After Lian Chi finished speaking, the yellow-haired rogue ninja beside him shouted out in feigned dissatisfaction, "Hey, hey, how come you're only leaving food and money behind? What about the women? You can't just leave us out because you’re not interested, can you?"
The rge, bald rogue ninja next to him agreed, "That's right. But..." He gnced at Keiji, who was protecting his wife and daughter behind him, and sneered, "Seems like there’s not enough to go around, huh?"
The yellow-haired rogue ninja looked confused. "Split them up? Not together?"
The withered-faced rogue ninja spat on the ground, "You're disgusting. I don't want to use what you've already touched."
"Tch." The yellow-haired rogue ninja sneered and then his eyes lit up. "Hey? Over there! Aren't there two more?" He pointed at Hayami Reina and Konan.
"Tch, you're really messed up. Why don't you take those two to the back and do your thing? Don't bring them here with us." The other two seemed to share no interest in the yellow-haired ninja’s preferences.
Seeing the situation was about to escate, Jūbē quickly turned to the others and said, "Forget about the supplies! You all retreat, we'll hold them off!" His face was grim, knowing that even though their numbers were equal, his group was no match for the rogue ninjas, especially in one-on-one combat. That included himself.
"Huh? You’re Jūbē? 'Stone Lion' Jūbē?" Lian Chi paused as he looked at the man who spoke.
"Mm? You know me? Then maybe, for my sake..." Jūbē's heart lifted when he realized the other party recognized him.
"Tch. You’re just a bandit," Lian Chi sneered, "Maybe you don’t know me, but since your death is so close, I’ll tell you anyway. I’m 'Viper' Lian Chi. The leader of the band of thieves you chased off is my younger brother."
At those words, Jūbē’s face darkened, but he quickly regained his composure. His eyes reddened as he roared and rushed toward Lian Chi. The three others wasted no time in charging toward the other three rogue ninjas.
"Run!" Hayami Reina took one st look at the four rogue ninjas, memorizing their faces, and grabbed the still eager Yahiko by the arm, pulling him back.
"Don’t think you can escape!" The yellow-haired rogue ninja, seeing the four try to run, wasn’t about to let them. He casually threw a kunai at Kuma, hitting his leg, dodged Kuma’s hammer strike, and jumped over them to block their path.
"Do you know the 'Copper Biss'?" Hayami Reina said coldly. In truth, rather than staying here and fighting to the death, he preferred to run. He believed that once Konan was used as bait and her gender was revealed, the yellow-haired rogue ninja wouldn’t chase him. But ultimately, he couldn’t bring himself to be so cold-blooded to the first friend he had met in this world.
"Oh? How are you going to die? Hahaha, are you relying on that big fool?" The yellow-haired rogue ninja ughed, pointing at the limping Kuma, who was stumbling over.
Without hesitation, Hayami Reina seized the opportunity, stabbing his hunting knife toward the yellow-haired rogue ninja.
"Is that all?" The yellow-haired rogue ninja casually grabbed Hayami Reina’s knife hand and twisted it. There was a sickening crack as he snapped Hayami Reina’s right arm.
But to the rogue ninja’s surprise, Hayami Reina didn’t cry out in pain. Instead, he immediately kicked up with his leg, aiming for the yellow-haired ninja’s groin.
Meanwhile, Nagato and Konan both grabbed onto the rogue ninja’s legs, and Yahiko picked up the hunting knife that Hayami Reina had dropped when his right arm was broken, aiming for the yellow-haired rogue ninja's kidney.
The four of them executed a fatal joint attack.
"Boom!" White smoke erupted from the yellow-haired rogue ninja’s body, and he turned into a piece of repcement wood.
It was the only ninjutsu the yellow-haired rogue ninja knew. Cautious as he was, he always prepared a substitute before a fight to avoid surprises.
On the other side, the battle between the henchmen and rogue ninjas was not going in their favor.
