The second swing cleaved the mountain bandit leader's head off, but Toshiro had no time to ponder his dying thoughts.
Zzz! Zzz! Zzz!
The sound of igniting explosive tags filled the air, urging Toshiro to leave quickly.
Tossing aside the small sword, Toshiro ripped off Uchiha Homura's jacket and handed it to another Toshiro who had appeared, a belt tied around his hand.
With Homura, whose lips were tightly pressed and face pale from the ordeal, they swiftly headed towards Zhe.
"Get down!" Toshiro called out as they dropped into position, ready to evade the explosion. Another Toshiro, holding Homura's jacket, grabbed the mountain bandit leader's falling body and hurled it away.
Boom!
Seconds later, the massive explosion from the multiple explosive tags rang out, sending heat waves and shockwaves across the area. The blast rattled the clothes of the young boy and girl lying on the ground.
Chunks of flesh and limbs began to rain down, making a continuous pattering sound like raindrops on banana leaves. Pieces landed near Toshiro and sometimes even on them.
One explosion followed another, as more explosive tags on ordinary bandits detonated.
The chain explosions set off a catastrophic domino effect.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Unidentified flying objects, dismembered heads, limbs, internal organs, and indistinguishable body parts scattered around the mountain hideout, turning it into living hell.
Time passed slowly.
The chain explosions subsided, but those moments felt agonizingly long for Toshiro and his companions. Whenever something flew up and landed nearby or on them, they couldn't help but feel a wave of nausea, forcing them to stay still to avoid getting hurt by the shockwaves.
Zhe and Homura fared a bit better, merely feeling repulsion at the flying debris.
But Toshiro had it worse.
The initial explosion had engulfed his shadow clone, causing significant trouble.
That shadow clone had been created when Toshiro realized he couldn't rescue Uchiha Homura in time. While the mountain bandit leader's attention was on Homura, Toshiro formed the clone and subtly signaled to Zhe and Homura to prepare for action.
He even shot a sharp look at Zhe, warning him to stay in character and not give away their plan to the bandit leader.
Remarkably, Zhe transformed into a perfect actor, not betraying any hint of their plan, earning Toshiro's respect.
If not for the dire situation, Toshiro would have given Zhe an Oscar for his performance.
Uchiha Homura also played the part of a hostage flawlessly, allowing them to deceive the bandit leader entirely.
Had anything gone wrong, Toshiro could only hope their teacher Shigemasa would step in to save them.
Yet, not everything went perfectly.
As Toshiro's shadow clone tried to move the headless body of the bandit leader and the jacket with the ignited explosive tag away, it got caught in the blast.
The clone's destruction sent a wave of pain and fatigue back to Toshiro.
Imagining the same ordeal for his future descendant, who would have to endure such torment without flinching, Toshiro couldn't help but marvel at their resilience.
Most ordinary people would be mentally broken or at least severely debilitated after such an experience.
But his descendant was a monster of resolve, capable of protecting both the village and their clan through sheer will, no matter how unthinkable the method.
"Fugaku-san's discipline is truly disconcerting," Toshiro couldn't help but think, enduring the mental and physical toll lying in the dirt.