The Four-Person Squad

"Hey, kid, want a bite?"

During the dinner break, the yellow-haired ninja who had nearly killed Chiba with a kunai earlier suddenly spoke with a mocking tone.

Gulp!

Swallowing hard, Chiba looked at the yellow-haired man's malicious grin and hurriedly shook his head.

"No, I don't need it."

"Heh heh, I can tell just by looking at you that you're starving. How can you say you don't need it?"

As he spoke, the yellow-haired man pulled out a small throwing dart and began to toy with it in his hand.

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

While nimbly flipping the dart, the yellow-haired man shot a wicked grin at Chiba.

"Of course, if you guess wrong, I'll carve a mark into your face."

As he said this, a hint of ferocity appeared on his face.

"The game starts now!"

Swish! Swish!

Following a series of afterimages, the yellow-haired man slammed his palms together.

"Guess, which hand is the dart in now? Get it right, and you get a tasty treat!"

He flashed a bright, sunny smile.

Beads of cold sweat rolled down Chiba's forehead, and he couldn't help but tremble slightly.

Chiba understood that there was no way he could guess correctly.

As time ticked by, the yellow-haired man's expression gradually darkened.

"Are you planning on giving up?"

Seeing Chiba remain silent, the yellow-haired man grew increasingly angry.

"Very well, bad children deserve the punishment they get!"

With that, the yellow-haired man lunged, clawing toward Chiba's face.

Thud!

"Red Demon, what is the meaning of this?"

The scarred ninja who had previously threatened to kill Chiba blocked the yellow-haired man's attack with a single punch.

"Nothing. I just don't like 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.

"Enough!"

This hawk-eyed ninja seemed to command great authority, as both the yellow-haired man and Red Demon immediately stopped, muttering under their breath.

The hawk-eyed ninja swept a sharp, piercing gaze over the yellow-haired man and spoke indifferently.

"This is a battlefield. Keep your twisted hobbies to yourself, do you understand?"

"Yes, yes! Lord Heichen!"

Beads of cold sweat dripped from the yellow-haired man's head; it was clear he feared this leader named Heichen to the extreme.

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

"I'll go right now, I'm going!"

The yellow-haired man looked at the man named Heichen with fear, not daring to say another word, though he shot a vicious glare at the scarred ninja before turning away.

The scarred ninja returned the glare without a care in the world.

After the yellow-haired man left, the scarred ninja nonchalantly continued roasting the large chunk of unknown food in his hand.

Chiba watched the scarred ninja before him, his fear tinged with a sliver of gratitude.

Although he now knew that the guy with the hideous scars on his face went by the name or codename Red Demon, Chiba had silently dubbed him Scarface.

He had originally thought that since this guy had tried to kill him the moment they met and had such a ferocious face, he must be the most vicious of the group.

But reality told Chiba that things were not that simple.

"Here!"

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

"Th-this is for me?"

Chiba swallowed hard and couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

"Don't be stupid!"

Scarface glared fiercely at Chiba.

"What? Don't want to eat?"

"Ah! I do, I do!"

Taking small bites of the flavorless, unknown food, Chiba stole another glance at Scarface.

"Th-thank you."

Chiba suddenly whispered.

Scarface ignored him, shaking his head as he continued to roast his own food.

A moment later, seemingly having nothing better to do, Scarface looked at Chiba again.

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

"Me?"

Chiba suddenly thought of his parents again. Although his consciousness was a fusion of two people, this was the only deep-seated memory left by the original owner.

Unknowingly, tears streamed down Chiba's face.

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

"Sigh."

Scarface looked at Chiba and couldn't help but sigh.

"Actually, it really would have been better if you'd let me kill you. I've seen too many war orphans, and every one of them endures a life worse than death."

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

Glancing at their leader, who was sitting silently with his eyes closed, Scarface swallowed the words he wanted to say, merely shaking his head and sighing again.

"Here, have some more."

Hearing these words from the ninja, Chiba couldn't help but feel confused again.

What exactly do they want with me?

A vague, ominous premonition rose within Chiba.

Suddenly, Chiba looked toward a corner.

He saw a ninja wrapped entirely in a cloak, staring coldly at Chiba through the pitch-black hollows of his mask.

This guy. Even though he was standing right there, people would subconsciously overlook him.

Is this the power of a ninja? I clearly knew this team consisted of four people, yet it was as if I hadn't seen him at all until now.

Could this be some kind of genjutsu?

"Heh."

The ninja under the cloak suddenly let out a raspy laugh.

"Shadow, what are you laughing at?"

Scarface looked at the ninja called Shadow in astonishment.

It was as if Shadow laughing aloud was something truly incredible; even the leader, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened his eyes, a hint of confusion in his gaze.

"Nothing."

Shadow shook his head.

"I just feel a bit of pity for this child."

"Hm?"

Heichen let out a soft sound of surprise, looking at Shadow curiously.

"Given that he was able to detect my presence despite never having trained in chakra, perhaps he could be a genius in the field of genjutsu."

"It's just a pity he wasn't born in any ninja village, so he can never learn ninjutsu. He is destined to live his life like an ant, or perhaps even worse than an ant."

"Heh."

The leader, Heichen, sneered.

"This world has always been like this, filled with unfairness everywhere. Talent and birth already determine a person's future."

As he spoke, the leader's expression shifted visibly, as if he were lost in thought.

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

Through their conversation, Chiba carefully deepened his understanding of this world.

Not long after, the blond man who had left earlier finally returned, but his arm was injured, and blood was dripping from it.

"Damn it, I don't know who set that trap, but even I didn't notice it. I almost got finished off."

As he spoke, the blond man looked at Shadow.

"Give me the medicine quickly, it looks like it's poisoned."

Shadow unceremoniously dumped some medicine onto the wound, and the blond man immediately cried out in pain.

"Hm?"

After hearing the news brought by the blond man, the leader, Heichen, pondered for a moment.

"It seems there might be enemies nearby. From now on, everyone be careful."

At night, Chiba stared blankly at the sky, which was completely different from the stars of his past life, unable to fall asleep for a long time.

In a world like this, how am I supposed to survive?