"Caw!!...Caw!!..."
As night fell, hoarse caws echoed through the darkening sky. A few crows flapped over a patchwork of well-organized mountain villages, their wings cutting through the dusk as wisps of smoke curled into the wind...
"Hey! Did you hear? There was some kind of ninja fight in town last night. I heard the commotion was insane—houses smashed to bits, the ground blasted open!"
"Seriously? Are ninjas really that powerful?"
"Of course! I heard a monster the size of a house appeared—it was terrifying..."
"Yeah, the boss even went to check it out himself this morning with a few others. When they came back, their faces were pale as sheets!"
"Huh? Why?"
"Idiot. Don't you know what kind of business we're in? Of course, we're scared ninjas will come for us."
"Exactly! We've done everything—murder, arson, rape, looting. Last time, when we robbed the mayor, he didn't even dare say a word. He just dropped his valuables and ran like hell..."
"That's right! That old man needs to know who really calls the shots in the Town!"
"Hey, enough chatter. That's why the boss is on edge. It's too much of a coincidence—those ninjas show up right after we kidnapped the mayor."
"Heh, what's there to be afraid of? You think those crossbows in the armory are just for decoration? The boss worked hard to get those specifically to deal with ninja threats."
"Yeah, yeah! Relax. Just think about—"
"Boom!!" A sudden explosion thundered through the village, cutting the conversation short.
All heads turned in unison. The weapons depot—their pride and confidence—was ablaze, thick black smoke rising furiously into the night sky.
"Run! The ninjas are here!" The panicked shout snapped everyone to their senses. In the blink of an eye, the bandits scattered in every direction like frightened rats.
Resist? With what? Their arsenal was gone! Fight ninjas with iron swords and bravado? That stuff only worked on helpless villagers.
"Swish, swish, swish..." Just as a group of bandits rushed toward one of the only two escape paths out of the village, a flurry of kunai and shuriken shot out from the bushes nearby.
In that one instant, several unlucky men were struck down and collapsed in groans. The rest were scared out of their wits—faces pale, legs giving out beneath them as they recalled the terrifying rumors from earlier.
"Ninja-sama, please spare me! I beg you!"
"Spare me! I've got an old mother and starving kids at home..."
"Shut up." Ishikawa emerged from the shadows, exasperated. "Can't you come up with something more original? That's the oldest line in the book."
He rubbed his temples as he surveyed the trembling crowd. Their mission was to eliminate the bandits—standard procedure.
But he wasn't heartless. Killing defenseless men who had surrendered? That wasn't justice. That was butchery.
"If you don't want to die, drop your weapons and wait under that tree." Ishikawa pointed toward a large tree beside them, expression unreadable.
Troublesome situations like this... better to let Kakashi handle it. Whether they lived or died—he'd let their luck decide.
"Yes, Ninja-sama!" The defeated bandits didn't dare protest. Grateful tears streaming down their faces, they tossed aside their weapons and scrambled toward the tree.
Even without Ishikawa's command, they quickly took the initiative, tying each other's hands with belts, squatting in neat rows under the tree, careful not to provoke misunderstanding and risk instant death.
"You guys call yourselves robbers?" Ishikawa was speechless as he looked at the bandits, who acted like they were regulars at this place. Shaking his head, he vanished back into the bushes.
But what happened next took him by surprise again.
When the next wave of bandits arrived and saw their companions tied up and kneeling, most didn't even think of resisting. Except for a few fools who charged forward and were instantly killed by Ishikawa, the rest immediately dropped their weapons, tied their hands, and tearfully rejoined the others before their comrades could even hit the ground.
The sight left Ishikawa stunned. He couldn't help but sigh.
In front of a ninja, civilians were like commoners facing a loaded gun. Even Genin like him could easily suppress these thugs and force them into submission.
"This... this is how a C-rank mission is supposed to go." Smiling and shaking his head, Ishikawa touched the bleeding wound on his chest and muttered, "What we went through last night—that wasn't something a rookie Genin should be handling."
Indeed, Shizune hadn't treated him in the end—thanks to Tsunade's intimidation. She had only handed him some special medicine to ease the pain and speed up recovery.
As for Rin's information, he'd managed to gather some basic details. But just like Kakashi, it was all vague and mostly hearsay.
"Brother! Brother!" As the village quieted down, Taro came running over, shouting for him.
Even before they closed the distance, Ishikawa caught the scent of blood on Taro—and the subtle change in his expression.
Aura of Murder.
'So this is the true ninja world... Even side characters don't show exaggerated emotions after their first kill. And really, who among us wasn't ready to kill the moment we became Genin? That so-called passionate camaraderie... It's just a screen to mask the brutality beneath.'
"Is it over, Taro?" Ishikawa kept his face calm, despite the thoughts spinning in his head.
"Yeah. Jiro stayed back to clean up the battlefield. I came to check on you." Taro's eyes quickly dropped to Ishikawa's chest wound, his worry barely hidden.
Sure enough… asking big brother to fight like that had been pushing it too far.
"Don't worry, it's not serious," Ishikawa replied casually, then pointed toward the trembling group of captives under the tree. "Send a signal to Kakashi-sensei and ask him to come deal with them."
"Got it, big brother." Taro glanced at the prisoners in surprise, then nodded and fired a signal flare.
A burst of fireworks lit up the sky. Less than a minute later, Kakashi appeared beside them.
"Looks like everything went smoothly." Kakashi scanned the area and immediately took in the situation.
"This is all thanks to big brother's planning!" Taro smiled proudly. "We used explosive tags to destroy their armory first, then split up to block the exits and trap them."
"Is that so?" Kakashi, who had already observed most of this from the shadows, nodded calmly. "Then, Ishikawa—what do you want to do with them?"
"Uh..." Ishikawa's face darkened. He hadn't expected Kakashi to throw the question right back at him!
"Let's hand them over to the client. We'll need people to carry the spoils anyway, so might as well keep them alive for now."
"Good call." Kakashi wasn't upset by Ishikawa's decision not to kill the captives. Instead, he gave a faint smile of approval.
If ninjas simply followed the client's every demand without thinking, they'd be nothing more than emotionless tools.
To Kakashi, a true Konoha shinobi—one who thinks independently and upholds the Will of Fire—is more than just a weapon.
"Let's head down the mountain." Kakashi raised his arm and reminded them, thinking about the negotiation with Kumogakure that awaited tomorrow to secure Tsunade's payment.
"Yes, Kakashi-sensei!"