Killing a Jonin

Exchanging glances, Heichen and Chiba both had a series of complex thoughts flash through their minds.

For Chiba, he naturally wanted revenge for how Heichen had treated him previously.

To dare to use him as a human bomb, combined with that pain that had seeped into his very marrow—every bit of it made Chiba harbor a deep hatred for the guy before him.

And that "poisonous puppet" this guy had mentioned earlier didn't sound like anything fun; if not for this unexpected turn of events, his own fate would likely have been incredibly miserable.

Heichen's mood was equally turbulent; at this moment, he truly had no ability to act, and if this brat were to notice, he would likely be in danger.

Thinking of this, Heichen's eyes shifted, and he spoke first, his tone stern: "Brat, what are you still standing there for? Go get me my medicine, and be careful, or I'll kill you."

"Uh."

Slightly stunned, Chiba decided to abandon the idea of killing this guy for now; after all, the gap in strength between them was simply too vast. As long as this guy had even the slightest ability to move, he could easily kill him.

Thinking of this, Chiba decided to take this opportunity to escape.

"Yes, yes, Lord Heichen."

Chiba pretended to respond with fear, but as he turned around, he had already begun considering which direction to run.

However, at that very moment, as if worried about revealing his weakness and being seen through by the brat, Heichen shouted sternly once more.

"Hurry up, why are you dawdling? It's in that Yellow Hair guy's ninja tool pouch. If you drag your feet any longer, I'll kill you right now."

Chiba, who had been preparing to run, stopped in his tracks and froze on the spot.

"Ninja tool pouch?"

Lowering his head in silence for a moment, Chiba suddenly twitched the corner of his mouth, revealing a mocking smile.

"Pfft—"

Turning his head slightly, Chiba revealed an eerie smile.

"Lord Heichen, as far as I know, isn't all your medicine managed by that guy called Shadow?"

Instantly, Heichen's brows twitched slightly; he realized something was wrong.

"You brat, why ask so many questions? The medicine I want is only on him."

"Is that so?"

Chiba shook his head.

"But I don't think it's a good idea to stick my hand into another ninja's tool pouch at will, especially when it belongs to a ninja who specializes in ninja tools."

As he spoke, the smile on Chiba's face suddenly vanished, instantly replaced by coldness.

Bending down slightly, Chiba quickly picked up a kunai from the ground and charged fiercely toward Heichen.

"Pfft—"

Under Heichen's disbelieving gaze, Chiba drove the kunai directly into Heichen's chest.

"You... how... how dare you."

Heichen tried to lift his hand, but eventually, it fell limp.

"Heh."

Chiba couldn't help but laugh cruelly.

"Don't you know? That last sentence exposed your weakness."

Heichen's eyes were filled with disbelief and confusion; no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't figure out where he had revealed a flaw.

"You wanted to use the traps on that guy's ninja tool pouch to kill me, didn't you?"

Heichen's pupils were already slightly dilated; he struggled to open his mouth, and it took a long time before he could make a sound.

"You... how did you know?"

"How did I know? Some lessons are enough to learn once in a lifetime."

Watching Heichen's uncomprehending gaze, Chiba slowly lowered his head, staring intently into Heichen's eyes.

"Based on my observations over the past few days, the way you all open your ninja tool pouches is different. There must be some secret hidden inside, right?"

Heichen's pupils shrank violently, and with his last bit of strength, he said with difficulty: "What a sharp... sense of smell. It seems Shadow was right. You truly have talent that exceeds the ordinary. It was my mistake to underestimate you..."

With that, Heichen stopped breathing entirely, lying stiff and motionless on the ground.

"Ninja talent... heh."

Chiba suddenly thought of something and closed his eyes in pain.

The death of his parents not long ago was still vivid in his mind; how could he dare to forget, and how could he possibly forget?

Every time he stopped to rest over the past few days, Chiba would stare at these people's ninja tool pouches. They thought he was just curious about ninja gear, but in reality, Chiba was undergoing a painful recollection.

Through Chiba's observations, even a simple ninja tool pouch was not simple; it was, in itself, a complex ninja tool device.

If the ninja tool pouches of Heichen and Scar could be considered relatively normal, those of Yellow Hair and Shadow were clearly much more complex.

For instance, pressing one spot would trigger steel wires, while pressing another would eject a scroll—it was extremely complicated. They spent a significant amount of time every day organizing their pouches, something far beyond what Chiba could currently comprehend.

Yet, this did not prevent Chiba from knowing that this thing was extremely dangerous.

They were always meticulous and cautious when organizing their own ninja tool pouches, occasionally making a bit of noise, let alone letting someone else touch them.

Combined with Heichen's abnormal request for him to retrieve the medicine from the blond kid, Chiba instantly deduced that this guy Heichen clearly had malicious intentions.

However, this also exposed his current powerlessness. Why would he want to kill him? It was obvious he was afraid; if he had even the slightest ability to act himself, there would be no need to resort to such tricks.

Quietly watching the now-dead Heichen, Chiba felt a sense of complexity.

That things had developed to this point was something Chiba had never imagined.

From the wide-open eyes of Heichen, Chiba could tell that he was extremely unwilling to accept his fate.

Yes, he certainly had reason to be unwilling. A dignified Jonin, who knew how much arduous training he had endured and how many life-and-death battles he had survived, only to die at the hands of a child with no combat power who had never learned ninjutsu.

To put it bluntly, if he hadn't been injured and his physical state had been intact, he could have easily killed ten thousand of the current Chiba.

If he hadn't spoken that final sentence, Chiba would never have seen through his bluff.

If Chiba hadn't spent these past few days contemplating the structure of their ninja tool pouches, he wouldn't have thought of so much.

Unfortunately, there are no "ifs." Dead is dead, and in the end, it was Chiba who survived.

Inexplicably, Chiba suddenly recalled a saying: luck is, in fact, a form of strength.

Putting down the kunai in his hand, Chiba felt a slight sense of discomfort.

After all, it was his first time killing someone, but this discomfort was quickly cast aside. Perhaps it was because he had already witnessed so much death, or perhaps the cruel environment had already numbed Chiba's nerves.

Chiba understood that if he wanted to survive in such a cruel world, this was merely the beginning.

Silently standing up, Chiba looked around, not knowing where he should go.

Looking in all four directions, the surrounding forest looked exactly the same, with no apparent difference.

But Chiba knew that the differences here were vast. He originally lacked survival skills, and now that he was injured, if he could run out of the forest to a place where humans gathered, he might have a glimmer of hope. But if he ran deeper into the forest, only a dead end awaited him.

After a moment of silence, Chiba chose a direction and began to walk. Since he didn't know what to do, he would leave it to fate.

However, before Chiba had walked very far, a low voice suddenly rang out from behind him.

"What an interesting little fellow. But where are you going?"

!!!

Chiba's pupils dilated abruptly.

This voice is...