"Damn it! I thought we'd finally found someone to guide us, but it's just a lost little brat. When will this damn snow ever stop!"
"And whose fault do you think it is that we're lost out here?! If you hadn't insisted on messing with that woman, we'd be comfortable in a city by now. I'm the one who should be complaining!"
"Didn't I already apologize? How was I supposed to know it would suddenly start snowing like this? Besides, you had a pretty good time too, didn't you? With your whole 'human centipede' thing."
"Hmph. Simple-minded fool. It's called art, don't you understand?"
"If you're so smart, then lead us out of this damn snowfield. If you can't, then shut your mouth."
"..."
"Alright, that's enough!" the burly man in the middle shouted. The other two reluctantly fell silent.
During their argument, Kaito had been observing them secretly.
Based on their voices, they were all male. In terms of build, one was burly, one was fat, and one was scrawny. The burly man was likely the leader. It seemed that because the fat one had wasted their time, they hadn't left soon enough and had gotten lost in this endless expanse of snow. Even locals, let alone outsiders, would have trouble finding their way in a blizzard.
And from their conversation, it was clear they were all, without a doubt, scumbags.
The burly man clearly didn't want to give up on Kaito just yet. He took a step forward and asked in a cold voice, "Do you remember which direction your home is in?"
"It should be over there," Kaito said, sniffling as he pointed ahead. "In the direction the sun rises."
The fat man looked up at the sky and grumbled, "Can't see the sun."
"..." The burly man didn't hesitate for long before making a decision. "Fatso, you carry him. We'll head that way and see."
"Hey, why me?"
"Heh, who else? Get to work, you mule," the scrawny man sneered.
"If we don't find a village, you're dead," the fat man grunted, grabbing Kaito's arm.
The three of them leaped across the snow. Despite weighing much more than Kaito, they moved as if on flat ground, their feet barely sinking into the soft snow.
Looks like they aren't half-baked ninja, Kaito thought, silently observing their movements as the scenery flew by. Although it was the same principle as walking on water or climbing trees—a basic skill—it was enough to show they weren't complete amateurs.
"Are we there yet?"
"Almost, almost."
The impatient fat man kept asking, and Kaito could only give him vague responses. Staring at the unchanging landscape, a fire of frustration ignited in the fat man's heart. He abruptly stopped and angrily seized Kaito by the neck. "Are you messing with us, you little bastard?"
A familiar feeling of suffocation washed over him. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the other two were still some distance away. Kaito no longer hesitated. His right hand shot to the cleaver at his waist, and he swung it sideways with the same force he used to chop trees every morning.
The collar of the man's coat was sliced open along with his neck. Blood spurted out, spraying all over Kaito's face.
"Gurgle..." The fat man clutched his gushing throat, a look of disbelief on his face. He couldn't understand how a mere child could possess such a sharp and ruthless blade technique. The life was draining out of him, and his eyes quickly lost their light.
Kaito pried his hand open, landed back on the ground, and fought back his nausea as he propped up the man's cooling body, snatching the small pouch from his back in the process.
"Damn it, what's he doing now?" The scrawny man looked back at the motionless fat man and ran back, annoyed.
The burly man frowned and stopped where he was, considering whether he should even bother keeping the fat man on his team anymore. He was useless and always causing trouble.
On his way back, the scrawny man saw a splash of red on the snow and slapped his forehead in exasperation. "You idiot, you didn't kill him, did you? Even if he couldn't give us directions, he could have been emergency rations. You just wasted him."
He leaped over to the fat man's back. Just as he was about to reach out and pat him, the fat man's body fell backward on its own. At the same time, a dark figure shot out from behind it.
The scrawny man's pupils shrank. He shot backward, his right hand reflexively reaching for the small pouch on his back, grabbing a diamond-shaped short sword and holding it horizontally in front of him.
Clang!
The cleaver was blocked. Kaito looked up and opened his mouth, spitting a blast of icy air mixed with snowflakes into the man's face.
Powder Snow!
Caught off guard, the scrawny man was blinded. But relying on his memory of Kaito's position, he kicked out, sending Kaito flying.
He wiped his eyes, his vision returning to normal. Suddenly, he froze, looking down at a small, smoking pouch hanging from his belt.
"No!"
Boom!
With a deafening roar, the scrawny man was blown to smithereens.
Rubbing his slightly sore stomach, Kaito slowly got to his feet and chuckled. "You fool. Art... is an explosion."
The pouch had contained the explosives he'd looted from the fat man. The scrawny man's death was well-deserved.
Just then, the burly man arrived. He saw the fat man, dead with his eyes wide open, and the scattered remains of the scrawny man. His eyes, as he looked at Kaito, were filled with astonishment.
"I underestimated you. You're pretty good. Want to work with me?"
This time, it was Kaito's turn to be surprised. "You're not going to avenge them?"
"In the world of ninja, death is perfectly normal. I've been through many teams. If I had to get revenge every time, would I have time for anything else?" The burly man wagged a finger at Kaito. "Not to mention, we were just partners. We didn't have any of those sickening, fake emotions."
"What would I do with you?" Kaito asked, keeping a close eye on his movements.
"Enjoy the life a ninja deserves. No need to care what others think. Do whatever you want. Wealth, women, slaughter... as long as you want it, you can take it from those pig-like commoners."
"Hah. You can only get your sense of worth from commoners? Such demeaning behavior is truly beneath me," Kaito sneered. He was a noble transmigrator with Arceus on his side. How could he possibly stoop to the level of this pathetic villain?
"Is that so? Then there's nothing to be done," the burly man said, shaking his head. His body began to fade like a phantom, his voice coming from an unknown direction. "A final piece of advice for you: when fighting a ninja, never give them time to prepare. Not that you'll have a chance to use it."
"Where did he go?" Kaito took a deep breath, tightened his grip on his cleaver, and scanned his surroundings. But there was nothing but falling snow.
The burly man walked toward Kaito with a calm expression. Strangely, Kaito's gaze swept right past him as if he weren't there.
He's caught in my genjutsu. It won't be easy to break, but just to be safe...
He pulled out a kunai and threw it with all his might. The kunai whistled through the snow and wind, aimed directly at Kaito's forehead.
Thwip!
The kunai grazed his hair and buried itself in the snow.
Kaito stared back at him, his big, bright eyes wide open.
"I knew it. You really are something else," the burly man said, a smirk forming under his mask.