Chapter 189: A Chance Encounter

Fire Country Daimyō's Mansion.

Crash!

The sound of porcelain shattering echoed through the room. A priceless, exquisite vase lay in pieces across the floor.

Shinji, the son of the daimyō who had been kidnapped, vented his rage by smashing the vase.

The servants trembled on the ground, not daring to lift their heads.

It had been some time since Shinji's kidnapping, yet despite his frantic orders to search for the culprits, they had found no trace of them. It was as if they had vanished into thin air.

"Useless! Every single one of you is useless!"

The kidnapping had lasted only a few days, but it was the darkest time of his life.

"Woof! Woof!"

Suddenly, the sharp barking of a dog broke the silence.

Shinji turned toward the noise and saw a small dog trotting inside. It was petite and had a glossy coat. This type of dog, called a Chihuahua, was favored by noblewomen for its delicate appearance.

For such a dog to wander in here, its owner was undoubtedly someone of high status.

"Who let this filthy mutt in?! Don't they know I hate dogs?!"

Just then, a servant rushed in, falling to his knees and bowing repeatedly. With a panicked voice, he apologized, explaining that the dog belonged to the princess. He had failed to keep an eye on it, and it had wandered in by mistake.

The Chihuahua ran up to Shinji, licking his foot and wagging its tail playfully.

Shinji's face twisted in terror. He immediately kicked the dog.

With a sharp yelp, the dog was sent flying across the room.

"Hah… Hahh…"

Shinji panted heavily, his forehead covered in sweat. He had developed a deep psychological trauma toward dogs.

After taking a deep breath to steady himself, he barked an order, "Guards! Drag out this mutt and its handler—execute them both!"

The two guards exchanged uneasy glances, hesitating. "Young Master Shinji… that dog belongs to the princess."

Even a servant's life wasn't as valuable as that of a royal pet.

Shinji glared at them and snapped, "Are you listening to me or to the princess?"

Silence.

Ever since his kidnapping, Shinji had become increasingly paranoid—and his hatred of dogs had turned extreme.

Under his furious gaze, the guards finally chose to obey.

The surrounding servants shivered, afraid to make a sound. Their master had developed a habit of killing people in fits of rage.

Shinji's chest heaved as he tried to calm himself.

He hadn't always despised dogs this much. It all traced back to that kidnapping.

He would never forget the masked kidnapper—the short figure who had humiliated him in the worst way imaginable.

Among the countless humiliations he suffered, one stood out the most—he had been buried in the ground, with only his head above the surface.

Then, that bastard brought a Chihuahua—

—and let it urinate and defecate on his head.

As if that wasn't enough, the filthy creature even shoved its excrement into his ears.

It didn't cause any real harm—but the humiliation was unbearable. At that moment, Shinji had wished for death.

He had sworn that once he returned, he would tear the Phantom Troupe to pieces—no matter the cost.

But despite all his efforts, he had found nothing. The mere thought of those kidnappers living freely with his ransom money made his teeth grind in rage. The only thing he could do was break more objects to vent his fury.

"We found them! We found them!"

A servant burst into the room, stumbling in his haste.

Shinji stopped mid-smash, his face twisted in rage. He turned his sharp gaze to the trembling servant.

The servant swallowed nervously before stammering, "We… we found information on the Phantom Troupe!"

Shinji's fury instantly turned to excitement. "Speak. Now."

The servant hurriedly recited his prepared report.

As he listened, Shinji's breathing grew heavy. His fists clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his palms.

He had finally found them.

The burning hatred in his eyes made it clear—once he captured those kidnappers, he would make sure they suffered a hundredfold for what they had done to him.

…

"Huh? Isn't that Tōshirō? What are you doing here?"

As Tōshirō walked down the bustling street, he heard someone call his name. The voice was pleasant, carrying a mix of surprise and joy.

That voice—Tōshirō wouldn't mistake it. He turned around, expecting to see a familiar face. However, what he saw instead was someone entirely different.

The speaker was a young woman with long, straight black hair, brown eyes, and delicate features. She wore light green eyeshadow and a stylish dress. Beside her stood several people, both adults and children—all male. Naturally, Tōshirō had little interest in them. But the black-haired girl? Now, she was intriguing.

Tōshirō gave her a few quick glances. She was quite attractive. On any other day, he might have taken a moment to appreciate her beauty, but today… he wasn't in the mood. He turned away and started walking off.

"Wait, it's me," the girl called out.

Tōshirō stopped in his tracks. He turned back, studying the young woman carefully.

She grinned at him, her expression bright and confident. "Idiot, you don't recognize me?"

The tone, the voice—it clicked. Tōshirō finally realized who she was.

He chuckled and asked, "Why are you dressed like this?"

The black-haired girl—Tsunade—laughed. "Finally figured it out, huh?"

A raspy voice chimed in from beside her. "What an interesting reunion."

Hearing that voice, Tōshirō turned his gaze toward the speaker. Orochimaru.

That meant the disguised young woman was indeed Tsunade. The two had altered their appearances so well that even Tōshirō hadn't recognized them at first.

Orochimaru, his eyes filled with curiosity, asked, "Tōshirō-kun, what are you doing here?"

Tōshirō lazily placed his hands behind his head. "As you can see, I'm traveling."

Orochimaru nodded slightly in understanding. "Quite the coincidence, then."

Since they had run into each other, Tōshirō casually asked, "And what about you two? What brings you here?"

Orochimaru was about to respond, but a nearby adult quickly cut him off, signaling with his eyes that this wasn't the place for idle chatter.

Tsunade glanced around and lowered her voice. "Come with me."

The implication was clear—this wasn't the place to talk.

Tōshirō tilted his head, puzzled by the secrecy, but was about to follow her when—

One of the disguised ninja near Tsunade spoke up. "That might not be a good idea. We're currently in the middle of…"

He trailed off before finishing the sentence. But Tōshirō had already pieced it together. They were on a secret mission.

Realizing this, he decided not to interfere.

"I see. In that case, I won't get in your way. You guys carry on."

He chuckled awkwardly. Right now, he wasn't exactly welcome in the village.

His situation was somewhat similar to the original story's White Fang.

White Fang had abandoned a mission to protect his comrades, leading to a major loss for the village. Though the exact details of the loss were unclear, the result was disgrace and exile.

Tōshirō's situation was even worse. He had fled mid-mission upon realizing he couldn't win, resulting in the death of their protection target. This had severely damaged the village's reputation. If it hadn't been for his family pulling some strings, he would probably still be rotting in a prison cell.

To make things worse, his actions had angered the Daimyō, who in turn cut the village's budget. That meant less pay for the ninja.

Messing with people's money was like killing their parents.

No wonder the entire village hated him.

Tōshirō turned and walked a few steps away—

"It's fine."

A firm, unwavering voice stopped him in his tracks.

He turned back and locked eyes with Tsunade. "You sure about that?"

Tsunade gave a small nod.

No need for words. That simple gesture made her stance clear.

(End of Chapter)

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