Hiroto followed his sensei's lead, like his other teammates. They journeyed for half-a-day taking a few breaks in between.
"There is a high chance you will get your first kills in this mission as there are some reports of hostages, the bandits we are dealing with are not Shinobi so the mission might not be hard but don't get complacent, and don't ever underestimate your enemies. Always be prepared for any variable that might disrupt your plans and prepare accordingly" Shikaku advised his genin team when they are a few kilometers away from the bandit lair.
"Yes, sensei" Hiroto replied with his team.
Shikaku nodded and moved towards the cave, they stopped a few hundred meters away.
...
...
"Anko look for traces of movement, Hiroto try to sense people and their positions, Itachi keep a lookout for any traps and surprise attacks" Shikaku instructed.
A few minutes later
"There are some footsteps leading out of the cave, and they are a few hours old Shikaku-san" Anko gave her report.
"There are a few traps around, they can be disabled easily sensei" Itachi replied his findings.
"I found fifteen signatures sensei but one of them has chakra and the chakra felt strong sensei" Hiroto informed his findings.
Shikaku thought for a few moments and replied "All of you work on some traps a few feet from the cave so they can't leave or enter, Anko summon a few small snakes with less lethal venom and ask them to blend in the surroundings. Prepare all your equipment we will attack before dusk".
Hiroto and his teammates followed their jonin sensei instructions and waited for nearly an hour patiently.
...
...
Shikaku signaled his sensor ninja to start off the attack.
Hiroto threw a kunai with an explosive seal attached to the location outside the cave near the chakra user, just as it is ready to make contact he made a handsign and made the blast.
Hiroto and others looked on as the wall crumbled to reveal an earth dome, slowly it crumbled down to reveal a brown-haired man who let the hair fall down till his neck, squinted eyes with brown pupils, a slightly crooked mouth, with slightly bulk build and a head protector with Iwa symbol but crossed out denoting his status as a rogue ninja.
"Kasai{An OC} former Iwa ninja of the Explosion corps, deserted the village after the last war" Shikaku said after identifying the man.
"Nara Shikaku and this must be your genin brats, pretty young, it will be a good present for Konoha so make their bodies fireworks" Kasai replied.
"An A-rank ninja to a bandit, maybe someone can make a good comedy film with your interrogation report " Shikaku shot back.
Shikaku's words are countered with a lightning jutsu which he evaded easily, "You deal with the remaining bandits and protect the hostages" the Nara clan head gave orders to his students.
Hiroto, Itachi, and Anko nodded at their sensei's instructions, used body flicker jutsu, and moved away.
Shikaku looked at his opponent and threw a Fūma Shuriken at the Iwa rogue shinobi, he had to move away swiftly from his position as the earth under his feet turned to quicksand.
Shikaku tried to use Shadow possession jutsu to deny the enemy of any movement, but his plan failed by the explosion from quicksand.
"HAHAHA... I heard stories of Nara's intelligence, show me that you leaf b*stard" Kasai gauded.
Shikaku's expression turned serious and he sent a water wave toward the previous explosion corps Shinobi, the attack is once again met with an earth dome that slowly crumbled down.
Shikaku succeeded in using shadow possession jutsu as soon as the dome crumbled down thanks to the time being dusk.
...
...
Hiroto quickly went into the cave along with his teammates to deal with bandits, they found a large open space in the cave with nearly twenty in makeshift holding cells, and a few bandits spiraled onto the floor thanks to a previous attack on the rogue Iwa ninja, and a dozen people holding different weapons ranging from different types of swords, staffs, maces, and even clubs.
Seeing three new faces all the bandits surrounded them and attacked.
Hiroto kicked a guy with a sword away knocking him out, he took a kunai and blocked a sword attack. Hiroto used Adamantine chains to move up and landed on another one knocking the guy out, he threw a kunai at the staff user distracting him he swiftly body flickered behind him and made his lights out leaving only one standing. Hiroto ran at the remaining bandit blocked the sword with kunai and punched the lights out with his remaining hand.
Hiroto turned to see a few snakes around the guys Anko beat and the bandits around Itachi are looking like they are experiencing nightmares, some with kunai wounds.
"Let's take these hostages a good distance away" Itachi said and made a shadow clone.
Hiroto and Anko followed the same action and the former gave FTG kunai to his shadow clone. Soon the shadow clones took the hostages out of the cave from another way thanks to Anko's tracking skills and information from a bandit thanks to genjutsu.
...
...
Shikaku found something odd and soon true to his worries the A-rank rogue Iwa ninja disappeared as soon as he felt a pair of hands drag his body underground.
Shikaku quickly kicked the hands and used substitution jutsu to move away, he warily looked around to find a trace of the enemy.
Shikaku was met with earth bullets by Kasai who emerged from the ground, the Nara clan head used body flicker jutsu to move away from the attack trajectory.
"Shadow stitching complete" Shikaku said with a low voice and soon Kasai was bounded tightly by shadows emerging from the holes he used.
"Sensei" his students called out and stood by his side, he listened to their report without letting the enemy away from his field of vision.
"HAHAHA... I wanted to stage my death and leave, it seems fate dealt me a bad hand" Kasai said with a maniac grin.
"I will try to hold him, you knock him out or kill him" Shikaku roared orders at his students.
Hiroto and Itachi sent kunais to his non-vital organs, and Anko with her snakes to attack and knock the enemy out with venom.
...
Kasai is trying hard to do handsigns to blast the surrounding few kilometers which he prepared beforehand and are stored safely in the cave, he was struck with kunais by the genin brats but his eyes widened at a kunai, its user causing nightmares to many of Iwa shinobi.
True to his fear he saw that damned jutsu again as the red-haired brat appeared behind him and held a kunai to his throat.
...
Hiroto used FTG jutsu and appeared behind the enemy, "Surrender" he said to the Iwa shinobi.
"HAHAHAHAHA... I don't know you are related to that guy, HAHAHA... atleast the old geezer will be happy if I take you out with me" he heard the rogue shinobi say.
"Come on kill me, you have the power to kill me, kill me, and experience the ecstasy of.." the former explosion corps Shinobi is interrupted by a stinging snake bite.
Hiroto is thankful for the interruption but he had to try very hard not to falter and giveaway his current mental state to the enemy, his mental state is in turmoil at the prospect of taking a life.
Hiroto watched on as the enemy is not backing down and his sensei's jutsu is slowly giving leeway, seeing no other option he took the sword out from the storage seal on his wrist and ran it through the enemy's chest at the same time he looked on as the rogue Iwa ninja's neck is pierced by a kunai.
"I...I killed him"Hiroto and Itachi who threw the kunai said out loud in a low voice.