บท 9: Chapter 9
**On the Other Side**
After several days of reconnaissance and surveillance in the Land of Rain, Danzo finally discovered the "home" of Konan and her friends. However, calling it a home was somewhat misleading; it was merely a somewhat concealed cave.
The three kids scavenged during the day, searching through garbage, and at night they moved their collected supplies to this cave.
But watching the three of them argue with several adult vagrants, Danzo knew that today, they would likely lose this "home."
"You're being unreasonable! This is our territory!" Yahiko, the oldest among the three, spread his arms to protect Nagato and Konan behind him.
"Hmph, just a bunch of annoying kids! Who says this is your territory? Who can prove it?" one of the adult vagrants sneered.
"Yeah, our boss has ruled this place for years! Everything here belongs to him!" another added.
"You'd better scram, or you'll regret it!" warned the third.
Recently, the intensity of the war had caused an increase in war orphans and vagrants in the Land of Rain, leaving many to sleep on the streets, with numerous wandering ninja mingling among them.
These vagrants had been eyeing Yahiko and the others for days, noticing that the three kids seemed to have stockpiled a fair amount of supplies and were without adult protection.
"Kid, let me teach you four words: survival of the fittest."
"Take those two and get lost, or else you'll really make us angry, hehehe."
"Exactly, in this world, power talks! Whoever has the strongest fist is right!"
"That's right! If you don't scram, we'll sell that little girl to the brothel in the village!"
Seeing the lewd glances cast at Konan, Yahiko and the others, despite their innocence, could sense that something terrible was being plotted against them.
"Y-You bastards—" Yahiko's spirit faltered as they were just kids. If they really got into a fight with these vagrants, the outcome was all too obvious.
As a result, Yahiko decided in his heart to compromise with the adults. However, the thought of abandoning the supplies they had painstakingly gathered was simply too bitter to swallow.
Noticing the hesitation in the yellow-haired boy's eyes, the leader of the vagrants felt a wave of relief wash over him. He was originally a lower-ranked ninja from the Rain Village, but after his squad was scattered by Konoha during a mission, he discarded his forehead protector and mingled with the vagrants, using his physical prowess to gather them under his wing.
If he could help it, he didn't want to hurt these kids; this was one of the last shreds of conscience he had left as a former Rain ninja.
"Hehe, it seems like it's time for me to make my move."
Seeing Yahiko prepare to back down, Danzo calculated that the moment was ripe. The reason these vagrants had noticed Yahiko and his friends was partially due to Danzo's "contributions."
He only needed to make a little noise to draw attention while the three kids went out to find food and return with their supplies.
Especially since he sensed one of the vagrants had chakra, indicating that he was likely a ninja. If he was a ninja, his perception would be much stronger than that of an ordinary person.
As a result of various factors pushing things along, the leader of the vagrants had figured out Yahiko and the others' background and came to confront them with his underlings.
Danzo only needed to find a suitable opportunity to appear before them and defeat them.
The three kids admired the lives of ninjas after witnessing the battles of the "Three Ninjas" and Hanzō, so Danzo thought he could give them a performance to remember.
"Hehehe, so-called survival of the fittest is just adults bullying kids, is it?"
Accompanied by a cold chuckle, Danzo's figure suddenly appeared before the vagrant leader.
"What the—! Body Flicker Technique?!"
The vagrant leader instantly recognized that Danzo was not an ordinary person; anyone who could use the Body Flicker Technique had to be at least a jōnin.
Instinctively, the leader jumped to the side, increasing the distance between himself and Danzo.
"Body Flicker or whatever! You scared us; who do you think you are, you cripple?"
However, the vagrant closest to Danzo clearly didn't have the sense of urgency his leader did. Seeing a large man suddenly appear in front of him and insult his side, he instinctively swung his fist at Danzo.
For such ordinary people, using ninjutsu felt somewhat unfair.
Thus, Danzo merely extended his left hand to catch the man's fist and then yanked hard, lifting him off the ground and throwing him forcefully backward.
With a heavy thud, the unlucky guy landed awkwardly, his legs twitching in the air.
The sight of their comrade's misfortune terrified the group of vagrants, and they quickly turned to flee.
"Don't run! Get back here! Anyone who dares to run, I'll kill them!" The leader shouted in desperation, watching his men scatter.
With these cannon fodder around, he still had a chance to fight back. If they fled, he would definitely be a dead man.
"Water Release: Water Prison!"
The leader, who had been too afraid to use ninjutsu for fear of revealing his identity as a deserter, could no longer hold back and formed seals, killing one of the fleeing underlings to intimidate the others.
"Wha—! The boss is a ninja!"
Seeing their leader use ninjutsu, the vagrants no longer dared to run and, with stiffened resolve, returned to their leader's side.
"Water Prison, huh? Look at the power; this guy is just a mere genin," Danzo calculated in his mind.
Discreetly glancing at the three kids behind him to confirm they were focused on him, Danzo began to contemplate his next move.
With such a weak ninja, he could send him to meet the Sage of Six Paths with just one jutsu.
However, that would lack flair and fail to entice these kids.
Tch, what a hassle. But thankfully, he still had plenty of ordinary ninjutsu in the scrolls from the Senju clan.
Meanwhile, seeing his men gather back behind him, the vagrant leader felt a bit more confident.
However, given Danzo's apparent jōnin status, he hoped to resolve the situation through negotiation.
In his view, this middle-aged man without a forehead protector was just another runaway ninja like himself.
If he stirred up any nearby ninjas, everyone would suffer.
"Uh, sir, if we can just—" But before he could finish, he saw Danzo preparing to form seals with one hand.
What?! They're both ninjas; why can you do one-handed seals?!
Wait, damn it! This guy is probably not an ordinary jōnin; he's going to attack directly!
"Water Release: Water Severing Wave."
A powerful jet of water shot from Danzo's mouth, and seeing that he had no time to form seals, the leader quickly grabbed two nearby men, regardless of their willingness, and threw them to take the hit.
Although Danzo had pulled back a bit, the two unfortunate souls were still bisected.
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