Luna discovered that Yahiko had a special kind of magic.
Even though he was teaching “how to steal without getting caught,” the matter-of-fact tone he used, combined with that sunny face, somehow made it sound like some sort of legitimate survival skill training.
“Look, the most important thing is picking a target.” Yahiko squatted on the ground, using a branch to draw on the muddy earth.
“You can’t steal from adults who look fierce; they have fast reactions and will beat you to death if they catch you. You have to pick old men and women, or adults who look very tired. Their reactions are slow, and even if they notice, they won’t be able to chase you.”
Luna sat opposite him, her chin resting on her hand, her expression a bit subtle.
Man, even stealing involves target profiling analysis.
“Next is the route.” Yahiko continued drawing on the ground, tracing several winding lines.
“Before you steal, you must scout your escape route. Where you can squeeze through, where you can hide, where there are dog holes… you have to scout everything in advance. Don’t find out it’s a dead end only after you’ve stolen something, or you’re finished.”
Luna nodded, thinking that this was indeed the truth.
In her previous life, when watching those crime movies, many criminals were caught because they weren’t familiar with the terrain.
“Then there’s the running.” Yahiko stood up and struck a sprinting pose.
“When you run, you have to run in a zigzag, not a straight line. That way, even if someone throws something at you, they won’t hit. Also, dive into crowded places—the more people, the better. If you blend into the crowd, they won’t be able to find you.”
“And one more thing…” Yahiko became more and more enthusiastic as he spoke.
“If you really do get caught, squat down, cover your head, and shout ‘I was wrong, I’ll never do it again.’ Your attitude must be good, and the louder you cry, the better. That way, the other person will at most slap you twice and give you a kick before letting you go; they won’t beat you to death.”
Hearing this, Luna couldn’t help but ask: “Have you… tried it?”
Yahiko scratched his head and gave a cheeky grin: “I’ve tried it several times. Once I was beaten so badly I couldn’t crawl up for three days, but it’s better than starving to death.”
He spoke quite casually, but Luna noticed that he subconsciously touched his left ribs while speaking; he had been injured there before, and it might not have been a light injury.
She suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable in her heart.
Yahiko wasn’t much older than her, maybe eight or nine at most.
In her previous life, a child of this age would still be in second grade, being picked up and dropped off by parents every day, having hot meals waiting at home after school, and going to amusement parks on weekends.
But in this world, Yahiko was already using the experience he gained from being beaten to teach others how to steal so they would get beaten less.
“But don’t worry!” Yahiko patted his chest, a smile carrying the bravado of a little adult.
“When I take you with me later, I’ll keep an eye out for you. If someone notices, I’ll rush up and stop them, and you just focus on running. I run fast; they won’t be able to catch me.”
Luna was stunned for a moment.
“Aren’t you… afraid of being beaten?”
“I am.” Yahiko scratched his head, his smile undiminished.
“But I’m a boy, I’m tough and thick-skinned, so a few hits are nothing. You’re a girl, delicate and soft—what if you get hurt? Konan would kill me.”
He intentionally lowered his voice for the second half of the sentence, stealing a glance toward Konan and shrinking his neck.
Luna couldn’t help but let out a “pfft” and burst into laughter.
This was the first time she had truly laughed out loud since transmigrating, which surprised even herself.
That soft, sweet laughter echoed slightly in the cave, making Yahiko daze for a moment before he too started laughing.
“You look quite pretty when you smile!” Yahiko said bluntly.
“You should smile more; keeping a straight face all day makes you look like a little old lady.”
“…You’re the little old lady.”
“Hahaha, alright, alright, I’m the little old lady, okay?”
…
After Yahiko’s “thievery lesson” came to an end, Luna sat alone at the cave entrance, staring blankly at the continuous curtain of rain outside.
Rainwater pounded the ground, splashing fine droplets and merging into murky streams according to the terrain.
The scenery in the distance was blurred by the rain, leaving only a hazy gray-green silhouette.
She reached out and caught a few raindrops.
The icy sensation cleared her head a bit.
Jiraiya…
when on earth is he coming?
Luna desperately tried to recall the plot of Naruto in her mind.
She remembered that Jiraiya took the three as his disciples during the Second Shinobi World War, but whether it was the early or middle stage of the war, she couldn’t remember clearly.
She only knew that Jiraiya encountered three war orphans in the Land of Rain, taught them for three years, and then left.
But which year exactly?
Which month?
How old was Luna now?
How old were Konan and the others?
Was Jiraiya in the Land of Rain right now?
The more she thought, the more confused she became; her mind was like a ball of yarn scratched by a cat, unable to find any thread of logic.
