Subjugating the Bandits

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In front of the bandit stronghold, a group of ferocious-looking men armed with sharp weapons had surrounded two cute little lolis.

Not far away, two males, one older and one younger, stood to the side watching the show.

The black-haired loli looked up pitifully at the men in front of her. "That'll really hurt. Can you pwease not do that?"

Yet, looking at the little loli's innocent face, the burly, thick-jowled men could not help backing away.

Shizune held a Senbon in her hand.

The bandits' heads were covered in bumps from her jabs.

Her bright ruby eyes looking down on everyone, Kurenai formed hand seals with both hands. "Shizune, you went too easy on them."

Shizune looked troubled. "I didn't go easy on them. It really hurts when you jab a Senbon into an acupuncture point."

As if to prove Shizune's point, an eight-foot-tall giant nearby clutched the arm a Senbon had pierced. His fat face alternated between pale and green, and despite his tightly clenched teeth, he could not hold back a howl of pain.

"Th... these damned brats are ninja!" the bandits said through gritted teeth.

Kurenai pointed at the forehead protector on her brow and said coldly, "Isn't it obvious? You're just a bunch of ordinary people, yet you still dared resist when you saw the Konoha Ninja insignia!"

Petite and only nine years old, Kurenai was a little girl who did not even reach the bandits' waists. She stood before them with her hands on her hips, berating them with her nose in the air. The sight was somewhat comical, but the bandits could not laugh.

They were not blind, so of course they recognized the ninja forehead protectors on Kurenai and Shizune's heads. In this world ruled by ninja, ninja represented the greatest military power. No matter how much muscle an ordinary person built, no matter how broad and powerful their frame, they were no more than a fragile child before a ninja. The bandits had seen ninja before, but this was their first time seeing ones so young.

They had thought the girls were wild children from who knew where, playing ninja, and had set out to capture the wild little lolis. They had never expected these adorable-looking little lolis to be poisonous!

"Boss, what do we do now?" the bandits asked. They had always bullied the weak and feared the strong, and they simply did not have the courage to stand up to ninja.

The bare-chested man with a fat head, large ears, and two vicious-looking scars on his face, who looked rather fierce, was the leader of this band of thieves.

The bandit leader now wore a miserable expression. He had spotted the two wild little lolis from afar, and his peculiar tastes had sent the blood rushing to his head. Without another word, he had ordered his men to capture them. Who would have thought his strong, burly underlings would be knocked flat by the lolis in just a few moves?

Neither Kurenai nor Shizune was skilled in Taijutsu, but each was a ninja nonetheless. No matter how weak they were, they still stood above ordinary people. That was why Shunren and Inoichi had moved aside to watch, taking the opportunity to let Kurenai and Shizune hone their skills.

Should he slink away with his tail between his legs? The bandit leader was unwilling to accept it. He thought that after finally finding two top-grade little lolis, how could he let them go so easily?

"What are you staring at?!" Kurenai glared fiercely at him.

The man's strange gaze also made Shizune's skin crawl. She reached out, tugged Kurenai's sleeve, and whispered, "Something about the way that creepy uncle looks at us feels strange. Kurenai, let's ask Shunren for help."

"No!" Strong-willed Kurenai was unwilling to let Shunren stand in front of her for everything. She said firmly, "Don't worry. I can handle enemies of this level on my own!"

With that, Kurenai's hands flew through a series of seals. "Genjutsu: Mirage Shadow!"

Kurenai charged into the bandits alone. First, a Konoha Whirlwind sent the two bandits at the front tumbling. Then she fell upon them like a wolf among sheep and began slaughtering left and right!

"You damned brat!" The bandits, too, were enraged by Kurenai's unbridled arrogance,

and they grabbed their weapons and struck back. "Huh? Are my eyes playing tricks on me?" Yet to the bandits, Kurenai's figure was now a blur, and they could not make out her movements at all.

This was Kurenai's Genjutsu: Mirage Shadow. It disrupted the way her opponents' eyes reflected light, making them unable to see her clearly.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang!" Kurenai punched and kicked her way through them. With Chakra behind them, even her tiny fists struck with plenty of force for ordinary people. In just a few moves, she had sent a good half of the bandits in front of her sprawling!

"Argh! Damned ninja!" The bandit leader took a punch from Kurenai in the belly and nearly threw up his guts. He was furious. Though he had a strange taste for young girls, he did not cherish them, but abused them!

A vicious glint in his eyes, he stared fixedly behind Kurenai and rubbed his eyes hard. But caught in the Genjutsu, he still could not make out her figure. A malicious gleam flashed in his eyes, and he slipped a hand into his pouch.

"Hmph! This is too boring. They're not even good enough for practice." As Kurenai thrashed the bandits, she could not help underestimating them.

Shizune, meanwhile, called out a warning from the side. "Kurenai, don't get careless!"

Barehanded, Kurenai had completely overwhelmed the bandits using only Taijutsu, which she was not even good at. She paid Shizune's warning no heed.

Just then, however, the bandit leader silently crept up behind Kurenai.

Shizune, keeping watch from the rear, saw him and immediately shouted a warning. "Kurenai, behind you!"

"Hmph! I noticed him ages ago! Such low-level sneaking skills!" Kurenai turned her head, fixed him with a cold stare, then twisted at the waist and kicked at him.

Her toes were delicate and tiny, but if an ordinary person took that kick, they would likely suffer torn tendons and broken bones!

The bandit leader's face darkened, and he flung something from his palm. The Genjutsu kept him from seeing Kurenai clearly, but he knew roughly where she was, and he did not care if he caught his nearby accomplices in it too.

"What is... ah!" Kurenai saw a cloud of unknown gray-black powder in front of her. Caught off guard, she took it full in the face and could no longer open her eyes!

"Hiss... damn!" Having succeeded in his sneak attack, the bandit leader prepared to press his advantage, but his thigh went numb, and he pitched headfirst to the ground!

"Kurenai!" At the critical moment, Shizune threw a Senbon and brought down the bandit leader. But her concern threw her into a panic, and she failed to notice two bandits beside her throwing the same gray-black powder at her. Her eyes stung, and her sight was taken from her too!

Inoichi, who had watched everything unfold from the sidelines, sighed. "As expected, they still lack experience. They actually fell for a sneak attack. And when they attacked the bandits, they didn't make a single killing blow. Such mercy isn't allowed for a ninja." Inoichi then turned his gaze to Shunren beside him, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Shunren, can you bring yourself to kill?"

"Whoosh!" Seeing the turn of events, Shunren charged forward without a word or a moment's hesitation.

"Yin Release: Projection!"