On the other side.
"Where does your leader live?"
"The leader lives in the largest tiled house behind..."
Having obtained the information he wanted, Ryufeng struck with his blade, and the bandit fell, ceasing to twitch after a moment. His Sharingan slowly returned to normal black eyes. After dealing with the bandits in this room, Ryufeng walked out, glanced at the large tiled house in the distance, and then headed to the next room...
In the darkness, the two continuously harvested lives, transitioning from initial clumsiness to later proficiency, their hearts gradually becoming more and more numb.
Now, they had truly become qualified Ninja.
After eliminating the last bandit, they arrived in front of the large tiled house. Soon, Ryufeng also arrived. The two nodded, then simultaneously jumped onto the roof beam, lifted a tile, and looked down. They saw a fat man weighing two to three hundred pounds, with a woman in her thirties of average appearance in his arms, his hands moving up and down. A table of food and wine was set before them, and laughter echoed from inside the house.
"Following me, you'll eat well and live comfortably, much better than with your sick husband. As long as you take good care of me, you'll be well rewarded."
The fat man, drunk, looked at the woman in his arms and chuckled evilly.
"Oh, you're so naughty," the woman pushed the fat man's arm. "I abandoned my child for you."
Hearing the conversation between the two inside the house, the two exchanged glances, and their plan changed.
Ren replaced the tile, and the two lightly jumped back to the ground, pressing themselves against the front door. Ren gestured to Ryufeng, who immediately understood and began forming hand signs.
One, two, three!
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
After silently counting to three, Ren directly kicked open the door. Before the two inside could react, Uchiha Ryufeng behind him directly spewed a fireball. The massive fireball instantly filled every corner of the room.
"Ah!"
Before the two could recover, they were engulfed by the raging flames. A few breaths later, the flames dissipated. The two walked into the room. The smell of burnt flesh was everywhere, and the bodies of the fat man and the woman were already charred beyond recognition. Ordinary people were just ordinary people; they had no resistance whatsoever against the Ninja.
"Don't blame us, we are Ninja."
Ren said softly, then turned and left with Ryufeng to rendezvous with Sarutobi Shinnosuke.
On the way, Ren saw the woman he had saved. She was now draped in a bandit's clothes, running towards the outside of the bandit camp. Hearing footsteps behind her, she turned her head in terror, thinking the bandits were chasing her. Only when she saw it was Ren did she breathe a sigh of relief.
"Ninja-sama."
The two nodded at her, and Ren immediately said,
"Follow us. We'll take you to find your companions."
After speaking, the two walked forward, and the woman stumbled along behind them. To accommodate the woman's pace, the two deliberately slowed down.
Soon, the group returned to the rendezvous point and stood under a tree, waiting for Sarutobi Shinnosuke to return. The woman also dared not speak and simply squatted under a tree, watching silently.
"The mission was completed well."
The two looked up and saw a figure crouching on a tree trunk. He jumped down and stood before them. It was Sarutobi Shinnosuke.
"Captain!" (x2)
The two nodded and stood before Sarutobi Shinnosuke, awaiting orders.
"I've already rescued those hostages. They were held in a warehouse behind the bandit camp. I've already pointed them in the direction back. At their speed, they should be able to return in about three hours."
"Captain, here..."
Sarutobi Shinnosuke followed Ren's gaze to the woman next to them. The woman stood up and timidly bowed to Sarutobi Shinnosuke, awaiting their decision.
"There's still one? Then let's take her back to the Village. That way, our mission will be complete."
"Yes!" (x2)
The two responded, and the three, taking the woman with them, headed towards the Village.
A quarter of an hour later, the group caught up with the women who had gone ahead. They were all in tattered clothes, supporting each other as they walked forward.
Seeing the group suddenly appear, the women cried out in alarm, trembling as they looked at them.
"It's that Ninja-sama."
Someone recognised Sarutobi Shinnosuke as their rescuer. After realising this, they noticed the woman next to them.
"Sakurako!"
Several women cried out in surprise and rushed to embrace the woman tightly.
"Alright, let's leave this place for now. In a little over two hours, you'll be home."
"Yes, thank you, Ninja-sama."
After thanking the group, the women continued forward under the escort of the three.
As dawn broke, the women finally returned to the Village and were quickly discovered by the men who had risen early to work.
The women, reunited with their families, wept tears of joy, while Ren and the other two, amidst a chorus of thanks, set off once more back to Konoha Village.
...
"Good, you completed this mission very well."
In the office, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the three before him and nodded with satisfaction. After this baptism of blood, the lives of these two children had truly begun.
"You two go to the Mission Centre to collect your mission rewards. I've already instructed them; this mission will be counted as a C-rank mission for you."
"Yes, Hokage-sama." (x2)
Ren and Ryufeng walked out the door and headed to the Mission Hall on the first floor to collect their respective mission rewards.
"How was it? Nothing went wrong, did it?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his pipe and took a puff, looking at his eldest son before him.
"No, their strength was already considerable. Completing this mission, aside from getting through that hurdle, was nothing for them."
Sarutobi Shinnosuke shrugged.
"Is that so? That's good."
Hiruzen Sarutobi also breathed a sigh of relief.
"You should spend more time with Asuma when you have free time. He's always clamouring for you to train with him. Coincidentally, there aren't many missions these two days, so take him for two days of special training. Alright, you can go."
"Yes."
Sarutobi Shinnosuke nodded helplessly. Indeed, since becoming a Jonin, he hadn't trained with Asuma much for a long time. He'd make up for it with two days of special training during the holiday.
...
"Here are your mission rewards. This mission has a total reward of 40,000 ryo. Your squad leader, Jonin Sarutobi Shinnosuke, takes fifty per cent, and the remaining half is split between the two of you."
"Thank you."
Ren took his 10,000 ryo mission reward and instantly felt his wallet thicken again. As expected, being a Ninja and doing missions was how you earned money. This was only a C-rank mission, and he even had to split it with his squad leader and teammate. In the future, when he could take on B-rank or higher advanced missions by himself, a single mission's reward would easily be over a million.
"Ren."
Ren turned his head, looking at Ryufeng in confusion.
"Clan Head Uchiha Fugaku's son Itachi will have his full moon celebration the day after tomorrow. He invited you to attend and asked me to convey the message."
After hearing Ryufeng's words, Ren suddenly realised. So it was Itachi's full moon celebration. He had to go. Clan Head Uchiha himself had invited him; not going would be somewhat ungracious. Besides, Ren had no prejudice against Uchiha. Thinking this, Ren nodded to Ryufeng.
"No problem. Please convey my message; I will be there the day after tomorrow."
"Okay."
Infant Itachi, I'm really looking forward to it...