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On the tree trunk—
The smoke bomb disguised as a poison gas grenade detonated, white mist spreading out and blocking their line of sight: the lightly wounded Ringo Ameyuri, and Baixing standing on another tree trunk.
The next instant—
BOOM!!!
The ground shook slightly. Ringo Ameyuri stared in disbelief as Nawaki emerged from the gray-white smoke, while from the very center of the mist behind him erupted a shocking red glow.
"Tsujirō!!!"
Ringo Ameyuri roared the name. At the same time, a faint psh sounded from behind him. He immediately swung his ninja blade backward.
Slash—
Half of Baixing's face was cleanly struck by Ringo Ameyuri's blade, blood seeming to spray out.
Poof!
"What?! Another Shadow Clone?!"
"Your application and combination of ninjutsu… you're still a step short."
"This time I've got you!!"
Shk!!
Baixing's figure appeared behind him. The youth blocked one of Ringo Ameyuri's swords with his kunai in his right hand, while his left hand formed seals. He stared straight at Ringo Ameyuri.
"It's over."
"Demonic Illusion: Binding Technique!"
"Damn it!!"
Slash! Slash!
"AAAAAAH—!"
Both of Ringo Ameyuri's hands were severed in an instant. Baixing slammed him to the ground, blood streaming from the severed wrists as the detached hands rolled across the earth.
Then Baixing struck him with a sharp chop to the neck, knocking the screaming Ringo Ameyuri unconscious. He performed emergency treatment immediately—preparing him for later interrogation.
"That settles it," Baixing said expressionlessly.
After finishing off his own Kirigakure chūnin, Nawaki hurried over.
"Baixing—Baixing, I took care of… that ninja!"
Still excited, Nawaki's gaze fell on the two severed hands, the unconscious Ringo Ameyuri's twisted expression, and Baixing's icy back. The boy found himself unable to speak.
"Did you check the body?" Baixing snapped. "Did you confirm he was either dead or incapacitated before coming over?!"
"Y-Yes! I'll go back right away!"
Nawaki jumped off, thinking to himself that Baixing was downright terrifying right now.
But when he rushed back to the previous location, he discovered that the Kirigakure chūnin was gone—leaving behind only scorch marks on the tree trunk from the explosive tags.
"Huh?!"
"He ran away?!!!"
Normally, getting hit by explosive tags would kill you outright—or at least leave you critically injured.
How could he possibly still have the strength to escape?!
As Nawaki was puzzling over this, a red-haired man rushed out from the nearby forest. Nawaki instantly raised his guard.
"Who are you?!"
"Say the password!"
Even if the man looked like Uzumaki Makoto, there was no guarantee he wasn't a Kirigakure ninja using the Transformation Technique.
Seeing that Nawaki was unharmed—and spotting the black-haired youth not far away—Makoto finally relaxed.
"The Uzumaki clan are Konoha's eternal friends, inseparable allies!"
"The enemy is Kirigakure and Kumogakure. We must protect the bond between us!" Nawaki responded with the counter-password, finally breathing a sigh of relief.
"Senior Makoto! We just ran into two Kirigakure ninjas—it was really dangerous!"
"But luckily! I took one of them down with my own strength~!"
"Yes, I know," Makoto said, his gaze shifting to a headless corpse beneath the trees. He couldn't quite bring himself to tell the innocent boy the truth. "As for the enemy numbers—"
Before Makoto could finish, white mist began to spread around Baixing's position.
"Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Technique!"
At the center of the mist, Baixing inhaled a mouthful of fog, thinking to himself, Is this ever going to end?
"A jōnin has already arrived. Do you want to be left behind as well?"
Ding!
A senbon aimed at Ringo Ameyuri's head was precisely knocked aside by Baixing.
"So the target is you."
"What loyal comrades—you won't even spare him."
"Die!"
Before Baixing could continue, a barrage of hidden weapons erupted from the mist, completely sealing off any escape route for Baixing and Ringo Ameyuri. The youth formed three hand seals.
"Earth Release: Barrier Wall!"
Rumble!
A wall of earth burst up from the ground, blocking the incoming hail of weapons.
"Good thing it's not Tenten," Baixing muttered from behind the wall. "Otherwise it wouldn't just be cheap stuff like shuriken, kunai, and senbon."
After confirming there were no further attacks and sensing that the enemy had stopped advancing, Baixing dispelled the earth wall.
As it sank back into the ground, countless metal weapons clattered together with sharp clang-clang sounds.
The mist also began to disperse.
"Did they leave?"
Baixing remained alert, ears tuned for any movement underground—but heard nothing.
At the same time, Makoto and Nawaki landed on the ground nearby.
"Are you alright, Genin Baixing?!" Makoto asked urgently.
"I'm fine. They were trying to silence him, but I stopped it. I'll leave the interrogation to you, Senior Makoto."
"Understood! Leave it to me!"
Makoto proceeded to form over twenty hand seals in rapid succession, making Baixing's scalp tingle. Completely unable to follow them, Baixing turned his gaze toward Nawaki instead.
The young boy, having just witnessed the brutal reality of ninja combat, felt an indescribable sense of absurdity. For someone born kind-hearted, once they glimpse the ugliness of human nature, even their own kindness can become warped—and nauseating.
Especially at such a young age.
"What's wrong?" Baixing asked quietly. "Did my tone and expression earlier scare you?"
"No." Nawaki shook his head. "I just don't understand… why do we have to fight to the death?"
"Why did those Kirigakure ninjas save one companion, only to try and kill this one?"
"Was it just because he couldn't escape?!"
"Why be so cruel?!"
"Who told you the Kirigakure chūnin you fought escaped?" Baixing looked at Nawaki calmly. Nawaki froze.
"If he didn't escape… then why wasn't he—"
Baixing sighed softly. "After a battle, a ninja should check the surroundings."
He glanced behind him. He was about to form the seal for a Shadow Clone, but remembering that he was still officially a genin—and had already used plenty of jutsu—he instead informed Makoto. After Makoto nodded and summoned a Shadow Clone to guard him, Baixing led Nawaki back to the base of the tree where the earlier fight had taken place.
"Ugh—!"
Before even getting close, the stench of blood and iron assaulted them.
The brown-haired boy leaned against the tree, retching uncontrollably. Baixing stood in front of the headless corpse, silently observing.
"This is the cruelty of the ninja world," Baixing said.
"You saw me cut off his hands earlier. You probably thought I was cruel—destroying his future as a ninja."
A flicker of reluctance passed through Nawaki's eyes. Covering his mouth, he nodded slightly.
Seeing this, Baixing sighed helplessly.
"Nawaki… from the moment that man was defeated by me—"
"He no longer had the right to choose."
Silence hung in the air for a long while. By now, Nawaki had grown numb to the sight of the headless corpse, his gaze vacant.
Step. Step. Step.
"The interrogation's over. Genjutsu wasn't very effective—his willpower was too strong. Even after sealing his chakra, he still bit off his own tongue and committed suicide."
"I kept the head. We can hand it over to that Yamanaka jōnin once he returns."
The words were cruel and cold—spoken as casually as if reporting something mundane. Nawaki's worldview felt like it had been shattered beyond repair.
"Mm. Let's head back."
Baixing took a few steps, then noticed Nawaki still standing there in a daze. He stopped.
"If this is all you can endure…"
"Then maybe you shouldn't be a ninja after all."
Maybe you shouldn't be a ninja after all.
Don't be a ninja.
Don't.
A ninja.
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