto did not care in the slightest. Once he became strong enough, the first thing he would do was kick that ugly bastard who stole his kill to death.

Rinto's guess was correct. After hurriedly finishing a strangely flavored prison meal, the lackey ninja who had been with the ugly-faced man last night came over.

Expressionlessly, he opened the cell door.

"Kid, come with me."

"Oh, and later, don't take what you shouldn't."

With that, he led the bewildered Rinto out of the cell.

They twisted and turned through corridor after corridor.

Just as Rinto was getting dizzy from all the turns in the strange building, they finally arrived at their destination.

Knock, knock, knock. The iron door engraved with Amegakure's symbol was knocked upon.

"Come in!" A young yet steady voice sounded from within. The lackey pushed open the door and led the slightly confused Rinto inside.

What greeted his eyes was a huge, conspicuous desk in the center of the room. A large stack of documents lay neatly arranged atop it. Behind the desk sat a tall, imposing young man wearing a specially made mask, with a tube extending backward from each side. He wore an Amegakure forehead protector.

What drew the eye most were the young man's eyes, which made him seem thoroughly imposing.

Behind and to one side of him stood the ugly-faced man from last night, his face full of reluctance and his gaze at Rinto carrying a hidden threat.

Behind the two men, a massive map hung on the wall, covered in all kinds of arrows.

After only one glance, Rinto instinctively lowered his head.

Though he knew little about military matters, he knew not to casually look at something like a battle command map.

Seeing Rinto quickly lower his head as if he had seen nothing, a trace of appreciation appeared deep in the dark eyes of the man seated behind the desk.

"Sit."

The firm, powerful voice rang out. Keeping his head lowered, Rinto swiftly pulled out the chair before the desk and sat down.

Seeing this, the man nodded and picked up a scroll.

"Zhu Kangping?"

"That's me." Rinto nodded.

"Then I'll call you Hei-kun."

After speaking, the man cleared his throat twice and continued on his own.

"Let me introduce myself. I am Hanzo of the Salamander, leader of Amegakure.

"I have already learned about your situation from Shinda.

"You were once a child imprisoned by the Jashin Cult. Later, you escaped when they were conducting a sacrifice and came to my village.

"After that, you were caught up by Ineyū, a Messenger of the Jashin Cult. You fought him and killed him cleanly.

"By the way, did you know that the person you killed was Ineyū, a Messenger of the Jashin Cult?"

Rinto nodded.

There was no point in lying before someone this powerful. Besides, it would be obviously unreasonable for a child who had been imprisoned for so long not to recognize the leader of the Jashin Cult.

Rinto firmly believed that one lie required ten more lies to cover it up.

And those who truly knew how to lie either glossed over the truth so no one noticed, or hid one lie among countless truths so that no one could distinguish it.

When Rinto nodded, Hanzo of the Salamander's expression visibly became much kinder.

He hated liars. Or rather, all those in positions of power hated people who lied.

"Can you tell me how you escaped, and how you killed Ineyū?"

Rinto sighed inwardly. Could I refuse to answer? What a pointless question.

But an adult soul lived inside his body, so he showed not the slightest impatience. Pretending to be honest, he began speaking.

"This is what happened. More than half a year ago, I was captured and taken to a Jashin Cult base. I was imprisoned in a cell with other children, and every day passed in that cell, day after day.

"The cultists brought us food every day, taught us Chakra extraction methods, and occasionally took us out to brainwash us."

"Oh? Brainwashing? How did they brainwash you?" Hanzo of the Salamander asked curiously.

"Uh... they kept us from sleeping and constantly filled our ears with the Jashin Cult's teachings, telling us how wonderful the Jashin Cult was."

"Then how did you avoid being brainwashed?" Hanzo of the Salamander asked again.

Rinto shook his head. "I didn't avoid it. I'm still a follower of the Jashin Cult. It's just that compared to the Jashin Cult, I want to live freely."

After saying that, Rinto put on an embarrassed expression.

"Well, the only thing they gave us every day was Ration Pills. Those things simply weren't fit for human consumption. They were practically the same as eating dirt.

"The water was bad too. A lot of kids my age couldn't even pee.

