Special Bait

"Stop!"

The blond-haired man seemed to have discovered something; he suddenly gestured, halting the group in their tracks.

"What is it?"

Heichen, the leader, asked while carefully observing the surroundings.

He soon discovered something himself.

Lowering his head, Heichen stared at the barely visible thin threads on the ground, lost in thought.

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

The blond-haired man sniffed carefully, confirming his suspicion.

"And it looks like they were left behind by the Spider Clan of Konoha."

"Is that so?"

Heichen narrowed his eyes, pondering the situation.

Suddenly, he grabbed Chiba.

"I originally intended to turn this brat into a disposable Venom Puppet, but it seems he has a more suitable use now."

Hearing Heichen's cruel words, Chiba couldn't help but tremble slightly.

The "use" he spoke of was...

Even with his limited knowledge of the Ninja World, Chiba could roughly guess what a Venom Puppet was.

Taking out a handful of Explosive Tags, Heichen stuck them onto Chiba's back and turned to look at Shadow.

"It's up to you. Use this brat to flush out their hidden positions."

Seeing the Explosive Tags on his back, Chiba immediately understood what was happening and struggled frantically.

"Slap!"

Heichen struck Chiba across the face with a brutal blow.

Despite appearing physically unscathed, Chiba felt a heart-wrenching pain.

Chiba collapsed to the ground in agony; the piercing pain was enough to be etched into his memory forever.

Strangely, though Chiba kept opening his mouth in agony, he couldn't make a single sound.

Grabbing Chiba by the head, Heichen stared at him with eyes as sharp as a hawk's.

"Behave yourself, or I won't mind making you suffer even more."

Following this, Shadow began drawing something on Chiba's back.

Chiba watched the scene in terror, but with no way to resist, he could only grit his teeth and tremble.

In desperation, Chiba cast a pleading look toward Scarface, the only one who seemed slightly kinder to him.

Scarface glanced at Chiba indifferently and turned his head away, as if he were accustomed to such things.

The blond-haired man on the side sneered.

"Don't hold onto any more illusions. From the moment we laid eyes on you, your fate was already sealed."

Seeing that there was no hope left, Chiba fell into despair.

Is this the fate of the weak? This feeling of being helpless and unable to control my own destiny. I really want to kill them all! Ah!

Chiba cursed them incessantly in his heart.

After casting a venomous glare at the leader and the blond-haired man, Chiba silently lowered his head again.

"Hm?"

Heichen looked at Chiba, who had quickly masked his expression, with slight surprise.

"It seems Shadow was right. To know how to endure at such a young age—perhaps you really are a genius."

Before Chiba could say anything, Heichen let out another cold laugh.

"But to us, your only value is helping us draw out the enemy. Being able to assist a Jonin should be considered your honor."

Hearing this, Chiba could no longer hold back.

He silently raised his head and stared fixedly into Heichen's eyes, making no effort to hide the hatred within them.

"Heh, a good look. You really are an interesting brat. Don't blame me; blame fate."

Gently patting Chiba's face, Heichen looked at Shadow.

"Alright, begin."

Soon, Chiba felt his body stiffen; he couldn't even move a single finger.

Immediately after, the cloaked man known as Shadow truly transformed into a shadow, merging into his own.

"Shadow Puppet Technique."

What the hell... is this!

Chiba kept screaming in his heart, yet he could not utter a single word.

His own body was now completely beyond his control.

Suddenly, Chiba began to move.

He assumed a pathetic posture, continuously shrinking back.

As he retreated, he kept shouting the words, "Don't come over."

The blond man watched Chiba with a click of his tongue in amazement.

"Shadow, your Shadow Puppet Technique is getting more and more proficient."

Heichen also nodded indifferently.

"Since everything is ready, let's begin."

"Swish!"

The group vanished instantly, leaving Chiba alone on the field.

Flexing his limbs, Chiba stepped lightly onto a spider silk thread.

"Jingle!"

At the other end of the jungle, a monster with six arms resembling a spider looked at the bell ringing beside him and extended a finger.

"Someone is here, in that direction."

The handsome youth leading them, who looked only thirteen or fourteen, frowned, revealing a maturity that did not match his age.

"Can you sense how many people there are?"

"It seems... there is only one."

Closing his eyes again, the spider-man confirmed once more.

"And it doesn't look like a ninja, just an ordinary child."

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

After a moment of contemplation, the handsome youth quietly poked his head out to observe Chiba carefully.

Seeing that Chiba was about to trigger the trap, the youth could no longer sit idly by.

"Swish!"

In an instant, a kunai shot out from the youth's hand.

"Puff!"

A black streak flashed, and a bloody hole was pierced through Chiba's thigh.

"Ah!"

Chiba immediately collapsed to the ground in pain, struggling incessantly.

Although Chiba was truly in great pain within his soul, what concerned him more than the pain was his impending fate.

Even though Chiba struggled within his soul, he remained unable to move; seeing someone walking toward him, Chiba fell into utter despair.

Chiba understood that he was now a human bomb; the moment this person walked over, it would be his end.

This feeling of powerlessness. This agony of being unable to control his own actions deeply stung Chiba.

Am I really going to die like this? After finally getting a chance to live again, and there's still...

The image of his original body's mother appeared before Chiba's eyes once more.

I clearly promised Mother that I would definitely survive.

Is this really how I die?

While Chiba struggled within his soul, the body of Chiba outside was also struggling continuously.

"Ah--"

While struggling, Chiba kept shrinking backward.

"Don't come over, don't come over!"

The youth looked at Chiba's appearance and confirmed, "It really is a civilian..."

Gently raising his hand, the youth pointed the kunai at Chiba, but after hesitating for a moment, he lowered it again.

"Forget it, I'll take him with me when I head back."

"Purple Maple, that's against the rules. Bringing strangers into the camp is forbidden."

The spider-man who followed behind whispered a warning.

The youth known as Purple Maple shook his head slightly.

"I don't intend to bring him back to the camp; at the very least, I'll take him out of this combat zone. As for whether he can survive... that will be up to him."

As he spoke, the youth crouched down, preparing to treat Chiba's wound.

"Hm?" Suddenly, the youth noticed something unusual.

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

"Sss--"

Chiba suddenly lunged forward and hugged the youth's thigh; from the youth's perspective, a row of ignited Explosive Tag on Chiba's back was clearly visible.

"Boom!"