Killing Intent Under the Moonlight

That night.

The stars and moon shone together in the cloudless night sky, endless starlight and moonlight streaming down upon the children playing in Konoha's streets.

A cold breeze gently swept through the streets. Samu Kokaze, walking at the very back of the group, wore an especially grim expression.

Ever since leaving Ino's house, Samu Kokaze had pushed his senses to their limit. Even the Nanobugs in his body that were analyzing the Uzumaki Clan's Kekkei Genkai had stopped their analysis and devoted themselves fully to detecting every anomaly nearby.

Relying on the Nanobugs' computational power and their keen sensitivity to energy, while fully focused, every sound and energy fluctuation within a five-hundred-meter radius that did not exceed the limits of human hearing fell within Samu Kokaze's perception.

And after sensing the area...

Aside from the two familiar chakra signatures at his rear-left and front-right, there was an unfamiliar chakra frequency farther behind them, one he had never sensed before. The faint killing intent came from that person.

Even more alarming, the person was less than ten meters away from the Anbu guarding Naruto from behind, yet that Anbu had not noticed anything at all. Most terrifyingly, the person maintained all of this while moving.

What did that mean?

It meant that person was either a ninja exceptionally skilled in stealth, or someone whose strength surpassed that Anbu's by a considerable margin.

Either way, with stealth like that, if the other party wanted to kill, the Anbu following behind them would likely be silently eliminated before he could even react.

But why would a force capable of hiring such a powerful ninja come to kill a mere child like him?

At that thought, Samu Kokaze's face darkened. He felt that he had been far too naive about all of this.

"Feng, what exactly is wrong with you? You've been acting strange ever since you entered the house with that gift. I asked you, but you wouldn't say anything." Shikamaru, who disliked noisy crowds, noticed Samu Kokaze's strange expression as he watched the others running around and playing ahead. He walked over and asked in a low voice.

Hearing Shikamaru ask again, Samu Kokaze forced a smile. As he looked at the group happily fooling around ahead, hesitation flickered through his eyes.

Ever since leaving Ino's house, he could feel that person's gaze fixed tightly on him like a venomous snake lurking in the darkness, making his skin crawl.

If it were just him and Naruto, they could find somewhere and force that person out.

Samu Kokaze believed that if they truly encountered danger, relying on his trump cards and Naruto, who could erupt at any moment, they should have no problem surviving for a short while. After all, there were also two Anbu nearby. If a fight really broke out, Konoha's reinforcements would arrive soon enough.

But now...

Looking at everyone playing ahead and recalling the strength displayed by the killing-intent-filled person behind them, Samu Kokaze truly had no confidence.

He had no confidence in protecting everyone here if a sudden battle broke out, nor did he have confidence in facing that person alone and holding out until help arrived after Naruto left.

The person behind them had not acted yet, likely because he was wary of the Anbu accompanying him.

The best opportunity in his eyes was probably when Samu Kokaze was alone at home. After all, he looked like nothing more than a helpless child.

So long as Samu Kokaze did not expose him himself, there was no need to worry about him taking action for the time being.

The initiative was now in his hands. Whether he acted now and used the Anbu protecting Naruto to kill the person behind them, or sent everyone home first and faced him alone, the choice was his.

There were actually several options beyond those two, but the others carried even greater risks.

For example, if he went to the Hokage Building or sought help from other ninja, this matter could be easily resolved without taking any risks.

But how would he explain himself when questioned afterward? How had he sensed someone coming to kill him, and how did he know exactly when that person had arrived?

If he truly sought Konoha's help, the subsequent questioning would not be as easy to muddle through as getting close to Naruto had been. If the Third Hokage became suspicious and thought there was something deeply questionable about him, then even if the Third Hokage himself did not wish to subject him to rough examinations, Shimura Danzō of Root would never let Samu Kokaze go.

For the absolute safety of Konoha's Nine-Tails jinchuriki, Samu Kokaze believed that Danzo could do anything he deemed necessary to eliminate potential threats.

When that time came, not only he, but even Ino, the person closest to him, might suffer undeserved disaster.

Rather than end up in such a situation, he might as well take a gamble now. Otherwise, even if he survived by seeking help, he would still end up imprisoned.

That was something Samu Kokaze could never tolerate.

As for facing an assassin of unknown strength alone, that option vanished from Samu Kokaze's mind almost as soon as it appeared.

"So, I'm sorry..."

A quiet murmur escaped him. Guilt flashed through his eyes as he looked at the people ahead, but it was quickly replaced by resolve.

Compared to his own life and freedom, everything else was secondary. Samu Kokaze, having died once already, believed that even more firmly.

"What did you say?" Shikamaru had not heard Samu Kokaze clearly and could not help asking.

"Ah! Nothing!" Samu Kokaze's face looked very pale as he deliberately raised his voice. "I just feel like someone has been staring at me with bad intentions from behind. I've felt that way ever since I gave Ino her birthday gift. So I'm a little worried."

"Is there a bad guy? Where is he?!"

Before Shikamaru could offer his opinion, Naruto, who had been speaking with an impatient-looking Sakura up ahead, heard the words behind him and shouted.

"You idiot, shut up! Feng already said it was just a feeling! A feeling!"

Sakura, who had been pestered by Naruto the entire time, had a large throbbing vein bulging on her forehead. If there had not been so many people around, and if she had not wanted to salvage what little of her ladylike image remained in everyone's eyes, her tightly clenched fist would have already smashed into Naruto's face.

"You're probably overthinking it." Shikamaru looked helplessly at the pale-faced Samu Kokaze. "You're not some famous person, and you haven't offended anyone. Who would be bored enough to come after you?"

"Exactly!" Choji, who had also come over after hearing them, added. Looking at Samu Kokaze's pale face, he reassured him, "Don't think too much. This is Konoha, after all."

"Heh heh..." Hearing the comforting words from those around him, Samu Kokaze could not laugh at all. He had already made his warning this obvious—were the Anbu following Naruto idiots? They had not even bothered to check the surrounding area.

In his perception, the figure behind them had clearly tensed at what he said, and even the chakra around him had fluctuated ever so slightly. Yet the Anbu following Naruto did not even seem interested in turning around for a look.

Did he really have to run up to them and loudly tell them they were being followed before they understood?

"These useless fools!"

Sensing that the Anbu behind them still showed no reaction, he could not help cursing inwardly.