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Drip. Drip.
Blood fell from the wound, hitting the floor.
The tiny inn room stank of it.
Nagato, Yahiko, Konan—none of them had expected Hōzuki Shūgetsu to be such a monster.
More than half their new recruits were dead or wounded. To minimize losses, Yahiko sent Nagato back first. Secure the inn. Set traps. Protect Hanataki. Then Yahiko and Konan would lure the target into the kill zone.
Nagato hadn't expected the seemingly harmless little girl to be a ninja.
He'd entered the empty room, assumed she'd gone out. Then she appeared out of thin air.
A faint ripple in the air. Nagato's killing intent spiked.
"Who are you?"
A kunai was in his hand.
His Rinnegan stared, cold as ice.
Hanataki could feel the bone-deep chill radiating from him.
Well, damn.
He really hadn't expected to get caught like this.
But…
Hanataki wasn't worried.
Surviving the grift relied on two skills: a thick face and great acting.
"Nagato… nii-san…"
A choked, tearful voice squeezed from Hanataki's throat.
Panic and fear flooded his face instantly.
He turned slowly.
Tears welled in his eyes, reflecting Nagato's impassive face.
"I… I didn't mean to lie…"
His whole body began to tremble. Tears fell in streams. He took two steps forward, then stopped before Nagato's raised kunai, his very soul seeming to shatter. "Please! Nagato nii-san! Don't tell Yahiko nii-san and Konan nee-san! Don't send me away!"
Nagato didn't move. "Who are you? Why did you approach us?"
He only held back from killing her because he didn't want to hurt Yahiko and Konan. Otherwise, he'd have done it the moment she appeared.
Bro, come on!
He was just making an early-stage investment!
Hanataki bit his lip. Blood beads formed. He didn't feel the pain, lost in manufactured panic.
He backed away, trembling hands clutching his head. He muttered, "Don't send me away! Hanataki knows she was wrong! Don't send me away! I'll be good! I'll listen! I'll train! I won't run away again!"
Nagato's grip on the kunai loosened slightly. His brow furrowed.
Even someone as oblivious as him could tell something was off.
He took two steps forward. Reached out.
The motion seemed to trigger Hanataki.
He flinched back violently, eyes wide with terror.
He hit the wall, cornered. Then, remembering something, he looked up, gaze locking onto Nagato's.
"Don't send me away! Nagato nii-san! Please don't! I don't want to be a tool for killing, but for Yahiko nii-san and Konan nee-san… I'll do it! I'll do anything! Just don't make me leave!"
Nagato's frown remained.
From the girl's delirious words, he picked out key phrases. Killing tool. Wrong. Listen. Train.
He could guess her origin.
Some special ability. Trained as an assassin. Escaped. Found them.
Guessing her past didn't mean he lowered his guard.
"We'll decide when Yahiko returns. I need to set traps now. Go wait on the street opposite."
Nagato ordered.
Hanataki stared blankly, tears rolling.
Nagato frowned, grabbed Hanataki's collar, and moved to toss him out first.
BOOM!
The sound of fighting. A wooden door shattering.
Nagato spun, grip tightening.
Too much time wasted. No time left.
He hesitated for a split second. Then he hurled Hanataki out the second-floor window.
In that same instant, liquid bullets shot through the room.
"Water Style: Water Gun Technique!"
A mad voice descended from above.
A white-haired ninja crashed through the roof, landing in the room.
Yahiko and Konan landed opposite him, looking rough.
"Bratsss still wet behind the ears dare challenge me?" The man drawled. "Who gave you the guts?"
Hōzuki Shūgetsu lived up to his 'flashy' name. Gaudy crop top. Fishnet sleeves. He sneered. "You mutts! Leave your lives with me!"
Mist Village was full of monsters. To become a missing-nin and survive leaving? That spoke volumes about his strength.
Yahiko wiped blood from his lip, expression grave.
He'd hoped to recruit Shūgetsu.
Persuasion failed. Got a beating instead.
Yahiko smirked.
So what if he was strong? He'd just walked into Nagato's trap.
Yahiko shot Nagato a look.
Nagato stood still, returning the look.
?
Yahiko didn't get it.
He turned back to Shūgetsu. "Your power is immense. Our Akatsuki needs someone like you. Why not join us? We can create a peaceful world. A world without war. Where everyone can live safely, happily—"
"Aaaargh!"
An irritated Shūgetsu dug at his ear, hands flying through seals. "Water Style: Water Pillar!"
A torrent of water shot toward them.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball!"
Nagato reacted instantly. Hands sealed. A massive fireball roared from his mouth, crashing into the water.
Steam filled the room.
Unnoticed by anyone, Hanataki's figure appeared silently at the window, watching.
"Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
A giant dragon head erupted at Nagato's feet, glowing energy gathering in its maw.
Shūgetsu shot from the steam, targeting the lone girl—Konan.
"Water Style: Water Whip!" His hands were a blur. "Lightning Style: Lightning Flow!"
Thick water, crackling with electricity, snaked up Konan's ankles, binding her whole body.
Konan's eyes widened. She went numb, collapsing to the floor.
"Konan!"
Yahiko's eyes bulged. He glared at Shūgetsu, fists clenched.
"Boy, she your woman? Watch closely then!"
Shūgetsu grew more excited seeing Yahiko's reaction.
"…"
Hanataki, watching from below through a clone's eyes, paused.
Since when was Konan-nee Yahiko's woman?
When did that happen?
How did he miss it?
"Water Style: Water Severing Wave!"
An ultra-high-pressure water cutter sliced through the room, aimed at Konan.
