After parting ways with Shisui, Saitama began his reconnaissance mission along the assigned area.
Only a continuous "rustling" sound filled the forest. The bandits inside the camp remained completely unaware of the approaching figures.
It took more than half an hour for the two men to survey the surroundings.
Whether it was arrogance or just carelessness, Saitama found no sentries posted around.
"How is it, Shisui?"
Seeing Shisui return from his scouting, Saitama asked.
Shisui shook his head slightly with a puzzled expression. "Strange, there's no sign of any sentries. Although it's also possible the enemy is too strong for me to detect."
"The same here."
Saitama paused briefly, stroking his chin.
"What should we do now?" Shisui had difficulty gauging the situation accurately.
"The intelligence report mentioned there are ninjas among them, but they shouldn't be too powerful."
Saitama stared at Shisui without continuing further.
They'd confirmed eleven people, though more could be hiding in the shadows.
Now Saitama and Shisui faced a choice—either proceed with their mission by attacking the bandit hideout directly, or observe patiently for a while longer.
"How about this—we sneak over and kill a few first?"
"Sure, let's go with that!"
Possessing confidence in his abilities, Shisui didn't object to this proposal.
It was mid-afternoon. Dark clouds hung low in the sky, ominous and threatening. Anyone experienced could easily tell—an incoming storm was near!
A shadow moved along the edge of the camp, seemingly searching for something.
Soon enough, he reached a large tree. With the nearest tent nearly fifty meters away, this spot appeared almost like a blind zone.
Standing beneath the tree, the man began loosening his pants.
Unnoticed by him, a pair of eyes watched silently from a distance.
"Piss! Piss!"
Liquid splattered onto the ground beneath the tree, creating a soft sound.
"Shhh!" A single leaf drifted down. Cautiously, the man turned his head to look.
Seeing it was only a leaf, he turned back again, continuing his unfinished business.
Finished with what he came to do, the man gave himself a quick shake before zipping up, smirking slightly as if feeling relaxed.
"Swish!" Another sound came again, yet the man did not turn around.
"Pftch!"
The sound of a weapon piercing flesh. This time, the man's miscalculation cost him his most precious possession.
Yanking out the kunai buried deep into the man's back, Saitama wiped the blood off on the enemy's clothes.
The kunai pulsed with lightning chakra, paralyzing him instantly as it pierced his spine. This assassination left no cries of pain or calls for help.
Glancing toward the tents far ahead, Saitama dragged the corpse behind the big tree.
His expression remained unchanged. Warm blood ran down the kunai's edge as he twisted it. The man stopped twitching. Saitama didn't feel anything at all.
In a world like this, he had no room for hesitation. He wouldn't just stand there waiting to die—waiting for someone else to grab him by the collar and chop his head off.
So Saitama chose this path, becoming the strongest in his own way!
Here, a drizzle began to fall. The wind started howling too, rustling the leaves in the forest nonstop.
The carnage officially began, and the man beneath Saitama's feet was only the first.
This man was merely a strong ordinary human. Killing him cost Saitama no effort at all.
Starting to search again for isolated enemies, Saitama slowly approached that camp.
Soon enough, Saitama noticed two men sitting together eating something beside a burning fire.
They didn't sense danger approaching at all and kept happily chewing on their meat.
It was chicken they looted after torching the nearby village that morning. The rain falling through the air didn't dampen their mood one bit.
Crawling low to the ground, Saitama crept closer toward these two men.
His small figure, deliberately hidden, didn't draw attention from those two men—in part because the weather was gloomy without sunlight, as dark as night.
"Hsh!"
When he reached within two meters, Saitama pushed off the ground with his palm and sprang upward.
Left hand gripping a kunai, right arm wrapping around the enemy seated on the right side. Before this man could react, Saitama plunged the kunai into the other enemy's throat on the left.
The enemy's expression remained fixed on the previous moment's pleasure, mouth still full of meat, blood trickling from the corners as it continuously dripped down.
As for the other enemy wrapped by Saitama? He hadn't yet figured out what was happening. Thinking the person holding him was his comrade, he turned his head—only then noticing his left-side companion already lying in a pool of blood.
"There's an enemy... Ghh... Ghh!"
Instantly snapping into action, this enemy tried to call for help, but before he could finish shouting, Saitama yanked the kunai free from the left side and plunged it again into this enemy's throat.
