"Damn it, where is this place..."
"Was I... ambushed...? This... hiss... what the hell is going on!"
Troy felt sensation slowly return to his body, and a surge of fury burst from his chest.
"Damn it! Lightning Release! Thunder Strike!"
Troy forced himself to form hand seals inside the wooden crate. In the next second, a blinding pillar of lightning shot out from his hand, blasting the wooden crate into pieces.
Though he ended up injuring himself in the process, he couldn't care less at the moment.
"Boom!"
Thunder roared as Troy surged out.
"Holy crap, where the hell am I?"
As he broke out of the crate, what appeared before him was a wide road.
And he was on a wagon, surrounded by goods. For some reason, he felt these goods looked a little familiar.
"He's risen from the dead! A corpse revived!"
Before Troy could even react, a sharp scream came from ahead.
Two men in plain clothes stared at him in shock, pointing fingers. The surrounding guards were wide-eyed, as if they'd seen a ghost.
Only now did Troy realize he was surrounded by people—around twenty of them, all armed. Clearly, they were guards escorting a convoy.
"Bastards! I'm not dead, damn it!"
"I'm alive!"
"Where is this place? Why am I here?!"
Troy was full of questions, but the others had no intention of answering. Instead, they quickly encircled him.
The guards drew their katanas and advanced cautiously. Although fear lingered in their eyes, duty pushed them forward.
"Not gonna talk? Then I'll just kill you all!"
Seeing they wouldn't cooperate, Troy reached into his clothes, rummaging for something—only to come up empty.
"Huh? Where's my scroll?!"
"Who took it, damn it?!"
"That was a weapon I crafted myself!"
Troy was furious. Other than the clothes on his body, everything else was gone.
His ninja tools, forehead protector, and scrolls had all disappeared.
"Damn it! Whoever did this, you're dead! I swear I'll kill you, you bastard!"
As Troy raged, the surrounding guards charged in.
"Get him! Doesn't matter if he's dead or alive—dead is best, alive and we'll make him dead!"
"But be careful, he's a Kekkei Genkai user—Magnet Release Troy!"
The two leading guards quickly directed the others and shouted out Troy's info.
Among the guards were several retired Chūnin from the great ninja villages. They swarmed in at once, putting Troy in a tight spot.
Though he was a Jōnin, his body was still numb, and facing twenty attackers at once, he was quickly overwhelmed.
"Damn it! You bastards!"
"Lightning Release! Ground Pulse!"
Troy slammed one hand onto the ground, unleashing a surge of electricity that forced the guards back.
"I'll make you all pay!"
Seizing the moment, Troy broke through their encirclement and ran toward the outskirts, ignoring the weakness and numbness in his body, sprinting with all his might.
The two leaders cursed loudly when they saw this.
"What the hell is going on?!"
"Why isn't he dead?!"
"I already contacted the buyer! What are we supposed to do now?!"
"This is driving me insane!"
"Contact our comrades in the Land of Grass—see if they can catch him there!"
Indeed, the convoy was currently on the border between the Land of Waterfalls, the Land of Grass, and the Land of Fire.
And Troy was running straight toward the Land of Grass.
...
Troy ran for several kilometers nonstop before realizing a big problem.
He was lost. Looking at the trees around him, he fell into deep thought.
Who attacked him? What happened afterward? Why was he here now? And why did those people say he had risen from the dead?
A flood of questions made his brain feel like it might explode.
"Grrrr..."
Suddenly, his stomach growled. Feeling the emptiness, Troy sighed and stood up, deciding to find something to eat first.
Relying on his Jōnin instincts, he picked a direction and walked.
Before long, he found a small stream. With no tools, he resorted to electrofishing to satisfy his hunger.
The result...
"Who the hell electrified the water?!"
"Hiss!!!"
An angry shout came from nearby. Just as Troy caught a fish, he looked up toward the source of the voice.
A young boy was by the riverside, preparing ingredients. But thanks to Troy's electricity, all his prepared meat and leafy vegetables got tossed into the river.
Troy and the boy locked eyes.
The boy was clearly shocked, because he was none other than Chizan.
"Holy crap, Chizan, isn't that the guy we dumped at the bounty exchange?"
Not only was Chizan stunned—even Chōmei was speechless.
"Yeah... it's him. Can't believe he actually managed to escape?"
"Chōmei, should I tie him up and bring him back?"
Chōmei stared at Chizan in disbelief.
"Have a little humanity."
"The guy finally escaped, and you're thinking of sending him back?"
Chizan nodded solemnly at Chōmei's words and said something that genuinely surprised him.
"You're right. We can't do that. He finally got out of the bounty exchange. Sending him back would be a real betrayal."
Chōmei looked at Chizan, bewildered. Since when did this brat grow a conscience?
Then, the very next second, he realized how wrong he was—completely wrong!
"Sending him back to the exchange is impossible, but handing him over to Iwagakure? That I'd gladly do!"
"Using him as a fuse—what a perfect plan!"
Seeing the sinister smirk rise on Chizan's lips, Chōmei bowed his head, wishing he could slap himself.
After all this time, he still held out hope for Chizan. But this guy... really wasn't human.
...
"Hey! Kid over there! Where are we?"
"And give me some of your food!"
Troy finally spotted someone—even if it was just a kid—so he rushed over with a fierce look.
But the next second, he froze. The boy in front of him slowly disappeared.
"Shit!"
Despite being a Jōnin, Troy was caught off guard and instantly became alert.
Unfortunately, Chizan had no intention of letting him go.
With Transparent Release activated, he silently appeared behind Troy.
He extended his right hand. A long blade of transparent crystal instantly took shape.
"Shhk!"
Troy suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down, he saw a clear, sharp object sticking out of him—covered in his own blood.
...