The rain was cold, and the dark corner did little to shield her from the wind. The little girl's body gradually grew colder, and her consciousness slowly blurred.
In her daze, she felt as though her body were becoming lighter, wrapped in a feeling of warmth...
Suddenly, a tremendous boom sounded in the distance, jolting her awake. She raised her little face slightly and saw smoke rising through the curtain of rain ahead. Two groups of figures had met on a narrow path and erupted into a fierce battle. As they darted past one another, ninjutsu flew everywhere, causing immense destruction to the surroundings.
Even the corner where she was hiding began to shake from the force of the ninjutsu. The already dilapidated building looked as though it could collapse at any moment.
"Ninjas!" Her little face turned pale. Palm-sized rocks were already crashing down beside her with loud thuds. The puppy whimpered, darting about in panic before fleeing into the rain and disappearing from sight. "Hey..." She reached out, wanting to call after it, but the puppy was already gone. The destruction around her grew worse, and she saw ragged refugees emerging from other hidden places as well. There were not many of them, and they varied in age. After the two groups of ninjas clashed, they fled in panic.
They were all people who had lost their homes in the war. Throughout the long conflict, they belonged to the weakest group. Whenever they encountered a battle between ninjas, all they could do was run.
Some of the unlucky ones were struck by stray ninjutsu or pierced by shuriken and Kunai flying through the air. They fell to the ground and never rose again.
The ninjas paid them no mind. They lived in entirely different worlds, and these were