“You three, rest up.
We’ll begin the mission after dark, about an hour from now.” Nakagawa Ichiryū swept his gaze over the three of them before finding a spot and sitting down.
For this mission, he would not interfere.
Everything would be left to Shin and the other two.
Hearing that, Ito Miyuki and Abero quickly sat down.
They each took out a military ration pill, swallowed it with some water, and immediately began recovering their strength.
Shin also ate a military ration pill.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to bring cooked food, but doing so would draw too much attention.
The secret of his storage space couldn’t be exposed yet.
They did have ninja tools capable of storing items, but their capacity was tiny.
They could hold weapons and other necessities, but using them to store food would be excessive.
No ordinary Ninja would waste such limited space on meals.
Shin didn’t sit down to rest.
He leaped onto a tree trunk and climbed several steps until he reached the treetop.
Taking out a pair of binoculars, he began observing Blackhead Mountain.
The location of the bandit stronghold was marked on the mission scroll.
He only needed to find it.
Studying the terrain came first.
For this mission, Nakagawa Ichiryū wouldn’t offer them any advice.
They had to figure everything out themselves.
Annihilating more than a hundred bandits was no simple task.
Storming the stronghold might not be difficult, but killing every last bandit would require a precise plan.
They also had to account for Nakagawa Ichiryū.
There was no telling whether he might suddenly raise the difficulty or secretly alert the bandits.
So, the moment Shin reached the treetop, he summoned a Shadow Clone.
The clone concealed itself in the shadows and kept watch over Nakagawa Ichiryū.
Meanwhile, Shin activated his Byakugan.
Under his eyes, it was nearly impossible for anyone to make a move without being noticed.
Unless Nakagawa Ichiryū could somehow send a clone more than a kilometer away in an instant, there was no way to evade his perception.
With the abilities he had displayed as a Jonin, he couldn’t do that.
Fortunately, Nakagawa Ichiryū had no such intention.
He did, however, notice Shin’s little trick.
The usually stern and serious Nakagawa Ichiryū couldn’t help twitching the corner of his mouth.
“This kid is way too cautious.
He’s even guarding against his own sensei.” A faint smile appeared on his face.
“But with that kind of caution, he’ll have a much better chance of surviving on the battlefield.” He looked at Abero and Ito Miyuki again and shook his head.
“Compared with Shin, these two are normal students.” Shin observed the mountain from the treetop for another half hour.
The Byakugan was his real reconnaissance tool; the binoculars were nothing more than a cover, giving anyone watching the impression that he was relying on ordinary equipment.
By now, he already had a plan.
Just as he was about to make his move, a notification suddenly rang inside his mind.
“Ding-dong, a new mission has been generated.
The Blackhead Mountain bandits have committed countless atrocities.
They not only rob passing merchants but also abduct women.” “Mission: Kill the bandit leader, annihilate all bandits, and rescue the captives.” “Reward: Evolution Points +150, Spirit Transformation Fruit +5.” “A mission has arrived…” Shin’s eyes lit up, but after reading the mission details, a spark of anger flared in his chest.
Robbing people for money was one thing.
Some bandits might have been driven into the mountains by the war and poverty.
That was at least understandable.
But abducting women was another matter entirely.
No excuse could justify that.
People willing to do such things were rotten to the bone.
Keeping them alive would only let them hurt more people.
Shin landed silently.
During the break, the three gathered together and discussed their plan, deliberately leaving Nakagawa Ichiryū out of it.
Nakagawa Ichiryū was more than happy to sit back and listen.
“That’s the plan.
We’ll follow it once we move.” “Okay.” Ito Miyuki and Abero nodded.
Another half hour passed.
The three finished preparing and set off in a triangular formation.
Shin had already mapped out their route.
With the Byakugan, every hidden sentry along the way was clearly visible.
He took the lead.
When they reached a patch of grass, Shin stopped without a word.
He reached down and grabbed the hidden bandit by the neck.
Crack!
The man’s neck twisted sharply.
He didn’t even have time to scream before his body went limp and disappeared into the grass.
Shin stared at the corpse.
He wasn’t shaken by his first kill.
What caught his attention was the faint silver light slowly rising from the dead man’s body.
“Could it be…” His heart began pounding.
The bandit’s corpse was releasing energy.
“Convert.” The instant Shin gave the command in his mind, the silver light detached itself from the corpse and shot into his body.
“Evolution Points +3.” “There really are Evolution Points!” Shin’s eyes widened.
Killing people could actually produce Evolution Points.
He looked back at the corpse.
Nothing about it had changed on the surface.
It was still the same body, except all warmth had disappeared from it.
“So this is what Energy Conversion does.” Another source of Evolution Points had appeared.
Shin couldn’t help feeling excited.
“Shin…” Ito Miyuki’s voice came softly from his left.
She assumed he had frozen because this was his first time killing someone.
“I’m fine.
Keep moving.” The team continued forward.
As they approached the Blackhead Mountain stronghold, Shin silently eliminated six hidden sentries along the route.
Twelve bandits died beneath their hands before they even reached the stronghold.
Shin gained a total of sixty-five Evolution Points.
That was far more efficient than completing missions.
Of course, he wasn’t going to slaughter people indiscriminately.
These men were bandits who had robbed civilians and committed all kinds of atrocities.
Killing them placed little weight on his conscience.
During the process, Shin also discovered something else.
The bandits killed by Ito Miyuki and Abero didn’t release any energy.
Only creatures killed by him—or by energy-bearing items connected to him—could have their energy converted.
That discovery was just as important as the Evolution Points themselves.
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