Finding the Target

"Ha. A world like this."

Qianye suddenly realized something.

In a world like this, good people couldn't survive, and neither could bad people. The only ones who could survive were the strong.

Never before had Qianye yearned so desperately for strength.

"No matter what, I'm going to learn ninjutsu and become strong. I'll take control of my own fate. Even if I die fighting as a ninja, that's still better than being slaughtered like an ant, the way I am now."

As he spoke, Qianye silently got to his feet and looked into the distance.

"Hanzo. The Five-Tails Jinchuriki."

He watched the two enormous figures, already disappearing into the distance after their fierce battle, and carefully committed their names to memory.

A day later, Qianye finally managed to bury Xia Mu and the others, all by himself.

"Big Brother Xia Mu, Big Sister Izumi, and... I'm leaving now. If I get the chance, I'll definitely come back to see you."

After one last lingering look at the simple gravestones he had made, Qianye turned and walked away without looking back.

Suddenly, an indescribable loneliness welled up inside him.

"Alone again..."

Three months later, a frail figure approached a bustling town.

It was Qianye. By now, he was already very different from the boy he had been a few months ago.

Though he still looked a little thin, his eyes had taken on a sharpness they hadn't had before.

Especially the faint, small scar below his eye, a little like a tear line. It made Qianye, who had once seemed rather weak, look more fierce.

In the short months since he'd lost Xia Mu's protection, Qianye had traveled alone through dozens of towns. Along the way, he'd faced countless dangers.

The most dangerous time, he'd even been captured by bandits.

Fortunately, Qianye had managed to use the few Explosive Tags Scarface had left him, which he'd kept hidden in the soles of his shoes, to blow up the bandit stronghold. He'd escaped in the ensuing chaos.

The scar below his eye had also come from that chaotic escape.

Besides the scar, he'd sprained his right leg while fleeing. It had healed since then, but he still limped slightly. It didn't affect his movement much, but it certainly didn't look good.

Qianye's right leg had certainly suffered more than its share of misfortune. Ever since he'd come to this world, it had barely gone a moment without being injured. Now it had ended up like this.

Of course, Qianye didn't care much about any of that.

Along the way, he'd seen more than enough tragedies and had long since grown used to seeing people live and die.

These past few days, Qianye had finally come to understand what a chaotic era really meant. If nine out of every ten people died, that wasn't chaos. If ninety-nine out of every hundred died, that was chaos.

How many people in those fleeing groups could really survive to the end? The answer was obvious.

The deaths of Xia Mu and the others were merely a reflection of this chaotic era.

Compared to all the others who'd died, the fact that he was still alive was already the greatest stroke of luck.

He glanced at his leg and sighed softly. "If I can become a ninja, an injury like this shouldn't be too hard to treat. If I can't become one... then whether I limp or not won't matter."

Qianye took out a map and carefully studied it.

"Right, this town should be one of the places Xia Mu marked for me."

Back then, Xia Mu had drawn a map for Qianye, marking nine places based on his recollections.

Qianye had already passed through four of them on the way, but hadn't found a thing. This town was the fifth.

"I hope I can find them in this town. I'm almost at my limit."

If he couldn't find any sign of Yahiko and the others in this town, Qianye would be in real trouble.

The other four possible towns on the map were extremely far away. It didn't take much imagination to know how many difficulties he'd face traveling such a long distance.

Especially since he'd been caught in a bandit raid not long ago. Though Qianye had managed to escape in the chaos and recover a few of his belongings, he'd lost nearly all his money. Even basic survival had become a problem.

After a brief silence, Qianye took a deep breath and headed resolutely into town.

"Look after me, Big Brother Xia Mu."

Crouching quietly on a street lined with food stalls, Qianye carefully scanned the crowds passing by.

This town was undeniably peaceful. The war hadn't spread anywhere near it yet, and supplies were plentiful.

That fit the bill. Its size and location also matched what Qianye had imagined.

Of course, whether they were here was still uncertain. And even if they were, there was no guarantee he'd run into them.

A day later, just as Qianye was starting to think he might not find anything in this town either, two figures suddenly appeared at the street corner and caught his eye.

An orange-haired boy and a blue-haired girl were sneaking up on their target.

A moment later, the two swiftly grabbed several long loaves of bread from a stall and raced away.

"Stop right there, you brats!"

"Quick, Konan, this way!"

Qianye was undeniably excited. Judging by their names and appearances, he was nearly certain he'd found the people he'd been looking for.

But he hadn't seen Nagato.

Could it be that... Nagato hadn't come here yet?

Without thinking any further, Qianye hurried after them.

A moment later, outside the town, Yahiko excitedly waved the two enormous loaves of bread in his hands.

"Heh, this should be enough to feed us for at least three days."

Konan was beaming too. "We really got lucky today. We pulled it off on the first try."

Suddenly, while the two of them were talking excitedly, a frail figure appeared in front of them and collapsed to the ground with a thud.