[Mount Shirakumo]
This place on the Land of Fire's border isn't anything famous.
Rengoku only knew the name because the mission was here.
The mission wasn't complicated: a group of more than fifty bandits had holed up here.
They robbed passing travelers.
All of the members were just ordinary people.
The mission could be said to have very little profit. In this kind of remote place, no ninja ever came, so they had been left alone until now.
When Rengoku brought six students to the foot of the mountain, they happened to see three bodies hanging there.
Rengoku frowned, examined the corpses, then gave Gaara a look.
Gaara rolled up sand and set the three bodies down.
"Besides Kimimaro and Gaara, the rest of you check the bodies."
"Yes!", Haku crouched immediately and began examining.
The usually noisy trio of Shion also looked deadly serious now.
Together, the three of them examined the remaining two corpses.
Ice condensed in Haku's hand, forming a needle. He used it to turn over the body and said calmly, "Judging from the muscle distribution and calluses on the hands, this should be a local villager."
"Female, between twenty and thirty."
"From the scars and marks on her body, she was violated by many, beaten, with multiple bloodletting wounds."
"Her blood was drained; cause of death was blood loss."
"From the stiffness of the body, time of death was within twelve hours."
Rengoku nodded slightly, then looked toward Karin and the other two girls.
Karin's eyes burned with fury, "This one's the same injuries and cause of death. Violently violated before death."
"The ages aren't much different. Judging by their clothing, they're most likely relatives."
The three girls, seeing the ruined lower bodies of the corpses, were both ashamed and enraged.
In this world, people matured early. Rengoku's revised curriculum even included human anatomy.
As for matters between men and women, once you graduate as a ninja, you understand.
But seeing a woman violated to death for the first time, Karin and the others still felt unsettled.
Rengoku, expressionless, said, "This world is like this. Outside the Five Great Shinobi Villages, which are still somewhat peaceful, everywhere else is chaos."
"For ordinary people, to live safely until thirty is a luxury."
"And wandering ninjas mostly just know one or two moves."
"The outside is just as dangerous."
"That's why everyone longs to rely on a shinobi village."
Karin's eyes were deeply moved.
Back then, her mother went to any length to remain with Grass Village.
Karin hadn't understood deeply before.
Now, seeing these corpses, she suddenly understood why her mother had been so desperate to cling to a shinobi village.
When Haku had wandered before, he'd only scavenged food in the garbage dumps of towns, never daring to leave.
Because if he left an orderly town, he would die.
Kimimaro, Haku, and Gaara all had blood on their hands.
But seeing people tortured to death like this was a completely different feeling.
"Lord Rengoku, can we change this world?", Haku asked softly.
Rengoku nodded slightly, "Improve yourselves first. To change the world, you must be strong enough."
"When you are the strongest person in this world, changing it only takes a single word."
Rengoku glanced at the mountain peak, "Let's go. This mission is to wipe out every bandit on the mountain."
Their speed was very fast. Within minutes they reached the peak.
At the top was a flat area fenced off, where a crude stockade had been built.
There was no real wall at the edges, just symbolic barriers of farm tools.
The area wasn't small; more than fifty people could live there easily.
A group of burly men full of fat sat by a bonfire, roasting meat and drinking.
Rengoku and the others observed carefully from outside, then he said, "This time, I won't take action. How you complete the mission is up to you."
Though it was their first mission, students led by Rengoku were not comparable to ordinary people.
They quickly discussed.
Everyone divided duties by ability: Karin, Shion, and Yakumo would set up a barrier to prevent escape.
Kimimaro would attack. Gaara and Haku would act as ranged support.
They had already graduated as genin; their execution was extremely sharp.
Once the division was done, they immediately began. Because the mountaintop was wide, setting the barrier took half an hour.
With Karin's hand signs, seals lit up around the stockade.
The bandits, seeing this, panicked, "What is this?"
"GRAB WEAPONS!"
But their "weapons" were scarce.
Hoes, pitchforks, kitchen knives, mostly just sticks and clubs.
Kimimaro held bone blades in both hands, charging into the crowd like a whirlwind.
Even when Rengoku picked him up two years ago, killing ordinary people like this was effortless.
Though Rengoku had wanted Kimimaro to taste childhood life during his time in the academy, Kimimaro himself was relentless. His current strength already left the others far behind.
Cold-faced, merciless, moving with speed, in moments he had already killed five.
"AHH! …RUN! IT'S A NINJA!"
"QUICK, GO!"
"No! Please, spare me!"
"THEY'RE FROM THE LEAF! RUN!"
At first, the bandits thought to fight back. But seeing even these half-grown kids so strong, and those swaying Leaf headbands making their identity plain, they dropped everything and fled.
"Kimimaro, come back," After Kimimaro had killed twelve, Rengoku called him back.
Hearing the order, Kimimaro immediately retreated to Rengoku's side.
"Lord Rengoku, I can handle this alone," If he went on, he could have killed them all himself.
Though Gaara and Haku were meant to support him, they hadn't even had a chance to act.
Rengoku patted Kimimaro's head, "If you do everything alone, how will your teammates grow?"
Seeing there was no one strong among them, Kimimaro just nodded without speaking.
Once he withdrew, the bandits scattered and ran outward.
But when they reached the gate, they circled helplessly, spinning around and returning again.
"What's going on? Why can't I get out?"
Others, seeing the gate wouldn't let them through, tried knocking down the barriers at the side and ran that way.
But after a few steps, they slammed as if into a wall.
Those Kimimaro killed died easily enough. The others died horribly.
Some suddenly went mad, charging at Gaara's sand, only to have their necks twisted.
Some suddenly shoved fingers into their own eye sockets, gouging out both eyes, dying in agony on the spot.
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