AN: Check out my P@treon for extra chapters starting at 3$.
Currently, I have published 51 extra chapters. The storyline is at the stage where the Third Shinobi World War has nearly ended.
www.p@treon.com/noviceauthor777
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The rising sun shone upon the settlement, illuminating it. The chaotic scene was littered with various torn body parts and debris. Amidst this devastation, two figures slowly stood up, looking around in a daze, overwhelmed by the hellish landscape that they were watching. The teaching from the academy they received allowed them to identify most of the human body parts scattered around, but this knowledge only made the scene more nightmarish.
"Gross!" The nausea welled up from the depths of their hearts, filling their stomachs and throats and constantly testing their resilience. It took only a few breaths before the overwhelming discomfort triumphed over reason. Asuka and Kirishima, who had gotten up first to survey the area, began vomiting in waves.
Toshiro, meanwhile, still hadn't recovered from the explosion. He lay silently on the ground; his brain was stinging. He needed a moment to catch his breath before he could stand up.
"Toshiro! Are you alright?" Asuka, more attentive than Kirsishima, noticed that Toshiro hadn't gotten up yet. She panicked, fearing something had happened to their savior. Ignoring the debris covering him, she hurriedly brushed aside the "pieces" and checked for external injuries, relieved to find none.
"How is Toshiro?" Kirishima asked, concerned.
"Nothing serious, just a mental shock. He needs to rest for a while," Asuka reassured him.
If anything had happened to Toshiro, they would have felt guilty for the rest of their lives. Fortunately, the worst hadn't occurred.
"He is fine. That's really good!" Kirishima said, relieved.
"You two, can you help me up first? It's too cold to keep lying on the ground!" Toshiro, having finally caught his breath, joked to ease the tension. But inside, he was complaining bitterly. He had seen characters in movies handle this kind of situation without flinching, yet he almost lost his life here. There was a reason why the shadow clone technique was listed as a forbidden jutsu.
As Asuka and Kirishima helped him up, Toshiro saw the hellish scene around him. "Gross!" He, too, began vomiting loudly after just a glance. "If this was the case, you might as well let me continue lying on the ground!" he grumbled between bouts of vomiting.
"Obviously, you asked us to help you up! Don't you blame us now!" Asuka retorted, indignant. If not for Toshiro saving her life, she would have eaten his ears out for that remark.
Just then, a fourth voice called out, "What's going on here?"
"Who is it?" All three turned to see two bandits who had somehow survived. One of them, now conscious, looked around in confusion before noticing his companion lying nearby. "Dahe! Dahe! Are you okay?" he shouted.
"Ahh! What's wrong? What happened?" Dahe woke up with some dizziness.
It wasn't surprising that these two bandits had come to their senses. Enough time had passed for the drug's effects to wear off, and the explosions had jolted them awake.
"Stop yelling, look around us!" the first bandit said, looking in the direction of Toshiro and the others.
"Who are you?" the bandit demanded, but Toshiro didn't answer. Instead, he turned to Asuka and Kirishima. "He seems like an experienced one," he observed. The bandit remained calm despite the chaos, a clear sign of someone accustomed to bloodshed.
The bandit armed himself with weapons from the debris and handed some to Dahe. These were the weapons Toshiro and Kirishima had discarded earlier. The shadow clone had tried to blow the bandit leader far away to avoid a violent explosion that could scatter dangerous items like kunai and shuriken.
"Asuka! Kirishima! I'll leave these two to you. I can't be of help in my current state," Toshiro said. He could barely stand and knew he wouldn't be of much use in a fight.
"Hmm! Leave these two to me!" Kirishima, determined and resolute, stepped forward, ready to take on the task of eliminating the threats. He then asked, "Asuka! Do you still have any weapons on you?"
Both his ninja pouch and the kunai bag strapped to his legs had been discarded during the chaos. Even Asuka was not spared from losing her weapons. On the other hand, Toshiro, having used a shadow clone, had managed to preserve some of his equipment. Reaching into his ninja pouch, he took out two kunai, handing one to Asuka and one to Kirishima.
"Asuka, you go too. One of you needs to deal with them," Toshiro instructed. He had realized that his previous strategy, while seemingly simple, had backfired during critical moments, leading to serious consequences. This time was no different. His perfect plan had unraveled into a chaotic mess that is happening right now.
"But Toshiro, you're not in great shape. Let Asuka stay and take care of you," Kirishima argued, trying to protect his friend.
"Kirishima! We're all ninjas. Sooner or later, we have to face this. Besides, why don't you ask Asuka what she wants?" Toshiro knew that the only way to change Kirishima's mind was to see how Asuka felt about it.
"Kirishima, listen to Toshiro!" Asuka interjected, rejecting Kirishima's proposal. She gripped her kunai and led the charge toward the two bandits. She felt guilty for putting her companions in danger and was determined to never let it happen again.
