Battle Again

The smoke gradually dispersed. Looking at the pool of blood on the ground, Hinata braced herself against the earth and panted heavily.

The effects of the Soldier Pill had already worn off. She had exhausted far too much strength just now, and the backlash was setting in.

On top of that, she was too young, so the backlash was even more severe. Her whole body felt limp and weak, like overcooked noodles.

This was Hinata's first time facing a real battle where her opponents truly wanted to kill her. Every pair of eyes had been filled with anger and hatred, only to turn fearful the moment she was about to kill them.

Hinata had not used any particularly cruel Ninjutsu. Most of the corpses were still intact, yet she could not stop her stomach from churning. No one could remain unmoved by life vanishing before their eyes.

"Damn it! What happened here? Did those useless bastards run off with my goods?"

However, just after she vomited up the last scraps of food in her stomach, she heard angry curses coming from the distance.

The reinforcements the bandits had been waiting for arrived late—or rather, at just the right time.

"What's going on? Did they perish together with the enemy?" The leader was short and skinny, surrounded by quite a few burly men.

"They even used Explosive Tags. Be careful. They might have run into a ninja," he continued.

The group cautiously entered the site of the recent battle. Seeing the miserable scene, everyone frowned, but when they saw that the valuable goods were still on the carts, a trace of delight appeared on their faces.

With so many valuable things, every person missing meant one more share for themselves.

"One little girl is missing," said the man who had brought the news. "The one I told you about."

"A little girl? You think a little girl could have done this? Are you kidding?" someone cursed.

"But she was holding a forehead protector!" he argued. "That's why I ran to find you."

"Maybe one of her elders came and killed our men. Shouldn't we get out of here quickly? The Land of Fire may be rich, but those Konoha ninjas are vicious too," someone loudly suggested.

But the leader raised a hand, signaling everyone to be quiet. Then he made several hand signs on the spot, ordering them to pour oil and set the place on fire.

"Boss!" someone shouted.

"Shut up!" Though he was small in stature, his voice was deep and imposing. He frowned as he stared at the subordinate who dared disobey him.

"Boss, if we burn it all, what are the brothers supposed to live on? Fresh air?"

Apparently, more than one person objected. They were bandits, after all, counting on this shipment to make a fortune. How could they possibly handle it as their boss said?

"Ninjas have Transformation Jutsu!" the boss shouted furiously. "If one of them transformed into the goods and you carry it back, we're finished!"

"Not only will we lose this shipment, we'll lose the shipment up in the mountains too!"

"But there's no need to burn it, Boss." Someone still felt terribly pained. Looking at the scattered handicrafts, many of which were undamaged, he thought that even picking through them would still bring in a great deal of money. Having lived a hard life for so long, he could not bear it.

"Then you go up there! Take a spear and stab every last one of them! See if there's a ninja hiding inside who'll jump out and kill you!" the boss roared, glaring fiercely.

No one objected after that. They took out lamp oil and poured it down from the hillside, quickly covering the entire battlefield.

"Light it!"

Thick black smoke rose into the sky, and everything around them burst into fierce flames.

"Boss?" someone said as he watched the fire, resentment in his heart. There was no ninja using Transformation Jutsu in there. All those good things their brothers had risked their lives to steal had been reduced to ashes.

"Hmph. Let's go." He turned his head away, refusing to look at the flames.

But the flames showed him no such courtesy. A shrieking sound tore through the air from within the blaze, making his face go pale. It was a shuriken with an Explosive Tag tied to it.

He yanked a burly man over and used him as a shield, then dropped to the ground. Though he was not directly hit, the shockwave still injured his internal organs.

He spat out a mouthful of blood. Without bothering to check his own injuries or anyone else's condition, and without even having time to draw a weapon, he took off at a sprint.

Hinata's little face was blackened with soot. At first, she had wanted to use Transformation Jutsu to hide among the carts, but then she remembered the barrels of strange liquid on them and her already depleted chakra, so she chose to hide in the treetops.

Though the smoke had nearly choked her, these trees had been left behind by the First Hokage. They were tall and thick enough that the fire had trouble reaching them for the moment. With little chakra left, she could only use an Explosive Tag.

Several meals' worth of grilled meat were gone.

But the effect was unexpectedly good. It had nearly wiped out most of the enemies in one go. The only problem was that the scene was somewhat bloody, making her stomach churn again. Fortunately, there had long been nothing left in it.

Even those who had not been blown to death could only groan where they lay, but one man was running incredibly fast.

She leaped up and gave chase.

The bandit leader ran unsteadily, yet he was not slow at all. Hinata threw several Senbon while chasing him, but none struck their target.

After taking two more steps, she suddenly stopped. Right before her boots was a transparent thread, fishing line used by anglers. It was extremely tough and made excellent trap material.

Seeing that she had not stepped into the trap, the bandit leader stopped as well and grinned viciously. He stomped hard on the ground and drew the short blade at his waist.

After that brief chase, he had already judged the little girl's strength. She was a budding beauty and had the makings of a fine ninja.

With sharp senses and expensive Explosive Tags for protection, she had to be some clan's little princess. At such a young age, she had stolen an elder's forehead protector and run out to play ninja without even having chakra.

He ought to teach her properly what the adult world was like.

As cold light flashed, he pinched a nearly transparent fishing line between his fingers. It was the foundation that allowed this bandit gang to rob and plunder, and it was also his unique specialty.

Though it was not as miraculous as Ninjutsu, the ninjas who had died to his curved blade and strange fishing line had already been carved into his sword hilt.

He thought his full-force slash would force Hinata back. With a flick of the fishing line in his hand, he could trigger a trap at just the right moment, and this little girl would surely be pierced through the heart by a barrage of arrows.

Yet he had not expected Hinata to meet him head-on. Did she really think a tiny shuriken could contend with his curved blade? Did those skinny arms compare to his battle-hardened limbs?

However, Hinata shook off the robe covering her body, revealing the Ninja sword hidden beneath it, and used the only move her teacher had taught her...