"Are you a ninja... pretty big sister?"
A soft, sweet girl's voice came from behind Hyuga Rei.
A small, frail hand rested on the hem of Rei's clothes and gave it a gentle tug.
"Huh?" Rei turned around in surprise.
The next moment, she saw a short, skinny girl with sunken cheeks. The girl's lips parted timidly, and the large eyes that should have been bright and lively were clouded over with gray.
"Ninja big sister... I'm so hungry... Could you..." the girl began timidly, lowering her head and not daring to meet Rei's gaze.
Rei was a little flustered. It was obvious she had never encountered a situation like this before.
Seeing this, the whole group stopped. Aburame Keiichi turned to look at the girl who had suddenly appeared. After glancing her over, he said nothing, simply waiting quietly.
"I..." Rei turned to Aburame Keiichi for help, but he only gave a slight shake of his head, signaling that she should handle it herself.
"Gurgle..." The girl's stomach rumbled. The hand holding Rei's clothes trembled, then let go.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I've bothered you, Lady Ninja. I'll go now." The girl's gaunt face turned pale, and she swayed as she tried to leave.
For some reason, Rei felt a pang in her heart. She quickly reached out to stop the girl from backing away.
"Wait." Rei spoke softly, her eyes filled with sympathy.
She hurriedly fumbled through her wallet, pulled out several large-denomination bills, and moved to put them in the girl's hand.
"Take this money and buy yourself something to eat. Don't wander around the streets. It's not safe," the girl said to herself.
She was completely unaware of the change in the atmosphere around her.
On the dead, deserted street, people in tattered clothes turned to look. Their dull, numb eyes all fixed on the money in the girl's hand.
Something fueled by desire was burning, gradually ripening into a fruit called "evil."
Aburame Keiichi, who had been watching closely from the side, furrowed his brow and sighed. He shifted as if about to do something.
But Uchiha Kai moved first.
The boy strode forward and firmly caught Rei's arm as she offered the money, gently turning it aside to stop her.
"Kai?" Rei tilted her head, confused.
The boy only shook his head, his stern face revealing little emotion.
"Rei, you'll put her in danger if you do that," he explained gently.
He turned his head and gestured for Rei to look around at the "people" staring blankly at the money, their eyes bloodshot.
Rei was startled. She covered her mouth, clearly realizing that she had acted rashly and made a mistake.
"W-What do we do?" she asked instinctively, at a loss.
Kai patted her hand.
"Leave it to me. I'll take care of it," he said in a low voice. The confidence in his tone reassured Rei.
The boy took a step forward, but didn't speak to the girl first.
Instead, he lifted his hand. Zhulu slid from its scabbard at his waist, gleaming with a dazzling, icy light. He raised his eyes, revealing a frigid gaze.
His blade-sharp stare swept across the "wolves" gathered around them. They were startled, and beneath the shadow of death, even the greatest greed was useless.
"Gulp." Someone swallowed involuntarily, setting off a chain reaction.
As the crowd dispersed, Kai sheathed his weapon and walked over to Morino Kei, who was carrying a pile of bags.
"Kai?" the burly boy asked, confused.
"Get some rations. We should do what little we can. We can't help everyone, but we can still do our best," the boy said, his face solemn.
Morino Kei looked just as troubled. He nodded and quickly dug out a large bundle of rations, with a little dried meat mixed in.
Kai took it and returned to the girl. As he watched her swallow instinctively, his eyes twitched slightly.
"This food should last you a while if you ration it. Take it," the boy said, holding out the bundle.
The girl timidly looked up, glancing from the bundle to the boy's face, but didn't dare reach for it.
"Go ahead and take it. It's just a little something from us," the boy said gently, managing a decent smile.
"Th-Thank you, big brother. You're a good person."
The girl spoke timidly as she slowly took the food and hugged it tightly to her chest.
The boy's gaze wavered, as if he were pondering something.
The next moment, he reached into his side pocket and pulled something out. He opened his palm in front of the little girl.
It was a handful of beautifully wrapped candies, their colorful wrappers glinting as they hinted at different flavors.
The girl's eyes lit up, and she couldn't look away.
"Does that mean we're friends now?" the boy asked out of the blue.
"Ah... Big brother, you've given me so many things," the girl replied in surprise.
"If you want... then we're friends."
At that, Kai's lips curled into a smile.
"If we're friends, then let me treat you to some candy." The boy held out his hand.
The girl stared at them, then instinctively took the candies.
"Since we're friends now, will you promise me something?" The boy tilted his head and spoke softly.
"Y-Yes... What is it?"
"If you meet a friend worth making sacrifices for someday, give them some candy, okay?" The boy smiled lightly, his handsome face seared into the girl's memory.
"O-Okay!" the girl stammered.
The next moment, to everyone's surprise, Kai pulled out another item.
"Likewise, when you meet a wicked person who deserves to die..."
The boy paused, revealing the kunai in his hand.
"Use this. Cut their throat and let them die in regret."
Kai's voice was still gentle, but his words were anything but.
The bewildered girl stood frozen in place, her body's instincts keeping her from moving.
But when her gaze fell on the weapon resting in the boy's palm, something long suppressed, hidden in the depths of her memories, began to stir.
It called to her, urging her on, and her arm began to move. She gripped the kunai Kai had offered her tightly.
In that instant, the girl felt as if she had grasped something—not the cold blade in her hand, but something more unusual, something invisible.
She had grasped "struggle."
Kai turned and walked back to the group without hesitation.
"Hmm..." Aburame Keiichi, who had watched the whole time without saying a word, rubbed his chin and suddenly smiled.
"Sorry, I got a little carried away."
Kai rubbed his face and apologized quietly.
Morino Kei blinked, unsure what to say. He simply patted Kai on the shoulder.
Beside him, Rei suddenly broke into a radiant smile, covering her mouth.
"What is it, Rei?" Kai asked, puzzled.
"Nothing." Rei clasped her hands behind her back.
Then she suddenly leaned close to Kai's face, her beautiful eyes drawing near as she stared at him.
"You're really gentle... Kai-kun."
"What?"
The boy asked in confusion, but Rei turned away, humming a little tune and no longer paying him any attention.
And so, amid the strange silence, Keiichi's team waited for the fishing boat they had booked in advance to arrive.
During the wait, Aburame Keiichi took out the mission briefing and began explaining it to everyone. Morino Kei was left thoroughly confused.
But sometime during the wait, Uchiha Kai disappeared. No one knew where he had gone.
Only the occasional miserable screams echoed from an alley at a corner of the fishing village.
In the years that followed, many fearsome beggars with severed tendons in their hands and feet appeared in this area.
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