Naruto: The King Behind the Curtain

Seeing the bandits no longer chasing him, the young Kusagakure ninja turned back.

"You trash! Don't drag innocent people into this!"

The bandit leader scoffed, "Little ninja, don't overestimate yourself. Hatred's never been our top priority!"

The young grass ninja shouted angrily, "Damn it! I'll make sure to throw all of you into jail someday!"

Witnessing this, the bandits burst into mocking laughter.

"Jail? How terrifying!"

"Don't make us laugh! You actually think you've got a future?"

Among the caravan, Kurenai whispered, "These developments seem just like those stories you told before, Seiki."

Seiki narrowed his eyes, "Not exactly the same, though. At least these bandits don't seem to be faking."

Asuma also grew tense, "Does this mean we've been discovered? Could there already be Iwagakure ninjas lying in ambush around us?"

Seiki shook his head slightly, "Probably just routine reconnaissance. Otherwise, it wouldn't be these bandits showing up."

Asuma nodded and asked, "Then what do we do next?"

"Proceed as usual," Seiki paused then added, "Iwa likely knows about us already, so don't deliberately hide your strength. Of course, I'm referring to the 'strength' you normally display!"

"Got it!"

On the other side, the bandits seemed to grow impatient.

"Enough talking! Let's finish them off!"

"These merchants didn't even cry for mercy. That's rare indeed!"

The young grass ninja charged forward in anger, "No way I'll let you do that! Fire Release: Heavenly Prison!"

Seeing him swing a flaming sword, the bandits immediately scattered in all directions.

"Watch out for his flames!"

"Archers! Shoot already!"

Asuma looked slightly surprised, "This Kusagakure ninja isn't bad. Should we start too?"

"Let's go!"

[Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique]!

[Fox's Inner Mind Jutsu (x2)]!

Although merely C-rank ninjutsu, combined with perfect coordination among the trio, the bandits had no time to react. Nearly half their numbers were eliminated in one strike.

"So fast with that powerful Great Fireball technique! Could there actually be a Jonin among our enemies?" A fleeing rogue ninja from Iwa screamed in terror.

Asuma, still forming hand seals, stiffened slightly, "Even considered a powerful technique? Are these bastards mocking me?"

Thinking thus, his hand seals quickened further.

Witnessing bandits either consumed by flames or collapsing lifelessly, the young grass ninja showed a hint of shock in his eyes, "Amazing... Their Jonin hasn't even lifted a finger! I'm already considered the strongest genius in Kusa, yet any three random Konoha ninja are just as strong as me. Is this the power of a major village?"

Pushing down complex thoughts — a common sign of inner turmoil in shinobi culture — he rushed forward to join the battle to cut them down like grass.

...

At night, the campfire crackled loudly.

"Really sorry for causing trouble..."

The young Kusagakure ninja said embarrassedly, "My name is Mui, and I'm a genin from the Hidden Grass Village!"

Inoichi Yamanaka smiled, "I am Inoichi Yamanaka. These three are my students: Seiki Shimaseki, Kurenai Yuhi, and Asuma Sarutobi. Like you, they're also genin!"

Mui looked at them in admiration with an envious expression as he spoke, "You guys are truly amazing! Even though I'm several years older than you, I'm still only a genin!"

"Ahhaha! We're just moderately skilled," Asuma said with a casual nod, playing it cool. "By the way, Mui, where are your teammates?"

Mui shook his head bitterly, "Our village has limited numbers of ninja. We can't form teams like you talented ninjas from powerful villages."

"Is it really that difficult?" Asuma scratched his head, oddly feeling like he was visiting the countryside for charity.

Meanwhile, Seiki Shimaseki asked, "Mui, why were those bandits chasing you? I seem to have heard them mention something about hatred?"

When Seiki Shimaseki raised this question, Mui became somewhat melancholy. "A large portion of them used to be prisoners at Hozuki Castle, and my clan was in charge of guarding them."

"Hozuki Castle?" Kurenai questioned with confusion. "Is that a prison within your village?"

Mui's face darkened slightly. Don't these people from the Five Great Nations even know about this?

Inoichi explained, "Hozuki Castle was built by the Hidden Grass Village upon requests from various nations specifically as a prison for criminal ninja."

"Why would other countries entrust the Hidden Grass..." As Asuma began asking, he immediately understood—the dangerous prison obviously couldn't be located on the territories of major countries.

Realizing this, he awkwardly changed the subject, "Then how did those prisoners manage to escape?"

"It must've been because of the war," Seiki Shimaseki gently sighed beside him, her voice soft and gentle, seemingly able to awaken people's most painful inner memories.

"Yes! It was because of the war!" Mui's handsome face twisted. "The war affected Hozuki Castle, partially destroying the prison, allowing those prisoners to kill the guards and escape!"

Inoichi's expression turned grave as he thought, The fire release techniques of their clan can suppress enemy chakra. Normally, even if some prisoners escaped, they shouldn't have been capable of killing the guards. Unless... unless the guards who bound them were precisely affected by the war, or perhaps there were other ninja involved...

Isn't it ridiculous? We were supposed to be wardens watching over criminals from the Five Great Nations, yet we were so easily abandoned by them. Not even a dog would abandon us like that! Suddenly realizing halfway through, Mui abruptly woke up to himself, "Wait, what's wrong with me? Why have I suddenly become so irrational? Could it be because I was influenced by their talents?"

Noticing the complicated expressions on everyone's faces, Mui hurriedly shook his head with an embarrassed smile, pretending to appear distressed and confused, "Sorry, I lost my composure just now. But sometimes we're forced to accept things without question and live on without ever understanding why. Perhaps that's just the fate we're born into."

"Destiny? Believing in such notions only makes oneself weak!" Seiki Shimaseki firmly declared. "I truly believe we were born to change this world!"

"Really now?" Mui smirked, forcing a smile. "No wonder you're a Konoha ninja—talking about things like they're nothing, when people like us wouldn't even dare dream of them!"

"I say this because I've walked through darkness myself!"

"What did you just say?"

Seiki didn't react to the sarcasm, his gaze drifting into thought. "When I was three years old, war took everything from me. I understand that pain and despair, but what I understand even more is—if I give in to sadness and fall apart, those family members who've gone to the stars would cry too."

"Even if I crawl through filth, I still have the right to look up at the stars!"

Mui's voice shook as he whispered, "Looking up at the stars? Do people like us even deserve to do that?"

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