Kill Them All

Seeing Yuehua Ai's grim expression, Yahiko and the others exchanged glances, each seeing the confusion in the other's eyes. What had Ai discovered that had made him so angry?

They knew what Yuehua Ai was like. Ai was usually rather indifferent toward people and things, and only ever acted warmly toward his companions. In the nearly two years they had been together, they had never seen him look this grim—not even when they had encountered the rogue ninjas.

"What did you find, Ai?" Seeing that Yuehua Ai seemed troubled, Konan asked worriedly.

"Phew..." Yuehua Ai let out a long breath, calming himself down. He didn't like letting his bad mood affect or hurt other people.

"I just found something that put me in a really bad mood. Don't ask me about it for now."

Yuehua Ai thought it over but still didn't tell Konan what he had discovered. The scene had been far too cruel; he didn't want Konan and the others to see it and be traumatized. They were still young and had barely seen any blood. The last time Nagato killed a rogue Rain Ninja, it had happened while he was unconscious. If they suddenly saw something so horrific, they would have a hard time dealing with it.

"The passage inside the cave is about forty meters long. There are eleven of them, and I couldn't sense any chakra on them. They're probably all ordinary people. But they're armed, so we can't let our guard down. We still need to be careful!"

Yuehua Ai stopped at the cave entrance, and the others pressed themselves against the rock wall and hid beside him. Quietly, he shared the information he had sensed earlier. This would let the boys know what they were up against and distract them from their questions.

"Eleven?" Yahiko nodded. Taking on a dozen ordinary people was well within their abilities.

"Let's go!" Konan saw that Yuehua Ai still wasn't going to tell them what he had found. Since he wasn't saying anything, she didn't ask again.

Without another word, Yahiko took the lead. The others concealed themselves one after another, then slipped into the cave passage.

The passage at the cave entrance was nearly two meters tall and wide enough for five or six people to walk abreast. They moved lightly, holding their breath as they ran along the stone wall at a steady pace. There was still some light near the entrance, but less than twenty meters in, the passage had grown extremely dark.

The sudden darkness made them a little uneasy. The passage wasn't straight; it curved slightly, keeping the light outside from reaching far in. It was dark, but not completely pitch-black. A faint glow flickered deeper inside: the bandits' bonfire, which conveniently showed them the way.

After just a few breaths, they reached the depths of the passage. Yahiko gestured for everyone to stop. Keeping his back against the stone wall, he cautiously peeked around the corner.

Unlike the relatively narrow passage, a vast space opened up before him. It was nearly a hundred meters long and wide, and more than ten meters high. Several stone pillars stretching all the way to the ceiling divided the enormous space into four sections.

This was actually a hollowed-out mountain cavern. What a rare sight!

Yahiko glanced around, quickly figuring out the purpose of each section. The largest area was the one connected to the passage; it was probably where they spent their time. Another, smaller area was piled high with odds and ends, likely where they stored their belongings. A sizable space was covered with bedding and blankets, presumably where they slept.

The last section was the farthest away, and Yahiko couldn't see it clearly. But he guessed it was probably where they ate.

After taking in the surroundings, Yahiko focused on the people inside. They had guessed from the information they had gathered that bandits were staying here, but they still didn't know for sure who these people were—bandits or ordinary villagers. Ai had sensed them earlier, but hadn't given them any details. Since their identities were uncertain, Yahiko thought it would be best to find out before taking action.

The firelight inside was bright, so Yahiko didn't dare watch them for long. Even so, a few brief glances were enough to convince him they weren't good people.

"Sigh, resistance from those few villages has been getting worse lately. We're getting less and less out of them, and the other day those damn villagers even beat Mao Hou to death."

A middle-aged bandit sighed as he poked at the bonfire, lamenting his predicament.

"Hmph. Mao Hou always seemed pretty sharp, but the moment he saw a woman, he lost his head. He got what was coming to him. Did he think a rabbit wouldn't bite when cornered? He actually went after that man's daughter right in front of her father. He had some nerve!"

A contemptuous voice rang out. The speaker clearly hadn't gotten along with Mao Hou.

"Mao Hou deserved to be beaten to death. He wanted to sneak off and keep the spoils for himself. Heh, not only did he lose his life, but we got to enjoy the woman too. I have to say, she was pretty good. No wonder Mao Hou wanted her all to himself!"

A bandit sitting cross-legged on the ground gloated. When he finished speaking, he licked his lips with a lecherous grin, looking as if he were savoring the memory.

"Enough about Mao Hou. You bastards think about women all day. Those villages are hostile to us now, so we need to think carefully about what to do next."

A gloomy voice interrupted the conversation. Through the flickering firelight, Yahiko saw a muscular middle-aged man with a vicious expression and a face covered in scars.

"What else can we do? There are only a few villages nearby, and everywhere else is caught up in the war. Since we can't leave, we should be fine as long as we don't go around making a big show of robbing them."

