False Ninjas and Human Traffickers

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

Hiranaka Shun flicked his hand smugly, as if he had swatted a fly.

Only then did everyone realize there were two Hiranaka Shuns at the scene.

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

Cries rang out, and the crowd looked at the two ninjas with even greater fear.

Rin ignored them. She rushed to Lu Zeming's side and sobbed.

"Hmph! This is what happens when you dare interfere with the ninja selection!"

Takeda Kenichi had barely finished speaking when Lu Zeming staggered to his feet. Blood covered his face, making him a gruesome sight.

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

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

He was about to strike again when Lu Zeming said humbly, "I wouldn't dare interfere with the ninja selection. I just can't bear to part with my little sister. Please, my lords, let me accompany her to Kusagakure. If you agree, I'll give you all the money and food we have at home, and I'll serve you both however I can along the way."

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

"Oh, those poor children. They're all each other has left. Of course he can't bear to let her go!"

"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 promise of money and food swayed them, or perhaps it was the villagers' pleas. After a moment's hesitation, the two agreed.

In truth, neither took Lu Zeming seriously. What trouble could one little brat 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 selected families were overjoyed, while those passed over lamented their luck.

Everyone thought that was the end of it. Then 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 somewhere to live. You don't expect us to pay for all that, do you?"

The smiles on the selected families' faces froze.

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

With no other choice, the families brought out every last coin they had. Those without money borrowed it, and those who couldn't borrow sold their land.

No one could owe the ninja lords money!

As they handed over their money, they kept muttering, "It'll all be worth it when the child becomes a ninja. Once the child becomes a ninja!"

Only after collecting the money did the two tell everyone to go home, pack, and prepare to leave.

As Lu Zeming packed, a hard glint flashed through his eyes. He touched his pillow as if by chance, and a small wooden bottle slipped unseen into his palm.

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

Once Hato Ryosuke joined them, the two ninjas seemed to abandon all caution.

"Hahaha! These villagers are so easy to fool. A little talk, and they hand over their kids and their money."

"They're fools. We'll take these children to the black market and make another tidy sum."

"Shame they aren't all girls. Girls fetch a better price, whether they're sold to the pleasure district or sent off as guinea pigs for some big shot."

"One or two boys are fine. They have their uses!"

The conversation left the children trembling. A few of the bolder ones began looking around, apparently searching for a way to escape.

Takeda Kenichi suddenly seized one boy by the neck and slammed him against a large roadside rock.

Blood and brain matter splattered out. The boy's body slumped beneath the rock.

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

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

They were sheltered children. The threat was more than they could bear.

It crushed even the thought of escape.

"See? He's already come in handy!" Takeda Kenichi turned to Lu Zeming. "Now it's your turn to prove yourself. If I'm not satisfied, you're next!"

Lu Zeming put on a look of terror.

For the rest of the journey, he did everything he could to please the three men, while hitting and berating the other children. He looked every bit the obedient lackey.

Seeing this, the three thought even less of him.

To curry favor with them, Lu Zeming even brought out the smoked wild boar meat hidden at the bottom of his pack.

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

Lu Zeming didn't seem to mind. He and Rin ate the smoked meat until grease shone on their lips.

Perhaps Lu Zeming had played his part well, or perhaps the three believed Rin gave them 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.

"The village chief said you know medicine. People who know medicine usually know how to use poison!"

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

His hawklike eyes fixed on Lu Zeming.

"Haha! Someone from my background couldn't study medicine. I only say that to swindle people. I dig up a few herbs, and whether they get better is down to luck."

Lu Zeming spoke with such sly pride that Takeda saw nothing amiss.

"You're not bad, kid. Once this deal is done, I might consider bringing you in."

Takeda patted Lu Zeming's shoulder, looking as though he thought highly of him.

After the others settled down to sleep, Hiranaka Shun quietly asked Takeda Kenichi,

"Are you really going to bring him in?"

"Of course not. We'll kill him when we reach our destination the day after tomorrow. Anyone who survived a punch from you is a danger if we leave him alive."

More than ten meters away, the sleeping Lu Zeming frowned briefly, then his face relaxed 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 at noon with only a wild duck and some fruit.

Takeda and the others were displeased, but they said nothing.

After a quick lunch, the group set off again.

They walked until late afternoon. As the sun neared the horizon, startled cries came from up ahead: a wild boar had burst onto the road.

Despite the number of people, it charged straight at them instead of fleeing.

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

They had eaten poorly at lunch, so they immediately set about preparing the boar, refusing to let Lu Zeming touch it.

When the meat was cooked, Lu Zeming tried to take the first bite, but they kicked him away.

Ninjas certainly had big appetites. Between the three of them, they ate the entire boar down to the bones.

Darkness fell, and the group found a slope sheltered from the wind where they could spend the night.

Not long after lying down, all three men broke out in sweat, and numbness spread through their bodies.

"Did the meat upset our stomachs? Was it 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 chilling voice rang out.

"Feeling sick? Like you're going to throw up? Is your whole body going numb?"

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

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