Direction: Kasahara Village.
Kobayashi Takeshi and Satō Yū followed the tracks and quickly found the bandits ravaging the village.
But the scene before them made both freeze in their tracks.
Flames danced atop several thatched roofs, billowing smoke.
Men's roars, women's screams, children's wails, and the bandits' arrogant laughter all mingled together.
"Hand over all your grain!"
"Old fool, get lost!"
"This girl's not bad —take her along!"
One bandit was dragging a teenage girl from her mother's arms; the old woman knelt and hugged the thug's leg, only to be kicked away, her forehead striking a stone and gushing blood.
Elsewhere, several thugs swung clubs and machetes, forcing villagers to pour their meager stores into sacks; the slightest hesitation brought punches and kicks.
On the village common lay several corpses, silently testifying to the atrocity just committed.
"These… animals!"
Kobayashi Takeshi's teeth ground audibly; the unease he'd felt after killing prisoners in the bandit lair was swept away by surging fury.
Satō Yū's face paled, but her gaze was equally icy.
"We can't let this go on!"
"Go!"
Without another word, the two shot forward like arrows loosed from a bow, plunging into the chaotic bandit mob.
Battle erupted in an instant.
Kobayashi Takeshi slammed straight into the bandit dragging the girl.
The thug heard the wind and turned —only to see a fist rapidly filling his vision.
"Smack!"
The crunch of a collapsing nose rang out clearly.
The bandit screamed and toppled, instantly unconscious.
Satō Yū silently appeared behind another thug who was raising a blade over an old man; a Kunai sliced across the bandit's neck.
The bandit stiffened, gurgled twice, clutched his spurting throat, and fell.
"Who's there?!"
"It's… it's a Ninja!"
The bandits shouted in panic at the sudden ambush.
When some villagers spotted their forehead protectors, they cried out in relief.
"Ah! Ninja! Leaf Ninja are here!"
The bandit chief, seeing this, roared in fury and waved his blade, calling his men to surround them.
"Kill them!"
"They're just a couple of brats…"
Yet the gap between commoners and Ninja was as vast as heaven and earth.
Kunai hissed through the air, piercing bandits' throats or hearts.
Taijutsu pushed to the limit —every elbow, every kick landed with the dull crack of breaking bone.
Blood sprayed; the bandits' screams now replaced their earlier arrogance.
Freshly tempered by slaughter, Kobayashi Takeshi and Satō Yū moved with a hint of rawness yet struck with ruthless decisiveness.
Against these scum who preyed on civilians, neither felt the slightest mercy or hesitation.
Nine ordinary bandits stood no chance against two full-fledged Genin; within moments most lay fallen. Only the chief and two henchmen remained, backs together, staring in terror as the pair advanced.
"Done…"
Kobayashi Takeshi panted, kicking aside a corpse, about to speak to Satō Yū—
—when sudden change struck!
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Several Shuriken shot from the shadows at vicious angles, aiming straight for their vitals!
"Watch out!"
Back-to-back, the two swung Kunai frantically, sparks ringing in a desperate defense.
From the gloom, three masked Ninja stepped out, forming a triangle around them. The leader stood with folded arms, eyes cold; the other two held ready stances.
"Ninja?! Why are Ninja here?!" Kobayashi Takeshi blurted, his face turning ashen.
Satō Yū clenched her Kunai, palms sweating.
"Three of them… what do we do, Takeshi?!"
The masked trio swept their gazes over the two Genin.
The leader tilted his head slightly; the others understood at once.
"Target confirmed," the one on the left said icily.
"Move," the right-hand Ninja added.
At the word, the two flanking Ninja shot in for the kill.
They moved with blinding speed; Kunai gleamed as they whisked past throats and vitals by a hair's breadth.
The Taijutsu pressure was crushing —every block left Kobayashi's arms numb; Satō Yū took a side-kick to the waist, grunted in pain, and stumbled back.
The pair were wholly suppressed, barely holding on, powerless to counter.
Their foes struck like a storm yet calibrated each blow to keep them teetering on death's edge without finishing them.
"No good! Too strong! Yū… signal!" Kobayashi Takeshi roared, blood seeping from a split tiger-mouth as he parried a downward chop.
Pressed back by another Ninja, Satō Yū clenched her teeth, risked a gash across the shoulder, and yanked out a flare. With all her strength she pulled the pin.
"Fwoosh—Boom!"
A brilliant flare screamed skyward and bloomed into a glaring red bloom against the night.
The masked leader, arms still folded, watched the ascending flare. Behind his mask his lips seemed to move in a whisper only he could hear:
"Then… you should be coming now… Kinoe."
Seeing the signal, the two subordinate Ninja paused for a heartbeat and glanced toward their chief.
He gave a slight nod.
They resumed their pressure, keeping Kobayashi Takeshi and Satō Yū pinned —neither killing nor letting them escape. At that same moment, the distant Yamato jerked his head up at the red bloom above Kasahara Village, his face changing instantly.
'A distress flare? Something happened to Takeshi and Yū?!'
His heart clenched.
'This shouldn't be —dealing with a few bandits shouldn't warrant this.'
'Could it be… an unforeseen development? Ninja from another force?'
He immediately thought of Tejima Shinichi's side.
But with Shinichi's strength, handling bandits should be effortless; even if he met a Jonin, he should hold out far longer while unknown to the enemy.
'I have to save them first!'
Without further hesitation Yamato flickered into a black blur, racing toward Kasahara at top speed… Meanwhile, already nearing Ishikawa Village, Tejima Shinichi…