Bandits

Life after joining the Anbu was quite dull and monotonous.

Every day was spent at the training grounds honing coordination with the squad members, and even though Shiraishi Yoshijo insisted he was merely a medical ninja, Hatake Sakumo did not let him off the hook.

Hanari was proficient in both Earth and Wind Release, with a particular specialty in Wind-style Ninjutsu.

Shincho was a master of Genjutsu.

When she revealed those three-tomoe Sharingan, Shiraishi Yoshijo knew immediately that this woman was a ninja from the Uchiha clan.

Shiraishi Yoshijo had no particular reaction to this, and naturally, he had no intention of getting close to her.

He had not forgotten the warning Shiraishi Eizawa gave him to be extremely careful around the Uchiha.

Moreover, he harbored doubts as to why an Uchiha would be in the Anbu.

The Uchiha had always been a clan ostracized by the village.

The Anbu was the heart of Konoha; it was incredibly strange for an Uchiha to appear here.

The fact that she happened to be in his own squad made it impossible for him not to overthink it.

He had asked Hatake Sakumo about it in private, and Hatake Sakumo said it was an arrangement made by the Hokage, which only made it feel even more bizarre.

He couldn't possibly ask Hiruzen Sarutobi about such matters, so he could only bury his suspicions deep in his heart.

As for Kawaigawa Aonobu, he was the uncle of Kawaigawa Rumi and a veteran in the Anbu.

There was no need to ask to know that this was an arrangement by Takemoto Shuichi, likely to serve as someone to protect him.

After all, Anbu missions carried a high degree of danger.

It wouldn't be strange if he were to die in action one day.

This adjustment period lasted for about a month before Hatake Sakumo finally received their first mission from Hiruzen Sarutobi.

To wipe out a group of bandits.

Hmm, Shiraishi Yoshijo understood what Hatake Sakumo meant.

He wanted him to see blood first before taking on other missions.

Shiraishi Yoshijo had no complaints; ever since coming to this world, he had been well-protected.

He hadn't even experienced many battles, let alone killed anyone.

Standing outside the gates of Konoha, Shiraishi Yoshijo looked toward the endless forest ahead, feeling a surge of joy.

This was his first time leaving Konoha, and he could smell the scent of freedom.

Three hours later, they arrived at their destination.

The other three members of the squad looked at him.

Shiraishi Yoshijo shrugged, and Summoning Butterflies began to fly out from his sleeves.

Half an hour later, the Summoning Butterflies returned.

"Their camp is set up in the mountains, about ten minutes away, but there shouldn't be any living people left."

"Move out!"

With a wave of Hatake Sakumo's hand, the three of them followed immediately.

Soon, the four reached the bandit camp.

What appeared before them were corpses scattered everywhere.

Hatake Sakumo moved to inspect them, but Shiraishi Yoshijo stopped him.

He took out three gas masks, handed them over, and said, "I sprinkled poison on the butterflies' wings; the toxins haven't fully dissipated yet."

After putting on the gas masks, they entered the camp.

Shiraishi Yoshijo kicked a bandit's corpse with his foot, turning it face up.

Black blood flowed from the bandit's nose and ears, and a foul, fishy stench assaulted them.

Shiraishi Yoshijo sighed.

Don't blame me; this is how the world is. When the weak choose to do evil, what other outcome could there be?

He felt nothing special about killing for the first time; it was just like seeing a dead body at the hospital.

He maintained his composure.

Every bandit in this camp had been poisoned to death by him.

Shiraishi Yoshijo had spent two years in the hospital, so concocting some poison powder was incredibly simple for him.

By sprinkling it on the wings of the Summoning Butterflies, he had silently spread the poison powder while flying over the camp.

In just ten minutes, there wasn't a living soul left in the entire camp.

This combat method was not his own invention; it was recorded in his family's archives.

The archives even provided several types of poisons for this specific tactic.

Those poisons were quite vicious, so Shiraishi Yoshijo didn't use them; he had concocted his own powder, as they were, after all, just a group of bandits.

"A total of forty-three people, no survivors. The primary target has been confirmed. Mission accomplished."

Hatake Sakumo glanced at Shiraishi Yoshijo; this was not what he had expected.

Shiraishi Yoshijo shrugged his shoulders: "Captain, you wouldn't want me to go toe-to-toe with them using a blade, would you? I'm a medical ninja, and my taijutsu is terrible."

"As long as the mission is completed, that's all that matters. This is efficient. Besides, combat should be elegant; getting covered in blood while killing people is too gruesome and doesn't suit me."

Hatake Sakumo glared at him in annoyance: "If your taijutsu is poor, then work hard to train it. If you want to further develop that Body Flicker Technique you use with wire strings, the demands on your body will become very high."

Shiraishi Yoshijo clicked his tongue. Hatake Sakumo was usually gentle in daily interactions, but he became very strict whenever the topic turned to combat.

He already had ideas regarding the development of the Lightning Body Flicker, though he hadn't put them into action yet.

The Thunder Butterfly he raised naturally carried lightning-attribute chakra. If he could utilize the Thunder Butterfly, he could perform the Lightning Body Flicker.

