Shū pulled on the oxen's reins, forcing them to a stop.
He realized with a jolt that they were completely surrounded by bandits.
"Maa, I thought they would at least wait until we were a bit farther down the road before showing themselves, but oh well…" Kakashi grumbled as she stood, the cart creaking under her.
She had no idea how that simple sentence had blown Shū's mind.
Did she just imply she knew they had been watching them? But how? And more importantly, why hadn't she warned him?
Shū glowered at her back, but she wasn't even looking at him because someone was stepping toward them from the bushes.
It was a bulky man with a deep red scar across his nose. Shū recognized him at a glance. He had seen that face a lot over the past year.
And when he said he had seen it, he meant on a wanted poster. Out of all the times to come across a bastard like him, it had to be the one time they left their manpower behind.
The man's lips twisted into a cruel grin.
"Well, well. What do we have here?"
All around, bandits were coming out of their hiding spots, their laughter loud and grating.
Shū's hand tightened around the reins.
"Kakashi-sama, that man was Red-Nose Gaku." Shū hissed a warning at her, but Kakashi just turned to him with a blank look, as if she had no idea who he was talking about.
Good God, man, was this woman living under a rock?!
"He is a bastard who killed a caravan of twenty merchants earlier this year! He has a bounty of 250,000 ryō on his head."
"Ah…"
"Hand over the cart and everything you're carrying," Gaku ordered. "Do that, and you'll both walk away alive."
Shū swallowed and glanced at Kakashi. As much as he would love to take that offer, the choice wasn't in his hands.
She stood at the front of the cart, hands tucked casually into her sleeves, gazing at Gaku with so little care that it physically hurt Shū to look.
"Maa, that's unfortunate," she suddenly said, and to Shū, it felt like Kakashi and Gaku were having two separate conversations.
"I was just going to scare you a little and let you go, but knowing you have a bounty on your head…" Kakashi placed a hand on her cheek as if mourning something. "I really want the money."
Those were the last words Gaku managed to say before Kakashi let her killing intent loose.
Shū's breath caught in his throat as an invisible pressure slammed down on him. His fingers went numb around the reins, and every instinct in his body screamed at him to run.
But he couldn't. His body simply refused to move.
The oxen let out frightened cries, their legs trembling beneath them as they strained against the reins.
The bandits' laughter died instantly, replaced by an oppressive silence that made the hairs on the back of Shū's neck stand on end.
He had felt killing intent before. It was just part of living as a shinobi, but he had never, ever felt anything like Kakashi-sama's killing intent.
Can someone's pure presence be so murderous?
Several of the bandits dropped their weapons without even realizing it. Gaku, the one facing the full brunt of the onslaught, fell to his knees, his face pale as sweat poured down his forehead.
The other bandits soon followed. One after the other, they fell to their knees.
Kakashi stood there with the same relaxed posture as before, but her eyes had changed. The lazy amusement she had worn was gone, replaced by something cold.
Utterly cold.
Kakashi slowly lowered her hand from her cheek. "Hmm, how should I go about this?" She tilted her head this way and that. "Just cutting your head off seems too boring…"
"We… us…"
"Huh? Did you say something?" Kakashi placed a hand on her, gesturing for Gaku to speak up.
"We surrender, please! Please spare us!" Gaku screamed, his voice echoing along the forest path.
"Ugh, no need to be so loud." With a huff, Kakashi pulled back her bloodlust.
The pressure vanished so suddenly that Shū nearly fell forward. He sucked in a desperate breath, his lungs burning as if he had just surfaced from deep water.
Around them, the bandits were still on their knees. None dared to get up, not with that monster looming over them. It was a wake-up call. After all, they were ordinary bandits who never involved themselves with shinobi.
They knew exactly who to avoid to stay alive.
"You guys are really pathetic," Kakashi grumbled, sitting back down. "Get up and form a line!"
They scrambled to obey, some pulling along comrades who had lost consciousness.
"Hey, you!" Kakashi called out.
Gaku's soul almost left his body when he realized the woman was talking to him. "Yes, my lady?"
Kakashi's face twisted in disgust. "One, never call me that again. Two, give me all the valuables you have."
Everyone turned to look at her with wide eyes.
Shū was speechless. They had been the ones about to get robbed mere moments ago! How come they are looting them now?!
What kind of monster is sitting next to him, exactly?
One who not only defeated over ten bandits with pure killing intent and then proceeded to rob them blind.
Feeling judged, Kakashi quickly deflected. "Maa, why are you looking at me like this, Shū-kun? It's not like they are going to need the money where they are going."
After the bandits scrambled to surrender all the ryō they had on them, Kakashi had them tie each other up with their own rope.
Shū was starting to feel a bit sorry for them by the time they started moving again. The ox cart was on the path, and the tied-up bandits were walking beside it. Not a single one dared to look up.
Shū almost felt like a slave driver.
Kakashi noticed the strange look on Shū's face and leaned in. "Is somethin' wrong?"
"Not at all, Kakashi-sama."
"This again. Stop with the sama already."
Was she joking?
After witnessing such a display of power, who in their right mind would dare address her casually?!
Not him. That's for sure.
Seeing that he was unwilling to change his mind, Kakashi sighed and decided to compromise.
Looking at her smiling face, Shū suddenly had an ominous feeling.
"Okay, how about this, Shū-kun? Why don't you also call me Kakashi-sensei?"
"Eh?!"