Still, the warning shout worked—several nearby tents began stirring with movement.
"What's going on?!"
From the nearest tent, a burly brute rushed over—nearly two meters tall, wielding a large blade.
Seeing his two comrades lying in blood, and the tiny Saitama crouched nearby, he found it hard to believe.
Saitama knew concealment was pointless now. Standing up straight, he reversed his grip on the kunai, dripping fresh blood onto the ground.
"Damn brat!"
Without another word, the brute raised his big sword and charged forward in three quick steps.
Swinging downward fiercely with full strength!
"Crack!"
The blade struck exactly where Saitama had stood moments earlier, leaving a mark behind. But Saitama had already leapt out of reach.
Another ordinary human, admittedly strong—but up against Ninja Saitama, he was utterly outclassed.
"Ding!"
The kunai scraped across the enemy's giant blade, and following through, Saitama kicked hard—slamming this guy backward with overwhelming force.
The outcome was decided the moment those two clashed.
Before the brute could rise again, a flying kunai "swish!" pierced into his throat.
Clutching his wound, the man struggled briefly before stopping entirely—his breath gone forever.
Four! Saitama silently counted in his mind.
The commotion here had already drawn attention from all around, and more people were starting to gather.
"Ahh!"
Suddenly, a scream erupted from the other side of the camp. Saitama knew Shisui had started his part too, so he quickened his own pace.
He needed to deal with these ordinary thugs as quickly as possible in order to properly handle any ninja among this group.
Looking at the three bandits approaching again, each one tall and muscular with fierce expressions, Saitama showed not even a trace of fear.
With experience from earlier fights, facing them again now felt much easier.
Saitama pulled out his tanto from behind his back. Kunai would no longer offer an advantage in direct combat—the enemies ahead carried exaggeratedly large weapons.
Eyes fixed on the approaching figures, Saitama gripped his blade even tighter.
"Hey brat, who are you!?"
Seeing the bodies on the ground, the newcomers hesitated at first, but finally one leader-like figure stepped forward and asked.
"Heheh!"
This time they left the village, all silently agreed to keep their Konoha forehead protectors hidden.
"You may regard me as your judge!" Saitama replied calmly.
"What nonsense! Who do you think you are, punk!?" Not expecting any useful answer, the man's tone turned even harsher.
"There's only one of him and three of us—get him and avenge our killed brothers!"
With that, he rushed forward first, raising his weapon high overhead for a powerful downward slash.
The others followed close behind, shouting crude curses while striking wildly with sheer brute force, completely lacking technique.
Planting his foot firmly, Saitama shot forward like an arrow from a bow.
"Swish!" "Crrsssh!"
Dancing between them, Saitama slashed repeatedly, leaving deep gashes across their bodies.
Coming to a stop once again behind them, Saitama stood silently.
"Plop!" x3
Without even turning back, Saitama continued toward where the earlier scream came from—he needed to reunite with Shisui.
Maintaining high alertness, Saitama never let his guard down, fully aware there was a ninja hiding somewhere here.
Along the way, before finding Shisui, Saitama noticed several enemies lying on the ground groaning, crippled by deep cuts on their limbs. Out of mercy, he approached and delivered a few clean finishing blows.
There were three here, adding to the seven Saitama took down previously, meaning if everything went smoothly, only one enemy should remain.
"Clang!"
Shisui clashed blades with a figure standing five feet tall. The opponent wore a tight black bodysuit, dressed exactly how Saitama imagined a ninja would be.
Rather than jumping into battle immediately, Saitama hid nearby and watched quietly—after all, Shisui currently dominated the fight, pressing the ninja hard.
As shadows flickered around, Saitama crept closer to the battlefield center.
"Swish!"
Shisui's razor-fast strike cut open the black-clad ninja's body, blood instantly gushing out uncontrollably.
The black-clothed ninja immediately panicked, hastily stepping back several paces to increase the distance between himself and Shisui. However, this unintentionally brought him closer to Saitama, who was hiding behind a tree just behind him.
"Shifan! If you don't come out now, I'm going to die! Hurry up and deal with this guy!"
With one hand clutching his wound, the black-clothed ninja shouted loudly.
