Asura

In this world, an Asura should not shed tears.

Uchiha Zhuang looked at the man, his heart filled with curiosity and respect. The final respect I can show you is to stop calling you Funu. "Will you not go and say goodbye to your wife, children, and the elderly? I am not as petty as you imagine; go and say your farewells." The man's dull eyes flickered, and he lowered his head, saying, "This humble one is but a weed, mere excrement. I dare not harbor any thoughts regarding the lord's property." Uchiha Zhuang began to lament internally; chaotic times truly produce heroes. This man is a person of substance; this time, I will do my best to keep you safe.

Night slowly descended, and a chill permeated the forest, filled with the chirping of insects and birds. Funu pointed toward a pitch-black cave entrance ahead and said, "My lord samurai, this is where those bandits usually sleep after their raids, though they do not always stay here. This stone cave is about seventy or eighty ping in area, but the only place one can stand is the thirty-odd ping of ground in the center; the rest is filled with uneven rocks and debris. There is a small, hidden passage inside that leads to an escape exit outside. In the past, ninjas from the Land of Rivers came to deal with these bandits, but right here in this cave, the ninjas were surrounded and killed by the bandits. Since then, no one has ever come here again." Uchiha Zhuang did not commit, asking instead, "How can you be certain I can eliminate these bandits?" "My lord, based on my intuition. Even if my intuition is wrong, it does not matter; death comes sooner or later, so why not seize the chance to change one's fate?" "Do you wish to live?" Uchiha Zhuang asked seemingly casually. Funu's expression changed drastically, and he began to bow and apologize incessantly. Ignoring him, Uchiha Zhuang observed the terrain for a while before beginning to set traps. He first piled a large amount of branches and leaves inside the cave; hung tripwires in hidden spots throughout the surrounding forest; and cut down lush branches to cover the area. Uchiha Zhuang tried his best to increase the obstructions in this zone. The forest was already dark at night, and by artificially adding cover, the area became even darker, almost like walking with one's eyes covered. Yet, in the darkness, Uchiha Zhuang held an absolute advantage. Furthermore, he could utilize the dense trees and overgrown weeds to maximize the sustained burning power of the Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique. With the forest on three sides and a cave on the fourth, if the bandits were terrified, they would surely rush into the cave, and the release of ninjutsu in such an enclosed space would be amplified exponentially! Death would arrive fierce and scorching!

Setting up the entire large-scale environment, though merely piling objects and laying tripwires, kept Uchiha Zhuang busy for a long time. Finally, at the cave's hidden escape exit, Uchiha Zhuang used up all his steel wires and caltrops to set the traps. Once he could vaguely perceive the clamor from the dilapidated village, the two quickly returned. Uchiha Zhuang held Funu's hand, crouching in the bushes at the village entrance, watching the scene of fire raging before them. Against the backdrop of flames consuming the ruins, the bandits, wielding various weapons, looked like evil ghosts crawling out of hell, slashing wantonly and killing for pleasure, not even sparing the infants. The fire in Uchiha Zhuang's heart began to burn again, slow and intense. Now was not the time to rush out; his current strength was not enough to defeat these dozens of evil ghosts head-on. Uchiha Zhuang's anger accumulated within. Funu lowered his head again, his legs trembling, muttering something incoherently. "You have already died once, you are already alone, what are you afraid of? Afraid of death? From the moment you abandoned your ancestral surname, you became a weed, mere excrement." Uchiha Zhuang pressed his hand on Funu's head, staring straight into his eyes. "I will say this one last time: do you want to live?" Funu looked in terror at those calm, pitch-black pupils, which seemed to possess a magic calling to him. Funu gradually calmed down and performed a dogeza before Uchiha Zhuang. "This humble one is about to face death; I wish the lord a long and peaceful life." Funu understood that only by sacrificing himself could his wife and daughter survive.

Funu hunched his back and darted to the bushes several dozen meters away, then rushed out, roaring in fury at the scene of sin covering the ground. Perhaps this was the angriest and loudest roar of his entire life: "You pack of wild dogs! Look here! I am a noble! I am Fujiwara Kobayashi, I am—" A short, sharp sound followed, and then silence. Uchiha Zhuang saw it clearly; an arrow had struck Funu right in the chest. It was this precise shot that ended Funu's roar and his humiliated life. Funu, or Fujiwara Kobayashi, turned his head with difficulty, his throat moving toward Uchiha Zhuang's direction, before falling to the ground and being swallowed by the bushes. Uchiha Zhuang understood his meaning and sighed silently. Looking into the distance, the bandits in the village were moving toward the entrance. Vaguely, he could see people carrying Sashimono Flags running behind the bandit ranks. Indeed, some ambitious figures were mixed in. Sashimono Flags were banners used by great families or daimyo on the battlefield to distinguish friend from foe through unique patterns and colors, carried by their soldiers. Uchiha Zhuang realized he had been exposed; it was Funu's turn before death that had revealed his position. Looking at the bright moon, Uchiha Zhuang felt a secret tension. A group of howling bandits and a small squad of disciplined regular soldiers chased after the youth sprinting ahead. Along the way, Uchiha Zhuang turned back and threw several shuriken. The bandits, never expecting the timid "rat" to dare a sneak attack, saw four or five of their own injured instantly. Now, the mob was incensed, swearing to hack this "rat" into dozens of pieces to serve as a side dish for their wine.

Uchiha Zhuang was the first to rush into the prepared trap, flashing into the cover and vanishing from sight. The bandits charged in blindly, following behind. Only when they reached the depths of the trap did they recognize the cave where they usually spent the night. Looking at the pitch-black entrance, for some reason, a chill ran down their spines. They decided to enter in several waves to capture the damned "rat." Watching the mob hold torches and walk cautiously into the cave, Uchiha Zhuang was not surprised; the intelligence of crude, violent bandits was generally worrying, relying only on a streak of ruthlessness and a little swordsmanship or blade technique to commit evil. The truly dangerous one in this operation was the soldier commander who had shot Funu dead with a single arrow. When those dozen or so men reached the vicinity of the trap, the soldier commander clearly sensed something was wrong. The surrounding trees provided too much cover, and visibility was severely obstructed; once inside, it was essentially like walking into a snare. A trap! It had to be said that this Ashigaru Commander still possessed some brains (an Ashigaru Commander usually led no more than thirty men). Seeing this squad being extremely cautious and refusing to enter the trap, Uchiha Zhuang decided not to wait any longer. He turned to deal with the dozens of violent bandits; once those inside suffered heavy casualties, this squad would surely enter.