A contest among fellow disciples

There were six or seven of these ronin, but Kazemori Masaki and the others were not sure that was all of them. Seeing that they seemed ready to head back, they quietly followed them into the mountains.

When they saw the crude mountain stronghold, they exchanged glances. These ronin really did consider themselves bandits—they had even built a stronghold. They had never imagined that Samurai could sink this low in just ten years. Rather than blaming the country's declining reliance on Samurai, it seemed more accurate to say that these men had never possessed much resolve in the first place and held nothing but contempt for the Samurai code.

Koharu said scornfully, "Masaki was right. We really can't just let them leave. Let's Qian them all. At least we'll be protecting the Samurai's reputation."

"So first, let's find out exactly how many there are," Torifu Akimichi said quietly.

At that moment, Danzo said, "Leave that to me." He bit his finger, formed hand seals, and pressed his hand to the ground. With a poof, a small animal appeared.

"Go," Shimura Danzō said, and the little rodent-like animal ran toward the stronghold.

"This is a summoning animal Danzo's family uses to gather intelligence. It can't fight, but its appearance makes it hard to notice. It's well suited to terrain like this," Hiruzen explained to the others.

"It can only gather basic intelligence," Danzo said flatly.

Kazemori Masaki glanced at Danzo. During their time studying under the same teacher, he had gradually come to understand Danzo's personality. He was a firm believer in the Shinobi Code, convinced that a true ninja should work in the shadows and sacrifice himself without a word. Someone like Danzo really was suited to clandestine work.

Yet judging by what Kazemori Masaki knew of such people from the history of his other world, spending too long in the shadows would only make a person increasingly sinister, until he gradually forgot his original purpose. He would either become so ruthless that he provoked universal outrage or develop needless ambitions and try to seize power. Some of Danzo's future actions proved exactly that, and Kazemori Masaki did not know how he should treat him.

Although the future Danzo would commit many sins, the Danzo of this time was just an ordinary boy. Kazemori Masaki had studied alongside him, and they had formed a friendship. Without a doubt, Danzo was still wholeheartedly devoted to Konoha. Had he not spent so long working in the shadows and lost himself, he probably would not have met such an end.

Soon, the rodent-like summoning animal returned. It squeaked several times at Danzo, using its body to trace patterns on the ground. After studying them briefly, Danzo told the others, "There are twenty-two people inside."

The others had known there could not be many people in the stronghold. A village like this could hardly support a large bandit camp. Once they had confirmed the enemy's numbers, they began discussing how to deal with them. There were only twenty-two, and they could not be especially skilled—anyone truly capable would not have sunk this low. In theory, all seven of them could simply attack together, but Hiruzen Sarutobi had a different opinion.

"Come on, going back after something this easy would be boring. This is our first mission, after all. Let's make it a little more interesting," Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a grin.

"How?" Utatane Koharu asked.

"Let's compete to see who can assassinate the most of them," Hiruzen Sarutobi said. "We each go in alone and kill them without alerting anyone else. If you alert someone, you lose. Among those who don't, whoever kills the most wins. What do you think? Want to give it a try?"

Although they were all ninja, Konoha Shinobi Village did not confine itself to traditional training methods at this time. Utatane Koharu and the others also had the fiery spirit of youth and felt that simply finishing the job would indeed be a little dull. After only a moment's hesitation, both Danzo and Utatane Koharu agreed, and Kagami Uchiha followed suit.

The four then turned to the remaining three. Torifu Akimichi, Mitokado Homura, and Kazemori Masaki exchanged looks. Though they felt it was somewhat imprudent, they were young too. With Hiruzen Sarutobi making a suggestion like this, could they really bring themselves to refuse? Besides, the enemies were not particularly strong, and being overly cautious was not good either.

So the three agreed to Hiruzen Sarutobi's suggestion as well. He nodded and said, "Then we'll start in a moment. Each of us will take out targets on our own. Kill as many as you can without raising the alarm."

That sounds simple enough, but this stronghold isn't very big, Kazemori Masaki thought. As the bodies pile up, killing people before they can react and make a sound will demand more and more skill.

A little while later, Hiruzen Sarutobi gave a hand signal, then darted out and crept toward the stronghold. The others immediately followed, drawing steadily closer.

After receiving his heaven-sent spiritual power, Kazemori Masaki's increasingly calm state of mind had brought his control over his presence to an unprecedented level. Especially after practicing sage art, he could not only conceal his presence almost completely among his surroundings, but his sensory abilities had also improved rapidly.

As he approached the stronghold, he sensed an enemy nearby. He moved toward that spot without making a single footstep. Even when he reached the man's back, the man remained oblivious, preparing to relieve himself.

Kazemori Masaki sized him up. Judging by his build and posture, he was undoubtedly a dabbler. He might not even be a Samurai. Although Samurai no longer held their former status, surely not all twenty-two men could be Samurai?

Just as the unsuspecting man was about to begin, Kazemori Masaki raised the Short Blade and slashed his throat. By the time the man felt the pain, he could no longer utter a word. Blood sprayed from the wound across his neck.

Before the man's body hit the ground, Kazemori Masaki's sharpened senses detected someone approaching. He would soon round the corner and immediately see the corpse on the ground.

Kazemori Masaki vanished from where he stood. Another man came around the corner just then, apparently intending to say something to the man who had been killed. He had barely begun speaking when he saw the body falling to the ground and the blood splattered across it.

Terror flashed in his eyes. Just as he opened his mouth, a figure streaked through his vision. He tried to demand who it was, but all he heard was a soft hissing sound.

When he realized that blood was spraying from his own throat, he could only reach up futilely to cover it. Disbelief filled his face as he slowly crumpled to the ground.

Kazemori Masaki stood beside him. In that brief span, he had already killed two men. Though these were his first kills, he felt little. As a ninja, he had long since accepted this reality.

Kazemori Masaki listened to his surroundings. Everything remained quiet, with no sounds that might raise the alarm. The others seemed to be doing very well too. He could go and meet up with them now.

Kazemori Masaki carefully sensed his surroundings, then headed in one direction. Reaching a room, he saw a man sitting inside, with a girl in coarse clothing beside him. She looked terrified. Kazemori Masaki remembered her; she was the girl the ronin had brought here from the village earlier.

The girl was facing the ronin and happened to see Kazemori Masaki appear. Her eyes widened slightly. Noticing her surprise, the ronin began to turn, only for a blade to slice across his neck—

Confusion still lingered in the ronin's eyes, but there was nothing he could do. Blood sprayed from his throat, and he fell helplessly from his chair to the floor.

"Ah!" The girl screamed at the sight. Kazemori Masaki could have stopped her, but he had no interest in doing so.

It looks like there really aren't any skilled fighters in this stronghold, Kazemori Masaki thought. Out of caution, he had only sent a Shadow Clone to test the waters, and this was the result. If even the ronin were only this good, there was no reason to overestimate the others.

Although he had lost the contest, Kazemori Masaki did not particularly care about winning or losing. Of course he could have done better, but there was no need.

"It's all right. You'll be able to go home soon," Kazemori Masaki said, giving the girl a gentle smile.

(End of chapter)