"The conditions for taking a dump were terrible too. The toilet paper had burrs on it, and it scratched my ass raw every time.

"Oh, and we couldn't bathe there either. Everyone's clothes were full of lice, and we got bitten so badly every night that we couldn't sleep.

"What I couldn't stand the most was that the guards made us work too, cleaning and stuff. It was simply outrageous. What decent person cleans?

"And there was more! Too many people lived in each cell, so there wasn't any privacy at all. If anyone got an upset stomach, everyone had to smell their farts together."

Seeing Rinto ramble on endlessly, even the calm and steady Hanzo of the Salamander could no longer sit still. With an odd expression, he raised a hand to stop the chatterbox.

"Hei-kun, get to the point."

"Uh, anyway, believing in Jashin was fine, but eating badly and having to work was not."

The three people in the room were all speechless.

Now they could see it clearly. This guy was a lazy mule who had gluttony and laziness carved into his bones.

Raising his head slightly, Rinto saw the three of them staring at one another in bewilderment from the corner of his eye, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He had rambled on so much. Most of it was true, but he had not been locked up with the other children.

As for Chakra extraction methods, only he and Haruto had been qualified to learn them.

The reason he said it that way was to gloss over his special immortal body and use other special talents he had fabricated to draw Hanzo of the Salamander's attention.

In truth, his "gluttony and laziness" were not entirely fabricated either.

Could modern people's behavior really be called gluttony and laziness? It should be said that lazy people drove technological development.

The room was quiet for a long while.

"Ahem." Hanzo of the Salamander coughed twice, forcibly suppressing the urge to complain.

"Um... Hei-kun, did you know that Ineyū had a bounty of twenty million Ryo?"

Rinto nodded again. "I occasionally heard the guards mention it. That was also why I slipped into your village by way of the small roads. I thought that with more people around, the Messenger's behavior would at least be more restrained."

Hanzo of the Salamander nodded in agreement. He felt that although the child before him was a little gluttonous and lazy, his intelligence was truly beyond question.

Though children in the Warring States period generally matured early, and there was no shortage of seven- or eight-year-olds going to battle, most children were not half as clever as this boy, much less possessed such a scheming mind.

With that thought, Hanzo of the Salamander stopped hesitating. He closed the scroll on the desk and slowly stood.

"Hei-kun, since you know about Ineyū's bounty, I'll give you two choices."

Rinto knew the important part had arrived. He immediately sat upright.

"First, I have already sent someone to collect Ineyū's bounty. You killed him, so you may take the bounty, but the repair costs for that alley will be deducted from it."

The moment his words fell, Rinto felt a blade-like gaze sweep repeatedly over his body.

He did not need to think about it. It had to be Shinda, the man he would definitely kick to death someday.

At the same time, Rinto understood why the lackey ninja had told him earlier not to take what he should not.

"The second choice..." Hanzo of the Salamander continued.

"You join the village and become my disciple."

Before Hanzo of the Salamander could finish, Shinda shouted loudly from the side, disregarding all etiquette.

"Lord Hanzō, even if he killed Ineyū, he is not qualified to become your disciple!"

What he actually wanted to say was: Lord Hanzō, even if you are choosing a disciple, you should choose someone powerful, loyal, hardworking, and uncomplaining like me!

The moment Salamander Shinda finished speaking, Hanzo of the Salamander sharply raised his right hand in a silencing gesture and looked at Rinto with unwavering eyes.

"Become my disciple, and you won't have to worry about harassment from the Jashin Cult in the future. As for the bounty—"

Rinto hurriedly shook his head, cutting him off.

Having been interrupted twice, Hanzo of the Salamander's expression visibly darkened. He was about to fly into a rage, but Rinto's next words dispelled his anger.

"Lord Hanzō, what bounty? How could I possibly have a bounty? As long as I can join the warm, loving family of Amegakure, I'd even be willing to pay out of my own pocket."

Seeing this, Hanzo of the Salamander nodded in satisfaction.

At the same time, Rinto breathed a sigh of relief.

Good thing this guy didn't take it seriously. I'm willing to do anything else; but make me pay out of pocket? Sorry, how about becoming a Rogue Ninja instead?