Perhaps it wouldn't match the Flying Thunder God Technique in terms of travel distance, but in close-quarters combat, it would definitely be no less effective.

However, just as Hatake Sakumo said, the Lightning Body Flicker placed a heavy burden on the body.

He could currently use it at most eight times; any more than that and his body wouldn't be able to withstand it.

If he wanted to reach the speed of the Flying Thunder God, he had to increase his physical strength to use the Lightning Body Flicker without restriction.

He currently had ideas on how to improve his physical strength, but it would require a large number of experiments.

Thinking of this, he looked toward a certain part of the camp, his gaze revealing an eerie glint.

There were more than just forty-three people in this camp.

After returning to Konoha and completing the mission debriefing, Shiraishi Yoshijo went home.

Using the Reverse Summoning Technique, he arrived at the Butterfly Habitat Valley and saw ten bandits tied up in the plaza.

The bandits were all unconscious, so Shiraishi Yoshijo took out the antidote and began to detoxify them.

Mei appeared behind him, glanced at the bandits, and lost interest.

"Why bring this trash here?"

"Experiments."

Mei paused for a moment, then a smile appeared on the corners of her lips.

"Your aptitude is indeed good; I'm becoming more and more fond of you."

Shiraishi Yoshijo turned back to look at her and asked: "Can you transfer their life force to me?"

Mei fell silent.

Shiraishi Yoshijo smiled: "It seems your ability has its limitations too. Do you want me to guess what they are?"

"No need. Since you've said this, you must already know."

"I can only manipulate the life force of those who have a Butterfly Seed raised within their bodies."

Shiraishi Yoshijo had long felt that the ability to manipulate life force was simply too heaven-defying to be without limitations, which was why he had probed her.

But knowing the result for certain still made him feel uneasy, because he had a Butterfly Seed inside his own body.

In other words, his life had been held in Mei's hands for a long time.

Shiraishi Yoshijo sighed and looked at the bandits who were gradually waking up, his gaze strange.

"If I put a Butterfly Seed into their bodies now, would you be able to manipulate their life force immediately?"

Mei's expression darkened: "Do you have to get to the bottom of everything?"

"I'm just too curious about that ability. After all, that ability can grant someone eternal life."

"Are you that afraid of death?"

"Isn't your absorption of life force also because you're afraid of death?"

Mei frowned and pondered for a while, then began to sigh.

"Since you want to know so badly, I'll tell you. Actually, it doesn't have to be that complicated. As long as I eat them, all of their life force will be absorbed by me."

Eat people?

Shiraishi Yoshijo's eyelids began to twitch wildly, and he looked at Mei with eyes full of vigilance.

"What's with that look? Just because you're human, you think I can't eat humans?"

"The pigs in the pen think the same way, but do you humans stop eating them just because they have those thoughts?"

Mei sneered: "The ability to absorb life force is something every species possesses. Eating—that seems to be the word you humans use. The more you eat, the faster you grow."

"Other species are the same. I've just strengthened that specific function. If you're willing to research it, perhaps you'll possess this ability too."

Shiraishi Yoshijo rubbed his chin with his hand, frowning in thought.

Strengthening the function of absorbing life force—if applied to a human, wouldn't that just be strengthening the digestive system?

His expression gradually became strange. He recalled the ninjutsu he had developed for Shiraishi Eizawa that involved consuming large amounts of food and then digesting it rapidly.

Could he use this kind of ninjutsu to achieve eternal life?

No, when he developed the ninjutsu, he used his own body. If such a possibility existed, he wouldn't have failed to notice it.

So, where exactly did the problem lie?

Come to think of it, my body had been constantly weakened back then due to developing Ninjutsu; could that be the reason I failed to notice it?

It seems this kind of rapid Digestion Technique needs to be added to my research plan; I'll start by naming it the Digestion Technique.

The bandits began to wake up, but they didn't scream or shout as expected; they simply stared at Shiraishi Yoshijo and Mei with great vigilance.

Exchanging glances, a man in his thirties spoke up: "Who are you people, and where is this place?"

Shiraishi Yoshijo was deep in thought and replied irritably upon hearing this: "Shut up!"

"What did you say, you brat? Untie our ropes immediately, or our leader will find you soon enough, and don't go wetting your pants when that happens."

"That's right, hurry up and untie us, and if we're in a good mood, we might just let you off the hook."

Shiraishi Yoshijo sighed: "Are you finished?"

"First of all, congratulations on becoming my first batch of test subjects; I will make good use of your bodies to complete my research."

"As for your leader, I remember his name was Chang or something—he's already dead."

The bandits looked at each other in dismay before starting to shout again: "Impossible, our lead—"

They really are noisy, Shiraishi Yoshijo thought as he used Body Flicker to appear in front of the speaking bandit, striking his throat with a palm and forcing him to swallow the rest of his words.

"I have no interest in your thoughts, your past, or your future. If you keep making a scene, I'll have no choice but to send you to meet your leader."

Seeing the bandits huddled together back-to-back, trembling in fear, Shiraishi Yoshijo nodded with satisfaction.