Different

The night was as dark as ink, heaven and earth shrouded in blackness, surging clouds obscuring even a trace of moonlight, and from time to time a gust of wind howled past, rustling branches and leaves into a screech like an owl's cry.

Arriving at the foot of the mountain, Ye Zi looked up at the sky, feeling the biting cold of the wind against his face, and muttered to himself, "Looks like it's about to rain."

The bandits' stronghold sat atop the mountain, with only one path leading up; they held the advantage of the terrain, making the fortress difficult to storm, but for a ninja, taking such a position was hardly a challenge.

Orochimaru led the three of them straight up the steep cliff face, slipping into the stronghold without a trace.

Crouching behind a crude hut, Orochimaru gave them no time to observe the enemy's layout, simply signaling for the three to act immediately.

Infiltrating the stronghold was only meant to reduce the threat; the main purpose of this mission was still to draw blood, to face the flash of blades head-on, so Orochimaru would not allow Ye Zi and the others to pick off the bandits one by one through stealth kills.

Kushina and Bei Xingye did not move at once when they saw Orochimaru's signal; hesitation lingered on their faces.

Seeing the two still rooted in place, Orochimaru frowned slightly but did not urge them. He knew well that this was a trial every graduate of the Ninja Academy had to endure—not to become cold-blooded... but to gain the ability to look past bloodshed.

Unlike Kushina and Bei Xingye's hesitation, Ye Zi was decisively swift. No sooner had Orochimaru's hand signal fallen than he locked onto a man who had come to a corner to relieve himself, Kunai in hand, charging straight at him.

The dull sound of his feet hitting the sandy ground startled the man mid-stream. Turning his head, by the faint firelight, he saw only a Kunai driving toward his throat.

"En—!"

The man's eyes shrank, the word barely leaving his lips before it was cut short. The sharp Kunai slid easily into his throat, and warm blood splashed across Ye Zi's face.

The moist heat spread across his skin, the foul stench of blood flooding his nostrils, stirring an unease in his stomach. Ye Zi kept his arm extended, staring blankly into the man's eyes—eyes full of despair and hatred.

"Gurgle..."

The dying man let out a meaningless sound, the light in his eyes slowly fading.

Without moving his gaze, Ye Zi stared into those eyes until the light was gone, then slowly pulled out the Kunai. He wiped the blood from his face with his hand. This was his first kill. Watching a living life snuffed out by his own hand, he felt no great guilt—like slaughtering a chicken for a meal without a second thought.

In truth, he had witnessed far too many brutal scenes in his youth. Some people would cripple another for a single piece of bread. He had once thought that, if conditions allowed, even cannibalism would have occurred back then.

Thud.

The lifeless body crumpled softly to the ground with a faint sound. Ye Zi didn't spare it another glance, charging silently toward his next target.

Hidden in the shadows, Orochimaru's lips curled into a satisfied smile, while Kushina and Bei Xingye stood frozen, staring at Ye Zi bathed in blood.

Bei Xingye trembled slightly. Timid as he was, this was his first time seeing such a bloody scene. He had prepared himself mentally before coming, but facing it in person, even that preparation was useless.

Kushina looked at the fallen corpse. Its head happened to be turned toward her, and in the firelight, the dull eyes seemed to still hold a trace of resentment.

She gritted her teeth, slowly taking a single step forward. Then, like a statue, she stopped.

A few minutes later, after Ye Zi had killed several men, he finally drew the bandits' attention. With a fierce roar, the bandits in the stronghold poured out. Seeing the forehead protector on Ye Zi's head marking him as a ninja, they were startled at first, but soon the fear receded like a tide—because there was only one opponent, and he was just a child.

"Just a little brat! What's there to be afraid of!" a burly man wielding a spiked club bellowed. The moment the words left his mouth, a flying Kunai lodged itself in his throat. His eyes went wide as he stared down at the handle in disbelief, then he crumpled to the ground.

