The War Orphan

Looking at the plump grub in front of him, Chiba hesitated over whether to eat it.

He had been in this world for several days, but he was still confused about his situation.

The original owner of this body had been young. Aside from knowing that his name in this life was Chiba, a rather feminine name, Chiba had learned little else.

He only knew that this was the Land of Rain, which was in the midst of war. If nothing unexpected had happened, he had come to the Naruto world.

And based on a few simple clues, Chiba could figure out that it was probably the Second Shinobi World War.

Most importantly, he was right in the middle of a battlefield.

After his parents died, the original owner of this body had wandered around aimlessly. From what Chiba knew, he couldn't figure out where he was.

Of course, more than any of that, what bothered Chiba most right now was his empty stomach.

He hadn't eaten in days.

Suddenly, something caught Chiba's eye: a corpse.

"Hm? Maybe I can find something useful."

Chiba walked up to the body without much fear. Hunger's relentless craving was stirring every cell in his body.

In the face of that craving, all fear and disgust vanished.

Reaching toward the corpse, Chiba muttered to himself.

"Please, let there be something to eat. I can't hold out much longer."

Suddenly, as he searched the body, Chiba noticed the Forehead Protector on its head.

"A ninja! Looks like he's from Iwagakure?"

For some reason, Chiba began to tremble violently. Memories that didn't belong to him abruptly surfaced from the depths of his mind.

"Ah!"

A beautiful young woman suddenly screamed.

The corpse that had appeared before her had given her quite a fright.

"Huh? A dead guy?"

A tall, burly young man beside her called out, looking delighted rather than startled.

After turning over the corpse, the young man's face lit up even more. "He's a ninja, too. We might find something we can sell for money. Then we won't have to worry about food when we reach the next town."

Hearing him, the woman grew a little excited as well. She stood beside him, and the two eagerly searched the body together.

The boy beside them stared blankly at his parents, unable to understand why they had suddenly become so happy.

Suddenly, just as the young man picked up the ninja's gear pouch, a sharp metallic click rang out.

"Click!"

Before the three of them could react, a dense storm of Senbon shot up from the ground, instantly engulfing the excited young couple.

"Pfft!" "Pfft-pfft!"

A fine spray of blood burst through the air, splattering across the boy's face.

Staring blankly at his parents, now riddled with holes, the boy didn't know what to do.

"Dad... Mom?"

"Dad!"

"Mom!"

Only after a long moment did the boy snap out of it. He rushed toward them like a madman.

"Don't come any closer!"

His mother, who was less badly injured and hadn't died at once, mustered all her strength to shout.

The boy froze in place, staring blankly at his mother.

His mother was covered in blood, her face twisted with pain. She seemed like a stranger to him, and he was afraid.

"Mom?"

"Don't come closer... Cough, cough. It's dangerous."

The woman spoke with difficulty, blood spilling from her mouth.

The murky red in her blood made it clear she had been poisoned.

Looking at her bewildered child, the woman couldn't stop two streams of tears from running down her face.

"I'm sorry, Chiba. I'm sorry..."

"Mom... Sob..."

The boy realized what was happening and covered his mouth, weeping.

"Chiba, Mom might not be able to stay with you anymore. You may have to take care of yourself from now on."

Her eyes were filled with love and guilt.

"Chiba, you may face a lot of pain in the future, more than you can bear. You have to stay strong. No matter how much it hurts, grit your teeth and keep going."

"Mom..."

As if she knew that without her, this child might not survive, the woman's eyes filled with even greater guilt and pain.

"Live on, Chiba! You have to do your best to survive. It's Mom's last wish."

"Mom, can't you stay with me?"

"Waaah..."

The boy knelt on the ground and kept pleading through his tears.

The woman gazed deeply at him. Pain, guilt, hatred—her eyes held them all.

The boy couldn't understand her expression. He could only kneel there and weep in despair.

"Chiba..."

At last, her gaze settled on the boy. The woman murmured a prayer under her breath.

"If... If there really is a god, please... protect this child."

As the light slowly faded from the woman's eyes, the boy let out a heart-wrenching scream.

"Mom! Dad!"

"Ahhhhhhh!"

"Buzz—"

A buzzing rang through Chiba's mind, jolting him awake with the original owner's memories. He backed away in fear.

Only after retreating several dozen meters did Chiba finally sit down, dazed, and catch his breath.

The sorrow and terror the original owner had felt were vivid in his mind. Chiba couldn't help but feel as if he had experienced them himself.

Rather than say that his soul had taken over this body, it was more like his soul had merged with the original owner's.

The original soul had belonged to a boy with little experience or knowledge, so Chiba's own consciousness had taken the lead.

The boy had spent three days sitting blankly beside his parents' bodies. When he could no longer bear the hunger, he had wandered around until he passed out. That was when Chiba had arrived.

And choosing to keep this name was a way to honor the original owner of the body, as well as say goodbye to his own past.

Chiba took one frightened look at the dead ninja and suddenly jumped up, turning to run.

At that moment, he felt an almost instinctive fear of ninja corpses.

Suddenly, as Chiba sprinted away, a streak of black flashed past. A dark Kunai skimmed his nose and sank deep into the ground.

Feeling a faint sting in his nose, Chiba stood rigidly in place and looked fearfully toward where the Kunai had come from.

"What? He really is just an ordinary kid. I thought I'd found another tasty prey."

A yellow-haired Iwagakure ninja complained nonchalantly.

Staring blankly at the ninja in front of him, Chiba couldn't help trembling.

Just now, he had come within a hair's breadth of death.

To a ninja, he was probably just an ant they could crush whenever they pleased.

Before long, following the yellow-haired ninja's complaint, a standard four-man squad appeared before Chiba.

The black-haired, middle-aged ninja at the front gave Chiba an indifferent once-over, as if pondering something.

Suddenly, a ninja with a face covered in scars spoke up. "Kill him."

"War orphans like him will only suffer more if they live. Better to finish him off now than let him die after enduring all kinds of torment."

As he spoke, Scarface started toward Chiba to kill him.

Chiba shuddered and kept shrinking back in terror.

"Wait."

The black-haired ninja at the front suddenly stopped Scarface.

"Hm?"

At the scarred ninja's puzzled look, the black-haired ninja gave a cruel smile.

"Leave him. He might be useful."

Looking into the black-haired ninja's indifferent, sharp eyes, Chiba began to tremble even harder for some reason.

What did he mean by "useful"?