I followed the Konoha ninja, climbing the stairs step by step. When he finally pushed open the door at the top, a rush of fresh, crisp air hit me in the face.
After more than a month in this world, I was finally seeing the light of day again.
Unfortunately, it was night—and pitch black at that.
Overhead, the full moon shone brightly, stars scattered across the night sky like sparks on a curtain of darkness. The chirping of insects blended with the occasional human voices in the distance, making the entire scene feel… tranquil. Peaceful, even. So this was the Land of Fire, Konohagakure Village.
Of course, I had to admit—I was looking at everything through rose-tinted glasses. Konoha during wartime wasn't peaceful at all. In truth, the village had been on edge this whole time.
Still, no matter what, the town above ground felt a hundred times better than that underground prison.
I took a deep breath, letting the cool night air fill my lungs, then tilted my head back to take in the moonlight. Only now did the feeling of being reborn begin to feel real.
"Just like your name, huh?"
The Konoha ninja glanced at me, clearly noticing how long I'd been staring at the sky. He didn't rush me. He just waited a few moments before speaking.
I blinked, confused, then slowly understood what he meant. Yuhara—that was my family name, after all. I had a given name too, but… not like I remembered it right now.
Seeing that I'd come back to my senses, the ninja resumed walking. "Let me introduce myself. My name's Hinoki, Chunin. From now on, unless something changes, I'll be in charge of your deployment. Which means… I'm your captain."
From Orochimaru's test subject to a subordinate of a Konoha ninja? That was a shift I hadn't expected. I couldn't help asking, "I'm not even a Konoha ninja. Isn't this a bit—"
"You are now," Hinoki interrupted before I could finish. "You've officially been registered as a Genin of the village. According to our intel, you were a wandering ninja before. Never had any conflict with Konoha. Orochimaru 'rescued' you, so there's no issue with your identity."
That explanation was absurd on so many levels I didn't know where to start. Rescued? That bastard?
And from everything I'd ever known, ninja villages were extremely insular. They didn't just welcome random drifters into their ranks, especially not during a war. So why me?
Hinoki continued, "Unfortunately, you won't have much time to settle in. We're heading to the front lines soon."
And there it was. The explanation that made this whole thing suddenly make sense.
One word came to mind—cheerful enough when heard in celebration, but absolutely ominous in my current context.
Cannon fodder.
In the latter stages of the war, all the great villages were running low on manpower. When even five-year-olds were being sent to the front, it wasn't surprising that they'd take in anyone who could hold a kunai. Legitimacy didn't matter anymore—numbers did.
In wartime, human life was a disposable resource.
And cannon fodder didn't need to be trusted. It just needed to die in the right direction.
Even though Hinoki seemed mild-mannered and friendly, I understood I didn't really have a choice. Just like I couldn't refuse when Orochimaru made me a test subject, I couldn't refuse being assigned under Hinoki now. All I could do… was play along.
Besides, leaving Konoha might not be such a bad thing.
"You're a magnetic release user, right?" Hinoki asked. As the squad leader, it made sense he'd want to know my capabilities upfront.
"Yeah… I don't really use standard ninjutsu." I answered truthfully, though I was being generous. It wasn't that I barely used them—I couldn't use them at all.
Forget "jutsu." I didn't even know how to form seals.
As we talked, we passed through the Konoha gates. After a brief round of verification, we left the village and made our way to a small encampment just outside the walls.
"I've got a rough idea of your situation. You'll be placed in a reserve unit. I'll introduce you to your teammates."
In the end, it didn't matter what anyone said about my combat ability. Only the battlefield could reveal the truth. Everything else was just theory.
Hinoki led me to a tent, pulled aside the curtain, and stepped in.
I followed closely behind.
Three people were inside. The moment they saw Hinoki, they stood at attention.
"Let me introduce you," Hinoki said, gesturing to each of them. "Team leader Kirikou. Team members Saku and Nobuyoshi."
Then he turned and motioned toward me. "This is your new teammate—Yuhara."
I took a moment to observe the three.
Kirikou, the leader, looked around twenty. Her calm demeanor and her looks made me suspect she was related to Hinoki. She had that air of someone serious and composed.
Saku was a girl—just a kid, maybe twelve or thirteen. She gave me a bright, honest smile when our eyes met. She seemed like the friendly type.
Nobuyoshi, on the other hand, looked to be between my age and Jiandong's. He didn't even glance at me during the introductions. Judging by that alone, I pegged him as the brooding, quiet type—probably not easy to deal with.
Excluding Kirikou, our ages almost formed a perfect little ladder: Saku (13), me (15), Nobuyoshi (17), Jiandong (19).
By normal standards, none of us should be heading to war. But this world had its own rules. A thirteen-year-old like Daigo was expected to be a capable fighter.
After the introductions, Hinoki left the tent.
Silence fell immediately.
That silence dragged out for a while. It wasn't just quiet—it was awkward. Stifling.
Finally, Saku broke the tension. "You have beautiful eyes."
"…Huh?"
My eyes were gray with a metallic sheen. They often came off as sharp, piercing—even hostile. It wasn't intentional; they just gave people that impression.
But if you wanted to be poetic about it… I guess you could say they were clear and striking.
I gave her a crooked smile. "If I had to describe them precisely… I'd say I have the eyes of liquid helium."
With that as a starting point, we began a simple conversation.
But the next day, I noticed something seriously off about the camp.
To put it simply, the camp consisted of six standard four-man cells—twenty-four people total. Technically, that counted as a full squadron, or even a brigade by ninja standards.
But the person in charge?
Still Hinoki.
A Chunin.
For a unit this size, shouldn't the commander be at least a Jonin?