After throwing the Kunai that killed the club-wielding man, Ye Zi's stamina was still full. He pulled another Kunai from his tool pouch and, like a wolf among sheep, charged into the bandits and began to slaughter.

Slicing a Kunai across a bandit's throat, Ye Zi immediately leaped backward, narrowly dodging an iron club swung at him.

There were too many enemies, and they had some strength. If he got hit, he might end up capsizing in a ditch.

Though his eyes were growing bloodshot, Ye Zi kept his wits. After killing over a dozen men, he felt his stamina waning and decisively backflipped several times to break out of the bandits' encirclement. He glanced at the nearly hundred remaining bandits, then shot a look at where Kushina and Bei Xingye were hiding, frowning.

In terms of individual skill, Ye Zi was one hundred percent sure he could crush anyone in the stronghold. But there were too many of them—numbers could overwhelm quality. And this mission wasn't his alone to complete.

As if sensing Ye Zi's gaze, Kushina and Bei Xingye finally realized they were here to carry out a mission. Kushina, who had taken that single step, no longer hesitated and revealed herself. Bei Xingye hesitated a moment longer, then slowly stepped out from behind the hut.

Corpses lay scattered and twisted across the ground, streams of crimson blood forming countless small rivers flowing through the sand, slowly seeping into the soil. The air was thick with the stench of blood.

The bandits, already shaken by how formidable the child Ye Zi was, felt their hearts sink when two more appeared.

"Even if we die, we're taking a few with us!" one bandit snarled. The others responded with a burst of savage fury.

Having lost all humanity, they walked the edge of the blade every day, each with countless lives on their hands. Just as Ye Zi killed them without a second thought, they felt no guilt when slaughtering their own kind.

Rumble...

Several bolts of lightning streaked across the gloomy sky, briefly illuminating a sea of ferocious faces.

Ye Zi looked at the hundred-odd bandits surging with killing intent, ignoring Kushina and Bei Xingye who had just appeared. He formed hand seals!

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

A scorching fireball shot from his mouth, flying into the crowd.

Seeing the blazing fireball hurtling toward them, the bandits' newly kindled momentum collapsed, their ferocity turning to terror.

Boom!

The fireball exploded. Amidst the overlapping screams, the searing flames instantly killed over a dozen bandits, and the air filled with the nauseating stench of burning flesh.

Seeing the bandits turned to charcoal in an instant, Kushina and Bei Xingye's faces went pale. The remaining bandits were even more terrified, their bravado shamefully retreating. This single fireball shattered their last hope, and they scattered in panic, screaming.

"What are you standing around for?"

Ye Zi barked coldly at the two, then charged with his Kunai toward the fleeing bandits.

Kushina and Bei Xingye exchanged a glance, suppressing the nausea in their hearts, and joined the slaughter.

If they couldn't even kill, what right did they have to call themselves ninja?

Thunder rumbled across the sky. After a long while, a torrential rain poured down, timely extinguishing the flames ignited by the fireball.

The stench of char, blood, and excrement mingled into an unbearable odor. Ye Zi paid it no mind. He tilted his head back slightly, eyes closed, expressionless, letting the cold rain wash the fresh blood from his face. Not far from his feet lay rows of cold, lifeless corpses.

Kushina looked down at the kunai in her hand; by the flash of lightning, she could see blood dripping steadily from its tip. Not long ago, when she killed her first person, she could even feel her stomach churning—but now... there was no discomfort at all.

She turned her head to look at Ye Zi, whose eyes were closed. All she saw was the same indifference as the cold rain. For no reason, a chill surged from the depths of her heart, spreading through every limb and bone, and she shuddered instantly—though she couldn't tell if it was from the biting wind and rain.

"This is what it means to be a ninja."

Bei Xingye looked at the bodies strewn across the ground, his body still trembling slightly.

"Mission complete."

Orochimaru stepped out from the darkness, his hoarse voice announcing the end of this mission.