Just after leaving Yamagō Village and heading up the mountain, Veigar turned to Kakashi Hatake beside him and asked, "Kakashi, have you ever killed anyone?"
Without stopping, Kakashi Hatake turned to glance at Veigar and calmly replied, "I have."
Hearing the calmness in Kakashi Hatake's voice, Veigar's heart trembled. He quickly regained his composure and said, pretending to be calm, "I've never killed anyone!"
Kakashi Hatake was puzzled. He turned toward Veigar and softly said, "Hm?"
Immediately afterward, Kakashi Hatake heard Veigar continue, "Kakashi, do you know?"
"I've killed fish and pigs, and I even killed a wolf two days ago, but I've never killed a person."
Killing people was against the law!
This legal principle, deeply rooted in Veigar's soul since his previous life, still affected him even now.
However, from the moment Veigar stepped into the Ninja Academy, he had already considered that he might kill people in this world. After killing the first, there would be a second, a third... perhaps countless more.
Yet now that he was truly about to face a situation where he had to kill someone, Veigar discovered that all the mental preparation he had done for so long was completely useless.
He was still nervous when he should have been nervous!
"If you're afraid, I can handle this alone later."
Kakashi Hatake did not offer any words of comfort. He had never been in Veigar's current situation, so he simply stated the facts.
Taking a deep breath, Veigar asked Kakashi Hatake again, "Kakashi, bandits deserve to die, right?"
Although Veigar phrased it as a question, his tone was one of certainty.
Kakashi Hatake answered softly, "Mm!"
Then Kakashi Hatake heard Veigar say again, "Then, Kakashi!"
"Let me take action one more time. If you notice that I'm afraid, help me then."
Kakashi Hatake pondered silently for a long while before nodding heavily and saying, "All right!"
Soon, the two of them arrived at the mountain.
Veigar and Kakashi Hatake had originally thought they would have to search for some time to find their mission target, but they found them with surprising ease.
Seeing the crowd gathered ahead, Veigar and Kakashi Hatake revealed themselves at the same time. They kept a certain distance from the group, and then Veigar spoke: "You're Kawamura Daiji's men, right?"
"I'm Veigar, a Konoha Ninja. Could you please leave this place and not show up here again?"
When Kawamura Daiji heard the words "Konoha Ninja" from within the crowd, his heart trembled involuntarily. But when he turned around and saw Veigar and Kakashi Hatake, who looked like mere half-grown children, his surprise turned to anger, and he shouted.
"Konoha Ninja? Does Konoha have ninjas as young as you?"
"The forehead protectors on your heads must have been stolen—or perhaps you bought them somewhere."
"Being a ninja isn't something brats like you can pretend to be."
If age was a woman's secret and a man's sore spot, then for a child, it was the object of suspicion for those who did not know the truth.
The group of men behind Kawamura Daiji had originally feared the Konoha Ninja because Kawamura Daiji feared them. They, too, had been filled with terror toward the Konoha Ninja.
But now, when they heard Kawamura Daiji claim that Veigar and Kakashi Hatake were merely impostors, they instantly became furious.
After all, they were bandits.
"Boss, let me go chop the two of them up!"
"It's been a long time since I last killed someone."
A young man standing beside Kawamura Daiji and holding a large cleaver glared viciously at Veigar and Kakashi Hatake and requested permission from Kawamura Daiji.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Yuya."
"Don't let them die too quickly."
Kawamura Daiji also looked at Veigar and Kakashi Hatake as he spoke.
Although Kawamura Daiji had completely denied that Veigar and Kakashi Hatake were Konoha Ninja, he had some experience and knew that there were indeed children among the Konoha Ninja. He simply had never seen ones as young as Veigar and Kakashi Hatake.
His earlier words had basically been meant for his men to hear. Since someone under him was now volunteering to attack, Kawamura Daiji conveniently went along with it, letting his subordinate personally test whether Veigar and Kakashi Hatake were truly ninjas.
As soon as Kawamura Daiji finished speaking, his other men also began mocking Veigar and Kakashi Hatake.
"Yuya, the boss is right. Don't kill them too quickly. Give them a good beating first."
"That's right. How dare they pretend to be ninjas and scare us?"
"Go, Yuya. Show them that playing ninja games comes with a price."
Amid the shouts of the many bandits, Yuya stepped out from Kawamura Daiji's side. He stared intently at Veigar and Kakashi Hatake and shouted, "Run! Hurry up and run!"
"That's the only way you can entertain me!"
With that, Yuya charged toward Veigar and Kakashi Hatake.
Behind him, Kawamura Daiji looked at the calm, unruffled Veigar and Kakashi Hatake. The unease in his heart grew stronger, and he quietly took half a step backward, already preparing to flee.
If Veigar and Kakashi Hatake were real ninjas, he would run at once.
To Kawamura Daiji, whether others lived or died did not matter. What mattered most was surviving himself. As an ordinary person, Kawamura Daiji knew his own limitations—he was no match for a ninja.
If Veigar and Kakashi Hatake truly were impostors, as he had claimed, and Yuya managed to capture them, he would definitely rush forward at the first opportunity and display the cruelty expected of a bandit leader.
Looking at Yuya charging toward him, Veigar found the man's attack riddled with openings. In his eyes, Yuya's method of swinging his blade was utterly insignificant. There were countless ways to kill him in one strike.
"Sure enough, bandits can't be persuaded to surrender. Only strength can make them afraid."
Veigar made his decision immediately.
"Die!"
Once Yuya drew close, he swung the cleaver in his hand down toward Veigar's shoulder.
"Too slow."
Yuya's attack was far too slow in Veigar's eyes. With a slight sidestep, Veigar avoided it, while his eyes fixed on Yuya's chest.
Evil Force Spiraling Sphere.
Veigar silently shouted in his heart. The Evil Force Spiraling Sphere condensed in his palm, and he pressed it straight into Yuya's chest.
Pain instantly consumed Yuya's entire body, making his eyes bulge with agony. In that instant, Yuya, Kawamura Daiji's subordinate, plunged into an endless darkness.
Before you continue