Exterminate Mountain Bandits

Torikaze signaled that Hoshi and the others could begin, but Hoshi did not recklessly charge in. He held back the excited Sakumo and said to the somewhat hesitant Shinku beside him, "I'll take the lead with Sakumo. Stay here and don't move. If you see that we can't hold them off, use Genjutsu and Ninja Tools to help distract them.

Quietly form your Hand Seals here. Ordinary bandits won't notice you."

Shinku, who had yet to emerge from the shadows, was overjoyed. This had actually been what he wanted from the start, partly because he was not skilled in taijutsu.

Another reason was that he was still somewhat afraid of fighting. That psychological issue would not be easy to resolve anytime soon.

But he had been afraid that hiding here would make Hoshi and the others think he was cowardly, which was why he had seemed so conflicted.

After arranging things for Shinku, Hoshi turned to Sakumo. "There are too many of them. Don't get carried away when we charge out. Most of them are ordinary people, but getting surrounded would still be troublesome. Don't stray too far from me."

Sakumo, who had been growing impulsive, calmed down considerably after hearing Hoshi's words. He exchanged a glance with Hoshi, and the two each drew the Ninja Blades from their backs before charging out.

Come to think of it, this was Mikazuki Munechika's first time leaving its sheath. The thought even made Hoshi a little excited.

The two gripped their swords tightly and shot out of the forest like agile cheetahs, charging straight at the two bandits closest to them.

The two dark figures that suddenly sprang from the woods gave the bandits quite a fright. Before they could even figure out what was happening, the bandits targeted by the pair had already lost their lives.

Their movements were perfectly synchronized—charge, draw, slash. Their blades swept precisely across the two bandits' throats without the slightest hesitation. The two bandits became ghosts beneath Hoshi's blades without even seeing who had killed them.

The sight stunned the bandits. Two of their brothers had been effortlessly killed by these two knife-wielding brats. It had looked easier than slaughtering chickens.

The bandits immediately descended into chaos. Some cursed loudly, some hurriedly drew their weapons and rushed forward, some shouted orders in an attempt to restore discipline, while others spotted the Headbands on the pair's foreheads and fled in panic.

Hoshi had no intention of giving them time to recover. Clutching Mikazuki Munechika, he charged into the panicked crowd.

With his impressive physical abilities and Mikazuki Munechika's sharpness, not a single person could withstand a single exchange against Hoshi.

Those who hastily retreated were slain with a single stroke. Those who fought back had their weapons cut in half, and the blade continued on to slice through their bodies.

Hoshi, charging into the crowd, was like Darius with Ghost activated—once he entered the fray, it became a true massacre.

At that moment, Hoshi could not help marveling at Mikazuki Munechika's sharpness. This blade truly deserved to be a family heirloom passed down through the Hayate Clan for over a hundred years. It cut through iron like mud.

Hoshi only needed to exert a little force to easily sever the already poor-quality weapons of his opponents. Cutting into human bodies required even less effort to kill them instantly.

In only a few breaths, Sakumo and Hoshi had claimed more than a dozen lives. However, these bandits had lived by the blade, and after a moment of panic, they regained their discipline under the organization of several minor leaders.

Once they saw that Hoshi and Sakumo were merely two children, they came to their senses. They gripped their weapons tightly and rushed forward amid curses. "They're just two little brats! So what if they're ninja? One slash from each of us will turn them into minced meat!"

"Revenge our fallen brothers!"

A group of bandits surrounded Hoshi and Sakumo in the middle, raising their weapons and raining blows down upon them. Though they were surrounded, Hoshi and Sakumo did not rush to break out.

Instead, they adjusted their positions and slowly moved closer together. Once their backs met, they both relaxed considerably. At least now, someone could watch their back and prevent a sneak attack.

They exchanged a glance and completed a silent communication. Rather than retreating toward Torikaze and the others, they charged forward, toward the area with even more enemies.

To deal more damage, both of them began using Chakra. Already strengthened by their weapons, they now cut through the enemy like warriors mowing down grass.

Even the occasional straggler was easily dealt with by Shinku, who hid in the distance and used Shuriken or Genjutsu.

White Fang and Mikazuki Munechika were like the scythes of Bleach, tirelessly reaping life after life. After that slaughter, the bandits began to tremble in fear.

These bandits were not part of any major organization. There had only been eighty or ninety of them to begin with, and they were all ordinary people. There were occasionally one or two who could use Chakra, but only barely; they could not even perform a single ninjutsu and did not qualify as ninja at all.

After Hoshi and Sakumo's charge, over half of them had already been killed or injured. If this stalemate continued, they would likely all be dead or wounded within five minutes.

The bandits no longer had the courage to shout and roar as before. As they hesitated to advance, they quietly whispered to their companions around them, "Where's the boss? Why hasn't he shown up yet? If he doesn't come out soon, all the brothers will be finished."

"Don't tell me the boss abandoned us and ran away? He gets to run off and enjoy himself while leaving us here as his scapegoats..."

As these words spread, the encirclement that had only just been restored showed signs of collapsing again. Just as the bandits could no longer bear the pressure and began to flee, Shinku's panicked voice suddenly rang out behind Hoshi and the others.

"Hoshi, save me!"

Hoshi cut down a bandit blocking his Line of Sight and turned around. He saw a Scar-faced Man gripping Shinku by the hair and lifting him into the air, with a Kunai pressed against Shinku's neck.

Shinku had been careless. Seeing Hoshi and Sakumo surrounded earlier, he had feared they would not be able to hold out, so he had provided support from behind them.

But he had not expected that this would expose his position. The Scar-faced Man, that insidious bastard and the bandits' leader, had been circling the outskirts of the crowd all along, searching for the third person's position.

Only by drawing out the one hiding in the dark could he confidently deal with those two brats. He had been lucky: Shinku, whose attention had been drawn to the bandits, had not noticed him at all, allowing him to succeed in a single strike.

Holding Shinku hostage, the Scar-faced Man said to Hoshi and Sakumo, "I was wondering why a ninja squad only had two people. So there was another one hiding here. You two brats over there, if you want your teammate to live, put down your swords. Otherwise..."

As he spoke, he pushed the Kunai closer to Shinku's neck, leaving a shallow streak of blood across it.

Is there something wrong with my input method, or am I typing badly? Why do so many extra "de" characters keep appearing out of nowhere?