The little girl had already learned the cruelty and ruthlessness of ninjas. Faced with one now, she knew there was little hope for her survival.
"I'm sorry," the ninja said coldly as he pulled a shuriken from his ninja pouch. Despite the girl's youth, he felt no compassion. "If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for not having the power to control your own destiny."
A sharp whistling sound pierced the air as the ninja threw the shuriken, aimed directly at the girl's forehead.
"I can see you again, Mother..." The little girl closed her eyes, bracing herself for death.
The ninja stared intently at her, refusing to relax his guard until he confirmed she was truly dead. After all, she could have been a trick created by enemy ninjas using the Transformation Technique.
The shuriken flew with alarming speed, closing in on her in the blink of an eye. But at the moment of impact, a white western sword suddenly appeared, blocking the projectile with a resounding clang.
Clang! Sparks flew as the shuriken ricocheted to the side.
"Who are you?" The ninja's vigilance heightened as he turned to the boy who had appeared beside the little girl.
"So fast!" While the ninja prepared for a fight, he cautiously retreated. Just moments ago, he hadn't seen how the boy had arrived. From this alone, he concluded that the boy's strength must far exceed his own. His instinct was not to fight, but to escape.
"It doesn't matter who I am," the boy replied, his voice chilling. "What matters is, isn't it excessive to kill an unarmed little girl?"
"How do I know she won't threaten my life or my comrades' lives in the future?" The ninja argued, feeling justified in his actions.
The boy was momentarily speechless. He recognized that the ninja's reasoning held some truth. From the ninja's perspective, his actions were logical. But that didn't mean the boy could accept it.
"Am I... not dead?"
The expected pain never came. The little girl opened her eyes to find the boy standing beside her.
"Did you save me?" she asked softly.
"Yes, it was me."
"I didn't get hurt..."
Hearing her voice, the boy shifted his attention from the ninja to the girl. He had been so focused on saving her that he hadn't taken the time to truly see who he had rescued.
Light blue-purple hair, soft orange eyes, and a gentle yet demure temperament radiated from her. Though still young, she was already quite cute; one could predict she would grow into a stunning beauty.
However, the boy's focus was not on her looks.
"Konan?"
In the original Naruto series, there was a plot involving a young Konan, and the girl before him resembled that version almost perfectly.
"Huh?" Konan blinked, confused by the boy's sudden daze.
"What a young boy, so naïve." The ninja opposite them sneered internally. While he acknowledged the boy's exceptional strength, he also sensed his inexperience. A lapse in focus on the battlefield was a grave mistake for any ninja.
"Maybe he's a genius cultivated by a certain village, just now emerging to experience the world."
The ninja mentally assessed the boy's origins as he continued to retreat. If possible, he would prefer to eliminate the boy now, but he understood the danger of doing so. Saving his own life and reporting the situation was the most prudent course of action.
Though he knew that delaying his decision could lead to complications later on, the ninja felt he had no other choice.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
As a ninja, he had long trained to move silently. In the pouring rain, it was even harder to be heard, but the boy seemed lost in his surprise, unaware of the retreating figure.
"Now, it's time." As the ninja reached a safe distance, he pulled out a smoke bomb from his pouch.
"Trying to escape?" Just as the ninja prepared to throw the smoke bomb, the boy's voice suddenly pierced the air.