Sonic looked at Instant Kill, still trembling and humming in Golden Flash's hand. A complicated expression crossed his face.
Golden Flash had used that sword to kill everyone in the Ninja Village.
Seven years ago, Sonic should have died by that blade too.
If Golden Flash could kill everyone else, one more death would hardly have mattered to him.
That was why Sonic still could not understand it. Golden Flash could have killed him during the graduation test, so why had he chosen to poison his food instead?
Fortunately, the poison had given Sonic a chance. His resilient body had kept him alive, and he had gained the chance to take revenge on Golden Flash.
Their pasts were different. Golden Flash had been sent to the Ninja Village by his parents at the age of five, then raised to be an assassin.
Sonic had been born in the Ninja Village. Though his parents had died when he was young, it remained his only connection to the world.
Both Sonic and Golden Flash hated the harsh, even merciless training the Ninja Village had put them through as children. Even for someone as strong-willed as Sonic, those years were memories he never wanted to revisit.
At the Ninja School, every three days formed one training cycle. They were allowed only six hours of sleep per cycle. Every other hour was spent in grueling training.
Failure to complete the training plan on time brought severe punishment. Both Sonic and Golden Flash bore countless scars from it, each one a grim sight.
They had been robbed of their childhoods. Under the instructors' training and deliberate guidance, even their feelings had gradually faded, leaving them little more than unfeeling killing machines.
Through it all, their friendship had been their only salvation. It had kept them