The slaughter was over within minutes.
Bodies lay scattered throughout the stronghold.
Every corpse had been killed with a single strike.
When the chaos finally subsided, only ten bandits remained.
The bandit leader’s face turned ashen when he saw the handful of men gathered around him.
Hundreds of people had been cut down in what felt like an instant.
The difference in strength was so overwhelming that it crushed whatever courage they had left.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Shin and Ito Miyuki entered the largest wooden house, one on either side.
This was where the bandits usually gathered to drink, gamble, and hold their meetings.
“Boss, they’re Ninjas!” One of the bandits spotted the forehead protector on Miyuki’s head and immediately screamed.
“It’s over!
We’re finished!” To ordinary people, Ninja were synonymous with fear.
The same was true for these bandits.
The Ninja World War had dragged countless civilians into its chaos.
Villages and armies weren’t the only ones suffering.
Ordinary people were caught between the fighting as well.
Under normal circumstances, these bandits wouldn’t have dared to cause too much trouble.
They knew that provoking a Ninja could bring an entire squad down on them.
But once the war erupted, their greed overcame their fear.
They thought the chaos would give them a chance to make money and live comfortably.
They never expected Ninja to come after them anyway.
Plop!
The bandit leader dropped to his knees.
“Please, two Ninja sirs, spare us!
We’re just ordinary people!
We were forced into this!
We were oppressed and had no choice but to come into the mountains and become bandits!
We haven’t done anything evil!” The other bandits immediately followed suit, kneeling and begging for their lives.
“We were forced!” “Please, spare us!” “Wuwuwu!” A woman’s sobbing caught Shin’s attention.
He turned his head.
Several women were huddled together in the corner, trembling in fear.
Their clothes were torn and disheveled, their faces pale, and bruises covered their bodies.
The bandit leader followed Shin’s gaze.
His expression changed.
“Those?
Those are our wives!” He hurriedly pointed toward them.
“They’re only scared because they saw all the corpses.
I—” A flash of steel interrupted him.
The Kunai pierced straight through his throat and drove him into the wooden floor.
Blood spilled across the planks, spreading like a crimson flower.
The bandit leader clutched his throat with both hands.
Fresh blood poured from his mouth as his eyes bulged in disbelief.
He tried to speak.
Nothing came out.
His body fell backward, his eyes still wide open.
“The boss is dead!” The remaining bandits screamed in terror and scrambled toward the exits.
A shadow flashed past them.
Shin’s Flash Movement Technique was so fast that it looked like teleportation.
One breath.
One flash of steel.
Then another.
Ten corpses fell almost simultaneously.
The final screams died inside the wooden house.
He stood there, cold and grim, the Kunai in his hand still dripping blood.
Ito Miyuki stared at him in shock.
She wasn’t unfamiliar with the Flash Movement Technique, but reaching this level with it was something she had only seen from Ninja at Jonin level.
Shin was only a Genin, yet he had already mastered an advanced Three Body Technique.
The gap between them left her feeling a little discouraged.
Shin ignored Miyuki and walked toward the rescued women.
Seeing their terrified faces, he spoke in a low voice.
“You’re free now.
Follow me down the mountain later.
Tell me, are all the women who were abducted here?” “A few others were taken somewhere else,” one of the bolder women answered.
Shin remembered the women he’d found in the other house.
He understood immediately.
“Get yourselves ready.
Call your sisters.
I’ll take you home.” The moment they heard the word “home,” the women burst into tears.
Shin said nothing more.
He turned and walked outside.
He searched the entire stronghold and found no surviving bandits.
He did, however, find a large amount of money and valuables.
Judging from the quantity, they had clearly been stolen from travelers and merchants.
Ito Miyuki sent a signal, and Abero quickly rushed over.
The moment he saw Shin and Miyuki, he started complaining.
“He told me to stay behind and deal with anyone who escaped.
But the fighting started almost immediately, and I didn’t see a single bandit!” Then he noticed the bodies covering the ground.
His face went pale.
Abero turned around and retched into a corner.
“Such little ambition.” Ito Miyuki pouted, ignoring him as she turned toward Shin.
“What do we do now?
Are we really taking them all the way home?” “Otherwise?” Shin glanced back at the women.
“There are plenty of bandits around here.
If they go back alone, they could be captured again.” These were chaotic times.
Shin didn’t believe every bandit in the area would have a shred of humanity left.
He insisted on taking the women home for one simple reason.
He didn’t want his own humanity to disappear.
“So much treasure!” After vomiting for a while, Abero finally recovered.
His eyes immediately lit up when he spotted the piles of money and jewelry scattered across the stronghold.
“Idiot, don’t even think about it,” Ito Miyuki snapped.
“Everything confiscated has to be handed over.
We can’t take any of it for ourselves.” Abero’s face fell.
He had never seen so much money in his life.
“You three did very well.
You even surprised me.” Nakagawa Ichiryū appeared before them with a black-robed Ninja.
The newcomer wore a demon mask and carried a short blade across his back.
He looked exactly like an Anbu Ninja.
“Our mission is complete.
The rest will be handled by the Anbu investigator.” The masked Ninja gave a slight nod.
Nakagawa Ichiryū turned toward the three Genin.
“Let’s go.
We need to return and report the mission.” Shin took a step, then stopped.
He turned and looked at the group of women behind him before shifting his gaze to the Anbu Ninja.
“Take them back with you.
And can you leave them some money?” The Anbu Ninja was silent for a moment.
Then he nodded.
“Ok.” —- 📚 Want to read the next 30 chapters RIGHT NOW?