Quite a few soldiers immediately turned to look at their captain, hoping he would stay out of this mess. Risking their lives over a little protection money simply was not worth it.
Besides, they had been deceived as well. Who knew the carts were carrying goods worth so much?
After hearing the Bandit Leader's words, the captain's expression shifted repeatedly. He had never expected to get caught up in ninja business.
However, he knew the situation was urgent. If this dragged on and a real fight broke out, his men could suffer devastating casualties.
After only a brief hesitation, the captain said to both sides, "Since you deceived the merchant association first, we have no reason to continue fulfilling our duty to protect you. Everyone, withdraw!" With that, he himself ran toward the merchant association's goods ahead.
The moment he finished speaking, the surrounding soldiers scattered in every direction without even maintaining formation, desperate to get away from this dangerous place as quickly as possible.
When the bandits had first emerged, a few of the Missing-nin had seemed to pale slightly, wondering where the secret of the Iron Ore had leaked from. Still, they temporarily restrained their urge to attack immediately.
But after hearing the brief exchange between the Bandit Leader and the soldiers' captain, they knew there would be no peaceful resolution.
They did not know how much truth there was in the Bandit Leader's claim that he was a Chunin, but since these bandits still dared to rob them after learning they were ninja, they had to be troublesome opponents.
Before the surrounding soldiers had managed to flee very far, several Missing-nin swiftly pulled Smoke Bombs and weapons from the carts. "BOOM!" The Smoke Bombs exploded as they hit the ground, instantly throwing the scene into chaos.
"Clang,