Only one of the three bandits had caught up with him.
He was a burly man, wielding a bloodstained steel sword in his right hand. A vicious scar at the corner of his right eye made his already cruel, savage face look even more brutal.
Sato Hideaka forced his still-ailing body onward, his short, weak legs carrying him as he ran desperately toward the forest ahead...
The scar-faced bandit followed close behind Sato Hideaka at an unhurried pace. He neither drew so close that Hideaka lost all hope nor fell so far back that Hideaka could feel safe. The steel sword in his hand constantly reminded Hideaka of the fear of death, like a cat toying with a mouse.
Perhaps ten minutes passed, perhaps half an hour, perhaps an hour...
Sato Hideaka had no idea how long he had been running. Sweat dripped from his forehead into his eyes, making them sting. His whole body was drenched, like a drowned rat, and he could no longer feel his feet. He just kept running mechanically.
The once-bright sunlight turned scorching. The naturally twisted branches seemed to beckon like the hands of death. Birdsong and the chirping of insects abruptly ceased, and everything fell silent--
The only sounds in the forest were the pounding of his heart, his heavy breathing, and the rustle of his feet trampling the ruined, yellowed, rotting leaves.
The trees were oddly shaped, and the roots of many thick trunks even rose above the ground. One root caught Sato Hideaka's weak feet, making him lose his balance and fall to the ground as his strength gave out!!
When he struggled to turn over, a huge shadow loomed above him. He looked up at a terrifying scar, a savage face, a sneer exposing its teeth, and a steel sword dripping with blood.
"Hey, the way you struggled for your life was a real treat for me. But the game's over now..."
Bloodthirsty excitement shone in the scar-faced bandit's eyes. He raised the sharp steel sword high with both hands. Just as he was about to bring it down and send Hideaka's head rolling...
A black shape shot through a gap in the leaves and struck the scar-faced bandit in the throat.
"Kh... kh..."
The steel sword fell to the ground. Clutching his bleeding throat, the scar-faced bandit dropped to his knees, making a strange "kh, kh" sound. A black kunai was embedded in his throat, half of it buried deep within.
His throat had been pierced. It was a fatal wound!
After two pained cries, the scar-faced bandit collapsed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of rotten, ruined dust!!
A woman with dark golden hair, glasses, and a black-and-white shrine maiden outfit leaped down from the treetop. Her eyes were calm and gentle, and the faint smile on her lips made her look like an angel.
"Are you all right?"
The woman's voice was very gentle. A faint green glow emanated from her right hand as she laid it lightly on Sato Hideaka's injured knee. A warm sensation spread from the wound, as if Hideaka were basking in gentle sunlight.
"Y-you... are you an angel?" Sato Hideaka murmured as he gazed at the woman.
Sunlight fell on her, forming a dazzling halo. The smiling woman seemed like an angel, saving Sato Hideaka from the brink of death.
"I'm not an angel. My name is Nonō. You can call me Big Sister Nonō."
Nonō withdrew her right hand, which had been glowing green. The scrape on Sato Hideaka's knee had healed completely, and new skin had already grown over it. Only the dried, dark-red blood on the surface of his knee suggested that it had ever been injured.
Nonō. That name sounded so familiar.
Sato Hideaka suddenly realized who she was. Nonō... Yakushi Nonō... Yakushi Nonō, a Root spy from Konoha, in the Land of Fire.
Yakushi Nonō was a Root spy from Konoha and the head of an orphanage. She was a Medical Ninja who could never abandon her kind, gentle nature. She had adopted the war orphan Yakushi Kabuto, but because Danzo had distrusted her and kept the truth from her, she had fought Kabuto during a spy mission and died.
Seeing Sato Hideaka staring at her without moving, Nonō assumed he was still stunned by what had just happened. She asked softly, "What's your name, where do you live, and why was that bandit chasing you?"
"My name is Sato Hideaka. Oh, Big Sister, bandits have come to the village. Please save Uncle Eisuke and the others..."
Sato Hideaka hurriedly explained. Those bandits were beasts, sparing neither the old nor the young, nor women and children. Though Yakushi Nonō was only a Medical Ninja, judging by the way she had just killed the scar-faced bandit, she was no pushover. Perhaps only Yakushi Nonō could save the village now.
Although Hideaka had only stayed in the village for a few days, he had felt the simple kindness of its people. Uncle Yoda Eisuke had spent over a week gathering herbs, boiling medicine, and making food to care for him, all to cure his illness. He had even neglected the farmwork at home.
Such a kind man didn't deserve to die like this!!
"Hideaka, show me the way. I'll take you there."
Once Sato Hideaka had pointed out the direction, Yakushi Nonō picked him up and leaped effortlessly onto a tree four meters high.
She touched a branch with her toes and shot through the forest like an arrow loosed from a bow. When she began to slow, she pushed off a tree trunk and surged forward again. The surroundings flew past as the two raced toward the village--
The distant village grew larger and larger. Sato Hideaka could now see groups of elderly people, women, and children gathered at the village entrance. They were all crouched on the ground, held captive by more than a dozen bandits armed with steel swords, katana, short swords...
Meanwhile, fifty or sixty able-bodied men in the village were fighting back with shovels, hoes, carrying poles, and stones. But against the bandits, who had rich combat experience and sharp weapons, they were steadily driven back, their resistance crumbling...
In just a short while, more than a dozen people had already been injured.
"Everybody stop!!"
Yakushi Nonō shouted. Holding Sato Hideaka in her left arm, she took three black kunai from her ninja pouch. With a slight flick of her wrist, she sent them flying toward the bandits.
"Clang! Crash!"
The three kunai struck their targets with pinpoint accuracy, knocking the steel swords from the hands of three bandits just as they were about to strike the villagers. The weapons hit the ground with three dull clanks against the stones--
"A ninja! It's a ninja..."
The villagers shouted, hope and excitement shining in their eyes. The bandits, by contrast, looked wary and afraid. They retreated again and again as Yakushi Nonō rushed toward them. It was clear that the profession of ninja carried great authority in this world.
"A n-ninja...?"
The bandits parted to make way, and a burly, one-eyed man wielding a kusarigama stepped forward. His only remaining eye was narrow and cold, like a venomous snake ready to strike. He looked to be the leader of the group.
Yakushi Nonō landed in front of the bound women, children, and elderly people. She set Sato Hideaka down and warily watched the burly, one-eyed man wielding the kusarigama.
"Do you want to save these lowlifes? If you can beat me, I'll order my men to let them go..." A sinister gleam shone in the one-eyed leader's remaining eye. His hoarse voice hissed like a snake, and a chilling aura suddenly emanated from him.
It was killing intent. No one could gather killing intent like that without having killed a hundred people!!