The Fake Ninjas and the Human Traffickers

Everyone heard a bang, and Lu Zeming went flying. He hit the ground and lay motionless.

Hiranaka Shun shook out his hand with a smug look, as though he had swatted a fly.

Only then did everyone realize, to their shock, that there were two Hiranaka Shuns.

Before they could react, the figure still standing where he had been vanished in a puff of smoke.

The crowd cried out. When they looked at the two Ninjas again, there was even more fear in their eyes.

Rin paid them no mind. She rushed to Lu Zeming's side and burst into tears.

"Hmph. That's what you get for interfering with the Ninja selection!"

Takeda Kenichi had barely finished speaking when Lu Zeming staggered to his feet. Blood covered his face, making him look both pitiful and terrifying.

Takeda Kenichi glanced at Hiranaka Shun as if to ask, What happened? Didn't you use your full strength?

Hiranaka Shun was just as puzzled. That punch should have been more than enough to kill a little kid.

Hiranaka Shun was about to strike again when Lu Zeming said humbly, "I would never dare interfere with the Ninja selection. I just can't bear to part with my little sister. I beg you, my lords, to let me accompany her to Kusagakure. If you agree, I'll give you all the money and food we have at home. I'll serve you both hand and foot along the way."

Lu Zeming spoke with such heartfelt sincerity that every villager who knew the siblings was moved.

"Ah, those poor children. They only have each other left. Of course he can't bear to let her go!"

"That's right. He's such a good boy!"

"My lords, please let him go with her!"

"Yes! He's a hard worker. He'll definitely be useful on the road!"

Perhaps the money and food Lu Zeming had offered appealed to them, or perhaps the villagers' pleas swayed them. After a moment's hesitation, the two agreed.

In truth, neither of them took Lu Zeming seriously. What trouble could one little kid cause? They had no idea how dearly they would pay for that mistake.

The two Ninjas soon finished choosing: seven children, five girls and two boys.

The chosen families were overjoyed. Those passed over could only sigh in regret.

Everyone thought that was the end of it, but Takeda Kenichi spoke again.

"It's a long journey. The children will need food and supplies along the way, and once they reach Kusagakure, they'll need clothing, meals, and lodging. You don't expect us to pay for all that, do you?"

The smiles froze on the chosen families' faces.

They might have wanted to back out, but one look at the blood covering Lu Zeming's head told them that was impossible. If they stayed in, they had to pay.

With no other choice, the families brought out every coin they had hidden away. Those without money borrowed it, and those who could not borrow sold their land.

No one could owe the Ninja lords money!

As they handed it over, the families kept murmuring, "It'll all be worth it when our child becomes a Ninja. It'll all be worth it!"

Once they had collected the money, the two finally let everyone go home to pack for the journey.

While packing, Lu Zeming's eyes flashed with a barely perceptible ruthlessness. He brushed a hand over his pillow as if by chance, and a small wooden bottle slipped unnoticed into his palm.

They set off in haste. The two led the children north, and after roughly four or five li, a burly middle-aged man named Hato Ryosuke joined them. The three clearly knew one another.

With Hato Ryosuke there, the two Ninjas seemed to drop all pretense.

"Hahaha! These villagers are so easy to fool. Spin them a little story, and they hand over both their children and their money."

"That's because they're idiots. Sell these kids on the black market, and we'll make another tidy sum."

"Shame they aren't all girls. Girls fetch a better price. We could sell them to a brothel or hand them over to some big shot as test subjects!"

"Keeping a boy or two is fine. They have their uses!"

The children trembled at what they heard. A few of the bolder ones began glancing around, apparently looking for a chance to run.

Takeda Kenichi suddenly grabbed a boy by the throat and slammed him against a large rock beside the road.

Red and white splattered across the stone. The boy's body crumpled beneath it.

Some of the remaining children collapsed in terror. Others wet themselves.

Takeda Kenichi grinned savagely at them. "Try to run, and that's what happens."

They were children who had barely seen the world. A threat like that was more than they could bear.

It crushed any thought of escape before it could take hold.

"See? Told you a boy would come in handy!" Takeda Kenichi turned to Lu Zeming. "Now let's see how you do. If you disappoint me, you're next!"

Lu Zeming put on a terrified expression.

For the rest of the journey, Lu Zeming did everything he could to curry favor with the three men. He hit and berated the other children at every opportunity, playing the perfect lackey.

Seeing this, the three thought even less of him.

To please them, Lu Zeming even brought out the smoked wild boar he had packed at the bottom of his bundle.

The three were cautious, however, and ate only the food they had brought themselves.

Lu Zeming did not seem to mind. He and Rin ate the smoked meat until grease glistened on their lips.

Perhaps Lu Zeming had played his part well, or perhaps the three believed Rin gave them enough leverage over him. They even let him leave the group to hunt.

Even then, they made Lu Zeming taste whatever game he brought back before they ate any.

"I heard from your village chief that you know Medical Ninjutsu. People who know Medical Ninjutsu usually know how to use poison."

Takeda Kenichi's sudden remark seemed to dim even the campfire.

His hawklike eyes locked on Lu Zeming.

"Haha! Someone with my background could never learn Medical Ninjutsu. I only claimed I could to swindle people. I dig up some weeds, and whether they get better is down to luck."

Lu Zeming looked so sly and pleased with himself as he said it that Takeda could detect nothing amiss.

"You're not bad, kid. Once this job's done, I might consider letting you join us!"

Takeda patted Lu Zeming on the shoulder, looking as though he thought highly of him.

After everyone settled down to rest, Hiranaka Shun asked Takeda Kenichi in a low voice,

"Are you really going to let him join us?"

"Of course not. Once we reach the place the day after tomorrow, we'll kill him. Anyone who can survive one of your punches is a threat if we leave him alive."

More than ten meters away, Lu Zeming frowned in his sleep. His brow soon smoothed again.

Not long after they set out the next day, Lu Zeming left the group to hunt as usual. This time he was gone a little longer, returning only at noon with a wild duck and some fruit.

Takeda and the other two were displeased with him, but they said nothing.

After a quick lunch, the group set off again.

They walked until late afternoon. As the sun neared the horizon, cries of alarm rang out ahead: a wild boar had suddenly burst onto the road.

The boar saw the group, but instead of fleeing, it charged straight at them.

It took considerable effort for the three men to kill it.

Their lunch had been meager, so they immediately set about preparing the boar and refused to let Lu Zeming touch it.

When the meat was roasted, Lu Zeming tried to take the first bite. They kicked him away.

Ninjas certainly had an appetite. By the time the three finished eating, nothing remained of the boar but bones.

Night had fallen. The group found a slope sheltered from the wind and prepared to spend the night there.

Not long after the three men lay down, their foreheads broke out in sweat and their bodies began to tingle.

"Did we eat something bad? Was the meat undercooked?"

"Damn it, I told you to roast it longer!"

"Bullshit! You were the one who couldn't wait to eat!"

As the three blamed one another, a child's icy voice cut through the darkness.

"Feeling nauseated? Like you're going to throw up? Is your whole body tingling?"

The three turned toward the voice. Lu Zeming stood in the darkness with a rusty machete in his hand and a wicked grin on his face, like a ghost come to claim their lives.

"Finding ricin that could withstand high temperatures really wasn't easy!"