The Reincarnated Boy Who Was About to Die

Listening to the rain outside their hiding place, the silent boy—or rather, child—let out a soft sigh.

He looked at the boy who insisted on staying behind in his place, then touched his right eye, which had been gouged out after an enemy jonin stabbed it. He felt rather helpless.

At first, he'd thought that being assigned to the same team as Asuma Sarutobi meant he was sure to survive the Ninja World War.

But when he realized that Yuhi Kurenai wasn't on their team and that they would be fighting alongside one of their classmates instead, he knew he'd been too naive.

People died. His teammates and teachers died. In just one year, he and Asuma had gone through three teammates and two jonin teachers. When Yuhi Kurenai joined their team, he'd even thought the war was about to end.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

The Iwa ninja had suddenly attacked Mount Kikyo, effectively reaching Konoha's doorstep. Their team's original mission had been forcibly interrupted, and they'd been found by the enemy's hunting squad.

Their teacher had sacrificed himself to secure a safe hiding place for them. Now they just needed one person to step forward and delay the enemy for thirty seconds so the rest could escape through the secret passage.

Their hidden location was protected by a barrier their jonin teacher had left behind with the Shadow Clone Technique, so they wouldn't be found as long as they stayed here.

But the enemy ninja weren't fools. They were already close to searching this place.

Someone had to make the sacrifice.

As for who...

Kurenai had lost most of her chakra saving him. She wouldn't be of any use as a decoy.

Asuma's arm was almost useless, so he was no good as a decoy either.

Li Ke knew the boy before him was willing to sacrifice himself to save him and Kurenai. After all, they'd saved one another countless times. But there was no doubt—

It was impossible.

"Sometimes, a person's fate isn't in their own hands, Asuma. Your life matters more to Konoha than mine, no matter how you look at it... Besides, how could you buy us time with an injured arm?"

Li Ke—or perhaps he should be called Murata Qingtan—stood up and picked up his Ninja Sword, having made his decision.

There had never been a choice. Asuma was the Hokage's son. If he died and Li Ke returned alive, people would surely condemn him. Hiruzen Sarutobi might not do anything to him, but when Orochimaru needed test subjects or Danzo needed cannon fodder, who would they choose?

They might assassinate the Hokage or even stand by while Hiruzen Sarutobi died, but that didn't mean anyone else could get away with it.

Besides, who in a military organization wouldn't care if someone let the leader's son die, unless they were a truly great person?

Picking up the Ninja Sword their teacher had left behind, Li Ke stood and took one last look at Kurenai, who had passed out while treating him. The last vestige of his attachment to life disappeared.

In this situation, if he died a hero, the connections he earned might keep his younger brother from being sent to a dangerous battlefield.

"Stop hesitating, Asuma! Don't let the teacher's and my efforts go to waste!"

Asuma, who had already prepared himself to die, couldn't stop Li Ke in time. The moment Li Ke spoke, he used his jutsu and drove an elbow into Asuma's face, knocking him to the ground.

Then he charged out without hesitation.

The moment he left the barrier his teacher had set up, Li Ke heard a taunting voice.

"You actually came out, little mouse! Where are your companions?!"

As soon as Li Ke charged out, a black figure rushed forward and kicked at him hard from the right.

Li Ke heard the rush of air, but it was already too late to block. His missing right eye had left him with a blind spot, and he was caught off guard and sent flying into the bushes.

His small body shot through the air, but Li Ke still managed to get a look at their pursuers.

Three Chunin, a jonin with an injured abdomen and a severed right hand, and another jonin with only minor injuries. That was all their teacher had managed to accomplish in the end.

Li Ke, still airborne, quickly assessed the situation.

Had this place been exposed long ago? Had they held back because they wanted to capture us alive... And had they not known Asuma and the others were hiding with me, or were they deliberately trying to lure Asuma and Kurenai out? I can only take a gamble...

He spat out a mouthful of blood in midair. The moment he hit the ground, he rolled to his feet and dodged a long sword thrusting toward him. Years of Taijutsu training let him immediately kick the Chunin in front of him, sending the man flying. As he did, he pulled out his last smoke bomb and slammed it onto the ground, using Earth Release at the same time.

Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu!

The instant he activated the technique, Li Ke grabbed the legs of the Chunin who was thrusting a long sword at him and dragged him underground. But he had no time to follow up with another attack before the enemy jonin struck.

A long sword pierced precisely toward Li Ke's position underground. He couldn't see it from where he was, but his keen chakra perception let him react the instant his opponent moved. He burst out of the ground, dodging the jonin's supposedly fatal strike, and emerged from the smoke. He evaded a kunai thrust by the remaining Chunin, then swiftly formed Hand Seals.

His chakra was running low. These were the last two jutsu he could use.

So—

Water Release: Water Bullet Jutsu!

Water gushed from his mouth toward the charging jonin. Since they hadn't seen him form Hand Seals, both the jonin and the pursuing Chunin quickly dodged the raging torrent. But one Chunin failed to get out of the way in time and was struck by the water, which sent him flying.

However, this jutsu was barely powerful enough to put out a fire. Li Ke hadn't expected it to kill anyone. He'd only used it to prepare for his next move!

Water Release: Sprint!

Li Ke quickly formed four hand seals. The water he'd spat out gathered around him, pooling at his sides before surging in three different directions.

It was a jutsu he'd developed that had turned out to be a failure. Its original purpose was to gather enough water beneath his feet for him to move quickly over the surface. As a Water Release ninja, he'd found it an extremely useful technique, but unfortunately, he hadn't had enough time to develop it. Neither its duration nor its speed was ideal.

What's more, for the first three seconds after using the jutsu, the high-speed water would injure the user. After that, it only maintained its speed for half a minute. It was a thoroughly failed technique.

