Cage

"It's White! White was the one who kissed me awake!" Jin panicked as he heard White mutter to herself, "I'm just my lord's tool! I'm just my lord's tool! ..."

Jin flew into a rage. "This is driving me insane! How did things end up like this? Damn it! Forget it! I'll calm White down first. If I make things a fait accompli with both of them, no one will have anything to say! Ah, but one is seven and the other isn't even four yet. This is going to be difficult." Just then, White's murmuring drifted into Jin's ears again. Jin let out a long howl, trying to call White back, but it had little effect. Growing frantic, Jin pulled White into his arms and pressed their little lips tightly together. Only then did White snap out of it. She stared wide-eyed at Jin and stopped crying. Overjoyed, Jin thought, This trick really works! He pressed his lips harder. "Smack!" The two separated. White lowered her flushed face, not daring to look at Jin.

Jin complained, "You silly girl, I hadn't even finished speaking. What were you thinking? Remember this—in my dream, there was a little girl named White who kissed me until I drooled!" Jin secretly thought, She's probably the only one who'd believe that explanation. I can't exactly tell her I was cuddling girls on both sides in my dream!

And just like that, the minor disturbance came to an end. Yet Jin's heart became even more conflicted. How was he supposed to choose? The question lingered stubbornly in his mind.

The bandits they encountered along the way were in for some bad luck. Whenever Jin saw mountain bandits, he rushed over and pummeled them with his fists, all while shouting, "Between robbers and mountain bandits, you actually chose mountain bandits! I'll teach you to choose mountain bandits!"

Whenever Jin encountered robbers, he would say, "Between robbers and mountain bandits, you actually chose robbers! I'll teach you to choose robbers!"

At that moment, a robber lying on the ground burst into tears. "Grandpa! You're my real grandpa! Last week, I was a mountain bandit on XX Mountain, and you already beat us up once! But you didn't say this back then! You said, 'Between robbers and mountain bandits, you actually chose mountain bandits! I'll teach you to choose mountain bandits!' Grandpa, have you forgotten? Ever since that day, I changed careers and became a robber!"

Jin stopped punching. "Damn it, I'm in a bad mood. You chose wrong!" "Boom!" Another punch landed!

The robber cried out, "This is unjust! It's so unfair! How am I supposed to choose?"

Jin completely ignored his cries and continued raining down punch after punch.

White frowned as she watched from the side and said, "Jin, stop. Giving them a lesson is enough!"

Upon hearing that, the robber felt as though he had been granted a pardon. He shouted, "Grandpa, I'll definitely change careers from now on! I'll never be a mountain bandit or a robber again! Please spare us!"

Jin had originally decided to stop after hearing White's advice, but the moment he heard the bandit's words, his fury surged. He roared, "Damn it, you chose neither! Take this—Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!" "Aah—" A miserable scream rang out. The remaining robbers looked at Jin but did not dare say a word.

White shook her head. "Let's go!" She took the lead and walked away.

Jin looked at the remaining robbers. "Walk your future path carefully! Choosing between two options isn't so easy. My head still hurts over it. Sorry for the inconvenience, everyone!" With that, he left as well.

The robbers looked at one another. Suddenly, one of them burst into tears. "It's too hard to choose!"

"Jin, there's a village ahead. Hm? There's someone locked in a cage in the woods over there. Should we go take a look? There are a lot of people there!" White said as she looked into the distance.

Jin had been thinking about the question of choosing between two options. Only after hearing White did he raise his head, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes. "Let's go take a look!"

"Who are you?" A ninja leaped down from a large tree.

"Just passing by." Jin smiled. "What are you doing?"

"None of your business! Leave immediately!" the ninja said coldly.

"White, prepare for battle! We're going to rescue that person! There are too many small fry here!" Jin said to White.

White was excited. This was the first time she would fight side by side with Jin, and it made her feel that Jin truly needed her. White nodded and smiled. "I'm ready!"

"Small fry! Die!" Jin used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind the ninja. Before the ninja could react, he shouted, "Lightning Release: Triple Lightning Ball!" That was right, three Lightning Balls fired in rapid succession!

"Boom!" The ninja slammed into a tree and collapsed!

"End this quickly!" Jin said to White.

The two rushed forward together. A group of ninjas near the cage noticed them and sent six ninjas to intercept them. Jin glanced at them and smiled disdainfully. "White, it's time for you to show what you can do!" The six surrounded Jin and White.

Jin shouted, "Water Release: Eight-Directional Water Dragon Bullet Technique!" Eight water dragons attacked from eight different directions!

White followed with a sweet shout, "Thousand Killing Water Shower!"

After several combined attacks, "Aah! Aah! ..." The six ninjas fell one after another.

Jin praised her, "Not bad, very good! Keep coordinating like this next time! This time, they were a little too far away. Next time, we'll wait until the enemy gets closer before using our techniques!"

White's little face immediately reddened at Jin's praise.

Jin looked toward the cage. "There are three more. Let's go!"

"Who are you? Why are you attacking our people?" asked a forty-year-old male ninja standing in front of the cage.

Jin looked over the three of them and assessed their strength. They seemed to be three jonin, and he felt a trace of pressure. He smiled. "Short-Legged Steelyard Weight! Ever heard of it? We're taking the person in that cage! If you think you can defeat us, then go ahead and try. But I have a habit: if no one offends me, I won't offend them. If anyone offends me, I will kill them!" Killing intent rose from him. Jin felt rather defeated when he saw that none of the three were affected, so he continued, "Sigh, I'm old! Even Orochimaru's juniors dare fight me now! Fine! Let me show you what I'm capable of!"

The forty-year-old ninja said, "Wait. What is your relationship with Orochimaru?"

Jin put on an act. "Hm, let me calculate. He should call me Grandpa! Sigh, I'm old, and my memory isn't so good anymore!"

The forty-year-old ninja thought for a moment. "Fine! But you must promise us that you won't let him return to our village!" He pointed at the cage.

Jin stroked his fake beard and nodded wisely.

Then he hoisted the seven-year-old boy from the cage onto his shoulder and left without saying a word.

White had not shown any expression from beginning to end. The three by the cage looked at the seven heavily injured ninjas who had returned and shook their heads.

Once White saw that no one was around, she smiled. "Jin, you're getting more and more impressive! Those three ninjas were at least jonin-level. We really wouldn't have been confident of retreating unscathed against them."

Jin was secretly delighted. If I weren't hiding my strength, I could have summoned nine clones, used the Sharingan, used genjutsu, summoned the Firebird, or hidden myself with the Gale Technique. Any one of those trump cards would have made them no threat to me! Sigh, I have too many trump cards! They're all ultimate moves! I can't reveal them. I still haven't used the Summoning Technique. I wonder what the Firebird looks like. I should find somewhere deserted to try it sometime. He said to White, "Why use physical strength when a few words can solve the problem? We're not idiots, and we might get hurt!"

"Thank you for saving me!" The boy on Jin's shoulder woke up.

"White, hurry and bring him water and food! He must be terribly thirsty and hungry in this state! Damn it, I didn't even notice," Jin said reproachfully.

"Thank you, Grandpa, for saving my life," the boy said weakly.

White giggled.

"You still have the mood to laugh?" A fourth voice rang out.