The three finished their interrogations quickly. After cross-checking and organizing the information they had gathered, they reported it to Captain Tōma, who had been waiting for some time.
"Captain, aside from these three, the Hundred Blades Group has another 129 members. Their stronghold is to the northeast. Ninety-five are in the aboveground buildings, while thirty-four are guarding abducted civilian women in an excavated underground prison. Their strongest fighter is the bandit chief, a samurai with roughly the strength of an elite Genin."
Sensing the three bandits' life signs fade, Captain Tōma was very pleased with his students. He smiled and said, "Congratulations. You've become true ninja. I'll leave this mission entirely to you. Unless something unusual happens, I won't intervene."
With Captain Tōma leaving matters to them, Yū Inuzuka and Kaori Ikemoto turned to Kazuhiko Uchiha, the strongest of the three, and waited for his decision.
Kazuhiko Uchiha wasted no time on formalities. He readily took command and assigned Yū Inuzuka a task.
"Yū, take Jūbimaru and scout the stronghold now. Pay particular attention to hidden sentry positions. We'll begin the extermination operation tonight."
"Leave it to me. Jūbimaru, let's go."
Yū Inuzuka nodded confidently and set off with Jūbimaru. He did not return with his findings until nightfall.
After comparing their strength against the enemy's, Kazuhiko Uchiha laid out a tentative plan. "First, we'll use the darkness to eliminate the sentries around the perimeter. Then we'll trap them inside the stronghold and wipe them out. But remember, don't push deep into their encirclement. If the bandit chief ambushes you, you could be in serious danger."
Once the plan was settled, the three split up under Captain Tōma's watchful eye. Their targets were the six hidden sentries outside the stronghold and the ten bandit guards near its main gate.
Kazuhiko Uchiha pushed his mental perception to its limit and concealed his presence as thoroughly as he could. He slipped silently up to a hidden sentry and attacked at once.
Reaching from behind, he clamped a hand over the sentry's mouth. Without a moment's hesitation, the kunai in his other hand swept across the man's throat. Only after the man was completely dead did he carefully lower the unresisting corpse to the ground and head for the next sentry.
Two minutes later, the three had silently disposed of all six hidden sentries.
Looking at the ten guards spread out on either side of the gate, Kazuhiko Uchiha thought for a moment before giving his orders. "We attack together on a three-second countdown. I'll take the five on the left. Yū Inuzuka, take the three beside the gate on the right. Kaori, you handle the remaining two."
"No problem." Yū Inuzuka and Kaori Ikemoto nodded in understanding and began gathering chakra for the assault.
"Three, two, one, go!"
As the countdown ended, all three burst from the darkness and unleashed the attacks they had prepared.
Kazuhiko Uchiha opened the Gate of Healing of the Eight Gates Released Formation. His tremendous speed brought him to the gate first, where he drew three kunai with his left hand and sent them straight into the throats of the three leftmost guards.
Then he appeared between his other two targets. A powerful sweep of the tachi in his right hand sent the left guard's head flying, and a thrust of his right knee crushed the last guard's Adam's apple, completing his five kills.
Yū Inuzuka arrived second, using the Four Legs Technique. His sharp claws seized two guards by the neck and slammed down. Two cracks rang out, and both guards collapsed.
The ninja dog Jūbimaru leaped off his back and sank its jaws into another guard's throat, making its first kill.
Although Kaori Ikemoto could not match their speed, she was quick to cast her genjutsu. The remaining two guards were about to shout when they fell under her illusion, leaving her to finish them off at her leisure.
After eliminating the guards, the three jumped onto the stronghold's walls and surveyed the layout inside.
Seeing the houses arranged symmetrically along both sides of the central road, Kazuhiko Uchiha came up with a good idea.
"Yū and I will handle the frontal assault. Kaori, guard the rear gate and stop anyone from escaping. If you encounter a powerful enemy, fire a signal flare. I'll come support you."
Once Kaori Ikemoto had left, Kazuhiko Uchiha immediately opened the third of the Eight Gates Released Formation—the Gate of Life.
His skin flushed red, and green primal energy made to resemble chakra radiated from his body. Along with his strength and speed, the amount of primal energy available to him increased dramatically.
After briefly adjusting to the changes in his body, Kazuhiko Uchiha mobilized forty percent of his primal energy and began forming hand seals.
"Rat, tiger, dog, ox, hare, tiger-Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
Fueled by primal energy, the Phoenix Flower Fire projectiles, originally only the size of balls, grew several times larger. Under Kazuhiko Uchiha's control, they scattered outward and slammed into the bandits' houses, setting the wooden buildings ablaze one after another.
The once-quiet stronghold erupted in raging flames and panicked screams. Dozens of bandits escaped the inferno and rushed from their rooms, converging on the central road, which the fire had not reached.
After unleashing his Fire Release jutsu, Kazuhiko Uchiha turned to Yū Inuzuka, breathing a little heavily. "Yū, you're up."
"Jūbimaru, get ready! Beast-Man Clone! Fang Over Fang!"
Yū Inuzuka and Jūbimaru began spinning rapidly in midair. Once they reached sufficient speed, they became two terrifying horizontal tornadoes and hurtled toward the bandits, who had gathered in an almost straight line along the road.
"Aaargh!!!"
Amid the bandits' agonized screams, the tornadoes smashed through them with overwhelming force. Mangled corpses flew like torn burlap sacks, scattering across the open ground on either side of the road.
Bang.
Just then, a Konoha-issued distress flare lit up the mountain behind the stronghold. Most likely, Kaori Ikemoto had encountered the bandit chief, who had yet to appear.
"Yū, you and Jūbimaru finish off the stragglers and the bandits in the underground prison. I'm going to support Kaori."
"Leave it to me. Hurry and help Kaori. Don't let the target escape."
The stronghold was not particularly large. With the speed granted by the Gate of Life, Kazuhiko Uchiha reached the rear mountain in little more than ten seconds and found Kaori Ikemoto in grave danger, beset by two enemies.
One was a burly man dressed much like the other bandits, his samurai sword flashing with every swing. The other was a young man dressed as a rogue ninja, gathering wind blades in his hands and sending them flying at Kaori Ikemoto.
Under their relentless attacks, Kaori Ikemoto, who had only Genin-level strength, was already badly injured. Her clothes were torn to shreds, and several bloody gashes marred her fair skin. She had no chance to catch her breath.
Kazuhiko Uchiha dared not delay. He immediately chose the slightly weaker bandit chief as his first target and unleashed the first powerful offensive taijutsu move of the Eight Gates Released Formation.
With a single step, Kazuhiko Uchiha appeared in front of the bandit chief. One immensely powerful kick knocked the chief's weapon away. Following through, he crouched, spun, and kicked upward, driving his heel hard into the chief's chin and launching him into the air.
Watching his enemy rise, Kazuhiko Uchiha kicked off the ground with both feet. Though he moved second, he overtook the chief and appeared behind him, locking his arms tightly around the man's body. Spinning rapidly, he drove them both toward the ground with tremendous momentum.
"Front Lotus!"
The tremendous impact blasted a deep crater into the hard rock, and the unrecognizable corpse stained the ground bloodred.
Panting, Kazuhiko Uchiha hopped back several steps to avoid the splattering blood. He admired his handiwork with satisfaction, then turned his gaze to the stunned rogue ninja.
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