Bandits

Life in Anbu was dreadfully dull.

Every day, he had to go to the training grounds and practice with his squadmates. Even though Shiraishi Yoshijo said he was only a medical ninja, Hatake Sakumo didn't let him off the hook.

Hanari excelled at both Wind and Earth Release, and was especially skilled in Wind Release techniques.

Shincho, meanwhile, was a genjutsu expert.

When she revealed her Three Tomoe Sharingan, Shiraishi Yoshijo knew she was a kunoichi from the Uchiha Clan.

He didn't react much to that, and, of course, had no interest in getting close to her.

He hadn't forgotten Shiraishi Eizawa's warning to be extremely careful around the Uchiha.

Besides, he was suspicious about why an Uchiha had appeared in Anbu.

The Uchiha should have been a clan the village had always ostracized.

Anbu was the heart of Konoha. It was strange enough that an Uchiha would be there at all.

And she had happened to be assigned to his squad. It was impossible not to read into that.

He had asked Hatake Sakumo about it in private. Hatake Sakumo had said it was Lord Hokage's arrangement, which only made the whole thing seem even stranger.

There was no way he could ask Hiruzen Sarutobi about something like this, so he had to keep his doubts to himself.

As for Hanari's uncle, Kawaigawa Aonobu, he was a veteran of Anbu.

There was no need to ask; it had to be Takemoto Shuichi's arrangement. He was probably there to protect him.

After all, Anbu missions were highly dangerous.

It wouldn't be surprising if he died on one someday.

This adjustment period lasted a little over a month. At last, Hatake Sakumo received their first mission from Lord Hokage.

Eliminate a bandit gang.

Shiraishi Yoshijo understood what Hatake Sakumo was getting at.

He wanted Shiraishi Yoshijo to get used to killing first, before taking on other missions.

Shiraishi Yoshijo had no complaints. Ever since he'd come to this world, he'd been well protected.

He'd barely seen any combat, let alone killed anyone.

Standing outside the Konoha Gate, Shiraishi Yoshijo gazed at the endless forest ahead, his heart lifting.

It was his first time leaving Konoha. He could almost smell freedom.

Three hours later, they reached their destination.

The other three members of the squad all looked at him.

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

Half an hour later, the butterflies returned.

"Their camp is in the mountains. It'll take about ten minutes to get there, but there probably aren't any survivors."

"Move out!"

Hatake Sakumo waved a hand, and the other three immediately followed.

Soon, the four of them reached the bandits' camp.

Corpses lay before them.

Hatake Sakumo started forward to investigate, but Shiraishi Yoshijo stopped him.

He took out three gas masks and handed them over. "I sprinkled poison on the butterflies' wings. It hasn't fully dispersed yet."

Once they had put on the masks, they entered the camp.

Shiraishi Yoshijo nudged one of the bandits' corpses with his foot, rolling it onto its back.

Black blood had seeped from the bandit's nose and ears, and a stench of rot hit them.

Shiraishi Yoshijo sighed.

Don't blame me. That's just how this world works. If the weak choose to do evil, what other end can they expect?

His first time killing someone didn't feel special. It was just like seeing a dead body in the hospital.

He still felt as calm as ever.

He had poisoned every bandit in the camp.

Shiraishi Yoshijo had spent two years working in a hospital, after all. Making some poison powder had been ridiculously easy.

He'd sprinkled it on the Summoning Butterflies' wings. They flew silently above the camp, scattering the powder without a sound.

In just ten minutes, no one in the entire camp was left alive.

This method of attack wasn't his invention. It was recorded in the family archives.

The archives even listed several poisons that could be used for this kind of attack.

Those poisons were vicious. Shiraishi Yoshijo hadn't used them; he'd made his own poison powder instead. After all, they were only a bunch of bandits.

"Forty-three in total. No survivors. The primary target is confirmed. Mission complete."

Hatake Sakumo looked at Shiraishi Yoshijo. This wasn't at all what he'd expected.

Shiraishi Yoshijo shrugged. "Captain, you weren't expecting me to fight them with a blade, were you? I'm a medical ninja. My Taijutsu is terrible."

"As long as the mission is complete, that's all that matters. This was efficient, too. Combat should be elegant. Getting covered in blood while killing people is too gruesome for me."

Hatake Sakumo glared at him. "If your Taijutsu is terrible, train harder. If you want to develop that wire-assisted Body Flicker Technique of yours further, you'll need a much stronger body."

Shiraishi Yoshijo smacked his lips. Hatake Sakumo was usually gentle, but when it came to combat, he became extremely strict.

