Pain

Just as the poisonous fog was about to spread over him, Chiba suddenly remembered something.

He quickly got to his feet and frantically opened the ninja tool pouch hanging at his waist.

In one corner of the pouch lay a strangely shaped half-face mask.

It was one of the things Scarface had left to Chiba.

A gas mask was standard equipment on battlefields against the Rain Ninja, who specialized in poison gas jutsu. Even the Rain Ninja themselves, skilled as they were in using poison, had to wear one each because they couldn't withstand their own poison gas jutsu.

In other, wealthier major ninja villages, equipment like this was even more essential.

But Scarface had originally instructed Chiba to use it to filter dirty water when he couldn't find any clean water.

Scarface had probably never imagined that Chiba would one day actually need it for this.

Chiba quickly put it on, not caring whether it fit, and pressed it tightly against his face with all his might. At the same time, he plunged his head into the dirt.

Before long, he felt a cold breeze sweep over him. The faint, sickly-sweet smell that followed made him feel a little drowsy.

Fortunately, aside from a slight haze, he didn't feel much discomfort. Chiba could tell his condition probably wasn't too serious.

Chiba had to consider himself lucky. Hanzo's poison was indeed terrifyingly potent, but after traveling such a long distance, it had already been diluted considerably.

Even Hanzo, the man called a demigod, couldn't use poison gas to kill a ninja from two thousand meters away.

If he could do that, Hanzo wouldn't be a demigod anymore. He'd be a god.

At that distance, any ninja could use chakra to neutralize the poison almost instantly and survive the toxic fog.

Of course, the poison gas was still undeniably lethal to ordinary people.

Fortunately, Chiba happened to have a gas mask. It blocked most of the remaining poison, sparing him from serious harm.

He didn't know how long he stayed in that ostrich-like pose before he finally collapsed, dazed.

He hadn't been seriously harmed, but even a trace of poison gas was enough to leave Chiba reeling.

Just as he was growing drowsy and about to fall asleep, a shrill scream, barely human, suddenly rang out in the distance and jolted him awake.

"Ah—"

"What was that..."

Chiba managed to half-open his eyes. A figure stumbled back and forth among the bodies on the ground.

After squinting for a while, Chiba finally recognized the person who was still alive.

"Izumi! Izumi! Wake up! Little Yuan! Come on, get up! Get up, quickly! Qiu, get up. Your big brother's begging you, please, get up. Come on, get up!"

As he realized one person after another was dead, Xia Mu finally broke down completely. He wailed and let out another scream that sounded nothing like a human voice.

"Ah—"

"It's my fault. It's all my fault. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Sob... I'm sorry."

Xia Mu knelt on the ground, weeping and wailing without pause.

"Xia Mu!"

Chiba struggled to his feet and walked over to him.

"Xia Mu, I'm still alive. I'm still alive."

Xia Mu froze for a moment, then sprang to his feet and threw himself into Chiba's arms, sobbing even louder.

"They're dead. They're all dead. They're all dead. Sob, sob—"

"Xia Mu!"

"It's all my fault. If I hadn't chosen the wrong path, they wouldn't have died. Sob—"

Tears streaked Xia Mu's face. The immense, indescribable pain in his heart showed plainly in his slightly contorted expression.

"Chiba, my heart hurts so much. It hurts so much."

Chiba gently patted Xia Mu's back and, fighting back tears, tried to comfort him. "Xia Mu, it's not your fault. Everyone knows that. It wasn't your fault, and nobody blames you."

"But it was my fault. They died because of me—pfft!"

Xia Mu suddenly spat out a mouthful of dark blood and crumpled to the ground, his eyes rapidly glazing over.

"It's my fault. It's all my fault."

"Xia Mu!"

Chiba stared helplessly at Xia Mu, who had suddenly collapsed before him.

He had thought the poison wasn't affecting Xia Mu. Who knew it had merely taken longer to act?

In fact, Xia Mu had only managed to hold on this long because his body was far stronger than an ordinary person's—even strong enough to rival a Genin's. But since he couldn't use chakra, all he could do was last a little longer.

Poison that wasn't considered serious for a ninja was utterly impossible for an ordinary person to overcome.

Chiba suddenly remembered something and rummaged through his ninja tool pouch again.

"That antidote Scarface gave me last time might work. He said it could save my life if I ate something poisonous."

As he spoke, Chiba found the small bottle and tipped all the pills inside into Xia Mu's mouth.

"It's my fault. It's my fault."

Xia Mu kept repeating those words, his eyes growing ever more vacant.

"Xia Mu, don't talk. Take the medicine quickly. You'll be fine once you've taken it."

"Right, water. Water."

As he spoke, Chiba hurriedly unclipped the water bottle from Xia Mu's waist, frantically unscrewed the cap, and poured water into Xia Mu's mouth.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"Xia Mu, don't talk. Take the medicine. Once you've taken it, once you've taken it, you'll..."

Water kept spilling from the corners of Xia Mu's mouth. His eyes had completely lost their light.

"Xia Mu..."

Chiba silently looked into Xia Mu's eyes, now completely lifeless.

In them, Chiba saw endless pain, guilt, self-reproach, and hatred.

Xia Mu had died in the most painful way imaginable. Before the end, he had suffered the torment that hurt him most of all.

And Izumi, and the other kids who had always truly treated Chiba like their big brother—they had all died just like that, without anyone even understanding why.

Several drops of bright red blood fell from Chiba's tightly clenched fist.

His whole body trembled violently. In that moment, Chiba finally understood what true pain was.