Keiji’s fight with the emaciated rogue ninja seemed evenly matched, but a closer look revealed that Keiji had multiple wounds on his body. Eventually, after dodging a kunai thrown by the rogue’s right hand, he was struck in the heart by a kunai held in the left hand.
"Darling!"
"Dad!"
A woman in her mid-thirties and a girl about fifteen cried out in despair as they saw the man fall.
"Oppose a ninja, and this is what happens. Don’t worry though, I’ll take good care of your wife and daughter," the emaciated rogue ninja sneered.
Keiji’s eyes were filled with rage. Dropping his bde, he rushed forward, arms wide open to hug the emaciated rogue ninja, who had let his guard down.
"Don’t underestimate me, even though I’m just a failure of a middle-aged man, I can still hold on when it counts!" Keiji grabbed the rogue’s arms, preventing him from forming any hand signs. "Attack! Now’s your chance!"
"Dad, Dad! You’re so close, you’ll be hit too!" Keiji’s daughter cried out.
Meanwhile, Keiji’s wife, silently picking up the bde Keiji had dropped, walked toward her husband and the rogue ninja. In the moonlight, her face was hidden.
"Attack! Hurry up! You want me to die like a man who couldn’t even protect his family? Let me die like a man!!" As the emaciated rogue ninja struggled, Keiji, already stabbed in the heart, was beginning to lose his strength.
"No! Wait! I’ll convince them to leave! Don’t be rash!" the emaciated rogue ninja screamed in panic.
The bde came down, and blood spurted into the air. Both Keiji and the rogue ninja fell, one with a face filled with pain and regret, the other with a twisted smile.
The bde nded on the ground, and the silent woman colpsed to her knees, as if losing all strength.
The only sounds left were the battle and the girl’s cries echoing through the forest.
The civilians, seeing that the henchmen and rogue ninjas were still locked in battle, quickly began to gather supplies, intending to escape with what they could carry. The few kind-hearted ones helped Keiji’s wife and daughter to escape.
Oyamā, who had lost his right arm, weakly held his katana with his left hand, panting heavily as he gred at the tall, bald rogue ninja, who seemed rexed and hadn’t even exerted himself yet.
"That useless fool, killed by an ordinary person? Ridiculous," the bald rogue ninja said, disbelief written across his face as he stared at the body of the emaciated rogue ninja. "Looks like to avoid any accidents, I’ll have to kill you too."
"Try it if you can!" Oyamā roared, swinging his katana at the bald rogue ninja’s head.
But with only his left hand, his movement was slower, and the bald rogue easily avoided it.
"Heh, die already!" The bald rogue ninja swung his machete upward, slicing off Oyamā’s remaining left arm at the shoulder, then bringing the bde down, severing Oyamā’s head.
Meanwhile, Jūbē’s fight with Lian Chi was surprisingly going in his favor.
"Damn, how is this guy so strong?" Lian Chi stumbled back, pushed by the relentless swings of Jūbē’s broad sword.
"Roar!" Jūbē didn’t say a word. He let out a primal growl and continued his brutal attack like a wild beast.
Lian Chi, seeing the bald rogue ninja had won, quickly shouted, "Forget the ones escaping! Help me deal with this madman!"
"Tch! We’re not allies. Why should I help you when there’s nothing in it for me?" the bald rogue ninja mocked, then turned and ran into the forest to chase after the fleeing civilians.
"Damn, backstabbing dog," Lian Chi cursed, but seeing Jūbē’s ferocity, he could only continue to struggle, unsure who would come out on top.
PS: Some people might wonder why these rogue ninjas aren’t using ninjutsu, so I’ll expin. Most of the rogue ninjas in this setting are just a bunch of untrained misfits who’ve never had anyone teach them proper ninjutsu. Most of them only know how to refine chakra and haven’t even fully mastered basic jutsu (though they do have the physical stamina to jump several meters high, like ninja academy students). There are stronger rogue ninjas, but they are rare (not counting defectors).