He already had an idea for developing Lightning Body Flicker, but he hadn't put it into practice yet.

The Thunder Butterflies he raised already carried Lightning Release Chakra. If he could use Lightning Body Flicker with their help—

It might not match Flying Thunder God in terms of distance, but in close combat, it would definitely be just as good.

But, as Hatake Sakumo had said, Lightning Body Flicker put a tremendous strain on the body.

Right now, he could use it at most eight times. Any more, and his body wouldn't be able to take it.

If he wanted to match Flying Thunder God's speed and use Lightning Body Flicker without limits, he would have to build up his physical strength.

He already had some ideas for how to do that, but it would take a lot of experiments.

Thinking of this, he glanced toward a corner of the camp, his gaze turning strange.

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

After returning to Konoha and reporting the mission complete, Shiraishi Yoshijo went home.

He used the Reverse Summoning Technique to reach Butterfly Habitat Valley. In the clearing, he saw ten bandits tied up.

They were all unconscious. Shiraishi Yoshijo took out an antidote and began treating them for the poison.

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

"What did you bring these useless people here for?"

"Experiments."

Mei paused, then smiled.

"You really are gifted. I'm growing more and more fond of you."

Shiraishi Yoshijo turned to look at her. "Can you transfer their life force into me?"

Mei fell silent.

Shiraishi Yoshijo smiled. "So your ability has limitations after all. Want me to guess what they are?"

"No need. If you're asking that, you must already know."

"I can only control the life force of people who have Butterfly Seeds inside their bodies."

Shiraishi Yoshijo had long suspected that an ability to control life force was far too powerful to have no limitations. That was why he'd tested her.

Still, knowing the truth didn't make him feel any better. He had a Butterfly Seed inside his own body.

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

Shiraishi Yoshijo sighed. His gaze shifted to the bandits, who were beginning to stir.

"If you put Butterfly Seeds into their bodies now, could you control their life force right away?"

Mei's expression darkened. "Do you have to pry into everything?"

"I'm just curious about that ability. After all, it could make someone immortal."

"Are you that afraid of dying?"

"Isn't that why you drain people's life force? Because you're afraid of dying?"

Mei furrowed her brows and pondered for a while, then sighed.

"Since you want to know so badly, I'll tell you. It's actually not that complicated. If I eat them, I absorb all their life force."

Eat people?

Shiraishi Yoshijo's eyelids began to twitch violently. He looked at Mei warily.

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

"Pigs in a pen think the same way. But do you humans spare them because they think that?"

Mei gave him a wicked smile. "Every species can absorb life force. Eating is just what you humans call it. The more you eat, the faster you grow."

"It's the same for other species. I've simply enhanced that function. If you studied it, you might be able to develop the same ability."

Shiraishi Yoshijo rubbed his chin and frowned.

Enhancing the ability to absorb life force—if you did that to a human, wouldn't it mean enhancing digestion?

His expression slowly turned odd as he recalled the Ninjutsu he had developed for Shiraishi Eizawa: eating a lot, then digesting it quickly.

Could he use that Ninjutsu to live forever?

No, when he developed the technique, he had tested it on his own body. If that were possible, he would have noticed.

So what was the problem?

Come to think of it, his body had been left weak from all the strain of developing the Ninjutsu. Could that be why he hadn't noticed?

It seemed he would have to add rapid-digestion Ninjutsu to his research plans, too. He would call it the Digestion Technique for now.

The bandits began to wake up. They didn't scream as he'd expected; they simply watched Shiraishi Yoshijo and Mei warily.

After exchanging glances, a man in his thirties spoke up. "Who are you? And what is this place?"

Shiraishi Yoshijo was thinking. Annoyed, he snapped, "Shut up!"

"What did you say, brat? Untie us right now, or our boss will find you soon. Let's see if you don't piss your pants then."

"Yeah, hurry up and untie us. Maybe we'll let you go if we're in a good mood."

Shiraishi Yoshijo sighed. "Are you finished?"

"First, congratulations on becoming my first test subjects. I'm going to make good use of your bodies to complete my research."

"As for your boss, I remember his name was Chang or something. He's already dead."

The bandits looked at each other, then started shouting again. "Impossible! Our bo—"

They're noisy.

Shiraishi Yoshijo used Body Flicker to appear in front of the bandit who had spoken, then struck him in the throat with his palm, forcing him to swallow the rest of his words.

"I'm not interested in what you think, what you've done, or what happens to you. Keep making trouble, and I'll send you to join your boss."

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