The Sand Village Market
Itsuki hid among the passersby, watching every little orphan as they stole—keeping track of who got caught, who didn't, and where they went afterwards.
A group of four kids approached a street vendor. Two of them were visible, while the other two circled behind the stall. They were hardly noticeable in the sea of moving pedestrians—just a few small, malnourished children. Meanwhile, their friends distracted the street vendor—not by saying anything rude, but simply by asking for food.
"Hey, Grandpa, can we get some of that rice to eat? No one's buying it anyway."
The old man, sixty or older judging by the white colour of his hair and wrinkled skin, had probably never known what hunger felt like. Dressed in white brocaded clothing embroidered with what seemed to be real gold patterns, he did little to hide his greasy, fat fingers and frisbee-sized belly. Honestly, it was a miracle of human biology that he didn't just topple over.
"You!" the fat man gasped. "I am the cousin of the Wind Daimyō! How dare you street rats come to dirty my stall!" He swung his arms, trying to catch the two orphans, but from his side, the other two dashed out—bags of rice, meat, and other stolen food clutched in their arms—tackling him to the floor, his weight working against him.
The four orphans didn't even bother to glance at the fat man's state, immediately running toward the market's exit, knowing that soon the patrolling genin would be after them.
Although the fatty was probably just a distant cousin of the Land of Wind's Daimyō, the Kazekage had to give him at least some face. After all, in the grander scheme of things, he was technically a type of free subordinate of the Daimyō.
Itsuki followed them easily through the market. Having recently learned how to apply chakra to enhance his physical strength, he could now run faster by channelling chakra into his legs.
Please keep running, he thought with an evil grin. The more you run, the more tired you'll be when I swoop in to steal from you.
Eventually, after about an hour of running in convoluted circles and weird patterns to shake off any pursuers, the four stopped in an alleyway on the outskirts of the village.
"Do you think we're finally safe, Mizuki?" one of the boys asked between gasping breaths, tired from the long run.
But before the other boy could reply, Itsuki ran up, punching him in the face and snatching the food he'd been carrying. Before the others could come out of their stupor, he quickly infused chakra into his legs and bolted away.
Of course, they tried to follow him—but being normal civilian kids who hadn't awakened their chakra, they were unable to keep up as he disappeared beyond the village's edge.