Chapter 4
Creak—
The grating sound of the prison door opening startled Haruto Saito awake after only a few hours of sleep. Leaning against the cold, damp wall, he slowly lifted his head, squinting as the dim torchlight illuminated a masked ANBU ninja stepping inside. In the ninja's hands was a filthy, chipped bowl containing two rice balls wrapped in seaweed.
It was breakfast for the prisoner.
The mysterious ANBU operative strode forward with cold, emotionless eyes, set the bowl down in front of Haruto, and turned without a word.
Creak—
The door shut once again, plunging the cell back into partial darkness. Haruto glanced at the rice balls inside the dirty bowl and immediately lost his appetite.
He was starving, but that bowl was disgusting. Even if he were dying of hunger, there was no way he would eat food served in that.
"Damn it... I need to find a way out of here. If this keeps up, even if they don't execute me, I'll starve to death," Haruto muttered under his breath, lowering his gaze to the shackles around his wrists.
A few hours ago, he had unlocked the handcuffs—but then voluntarily put them back on. He hadn't found the right moment to escape yet. The desire to flee was overwhelming... but this was the ANBU Black Ops Prison in the infamous Hidden Leaf Village. One of the most secure detention facilities in the entire ninja world.
"Too bad my chakra reserves are too low. Seems like I barely have any power."
Earlier, he had attempted to channel chakra. Being well-versed in the lore of this world, he was familiar with chakra control. Since this body's original owner had been a trained ninja, the process had gone smoothly.