"Now…we go capture bandits."
Murakami said it plainly, then his gaze settled on Sora and Hideki. "When we put on these headbands," he continued, "we became shinobi of Konoha."
He paused briefly, then continued. "And a shinobi who hasn't faced a true life-and-death situation… doesn't yet understand where his strength truly lies."
Sora's fingers tightened slightly as he knew that was the truth. Hideki didn't speak but his expression was heavy.
Murakami exhaled quietly before continuing. "I understand why you're both hesitant. I'm scared too."
That honesty landed heavier than confidence would have.
"But I trust my training so far. So if nothing else… trust me, and follow my instructions."
He looked between them, his gaze steady. "I expect you both to hesitate. I expect you to lose your nerve at some point."
"But like during our fight with Kaito-sensei… I'll be watching your backs."
Saying this, Murakami pulled out a small bundle of paper tags from his pouch.
The faint traces of chakra flowing through them immediately caught Sora's attention.
"Sealing tags?" he asked, surprised.
Murakami nodded and separated a few from the bundle before handing them over.
"This one," he said, holding up a dark-colored tag marked with thin ink patterns, "is a Concealment Tag. Channel chakra into it and it'll blur your presence for a short period."
Hideki stared at it. "You made these?"
Murakami ignored the question and lifted another.
"This is a Silence Tag. It suppresses the sound generated by movement."
Sora's eyes widened slightly behind his glasses.
"For how long?"
"A few minutes," Murakami replied. "Longer if you remain still."
Then he held up the final tag.
Unlike the others, this one carried a denser chakra signature.
"This is a Binding Tag," he said. "Attach it directly to a target and activate it with chakra. It'll immobilize them for a few seconds."
Hideki blinked. "A few seconds? That's it?"
"For shinobi, that's enough," Murakami answered calmly.
Silence fell briefly over the group as the two stared at the tags in their hands.
Neither of them had expected this.
"As I said earlier, there are seven bandits. Two are on lookout." Murakami glanced at the both of them. "They're your opponents."
"Huh?" Hideki pointed at himself. "Us?"
Sora frowned slightly. "What about the others?"
Murakami's expression remained calm.
"I'll handle them."
Hideki immediately opened his mouth. "That's insane—"
"You won't be fighting alone," Murakami interrupted.
That made him pause.
Murakami crouched slightly and began drawing rough markings into the dirt with a small stick.
"The camp sits here," he said quietly, sketching a circle. "The two lookouts patrol opposite sides. They move slowly and they're careless, but if either of them shouts, the entire camp will react."
His gaze shifted to the tags in their hands.
"That's why you'll use those first."
Sora adjusted his glasses and looked down at the rough map. "You want us to ambush them?"
Murakami nodded.
"Use the Concealment Tags before entering their patrol range. Once you get close enough, activate the Silence Tags."
Hideki swallowed slightly. "And then?"
Murakami tapped the dirt twice.
"You immobilize them immediately with the Binding Tags."
Sora's brows furrowed. "What if we miss?"
"Then retreat."
The answer came instantly causing both of them to blink.
Isn't this where you're supposed to say; complete the mission above all else?
They silently thought but didn't voice it out and Murakami continued calmly.
"This isn't a test of bravery. If something goes wrong, fall back toward me. Don't force a fight."
The forest wind passed quietly through the trees.
Then Murakami looked toward the direction of the bandit camp again.
"Once the two lookouts are restrained, the remaining five lose their outer vision."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"That's when I move."
Neither Sora nor Hideki spoke after that.
The nervousness was still there, Murakami could sense it clearly from the instability in their breathing alone, but neither of them backed away.
That was enough.
Murakami rose to his feet and looked toward the forest ahead.
"Activate the Concealment Tags only when we get close," he said quietly. "Don't waste chakra."
The two nodded.
Then the three of them moved.
The forest at night was far quieter than during the day. Every step against the soil, every rustling branch, sounded unnaturally loud to inexperienced ears.