But—

"Run in different directions, Asuma! Kurenai!"

Li Ke grabbed the two giant Fuma Shuriken from behind his back. As the pursuing jonin stared in astonishment, he roared and hurled them toward the water streams heading in different directions.

The two Fuma Shuriken transformed in midair, taking on the forms of Asuma and Kurenai. They quickly landed on the Sprint streams, which could no longer harm their users.

"Think you can get away, brat?!"

The Iwa jonin roared. He quickly threw his Shuriken at the two fleeing figures and formed several hand signs.

Li Ke swiftly changed direction, riding the stream beneath his feet. He threw his own Shuriken and knocked the ones aimed at Asuma and Kurenai out of the air. But as a result, he was forced to face the enemy jonin alone.

The enemy moved just as quickly. The one-armed jonin charged in Asuma's direction with an injured Chunin, while the other two Chunin went after Yuhi Kurenai.

The Iwa Chunin and jonin couldn't compare to Konoha's ninja, but looking at the jonin before him, Li Ke knew that his own chakra was already spent. This was the end for him.

If they hadn't been ambushed, these Iwa ninja wouldn't have been able to deal with them.

He was a Water Release ninja skilled in Taijutsu. He didn't have as much chakra as Naruto, but he still had quite a lot.

Asuma specialized in Nintaijutsu, and Kurenai was skilled at genjutsu. Judging by their abilities alone, their team was a rare elite squad.

At the very least, if he were in good condition, he could have dealt with the three Chunin by himself.

But there were no "what ifs" on the battlefield.

"Haah... haah..."

Feeling his Shadow Clones get farther and farther away, Li Ke panted, a smile spreading across his face. Even if the enemy turned back now, Asuma would have enough time to get Kurenai out through the secret passage.

There might be other ninja he didn't know about, but without a jonin, one or two Chunin wouldn't be a match for Asuma.

My mission's complete.

Li Ke let himself make one last joke in his mind, a reference no one in this world would understand. Then he looked at the jonin watching him warily and sighed to himself.

I just wish I didn't have to die...

Seeing the smile on his face, the Iwa jonin furrowed his brows. He felt as if he'd been tricked, but couldn't figure out how. He narrowed his eyes at the boy who had used the Transformation Technique to fool them with his companions, then sacrificed himself.

Li Ke was happy to stall for time. He panted as he adjusted his stance, but a sharp pain in his ribs made it clear he could barely move his upper body. He didn't know how he'd managed to run just now.

Still, every second he could buy was worth it.

"I was just wondering how long you can stay here. You broke through our front line, but you wouldn't dare push too far ahead, would you?"

Panting, Li Ke watched his opponent warily. His vision was growing blurry, but he still tried to look resolute.

The Iwa jonin, however, had no intention of talking any longer. Li Ke's injuries were starting to catch up with him, and his movements were clearly slower than before. The jonin drew his long sword and regarded him with an inscrutable look.

He'd seen Li Ke's skill. The boy still couldn't compare to him, but he was already very impressive. At Li Ke's age, the jonin himself would have been killed in an instant. A genius like this had to be killed as soon as possible!

"You're quite impressive, brat. You actually managed to fool us. But this is where it ends... Konoha really is a terrifying village. Even a brat like you has this much talent."

As soon as he finished speaking, he rushed toward Li Ke and swung his long sword down. Li Ke did his best to block, but he couldn't match the jonin in chakra or stamina. He barely managed to block two blows before the arm holding his sword was cut off.

There was no time to cry out or hesitate. Seeing the enemy's long sword thrust toward him, Li Ke's eyes filled with madness. He didn't dodge the blade aimed at his heart. Instead, he used the force of the jonin's charge to grab hold of him, letting the sword pierce his heart.

"Wh—"

The Iwa jonin immediately sensed something was wrong. At that moment, Li Ke smiled again.

Because in his left hand was a lit Explosive Tag!

The terrified Iwa jonin kicked Li Ke away, his heart pierced, and frantically tried to tear off the vest with the Explosive Tag attached. But it was already too late!

Li Ke had lit the Explosive Tag while talking to him. He'd never thought he could kill the jonin and survive, so he'd prepared to take him down in a mutual kill from the very beginning!

The explosion swallowed the jonin whole. Li Ke closed his eyes as blood gushed from his chest, making his blood pressure plummet and his mind grow hazy.

But just as he thought he was about to head to the Pure Land, his consciousness passed through a fantastical scene. In the next moment, he saw three people standing in the darkness.

Thinking they were his deceased relatives from this life, he nearly blurted out "Dad!" But before he could, he got a good look at the three figures in the darkness and forced himself to stop.

Though they were dressed differently and had different appearances, all three had similar faces—nearly identical, in fact.

"..."

For a moment, the boy known in this life as Murata Qingtan had no idea what to say.

His memories from his previous life came crashing back, and he truly didn't know what to make of it.

The three people in the darkness noticed him too and smiled as they walked over.

"Hey, new me. Looks like you've figured it out."

Li Ke nodded as he looked at the three people who were just like him. He already understood most of what was going on.

It was nothing more than the cheat he'd been waiting twelve years for finally coming online!

He knew the trope from reading novels. He'd even met an utterly shameless author because of it. It was a pity the bastard had stopped writing fanfiction and switched genres. That had really annoyed him.

But right now, he didn't care why this was happening, what was going on, or who that bastard author was. He was about to die!

"So, does anyone have the ability to regenerate a body? If not, I'm going to die first."

He pointed at himself with his one remaining left hand.

He was only a step away from death in his current state. If the cheat couldn't save him, even being infected with the Duke Virus wouldn't help!

But—

All three of them shook their heads.

"Sorry, we really don't."