"The gap between you and me... did you not notice it at all?" Mamoru calmly let go, allowing the man's four mangled fingers to hang limply. "Did hatred blind your eyes, or did rage burn away your reason?"
Once his fingers were free, the middle-aged ninja's knees buckled, and he fell to the ground with a thud. His face was as pale as paper, his lips trembling uncontrollably. Tears, snot, and cold sweat mixed together, dripping miserably from his chin.
He tremblingly raised his severely injured hands. Waves of piercing pain hammered his nerves, and his vision began to darken, nearly making him faint.
Mamoru looked down at the bloodstains on his palm, furrowed his brows in disgust, and casually wiped them off on the man's shoulder. "It's about time to send you on your way."
"Eh..."
The middle-aged ninja looked up blankly, his unfocused gaze meeting a pair of blue eyes—eyes as clear as the sky, yet as cold as a god's, devoid of any human warmth.
"Since you were so grief-stricken, why don't you go down and join your brother? He should be very happy."
Before Mamoru's words even faded, the middle-aged ninja's consciousness sank completely into endless darkness.
Mamoru slowly withdrew his hand from the top of the middle-aged ninja's head, letting the man slump lifelessly to the ground, silent once more.
Then, he turned to look toward the campfire, the battle there was also nearing its end.
These bandits without Chakra could be easily handled even by Genin, let alone with two experienced Chunin overseeing the group.
After the battle subsided, everyone tied up the remaining bandits one by one and tossed them onto the clearing near the campfire.
Daichi stood before the flickering campfire, the firelight reflecting red on his chubby face. "Masamoto, didn't you say the cave over there was blocked off by them? Where did these people come from?"
Masamoto said, his brow furrowed deeply. "It was definitely blocked before I came back. Could there be more than one exit to that cave?"
After speaking, he pinched his chin and stared at the flickering shadows of the flames on the ground, falling into thought.
Mamoru sighed, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness. "I say, aren't you all overlooking a key issue? How did they find this place so quickly? Based on my observation just now, their actions didn't seem like aimless searching. It was more like they knew we were hiding here and came to wipe us out."
"This..."
Everyone was momentarily speechless, looking at each other, unable to answer.
"Forget it, it's useless asking you guys." Mamoru shook his head, knowing his side couldn't provide an answer.
However, another group of 'captives' might.
He stood up and reached out toward Teruhito nearby. "Teruhito, lend me your Kunai. I don't want to get my hands dirty again."
"Here."
Mamoru took the tossed Kunai and spun it nimbly around his fingertips, the blade tracing a cold arc in the firelight.
He stepped toward the bound bandits, his voice calm yet filled with pressure. "Information, we can just ask for it, right?"
Seeing the boy who had just brutally killed their small-time leader approaching, the awake bandits felt fear growing like wild weeds in their hearts. They shifted uneasily, the sound of ropes rubbing against them rustling.
Mamoru knelt in front of the first bandit. In the interplay of light and shadow, a bright smile bloomed on his face, one that seemed entirely out of place with the night.
"Could you tell me... how did you find this place?"
Before he even finished the question, the Kunai in his hand stabbed downward without warning.
"Aaaaagh—"
The shrill scream rang out once more.
Mamoru paused, then pulled out the Kunai, blinking with an innocent look. "Sorry, first time doing this, I'm out of practice. My hand slipped."
As he spoke, he moved his gaze to the second bandit next to him.
Being stared at, the second bandit's heart tightened. Before Mamoru could even ask, he blurted out, "It was the leader! The leader told us the location!"
Mamoru raised an eyebrow. "Oh? How did he know?"
"I... I really don't know that."
"Aaaaagh—"
The Kunai fell again, still stabbing into the same wound on the first bandit, blood gushing out.
"Don't kill me... don't kill me..."
The second bandit watched the blood gushing from his companion's leg, feeling a chill rush from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Cold sweat instantly drenched his ragged back.
Although the Kunai hadn't stabbed him, that invisible stinging sensation felt as if it had pierced his heart, making it unbearable.
His face was pale, his teeth chattered, and he stammered, "I... I'm really not lying. Shichikon keeps many things from us. Only... only Yazi is inseparable from him, they discuss everything together. We just follow orders, we don't know anything else."
"Is that so?" Mamoru turned his gaze to the third bandit separated from him, staring calmly into the man's eyes.
The third bandit, being watched, trembled violently, his voice shaking. "Yes... that's right, everything he said is true."
"Alright then, I'll believe you for now." Mamoru nodded, casually playing with the blood-stained Kunai.
Upon hearing this, the bandits collectively breathed a sigh of relief, thinking they had escaped a disaster.
"Now, the second question..."
Mamoru spoke again, and the relaxed atmosphere instantly froze once more.
He continued, "As far as I know, isn't your Mountain Fortress currently surrounded by our people? So where did you come from?"
"This... Aaaaagh—"
The second bandit had only hesitated for a moment before the Kunai ruthlessly stabbed into his thigh.
Mamoru pulled out the Kunai expressionlessly and turned his gaze to the next person.
That bandit was scared out of his wits and shouted incoherently, "The mountain! That stronghold on the mountain... is fake!"
Mamoru grabbed him by the collar, forcing him to look up. "Fake? What do you mean?"
"Our... our real stronghold is... at the foot of the mountain. The one on the mountain is just a front to deceive people."