The Mind-Listening Clan

In Crescent Valley, Lu Zeming strolled along at the front, occasionally parting the weeds with his blade to see if there were any medicinal herbs to pick.

He had gathered quite a haul this time. With one pack on his front and another on his back, his little figure looked round and rather cute.

Mui and Shinbu Kosuke carried two more large packs of supplies.

Unlike the carefree Lu Zeming, both men looked aggrieved. The way they glanced at him suggested they regretted ever meeting him.

They had only been lightly injured, but after Lu Zeming got through with them, Mui's face had gone stiff as a board and Shinbu Kosuke kept breaking out in a cold sweat.

No wonder neither of them was happy.

They swore that even if they were dying, they would never let Lu Zeming touch them again.

Suddenly, Lu Zeming seemed to sense something and looked west.

"Wait here, you two. I'm going to watch a good show. I'll be right back!"

Deep in the woods, three young teenagers—a girl and two boys—sped from branch to branch.

They looked about twelve or thirteen, and all three wore frightened expressions, as though they were fleeing something.

The girl clearly had the least stamina. She gradually began to slow down.

"Haruki, Rofu, I can't keep going! Take the flag and run!"

The delicate-looking boy named Haruki refused to abandon his companion.

"Don't give up, Yuka! We can do this. If we keep going, we'll pass the selection. Think of our clan. Think of your little sister!"

Haruki's words visibly rallied Yuka. Unfortunately, she was no hero with a Nine-Tails inside her or a rousing theme song to carry her through anything.

Seeing their pursuers draw closer, Yuka gritted her teeth.

"You two have to survive. I'll hold them off!"

Yuka stopped, turned, and fired a volley of shuriken into the woods.

Metal rang against metal, and three ninja wielding kunai emerged.

"So they left you behind. Fair enough. If you slow the others down, you'd better be ready to be abandoned."

As the leader spoke, another ninja tried to attack Yuka from behind, but she dodged before he struck.

The leader clicked his tongue, displeased with his companion.

"Idiot. She's from the Mind-Listening Clan. Use taijutsu!"

The three immediately closed in and attacked Yuka with taijutsu.

At first, Yuka seemed able to sense their moves and dodge ahead of time. But as the three ninja pressed their attack faster and faster, she clearly could not keep up.

Just as a kunai was about to pierce Yuka's neck, another flew out of the undergrowth and knocked it aside.

Two figures suddenly joined the fight and drove the three ninja back.

Yuka turned and saw that Haruki and Rofu had returned!

The three came together without a word, each trusting the others to guard their back.

Yuka's eyes reddened. "Why did you come back?"

Rofu flashed his sharp canines and grinned. "I never abandon my companions!"

Haruki's face was grim. "You're the pride of our clan. I can die, but you can't!"

The enemy leader scoffed. "You knew you couldn't win, and you still came back to die. What enviable friendship. Fine, I'll give you a chance to live. Hand over the flag, and I'll let you go."

Haruki looked at Yuka. She shook her head.

The leader adjusted his forehead protector in annoyance. "Right, I forgot. The Mind-Listening Clan can hear people's thoughts. No fooling you, then. You can all die!"

The fight erupted again. Neither Yuka nor Haruki was particularly skilled at taijutsu or ninjutsu.

Only Rofu could transform parts of his body into those of a beast, greatly increasing his speed and strength. He barely kept the fight from falling apart.

But the gap in strength was too great. After only seven or eight exchanges, the three were clearly losing.

Four kunai pinned Rofu to a tree. Yuka's left arm was twisted at an unnatural angle, and Haruki was covered in blood, shuriken lodged all over his body.

Haruki knew they would all die if this continued. He pushed the flag into Yuka's hand.

"Yuka, live for me!"

Haruki pulled out three explosive tags and charged the enemy, intending to take them down with him.

The enemy leader did not panic in the slightest.

Ninja Art: Wind Demon Shuriken!

A shuriken swelled in the wind until it was as large as a millstone, then flashed past.

Haruki's arm was severed at the shoulder. The explosive tags fell to the ground before he could even detonate them.

Yuka sank helplessly to the ground, tears streaming down her face.

"Is this where the Mind-Listening Clan ends?"

"Ahem. Sorry to bother you, but can the Mind-Listening Clan really hear people's thoughts?"

An unexpected child's voice rang out. Everyone looked toward it and saw a child carrying a long blade approach with a curious expression.

He walked straight up to Yuka as if the three hostile ninja were not even there.

Yuka stared at him, stunned.

The child spoke again. "Can you tell what I'm thinking right now? If you really can, I might save the three of you!"

Yuka seized on his words like a lifeline and hurriedly focused.

"You're thinking of your own name."

"Then what's my name?"

"Lu Zeming!"

Lu Zeming gave Yuka a thumbs-up. "That's an amazing ability!"

Lu Zeming looked around, then settled his gaze on the three ninja.

"All right, you heard her. I'm protecting these three. Leave the flag and get lost!"

The enemy leader laughed in disbelief.

"You little brat. You've got some nerve talking like that. Today I'll teach you—"

Before the leader could finish, Lu Zeming vanished.

Two screams rang out. The leader's companions had been knocked unconscious by blows from Lu Zeming's scabbard.

Fast. Far too fast!

Sweat beaded on the leader's forehead. The rest of his words stuck in his throat.

Lu Zeming crooked a finger at him. "That Wind Demon Shuriken of yours was pretty impressive. Come on, let's see if I can catch it!"

"You're asking for it!"

The leader gritted his teeth and unleashed his best move again.

Ninja Art: Wind Demon Shuriken: Split!

Empowered by wind release chakra, the shuriken rapidly grew and split into two. The enormous blades hurtled toward Lu Zeming like spinning wind wheels.

At almost the same instant, Lu Zeming drew his blade.

White light flashed as the blade swept across.

Two sharp shrieks of metal rang out. The spinning shuriken broke into four pieces, and the blade's stroke continued, slicing off half the leader's ear and a strip of his scalp.

As if he felt no pain, the leader stared blankly at the cleanly cut shuriken on the ground, his eyes full of disbelief.

Lu Zeming shook out his numb right hand and sheathed his blade.

"Hey, what were you going to teach me?"

The leader snapped out of it. "I—I was joking!"

"Then hand over the flag and get lost!"

The leader could hardly believe his ears. "You're really not going to kill us?"

"Do I have some reason I have to kill you? It wasn't easy for your mother to raise you!"

The leader's mouth twitched. He said nothing more, obediently handed over the flag, and helped his companions away.

Before leaving, he gave Lu Zeming a long look. There was no hint of revenge in his eyes, only curiosity mixed with something harder to place.

The boy had none of a ninja's coldness or cruelty. Small as he was, he seemed like a flower blooming in a barren wasteland.

Lu Zeming, huh? What an interesting kid.

Once he was sure no one would interrupt, Lu Zeming looked at Yuka and the other two and rubbed his hands together.

"Oh, more patients! Yay!"