"Seisui, that was a smart decision!" Minato said with admiration, holding a chicken drumstick in his hand and giving Yuki Seisui a big thumbs-up.
If they had been traveling on their own, forget chicken — getting a decent meal at all would've been a miracle.
But things were different with this merchant caravan, especially since Seisui had "convinced" them earlier in his own unique way.
Thanks to that, the food provided by Yamashita Tetsu was of the same quality as his own — meat with every meal, and surprisingly well-prepared too.
Hearing Minato's words, Seisui smiled. "Minato, it's fine to know it in your heart. You don't have to say it out loud. If you do, people will think I paid you to praise me."
"That'd sound way too showy."
Minato's face twitched. He really shouldn't bother complimenting this guy — every time he did, Seisui somehow managed to roast him in return.
"Damn you, Seisui!" Minato bit off a chunk of the chicken, glaring at him. But before he could start arguing, he saw Seisui's expression suddenly change.
Kushina nudged Minato with her elbow. "Someone's lying in ambush up ahead."
Minato froze, immediately pulling out his signature three-pronged kunai. He hadn't forgotten — the last time someone ambushed them on the road, it had been Uchiha Madara himself.
Seeing Minato ready for a full-scale battle, Seisui raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"
"You said someone's lying in wait!"
"Yeah," Seisui nodded calmly. "But who said they were shinobi?"
He pointed ahead. "There are about twenty of them, but I don't sense any chakra. Probably just bandits or stray samurai. Nothing to worry about."
Seisui rolled his eyes at Minato, stood up, and unsheathed his blade.
The merchant Yamashita Tetsu, who wasn't far away, nearly jumped out of his seat. "W–What are you doing?!"
He hadn't heard their conversation and thought he'd done something wrong — that this terrifying ninja was about to cut him down.
Seeing his frightened expression, Seisui sighed. He wasn't particularly fond of the man, but he still explained, "There's a group lying in ambush ahead. I'll go handle them."
Before Yamashita could respond, Seisui vanished.
Up ahead, a group of rough-looking men crouched behind the rocks.
"Boss, are we really gonna rob that caravan?" one of them whispered nervously. "They've got four shinobi with them... and seven or eight samurai!"
"Quit whining," the bandit leader growled, pulling something from his coat — a pistol.
"This little thing came all the way from the Land of Lightning," he said proudly, stroking the weapon. "With this beauty, I could even take down the Sage of Six Paths himself! The times have changed!"
The others looked uneasy. One of the younger bandits spoke up timidly, "But I heard you can't kill shinobi... If you shoot them, they just turn into a log, and then pop up somewhere else to kill you."
"Bullshit!" The leader slapped him hard across the face. "You think they can dodge a bullet?"
Unbeknownst to them, Seisui was perched on a tree branch right above, watching the scene with mild amusement.
He couldn't help but sigh. If this were a world without supernatural powers, a gun really could change the era.
But this is the ninja world.
Even a genin fresh out of the academy could dodge or fake out a gunshot with the Three Basic Techniques — Clone, Substitution, or Transformation.
Especially Substitution — the moment you pull the trigger, you'd be shooting a log.
And as for trying to snipe from hiding? That was like trying to play stealth games against professionals.
You'd just be asking to die.
Down below, the bandit leader continued his fantasy speech. "We'll wait for them here. Once the caravan arrives, I'll shoot the shinobi first, then the leader. The samurai can join us! We'll become the biggest gang in this region! The farmers will feed us — we'll live like kings!"
"B–But—"
"But what?!" Another slap. "I've seen everything! I've killed hundreds of shinobi before — what's four more brats to me?!"
"Is that so?"
The voice came from right behind him.
The leader stiffened.
When he turned around, Seisui was standing there, the three tomoe of his Sharingan spinning in his eyes.
"Then tell me," Seisui said lightly, "have you ever seen these eyes before?"
The bandit leader's legs turned to jelly. "L–Lord ninja! I—I was just kidding!" He dropped to his knees, forehead slamming into the dirt over and over.
