That'll cost extra

"Hayato Hyuga, you're officially a Genin now. Killing is the most ordinary thing you'll do on missions. If you still treat missions like a student playing pretend, you don't need to remain on our team."

Kazuhiko Sarutobi watched Madara Uchiha's expression as he reprimanded Hayato.

Although Kazuhiko genuinely believed what he had said, it was still startling to see a seven-year-old child kill so mercilessly without the slightest emotional disturbance afterward, even if the child's judgments had all been correct.

He had heard that Uchiha Fugaku had taken Uchiha Itachi to experience the Third Shinobi World War when he was four. Now it seemed those rumors were true. Perhaps Uchiha Itachi had seen far crueler scenes on the battlefield, allowing him to remain so unruffled.

After hearing Kazuhiko's reprimand, Hayato Hyuga, who had still been resentful toward Madara Uchiha, fell silent. His earlier complaints about Madara Uchiha had indeed been an angry outburst. Only after Kazuhiko scolded him did he come to his senses. Whatever Madara Uchiha had done, he had saved his life.

Although Hayato knew he had been wrong, he was only a twelve-year-old child, after all. Expecting him to admit his mistake and apologize immediately was impossible. Knowing he was in the wrong, he could only stand to one side with his head lowered, saying nothing.

"Your Byakugan seems pretty good. Don't you know Rotation?"

Watching the silent Hayato Hyuga, Madara Uchiha suddenly had a bold idea. The Hyuga Clan was certainly useful. Since the Third Hokage and Danzo had assigned him a member of the Hyuga Clan, he ought to make good use of him.

"My father told me that the Hyuga Clan's Rotation provides a full 360-degree defense with no blind spots. It can block physical attacks and certain ninjutsu attacks from any direction. Whether it's close combat, weapon strikes, or long-range ninjutsu projectiles, Rotation's spinning chakra can block or deflect them all. Even our Uchiha Clan would find breaking through the Hyuga Clan's Rotation defense as difficult as reaching the heavens. If you knew Rotation, I wouldn't have needed to intervene just now, and those people wouldn't have had to die."

They had been teammates for almost a year, and this was the first time Madara Uchiha had taken the initiative to start a conversation with Hayato Hyuga. Yet the normally lively, talkative Hayato Hyuga merely clenched his jaw and said nothing in response.

"Didn't your father teach you?"

"Hayato belongs to the Hyuga Clan's branch family. Rotation is an advanced Hyuga Clan ninjutsu that only the Main Family is permitted to learn. Even though Hayato is exceptionally talented, the Hyuga Main Family would never give him or the others a chance to learn a technique like Rotation. They need to preserve their central position and authority within the clan."

Just as Madara Uchiha was pressing Hayato further, Sosuke, who had been responsible for interrogating the bandits, returned to the group and answered Madara Uchiha's question for him.

"Kazuhiko-sensei, I've confirmed it. These bandits are a group of villagers whose village was destroyed during the Shinobi World War. They heard that the Land of Rice Fields was weak and had no shinobi to protect it, so they fled here and began waylaying travelers. Shizuko and her people were indeed their targets. There's no higher-level force behind them."

Under interrogation by the Aburame Clan's insect swarms, ordinary bandits like these could hardly keep any secrets. Kazuhiko also had complete confidence in Sosuke's ability to extract information. Once he knew there was no greater threat behind these bandits, he understood that their mission was already ninety percent complete.

"In that case, let's move on. Leave the rest of them alone."

Although the wooden bridge had been cut down, Kazuhiko Sarutobi could walk on water, and the river was not particularly wide. Even if Madara Uchiha and the others could not walk on water, Kazuhiko had ways to get everyone across. The most pressing matter now was taking Hayato away from this place that had left him feeling humiliated.

"Wait!"

Seeing Kazuhiko motion for her to leave with him, Shizuko could not help stopping him.

"What about these people? Are you just going to leave them alone? If you let them escape today, they'll be back here raping and plundering tomorrow. You've already defeated them, so why not simply kill them all?"

As a merchant who traveled this route regularly, she naturally had no affection for these wandering bandits. Although Kazuhiko and his team had protected her and brought her through safely this time, if these bandits remained in the Land of Rice Fields, wouldn't she need a shinobi escort on every future trip? That would drive her trading costs even higher, so Shizuko hoped Kazuhiko and the others would help her eliminate the problem for good.

"Miss Shizuko, do you think these bandits pose a threat to us? Do you think we benefit more from their existence or their absence?"

With Shizuko blocking his way, Kazuhiko Sarutobi politely posed two questions. Once he had asked them, Shizuko froze just as Hayato Hyuga had under Madara Uchiha's questioning, because she already knew the answers perfectly well.

"You paid us to escort you safely to your destination in the Land of Rice Fields. Killing these people will cost extra. As you've seen, my subordinate isn't someone who can handle bloodshed. Right now, I only want to take him away from here as quickly as possible, before this place leaves him with deeper psychological scars. Although shinobi are destined to kill, I don't mind letting my subordinates grow at their own pace."

Although Kazuhiko Sarutobi smiled throughout, his words sounded cold and cruel to Shizuko.

Without shinobi protection, the people of small nations had to struggle to survive in the shadow of great nations and under the threat of bandits. Their suffering was precisely where the great nations' profits came from. As a merchant, Shizuko should have understood these truths long ago. Kazuhiko and his team were cold-blooded shinobi, not friends who could empathize with her, and she really should not have asked them to do anything beyond their mission. If anything was to blame, it was the friendly impression Hayato had left on Shizuko and her people over the past few days. His warmth and cheerfulness had made her mistake herself and Kazuhiko's team for companions traveling together. And now Hayato, the very person who had led her to believe she could become friends with shinobi, stood silently among the corpses.

"If you have no further questions, Miss Shizuko, let's be on our way."

After Kazuhiko said this, Hayato Hyuga, who had stood rigid and motionless in the bloodied water all this time, began to move. At first, he looked like a stiff puppet, slowly lifting his legs and taking one step at a time. Then he began walking faster and faster, heading straight for the bandits who were still alive.