White Blade In, Green Blade Out—Stab Your Gallbladder

Nothing happened that night.

The next day, Kyosuke ordered a lavish breakfast spread.

In his words, he was still growing. He could make do with anything else, but his food had to be perfect.

"What a waste." Mito naturally mocked him out of habit, but she was quickly punished for it.

"What?" Kyosuke looked at her in confusion. "I ordered this for myself. If you want some, go buy your own."

"...Fine. You're ruthless." The bun-haired girl sat off to the side in a huff, took out some rations from her pack, and viciously bit into them without another word.

She seemed to be treating the flatbread as some damned Uchiha.

"Eat sparingly. That's your food for the next few days." Kyosuke, his mouth glistening with grease, did not forget to rub salt in the wound.

"None of your business!"

"Fine. Just don't come begging me later."

Watching the girl's retreating back, Kyosuke gave a wicked smile. That little girl is far too proud. She needs to be properly... no, tempered a little.

Otherwise, she would easily suffer a huge loss someday.

He took the sealing scroll from his pocket, found the section marked "Food," and packed away the dishes the owner had prepared.

It was an extravagant practice. A sealing scroll was worth more than a hundred times the price of the meal; no normal person would use one like this.

However, Kyosuke was no ascetic. If he could enjoy himself, he would never suffer for no reason.

As a Legion Commander, he could carry a large stock of blank scrolls with him.

The clan was paying for them anyway. There was no reason not to take them.

Little did he know, his actions had caught the attention of someone observant.

Two young brats were using sealing scrolls to pack up their food.

They might as well have carved the words "I'm a fat sheep" onto their foreheads.

If they did not rob them, the watchers would feel they had betrayed their profession.

Before long, Kyosuke and Mito were surrounded by a band of thieves.

"Kid, come with me if you know what's good for you. Otherwise, white blade in, green blade out—I'll stab your gallbladder!"

Kyosuke sucked in a breath. Had bandits become so sophisticated these days?

They were threatening to stab someone's gallbladder. Wouldn't that mean he would be bitter to death?

Clearly, Lady Mito did not share his ability to amuse himself.

She had already been holding back a bellyful of anger, and now she had run into a bunch of blind bandits. They could only blame themselves for being blind.

Chakra burst forth. The once-quiet girl instantly transformed into a ferocious beast and charged into the crowd, sending people sprawling in every direction.

Kyosuke shrieked from the side, "Hey, that's way too violent! Way too bloody!"

"They only wanted to stab our gallbladders. Why did you have to stab them in the kidneys?"

"You're definitely never getting married at this rate."

The remaining thieves felt like crying.

Big brother, please stop talking. If you keep going, our remaining kidney probably won't survive either.

Grabbing the middle-aged thief in front of her, Mito demanded coldly, "Talk. How many accomplices do you have? How many unforgivable crimes have you committed?"

"S-Spare me..." The middle-aged thief put on a miserable face, concealing the killing intent in his eyes quite well.

Just as the bun-haired girl was about to torture him for answers, the seemingly ordinary thief suddenly erupted with Chakra comparable to that of an elite Chunin.

In less than a second, he had completely turned the tables. Now Mito was the fish beneath his blade.

"You!" The princess's eyes widened. She had not expected to be deceived so easily.

Besides, with strength like his, why had he fallen so low as to rob passersby?

"You fool." Holding a Kunai to the girl's neck, the middle-aged man sneered darkly. "You should have obediently listened. Now that you've seen my strength, there is only one road left for you today: death."

"People must pay for their stupidity."

"Listen to that." Kyosuke looked at the girl with disappointment. "His lesson is completely right. Take it to heart, understand?"

I'll remember your damn uncle! Both the Chunin playing the bandit and Mito, now a hostage, were dumbfounded.

At a time like this, you still have the mood to joke around with me? Just as the man was about to press his threats further, he suddenly realized that the boy before him had vanished.

It was not high-speed movement. He had simply disappeared from where he stood.

"Looking for me?"

The teasing voice at his ear made the man's soul nearly leave his body. He instinctively turned his head.

Then he saw a pair of eerie, blood-red eyes.

Clang! The Kunai fell to the ground. The man stood there like a walking corpse, allowing his hostage to slip free from his control.

"Genjutsu?" Mito frowned. She had not expected this guy to be so proficient in Genjutsu as well.

At such a young age, wasn't he a little too absurdly well-rounded?

Ignoring Mito's doubts, Kyosuke calmly asked the thief, "Who are you?"

He was not some naïve girl with no experience of the world. The appearance of this middle-aged ninja surely carried a deeper meaning.

Since they had run into him anyway, there was no harm in asking for the details.

"My name is Sarutobi Jiichiro. I am a Chunin of the Sarutobi Clan, ordered to intercept and kill merchants along the road to raise war funds for the clan."

The Sarutobi Clan was one of the prominent noble clans of the Land of Fire. After Konoha was founded, one of its members would become Senju Tobirama's disciple.

That was Sarutobi Hiruzen, the future Third Hokage.

Who would have thought that such a distinguished Warring States clan was secretly engaged in such filthy deeds?

Not only Uzumaki Mito—even Kyosuke felt disdain.

"What are you going to do?" Mito stared at him, seemingly hoping for something.

Kyosuke, however, did not say a word. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the Kunai flying and killed the man outright.

"You're just a passing ninja. Do you think you can play hero?"

Glancing at the mere two hundred Points, Kyosuke smiled disdainfully, turned, and continued onward. "Let's go, unless you want to keep making enemies for the Uzumaki Clan."

Those words struck directly at her weak point.

The Sarutobi Clan was powerful. Their combat style, combined with their Summoning Beasts, was mysterious and unpredictable. Rumor had it that the clan also had vague connections to the Three Great Sacred Lands.

If they provoked them, it would be hard for the Uzumaki Clan not to pay a price.

"I really hadn't thought things through."

They remained silent along the way, and soon approached the eastern territory of the Land of Fire.

Little did they know that someone had long been quietly following behind them.

Even someone as strong as Kyosuke had failed to notice anything amiss. Either the newcomer was too powerful, or they possessed some special means of concealment.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Mito finally asked the crucial question.

"Looking for help, of course. You know that already." Kyosuke blinked, deliberately playing dumb.

Helplessly, Mito could only choose to ignore him again.

She wanted to see what kind of help this guy could find.

There were forces capable of rivaling the Uzumaki Clan, but the key was this: what made him think he could persuade them to act?