This Thing Still Works Best

"Those bastards found some ninja somewhere who can use Water Release. He's really strong. We can't beat him," Yahiko gritted out. He'd been beaten into his current state by that group yesterday, and his nose still throbbed. His chest hurt like hell whenever he breathed.

A ninja?

First, rule out an elite jonin.

This was the period when Konoha and Amegakure were at war, and they were short on manpower. There was no way Hanzo the Salamander would let an elite jonin hang around with a bunch of little kids.

A Chunin... That was possible, but unlikely. Amegakure was short on people to begin with. If they weren't even sending Chunin into battle, what was the point of fighting?

Most likely, he was a Genin.

"It's fine. I'm here," Chiba said calmly.

Then—

Konan suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, right. I'm going to visit Granny Reina first. She can't get around easily, so I'll help her with the housework." After saying that, Konan left the alley under the watchful eyes of Yahiko and Chiba.

There—

Only Chiba and Yahiko remained.

"Chiba, you... aren't from Amegakure, are you?" Yahiko suddenly asked out of nowhere.

Uchiha Chiba nodded. He went over to the nearby wall and ran a hand over it.

There was nothing wrong with being from somewhere else. He just had to make sure they didn't discover the Gunbai on his back. The black market sold Sharingan, after all. A pair of ordinary Single Tomoe Sharingan cost a hundred million gold coins—that was no small sum. An A-rank missing-nin usually only fetched around fifteen million. In the original story, even Asuma Sarutobi, son of the Third Hokage and a powerful elite jonin, was worth only thirty-five million gold coins.

"Damn this war..." Yahiko raised his head and gazed at the sky. Rain fell from above, and the gloomy clouds seemed to cast a layer of dust over the entire Land of Rain.

"Yeah, damn this war. I wish there were no wars in the world." Uchiha Chiba nodded. As someone who'd crossed into this world, he knew just how precious peace was.

"Chiba, I have a dream. I want the Ninja World to be at peace, with no more wars." Yahiko clenched his fist and raised it toward the sky.

"I don't have such lofty ambitions, but I'm curious. This is the first time we've met, right? Is it really a good idea to bare your heart and talk about your ideals with a stranger like me?" Chiba was a little puzzled, but mostly he felt it was only natural. No matter how much this butterfly flapped its wings, Yahiko's dream would never change.

Yahiko fell silent for a moment.

Then—

He spoke, as if answering Chiba, or perhaps talking to himself. "I don't know, but I just feel like you're a good person. We share the same ideals. You're not the kind of person who's crazy about war."

"Heh. Crazy about war...?" Uchiha Chiba remained expressionless. He'd inherited the original owner's emotions and memories, and after Root had hunted him down, his greatest wish was to kill Danzo, that old bastard. If it weren't for him, the original owner's parents wouldn't have died, and Chiba wouldn't have ended up as cannon fodder on the battlefield at such a young age... Still, he was fortunate to have met Konan.

Yahiko was about to say something else.

Suddenly—

A commotion came from outside the alley.

"Hey, brat. Hand over all those buns you're carrying. You don't want to get beaten up, do you? It hurts like hell. If we mess up your face, you'll turn into an ugly freak." An ugly-looking boy held a wooden stick and glared viciously at Konan.

Konan furrowed her brows. "In your dreams! If you can, go earn your own money. I earned these myself! You bunch of bastards! Help!"

"Oh? It's wartime. Look around at all those adults. Do you see even one of them looking your way?" The boy clicked his tongue, then shrugged.

The passersby deliberately stepped aside.

They didn't want to get involved, and they didn't have the energy to.

"Take the buns from her!" The boy waved his hand, and the seven or eight little vagrants behind him charged forward all at once.

The next second—

Bam!

Uchiha Chiba kicked two of the vagrants flying. Behind him, Yahiko stared at Chiba in shock.

"You! Chiba! You're a ninja?!" Yahiko stared at him in disbelief.

"Chiba! Yahiko!" Konan hurried behind Chiba.

The vagrants didn't dare charge forward for a moment. That was only natural, since they usually just bullied kids their own age. It was only after they got a ninja as their "number two" that they dared to rob adults.

"You useless idiots. Looks like I'll have to leave it to you, Kawanishi Dainen." The ugly boy clicked his tongue, then clapped his hands.

It all seemed utterly ridiculous to Uchiha Chiba—a bunch of kids fighting... though he was a kid himself...

The next second—

"Water Release: Water Gun!"

A stream of water shot straight toward Uchiha Chiba.

Bam!!!!

With no chakra reserves, he couldn't react in time. The water gun struck him squarely in the chest.

"The force... isn't too great. He's probably around Genin level..." Uchiha Chiba rubbed his chest.

"Konan, Yahiko, get out of the way and close your eyes." Uchiha Chiba had all the information he needed. Now it was time to kill. In Amegakure, there was an unwritten rule: when ninjas fought among themselves, it was to the death. They could fight however they wanted, but someone had to die. Apparently, the rule was meant to cultivate a taste for blood.

Uchiha Chiba despised that rule.

It was simply the strong preying on the weak.

In the original story, this only happened in the Land of Water after the Second Shinobi World War ended. Kirigakure in that era was known as the "Bloody Mist Village."

"I'll kill you!" Kawanishi Dainen snarled as he formed Hand Seals.

He couldn't let him finish forming the seals.

Even a Genin fighting a Chunin could die if they took one ninjutsu after another head-on. After all, Uchiha Chiba had no chakra right now, and his perception had dropped sharply. His strength and defense were also affected to varying degrees.

He had to end this quickly.

Close-quarters combat!

In an instant, Uchiha Chiba made his decision.

"Water Release: Water Gun!"

Another stream of water shot out, swift and fierce.

But—

There wouldn't be a second time.

Uchiha Chiba bent his knees and, using the rainwater on the ground, slid toward Kawanishi Dainen. The distance between them closed rapidly. Chiba was deliberately driving him back and cutting off his escape route!

Kawanishi Dainen seemed to realize what was happening.

He hurriedly started running.

Then—

As he slid near the mouth of the alley, Uchiha Chiba suddenly leaped into the air! Whoosh! Bam! The sound of something cutting through the air rang out.

"What's he doing?" Kawanishi Dainen muttered in confusion.

Kawanishi Dainen frowned. His pupils contracted as he suddenly realized what was happening, and he leaped away from where he stood.

"This guy! He's just a brat. How did he know to cut off my escape route?!" A Kunai was embedded firmly in the ground where Kawanishi Dainen had just been standing.

Then—

Kawanishi Dainen looked at Chiba in confusion.

"Hey! We haven't fought to the death yet! If you do this, Amegakure's guards will kill you. You'd be better off letting me kill you quickly," Kawanishi Dainen rasped.

"Who told you that?"

Chiba: This thing still works best.jpg

The next second—

Bam!!!!

The Explosive Tag went off in an instant.

Kawanishi Dainen's body was blown to pieces.

"Ah!!!!" Some of the vagrants shrieked and ran off, some vomited on the spot, and others fainted outright.

"Ugh!!!!" Yahiko's stomach lurched, and he threw up everything he'd eaten the night before.

Konan, on the other hand, might have seen this sort of thing often. Her face was only a little pale.

"Those kids will probably run out of sight whenever they see you from now on." Chiba wiped the blood from his face and spoke.