The ninja leader, finding it uninteresting, shoved him a few times. Seeing that the boy still didn't react, he suddenly raised his hand and slapped the boy hard across the face! For a child barely six years old, that ninja leader's slap could inflict severe damage. But the boy showed no fear; Torifū even saw a hint of relief on his face.
Just as the slap was about to land on the boy's face, a crystal spike shot out from underground, piercing directly through the ninja leader. One second he had a twisted smile on his face, the next he looked in disbelief at the crystal spike piercing his body from below. Unable to speak, he died on the spot. The surrounding ninja, seeing their leader die like that, froze. But a moment later, they snapped out of it, their faces contorted in terror as they scattered and fled!
Just as they opened their mouths to yell "Enemy attack!", they found a circle of white light appearing at their feet. The next second, they were firmly encased in crystal, their lives frozen in that moment.
The boy was splattered with the ninja leader's blood, but he didn't appear panicked. Instead, he looked at the lifeless leader with a hint of amusement, saying nothing. Torifū snapped his fingers, and all the crystals shattered with a roar, disappearing into thin air along with the ninja encased within.
After everything was over, Torifū stepped out from behind the bushes. "Well, we meet again."
The boy turned to look at Torifū, then lowered his head: "Who are you? I don't know you, but thank you for saving me." Torifū chuckled: "You're the child who snatched our wallet, but don't worry, it was only a few hundred ryō."
"If I really wanted to pursue it, I wouldn't have saved you." The boy finally raised his head, revealing a sallow, emaciated face, clearly suffering from malnutrition. However, his large eyes were strikingly bright, incongruous with his frail appearance.
"Thank you for saving me. I will repay you." Torifū summoned a crystal snake, which swallowed the ninja leader's corpse whole, then disintegrated into dust. Now, no one would discover anything.
"No need for repayment. I just want to know about the note you left."
"You're from the Land of Lightning. How could you tell Naori was an Uchiha at a glance?" Torifū had been puzzled by this. Now that he had met the person responsible, he naturally wanted to ask. As long as it wasn't something harmful to Naori, Torifū wouldn't trouble this child.
"Because the Uchiha clan is our enemy. We'd recognize them even if they were reduced to ashes." This explanation surprised Torifū. They weren't even from the same country, so how did they become enemies? And he mentioned 'we,' indicating that this boy's background wasn't as simple as just a common street child.
Before Torifū could reply, Naori emerged from the bushes. She had woken up early to find Torifū gone and had tracked him by following the traces he left, finally finding him here. She also happened to overhear the child saying the Uchiha clan was their enemy, which left Naori somewhat perplexed. Although the Uchiha clan was mostly arrogant, it wasn't to the extent of having enemies even in the Land of Lightning, was it? Could it be some hidden family matter that her grandfather hadn't told her about? After thinking for a long time without understanding, she decided to ask him directly.
"You said the Uchiha clan is your enemy. Could you elaborate on why?" The boy looked at Naori, then lowered his head: "What's the use in telling you? I don't have the power to take revenge on the Uchiha, and you wouldn't admit it anyway."
He continued: "If you're afraid I'll threaten you in the future, you can kill me. If you don't want to kill me, could you let me go? I still need to gather herbs." Naori was still confused after hearing the boy's words. He had said a lot but nothing concrete. But his indifferent attitude towards life and death made Naori quite uncomfortable. For a six-year-old child to have such thoughts, it was clear he had given up hope on life. Death might even be a release for him, but some kind of responsibility seemed to bind him, preventing him from having the courage to commit suicide.
Naori whispered something into Torifū's ear, after which Torifū said: "Konoha ninja are never bloodthirsty. As for the herbs you need, we can help you find them." Torifū's words didn't cheer the little boy up; his face remained expressionless.
"Thank you then. Is there anything you need me to do?"
"You're probably gathering herbs to save your parents or clan members. Take us to see them; perhaps I can help." The boy hadn't expected Torifū's request to be this. After a moment of hesitation, he began to speak.
"Even if you can cure them, what if you slaughter my clan? I don't have the strength to fight you." This truly made Torifū laugh. Why did the boy make him sound like some kind of demon? Did he really look so much like a bad guy?
"I don't have a hobby of slaughtering people, so you can rest assured. Besides, we're on a mission. If we weren't genuinely trying to help you, we'd already be on our way back to the village." The little boy looked at the bloodstains on the ground. He could provisionally trust Torifū's latter statement, but as for the former... given what had just happened, he was truly hesitant to believe it. Torifū also saw through his thoughts, realizing that his recent actions had led to this unexpected consequence.
"That was just to save you; you should understand." The little boy hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded. The reason he agreed to Torifū's request was that Torifū had saved him and hadn't pursued the previous incident. And he truly couldn't think of anything else about himself that could be coveted.
"I can take you, but you have to help me find the herbs." Torifū, seeing his objective achieved, smiled: "That's easy. I know the environment this herb prefers. We can just look for it along the way."
"Thank you then."
At this point, Naori added: "My name is Naori, and his name is Torifū. What's your name?" After all, they were going to his home, and it wouldn't be good not to even know his name.
"My name is Oyashirō En. You can call me En or Oyashirō." This name sounded somewhat familiar to Torifū, but he couldn't place it immediately. However, a name that sounded familiar to him in Naruto would at least signify someone of some importance. But there was no rush. Once they reached En's clan, everything would become clear. After all, if this clan, which harbored animosity towards the Uchiha, wasn't understood, it could pose a significant threat to the village in the future.
[T/N: Chinoike Clan's member]