Hideki especially struggled to control his breathing.
Murakami noticed it immediately but said nothing. Instead, he stretched his perception outward, locking onto the seven signatures ahead.
Four gathered near the fire.
One larger signature seated farther behind them.
And the two lookouts moving lazily through the outer perimeter exactly as before.
Murakami raised a hand.
The group stopped instantly.
He pointed silently toward two separate directions within the trees.
The signal was clear.
The patrols.
Sora swallowed slightly before taking out the Concealment Tag.
Hideki copied him a second later.
The chakra flowing into the tags caused the ink markings to glow faintly before fading away completely.
Murakami watched them carefully.
Their presence immediately weakened, it wasn't perfect, but it was enough against ordinary civilians.
Good.
He leaned slightly closer.
"Remember," he said quietly, "don't rush once you see them. Wait until they enter your range."
Hideki nodded stiffly.
Sora adjusted his glasses one last time.
Then the two split apart silently into the darkness.
…
Sora moved carefully through the trees, forcing himself to keep his breathing steady.
His heartbeat was loud… Too loud that he could hear them beat in his ears.
Every crunch beneath his sandals made his shoulders tense instinctively, and more than once, he caught himself glancing toward the distant campfire flickering through the gaps in the forest.
This was real field experience. Not academy practice. Not another spar with blunt kunai and instructors standing nearby.
One mistake here and someone could actually die.
Sora tightened his grip around the Binding Tag in his hand.
The paper felt strangely light for something Murakami claimed could immobilize a person.
Just then, a few paces ahead of him, branches shifted softly and Sora froze as a figure emerged moments later.
One of the bandits.
The man walked lazily through the forest with a crude spear resting over his shoulder, muttering to himself under his breath.
His movements lacked discipline, but the knife hanging from his waist was real enough.
Sora instinctively lowered himself further behind the tree.
The Concealment Tag continued suppressing his presence, but he could feel his chakra draining slowly through it.
The bandit yawned and scratched his beard before turning slightly in Sora's direction.
Sora's heart nearly stopped.
'Don't move.'
The words echoed in his head instantly.
Not from Kaito, but from Murakami.
How that was possible, he had no idea, and he wasn't about to get curious, so he remained frozen.
The bandit stared for another second before clicking his tongue and turning away again.
Sora released a silent breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
'He didn't notice me…'
His fingers trembled slightly as he reached for the second tag.
The Silence Tag.
He activated it carefully.
Almost immediately, the sound of the forest around him dulled strangely. Even his own movements became difficult to hear.
Sora swallowed.
Then slowly and carefully, he began closing the distance.
Ten meters.
Seven.
Five.
Sora could feel sweat gathering against his palms despite the cold night air.
The bandit still hadn't noticed him.
He was close enough now to hear the man grumbling to himself, though the Silence Tag distorted the sound into something faint and distant.
Sora tightened his grip on the Binding Tag.
'Now.'
The thought came sharply.
His body moved before hesitation could return.
Sora burst forward from behind the tree and slammed the tag directly onto the bandit's back.
The paper seal flared with chakra instantly.
The man's eyes widened.
"What the—?!"
But his body froze mid-motion.
Sora didn't waste the opportunity, and just like they practiced, he dealt a strike to the man's neck.
The bandit collapsed heavily onto the ground unconscious.
Sora immediately stepped back, breathing hard.
For a moment, he simply stared at the bandit's collapsed form, then slowly looked down at his shaking hands.
"…I did it."
Not training or practice, but a real enemy.
And he had won.
For a few seconds, Sora simply stood there in silence.
His heart continued pounding violently against his chest, adrenaline still coursing through his body, but beneath the fear and tension was something else.
Relief.
Not because the bandit was weak.
Not because the pl
an worked.
But because, for the first time since leaving the Academy, he finally understood something.
He wasn't playing shinobi anymore, he was one.
Taking a slow breath to steady himself, Sora grabbed the unconscious bandit and disappeared back into the darkness of the forest.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
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