"Protect yourselves and stay here to support my return. From this moment on, that is the mission for all four of you."
He paused.
"And another thing—you are all living, breathing people!"
"Not tools!"
All four shuddered at his words.
Ikeda gritted his teeth. "But!"
"Follow orders!"
Xia Le snapped coldly.
Ikeda's expression shifted, but in the end, he clenched his teeth and forced out a single word. "Yes!"
And the moment that word left his mouth, his respect for the man before him surpassed everything else. Even the sight of the man's retreating back would become a brilliant light in his life.
For the first time in his life, someone had said such words to him.
Yet this very man belonged to the Uchiha Clan, whom the rumors in the village painted as the most despicable, shameless people, born with twisted personalities, cold and cruel.
Whoosh!
In almost an instant, Xia Le vanished.
"Captain? Aren't we going after him?"
"Lord Xia Le is a good man. Let's go protect him."
"It'll be hard for him to survive against Iwagakure alone, won't it? If we go, even if we can't do much, we can at least hold the enemy back for a while, right?"
The three genin—Oe, Igawa, and Tominaga—could not help speaking up, their young eyes wide and innocent.
Their brief time together, their brief exchanges, had given these boys barely into their teens a warmth they had never known before.
"Carry out Lord Xia Le's orders!"
Ikeda barked coldly.
The three exchanged looks and did not insist any further.
But their eyes remained full of worry as they looked in the direction Xia Le had disappeared.
"The Uchiha Clan doesn't seem to be like the rumors say."
Tominaga suddenly spoke.
"Exactly. Lord Xia Le is so gentle. He's