"Exactly. From now on, we'll only go out at night. We'll pick a village and rob one household. If we only take from one family, the other villagers will mostly think it has nothing to do with them. That way, they won't all gang up on us."

"Kazuma's right, boss. If we don't provoke too many people at once, and instead hit one household at a time like we're fighting a guerrilla war, the villagers shouldn't be able to organize a force to wipe us out."

The gloomy man who had spoken earlier was their leader. Hearing the others' discussion, he decided they had a point.

"Hmm, Kazuma's idea isn't bad. A whole village might be hard to handle, but there's nothing stopping us from robbing a single household."

"If the boss agrees, then it's settled. Hey, Tengma, you're from one of the nearby villages. Do you know which families still have pretty women? You've already worn out the last few you had. I'm getting restless!"

Hearing his companion complain, the bandit called Tengma immediately shot back, "What do you mean, I wore them out? After a woman's been used by a dozen of you, she's not far from dead anyway. I was just putting them out of their misery. Besides, if she ran into a few perverts like you, she'd have it much worse than in my hands!"

"Oho, Tengma, I didn't know you could say something so disgusting. You're the biggest pervert of all when it comes to women!"

One of the bandits who had kept quiet until then couldn't resist teasing Tengma after hearing his words.

"Sigh, what a bunch of horny fools." Their leader, Tōkichi, had some ambition. He had originally planned to take advantage of the chaos, gather a force, and carve out a territory for himself as its ruler. But the men he had recruited had no ambitions at all. All they wanted to do was rob people, turning a middle-aged man who aspired to success and renown into a bandit chief hated by everyone.

Still, while being a bandit wasn't a respectable occupation, it had turned out to be rather enjoyable. As a bandit, he could do whatever he pleased, and even Widow Wang, whom he had coveted for years, had been abused to death by him. From then on, he had truly come to love his new identity. The feeling of having other people's lives entirely in his hands was simply wonderful.

As the bandits happily planned which villagers to rob that night, Yahiko and the others, who had been hiding nearby for some time, could no longer contain their fury.

"Who's there?" At the sudden sound of footsteps, the bandit leader Tōkichi instantly became alert. When he was younger, he had served as a castle lord's bodyguard in a town, so he knew to stay wary of unexpected noises.

At Tōkichi's shout, the other bandits also tensed up, all turning to look toward the entrance. But when they saw the figures coming in, they breathed a collective sigh of relief. It was only a few brats. They had actually been worried that someone had come to wipe them out.

Looking at Yuehua Ai and the others, the bandits exchanged glances and burst out laughing. They all thought that they had been ridiculous to get so worked up over nothing.

"There's a girl!" one of the bandits cried out. He wasn't the only one; the others had already fixed their eyes on Konan as well. She wore light makeup and had her hair in a princess-style cut, quite different from her look in the manga. It made her already gentle features seem even more refined. Her pretty brows were knitted, her lips pressed tightly together, and her fair skin glowed like translucent jade in the firelight.

The bandits who had been sitting down couldn't help but stand. They licked their lips, their lecherous eyes roaming over Konan as if she were a tender little rabbit caught in a wolf's gaze.

"As the leader, Tōkichi had kept more of his wits about him than the others. While everyone else stared at Konan, he carefully looked over the whole group. Two boys, one girl, and a child—what were they doing here? This was a remote wilderness, not somewhere people went to shelter from the rain. And though they looked angry, they weren't the least bit frightened."

These unexpected visitors weren't ordinary boys and girls. They had probably come looking for trouble! The thought gave Tōkichi a bad feeling. They were so young, yet so bold. Could they be ninjas?

The possibility made Tōkichi uneasy. Ninjas—he had seen what they could do.

"You're not ninjas, are you?" He hadn't seen any Forehead Protectors on the boys, but they had an air of unshakable composure that was anything but ordinary. Before they could answer his first question, Tōkichi couldn't help asking another. He tried to keep his voice steady, but Yuehua Ai keenly sensed the slight tremor in it.

"Ninjas!?" Before Yuehua Ai and the others could react to Tōkichi's question, the other bandits heard their leader and immediately paled.

Ninjas? Those little brats? Was he joking?

"You don't need to know who we are. Just know that you're going to die here!" Yuehua Ai couldn't be bothered to play mind games with these bandits, who had forfeited their right to be called human.

"What? You little brat! Say that again, and I'll peel your skin off one strip at a time!"

Yuehua Ai had tried to make his voice as cold as possible, but that didn't hide its childish, slightly high-pitched quality. Hearing his threat, one of the bandits couldn't hold back his temper.

"Hmph!" Yuehua Ai didn't take the threat seriously. He snorted and immediately rushed forward to strike first.

"They really are ninjas!!!" A bandit shouted when he saw Yuehua Ai draw a Kunai in an instant.

"What are you afraid of? Even if they're ninjas, they're still just a bunch of brats! Grab your weapons and cut them down!" Seeing the others act as if they were facing a great enemy, some even looking ready to flee, Tōkichi yelled at them. If they didn't fight now and ran away, they'd really be finished!

