Switching Sides

Ya Midie quietly watched the child in front of him, but he could no longer think of him as a child.

The boy looked harmless, with an innocent, even somewhat adorable smile. Yet just two days ago, he had swept through a band of ruthless bandits. Their blood had sprayed across his body and face, but he hadn't so much as flinched. He had simply kept killing.

That day, Ya Midie had thought fairly well of Xian Yu and worried that the two children might get hurt. After hurriedly explaining things to his companions, he had followed the young boy and girl from the back of the caravan to the village entrance.

He had witnessed everything with his own eyes. In particular, he had seen the boy named Xiao Yu use a kunai to slice a bandit blocking the road clean in half... The sight had been utterly shocking!

As a samurai who had traveled far and wide with merchant caravans, Ya Midie had seen blood and killed people before. But watching someone cut a person in two so brutally, while he was still alive... That had shaken him.

And later, the boy had even killed the Black Wind Stronghold's leader, the powerful ninja Black Wind, a man even Hua Qi, the guildmaster, had greatly feared.

That terrifying circular crater and the deep, crisscrossing trenches in the ground had all been made by the ninjutsu unleashed by the boy before him and the other girl.

It was no wonder Ya Midie was so shocked. Even in the original story, people who could use Wind Release were quite rare.

And after Danzo had refined the Shimura Clan's Wind Release techniques, they had become even more powerful.

Though Wind Style: Vacuum Great Sphere and Wind Style: Vacuum Serial Waves were only B-rank ninjutsu, the ranking system only measured how difficult a technique was to master.

It was true that S-rank ninjutsu were generally stronger than A- and B-rank techniques, to some extent. But that wasn't always the case.

Some forbidden techniques were classified as such simply because they caused too much harm to the user or came at too high a price. Their power varied widely.

Seeing that Ya Midie had finished sharing what he knew,

Xian Yu gave him a faintly amused look. Ya Midie felt a chill run down his spine.

"Uncle Ya, I still don't understand why you came to tell me all this." Xian Yu folded his arms and looked Ya Midie up and down with a smile.

Ya Midie paused, then gave a bitter smile. "You really don't seem like a child."

After a moment, Ya Midie took a deep breath and said something shocking. "The guildmaster sent me to kill you."

"Oh? And how were you planning to kill me?" Xian Yu asked, utterly unconcerned and, if anything, rather curious.

"This stuff is colorless and odorless. It makes your limbs weak. Since it contains no poison and isn't fatal, it's even harder to notice." Ya Midie took a bottle from his pocket and continued, "I've been close to you before, so it wouldn't seem strange for me to come by and see you. Then I could find a chance to put this in your food or water. If anyone else from the guild did it, Xiaomei would definitely get suspicious. The guildmaster originally wanted to kill all of you outright, but the ninja he hired wasn't confident he could handle Xiaomei."

At that, Ya Midie's expression turned bitter. "Of course, that's what the guildmaster thought. Judging by what I've seen, if I'd actually gone through with it, I'd probably be dead by now..."

"Mm... You definitely wouldn't have succeeded. So why are you telling me this, Uncle Ya? Betraying your employer should be one of the worst things a samurai can do."

Damn... He really was going to poison me... Xian Yu looked perfectly calm on the outside, but inside, he was anything but. Σ(?д?lll)

At the mention of a samurai's code, Ya Midie's face darkened. His eyes flashed with fury as he spat, "Because that bastard never intended to let me live!"

"Hm? Would he really go that far? If you succeeded, wouldn't you be a hero? And if he wanted to silence you, there are so many people in the caravan—could he kill them all? Besides, from what you said, Hua Qi didn't catch you eavesdropping, did he?" The more Xian Yu listened, the more confused he became.

"We all heard Xiaomei shout that day. She called you 'young master.'" Ya Midie took a moment to collect himself. His expression eased a little as he continued, "I was following behind you two that day, but I arrived a step too late. When I got there, I heard the guildmaster, Hua Qi, reprimanding you. Then Xiaomei killed the bandits blocking the road, and right after that, you two rushed into the fight between the bandits and the villagers. I was afraid the guildmaster would think I'd brought you up front and get me caught up in it, so I hid behind a cart and watched... That's how I heard Xiaomei call you 'young master' in her panic. The Rain Ninja beside the guildmaster said Xiaomei was at least a Chunin and that he wasn't confident he could beat her. And if a Chunin was willing to follow someone and call him 'young master'..."

By then, Xian Yu had more or less figured it out.

So Hua Qi was afraid Xian Yu had powerful backing. He planned to have Ya Midie poison him first, then silence Ya Midie afterward. Otherwise...

If he was called "young master," did that mean there was a "master" too? (/ω＼)

If the young master was already this powerful, what about the master?

And clearly, Ya Midie had thought of this too. So naturally, he assumed Hua Qi had no intention of letting him live.

"Well then, Uncle Ya. Let's work together." Once Xian Yu understood what had happened, a smile appeared on his face, and he held out his hand.

As long as you swing your hoe well, there's no corner you can't dig into. Sincere devotion never wins hearts; tricks do the job every time. If love had a color, it would surely be the color of forgiveness. Society was too volatile—you could pull the trigger by accident. Brother Hua Qi... You'll forgive me, right? Xian Yu shed crocodile tears. ?_?

And just like that, without Hua Qi having the slightest clue, someone had stolen his subordinate right out from under him.

Ya Midie hurriedly shook Xian Yu's hand, flattered by the offer. "What do you need me to do? Should I put this stuff in Hua Qi and the others' food?" ∑(?Д?)

Xian Yu was momentarily speechless... Ya Midie might have been an ordinary guard, but he really did have what it took to do great things: clear-headed, bold, and careful. Most importantly, he was ruthless. Once he'd decided to switch sides, he'd done it all the way...

That made Xian Yu think more highly of him.

"No need for that. Uncle Ya, do you have family you need to get settled?" Xian Yu considered it for a moment, already forming a plan.

Ya Midie nodded. "My wife and son are both in the Land of Rain."

"Here, take these two thousand ryō in silver notes. Go back and pack, then take your family to Konoha. Tell them you're a new guard I've hired—Shimura Xian Yu. Someone will provide you with food and lodging. I'll make other arrangements when I return to the village." Xian Yu had his reasons for doing this. He needed some staff under him, and this was connected to one of his grand plans.

Ya Midie's face lit up at the offer. Konoha was a great place, and there were countless people who wanted to move there. And now he'd been given the chance? Just who was Shimura Xian Yu, to have so much influence? But since Xian Yu hadn't volunteered any details, Ya Midie, being the perceptive uncle he was, didn't foolishly ask. He simply accepted with delight.

Xian Yu nodded. Whether or not he revealed his identity didn't really matter. The devil was always in the details.

"Oh, right, Uncle Ya." Just as Ya Midie was walking out through the courtyard gate, Xian Yu suddenly called out.

"Hm? Young master, is there something else?" Ya Midie asked, puzzled.

Xian Yu smiled. "Mm... Nothing much. Just remember to step out with your left foot first." (/ω＼)