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Indeed, this was poisoning, and it was of the most despicable kind—the 'Narcotic Drug'.
This plan was proposed by Fuyu Shirou and adopted by Uchiha Honō.
As time passed, Fuyu Shirou had already placed a small vial filled with anesthetic on the fourth windowsill. In the center of the bandit stronghold, he met Uchiha Honō, who had also completed his part of the task.
Despite not having engaged in any combat or expended much energy, this being Uchiha Honō's 'first time,' he was still nervous, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
Seeing this, Fuyu Shirou couldn't resist mocking him, despite the killing intent in Honō's eyes.
At this moment, Uchiha Tetsu silently appeared near Fuyu Shirou and the others.
However, his expression was quite interesting~~~
Uchiha Tetsu, who usually wore a carefree smile, now looked hesitant and constipated.
This kind of expression, where he had something to say but couldn't bring himself to speak, was rarely seen on his face.
"What's going on?" x2
Though they didn't speak, Fuyu Shirou and Honō's gazes conveyed everything.
Seeing his teammates looking at him, Tetsu stopped being coy and led Fuyu Shirou and Honō towards the gate.
"This... wasn't this person supposed to be 'taken care of' by you?"
At a corner near the gate, looking at the guard who had fallen into a coma, Fuyu Shirou roughly understood what had happened. However, he still asked, feigning ignorance~~~
It was an unexpected yet understandable situation.
The guard, who was supposed to be killed by Uchiha Tetsu, had only fallen into a coma and was still alive, contrary to the plan.
The reason for this was Tetsu's 'timidity'.
On his first attempt to kill, when he held the kunai and aimed it at the other person's neck, he hesitated.
He didn't stab the weapon into the other person's neck as cleanly and decisively as he had imagined.
This was quite normal; no one was born a killer.
People always had to overcome the barrier in their hearts, transforming from an innocent child into a ninja accustomed to blood and killing.
Uchiha Tetsu was merely hesitant at the first step.
At this moment, ShigeMasaru, who was observing the trio from the shadows, stroked his small beard, watching their choices.
The main purpose of this mission was to expose these young ones to blood and to comprehensively evaluate their handling of the situation.
The situation Tetsu was facing was within his expectations.
This was an old Uchiha tradition. Whenever a young one became a ninja, the elders responsible for their training would carefully select appropriate missions to expose them to the darker side of the ninja profession.
However, after the establishment of Konoha and the popularization of the ninja academy, the Uchiha clan was either excluded or withdrew from the master-apprentice system, and such missions became rare.
This method of 'training' was not unique to the Uchiha.
During the Warring States Period, whether it was the Senju Clan, Hyūga Clan, or Sarutobi Clan, any ninja family with the means would conduct such 'trials' to select promising young talents.
They would increase the protection of the selected children to prevent them from dying prematurely, allowing them to grow up and become the pillars of their families, shielding them from the storms.
In the Ninja Villages era, this tradition was initially abandoned by the First Hokage. However, it was revived to some extent by the Second Hokage.
By the time of the Third Hokage's reign, it had become a tacitly accepted practice.
However, the Uchiha clan had not conducted such trials for nearly three to four decades.
It was only with the Third Hokage's approval of the major clans' 'nurturing young talents' plan that some of the clan's elders brought it up again.
The main reason for the major clans to collectively propose the 'nurturing young talents' plan to the Hokage was the staggering toll of the Second Ninja War.
Although the Warring States Period was also a time of bloodshed, it mostly involved conflicts between two clans. Joint missions occasionally occurred but were limited to a few clans.
In the Ninja Villages era, the First Shinobi World War was primarily fought by gathered ninja clans.
By the Second Ninja War, the ninja villages, having formed closer ties with the daimyos, received more abundant supplies and further refined the training system of the ninja academy.
Ninjas were mass-produced and sent to the battlefield in large numbers, like products on an assembly line.
Battles involving thousands, tens of thousands, and even hundreds of thousands of ninjas, which were unheard of in the Warring States Period, became frequent.
This greatly alarmed the major ninja clans.
During the Warring States Period, even the battles between the Uchiha and Senju clans rarely involved more than a thousand combatants.
Now, battles involving thousands were not considered major, and those involving tens of thousands occurred regularly.
Even battles with over a hundred thousand participants occurred several times during the Second Ninja War.
Without early training for their juniors, the leaders of the major clans felt uneasy.
The previous Ninja War had taken a heavy toll on the major ninja clans, and they could no longer afford such losses~~~
Looking at the person lying on the ground, unconscious and helpless, The three of them looked at each other, falling into a moment of silence.
No one mentioned what to do next, as this was just one person.
However, there were still about forty people in the stronghold who needed to be 'taken care of' one by one.
The only thing to be grateful for was that everyone in the stronghold was unconscious.
"Should we let them go?"
Seeing the tense atmosphere, Fuyu Shirou made a light-hearted joke.
This earned him a big eye roll from Honō and Tetsu.
"Fuyu Shirou! You're the most reliable among us! What do you think we should do?"
After much thought and finding no good solution, Honō couldn't help but ask Fuyu Shirou.
She was increasingly convinced that Fuyu Shirou had intentionally given up the role of 'Temporary Leader' to avoid this awkward situation.
"I think we should first clarify the requirements of the mission. Determine whether we are to drive them away, assist nearby officials in capturing them, or if we are required to eliminate them!!!"
When he mentioned 'eliminate,' Fuyu Shirou deliberately emphasized the word.
Thanks to the support of the readers and the monthly votes and recommendations from everyone! You are my motivation to keep going... Honestly, being a first-time author, with such poor initial results, I almost gave up! If it weren't for the many chapters I had saved, I would have considered quitting~
(End of Chapter)