"Exactly! We'll follow the boss! Brothers, let's fight them!" Ordinary people never underestimated ninjas. As soon as Yuehua Ai moved, the bandits scattered to grab their weapons.

"Fools!" How could Yahiko and the others possibly hang back when Yuehua Ai had already attacked? As the bandits rushed to get their weapons, Nagato and Konan each threw a Shuriken, while Yahiko drew his sword and charged.

"AAAH!!!" Cries of agony rang out through the cave. Konan and Nagato's Shuriken had wounded at least five or six bandits in the arms or legs, while Yahiko had cut down two in an instant. But whether it was Yahiko, Nagato, or Konan, they had only wounded their opponents and hadn't aimed for any vital spots.

Several of his men had gone down in an instant. Furious and alarmed, Tōkichi watched Yuehua Ai charge at him with a Kunai. He let out a low growl, drew the Samurai Sword at his waist, crouched, and swung it at him.

Against an ordinary person, the bandit leader's attack was fast, precise, and ruthless. After all, he had once served as a bodyguard for an important man, and this draw-cut showcased his skill with the sword.

Unfortunately, an attack that was almost impossible for an ordinary person to dodge was nothing special in Yuehua Ai's eyes.

Yuehua Ai leaned back and to the side, arching his body to evade the slash. At the same time, he twisted in midair, planted one hand on the ground, and let the momentum carry his legs up. He kicked Tōkichi hard in the stomach.

As Tōkichi's stomach took the blow and his body instinctively doubled over, Yuehua Ai pushed off the ground from his crouch and drove himself into Tōkichi's arms. At the same time, the Kunai in his hand sank into Tōkichi's right chest.

"Ugh—ah!!" Tōkichi groaned, then couldn't help screaming in pain. His body curled up on the ground like a shrimp. He clutched his stomach with one hand, while the other gripped the Kunai in his chest and pressed against the wound.

Seeing that Tōkichi had lost the ability to fight back, Yuehua Ai didn't kill him right away. He simply moved on to find his next target.

They were all ordinary people, and the other bandits were even less capable than Tōkichi. In less than thirty seconds, all eleven of them were sprawled on the ground, unable to fight back.

Once the bandits had all given up resisting, Yuehua Ai and the others regrouped.

"What should we do with them? Should we hand them over to the village?" Konan asked, frowning at the bandits groaning on the ground.

"Uh..." Konan's question left Yahiko at a loss. As the nominal leader of the team, he really hadn't thought about it beforehand.

"They..." The scarlet firelight and pungent smell of blood made Nagato feel uneasy. Seeing this brought back memories of the rogue Rain Ninja he had killed earlier.

Yuehua Ai had already decided what to do with the bandits. But before he could speak, they heard Yahiko and the others weren't planning to kill them right away. One by one, the bandits fell to their knees, begging loudly for mercy, tears and blood streaming down their faces.

Seeing how pitifully they were crying, Yahiko and the others felt a faint stir of sympathy.

Maybe they should hand them over to the villagers. It would be a little troublesome, but rather than trying to decide how to punish them themselves, leaving them to the villagers to judge seemed like a good choice.

Just as Yahiko and the others were beginning to decide to leave the bandits in the villagers' hands, Yuehua Ai spoke up:

"Do you remember why Jiraiya-sensei gave us this mission?"

"Uh..." Yuehua Ai's sudden question left Yahiko and Nagato confused, but Konan was the first to understand.

"I remember. Jiraiya-sensei said it was a test for us."

Yuehua Ai nodded. "Do you think beating these people counts as a test?"

"Uh... That's true. They're just ordinary people. They might be a problem for the villagers, but for us, they really don't count as a test!"

Hearing Yahiko's words, Nagato and Konan also thought he made a good point.

"Then, Ai, what was Jiraiya-sensei's real purpose?" Nagato asked, unable to hide his confusion.

"Ninjas are a profession born of killing. As ninjas, the things that will accompany us most throughout our lives, besides our comrades, are death and killing."

"Jiraiya-sensei sent us to eliminate the bandits this time and told us to decide their fate ourselves. He may well be trying to teach us to kill!"

"Ah, Ai, how could you think that?" Nagato found Ai's explanation difficult to accept. Yahiko, however, furrowed his brow, looking thoughtful.

"Then, Ai, what do you think we should do with them?" Although Konan had already guessed what Yuehua Ai had decided, she still bit her lip and asked him.

Yuehua Ai turned to meet the reluctance in Konan's eyes. He took her hand and gave her a reassuring smile, indicating that he was all right.

"Konan, I always believe in cause and effect, and in treating people and things fairly and justly. I've always tried to live by that. What I've decided to do with them is absolutely the right choice."

"Then... what about them?"

"As for them... These people have forfeited their right to be called human. The best thing to do with them is... kill them all."