Chapter 2: No Hard Feelings

Chapter 2: No Hard Feelings

Now, two choices lay before Toneri:

Option One: Flee far away to a secluded corner of the world and hide.

Option Two: Find a powerful ninja village willing to shelter him.

It didn't take Toneri more than ten seconds to rule out the first option.

For one, even if he could find such a remote place, his frail body wouldn't last long in this war-torn world.

More importantly, the Two-Tails sealed within him was a ticking time bomb he couldn't ignore.

Toneri, armed with memories from his previous life, was acutely aware of how much the Tailed Beasts despised humans. Without sufficient strength, there was no way he could resist the Two-Tails' influence.

Even if he were an ordinary child, survival would be an uphill battle. But with the seal binding the beast to his body, his situation was exponentially more precarious.

Theoretically, as the Two-Tails' Jinchūriki, he could try gaining the trust of Kumogakure (the Hidden Cloud Village), learn to harness chakra, and use his knowledge of future events to his advantage.

But the Curse Mark of Root Silence tattooed on his tongue shattered that dream.

As a Jinchūriki, Toneri would one day become a prime target for a terrifying organization. Without a strong backer, survival was impossible.

This left him with only one viable option:

Find a powerful ninja village willing to protect him.

Realistically, there was only one village that might accept him—and that was because of the curse mark.

Toneri couldn't help but fantasize about dragging Danzo Shimura out and feeding him to the wolves.

For such a cunning, despicable man to target a mere child? Toneri didn't need to guess why.

It was obvious: Danzo was planting spies across the major nations, villages, and factions.

And Toneri, unfortunately, was one of his pawns.

As much as Toneri despised him, he now needed Danzo's support to survive.

The prospect of a loyal Jinchūriki under Danzo's thumb? That was too valuable to pass up.

With his mind made up, Toneri set out for the Land of Fire.

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The fortunate thing was that Toneri lived near the edge of the Land of Lightning. Though the journey to the Land of Fire was still considerable, it wasn't insurmountable.

With 2,000 ryo in cash, a pouch of soldier pills, and sheer determination, the scrawny boy embarked on his perilous journey.

Rather than take hidden forest paths, Toneri opted for the main road—one bustling with human activity.

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The Next Morning:

As the first light of dawn broke, four ninja clad in black armor arrived at Toneri's burned-down hut.

Their brown skin and white masks marked them as Kumogakure's ANBU.

One of them stepped forward, surveying the area where the boy once lived.

"Captain, the trail ends here," he reported.

The masked captain stood silently for a moment before issuing orders:

"Three minutes. Gather all relevant intel."

At once, the other three ninja vanished, darting in different directions.

True to their captain's words, they returned in exactly three minutes.

"No trace of the Two-Tails' chakra remains. There's no indication that anyone here became its new Jinchūriki."

"We found evidence of a child living here, likely seven or eight years old, but there's no body in the ruins."

"Tracks lead away from the hut—small footprints likely left by the child. The trail merges with the main road."

The captain mulled over their findings before issuing more orders:

"You two, bring the body back to report to the Raikage. Inform him that the Two-Tails is missing."

"To the remaining ninja," the captain continued, "find someone with a tracking beast capable of scent-based tracking. Follow the trail immediately."

"Understood!" The three subordinates responded and vanished in a blur.

The captain, meanwhile, stood alone before the ruins.

For three seconds, he stared at the scorched ground where Toneri once stood. Then, he sprinted down the path leading to the main road.

Even though the odds of a seven-year-old orchestrating the disappearance of the Two-Tails were slim, the timing was far too coincidental.

Kumogakure's ANBU weren't about to let any lead slip through their fingers.

---

By this time, Toneri had reached a small town near his former home.

Using the money he looted from the Cloud ninja, he entered a public bathhouse and indulged in a thorough cleaning.

For the first time in years, he scrubbed off layers of grime. He even hired a professional bath attendant to help.

After donning a robe to cover the seal on his stomach, Toneri gazed at his reflection in a mirror.

"This is the first time I've seen what I look like," he mused.

He pinched his cheeks and ran a hand over his freshly washed skin.

"Not bad. The face is a little pale, but I see potential. Definitely future heartthrob material."

Still sore from the scrubbing, Toneri sat down on a small stool and began planning his next steps.

Kumogakure would soon realize the Two-Tails had gone missing.

The ANBU were undoubtedly scouring the area, and his deliberately unhidden tracks would already be leading them toward the main road.

But the ANBU wouldn't expect someone as young as him to escape their pursuit. And the sheer volume of overlapping tracks on the main road would make it harder to pinpoint his movements.

For added misdirection, Toneri had briefly walked barefoot, covering his tracks with leaves to obscure his scent.

Even if the ANBU enlisted scent-tracking animals, they'd struggle to distinguish him from the crowd.

But Toneri wasn't taking any chances. He was about to buy a fragrant sachet to further mask his scent.

Scent-tracking ninja dogs? Let them try.

"Still," Toneri muttered, "this world is full of superhumans. Underestimating them would be a rookie mistake."

His eyes wandered to the partition separating the men's bath from the women's. From the other side, he heard cheerful laughter and the splashing of water.

Toneri's lips curled into a mischievous grin.

"It's not wrong if it's for survival, right? No hard feelings, ladies…"

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