The bugs were swarming, thick like an army of ants.
Just looking at them made the hairs on one's head stand on end.
The bandits were fierce, but facing these strange insects, even they felt a trace of fear. Yet, for the sake of money, they grit their teeth and charged forward.
"What is this thing?!" One bandit shouted in terror as he stepped into the swarm, his body quickly covered by crawling insects.
He tried to brush them off with his weapon, but there were too many. No matter how hard he tried, they kept coming.
In an instant, his entire body was crawling with bugs.
The swarm began to devour him, sucking his blood and entering every orifice, consuming his organs.
For ordinary people, the bugs were nothing short of a catastrophe. They had no chance to fight back.
Within a few breaths, the first bandit's body stiffened. His eyes reflected pure despair, losing focus before he fell face-first to the ground.
He was not dead yet, still struggling in pain, but it was already useless.
As the first fell, several others soon followed, their faces showing hopelessness and excruciating pain.
At that moment, Hinata Hyuga moved. She appeared instantly in front of the swarm.
With the Gentle Fist Eight Trigrams Palms techniques, she struck precise points on the bandits' bodies. Each hit sent them flying, instantly neutralizing their ability to fight.
Kurenai Yuhi stepped forward slowly, forming hand signs as she walked.
When she reached the bandits, they froze in place, staring at her blankly.
Kurenai showed no expression as she eliminated each bandit. To her, they were irredeemable evildoers who deserved to die. Their deaths would cleanse the ninja world of some of its filth.
Under the combined attack of Kurenai, Shino Aburame, and Hinata, hundreds of Gatō's bandits had no chance to retaliate.
The battle quickly became one-sided. One by one, the bandits fell. Within minutes, the ground was littered with their bodies.
The remaining bandits, terrified, scattered in all directions, not daring to take another step forward.
Gatō looked at the scene before him, his face turning pale. He finally realized that some ninjas were not to be trifled with, and the people in front of him were no ordinary bandits.
He had always lived comfortably, and he had never seen such a brutal scene. No… he had never witnessed his own side suffer like this; he only ever bullied ordinary people.
Now, his own safety was almost threatened.
Many bandits had gathered around Gatō, surrounding him in the center.
Step, step, step.
Kurenai walked toward Gatō, the soft sound of her footsteps barely audible, but then her voice rang out: "You want me? And to kill my disciples? I'm right here. Come and try!"
Although her words sounded compliant, anyone could hear the murderous intent behind them.
This?
The icy aura radiating from Kurenai was almost tangible.
Gatō stared at her, his legs trembling, fear filling his heart, his body beginning to shake.
"They're strong. Lord Gatō, I'll escort you to the ship. Let's hurry to the Land of Waves!" Some of the bandits were ninjas, but they were no match for Kurenai and her companions.
Now, the only option was to get Gatō away quickly and seek reinforcements in the Land of Waves, hoping to survive.
However, before they could turn and flee, the ninjas who were supposed to escort Gatō froze in place, their eyes vacant!
Clearly, they had been caught in an illusion.
"Go!~~ What's wrong with you?" Gatō urged, seeing those who were supposed to protect him remain motionless.
But they didn't move an inch!
Their bodies remained stiff as they stared blankly around them.
Pfft, pfft, pfft~~
At that moment, streams of blood spurted out, soaking him. Gatō's body began to weaken.
He looked up and saw that Kurenai was already very close, and several of the ninjas beside him had kunai pinned at their throats, blood spurting from their necks.
"You—you don't have to do this!" Gatō said, his voice trembling and full of despair.
Kurenai ignored his pleading and stepped forward a few paces, then grabbed Gatō and lifted him up. "How many of you are there? Where are they hiding?" she demanded.
"Take me to them!"
Gatō cried.
Since she had already acted, she intended to finish off the remaining bandits.
With that she dropped him onto the ground.
"Don't let him go, he's an evil man!" Tazuna hurried forward and called to Kurenai, his tone urgent.
For years the people of the Land of Waves had suffered because of Gatō. If he was allowed to go free, it would be like letting a tiger go back into the mountains.
"Old man, you—" Gatō glared angrily at Tazuna for meddling and even moved as if to strike him.
But when he saw Kurenai's dark expression, he sulked and lowered his head.
Kurenai ignored Tazuna and shot Gatō a glare. "Lead the way."
"They're all in the Land of Waves. We need to take a boat back," Gatō said quickly, though a vicious glint flashed in his eyes as he spoke.
"Then lead us." Kurenai pressed, not paying attention to what Gatō might be thinking.
"All right, I'll lead the way!" Gatō nodded frantically and ran toward the boats.
Hmph.
Once he returned, he swore these people would vanish without a trace.
If he hadn't come out with so few people and if two jonin hadn't stayed behind, he wouldn't have lost.
He promised himself he would get everything back—and make that woman Kurenai kneel and beg.
Kurenai followed quietly behind, watching Gatō's movements as he climbed onto a boat and called the sailors to work.
She climbed aboard as well.
Hinata and Aburame Shino followed behind her, and Tazuna, helpless because he still needed to build a bridge, had no choice but to come aboard too.
However, Genya did not get on.
"Genya… why aren't you here yet?" Hinata looked at the motionless Genya and couldn't help but speak up. "We're about to depart!"
Although she knew Genya wouldn't be late, she still reminded him.
"Wait a little longer," Genya squinted his eyes, signaling them to hold on for a moment. Then he added, "The person I'm waiting for should be arriving soon!"
"Waiting for someone?"
Hinata was stunned. Weren't they always just the group of them? Who could Genya be waiting for?
But with Genya saying so, no one rushed to set sail. Instead, they all looked ahead in the same direction.
Soon, they saw a group of people rapidly approaching from not far away. Every single one of them wore the attire of the Uchiha clan.
****
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