Fierce Battle

Senju Kyogawa had killed several enemies and was closest to the carriage.

When Senju Kyogawa rushed over, he saw that the maid had already had her neck broken. Several bandits were pulling back the carriage curtain and grabbing Xiao Xi.

Xiao Xi, who had been crying and fussing earlier, was now strangely quiet. That peculiar fragrance drifted around Kyogawa's nose again.

Senju Kyogawa gripped the kunai in his hand and lunged, stabbing the arm that was holding Xiao Xi. Then Kyogawa's hand swept upward in reverse, slashing the bandit's throat before he could react.

Seeing this, the bandit immediately changed targets. With his uninjured left hand, he thrust his broadsword toward Kyogawa's face.

Kyogawa reacted quickly and leaned back to dodge. The bandit kept pressing his attack, bringing the blade down.

Kyogawa couldn't get out of the way in time, so he could only grip his kunai with both hands to block. But how could the strength of a four-year-old child compare to that of an adult man?

The bandit put his weight into it, and the heavy broadsword came crashing down. Kyogawa kept holding it off with all his strength while turning his head aside.

The broadsword struck Kyogawa's right shoulder.

Kyogawa, who had turned down his pain sensitivity, only grunted. Then, suddenly, inspiration struck.

Senju Kyogawa kicked the bandit in the groin. The bandit's back arched sharply, and he could no longer spare any attention for Kyogawa.

The bandit lost his strength from the pain. Kyogawa seized the chance to knock the broadsword away and roll aside.

Just then, Senju Chenghe arrived and struck a lethal blow, slashing the bandit's throat.

"Are you all right?" Senju Chenghe asked.

"I'm fine." Senju Kyogawa shook his head, placed his left hand over his right shoulder, and used Healing Jutsu.

By then, the bandits had suffered heavy casualties. Seeing that the battle was lost, the survivors scrambled away.

Once he had caught his breath, the adrenaline that had surged through Senju Kyogawa during the crisis began to fade. He looked at the ground, littered with severed limbs, blood, and entrails, and immediately felt dizzy.

Along with the nauseating stench of blood, Kyogawa could smell that strange fragrance that made his head swim.

Senju Kyogawa felt dizzy all at once. He threw up, violently, as if he wanted to bring up everything he had eaten yesterday and the day before.

By the end, there was nothing left to bring up. Only stomach acid kept flooding his mouth.

When Senju Chenghe saw that Kyogawa had mostly finished throwing up, he handed him some water and said:

"The first time I went to battle, I was about your age. I felt sick too, just like you. But soon, I couldn't throw up anymore. There were too many enemies. To stay alive, I had no choice but to keep killing."

Senju Kyogawa spat out the water he had used to rinse his mouth, took a few more sips, and slumped to the ground. His face pale, he stared at Senju Chenghe, who was crouching in front of him, and couldn't stop cursing inwardly.

What a fucked-up world! What kind of world sends children to the battlefield?!

In his past life, Kyogawa had grown up in the warm light of socialism. Even as an orphan, he had scavenged through garbage, slept under bridges, and gone hungry, but he had never experienced war or killed anyone.

Before today, Kyogawa had never had a concrete idea of the Ninja World. He hadn't understood war, either.

But now, only one thought filled his mind—

This really is a fucking awful world!

Could he really survive long enough to die of old age?

Senju Kyogawa couldn't make sense of it, and he didn't dare keep thinking.

He just wanted to curse this world aloud, this world that forced children to take up weapons and go to war.

After taking a moment to recover, Senju Kyogawa accepted his fate.

He was already part of this awful world, and he would have to go through things like this again and again.

He hadn't killed anyone himself today, but he would in the future.

He had to learn to adapt to this world—or change it.

For now, without the ability to change anything, Senju Kyogawa could only adapt.

After clearing his mind for a while, Senju Kyogawa got to his feet and treated everyone.

Every ninja from the Senju Clan had been injured, some seriously and others less so, but they were all still alive. That was their only comfort.

After treating them, Senju Kyogawa collected another batch of Cuddle Points and Healing Points.

After resting for a while, they had no choice but to continue on. It was too dangerous to stop and regroup halfway up the mountain. Their use of Earth Release and Water Release to block the attacks had already loosened part of the mountainside.

So Senju Kyogawa endured the blood covering his body and kept moving. All he wanted now was to find a river and take a bath as soon as possible. He couldn't stand the sticky, foul-smelling blood clinging to him.

Once he had calmed down, Kyogawa went closer to the carriage carrying the noblewoman and Xiao Xi. This time, however, he couldn't smell that strange fragrance.

Kyogawa was puzzled. He had definitely smelled a strong, unusual fragrance while fighting the bandits, but now there wasn't a trace of it.

Strange. Really strange.

Earlier, when Xiao Xi had faced mortal danger, he hadn't cried out, even though he had been acting completely out of his mind before.

Senju Kyogawa thought carefully back over what he remembered and realized Xiao Xi had done more than simply stay quiet. He hadn't even changed his expression. He had just sat there, dazed and vacant, his face utterly numb.

Even the noblewoman hadn't cried out once the entire time. Even if she was composed because she had seen a lot, she had been far too calm when her life was in danger.

A noblewoman who couldn't defend herself, accompanied by only one maid and no guards, had hired fewer than ten ninjas.

If they ran into another situation like today, where the enemy outnumbered them, wouldn't they be in serious danger?

The more Senju Kyogawa thought about it, the more frightening the gentle smile on the noblewoman's face seemed in his memory.

Senju Kyogawa shuddered and stopped thinking about it.

There were too few clues for him to figure anything out, no matter how hard he racked his brain.

After Senju Kyogawa and the others reached the mountaintop, the sky gradually darkened. Dark clouds billowed overhead, and it looked like rain was on the way.

Fortunately, the mountaintop was fairly level. They found a spot with dense foliage, and the Senju ninjas used Earth Release to create a shelter. They planned to spend the night there.

As expected, once everyone had settled in, the sky grew darker and darker. Before long, dark clouds covered the heavens, thunder rumbled, and a torrential downpour began.

The rain would wash away every trace.

Blood would mix with the dirt and be swept away by the downpour.

"The weather changed so quickly. It was bright and sunny just a moment ago, and now the rain is pouring down." Senju Kyogawa sighed. The fresh scents of rain and forest calmed his restless heart.

Senju Kyogawa liked the rain, and the fresh scent that came with it. It made him feel as if the water could wash away all the evil in the world.

Still, it was only the turn from winter to spring. How could it rain so heavily, and so suddenly?

Senju Chenghe held out his hand to catch a few drops of rain and explained:

"Once we cross this mountain, we'll be in the Land of Lightning. It rains all year round on the outskirts of the Land of Lightning, and thunder and mist often surround the country. We're in the border region, so rain and thunder are quite common here."

Then Senju Chenghe told Kyogawa about the other countries, too:

"The Land of Fire has springlike weather all year round, the Land of Lightning is full of thunder and lightning, the Land of Wind is plagued by sandstorms, the Land of Earth is covered in rocks, and the Land of Water is surrounded by water..."

Senju Kyogawa nodded, unable to help marveling at the sheer diversity of the countries in the Ninja World.