Bandits and War

7:00 a.m.

After packing up, everyone prepared to set off and continue toward Kusagakure.

But just then, something unexpected happened.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..." Several arrows tore through the air from the bushes behind them, flying straight at the group.

Fortunately, the first few shots missed wildly and only struck the cargo.

"Enemy attack!" Kotetsu Hagane reacted first, instantly drawing a kunai to deflect an arrow aimed at the caravan boss as he shouted.

"Team 11, engage!"

Sugiyama Tetsu jolted awake, all sleepiness gone. He immediately drew his kunai and stared tensely toward the woods.

Nakamura Daisuke, meanwhile, went pale with fright and fumbled frantically for his weapon.

Ning Xue immediately activated her Byakugan and searched the surrounding area for enemies.

Within her field of vision, there were around a dozen people in the bushes on both sides. Their chakra was weak and their equipment shabby; they appeared to be ordinary bandits.

"There are about sixteen people in the bushes on both sides. They look like ordinary bandits."

Ning Xue reported to Kotetsu Hagane.

"Good. Subdue them quickly." Kotetsu Hagane understood. Having someone from the Hyuga Clan on the team really was convenient.

Just as Ning Xue was about to respond, she saw the bandits charging out of the forest with howls.

They brandished rusty swords, blades, and axes, their eyes filled with the madness of people who had spotted treasure.

The battle erupted in an instant.

Kotetsu Hagane took the lead, blocking most of the bandits and leaving only a few for the three students behind him.

His movements were clean and efficient. Often, a single strike was enough to rob a bandit of the ability to fight.

When Sugiyama Tetsu saw an enemy wielding a woodcutter's blade charge at him, he gathered his courage and swung his own blade at the enemy.

His technique was decent enough, but he had zero combat experience. Between dodging and slashing, he inevitably became somewhat flustered.

Nakamura Daisuke was targeted by two enemies. There was no other reason; he simply looked the easiest to bully.

Ning Xue was helping protect the employers. With her strength, dealing with these bandits was more than manageable.

Although Kotetsu Hagane was already blocking them in front, having one more person beside the employers meant one more measure of safety, didn't it?

Ning Xue raised her hand into the opening stance of the Eight Trigrams Palm and knocked down a bandit trying to close in with a single strike.

Just as Ning Xue knocked down another enemy, she noticed that things seemed to be going badly for Nakamura Daisuke.

She said to the employers behind her, "Go hide behind the carriages," then went to save Nakamura.

Nakamura was forced back again and again by the two bandits. He tried to throw a shuriken, but it flew wide.

Just as he was about to reach his limit, Ning Xue suddenly rushed in and used a standard Eight Trigrams Palm strike, precisely knocking aside the wrist of a bandit holding a blade.

"Argh! You brat!!!"

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

Seeing that he still intended to counterattack, Ning Xue followed through with Tenketsu Striking, temporarily robbing him of the ability to move.

She then wanted to press the advantage and knock the man unconscious directly, but the corner of her eye caught Nakamura.

Just as she was about to knock him out, she saw another enemy behind Nakamura raising his blade, ready to bring it down on Daisuke.

"Watch out, Daisuke!!"

But it was already too late...

Ning Xue's mind went blank, but her body moved faster than her thoughts.

Her body instinctively condensed an Ice Needle and instantly flung it at the enemy's head.

Splat—

A nearly imperceptible sound of flesh being pierced passed through the bandit's head.

The enemy froze in place as though someone had pressed a pause button, unable to move.

Before long, a warm, fishy-smelling liquid flowed from the bandit's head. He then collapsed to the ground, never breathing again.

At that moment, the whole world fell silent.

Ning Xue's hand trembled slightly. She could clearly see the instant her needle had pierced through the enemy's head.

The spilling blood and the enemy's disbelieving eyes all spoke of one thing.

She... had killed someone.

Her stomach churned violently, worse than it had been in the Torture and Interrogation Force.

She forced herself not to throw up, but her face was frighteningly pale.

Nakamura Daisuke slumped to the ground beside the corpse, staring at Hyuga Ningxue with utter disbelief.

"N-Ning Xue... you?"

Sugiyama Tetsuya had dealt with his opponent. Looking over, he stood there with his mouth hanging open.

Kotetsu Hagane had also finished dealing with the remaining bandits by then, most of whom had been knocked unconscious or severely injured and left unable to move.

He walked over to Ning Xue, glanced at the corpse on the ground, then at her condition, and patted her shoulder.

"You did the right thing." Kotetsu Hagane's voice was calm but firm. "On the battlefield, hesitation gets you killed. You saved your teammate."

"So you don't need to be afraid." His final words carried a comforting tone.

Ning Xue said nothing, only silently clenching the corner of her clothes.

She would never forget this moment. That bloody scent had already been branded into the deepest part of her memory.

After this incident, the caravan no longer dared linger. They hurried nonstop toward Kusagakure.

But the atmosphere had clearly become much more somber.

Sugiyama Tetsu and Nakamura Daisuke no longer joked around, while Ning Xue grew even quieter. She often lagged behind the group alone, lost in thought.

On the afternoon of the second day, they finally arrived at their destination, Kusagakure.

Rather than a village, it looked more like a battlefield.

Temporary tents and crude medical stations were everywhere. The air was filled with the mixed smell of medicinal herbs and blood, along with the groans of the wounded.

They handed the goods over to the Kusagakure official responsible for receiving them, a weary-looking medical ninja with bloodshot eyes.

As he counted the supplies, he complained about why they had taken so long.

He even said that if that bitch hadn't died, they wouldn't have needed to spend so much money on these medical supplies.

Ning Xue activated her Byakugan and instinctively swept her gaze over the nearby medical tents.

They were packed with wounded people. Severed limbs and mangled remains could be seen everywhere. Medical ninja hurried back and forth, yet there still seemed to be far too few of them.

She also saw a red-haired girl inside who appeared to be a doctor as well.

She deactivated her Byakugan and looked around. At that moment, she realized that war's brutality was far beyond anything those bandits could compare to.

There was no Torture and Interrogation Force here, yet there were people from the Torture and Interrogation Force everywhere.

They were despairing. They were suffering. They knew they were going to die, yet were trapped in the sorrow of being unable to make up their minds to give themselves a quick end.

A complex emotion brewed within her heart.

Disgust? Pity? Helplessness? Or... had something within her become even more resolute?

With the mission complete, Team 11 set out on the return journey to Konoha.

On the way back, even the liveliest one, Sugiyama Tetsuya, was much quieter. Nakamura Daisuke no longer complained either, merely walking in silence.

As their figures gradually receded, Ning Xue looked back at Kusagakure, a trace of... pity in her eyes.

But she had no idea that when she returned to this place again, all the pity she felt for it now would turn into anger.

During this C-rank mission, they had completed an escort assignment and witnessed real combat.

They had also personally killed a living person, though someone like that truly deserved to die.

And they had personally witnessed the wounds brought by war.

She had originally just been an ordinary person, trying her best to fit into this world, but her heart told her that she wanted to change these things.

Because the education of her previous life, along with history's blood and tears, had taught her generation to seek peace.

And war benefited no ordinary person.

Now that she was in the Shinobi World, she understood that even more deeply.

No one disliked happiness, but this world was simply like that: a world that used war to obtain resources.

Yet there were clearly better ways...