The rest of his men followed suit, trembling and begging for their lives.
A few of them tried to run.
Seisui didn't even move — he just picked up a few pebbles and flicked them.
Swish—
In an instant, one stone punched through a tree trunk and exploded a man's head behind it.
Brains and blood splattered everywhere.
The others met similar fates — bodies torn apart by the sheer force of the pebbles.
The remaining bandits froze, wide-eyed.
The leader glanced down at his pistol — the gun that could "change the era" — and realized its power was nothing compared to this man's casual flick.
"Has the era changed?" Seisui asked quietly.
"N–No! Please spare me!"
Seisui shook his head. He could feel the killing intent on these men — faint but real. They had blood on their hands.
"You'll die anyway," he said softly, and then moved.
A blur.
One breath later, Seisui was back on the main road. Behind him, only the sound of bodies collapsing into the dirt — and the stench of blood filling the forest.
When he returned to the caravan, he saw the samurai finishing their meal.
"There were bandits ahead," Seisui said calmly. "Go bury them."
The samurai stared blankly at him, unmoving.
"What are you waiting for?!" Yamashita barked. "Do as he says!"
"Yes!"
Four samurai rushed off toward the scene.
Yamashita sighed in relief. When Seisui had first stood and drawn his sword earlier, he'd nearly had a heart attack — if any of these ninjas decided to turn on him, he was finished.
He didn't trust the so-called "ninja code of honor." And judging by these four, they didn't exactly look like the law-abiding type either.
So all he could do was pray they'd get him to the Land of Hot Water in one piece.
If they wanted to do whatever they pleased on the way, fine — as long as they didn't kill him.
A while later, the samurai returned — pale-faced, whispering something into Yamashita's ear.
His expression shifted for a moment before he forced a smile. "Honored shinobi, there's still food and drink on the wagon. Please, help yourselves."
Seisui glanced at him, unbothered. He'd heard the whisper.
After all, even when the samurai tried to speak quietly, every ninja there could hear perfectly.
"You don't need to worry," Seisui said calmly. "We accepted the mission to protect you, and we'll see it through. We're not going to harm you."
He meant it — he wasn't some indiscriminate killer.
Hearing this, Yamashita finally relaxed. He still brought over a crate of drinks, placing it in front of them. "Please, have whatever you like."
He left soon after, still shaken. His men had told him the truth — over twenty bandits, all dead before they could even react, faces still twisted in terror. Every one of them decapitated cleanly.
He glanced back at the four figures resting beside the road. As long as they don't kill me... everything's fine.
Still, a thought crept into his mind: If only these four were my permanent bodyguards...
He'd been to many lands, met many shinobi, but he'd never seen such terrifying strength.
Last time he hired a ninja from Konoha, he'd gotten one jonin and three genin. This time, he'd expected something similar — and instead got four teenagers.
At first, he'd been angry.
Now, he realized he'd been a fool. These were monsters, not kids.
Seisui tossed a few bottles of drink to Minato, Kushina, and Uchiha Haru. "Guess our client's got some manners after all."
Kushina snorted. "Well, wouldn't you be polite too, if you'd just heard that the guy protecting you killed twenty people in an instant?"
The others nodded in agreement.
Seisui ignored them, stretched lazily, and cracked open his bottle. "Another two or three days and we'll reach the Land of Hot Water."
"There's still that missing-ninja investigation mission afterward," he added between sips. "But no rush. Let's rest up first."
==========
Meanwhile, deep in a cave somewhere in the Land of Hot Water...
More than ten captured shinobi sat tied together — from Iwagakure, Kumogakure, Konoha, and even smaller nations.
Three Cloud ninja, their faces twisted with rage, gritted their teeth.
"Damn it! That mission was a trap!"
A chilling laugh echoed through the cave.
"Kehehehe... You'll make excellent offerings to Lord Jashin."
The high priest of the Cult of Jashin stepped out of the shadows, his grin as sharp as a blade.