Killing

"Miss Shizuko, don't worry. I'm a person, not a ghost."

Only after Kazuhiko explained in person did the frightened Shizuko finally calm down.

"Why are you fighting? There are more than twenty of them and only seven of us! Hurry up and run!"

Once she had calmed down, Shizuko saw Hayato charge at the enemy while Sosuke and Madara Uchiha stepped in front of her, and she hurriedly shouted for them to stop. In her view, they should never fight with the numbers so uneven, especially when their main fighting force was a group of children.

"We could retreat, but one of my subordinates has been itching for a fight for quite a while. Miss Shizuko, just watch quietly."

While Kazuhiko chatted with Shizuko, Hayato Hyuga had already taken the lead and charged into the crowd.

Hayato might have been lacking in ninjutsu, but he certainly knew a thing or two about taijutsu. As soon as he entered the crowd, he began mowing them down. Not one of these bandits could withstand a single exchange with him. His two fingers struck in rapid succession, and although he hit only a tiny part of each enemy's body, that seemingly light blow sent them straight to the ground, unable to get back up.

"Does this child know some kind of sorcery?"

Shizuko watched Hayato Hyuga lightly jab an enemy's shoulder, only for the man to collapse as though paralyzed. Hayato's dazzling performance left her astonished.

This kid's Byakugan really is impressive.

Watching Hayato defeat his enemies so easily, the battle-hardened Madara Uchiha immediately realized what was happening. Hayato Hyuga's attacks were so effective not because he knew some kind of sorcery, but because his Byakugan had developed to an exceptional level. Judging by his performance, he could probably see his enemies' acupoints.

For his Byakugan to be so powerful at such a young age, Hayato Hyuga's talent had to be outstanding even within the Hyuga Clan.

"Watch out!"

Hayato Hyuga was a formidable threat in close combat, but these bandits were not lambs waiting to be slaughtered. Seeing how strong he was at close range, they immediately put distance between themselves and him. Then countless hidden weapons came flying toward him, with several arrows mixed in.

Seeing the enemy react so quickly, Shizuko immediately cried out to warn Hayato, but her warning clearly did nothing to help him.

With ranged attacks closing in all around him, Hayato Hyuga gritted his teeth and ran toward the area where the attacks were thinnest. But just as he started moving, an enemy he had knocked to the ground endured the pain and grabbed his leg. Although Hayato Hyuga quickly struck the man's acupoints again and knocked him unconscious, the enemy's ranged attacks were already right in front of his face.

Damn it, am I going to die here? I haven't even become the best in the Hyuga Clan yet!

Seeing an arrow about to pierce his body, Hayato roared inwardly in frustration. Just then, a kunai flew from behind him and knocked aside the arrow that had seemed certain to impale him. Several shuriken followed from behind Hayato, tracing tricky paths through the air and knocking down every ranged attack from more than a dozen enemies.

"Holy shit, Itachi! You saved my life!"

With Madara Uchiha covering him, Hayato Hyuga hurriedly charged toward the enemy's weak side. As long as he closed the distance and stopped them from using ranged attacks, he was confident he could take them all down alone. But just as that thought crossed his mind, the enemies lying on the ground lunged at him again.

"Aaaaargh!"

A black shuriken sliced across a bandit's eyes. Madara Uchiha had blinded the man who still wanted to obstruct Hayato. The other enemies who tried to struggle were also struck in vital spots by Madara Uchiha's shuriken or kunai. He even slit the throats of several whom he judged to be particularly dangerous.

Shuriken sliced through arteries, and blood gushed out. Since Hayato Hyuga was standing among the enemies, some of it splashed straight onto his face. Feeling its warmth against his skin and watching the hellish spectacle of bloodshed before him, Hayato Hyuga felt his stomach convulse. Nausea surged through him, and he vomited right in the middle of the battlefield.

"They're demons! Demons who kill without blinking! Run!"

Under Madara Uchiha's merciless slaughter, the bandits who had intended to wipe out his group immediately lost their nerve. Several of the more cowardly ones had already thrown down their weapons and started fleeing, but as they turned around, a black insect cloud appeared across their escape route. The swarm engulfed the bandits in an instant, and they all collapsed limply to the ground. It was only thanks to this that Hayato Hyuga survived despite daring to vomit in the middle of the battlefield.

He's a genius of the Hyuga Clan, but unfortunately, he's only a branch family member. Otherwise, he should have learned Rotation.

The pitiful Hyuga Clan actually placed seals on its own members to prevent its Byakugan from falling into outside hands. What a foolish strategy. No wonder the clan produced so few people of real ability.

"Urgh! Uchiha Itachi, are you insane? Why did you start killing people like that?"

After vomiting for quite a while, Hayato Hyuga felt as though he had thrown up both his breakfast and lunch, yet he was still dry-heaving. He looked around, and when he saw bandits still struggling in pools of blood, he could no longer contain himself and began complaining to Madara Uchiha.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!"

Madara Uchiha naturally ignored Hayato Hyuga's complaints outright. He could not even be bothered to explain himself. Seeing that Madara Uchiha had made him embarrass himself by vomiting in front of their mission client and was now ignoring him, Hayato Hyuga began to lose his temper.

"Enough, Hayato. You were the one at fault today, not Itachi."

Seeing Hayato continue to pester Madara Uchiha, Kazuhiko Sarutobi, who had been watching from the sidelines all this time, knew he could no longer sit back and watch.

"Before Uchiha Itachi killed anyone, these people were attacking with the intent to kill you. If your enemies have the courage to kill you, then you should naturally have the resolve to kill them too. Itachi saved you while killing these people. What's more, take a careful look at whom he killed. He only killed the rank-and-file bandits, not their leader, leaving us someone alive to question. Whether you judge it by saving a teammate or completing the mission, there is nothing to criticize in Itachi's actions."