Special Bait

"Stop!"

The blond-haired man seemed to have noticed something. He suddenly signaled for everyone to halt.

"What is it?"

Their leader, Heichen, asked as he carefully surveyed the area.

It didn't take long for him to spot something.

He lowered his head and studied the almost imperceptible threads on the ground.

"There's no mistake. These are tripwires, and they seem to be made from a special material."

The blond-haired man sniffed carefully, then confirmed his suspicions.

"They also seem to have been left by Konoha's Spider Clan."

"Is that so?"

Heichen narrowed his eyes and pondered.

Suddenly, he grabbed Chiba.

"I was going to turn this kid into a disposable Venom Puppet, but it looks like there's a better use for him."

Chiba couldn't help trembling at Heichen's cruel words.

So that was what he meant by useful.

Even though he knew almost nothing about the Ninja World, Chiba could more or less guess what a so-called Venom Puppet was.

Heichen pulled out a handful of Explosive Tags and stuck them to Chiba's back, then turned to Shadow.

"It's up to you. Use this kid to find out where they're hiding."

When Chiba saw the Explosive Tags on his back, he immediately understood. He struggled frantically.

"Smack!"

Heichen slapped Chiba hard across the face.

He didn't seem to have been injured, but Chiba felt a piercing pain.

Chiba collapsed to the ground in agony. The pain was so sharp that it would stay with him forever.

Strangely, though, Chiba's mouth opened again and again in pain, but he couldn't make a sound.

Gripping Chiba's head, Heichen stared down at him with eyes as sharp as an eagle's.

"Behave yourself, or I won't hesitate to make you suffer."

Then Shadow began drawing something on Chiba's back.

Chiba watched in terror, but there was nothing he could do. All he could do was grit his teeth and tremble.

Helpless, Chiba turned his pleading gaze toward the only person who seemed to have treated him kindly: Scarface.

Scarface gave Chiba an indifferent glance, then quietly turned away, as if he were used to things like this.

The blond-haired man snickered.

"Stop getting your hopes up. From the moment we met you, your fate was already sealed."

When he saw that there was no hope left, Chiba fell into despair.

So this is what happens to the weak? This feeling of being powerless, of having no say in anything... I really want to kill every last one of them! Ah!

Chiba cursed them over and over in his heart.

He shot a venomous glance at their leader and the blond-haired man, then silently lowered his head again.

"Hmm?"

Heichen looked at Chiba in mild surprise. The boy had quickly hidden his expression.

"Looks like Shadow was right. You're young, but you already know how to endure. Maybe you really are a genius."

Before Chiba could say anything, Heichen gave another cold laugh.

"But to us, your only real value is helping us draw out the enemy. Helping a jonin should be an honor, shouldn't it?"

At last, Chiba couldn't hold back any longer.

He slowly raised his head and glared straight into Heichen's eyes, making no effort to hide his hatred.

"Heh. That's a nice look in your eyes. You're an interesting kid, all right. Don't blame me. Blame fate."

Heichen patted Chiba's cheek lightly, then looked at Shadow.

"Good. Let's begin."

Before long, Chiba felt his body stiffen. He couldn't even move a finger.

Then the cloaked man known as Shadow truly turned into a shadow and merged with Chiba's.

"Shadow Puppet Technique."

What the hell is this?!

Chiba kept shouting in his mind, but he couldn't say a word.

His body wouldn't obey him at all.

Suddenly, Chiba began to move.

He struck a pitiful pose and started backing away.

As he retreated, he kept shouting, "Stay back!"

The blond-haired man watched Chiba in amazement.

"Shadow, you're getting better and better at your Shadow Puppet Technique."

Heichen also gave an indifferent nod.

"Since everything's ready, let's get started."

"Whoosh!"

The group vanished in an instant, leaving Chiba alone.

After moving his hands and feet a little, Chiba stepped lightly onto the spider silk.

"Jingle!"

At the other end of the forest, a strange man with six spider-like arms glanced at the bell ringing beside him and pointed.

"Someone's coming. From that direction."

The handsome young man at the head of the group looked to be only thirteen or fourteen, but he frowned with a maturity beyond his years.

"Can you tell how many there are?"

"It seems... there's only one."

The spider man closed his eyes again and checked once more.

"And he doesn't seem to be a ninja. Just an ordinary child."

"A child? How could there still be civilians in a war zone?"

After a moment's thought, the handsome young man cautiously peered out and watched Chiba.

When he saw Chiba was about to trigger the trap, the young man could no longer sit by.

"Whoosh!"

A kunai shot from the young man's hand.

"Thwack!"

A streak of black flashed past, and a bloody hole appeared in Chiba's thigh.

"Ah!"

Chiba fell to his knees in pain and struggled desperately.

Chiba's soul was truly in agony, but what worried him more than the pain was what would happen next.

Though Chiba struggled inside his soul, he still couldn't move. When he saw someone walking toward him, he fell into utter despair.

Chiba understood that he was a human bomb now. The moment this person came close, he would die.

The helplessness... the pain of being unable to control his own fate... It tormented Chiba deeply.

Am I really going to die like this? I finally got another chance at life, and there's still...

His birth mother appeared before Chiba's eyes once more.

I promised Mother I'd stay alive.

Am I really going to die just like this?

As Chiba struggled inside, his body struggled on the outside too.

"Ah—"

Chiba kept retreating as he struggled.

"Stay back! Stay back!"

The young man looked at Chiba and confirmed, "He really is a civilian."

He raised a hand and pointed his kunai at Chiba. After hesitating for a moment, he lowered it again.

"Forget it. I'll take him along when we head back."

The spider man following behind him quietly tried to dissuade him.

"Purple Maple, that's against the rules. The camp doesn't allow strangers inside."

The young man called Purple Maple shook his head gently.

"I wasn't planning to take him back to camp. I'll at least get him out of this battle zone. Whether he survives after that is up to him."

As he spoke, the young man crouched down to treat Chiba's wound.

"Hmm?" Suddenly, the young man noticed something strange.

The fear and despair in this child's eyes... Despair?

"Shhk—"

Chiba suddenly lunged and grabbed the young man's leg. From the young man's vantage point, the row of lit Explosive Tags on Chiba's back was clearly visible.

"Boom!"