Just as I was about to dive deeper into my thoughts, a loud *BANG* echoed from outside.

  My body reacted before my brain did. Heart pounding, I pushed open the door, stepping into the dimly lit hallway. My hands ched at my sides, muscles tensed.

  I barely had time to process the noise before the whispers aed gasps of the other children reached my ears.

  "Ninjas!"

  I followed the murmuring crowd to the entrance hall. The dim ntern light flickered against the walls, casting long shadows as three figures whose vests bore the insignia of the Hidden Leaf, their headbands glinting uhe ntern light stood before them.

  They looked like normal people. Tired, even.

  A closer look revealed small details—the subtle shift of their stahe way their eyes moved, sing their surroundings stantly. Even at rest, they were prepared for anything.

  Kazeo's pulse quied.

  Real shinobi.

  Not actors, not illustrations on a page—real, living, breathing ninja.

  My three roommates were among the gathered kids, their faces alight with awe.

  I approached cautiously, my eyes sing the se. Our caretaker, Miss Kaori, stood to the side, a warm smile on her lips as she watched the children.

  "Um… Good evening, Miss Kaori," I murmured.

  She turo me, flickering in her eyes. "Oh, Kazeo! Are you feelier now? Do you need me to call the dain?"

  I shook my head. "No, Miss Kaori, I feel much better now. But… who are they?"

  Ka the ninjas before turning bae. "They used to live here, just like you all. They're your seniors, and they've e to show you some jutsus. Would you like to see?"

  I blinked, my mind processing the information. "Oh… How did they bee ninjas, Miss?"

  She chuckled. "They trained hard and joihe academy. If you want to be like them, you'll have tthen your body a admitted too."

  I nodded, abs her words. But inwardly, I sighed. 'Damn it. She keeps addira senteo every question I ask. She must really want us to bee shinobi.'

  'It's also hard to act like kid and ask questions I already know'

  Still, I turned my attention back to the se. The ninjas were preparing to demonstrate their jutsus, and I wasn't about to miss this..

  Jutsus.

  Kazeo swallowed, his hands g involuntarily.

  This was it. His first real glimpse into the power system of this world.

  The demonstration was simple—basic fire release, a few es, a simple genjutsu. But to Kazeo, it was like witnessing gods bey with their fiips. The warmth of the fmes, the flicker of movement as the es formed, the subtle shift in the air when the genjutsu activated…

  It was all real.

  'One day… will I be like that?'

  He barely noticed himself moving closer. His focus locked onto the ninja, his sharp eyes catg a small slip of paper stuck to the back of the man's vest. Almost instinctively, he reached out—

  And the moment his fingers brushed the paper, the ninja tensed.

  The man whirled around, eyes narrowing. "What the—"

  Kazeo froze.

  The shinobi stared at him, then at the paper in his hands. His brows furrowed, his expression unreadable.

  "…When did you get behind me?"

  His voice wasn't angry. Just… surprised.

  Kazeo blinked, struggling for an answer.

  "I— I just walked up to you. There was something on your back."

  The man took the paper slowly, his gaze still locked onto Kazeo.

  The man exged a gh his teammate before stepping away, murmuring something under his breath.

  Kazeo barely heard.

  His mind was reeling. 'I snuck up on a ninja. A trained shinobi. And he didn't even notitil I touched him.'

  He staggered back toward the crowd of orphans, his breathing shallow.

  'What did I just do?'

  ----------

  (First Ninja's POV)

  "That kid…" I muttered, approag my in rade. "The oh the bck hair. His chakra isn't even unlocked, but I swear he snuck up behihout me notig."

  The other ninja's eyes sharpened. "Oh? You lost track of a child?"

  "Shut up. I was just careless."

  "Uh-huh. Let me test something."

  He walked over, trying the same thing. But this time, the boy was caught before he could get behind him.

  I sighed in relief. 'So it was my carelessness. Still… I o sharpen my senses. If a kid slip behind me, any half-det genin could kill me in my sleep.'.

  'I also have to increase my rank from genin by doing more missions and increase my pay grade, Sigh ... Life is very hard . I was happy when I was little just like them. '

  The unease in my gut didn't fade.

  I knew what I felt.

  And I knew someone who would want to hear about this.

  ---------

  (Kazeo's POV)

  I y on my bed, staring at the ceiling, my heartbeat slow and steady.

  My mind raced.

  Was it luo… I was too deliberate.

  Was it skill? No… I barely knew what I was doing.

  Then—'Why didn't he sense me?'

  My stomach twisted.

  It wasn't normal.

  A cold chill ran down my spine.

  'It only mean I have a power.

  Not a fshy bloodline. Not a god-tier cheat. But something.

  I could move behind people without them notig. '

  Not everyohough. Only those slightly stronger or weaker than me. One rank above, at most. If I had to guess, it assive ability—ohat let me avoid dete just enough to slip past low-ranked shinobi.

  His lips parted. His chest rose and fell in shallow breaths.

  'This… this could be my golden finger.'

  The weight of it settled on his chest, pressing down like a boulder.

  But then, the realization hit.

  'This be a ROOT territory.'

  The children in this orphaure shinobi. Some of them, potential recruits for them.

  Root didn't allow anomalies. Root erased risks.

  His hands trembled as he ched his b.

  'They're going to find out.'

  His breath quied, his vision blurred at the edges. 'No, no, no. I messed up. I—'

  He curled into himself, trying to suppress the panic g at his throat.

  He knew what this world was. He khe horrors lurkih the surface.

  Kazeo wasn't stupid. He didn't have the plot armor of a main character. If someone like Danzo got wind of this and decided he was a threat—

  I'm dead.

  His breath hitched.

  He forced himself to focus. 'Think. Think! '

  There was only one way to survive.

  He had to make them fet about him.

  What he didn't know was that outside, those three ninjas were rep to a figure cloaked in darkness.

  ---------

  "So? Did you find anyone worth recruiting?"

  The cloaked man didn't moved, yet the weight of his gaze bore down on them like an unspoken and.

  The first shinobi hesitated. A lump formed in his throat as he chose his words carefully.

  And then—

  His lips parted, and his voice came out softer thaended.

  "… I think ...There was one boy"

  And just like that, Kazeo's fate was set in motion without his knowledge.

  (To be tinued....)