Tap, tap, tap.
Yuhara followed behind that Konoha Ninja, climbing the stairs one step at a time. When the other man finally pushed open the gate at the top, fresh, invigorating air instantly rushed in.
After arriving in this world more than a month ago, Yuhara had finally seen the light of day again.
Unfortunately, it was nighttime outside, and everything was pitch-black.
Above him hung a bright full moon and a river of stars scattered across the pitch-black sky. The curtain of night concealed a town dotted with flickering lights. The continuous chirping of insects and the occasional faint human voices blended together, making everything here seem so peaceful and serene... This really was the Land of Fire's Konoha Village.
All right, he had to admit that Yuhara was looking at all this through rose-colored glasses. Wartime Konoha could hardly be called "peaceful and serene." In reality, the village had always been on edge.
Even so, a town on the surface still felt far better than an underground prison.
Yuhara involuntarily drew in a deep breath, then kept his head tilted back, staring at the moonlit sky.
Only now did the feeling of being reborn finally become more tangible.
"Just like your name, isn't it?"
Seeing Yuhara stare at the night sky, the Konoha Ninja did not urge him to hurry. Instead, he waited a while before speaking.
Yuhara froze for a moment. After realizing what the other man meant, he slowly nodded... Yuhara was his surname. Naturally, he had a given name after it as well.
Once he came back to himself, the Ninja began walking again. As he moved forward, he said, "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Rindou, and I'm a Chunin. Unless something unexpected happens, you'll be following my orders from now on... In other words, you'll become my subordinate."
From Orochimaru's test subject to a Konoha Ninja's subordinate? This change was completely beyond Yuhara's expectations. He asked directly, "I shouldn't be a Konoha Ninja. This..."
"You are now. You have officially become a Konoha Genin." Rindou interrupted him, then explained, "According to our investigation, you were previously a Rogue Ninja. You'd never had any conflict with Konoha, and Orochimaru had even rescued you before, so there are no problems with your identity."
That explanation... was simply impossible to believe in every way. Orochimaru called that "rescuing" someone?
Besides, based on Yuhara's stereotypical impression, Ninja Villages were highly exclusionary organizations. They maintained a considerable degree of distrust toward all outsiders. How could a Rogue Ninja possibly be allowed to join Konoha so easily?
Rindou continued, "Unfortunately, though, we don't have much time for you to adapt to your surroundings. We'll be heading to the front lines to carry out a mission very soon."
Hearing that, the "reason" Yuhara had been made a Konoha Ninja without a rigorous review suddenly seemed to make sense. A word that sounded somewhat festive to others, but especially ominous to him, surfaced directly in his mind...
Cannon fodder.
During the later stages of the Ninja World War, every Ninja Village faced the same problem: insufficient military strength. With even five- or six-year-old children being sent to the battlefield, expanding personnel through unconventional means was only to be expected.
In war, human lives were a disposable commodity.
And since he was "cannon fodder," there was theoretically no need to discuss whether he was trustworthy.
Although the Ninja named Rindou seemed gentle and friendly, just as Yuhara had been unable to refuse becoming Orochimaru's test subject, he was now unable to refuse becoming this man's subordinate. All he could do was go with the flow.
Besides, leaving Konoha might not necessarily be a bad thing for Yuhara.
"You're a Kekkei Genkai Ninja with Magnet Release, right?" Rindou asked again. As the squad leader, he needed to quickly grasp certain pieces of information.
"Yes. I... basically don't use conventional ninjutsu." Yuhara followed his lead and explained. His statement was practically an understatement. It wasn't that he rarely used them—he couldn't use them at all.
Forget "jutsu." In reality, he had not even mastered "hand seals."
As they talked, the two arrived at Konoha's gate. After verifying their papers, they left the town proper and eventually reached a small camp not far outside the walls.
"I have a general understanding of your situation. You'll be added to a reserve squad. I'll introduce you to your teammates next."
In reality, a verbal description of someone's combat strength was meaningless. Only their performance on the battlefield could prove anything. Their specific capabilities could not be known before battle began.
Rindou then led Yuhara to a tent in the camp. He lifted the flap with one hand and stepped inside.
Yuhara followed closely behind him.
There were three people inside the tent. When they saw that the person entering was Rindou, they each quickly rose to their feet.
"Let me introduce you. These three are the squad leader, Jian Dong, and the squad members, Tigo and Xinliang." Rindou pointed to the three of them and introduced their names one by one. Then he pointed at Yuhara and said to the trio, "This is the new member of your squad, Yuhara."
Yuhara observed the three of them:
The squad leader, Jian Dong, was a woman who looked to be around twenty. Judging from her expression and the similarity between their names, she was related to Rindou... She looked like a serious and composed person.
Tigo was a little girl of only twelve or thirteen. When she noticed Yuhara looking at her, she gave him a sincere smile. She seemed friendly and willing to interact with others.
Xinliang was somewhere between Yuhara and Jian Dong in age. During the introductions, he did not even look up at Yuhara once... He was probably a gloomy, withdrawn boy who was difficult to get along with.
Aside from Rindou, the four people in the tent had a fairly obvious age progression... Tigo (13), Yuhara (15), Xinliang (17), Jian Dong (19).
By normal standards, none of these four should have been on the battlefield. They were all child soldiers. But by the standards of this world, even a little girl like Tigo was expected to become a qualified warrior.
Once Rindou finished the introductions, he soon left.
The tent instantly fell silent.
Silence turned into prolonged quiet, and prolonged quiet brewed an awkward atmosphere.
At this point, it was the youngest, Tigo, who spoke first. She said to Yuhara:
"Your eyes are really pretty..."
"..."
Yuhara's gray irises had a metallic quality. As a result, when he looked at others, they often seemed sharp, focused, and even aggressive. This had nothing to do with his subjective emotions; other people could easily mistake him for someone difficult to approach.
Still, describing his eyes as clear and beautiful would have been entirely accurate.
Faced with his little teammate's compliment, Yuhara smiled and then joked, "If you wanted to describe my eyes more precisely, you should put it this way... I have a gaze like liquid helium (Note)."
With that as the starting point, Yuhara and his three teammates began a brief exchange.
However, a day later, he discovered that the team in the camp had a serious problem:
Simply put, the camp's forces consisted of a twenty-four-man Ninja company made up of six standard four-person squads. Such an organization could even be called a battalion. Yet the overall commander of this force was Rindou.
For a Ninja force of this size, the commander should have been a Jonin, no matter what.
Yet Rindou was only a Konoha Chunin.
PS:
A new book is setting sail. Please add it to your collections and vote for it if you can.
I saw many familiar usernames, including some familiar ones who seem to appear every time I write Naruto. Many thanks for all your support, everyone.
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