The Four-Person Team

"Hey, kid, want some?"

During the dinner break, the blond ninja who had nearly killed Chiba with a kunai earlier suddenly asked with a mocking grin.

"Gulp!"

Chiba struggled to swallow, then looked at the blond's ill-intentioned smile and hurriedly shook his head.

"N-no, thanks."

"Heh, I can tell you're starving just by looking at you. How can you say no?"

As he spoke, the blond pulled out a small throwing knife and began playing with it in his hand.

"How about this? Let's play a game. If you can guess which hand the knife is in, I'll give you something to eat."

The blond toyed with the knife with quick movements, then glanced at Chiba with a wicked grin.

"Of course, if you guess wrong, I'll cut a little line into your face."

As he said this, a trace of malice showed on the blond's face.

"Now, let the game begin!"

"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!"

Leaving a series of afterimages, the blond suddenly clapped his hands together.

"Guess which hand the knife is in now. Get it right, and you can have something tasty!"

As he spoke, the blond flashed a radiant smile.

Cold sweat trickled down Chiba's forehead, and he couldn't help trembling slightly.

Chiba knew there was no way he could guess correctly.

As time passed, the blond's expression gradually darkened.

"Are you planning to give up?"

Seeing that Chiba remained silent, the blond grew even angrier.

"Good. Bad kids deserve to be punished!"

As he spoke, the blond suddenly swiped a clawed hand at Chiba's face.

"Thwack!"

"Red Demon, what do you think you're doing?"

The Scarface ninja who had earlier said he would kill Chiba blocked the blond's attack with a punch.

"Nothing. I just don't like the look of you."

"You bastard! Are you looking to die?"

Seeing the situation about to escalate, the black-haired, hawk-eyed leader, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly shouted.

"That's enough!"

The hawk-eyed ninja seemed to command considerable authority. The blond and Scarface immediately fell silent.

The hawk-eyed ninja shot the blond a sharp look and said coolly,

"This is a battlefield. Keep your sick little hobbies to yourself. Understood?"

"Yes, yes, Lord Heichen!"

Cold sweat ran down the blond's head. He was clearly terrified of the leader named Heichen.

"Don't let me see this happen again. Have you finished setting up the necessary perimeter defenses?"

"I'll get right on it, I'll get right on it."

The blond looked fearfully at Heichen and didn't dare say another word. He only turned and glared viciously at Scarface.

Scarface, in turn, glared back without a care.

After the blond left, Scarface calmly went back to roasting the large, unidentified piece of food in his hand.

Chiba watched Scarface quietly, fear mingling with a trace of gratitude.

Though he now knew that the man with the face covered in hideous scars was named—or perhaps codenamed—Red Demon, Chiba silently decided to call him Scarface.

At first, Chiba had thought the man would kill him the moment they met. With his scarred face, he had seemed like the most vicious person in the group.

But reality was telling Chiba things weren't that simple.

"Here."

Scarface suddenly held out the food in his hand to Chiba.

"Th-this is for me?"

Chiba swallowed and asked in a small voice.

"Obviously!"

Scarface glared at Chiba fiercely.

"What? Don't want it?"

"Ah! I do, I do!"

Taking small bites of the nearly flavorless, unfamiliar food, Chiba secretly studied Scarface again.

"Th-thank you."

Chiba suddenly spoke in a quiet voice.

Scarface ignored him, shook his head, and continued roasting his food.

After a while, Scarface seemed to have nothing else to do and looked at Chiba again.

"Hey, kid! How did you end up here?"

"Me?"

Chiba suddenly thought of his parents. Though his consciousness was the merging of two people, the original owner's most vivid memory was probably this.

Before he knew it, tears were streaming down Chiba's face.

"My parents accidentally got caught in a ninja trap and died. I just kept running and running, and somehow ended up here. I don't know where to go now."

"Ah..."

Scarface looked at Chiba and couldn't help sighing.

"Honestly, you'd have been better off letting me kill you. I've seen too many war orphans, and every one of them has suffered a fate worse than death."

"Really, surviving might not be a good thing for you."

Scarface glanced at the silent leader, who had his eyes closed, then swallowed the words he'd been about to say. He only shook his head and sighed again.

"Here, have some more."

Hearing Scarface say this, Chiba couldn't help growing puzzled again.

What exactly did they want with me?

A vague sense of foreboding suddenly rose in Chiba.

Then Chiba looked toward a corner.

A ninja wrapped from head to toe in a cloak was staring coldly at Chiba through the black holes in his mask.

This guy... Even though he was standing right here, people instinctively overlooked him.

Was this the power of a ninja? Chiba knew there were four people in the group, yet it was as if he'd never seen this one before.

Could this be some kind of illusion?

"Heh heh."

The cloaked ninja suddenly let out a raspy laugh.

"Shadow, what are you laughing at?"

Scarface stared at Shadow in astonishment.

It was as if hearing Shadow laugh aloud was something unbelievable. Even the leader, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them, a hint of confusion in his gaze.

"Nothing."

Shadow shook his head.

"I just feel a little sorry for this child."

"Hmm?"

Heichen murmured in surprise and looked at Shadow curiously.

"Considering he could sense my presence despite never having trained in chakra, he might be a genius at studying illusion techniques."

"It's just a shame he wasn't born in any ninja village, so he'll never learn ninjutsu. He's destined to live like an ant his whole life. Maybe even worse than an ant."

"Heh."

Heichen sneered.

"That's just how this world is. It's full of unfairness. Talent and birthplace have already decided people's futures."

As he spoke, the leader's expression shifted noticeably, as if something had come to mind.

Chiba huddled carefully to one side, not daring to speak, quietly observing this so-called world of ninjas.

From their conversation, Chiba carefully pieced together more about this world.

Not long afterward, the blond finally returned, but his arm was injured, and blood kept running down it.

"Damn it, I don't know who set that trap, but I didn't even notice it. I nearly got done in."

As he spoke, the blond looked at Shadow.

"Give me some medicine, quick. It might be poisoned."

Shadow unceremoniously sprinkled some medicine over the wound, and the blond immediately cried out in pain.

"Hmm?"

After hearing the blond's report, Heichen pondered for a moment.

"Looks like there may be enemies nearby. From now on, everyone stay alert."

That night, Chiba stared blankly at the stars, so unfamiliar compared with the sky in his previous life, and lay awake for a long time.

How am I supposed to survive in a world like this?