Ashes (Part 1)

A sneak attack was an efficient means of inflicting casualties, but repeatedly resorting to deception and sneak attacks was a little lacking in martial virtue.

Fortunately, no one among ninja cared about martial virtue, and victory or defeat on the battlefield was not determined by the quality of one's character.

Hagane Zhen had already been stronger than the sole remaining enemy, and with Hagane Kenshin's cooperation...

Just as he had said, with two against one, the enemy's fate was easy to imagine.

The enemy's corpse lay before Hagane Zhen, his face still wearing an unwilling expression. Hagane Kenshin crouched beside the body, collecting some ninja tools from it to replenish what he had used earlier.

"Two-thirds... We've dealt with more than half the enemies. Next, we should go support Ryunosuke's side. I wonder if they'll give us a chance to wipe them all out."

The answer was most likely "no."

"Yes, Clan Leader."

Kenshin rose to his feet with a tense expression. At that moment, his heart held both the clarity of having survived a desperate situation and the frayed nerves of facing something incomprehensible, along with a measure of confusion and helplessness.

He could not understand why Hagane Zhen's strength had suddenly increased, much less how Hagane Zhen had annihilated every enemy he encountered.

Could it have been that Transformation Jutsu sneak-attack method just now? Was Transformation Jutsu really such a convenient ninjutsu, with such a high ceiling and overwhelming practicality? That defied common sense.

But regardless of how he felt, he followed behind Hagane Zhen as the two headed one after the other to support the third battlefield.

Unfortunately, enemies were not tools that would faithfully execute a programmed input. The battlefield was dynamic, and with reconnaissance methods available, they could not possibly ignore the shifting balance of power on the field.

The final enemy team had long-range intelligence supplied by a Reconnaissance Ninja, and they had already realized that their other two teams had been completely wiped out.

Therefore, by the time Hagane Zhen and the others arrived near Hagane Ryunosuke, the final five enemies had already retreated ahead of them.

Although they had no way of knowing exactly what had happened, the rapid disappearance of their comrades' Chakra signals was beyond doubt—and all ten signals had vanished.

This meant they had encountered an unimaginable turn of events on the battlefield. Even their captain, the strongest among them, had been dealt with first. In other words, those who remained had no ability to resist at all.

If you couldn't win, you ran. Making that decision did not even require intelligence, only instinct. Abandoning the mission and choosing to retreat was inevitable—the only correct choice.

Hagane Zhen came to Hagane Ryunosuke's side and found that he was seriously injured. His left leg had several severe penetrating wounds, and he was losing blood rapidly. The injuries needed immediate treatment.

If they had not arrived in time, Ryunosuke would most likely have died here.

Ryunosuke's face was similarly filled with disbelief. He had been prepared to die, yet the enemies had withdrawn of their own accord.

Hagane Zhen and Kenshin had arrived, which meant the Clan Leader had truly completed the planned objective of eliminating the enemies. But... how... how was that possible?

"Clan Leader, should we pursue them? The enemies are about to leave my line of sight," Kenshin called down from atop a large tree.

Wiping out the enemy was naturally the best option. That would prevent intelligence from leaking and further protect their location.

Once these enemies escaped, Hagane Zhen's group might soon face another round of retaliation.

Although they had eliminated ten enemies, the other side's overall strength remained undiminished and was still far greater than theirs.

Hagane Zhen considered it carefully, then ultimately shook his head.

"Forget it. We're not in any condition to pursue them."

Everyone on their side was injured, one of them requiring urgent treatment. More importantly, the enemies had already retreated first. Trying to track them by sight alone could not overcome a Reconnaissance Ninja's precise evasive guidance.

"They may bring back even more enemies." Though he understood that Hagane Zhen's decision was rational, Kenshin could not help offering a reminder.

"I know. We may face even fiercer retaliation next, but... this time was actually their best opportunity. Yet even under these circumstances, they failed to achieve their goal of wiping us out. They'll have even less chance of doing so from now on."

"We need to relocate again... As long as we seize even a brief chance to catch our breath, they won't be worth fearing."

Both companions sensed a certain confidence in Hagane Zhen's words, and they could only choose to trust him.

In truth, they both knew their side had little ability to pursue the enemy. They had simply seen an opportunity to wipe them all out, only to be forced to give it up. It was hard not to feel unwilling and regretful.

Hagane Zhen truly was no longer worried about this enemy, because at this point, he had begun to believe that his growth potential had surpassed theirs. Under such circumstances, time was instead on his side.

It was rather tragic. The reason the Hagane Clan had suffered such tremendous casualties before—nearly to the point of extermination—was because they had chosen to defend their village to the death.

Now, they had become homeless wandering ninja, able only to drift constantly through the ninja world. Yet their movements had become more flexible, and they were harder to track down.

Driving back this attack meant the enemy had lost their trail. Finding this small ninja clan again would not be easy for them.

"Don't be too pessimistic," Hagane Zhen continued as he treated his companions' wounds. "Even if we encounter the Tsugawa Clan again and are forced to fight them, the outcome of that battle is still uncertain."

Kenshin came to Hagane Zhen's side at that moment. Hearing this, he said, "That's right. There's no need to worry too much. Maybe before we run into them again, the Tsugawa Clan will be wiped out by some other ninja clan."

Hagane Zhen glanced sideways at him and barely held back his retort. Is what I said the same as what you said? I meant we'd rely on ourselves—how did you hear that as relying on luck?

But he had to admit that what Kenshin said could very well become reality. In this era, was exterminating a clan really such an inconvenient matter? A medium-sized ninja clan might be perfectly fine today, only to disappear completely tomorrow.

After stopping Ryunosuke's bleeding, Hagane Zhen bandaged the wound on his own shoulder as well. The three rested briefly, then went to search for the other clansmen.

To be honest, the remaining Hagane ninja had no ability to protect themselves at all. Forget enemy ninja—even accidentally encountering some wild beast in the forest could cause them unimaginable losses.

Fortunately, they were not unlucky to that extent. Hagane Zhen and the others soon found the rest of the clansmen. They were hidden deep within the dense forest and perfectly safe.

After briefly explaining what had just happened, the group set off once more, relocating in a direction away from this place—exactly which direction did not matter, as long as they left as quickly as possible.