Witnessing the bandit leader, who was similar in strength to himself, get instantly killed by Uchiha Kazuhiko, the rogue ninja wisely ceased his fight with Ikemoto Kaori.
He created a shadow clone to hinder both of them while his main body fled madly into the distance.
"Hmph, thinking of running now? Too late."
Having recovered some stamina, Uchiha Kazuhiko coldly snorted at the rogue ninja's retreating figure.
In the blink of an eye, he broke through the shadow clone's obstruction, appearing behind the fleeing ninja and throwing a powerful punch towards his heart.
Thud!
The rogue ninja's substitution log was shattered into pieces by Uchiha Kazuhiko's heavy blow.
The main body, reappearing not far away like a cornered beast, made a last desperate struggle.
He quickly formed hand signs, unleashing a gust of fierce wind towards Uchiha Kazuhiko in an attempt to block his attack.
"It's over."
Utilizing high-speed movement to leap and pivot between trees, Uchiha Kazuhiko circumvented the gust of wind.
He jumped down from above the rogue ninja, drew the katana from his storage space, and cleaved the man in two with a single slash.
Wiping the blood spattered on his cheek, Uchiha Kazuhiko deactivated the Eight Gates Released Formation.
The aching pain radiating from his body made him involuntarily twitch the corner of his mouth, sucking in a sharp, pained breath.
"Kazuhiko-kun, let me help you."
Ikemoto Kaori ran up to Uchiha Kazuhiko, reaching out to support him, but he gently waved her off.
"I'm fine, thank you. Let's go meet up with Yū."
Refusing Kaori's assistance, Uchiha Kazuhiko walked slowly towards the stronghold. Ikemoto Kaori, seeing this, pouted slightly in dissatisfaction but followed behind him, jogging to keep up.
By the time they returned to the stronghold, Captain Touma and Inuzuka Yū were already waiting for them.
Seeing his teammates return, a look of pride appeared on Inuzuka Yū's face. He said excitedly,
"Kazuhiko, Kaori, I ran into a genin-level rogue ninja in the underground prison earlier. I defeated him in three moves. Pretty impressive, right?"
"Very impressive," Uchiha Kazuhiko says half-heartedly., not wanting to dampen his spirits.
"Yū-kun, Kazuhiko-kun just defeated the bandit leader and a chūnin-level rogue ninja," Ikemoto Kaori said with a gentle smile, delivering a blow to Inuzuka Yū's pride.
"Ah, oh, I see..." Hearing about Uchiha Kazuhiko's feat, Inuzuka Yū forced a dry laugh, swallowing his complacency. He decided then to train even harder in his clan's secret techniques to catch up to Uchiha Kazuhiko sooner.
Looking at the stronghold, now consumed by fire, Uchiha Kazuhiko confirmed with Inuzuka Yū, who was handling the cleanup.
"Yū, were all targets eliminated?"
"Don't worry, there are no living enemies left in the stronghold,"
Inuzuka Yū nodded, confident in the Inuzuka clan's olfactory perception secret technique.
Satisfied with Yū's assurance, Uchiha Kazuhiko turned to report to Captain Touma.
"Captain, all targets have been eliminated. However, we encountered ninja during the mission. The rank should be elevated to B-rank."
"Good work, all of you. Leave the rest to me. We'll rest tonight in Daiki Village and set out for Konoha tomorrow." Captain Touma didn't say much more; unexpected situations during missions were common. He would personally renegotiate the mission rank and reward with the client later.
After Ikemoto Kaori treated her injuries with medical ninjutsu, Team Touma returned to Daiki Village.
Not long after they left, another middle-aged ninja dressed as a rogue ninja arrived from the direction of the Land of Rivers. Discovering the body of the rogue ninja Uchiha Kazuhiko had cut in half, he cried out in utter grief and despair.
"No! Little Brother!"
"Little Brother... It's my fault! I never should have left you here! If you had come with me back then, you wouldn't have left me like this... I'm so sorry..."
The middle-aged rogue ninja held the two halves of the corpse and wept bitterly. A long time later, he finally wiped away his tears, collected some blood from the body, and formed several dozen complex hand seals.
"Secret Technique: Vengeful Spirit Soul Pursuit!"
A pale gray mist drifted up from the corpse, floating in the direction Uchiha Kazuhiko and the others had departed. Clearly, this was a special secret technique used for tracking enemies.
With the technique successfully activated, the middle-aged rogue ninja used Earth Release to bury the body. After easily make a grave, he swore an oath in a voice as dry and hoarse as a malevolent ghost's:
"Little Brother, rest in peace. Even if I must beg that person for help, I will avenge you."
Taking one last look at his brother's grave, the middle-aged rogue ninja turned and left, pursuing Team Touma.
...
Team Touma returned to Daiki Village, found the client, and informed them about encountering rogue ninjas during the bandit extermination. The client agreed to upgrade the mission rank and provided the reward for a B-rank mission.
After resting for the night, Team Touma bid farewell and began their journey back to Konoha.
The return trip was relatively peaceful. Aside from occasionally sensing people watching the team covertly from the shadows, no fights broke out. As the sun began to set, the group finally returned safely to Konoha.
Captain Touma submitted the mission proof, collected the reward, distributed it to the three genin according to the stipulated ratios, and announced a two-day break for rest and recuperation.
Uchiha Kazuhiko had just arrived home and hadn't even begun to rest when the system's prompt suddenly sounded in his mind.
Ding dong. A new round of missions has refreshed. Please check promptly, Host.
Uchiha Kazuhiko's spirits lifted. It had been over a month since the last mission; finally, new tasks had arrived. He hurriedly opened the mission list to check the newly refreshed options.
*[Defend Quel'Thalas]*: Defend the Sunwell and Silvermoon City against the Scourge.
*Client*: Council of Silvermoon
*World*: Azeroth
*Reward*: 1200 Gold Coins
*Points*: 170
*Rank*: Bronze
*[Rescue Roger]*: Travel to Loguetown to rescue the Pirate King Roger, who is about to be publicly executed.
*Client*: East Blue Pirates
*World*: One Piece
*Reward*: 150 Gold Coins
*Points*: 55
*Rank*: Black Iron
*[Shut Down Red Queen]*: Go to the Hive to shut down the Red Queen and retrieve her motherboard.
*Client*: Umbrella Corporation
*World*: Resident Evil 1
*Reward*: 10 Gold Coins
*Points*: 9
*Rank*: Black Iron
The Bronze-rank mission was immediately dismissed. The two Black Iron-rank missions required consideration.
Attempting to rescue Roger, who willingly turned himself in, from under the noses of numerous Marine officers... Given Uchiha Kazuhiko's current strength, even with the help of other pirates, the probability of success was extremely low.
Not wanting to waste a precious mission opportunity, Uchiha Kazuhiko ultimately chose the third mission, which matched his capabilities.
In the world of Resident Evil 1, the strongest monsters were the Lickers. Their strength wasn't overwhelming; even without activating the Eight Gates, Uchiha Kazuhiko was confident he could easily handle them. His only concern was whether the T-virus in the air would adversely affect him.
Fortunately, in the original story, there was a case containing numerous doses of antivirals in the underground train car. As long as he secured them early, even if infection occurred, he could use the antivirals to treat the T-virus promptly.
Having made his choice, Uchiha Kazuhiko accepted the mission to shut down the Red Queen. After resting at home for the night, he selected the teleport option, heading towards the mission's world.