"They're here!"
Noticing Taiichi's reaction, Yohei and Saori both gave him questioning looks.
"The worst-case scenario happened," Taiichi said with a sigh.
"No way!" Yohei could hardly believe it.
Saori was just as shocked, covering her mouth with a hand.
"Three more people arrived after we left. My Shadow Clone overheard their conversation with the village chief. This village isn't harboring bandits. It is a bandit den." Taiichi was astonished by their methods, too. They had abandoned their lives as ordinary people, and the entire village had turned to banditry. There were strange things every year, but this year seemed especially full of them.
"Taiichi, what do we do now? Are we really going to kill everyone in the village?" Saori asked, unable to stomach the idea.
"We have no choice. That's what the mission orders demand. We're ninja. The mission has to come first." Taiichi steadied himself and spoke firmly.
Though Yohei and Saori still hesitated, they eventually nodded.
"Of course, to be safe, we need to make one final check." Taiichi looked at them. "Do either of you know genjutsu?"
At Taiichi's question, Saori naturally turned toward Yohei. Seeing that, Taiichi looked at him as well.
Yohei stared back at them in confusion. "Wait, why are you both looking at me? I never said I knew genjutsu!"
"Isn't the Uchiha's Sharingan good at genjutsu?" Saori asked with endearing cluelessness, her eyes utterly innocent and utterly vacant.
"The Sharingan does help with learning genjutsu, but I've never learned any!" Yohei said helplessly.
"Then I'll do it. I'm not very good at it, but I have learned a little." Since neither of them knew any, Taiichi had to handle it himself. As he spoke, he glanced at his panel.
``` [Yin Release Nature Transformation Lv3 (24/400)]
[Genjutsu: C-rank Tree Binding