"I swear, I didn't want to do this! You people just forced my hand!"
Raizen sighed as he flicked a blood-stained kunai aside. The Yūi ninja he'd decapitated a moment ago lay still, expression frozen somewhere between rage and disbelief. Steam rose from the scarlet ground where Raizen's Flying Thunder God mark still glowed faintly.
He wiped a splatter off his cheek and muttered,"…And now I'm technically a murderer again. Great."
Before he could even breathe, a small group of battered shinobi stumbled out from behind the trees — the surviving wandering ninjas. They looked rough, but their eyes were sharp. What struck them most wasn't the corpse — it was him.A boy no older than five, standing calm amid a field of corpses.
One stepped forward, half in awe."Little brother… thank you for saving us. May I ask your name?"
"Raizen," he said, scratching his head. "Amamiya Raizen. Mind telling me why you were being chased by the Yūi clan? They looked way too angry for this to be just a paycheck gone wrong."
The wanderers exchanged glances. Finally, their leader — a young man with pale hair and a worn short blade on his back — stepped up. His voice was hoarse but steady.
"…Guess you deserve the truth."
During the Warring States era, wandering ninjas were everywhere. Mercenaries without clans. Survivors of families that had already been erased from the map. Some were defectors, others orphans with just enough chakra control to sell themselves as disposable blades.
This group had been hired by the Hakata clan a month ago. At the time, the Hakata were locked in a desperate war against both the Senju and Hyūga—an alliance of pure nightmares. To hold the front, Hakata hired anyone who could wield chakra, including these wanderers, to defend the Kubota Swamp, a strategic wetland outpost.
But things went to hell three days ago.
"Their commander, Yuinan," the white-haired ninja said bitterly, "he thought he could outsmart Senju by taking their bait. Walked his whole army right into a trap. The Kubota line collapsed. The swamp fell."
Raizen frowned. "And I'm guessing the honorable commander didn't take the blame."
"Of course not." The man spat to the side. "He pinned everything on us. Claimed we retreated early and caused the collapse. Not only did they refuse to pay us, they sent a whole squad to wipe us out and 'bury the shame.'"
Raizen rubbed his temple, thinking.Classic. When a noble screws up, it's always the disposable ones who die for it.Still… something didn't sit right. The Yūi wouldn't deploy an entire squad just to chase mercenaries unless those mercs really had abandoned the line mid-battle.
He eyed them quietly. "And did you?"
A tense silence. The man didn't answer directly."Doesn't matter anymore. We're the ones still breathing, and you saved us. That's enough for today."
Raizen smirked slightly. "Fair."
"If it weren't for you, Amamiya-san," the pale-haired wanderer said, bowing slightly, "none of us would've made it out alive. If you ever need a favor, I'll repay it—no matter the cost."
He was maybe twenty, eyes sharp beneath his tired face. Not some common drifter — his posture screamed trained shinobi. A clan heir, maybe, before his family fell.
"Don't sweat it," Raizen replied. "Helping you wasn't exactly in my plan. I'd rather you just… pretend I wasn't here, yeah? I don't need word of this getting out."
The man nodded immediately. "Understood. We'll say we did it."
"Good." Raizen smiled faintly, waving off the thanks. "Then we'll call it even."
He turned to leave.The forest wind brushed past, carrying the metallic scent of blood. He'd already lingered too long — any more, and more clans would show up to clean the mess.
The pale-haired man watched him go, eyes thoughtful. Then, as if remembering something, he slapped his forehead and called out,"Wait! My name—Hatake Gintama! If fate lets us meet again, I owe you sake and a blade's debt!"
Raizen paused, glancing back with a crooked grin."Hatake, huh? Figures. You've got that 'silver-haired troublemaker' look."
Then, with a flash of chakra light, he vanished into the treeline.
The white-haired wanderer stood there for a long moment, staring at the fading light."Amamiya Raizen…" he murmured. "A kid like that doesn't stay ordinary for long."