The Fire of Silence

Drizzling rain fell incessantly from the sky into the forest, with dark clouds stretching toward the horizon. This autumn rain, which had begun without anyone noticing, offered no hint of when it might cease.

"So cold."

The leaves, constantly washed by the rain, displayed a striking emerald hue, and the droplets dripping through the layers of foliage felt exceptionally icy.

That was to say nothing of the droplet that landed precisely on the back of the boy's neck.

The chill against his skin caused him to quickly bend his elbow and wipe away the water that had landed there. In the depths of the forest, far from human tracks, he was quietly squatting beneath a large tree... Much like the current weather, he bore the name "Rain," or more specifically, "Hanyu Yu."

Whether it was the drizzle, the jungle, or humanity itself, these were all mundane things unworthy of surprise, yet there were always things here that should have been startling...

"What a miserable way to die."

Aside from the sound of dripping rain, the only thing in the jungle was Hanyu's soft whisper.

The subtlety and clamor of the rain, the uniqueness and murmurs of a human voice—these sounds were merely tiny embellishments in an exceptionally quiet environment. Regardless of the natural rainscape, a deafening, unimaginable roar had erupted in this area not long ago, scaring away all the surrounding animals.

The scene was now as quiet as the previous commotion had been exaggerated; the two states served as mutual proof. This was a battlefield where the fighting had ceased, which further explained why a corpse, mangled beyond recognition, lay before Hanyu's eyes.

The rain did its best to wash away the surrounding bloodstains, yet it could not cleanse everything in such a short time.

Hanyu felt no fear toward the corpse. The reason was not courage or bravery, but simply because he had grown accustomed to such things. The world was in the midst of war; seeing the dead was hardly a rare sight.

If it were a living person, Hanyu would never approach someone who practically had the word "danger" written on their face, but the dead were a different matter. A dead person posed no threat and carried not a shred of danger.

There were three corpses in the vicinity. Judging by their attire, the three belonged to two different factions. The battle had been a two-on-one engagement; the process was unknown, but the visible result was that both sides had perished together.

The three bodies were scattered in three directions, each about ten meters apart.

Hanyu rummaged through the corpses, attempting to collect anything valuable or usable. To a large extent, living alone, this was exactly how he survived. He had just recovered a gourd-shaped container and a broad-bladed sword that looked somewhat ill-suited for use.

He slung the gourd over his back, gripped the sword with both hands, and began walking toward the third corpse. Both items were a bit too heavy, causing his pace to be quite slow.

However, the distance Hanyu had to travel was short, and he soon arrived at the third person.

Well, at least in terms of the state of the body, this one looked better than the previous two. Although half his face was a bloody mess and the other half was covered in mud, he at least retained a normal human form, sparing others from using words like "meat paste" or "mince" to describe him.

To Hanyu, the difference between this man and the previous two was that his belongings were easier to collect... rummaging through a person was always simpler than fishing items out of a puddle of gore.

But just as Hanyu prepared to lean down and reach out a hand toward the other, the eyes on that bloodless, dead face suddenly snapped open.

Calm as a deep pool, resolute and filled with killing intent—in that single instant, those eyes were enough to reveal exactly what kind of person their owner was.

Stunned by the intense emotions radiating from the other's gaze, Hanyu froze for a moment. By the time he quickly regained his senses, he knew things had gone wrong... just as he had thought before, this was the kind of dangerous person he should never have approached.

An indescribable sense of crisis struck him. In the nick of time, Hanyu barely managed to lift his other hand, holding the broad-bladed sword in front of him like a shield.

He had no time to feel relieved; the next moment, an arrow formed from concentrated water shot toward him with a speed that allowed for no further movement.

However, the "shield" in front of him failed to serve its purpose. The water arrow shattered it with ease, then proceeded to pierce through his body before striking the gourd behind him like a heavy hammer.

The intense, uncontrollable stinging pain, the sharp water arrow, and the shards of the shattered weapon all intertwined with Hanyu's flesh and blood in an instant.

In the eyes of this "dead man," there seemed to be a slight change, but this was no longer something Hanyu could notice or care about, for under such an impact, he immediately lost consciousness and blacked out.

When Hanyu finally awoke in a daze, he struggled to open his eyes, finding only darkness above him. He turned his head to the side, and more light finally reached his pupils... he realized he was lying inside a massive hollow tree.

Outside the tree hole, the drizzle continued.

The stinging pain radiating from his shoulder and throughout his upper body pulsed like a heartbeat, continuously stimulating Hanyu's brain and confirming that everything he had just experienced was no hallucination.

By the light outside, he checked his injuries. Aside from the various small scratches on his body, his left shoulder had been cleanly and neatly pierced through.

It was fortunate that it was only his shoulder; if the attack had been even slightly off-center, the hole would have been in his neck... Thinking of it that way, his current injuries were not entirely unacceptable.

Someone had already treated his wounds, so he hadn't died of blood loss while unconscious.

"I... I shouldn't have been out for long, right?" Hanyu asked in as calm a tone as he could muster.

Of course, he was not alone in the tree hole; the person who had "died" was there too. The man was sitting in the corner on the other side of the hole, facing the opening... the blood-stained brown armor and the various wounds on his body were strikingly visible.

He was the one who had wounded Hanyu, and now, he was the one who had saved him.

"Hmm, only a few hours have passed."

Even after speaking, the man looked no different from a corpse. His voice was low and hoarse, his breathing nearly imperceptible, and the faint sound of rain outside seemed to drown it all out.

"That's good..." Hanyu said.

Although the man before him exuded an aura of danger, the good news was that he was capable of communication, though... Hanyu clearly didn't know what to say to someone like this.

Everything that had happened was an unprovoked disaster for Hanyu, yet he could understand the man's actions... having just finished a battle and being in a delirious, near-death state, anyone would have attacked someone approaching them without hesitation. If one had to blame someone, it was Hanyu's own lack of caution.

"Regardless, thank you for treating my wounds." He clutched his shoulder and struggled to sit up. Even this simple movement caused the pain in his wound to break him out in a cold sweat.

He expressed his gratitude, as the man could have simply left him to his fate.

But the man did not respond. A moment later, Hanyu couldn't help but ask, "Don't you need to treat your own wounds?"

The injuries on the man's body looked far more severe than Hanyu's; it was a miracle he was still alive.

This time, the man finally spoke again, his words brief and telling: "There is no need."

As he spoke, he lifted his shoulder, revealing a gaping wound under his ribs... it wasn't just the flesh; the organs inside had been so severely damaged that they had ceased to function.

Yes, it was a miracle that this man was still alive, but miracles could not last forever. The man knew he was dying, so there was no need for treatment.

"If you hadn't disturbed me, I think I would already be dead," he added.

He then shook his head with difficulty; there was no need for him to say anything more about himself.

"On the other hand, why would someone of your age appear in a place like this?"

One had to know that this was a dense forest devoid of human habitation; even if a human were to appear occasionally, it shouldn't be a child like Hanyu.

"To... survive, I suppose. Let me introduce myself: my name is Hanyu Yu, and I am a stray." Hanyu said.

In such chaotic times, it was not strange for a stray to appear anywhere, and it was even more commonplace for one to vanish; everything was done simply to stay alive.

Having said that, Hanyu looked at the other person again, and the man quickly understood the meaning behind that gaze...

"Me? Is it my turn?"

He had no reason to introduce himself at all; in fact, because his status was significant enough and this was enemy territory, he absolutely could not reveal his identity. Yet, in the end, he still managed to pull the corners of his mouth into a smile while casting his gaze into the depths of the curtain of rain:

"My name is Senju Tobirama...

I am a ninja."