Revenge Doesn't Wait Until Morning

Aoba had just taken down Yamashita and the others in a way that shocked everyone, but he had also stirred up a hornet's nest.

Yamashita's little bully gang consisted of more than just three people...

Scrape, scrape, scrape!

Another seven people shot to their feet, shocked and furious!

However, they were all putting on a brave front. Aoba's ruthlessness just now, along with the obvious changes to his right hand, had made them deeply wary.

Aoba was also at a loss. Damn it, so this was what the mission meant by making ten people cry.

With the stamina he had left—no, even at full strength—there was no way he could beat ten kids older than him!

This damn system wanted him dead!

That had to be it!

Just as he was considering how to get out of this predicament, hurried footsteps finally sounded outside.

He breathed a sigh of relief. With such a huge commotion, someone should have come by now.

The others' expressions also changed. They shot him resentful glares, then sat back down unwillingly.

Then the door opened, and a middle-aged woman who looked like trouble strode straight in. She immediately saw the mess inside, as well as Yamashita and the others, their blood-stained faces looking rather frightening.

The middle-aged woman planted her hands on her hips and shouted furiously, "What happened here?! Who did this? Step forward!"

Aoba thought he was in for it this time, but unexpectedly, after Yamashita and the others exchanged glances, they actually took the blame themselves.

"Sorry. We accidentally knocked things over while fooling around."

The middle-aged woman immediately gave Yamashita a cold look and said mockingly, "With your faces?"

Yamashita lowered his head, a flash of venom passing through his eyes, but he still gritted his teeth and said, "We were accidentally cut by broken plates."

The woman snorted and looked at the other two. "You two were accidentally cut too?"

"Mm."

The other two also lowered their heads and answered.

Only after hearing them all say so did the middle-aged woman seem to calm down somewhat. Then she said, "I don't want there to be a next time. Otherwise, all of you can get out. Understand?"

Seeing Yamashita and the others remain silent as cicadas and knowing they would not cause her any more trouble, she finally left satisfied, taking them to have their wounds bandaged.

Only after the fierce middle-aged woman left did many people breathe a sigh of relief.

Only Aoba and the other children who had arrived last did not really understand why everyone was so afraid of that woman.

Just then, another person came up to him. He was one of the seven who had stood up later.

"What, you still want to fight? Didn't you see what happened to those guys?" Aoba made up his mind that if they fought this time, he would go all out immediately and try to intimidate them. Otherwise, he would be the one in trouble.

But the newcomer apparently had no intention of fighting right now, perhaps because he was wary of that woman from earlier.

"You got lucky this time. Just wait."

After throwing out that threat, he turned and left.

Aoba's heart sank. It seemed this trouble could not be avoided. The other side had clearly developed a deep grudge against him.

But he was not afraid in the slightest. He had survived encounters with super BOSSes like Madara and Obito one after another. If a few half-grown kids could take him down, then he might as well wash up and go to bed.

Besides, even if they did not come looking for him, he would make sure to teach these brats a proper lesson.

An unfathomable glint flashed through Aoba's eyes.

That night, everyone fell into a deep sleep.

Aoba suddenly opened his eyes, then quietly got up and crept toward a corner.

One of the targets he needed to deal with was there. He might as well start with this unlucky guy.

Looking at his sleeping target, Aoba guessed these people had never expected him to dare take the initiative and strike at night.

The corners of Aoba's mouth curled up slightly. Then he suddenly straddled the other person and desperately hammered his [Hardening]-enhanced fists into his head.

The unlucky guy was awakened by the beating, but he was also beaten senseless!

He wanted to cry out for help, but Aoba, having prepared beforehand, stuffed a sock into his mouth. All he could make were muffled whimpering noises.

Bang! Bang!

Aoba, who never let revenge wait until morning, beat the boy until his nose was bruised and his face swollen in just a few blows.

The commotion woke several people nearby, but after Aoba shot them a vicious glare, they all covered their mouths in terror, pretending they had seen nothing. They turned away, trembling as they continued sleeping.

Finally, after more than a dozen hard blows, this unlucky guy, only one or two years older than Aoba, became terrified. He felt that the monster before him wanted to kill him!

Tears the size of beans began streaming down his face.

He desperately wanted to beg for mercy, but the stinking sock stuffed in his mouth kept him from speaking. He wanted to resist, but he could not break free.

However, after seeing him cry, Aoba's raised fist did not come down this time.

First Blood!

Seeing that he had smoothly completed one-tenth of the mission, Aoba finally breathed a sigh of relief. This mission didn't seem that difficult after all. He could completely take them down one by one!

"Tell me, do you want to die or live?"

Aoba yanked the filthy sock out of the boy's mouth, then pressed his [Hardened] finger against the boy's throat as he asked in a hostile tone.

"Live... I want to live. Don't kill me!"

Aoba didn't have the nerve to kill anyone right now, but that didn't stop him from using this method to frighten the other boy.

"If you want to live, then behave. Whatever I tell you to do, you do it. Understand?"

The little brat had been thoroughly beaten into submission and hurriedly nodded. Though their little group often bullied others, when had they ever been this ruthless? Drawing blood at the slightest provocation?

Aoba's ruthlessness was on an entirely different level from theirs.

Seeing that the kid was being cooperative, Aoba wasn't worried about him pretending to obey while secretly resisting. He released him and whispered, "Which rooms are the others staying in? Take me there now. We'll start with whoever's alone or in the smallest group. If you dare try anything, then just wait for someone to come take you away from here tomorrow."

The unlucky kid, now completely cowed, naturally understood that Aoba intended to use the same trick again—break them apart one by one and turn them against each other.

But even if someone lent him two more sets of guts, he still wouldn't dare refuse!

Thus, the two small figures immediately slipped out of the room furtively.

And just as they headed off to beat someone up, a dark figure flashed past outside the window.

"Vindictive, ill-tempered, and rather bold. Should we stop him?"

"No need. Do you think these war orphans are as harmless as they appear? Without some ability, they would've died long ago. Let's first see what he wants to do. As long as he isn't a spy sent by another village, someone will naturally discipline him no matter how bad his temperament is."

"True enough. But I'm not taking a mission like this again. It's boring as hell."