"Quickly! Hurry up and surround the carriages and those people!"
Soon, the bandits rushed forward and completely surrounded the convoy.
"Hey, you two! What's inside these carriages?" shouted a bandit leader who seemed to be in charge as he pointed at Isamu and Senba. The reason he singled them out was simple—they looked like the leaders of the group.
"Hmph! What's inside has nothing to do with you. Don't you know we're Konoha Village's Supply Transport Unit? Are you tired of living, daring to rob us?" Senba snorted coldly, his brows furrowed.
"Konoha Village? Heh, others might fear your Konoha Village, but we don't. Our boss said you Konoha Ninjas aren't strong at all. He can crush you easily!" the bandit leader said with a face full of disdain.
Oh, so there really is a backer behind them. But this backer sounds mentally challenged. In this era, when Konoha was overflowing with geniuses and experts, no one with a functioning brain would dare claim they could crush Konoha. Looks like their boss is just a loudmouthed fool. How boring.
After hearing the bandit leader's words, Isamu instantly lost interest.
"Not strong? Crush us? Hahahaha… that's the funniest joke I've heard in years!" Senba burst into laughter. He glanced at his father for confirmation, and after seeing Isamu nod slightly, a trace of ruthlessness appeared on his face.
"What's so funny? You're already surrounded. You'd better tell us what's inside those supplies. Don't force us to get violent!" the bandit leader shouted impatiently.
"These carriages are filled with weapons and food supplies, but unfortunately, you won't be taking any of them," Senba said as he slowly pulled out a Kunai.
"Oh? You want to fight? Who's afraid of you!" The bandit immediately drew a Katana, looking eager to clash with Senba.
"Good grief."
In an instant, Isamu stepped forward and sliced the bandit leader's head clean off.
"Father, you…?" Senba looked at the corpse in confusion after seeing his father casually decapitate the man.
"This idiot was completely delusional. Watching him act so arrogant was irritating. If someone like him doesn't deserve to die, who does?" Isamu said calmly as he flicked the blood from his hand.
Seeing their leader killed instantly, the other bandits retreated several steps in fear. However, because they still had the advantage in numbers, none of them dared flee first.
"Kill them! Avenge the boss!"
"That's right! Revenge!"
The crowd of bandits roared as they charged forward with their Katanas raised.
"Hmph! You dare attack us? You're courting death!" Senba's expression darkened. Activating the Body Flicker Technique, he flashed through the crowd at incredible speed, cutting down one bandit after another with every swing of his Kunai.
Under the combined slaughter of Senba and the Konoha Genin, the bandits were wiped out in no time. Only one survivor remained, pinned to the ground by Isamu. After all, they still needed information about the person backing these bandits.
"Here, Senba. Take this guy and find the one behind them. Wipe out that suicidal idiot too. Consider it doing the nearby civilians a favor," Isamu said as he tossed the surviving bandit in front of Senba.
"D-Don't kill me! Please don't kill me!" the minor bandit cried while kneeling and begging for mercy.
Seeing such a cowardly display, Senba ignored him entirely and instead looked at his father with hesitation.
"Father, isn't chasing down their backer just a waste of time? The frontline troops are still waiting for these supplies. Shouldn't we hurry and continue the mission instead?"
"It's fine. I'll continue leading the convoy forward. You go deal with that so-called backer. With your speed, you'll catch up quickly. Besides, with this little rat leading the way, finding them shouldn't take long," Isamu said calmly.
"…Alright then."
Senba grabbed the trembling bandit and left. He truly couldn't understand why his father cared so much about a bandit hideout. It felt like such a pointless waste of time.
After Senba left, Isamu continued leading the convoy onward. This shipment contained enough supplies to sustain the frontline troops for three entire months. Clearly, Konoha was already preparing for a prolonged war.
And honestly, Konoha's judgment wasn't wrong. The Third Shinobi World War would indeed drag on for a very long time.
"I thought I'd get some entertainment out of this trip, but it turned out to be nothing more than a bragging bandit leader. What a disappointment. If I'd known earlier, I wouldn't have bothered escorting supplies," Isamu muttered with a helpless smile.
Of course, he was only complaining on the surface. In reality, he enjoyed traveling with Senba. Their remaining time together was limited, after all.
After traveling for another half a day, the sky gradually darkened. Seeing nightfall approaching, Isamu ordered the convoy to stop and rest. The frontline situation hadn't become critical yet, so there was no need to continue moving through the night.
"What's taking Senba so long? It shouldn't take this much time to clean up some useless bandits. Could something have happened?" Since Senba still hadn't returned, Isamu began to feel slightly uneasy.
"Lord Isamu, there's no need to worry. Please, have something to eat. With Lord Senba's strength, nothing should happen to him," an older Genin said as he approached Isamu with a freshly roasted chicken.
"I know he's strong, but the Ninja World is full of unexpected dangers. Who wouldn't worry about their own child?" Isamu replied calmly as he accepted the roasted chicken.
"That's true. The Ninja World is full of surprises, especially during wartime. But… did you just say Lord Senba is your son?" The Genin looked at Isamu with obvious disbelief.
"Of course he's my son. Don't we look alike?" Isamu said while touching his face.
"Well… it's not that you don't resemble each other. It's just that you look way too young. You don't look like Lord Senba's father at all—you look more like brothers!" the Genin admitted honestly after hesitating for a moment.
"Is that so? Hahahaha! Maybe I just age slowly. After all, I'm only thirty-eight. I'm still two years away from forty!" Isamu laughed loudly.
"Thirty-eight?!" The Genin's eyes widened in shock.
In the Ninja World, most Ninjas aged quickly because of constant battles and excessive chakra consumption. By the time many Ninjas reached their thirties, wrinkles were already covering their faces.
Yet Isamu looked no older than twenty-five.
"Hehe, there are special reasons for that. By the way, how old are you?" Isamu asked casually with a faint smile.