Bandits and Ninja
After hiding Yamamoto Satoshi and Yamamoto Naka, Uzumaki Hane and his two companions headed for the bandits' stronghold. Uzumaki Hane would take the lead and draw all the bandits' attention, while Hyuga Tanaka and Yamano Koromo took the opportunity to rescue the villagers.
Uzumaki Hane soon found the bandits' mountain stronghold. With no intention of concealing himself, he approached the gate.
The five bandits guarding the gate immediately spotted Uzumaki Hane, drew their swords, and sounded the alarm. Their leader shouted, "Who are you, coming here to make trouble for us? It's been a long time since I've seen blood. Standing guard here all the time is boring!" As he spoke, he stuck out his tongue and licked the blade in his hand. The others also grinned bloodthirstily, and the five charged at Uzumaki Hane.
Uzumaki Hane's expression did not change. Two Kunai appeared in his hands, and in a flash, he was in front of the bandits. He slashed forward with both hands, and blood spurted from the necks of the two bandits in front. They fell to the ground.
The three bandits behind them showed no fear at the sight of their fallen companions. Instead, they charged even more viciously. The one in front rushed up to Uzumaki Hane and, with a savage grin, plunged his sword into his chest. Seeing their companion strike Uzumaki Hane, the two bandits behind him did not stop. Instead, they smiled cruelly and each hacked hard at Uzumaki Hane's shoulders.
The three bandits grinned ferociously, eager to see Uzumaki Hane's dying expression. But they soon realized something was wrong. The thrilling sight of blood spraying out that they had hoped to see never came; not a drop flowed from his wounds. Uzumaki Hane looked as though nothing had happened. With a cold expression, he thrust out both hands and pierced straight through the bodies of the two men in front of him. The remaining bandit could even smell roasting meat. Then he saw a dark blur flash before his eyes and lost consciousness.
The other bandits heard the alarm and rushed out, only to see that Uzumaki Hane was like a monster, unharmed even after being struck by swords. They all stopped, hesitating and afraid to advance. But Uzumaki Hane had no intention of stopping and charged at them.
Uzumaki Hane plunged into the bandits like a wolf among sheep, cutting through everything in his path. Countless bandits fell screaming.
Suddenly, Uzumaki Hane's movements stalled. He looked down to see two hands emerging from the earth, gripping his feet and holding him fast. Uzumaki Hane smiled mockingly and said, "This trick again." His feet rapidly turned to lava, melting the ground beneath him. The ninja in the earth managed only one scream before being burned to destruction by the lava.
When the bandits saw Uzumaki Hane being held down, they had been ready to rush over and hack him to death. They had used this tactic together many times, dealing with many enemies, and even ninja had died at their hands. But they had not expected their opponent to turn directly into magma and burn their ninja to death.
The bandits had never seen anything like it. All of them were terrified and began backing away. Unable to bear the pressure, one shouted, "A monster..." He dropped his weapon, turned, and fled. Seeing someone run, the others also threw down their weapons and fled wildly in every direction.
Uzumaki Hane naturally would not let them escape. He shouted, "Lava Shuriken!" His hands rapidly turned to lava and swelled to ten times their original size, then fired dozens of Lava Shuriken toward the scattering bandits.
Screams immediately rose one after another. Most of the fleeing bandits were struck by the Lava Shuriken and fell to the ground, their lives uncertain. Seeing that he had dealt with most of them, Uzumaki Hane signaled behind him and continued into their stronghold.
Suddenly, several Kunai flew at him from ahead. Uzumaki Hane darted aside, dodging several and knocking the remaining one away with his own Kunai. A ninja then appeared ahead and charged at Uzumaki Hane, his hands rapidly forming Hand Seals. Although Uzumaki Hane could not tell what Ninjutsu his opponent intended to use, he naturally would not let him use it. He quickly threw the two Kunai in his hands at him. Unexpectedly, his opponent did not resist, allowing the Kunai to pierce his body. With a puff, the ninja vanished in smoke.
Uzumaki Hane murmured, "A clone?" Then two arms emerged from the earth and grabbed his feet. Unruffled, Uzumaki Hane said, "This trick again." His feet rapidly turned to lava, intending to burn the ninja in the earth to death, but unexpectedly, that ninja also turned into smoke. Somewhat surprised, Uzumaki Hane said, "Another clone?" With a puff, a Kunai that had fallen to the ground turned into a ninja, who immediately shouted, "Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"
Uzumaki Hane felt the ground beneath him turn into a swamp. This is bad, he thought. He tried to escape, but had nothing to push against. The more he struggled, the deeper he sank, until his entire body was submerged.
The ninja said, "I noticed you long ago. How could I not have prepared? Now that you're trapped in the swamp, you can't escape at all. What a pity." He turned to leave.
Suddenly, Uzumaki Hane's shout came from the swamp: "Great Eruption!" With a boom, a pillar of fire erupted into the sky like a volcanic eruption, engulfing the surrounding area in magma.
The ninja had no time to dodge. He was engulfed by the magma and reduced entirely to ash before he could even scream.
Uzumaki Hane stood where he was, looking at the devastated ground around him, then continued farther in. There was no one left nearby, but every ninja this time had been at least as strong as a Chunin, and the one just now had been a Jonin. That was rather unusual. There was definitely some secret here.
Suddenly, Uzumaki Hane sensed someone watching him and shouted, "Who's there?" He threw two Kunai ahead.
A ninja emerged from the ground ahead, dressed the same way as the previous ninja and presumably one of the same group. He was a middle-aged ninja with a stern face. He said, "I only meant to catch a little fish and ask for some information, but I didn't expect to hook a big one—a person with a Kekkei Genkai. I imagine you must be a Konoha genius. If I kill you, even Konoha will have suffered a loss, won't it?"
Uzumaki Hane sensed that the ninja before him was quite strong, and his fighting spirit began to boil. He taunted, "Oh? You'll have to be able to kill me first."
Uzumaki Hane's Chakra and stamina had not recovered to their peak, and he wanted to finish the fight quickly. He shouted, "Canine Red Lotus!" He brought his hands together, and they rapidly turned to lava, forming a two-headed lava hound that charged at the middle-aged ninja.
The middle-aged ninja quickly formed Hand Seals and shouted, "Earth Release: Earth Shore Return!" He pulled up a huge slab of rock to shield himself. With a crash, the slab proved utterly unable to withstand Uzumaki Hane's two-headed hound and was smashed apart. The lava hound continued charging at the middle-aged ninja with undiminished force. He did not resist, however, and after being struck down, he vanished in smoke.
Uzumaki Hane's eyes narrowed, and he murmured, "A clone? Was it when he blocked my view with the slab just now?" He looked warily around, but had no idea where his opponent was hiding and could only remain on guard. At that moment, Uzumaki Hane sorely missed Tanaka's Byakugan. If Tanaka were here, he should be able to find the other ninja immediately.