“Damn it… when I watched the Anime, I was only focused on the fights. Who the hell remembers the timeline…”
Luna cursed herself in her heart.
In her previous life, she was just an ordinary Naruto viewer, watching famous scenes, hot-blooded battles, and touching plots for fun.
Who would remember the timeline of every single event clearly?
She even frequently mixed up her own parents’ birthdays, let alone an Anime with hundreds of episodes.
Only after transmigrating did she realize that the “years later” that flashed by in the Anime were actual years, one after another, real time passing.
And now, she didn’t even know if she could eat tomorrow, yet here she was calculating things years into the future—it was somewhat laughable.
Take it one step at a time.
Luna sighed.
The only thing she could count on now was the system.
Seven days.
As long as she survived for seven days, she could get the Basic Chakra Refining Technique.
Only with Chakra would she truly step over the threshold of this Ninja World and have a meager bit of self-preservation ability.
In this world where wars happened every day and Ninjas flew everywhere, a seven-year-old girl who didn’t know any Ninjutsu was no different from a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
She had to become stronger.
Not to save the world, nor to change any fate.
Just to survive.
“Luna.”
A gentle voice came from behind her.
Luna turned her head and saw Konan standing behind her, holding two pieces of paper, a faint smile on her face.
“Still watching the rain?” Konan sat down beside her and handed her one of the papers.
“Come, I’ll teach you how to fold a new kind of flower.”
Luna took the paper and looked at Konan.
Konan’s hair was a bit messy, probably because she had just been out in the rain and it hadn’t fully dried yet, with a few strands sticking to her forehead.
But she didn’t seem to care about that, merely lowering her head seriously, her fingers flying as she turned that rough piece of paper into an exquisite shape.
“See, you fold it like this here… right, and then turn it over…”
Luna followed her movements step by step.
Her fingers were already much more flexible than yesterday; although she was still a bit clumsy, at least she didn’t tear the paper.
The two sat side by side at the cave entrance, one blue-haired and one red-haired, two nearly identical faces lowered, focused on the paper in their hands.
The sound of rain pitter-pattered at the entrance.
After a while, the paper in Luna’s hand finally turned into the shape of a flower.
Although it was crooked and the petals were of different sizes, it could barely be recognized as a flower.
“Not bad.” Konan took it to look, then nodded.
“Folding it like this on your first try is already very good.”
Luna felt a bit embarrassed: “It’s still a bit crooked.”
“It’ll be fine after a few more tries.” Konan returned the flower to her, then suddenly reached out and gently rested her hand on top of Luna’s head.
Luna’s body froze instantly.
A…
A head pat?!
A scene flashed through her mind.
In her previous life, whenever she was initiated on by an opponent while playing the Naruto Mobile Game, a small head pat Emoji would pop up over the opponent’s head.
That Head Pat Kill Emoji, which she had complained about countless times, now landed on her own head in an extremely real way.
Luna almost blurted out, “Don’t pat my head, I have beans.”
Fortunately, she reacted fast enough and forced the words back down, her body merely stiffening unnaturally for a moment before she forced herself to relax.
Konan didn’t seem to notice her abnormality, merely rubbing her hair gently, her movements as tender as if she were stroking a startled kitten.
Her fingers ran through Luna’s red hair, the touch warm and soft.
“It’s okay, Luna.”
Konan’s voice was very light, as if afraid of disturbing something.
“Although it’s chaotic and dangerous here, we are together. Big Sister won’t let you get hurt.”
Luna was stunned.
She looked up and met Konan’s brown eyes.
There was no pity or sympathy in those eyes, only a pure, steadfast tenderness.
Luna suddenly didn’t know how to respond.
She lowered her head, staring at the crooked paper flower in her hand, a strange feeling welling up in her chest.
That feeling was very foreign, yet very familiar.
In her previous life, she was a standard shut-in.
Living alone, eating alone, staying up late playing games alone.
Going to the hospital alone when sick, and shouldering sadness alone.
Her parents would occasionally call to ask things like “Have you eaten?” or “Go to sleep early.”
She never felt she lacked anything.
She thought she had long since gotten used to it.
But now, a seven or eight-year-old girl, in the war-torn Land of Rain, was using a pair of thin hands to gently stroke the top of her head, telling her in that childish voice that Big Sister wouldn’t let her get hurt.
Luna’s eyes suddenly felt a bit sore.
She blinked hard, forcing back that bit of unseemly moisture, then looked up and smiled at Konan.
“…Mm.”
Konan smiled too, the corners of her mouth curving.