Blazing Flames

July's blazing sun was especially merciless; even the clouds were unwilling to keep it company.

Without clouds to block it, the scorching sunlight shone straight down upon the earth, bending the crops low and driving every living creature into the woods.

Yet beneath this blazing sun, the bandits felt a chill to their very bones.

One companion after another charged forward, only to crumple to the ground like so much grass.

Corpses lay scattered haphazardly across the ground. Bright red blood flowed from them and spread over the dry earth, only to evaporate into the air in the blink of an eye.

The stench of blood mixed with the smell of excrement and urine within the mountain stronghold, making one nauseous.

A burly man holding a short blade trembled as he stepped out of the crowd. "My lord ninja, we're all refugees with nowhere to turn. We had no choice but to become bandits."

"Please spare us. We'll never do it again!"

Aozora paid him no heed. A fresh kunai had already appeared in his palm.

The man's tiger's mouth was covered in thick calluses. They could not have formed without years of wielding a blade.

Unable to bear the sight of the trembling bandits, Aya turned her head away.

At that moment, the burly man swung his arm, about to throw his short blade at Aya.

Before the blade could leave his hand, Aozora's kunai had already pierced his wrist.

Clang!

The short blade fell onto the hard, dry ground with a crisp ring. Aya hurriedly turned back, her face full of lingering fear.

Aozora said flatly, "Aya, has your father ever told you that mercy toward an enemy is cruelty toward yourself?"

Aya blankly shook her head.

"Then remember those words well today."

The vicious bandit clutched his bleeding wrist, his face twisted with malice. "Even if we die, we'll take a few of you down with us!"

At his words, the other bandits erupted with murderous ferocity.

Each of them had plenty of blood on their hands. Having spent years licking blood from the edge of a blade, they had long since stopped caring about life or death.

Several hundred vicious bandits charged fiercely at the three of them.

Hayate and Aya tensed up, unconsciously biting their lips.

Aozora knew that throwing kunai would no longer solve the problem. "Fall back!"

With that, his hands rapidly formed seals.

"Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger!"

"Fire Release—Great Fireball Technique!"

A blazing, enormous fireball burst from Aozora's mouth and shot toward the mass of bandits.

As Aya and Hayate retreated, they looked back to see only Aozora's slender figure and flames filling the sky.

Facing the overwhelming fireball rushing toward them, the bandits' desperate resolve collapsed. The savagery on their faces turned to terror. They had barely begun to scatter when the flames swallowed them whole.

Boom!

The massive fireball exploded, blasting a large group of bandits into the air. More had their clothes ignited by the scorching flames and ran about wildly.

Though he felt some reluctance, Aozora still said, "Leave none alive!"

Then he began relentlessly reaping the bandits' lives with shuriken.

Hayate and Aya exchanged a glance before silently joining the battle. This was their mission, and their duty.

The panicked bandits posed no further threat to the three, and they were soon wiped out.

Aya threw aside the kunai dripping with blood and stared blankly at the cruel scene before her.

Had she created these cold corpses and the blood that continued to flow from them?

Aburame Shibi appeared at just the right moment. "The mission is over!"

He knew they needed to leave now.

Time was good medicine. It would slowly soothe their emotions and gradually help them grow accustomed to being ninja.

At his words, Hayate and Aya immediately turned around, eager to leave this place.

Aozora, however, remained where he was. "You go on ahead. I still have something to take care of."

Aburame Shibi asked in surprise, "What is it?"

"I need to deal with these corpses. It wouldn't be right to leave them exposed in the wilderness."

Aburame Shibi fell silent for a moment before saying, "They were a group of utterly wicked people. You don't need to feel guilty."

Aozora shook his head. "I don't feel guilty."

Of course he did not feel guilty. Five more Golden Droplets had appeared on the once-blank Wordless Page. Even heaven thought killing these people was a good thing, so there was no reason for him to agonize over it.

But just because they were bad people, did that mean they deserved to be left exposed in the wilderness?

Even setting them aside, he had to consider the villagers still living at the foot of the mountain.

"The weather is hot right now. The bodies will rot and stink very quickly. With so many corpses, if they aren't handled properly, it could cause an epidemic."

Aburame Shibi pushed up his sunglasses with a finger and looked Aozora over once more.

If he had to score the three of them based on this mission—

He would give Inuzuka Aya seven points. Above passing, but lacking experience and not ruthless enough. That ruthlessness was not needed toward civilians or comrades, but when facing enemies, not a shred of mercy could be tolerated.

As for Gekko Hayate, he would give him nine points. He did not think Gekko Hayate had any shortcomings. In fact, he believed Gekko Hayate's performance was no worse than his own back then. He possessed the qualities a ninja should have. For his first kill, he had managed to control himself while remaining calm at all times.

As for Uchiha Aozora, he had originally intended to give him five points.

Uchiha Aozora had been too rational. To acclimate himself to killing, he had approached a bandit with a kunai embedded in his throat and watched him die with his own eyes. Later, he had remained unmoved even when the bandits pleaded for mercy.

That seemed to fit the standards of a ninja, but to Aburame Shibi, a ninja without emotions was far too dangerous. In his eyes, that was a failing grade.

Yet Aozora's final actions had surprised him.

He could feel not the slightest emotion toward his enemies, yet still retain goodwill toward the souls of the dead.

After killing, he did not think about running away or comforting himself. Instead, he considered the safety of the people living at the foot of the mountain.

Uchiha Aozora had considered things he himself had never considered.

At last, he understood what a perfect score of ten meant.

Nine points only meant that one had completed the mission. Ten points meant properly handling what came afterward as well.

Aburame Shibi took the initiative. "You're right. What do you need me to do?"

Aya and Hayate also offered to help.

Aozora looked back at them and said, "Gather the bodies together. Find some trees too. Um, the doors and pillars from these houses will work as well. Pile them together and cremate them!"

"Alright!"

So Team 3 first built a platform out of wood and branches, then piled all the bandits' corpses on top.

Finally, Aozora used the Great Fireball Technique to ignite the enormous pyre.

The huge pyre blazed to life. Roaring flames consumed their clothes and slowly reduced them to ashes.

From a distance, Aozora watched the sacred flames and said, "May these blazing flames burn away your sins. May you have a better future in your next lives."

He had never believed in gods or Buddhas, until he transmigrated into this world.

He had never believed in karma, until the merit from the Heavenly Book helped him complete his Divine Abilities.

Good people were rewarded!

Sure enough, two more droplets of merit had appeared in the Heavenly Book.