"I can take care of myself, Kirishima. You should go with Asuka. That way, you can look out for each other in case anything happens," Toshiro reminded Kirishima, who was momentarily stunned by Asuka's decisiveness.
"It seems this won't end well," observed the bandit, who had been silently watching. Glancing at his companion, he tightened his grip on his weapon and rushed toward Asuka. The bandits knew the three ninjas were responsible for the massacre around them. The sight of the blood-soaked Asuka and Toshiro made them look like vengeful spirits from hell.
Kirishima, still slightly behind, saw the bandits' intent to ambush Asuka. He quickened his pace, calling out, "Asuka! Be careful!" As he sped up, he managed to pass Asuka, leaving the words "Be careful" echoing in the air as he intercepted the bandit attempting to flank her.
"So fast!" the bandit exclaimed, breaking into a cold sweat. Kirishima's speed was really intimidating, and he realized how outmatched they were. Even so, he steeled himself for the fight, knowing the odds were against them.
"Die!" A roar of desperation erupted from the bandit fighting Kirishima. Dahe abandoned all defense and attacked Kirishima in a reckless, all-out assault. His strikes were aimed at Kirishima's vital points, intending to trade his life for a chance to harm his opponent. Kirishima found himself momentarily at a loss, unprepared for the bandit's suicidal strategy.
Although Kirishima and his companions were superior in skill and strength, the bandit's desperate tactics posed a new challenge. Despite their overwhelming advantage, there was still the danger of being injured. The bandits knew they stood little chance, yet they fought with the ferocity of cornered animals.
With the intense confrontation unfolding, the battle tested the ninjas' resolve and skill in ways they had never imagined.
As time passed, Toshiro, standing behind and witnessing the entire fight, couldn't help but shake his head. From the start, he noticed the problem.
Although the two bandits were fighting desperately, Kirishima and Asuka, with their superior strength and combat skills, had numerous opportunities to kill them with a single blow. However, they seemed to forget they were ninjas and could use ninjutsu.
'Such kind-hearted children!' Toshiro sighed silently but didn't urge them. Some lessons must be experienced firsthand to truly grow.
The clashing of metal echoed through the battle as the two ninjas struggled. Their high concentration and nervousness consumed much of their energy, leaving them gasping for breath.
The bandits, observing their opponents, couldn't believe they were facing children, perhaps only ten years old. Normal children at that age might help with farm work, but these kids were already fighting to kill.
Despite the bandits' awareness of the young ninjas' hesitation and inexperience, the fact remained that they were slowly inching toward their deaths. Both sides were giving their all, but the gap in strength, speed, and skill was evident. Even when the bandits noticed the ninjas' weaknesses and launched frenzied attacks, they failed.
"Asuka! Kirishima! How long are you going to drag this out? There's no point in delaying!" Toshiro finally called out.
Upon hearing this, Asuka and Kirishima simultaneously broke away from the fight, jumping several meters high and landing nearly ten meters away, out of the battle area. The bandits, sensing the moment of decision had come, prepared for the worst.
Asuka and Kirishima exchanged silent looks, both pondering the same question: What's the point of delaying? As ninjas, completing their mission was paramount. Prolonging the inevitable wouldn't change the outcome. Yet the thought of killing weighed heavily on them. They were just children, after all.
If they didn't kill the bandits, someone else would. They were ninjas, and completing their mission was the highest priority, no matter how distasteful it might be.
Standing opposite the bandits, who were now supporting each other and barely able to stand, Asuka's thoughts raced. It would be easy to throw their kunai and end it, just like they had practiced in the academy and at their clan's training grounds. But when she tried to summon the resolve, reality's weight held her back.
While Asuka hesitated, Kirishima made a decision. At ten years old, a bit older than Asuka, and as a boy, he resolved to take the necessary step to become a true ninja. He didn't opt for shurikenjutsu or any other ranged attack. Instead, he walked straight towards the bandits with a kunai in hand.
A swift strike ended one bandit, who clutched his neck, blood gushing out, and struggled futilely. His companion, the one named 'Dahe' watched in horror as his friend was trying to say something but only managing to cough up blood before collapsing.
Having completed his grim task, Kirishima didn't attack the second bandit. He walked slowly back towards Toshiro, head lowered, knowing that, as a ninja, he would be faced with similar instances in the future.
"Hmm!" With a slice to the jugular, the second bandit's life also ended, leaving behind Asuka holding the kunai. She had crossed the threshold from being an innocent girl to a ninja who knew the realities of life and death.
"You two! Are you okay?" Toshiro called out, seeing the two of them in silent contemplation. He knew comforting them was beyond his experience, even after two lifetimes.
'This truly is a cruel world!' he thought
AN: Check out my P@treon for extra chapters starting at 3$.
Currently, I have published 51 extra chapters. The storyline is at the stage where the Third Shinobi World War has nearly ended.
www.p@treon.com/noviceauthor777