I Want to Protect You

It did not take long for Chiba to adapt to this new way of life.

In a world like this, the only way for orphans without any labor capacity to survive was to steal.

Life was far more difficult than he had imagined.

Although adding Chiba to their group had improved their ability to divide and conquer, the sudden addition of another mouth to feed only made their lives even harder.

Every day, Yahiko racked his brains trying to find ways to stockpile more food. From dawn until dusk, they wandered the streets where food was sold, never missing a single opportunity to snatch something to eat.

Even so, in most cases, they could barely manage to scrape by with enough to keep their bellies full.

Often, they would spend the entire day busy without any harvest, and they even had to face the consequences of failure.

"Stop right there! Catch them!"

"These little brats, I'll make sure they regret this!"

Yahiko carefully glanced back at what was behind them and shouted anxiously.

"Quick, this way!"

Konan and Chiba followed quickly.

Suddenly, while sprinting, Chiba stumbled over something and fell headlong onto the ground.

Before long, Chiba was surrounded by the people who had been chasing them the entire way.

Without any time to react, countless fists and clubs rained down upon Chiba in an instant.

"Keep running, why don't you! Let's see you steal from us again."

"Beat him to death, teach him a lesson he won't forget!"

"Thud!" "Pfft!"

Facing such a barrage of attacks, the only thing Chiba could do was curl himself into a ball and protect his head.

Suddenly, just as Chiba was silently enduring the beating, a petite figure rushed over from the distance.

"Don't hit him!"

Konan desperately squeezed through the crowd and threw herself forcefully over Chiba.

"Don't hit him!"

"Konan."

Chiba looked at Konan, who had suddenly shielded him, in astonishment; his mind went blank.

In that moment, within Chiba's world, the pain in his body seemed to vanish, leaving only the sight of Konan's youthful profile.

"Thud!" "Thud, thud!"

The adults did not stop their assault just because another child had joined the fray.

In an instant, Konan's small face crumpled in distress.

"Ugh!"

Especially when a club landed heavily, Konan finally couldn't hold it back, and a tear of grievance welled up in the corner of her eye.

The tear slid down Konan's face, dripped onto Chiba's, and flowed into the corner of his mouth.

A salty, bitter taste bloomed in Chiba's heart.

Finally, Chiba couldn't help but shed tears silently.

He hadn't cried even when he had suffered greater grievances before.

Even when Xia Mu and the others died, Chiba had gritted his teeth and held back his tears, but at this moment, they poured out like beads from a broken string.

In contrast to Konan, Yahiko, who had been running further ahead, quickly realized what was happening. He charged madly into the crowd and threw himself over Chiba and Konan.

Chiba's tears flowed even more profusely.

In this moment, Chiba clearly felt that their fates had finally become inextricably linked.

Deep in Chiba's heart, all the selfish thoughts he had once harbored had completely vanished.

Chiba was certain that he had found something more important than his own life.

A long time later, after the people had grown tired of beating them and left, the group struggled to support one another as they walked toward the cave where they lived.

"Why are you still crying? Even Konan stopped. I'm telling you, I hate it when people cry. Tears are useless things."

Yahiko said carelessly, as if he hadn't taken what happened earlier to heart at all.

"If you want to survive here, you have to get used to getting beaten. Before you came, Konan and I were often beaten too."

After returning to the cave, Chiba remained sullen.

After a long silence, Chiba suddenly raised his head.

"This can't just end like this. I want revenge!"

Yahiko was stunned for a moment, then smiled and nodded. "We should get revenge. We'll go back and steal from them more often; we'll steal back everything they took out on us."

Chiba's eyes suddenly took on an unconscious ferocity: "That is not the revenge I am talking about."

Yahiko's expression stiffened instantly.

The atmosphere fell into a brief silence.

Sensing something was wrong, Konan quickly stood up to smooth things over.

"Stop talking nonsense. With your body, you couldn't even beat one adult, let alone several."

"It's not that. I've acquired some small ninja tools before. If I use them well..."

"Enough!"

Before Chiba could finish, Yahiko suddenly erupted, shoving Chiba to the ground.

"Yahiko!"

Konan hurriedly grabbed hold of Yahiko.

Yahiko's eyes were now filled with coldness.

"Are you trying to kill them?"

Pushed like that, Chiba finally regained a bit of clarity.

It seemed that the recent series of events, especially the various brushes with life and death, had indeed made him become vicious.

If it were the old him, he never would have conceived such a terrifying thought.

"Chiba, you must understand that we are the ones in the wrong."

Looking straight into Chiba's eyes, Yahiko said earnestly.

"In this world, food is precious to everyone. We used the wrong methods to steal what belonged to others; we are the ones at fault. Even if we get beaten for it, it is what we deserve."

"It is because of them that we have a chance to survive. We should be grateful for that, and if we have the chance, we should even repay them."

Hearing this, Chiba suddenly recalled how, in the anime, Yahiko and the others went door-to-door to thank the people they had stolen food from over the years and offered them gifts before leaving.

Yahiko really was that kind of person: kind, upright, and clear about right and wrong.

By the end, there was a hint of chill in Yahiko's tone: "If you are truly the kind of person who doesn't know how to be grateful, then please leave. I don't welcome people like that here."

"Yahiko!"

Konan grabbed Yahiko anxiously.

However, Yahiko remained unmoved, staring coldly at Chiba.

After Yahiko's tirade, Chiba finally woke up completely from his previous violent mood.

In fact, Chiba himself didn't know why he had such a terrifying thought; it was as if it were another version of himself.

Looking up at the dense web of scars on Yahiko's body again, Chiba silently lowered his head.

"I'm sorry. I just... I don't want anyone to hurt you guys, which is why I got angry. If it were just me, I wouldn't do such a thing. Yahiko, can you understand what I mean?"

The cold expression on Yahiko's face softened instantly, and he sighed gently.

Walking up to Chiba, Yahiko reached out and pulled him up.

"I'm sorry. I might have overreacted."

Soon, the group was back to normal, and Konan finally revealed a happy smile again.

"You two, you really scared me just now."

Chiba smiled slightly, and after scanning the wounds on Konan and Yahiko once more, he said firmly, with a hint of deeper meaning.

"No matter what, I will protect you both from now on. I won't allow anyone to hurt you. No matter who they are, I will never allow it."

Yahiko was stunned for a moment before he broke into a brilliant smile.

"Me too. I will use everything I have to protect you both."