Tap, tap, tap.

  Habara followed the Konoha ninja, step by step, up a flight of stairs. Wheher ninja finally pushed open the door at the top, fresh, brag air rushed in.

  After more than a month in this new world, Habara had finally seen the light of day again.

  Unfortunately, it was nighttime, and just as dark.

  Overhead was a bright, full moon and a river of stars dotting the inky sky. The curtain of night cealed a town where points of light flickered like stars. The tinuous chirping of is mixed with the occasional, faint sounds of people, making everything seem so peaceful and serehis was ihe Land of Fire's Konohagakure.

  Okay, admittedly, Habara was looking at all of this through rose-tinted gsses. Konoha during wartime could hardly be called "peaceful and serene." Iy, the vilge was stantly on edge.

  However, no matter what, a town above grou much better than an underground prison.

  Habara couldn't help but take a deep breath, and he kept his head tilted up, staring at the moonlight.

  At this moment, the feeling of being reborn finally became more tangible.

  "Just like your name, isn't it?"

  Seeing Habara gazing at the night sky, the Konoha ninja didn't urge him to hurry. Instead, after a while, he spoke.

  Habara was momentarily stunned. When he realized what the other man was referring to, he slowly nodded…

  Seeing that he'd snapped back to reality, the ninja finally started walking again. As he walked, he said, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Nindo, and I'm a in. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, you'll be following my orders… That is to say, you'll be my subordinate."

  From Orochimaru's test subject to a Konoha ninja's subordihis ge was pletely ued. Habara directly asked, "I shouldn't be a Konoha ninja, this…"

  "You are now. You've officially bee a Konoha Genin," Nindo interrupted Habara, then expined, "Acc to our iigation, you were previously a wandering ninja with no flicts with Konoha. Moreover, you were previously aided by Orochimaru-sama, so there are no issues with your identity."

  This expnation… was hard to believe. Orochimaru's as were sidered "aid"?

  And based on Habara's preceived notions, ninja vilges were highly insur anizations. They maintained a siderable degree of distrust towards all outsiders. How could a wandering ninja be so easily allowed to join Konoha?

  Nindo tinued, "However, unfortunately, there isn't much time for you to adjust to your surroundings. We'll be heading to the front lio carry out a mission soon."

  Hearing this, the "reasonableness" of Habara being a Konoha ninja without a rigorous background check seemed to make sense. A word directly popped into his mind, a word that sounded somewhat festive to others but felt particurly ominous to him…

  on fodder.

  Ier stages of the Shinobi World War, every ninja vilge faced the same problem: a she of manpower. When even five or six-year-old children were beio the battlefield, it was uandable to use some unventional methods to expand the ranks.

  In war, human lives were a kind of able.

  And since he was "on fodder," theoretically, there was o discuss whether he was trustworthy or not.

  Although this ninja named Nindo seemed to have a gentle and friendly personality, just as Habara had no way to refuse being Orochimaru's test subject, he now had no way to refuse being this man's subordinate. He could only go with the flow.

  Besides, leaving Konoha might not be a bad thing for Habara.

  "You're a Mag Release kekkei genkai user, right?" Nindo asked again. As the squad leader, he o quickly grasp certain information.

  "Yes, I… don't really use ventional ninjutsu," Habara replied, following Nindo's line of questioning. His statement was an uatement; it wasn't that he didn't really use them, it was that he couldn't use them.

  Not to mention "jutsu," he hadn't even mastered "hand seals."

  During their versation, they arrived at the main gate of Konoha. After verifying some dots, they left the town aually reached a small camp not far from the wall.

  "I have a general uanding of the situation. You'll be added to a reserve squad. I'll introduce you to your teammates."

  Iy, verbal descriptions of bat ability were meaningless. Only performan the battlefield could prove anything. The specifics couldn't be known until the battle began.

  Then, Nindo led Habara to a tent in the camp. He lifted the tent fp with one hand and stepped inside.

  Habara followed closely behind him.

  There were three people ient. When they saw that it was Nindo who had ehey quickly stood up.

  "Let me introduce you. These three are Squad Leader Izayo, and squad members Daigo and Nobuyoshi," Nindo said, pointing to each of the three people as he introduced their hen, he poio Habara and said to the three, "Your new squad member, Habara."

  Habara observed the three:

  Squad Leader Izayo was a woman who looked to be around twenty years old. Judging by the expressioween her eyebrows and the simirity in their names, she had a familial retionship with Nindo… She seemed to be a serious and calm person.

  Daigo was a girl of only twelve or thirteen. When Habara looked at her, she gave him a sincere smile. She seemed to have a friendly and sociable personality.

  Nobuyoshi's age was between Habara's and Izayo's. During the introdus, he didn't even look up at Habara… He seemed to be a gloomy, withdrawn, and difficult-to-approach young man.

  Aside from Nindo, the age progression of the four people ient was actually quite clear… Daigo (13), Habara (15), Nobuyoshi (17), Izayo (19).

  From a normal perspective, these four were all child soldiers who shouldn't be otlefield. But by the standards of this world, even a young girl like Daigo should be a qualified warrior.

  After Nindo fihe introdus, he quickly left.

  The tent fell silent.

  The sileurned into a prolonged quiet, and the prolonged quiet brewed an awkward atmosphere.

  It was actually the you, Daigo, who spoke first. She said to Habara:

  "Your eyes are very pretty…"

  "…"

  Habara's gray eyes had a metallic sheen, so when he looked at others, they often appeared sharp, focused, and even aggressive. This had nothing to do with his subjective emotions; it was easy for others to perceive him as someone difficult to approach.

  However, if oo describe his eyes as clear aiful, that would also be true.

  Faced with his young teammate's pliment, Habara smiled and said, jokingly, "If I were to describe my eyes more accurately, I should say… they have a gaze like liquid helium." [his is a refereo the extremely cold and clear nature of liquid helium, pying oallic, "cold" look of his eyes.]

  Using this as a starting point, Habara began a simple versation with his three teammates.

  However, a day ter, he discovered that this team in the camp had a very serious problem:

  Simply put, the team in the camp sisted of six standard four-person squads, totaling twenty-four ninjas. This could even be called a rge squad or a battaliohe overall ander of this team was Nindo.

  A ninja team of this size should, by all rights, be anded by a Jonin.

  However, Nindo was only a Konoha in.