Mountain Bandits and War

7:00 AM.

After tidying up, the group prepared to set off once more toward the Hidden Grass Village.

But at that very moment, an unexpected turn of events occurred.

"Swish, swish, swish..." Several sounds of projectiles cutting through the air erupted from the bushes behind them, flying straight toward the group.

Fortunately, the first few shots were wide of the mark, striking only the cargo.

"Enemy attack!" Kamizuki Izumo reacted the fastest, instantly drawing a kunai to deflect the arrows aimed at the merchant caravan leader, and shouted loudly.

"Team 11, engage!"

Sugiyama Tetsu jolted, his sleepiness vanishing instantly. He drew his kunai and stared nervously toward the woods.

Nakamura Daisuke, meanwhile, turned pale with fright, scrambling in a panic to find his weapon.

Hyuga Ningxue immediately activated his Byakugan, scanning the surroundings for the enemy.

In his field of vision, there were about a dozen people hiding in the bushes on both sides. Their chakra was weak, their equipment crude; they appeared to be nothing more than common mountain bandits.

"There are about sixteen of them in the bushes on the left and right. They look like mere bandits."

Ningxue reported to Kamizuki Izumo.

"Very well, subdue them as quickly as possible." Kamizuki Izumo understood. It had to be said, having a member of the Hyuga Clan on the team was truly convenient.

Ningxue was just about to respond when he saw the bandits howling as they charged out from the forest.

They brandished rusted swords and axes, their eyes filled with the madness of those who had caught sight of wealth.

The battle erupted instantly.

Kamizuki Izumo took the brunt of the assault, intercepting the majority of the bandits and leaving only a few for his three students to handle.

His movements were clean and efficient; often, a single strike was enough to render a bandit incapable of fighting.

Seeing an enemy charging at him with a wood-chopping knife, Sugiyama Tetsu summoned his courage and swung his blade at the foe.

Although his technique was passable, he had zero practical experience, and he inevitably became flustered while dodging and slashing.

Nakamura Daisuke was targeted by two enemies—for no other reason than that he looked the easiest to bully.

Ningxue was helping to protect the employers; with his strength, dealing with these bandits was more than enough.

Although Kamizuki Izumo was still blocking the front, having one more person near the employers provided an extra sense of security, didn't it?

Ningxue raised his hands into the starting stance of the Eight Trigrams Palm, knocking a bandit who tried to get close to the ground with a single strike.

Just as Ningxue downed another enemy, he noticed that things seemed to be going poorly for Nakamura Daisuke.

He told the employers behind him, "Go hide behind the carriage," before heading over to rescue Nakamura.

Nakamura was being forced back repeatedly by the two bandits; he tried to throw a shuriken, but it went wide.

Just as he reached a desperate situation, Ningxue suddenly lunged out, using a standard Eight Trigrams Palm to precisely strike the wrist of the bandit holding the blade.

"Ah! You brat!!!"

The bandit cried out in pain, dropped his weapon, and cursed at Ningxue.

Seeing that the man was about to counterattack, Ningxue took the opportunity to strike his Tenketsu, causing him to temporarily lose the ability to move.

He then intended to press the advantage and knock the guy out, but his peripheral vision swept over Nakamura.

Just as he was about to move to knock the man out, he realized that another enemy behind Nakamura had already raised a blade, ready to bring it down on Daisuke.

"Watch out, Daisuke!!"

But it was too late...

Ningxue's mind went blank, yet his body moved faster than his thoughts.

Subconsciously, his body condensed an Ice Needle and instantly flicked it toward the enemy's head.

Puchi—

A faint, almost imperceptible sound of flesh being pierced echoed as the needle passed through the bandit's skull.

The enemy stood frozen in place as if a pause button had been pressed, unable to move.

Not long after, a warm, pungent liquid flowed from the bandit's head, and the bandit collapsed to the ground, his life extinguished.

At that moment, the whole world went quiet.