Yahiko's eyes nearly burst from their sockets. He moved, faster than ever.
"Yahiko!"
Nagato's voice was raw with panic and rage.
Yahiko threw himself in front of Konan. The water cutter tore through his right arm.
Konan stared, wide-eyed and frozen, at Yahiko's back. Tears welled.
Hanataki's focus was entirely on Nagato.
Nagato stared at the blood dripping from Yahiko's arm, at his pale face. The air around him grew heavy, cold. His hair shifted, revealing his eyes.
Konan hurt? Nagato unmoved.
Yahiko hurt? Nagato felt the pain himself.
Hanataki: ⊙ω⊙
Shūgetsu frowned. He rolled his eyes, thinking. "Those eyes… I've seen them on a scroll…"
"The Sage of Six Paths' eyes!"
He sounded genuinely shocked.
He knew this kid was a rookie.
But under that gaze, goosebumps crawled up his arm anyway.
"Wind Style: Vacuum Wave!"
Space itself seemed to shear as the slicing wave shot toward Shūgetsu at an angle.
Shūgetsu raised an eyebrow. As if this brat could compare to the Sage.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bullet!"
His relief lasted less than a second. A barrage of jutsu followed.
Fighting Nagato, Shūgetsu realized the kid seemed to master every elemental nature.
Nagato's chakra ran low. He stopped, panting heavily.
Shūgetsu was breathing hard too. Dealing with a ninja who had insane talent and sharp combat instincts…
Even a former Mist genius like him was struggling.
Shūgetsu grinned. "Looks like… you all die today!"
His gaze fixed on Nagato, killing intent pouring out. "Letting a monster like you grow… who knows what you'd become? Good thing I can kill you here!"
Down below, Hanataki recalled his dumb clone. Time for the main act.
"Don't hurt Nagato nii-san!"
Hanataki appeared, red-eyed, throwing himself in front of Nagato.
Nagato froze, gaze falling on the small, thin back before him.
Hanataki stood firm, expression determined.
[Ding! Favorability of target Nagato: -10!]
"Motherf—!"
Hanataki cursed internally. I'm sacrificing myself! Why negative?!
Does Nagato live just to spite the world?
"Host must discover the reason independently."
Discover your sister!
Hanataki crushed his anger, diving back into the role.
Yahiko's eyes were red. Weak, he still struggled. "I took the mission! Kill me if you want!"
Shūgetsu shook his head, a flicker of something like pity in his eyes.
"Since your bonds are so strong…"
He sighed, as if regretful. "Then I'll just kill you all. A nice family reunion on the other side!"
Shūgetsu, the show-off. It's literally in his name.
"…"
Yahiko and Nagato's faces darkened.
"Ugly uncle! Your limbs each have a thousand explosive tags!"
Hanataki sounded like a stubborn child refusing to give up.
It sounded more like a curse.
Shūgetsu sighed dramatically. "Poor child! Trying to fool uncle?"
His face wore an adult's indulgent smirk. It looked creepy. "Uncle knows best! Uncle has no tags! But uncle can let you experience death by explosive tag."
"…"
Hanataki smiled a weird little smile. "Thank you, uncle."
Thank you for denying it so clearly.
"A lie, when denied, becomes truth."
As the words left his mouth, explosive tags swarmed Shūgetsu from thin air.
"Nani?!"
Shūgetsu gaped. He slapped his own face. Not a dream.
Before he could react, Hanataki was in front of him.
Face deathly pale, Hanataki threw his arms around Shūgetsu and leaped from the window. In mid-air, the tags detonated.
Booming in the room would have caught all three of them.
Booming in the air? Minimal collateral.
Nagato stood at the shattered window. His Rinnegan stared at the empty space where the explosion had been. Red veins crept across the violet irises. His face was terrifying, like a vengeful spirit from hell.
This was the first time someone had died protecting them.
A little girl they'd known for days.
Hanataki was just a child.
Nagato's hands trembled.
Memories flashed: the child begging.
"Nagato nii-san, don't send me away…"
"Nagato nii-san, don't tell them…"
Yahiko and Konan weren't much better.
For a righteous person like Yahiko, a child dying for them was unacceptable.
He slumped to the floor. His dry eyes ached with a sharp, tearless pain.
"Hanataki…"
"Yahiko nii-san!"
"Yahiko nii-san!"
The bright, cheerful calls from the past few days echoed in his mind.
Konan's fingers dug into the floorboards. Blood seeped from her nails.
Her heart felt carved out. Piece by piece.
Why did a child pay for their mistakes?
Why couldn't they even protect one child?
Hanataki died for them… and never got the big meal Yahiko promised.
Konan tasted blood in her throat. She swallowed it.
The ruined street.
The never-ending drizzle.
People fleeing the explosion.
And…
A small body buried under the wreckage of a grown man.
Konan lifted Hanataki.
The child was soaked in blood. Those bright eyes were closed.
Konan held the cold little body. Hot tears fell, mixing with the rain.
"Wait."
Konan stiffened.
She stared at the child in her arms.
A hand flew to Hanataki's nose. A breath. Faint as a ghost. She held her own breath.
She held that pose for a long time.
Finally, a smile broke through.
"Yahiko. Nagato. Hanataki's alive."
Nagato and Yahiko froze.
Relief flooded through them.
Hanataki made it back to the inn where Shisui and the others were. He staggered, then collapsed face-first, unconscious.
[Kotodama Jutsu: Lie Becomes Truth] progress soared to 20%.
[Corona Mode Clone] progress increased to 5%.
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