A Dangerous Situation

Chiba glanced around in a daze. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't figure out what.

Frowning deeply, Chiba couldn't help wondering if he was imagining things.

Just as Chiba was anxiously trying to figure out what was bothering him, Izumi suddenly leaned over and gently pried open his tightly furrowed brows.

"Hehe, don't always act like some little grown-up. Try smiling once in a while. What could a child possibly have to worry about all day?"

"Big Sister Izumi, I—I just feel like something's wrong."

Izumi smiled softly, soothing Chiba.

"Don't let your imagination run wild. Even if there really is trouble, Xia Mu will take care of everything."

As she spoke, Izumi began fussing with Chiba's hair again.

"Come to think of it, Chiba really is adorable. If you were a girl, you'd grow up to be a great beauty."

Normally, whenever Izumi teased Chiba like this, he would jump up in outrage and protest. This time, though, he seemed not to have heard her at all. He didn't react in the slightest.

"Thump! Thump!"

Chiba could feel his heart beating faster and faster, while the oppressive feeling he couldn't shake grew more intense.

What was wrong?

Before he knew it, his forehead was covered in a fine sheen of cold sweat.

"Chiba, what's wrong with you?"

Izumi anxiously felt his forehead and called out to Xia Mu.

"Xia Mu, come quickly! Something's wrong with Chiba."

Xia Mu hurried over.

"Chiba, what's wrong?"

Xia Mu looked at Chiba in confusion and anxiously pressed his hand to Chiba's forehead.

People nearby were also startled by Chiba's strange behavior. They stopped their conversations and looked at him in confusion.

Ignoring their puzzled gazes, Chiba scanned the area. Seeing everyone fall silent as they watched him, he suddenly realized something. His expression changed at once.

"I figured it out—the sound! The sound is wrong!"

"What sound is wrong?"

"Big Brother Xia Mu, don't you think it's been too quiet all along the way?"

"Quiet?"

Xia Mu paused, then looked in confusion at the forest on either side of the road.

The forest, which should have been filled with the sounds of insects, birds, and all manner of other creatures, had somehow become as silent as the grave.

Chiba recognized this scene all too well. It had been just like this when Heichen and the others fought last time.

After a brief pause, Xia Mu's expression changed just as sharply.

"Stop! Stop, now!"

The entire convoy quickly came to a halt.

"What's going on, Xia Mu? Has something happened?"

"Yeah, why did you suddenly tell us to stop?"

Without explaining much, Xia Mu urgently ordered everyone to turn back the way they had come.

"Damn it, I should've noticed sooner!"

Given Xia Mu's wealth of experience, he shouldn't have made such an oversight. But with success so close, he had let his guard down.

Besides, Xia Mu had spent the past few days busy making all kinds of preparations for the new home they were about to reach. He'd also been preoccupied with figuring out how they could save more children. That was what had led him to make this mistake.

"Quick, move! Turn back!"

Chiba's fear came from a familiar instinctive reaction to the scene. Xia Mu, without a doubt, understood far more clearly how serious the situation was.

Animals were unquestionably much better than humans at sensing danger. Whenever fighting broke out nearby, they would leave ahead of time. But even a battle between ordinary ninja couldn't possibly create such widespread silence.

Just thinking about the size of the silent areas they had passed through on the way was enough to make Xia Mu uneasy.

A terrifying possibility suddenly came to him.

"Damn it. I hope it isn't what I think it is."

The group quickly and frantically started back the way they had come.

But they hadn't gone far before they stopped beside a river they had crossed earlier.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"

"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"

"Boom!"

"Secret Technique: Rain of Thousand Needles!"

"Ultimate Technique: Poison Smoke!"

Across the river, which had been peaceful when they passed it earlier, dozens of ninja were locked in fierce combat. The markings on their foreheads made it clear that they belonged to the Rain Ninja and Rock Ninja forces.

"Kill!"

"Slash!"

The ninja on both sides shouted as they clashed, while the sounds of jutsu, battle cries, and blades sinking into flesh blended into a cacophony.

Ninja kept falling, while dazzling jutsu and secret techniques roared through the air, kicking up clouds of dust.

But to Chiba and the others, the only thing those spectacular scenes inspired was fear.

Cold sweat streamed down Xia Mu's forehead, soaking his collar in an instant.

"S-so it's true. We've stumbled into a ninja battle zone..."

Xia Mu understood all too well what that meant. His eyes were full of bewilderment.

"How could this happen? Weren't we told the war hadn't reached this area yet?"

As Xia Mu stood there in a daze, Chiba suddenly shook him.

"Big Brother Xia Mu, this isn't the time to think about that. What should we do now?"

"What should we do..."

Xia Mu managed to calm himself, looked around, and finally gritted his teeth and made a decision.

"We'll go back the way we came again. If we're lucky, we're only at the edge of the battlefield. Maybe we can get out of the war zone quickly by following our original route."

The group fell silent once more and started back along their original route. But compared with the cheerful mood they'd had when walking this way earlier, the only thing left among them now was dread.