"Fool!" came a voice. A new figure named Shifan appeared right beside Shisui's right hand.
Shisui seemed to have already sensed this ninja's presence. The sudden arrival of the ninja named Shifan didn't throw him off balance at all.
"Let's team up and finish off this guy first, then take care of the other one over there."
Shifan said grimly. The sudden silence from the other side gave him a bad feeling in his gut.
"Yeah, let's hurry!" The black-clothed ninja also nodded in agreement. Ignoring his wound, he gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his weapon, ready for battle!
"Hiss—"
"You've got the nerve to talk about taking me down while I'm standing right behind you?" Saitama twisted the tanto in his hand a few times before leaning forward to grab the black-clothed ninja's waist, speaking softly beside his ear.
"Huh… huh…"
Unable to utter a single word, the black-clothed ninja felt his strength rapidly draining away.
"What?!" The ninja called Shifan exclaimed in shock.
While the black-clothed ninja was yelling, Saitama struck—ending the wounded foe in an instant.
Earlier, both ninjas had focused their attention entirely on Shisui, which gave Saitama his opening.
When he heard the noise, Shifan turned to check on his ally—only to see him already gone. Immediately, he redirected his attention back to Shisui, suddenly realizing that Shisui had somehow moved again without his notice, now forming an encirclement with the newly arrived youngster.
"Hmph. Didn't expect you actually had backup!" Shifan clearly directed these words toward Shisui. He regretted not joining the fight earlier and handling Shisui together with the other ninja.
Now the tides had turned, putting him at a severe disadvantage.
He swallowed hard, knowing this was a life-or-death moment.
Still, his opponents were just two kids. He still believed he could either escape or counter-kill them.
"Whoosh!"
In one motion, Shifan pulled out his weapon from behind—an unusually shaped, oversized greatsword somewhat resembling a Cleaver Sword.
"Don't underestimate Big Brother, okay!" Shifan declared arrogantly.
Before he could continue, both Saitama and Shisui raised their blades.
[Clang!]
[Clang!]
In a flash, they closed in—ready to end this fight fast. In unison, they launched their attacks—one on each side—as their tantos clashed against Shifan's massive weapon.
Shifan did possess some skill. Although momentarily suppressed without chance for retaliation, he managed to block every strike using only his giant sword, none landing directly on his body.
"Boom!" Seizing an opening during Shisui's swing, Shifan counterattacked with a lightning-fast kick sent hurtling outward.
He slammed a powerful kick into Shisui, launching him through the air. Rolling several times across the ground, Shisui finally crashed into a massive tree and came to a stop.
"Hehe."
Shifan let out some mocking laughter before resuming his sword clash against Saitama.
With Shisui no longer attacking alongside him, he used his weapon advantage to overwhelm Saitama. Left and right, he rained down mindless yet powerful blows on Saitama, forcing him steadily backward.
As he swung, Shifan kept spewing insults at Saitama. Meanwhile, Shisui still hadn't recovered from that earlier kick.
At that moment, a foot struck Shifan's left waist. Twisting his body, Saitama seized Shifan's weapon-wielding right hand the instant Shifan flinched from the blow.
"Swish!"
A slash landed—blood splattered everywhere!
"Ahh!" Shifan cried in pain. If not for his quick reflexes—releasing the sword immediately, grabbing Saitama's arm with his free hand, then twisting away using the momentum—he might have lost his head to that strike.
Quickly pulling back, Shifan also dodged an incoming strike from Shisui rushing over. Touching his chest wound, fury surged inside him.
The slash had left about ten centimeters of damage. The cut was deep, flesh peeled outward from the injury, and blood continued flowing nonstop.
Standing side by side with Saitama, Shisui glanced at Shifan's battered state and smirked slightly.
Never lets you down!
"Let's finish this together and go back."
Saitama examined the sword in his hand. Shifan still had some real talent—especially his calmness under pressure.
Earlier, he faked a moment of weakness, luring Shifan into thinking he could land the killing blow. Then [One-Cut Strike] launched a deadly combo, aiming to take off his head. Unexpectedly, Shifan still showed presence of mind at the last second, taking only a minor wound to preserve his life—but that was only temporary.
"Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking too. We've been out here long enough. Time to head back."
"Swish!"
Without hesitation, they charged straight forward—after all, Shifan no longer had a weapon.
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