Ningxue's hands trembled slightly. He could clearly see the moment his needle had pierced the enemy's head.

The flowing blood and the look of disbelief in the enemy's eyes all signified one thing.

He... had killed someone.

His stomach churned violently, even more intensely than it had at the Torture and Interrogation Force.

He fought the urge to vomit, but his face turned deathly pale.

Nakamura Daisuke sat slumped on the ground, staring at the corpse beside him, looking at Hyuga Ningxue in utter disbelief.

"Ni... Ningxue... you?"

Sugiyama Tetsuya finished off his opponent and looked over, his mouth agape.

Kamizuki Izumo had also dealt with the remaining bandits by this time (most were knocked unconscious or incapacitated by severe injuries).

He walked over to Ning Xue, glanced at the corpse on the ground, then looked at Ning Xue's condition and patted him on the shoulder.

"You did the right thing." Kamizuki Izumo's voice was calm but carried weight. "On the battlefield, hesitation leads to death. You saved your teammate."

"So, there is no need to be afraid." This final sentence was spoken with a tone of comfort.

Ning Xue did not speak; he only silently tightened his grip on the hem of his clothes.

He would never forget this moment; the scent of blood had already been branded into the deepest part of his memory.

After this incident, the caravan dared not linger any longer and pressed on toward the Hidden Grass Village without a moment's rest.

However, the atmosphere had clearly become quite somber.

Sugiyama Tetsuya and Nakamura Daisuke no longer joked around, and Ning Xue became even more withdrawn, often trailing behind the group, lost in his own thoughts.

By the afternoon of the next day, they finally arrived at their destination: the Hidden Grass Village.

It was less of a village and more of a war zone.

Makeshift tents and crude medical stations were visible everywhere. The air was thick with a mixture of medicinal herbs and the stench of blood, accompanied by the groans of the wounded.

They handed the cargo over to the person in charge of receiving it at the Hidden Grass Village—a haggard-looking medical ninja with bloodshot eyes.

As he tallied the supplies, he complained about why they had been so slow.

He even muttered that if that wretch hadn't died, they wouldn't have had to spend so much money to buy these medical supplies.

Ning Xue activated his Byakugan, subconsciously scanning the nearby medical tents.

They were filled with wounded soldiers; severed limbs and wreckage were everywhere. Medical ninjas hurried back and forth, yet they still appeared severely understaffed.

Furthermore, he spotted a red-haired girl inside who also appeared to be a doctor.

He deactivated his Byakugan and looked around. In that moment, he realized that the cruelty of war was far beyond anything those bandits could compare to.

There was no Torture and Interrogation Force here, yet the presence of the Torture and Interrogation Force was everywhere.

They were desperate, they were in pain, trapped in the sorrow of knowing they were going to die but unable to bring themselves to end it quickly.

A complex emotion brewed within his heart.

Disgust? Pity? Helplessness? Or perhaps... a firmer resolve toward something?

With the mission complete, Team 11 set off on the journey back to Konoha.

On the way back, even the usually lively Sugiyama Tetsuya was much quieter. Nakamura Daisuke stopped complaining as well, simply walking in silence.

As their figures gradually faded into the distance, Ning Xue looked back at the Hidden Grass Village one last time, a trace of... pity in his eyes.

Yet, he did not know that when he returned to this place again, the pity he felt for it would all transform into rage.

In this C-rank mission, they had completed their escort and witnessed real combat.

He had also personally killed a living person, even if a man like that truly deserved to die.

He had also witnessed firsthand the trauma brought about by war.

He was originally just an ordinary person, and he had been trying very hard to integrate into this world, but his heart told him that he wanted to change these things.

Because the education and the blood and tears of history from his previous life had taught his generation to pursue peace.

And war brought no benefits to any ordinary person.

Now, in the ninja world, he understood this point even more profoundly.

No one dislikes happiness, but this world was just like this—a world that traded war for resources.

And yet, there were clearly better ways...