The Offspring of the Fuma Clan

"... ha?"

Looking at the boy in front of him whose demeanor had suddenly changed, the hand that was resting on the hilt of the knife involuntarily froze in mid-air.

His dark eyes, which had remained cold and deep since the beginning, were now filled with deep doubt.

"What... does this mean?"

Suppressing her astonishment, she looked at the boy in front of her, her voice lower than before.

The boy slowly raised his head, blood trickling down his nose from his forehead, and said in a trembling voice:

I want to stay by your side.

Kou silently scrutinized the boy kneeling before him.

"Is this kid serious?"

Kou suppressed his composure and asked in a deep voice:

State your reasons.

The boy, meeting the knocking gaze, said in a trembling voice:

"Because... you are a good person."

"A good person?"

Kou looked at the boy in front of him with a surprised expression, and couldn't help but ask:

"Hey, I was just about to kill you."

"If you hadn't spoken quickly enough, your head would be on the ground by now."

"A good person? Don't make your brother laugh."

He paused, as if suddenly remembering something, glanced at the remains of the Root ninja on the ground, and said in a strange tone:

"The 'good person' you're talking about, you're not comparing me to those guys from Root, are you?"

Kou turned her gaze back to the boy, her disdain almost overflowing from her eyebrows:

"Although ninjas are generally considered to have a low moral standard, the group of guys who kidnapped you, especially that old Danzo, are among the worst beasts in the entire Ninja World."

Don't let them lower your definition of a "good person."

The boy listened to Kou's disapproving correction and firmly shook his head:

"You don't need to belittle yourself. Even in the entire Ninja World, you can be considered a good person."

I can be sure of that.

"After all..."

At this point, the boy paused, a brief struggle appearing in his eyes.

He bit his chapped lower lip, and as if making a decision, resolutely raised his eyes to look directly into those deep black pupils.

"After all, according to the ninja code, having witnessed your presence, you could have killed us all without hesitation to avoid leaking information..."

But you didn't do that; you just planned to erase our memories... and you told us the whole story.

You could have just taken action without saying anything, but you didn't.

The boy took a deep breath and placed his hands on his still slightly trembling knees, as if trying to appear less timid.

"Even if you did consider killing me, that's normal."

My opinion of you will not change in the slightest because of this.

Listening to the boy's words, his expression gradually became serious.

"You... seem to know a bit too much."

Kou looked at the boy in front of him, whose forehead was still dripping blood, with a scrutinizing gaze:

"What you just said isn't something an ordinary child who was casually kidnapped could say."

"You're not just some ordinary commoner from the Land of Rice Fields, are you?"

The boy listened to Kou's resolute words, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly nodded.

He raised his head, meeting the scrutinizing gaze that revealed no emotion in the moonlight, and, suppressing his fear, said earnestly:

"Fuma Naoto... that's my name."

"Wind Demon..."

Kou repeated the surname softly, a hint of surprise in his eyes as he looked at the boy.

"You are a ninja from the Fuma Clan?!"

Fuma Naoto heard Koko's words, tears welled up in his eyes, and his voice choked with emotion.

"As expected, the Ninja World Ninja World hasn't forgotten you, Grandpa! I..."

"Stop!!"

She raised one hand and stood directly in front of the boy.

He looked at the boy in front of him, who seemed to be from the Fuma Clan and was about to cry, and his lips twitched slightly.

"Hold it in! Cry after you've answered my question!"

Upon hearing Kou's words, the boy instantly covered his mouth tightly with both hands, swallowing back all the sobs that had risen to his throat.

Looking at the boy who claimed to be from the Fuma Clan, the doubt in her heart did not lessen in the slightest because of his tears.

I have never refined Chakra from this brat.

"If what he says is true, and he is indeed a descendant of the once-renowned Fuma Clan, a child of this age should have already refined Chakra."

But his own ninja skills and experience told him that the child was indeed not lying.

Kou temporarily suppressed his doubts and slowly spoke, his voice regaining its previous coldness:

"Are you... really a ninja from the Fuma Clan?"

As far as I know, although the Fuma Clan does indeed live in seclusion within the Land of Rice Fields, their whereabouts are always extremely secretive.

Even if Danzo wanted to capture members of the Fuma Clan Fuma Clan to use as laborers, he wouldn't have placed them in a place like this.

"The current 'roots' are not so wealthy."

Naoto hearing Kou's question, the light in Naoto's eyes dimmed in an instant.

"I... and my family are indeed members of the Fuma Clan, but none of us are ninjas."

"The things about the Fuma Clan and the ninjas were all told to me by my grandfather when he was alive."

"Grandpa said that he used to be a Chunin of the Fuma Clan and participated in the Second Ninja World War."

However, as the Fuma Clan declined, its members wandered from place to place, even resorting to thievery at one point.

Grandpa and some of the clansmen couldn't accept that kind of life, so they left the clan and settled in a small village on the border of the Land of Rice Fields.

From that time on, he never became a ninja again.

"So, your lineage is a descendant of the Fuma Clan, left behind elsewhere?"

Kou narrowed his eyes slightly and said in a deep voice.

Fuma Naoto nodded vigorously.

Kou seemed to suddenly understand something. Looking at the child kneeling before him, who was grasping at his last lifeline, a knowing glint flashed in his eyes:

"So, you want to stay by my side to become a ninja and then restore the Fuma Clan?"

Fuma Naoto paused for a moment, then shook his head frantically.

"No!! I really wanted to stay by your side, that's why I made this decision! It has nothing to do with family or anything like that!"

He paused, his voice suddenly lowering, and a heaviness beyond his years appeared in his red and swollen eyes.

"Besides, I don't think there's anything worth restoring about a family that would rather be a thief than live a peaceful life."