The cold night air cut through Shin's cloak as he left the dimly lit hallway of the White Room. Danzo's order still echoed in his mind.
"Exterminate everyone in the hideout," Danzo had commanded, his eyes devoid of empathy.
Shin's heart remained impassive as he recalled the conversation. The mission was clear: eliminate everyone. No survivors. He had trained for this, had been molded into a weapon for Konoha. Killing a bunch of bandits was no problem for him.
As he moved through the shadowed streets of Konoha, his thoughts raced. He needed to balance his growing power with the ruthless demands of his superiors. Failure was not an option.
The forest around Konoha was eerily silent as Shin approached the bandits' hideout. Moonlight filtered through the dense canopy, casting long, ghostly shadows on the ground. Shin took a deep breath, steadying himself. The mission required stealth and precision.
Using a Transformation Jutsu, Shin disguised himself as a wandering deer, blending perfectly into the nocturnal environment. His steps were silent, his presence almost ethereal as he neared the hideout. He counted ten bandits and a few women and children locked in cages, their snores and murmurs betraying their positions.
Shin returned to his true form, his eyes narrowing as he assessed the situation. He drew his sword, the cold steel reflecting the moonlight. He moved like a shadow, his kunai ready in his left hand.
The first bandit lay near the entrance, a bottle of sake clutched in his hand. Shin's movements were fluid and swift, a single slash to the throat silencing the man forever. The gurgling sound was barely audible, swallowed by the night.
{extraction: taijutsu +0}
Inside the hideout, the air was thick with the stench of unwashed bodies and stale food. Shin's heart pounded, but he forced himself to stay calm. He crawled towards the next target, his kunai poised. With a quick flick of his wrist, the blade found its mark, and another bandit fell silently.
The system notification sounded again, but Shin ignored it, focused on his mission.
Some bandits stirred in their sleep, their subconscious minds sensing a presence. Shin used another Transformation Jutsu, this time melding with the very shadows, becoming nearly invisible. He approached the group of sleeping bandits, his sword gleaming in the moonlight. One by one, he eliminated them with lethal efficiency.
The last bandit was more alert, his eyes opening just as Shin approached. Panic flickered in the man's eyes, but before he could utter a sound, Shin was upon him. The bandit reached for a weapon, but Shin's kunai found its way to his heart, ending the threat.
Shin stood in the center of the hideout, surrounded by the lifeless bodies of the bandits. When he finished killing the bandits, he started to leave quickly, but a Root member stopped him.
"Finish your mission," he said in a cold, emotionless voice.
Shin, upon hearing this, was perplexed for a moment. He had already killed everyone there, his mission was complete. He couldn't understand what was missing; all the bandits were dead.
As he pondered deeply on what was missing, Shin noticed an unusual movement behind him. As he turned, he heard the voice of a little girl.
"Mister Ninja, are you going to get us out of here?" said a little girl with emotion and hope. She was probably the same age as Shin, just five years old.
The little girl was in a cell with two other children and a few women who were starting to wake up because of the noise. These people were probably captured to be sold as slaves or used by the bandits to satisfy their desires.
When Shin looked at the little girl and the others in the cell, he remembered Danzo's order.
"Exterminate everyone in the hideout."
Shin had been through a lot. He always managed to keep a neutral, impassive expression for everything that happened in the White Room, but at that moment, his eyes betrayed him. A hint of disbelief, compassion, and even fear passed through his eyes, while his lips couldn't help but tremble.
After a while, Shin finally calmed down. He managed to return to his neutral expression as he walked closer to the cell. The little girl, seeing him approach, started crying. After so much time, after suffering so much, she was finally going to be free.
Her body was aching all over, as the thieves had abused and beaten her. She was very hungry, having gone days without eating. But what she had gone through only made her emotion stronger, her eyes shining with hope as she watched the ninja get closer and closer.
When the ninja got close enough, he stopped his movements, leaving the girl perplexed. The ninja hesitated for a few seconds, then she heard an almost inaudible and trembling voice coming from beneath the mask he wore.
"I'm sorry."
The ninja's voice, though he tried to maintain composure, carried with it a weight that seemed to crush the hope that had ignited in the little girl's eyes. Those two words, "I'm sorry," hung in the air like a sentence, an omen of what was to come. Shin's heart, despite being trained for coldness and efficiency, now twisted in a knot of conflict.
The little girl, her eyes still shining with hope but now tinged with confusion and fear, looked at the ninja who had become both her savior and her potential executioner. The other women and children in the cell, now awake and aware of the threatening presence, huddled together, seeking comfort in their proximity.
Shin, on the inside, was a whirlwind of emotions. Danzo's order, "Exterminate everyone in the hideout," echoed in his mind, but it clashed with the image of those innocent and vulnerable children, who were no different from him in age and circumstance. He had been trained to follow orders, to not question, but the sight of those faces filled with fear and expectation challenged the very essence of his mission.
He closed his eyes for a moment, wrestling with his internal battle. When he opened them again, there was a decision in them. The ninja then brought his hands together and made several seals that the little girl couldn't quite see due to the speed of his hands. Right after the ninja completed the seals, he said in an emotionless voice, "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu)."
The little girl, despite her expectation of freedom, was confronted with the cruel reality of Shin's decision. The fireball approached her with a speed that allowed no reaction, consuming her and the others who had been trapped in the hideout in an instant. The scorching heat and the blinding light of the explosion illuminated the night, leaving only silence and destruction in its wake.
Shin, upon executing the jutsu, felt a pang of pain in his heart, a sensation he was not accustomed to. He had been trained to be a weapon, to not question orders, and now, in carrying out the mission ruthlessly, he had sealed the fate of those innocent lives. Danzo's order had been fulfilled, but at the cost of a part of his own humanity.
He stood still for a moment, looking at the remaining ashes, his expression impassive but his eyes betraying a deep sadness. The mission was complete, but the victory felt hollow. He had eliminated all witnesses, but doubt and remorse were now his constant companions.
Shin turned and began to walk back to Konoha, his solitary figure disappearing into the night. He had obeyed orders, but the internal battle he waged with himself was one he would have to face alone. With each step, the image of the little girl and the other victims burned in his mind, a constant reminder of his actions and the choices he had made.
The cold night enveloped Konoha, but the cold Shin felt was internal, a cold that no amount of training or discipline could warm. He had been a weapon, obedient and lethal, but now he was also an executioner, a title he would carry with him forever.
As he walked away, smoke rose from the destroyed hideout, a symbol of his completed mission. But within Shin, there was a subtle change. The mission had been accomplished, but the seed of doubt had been planted. He had obeyed, but the question that now loomed in his mind was: "How far could he go before losing himself completely?"