The group moved silently through the forest, with Miyuki leading the way.

  —The mission is to exterminate the bandits. None must be left alive,— she said suddenly without turning. —Show no mercy. All of them are criminals who have murdered, raped, and robbed the vilgers in the area. There is no need to show compassion or hesitate.—

  She stopped and gave a signal. Immediately, the group leapt into the trees, moving cautiously and in complete silence.

  It didn’t take them long to find an improvised camp among the branches.

  —Target located,— Miyuki whispered, signaling to the group. —Your mission is to eliminate them. The method doesn’t matter, but none must leave here alive,— she added, remaining in her position as lookout. —I’ll stay here. You know what to do.—

  Aiko nodded and led the advance. The group used the Body Flicker Technique to position themselves above one of the houses. The bandits on guard weren’t expecting an attack, which allowed the team to slip in undetected.

  They entered the first house with absolute stealth. Inside, a man y sleeping with two women by his side.

  Akihiro gnced at his companions, who nodded. Aiko moved forward and, holding a kunai, pierced the man’s forehead with a swift and precise motion. Death was instantaneous, but the faint noise woke the two women.

  Before they could react, Akihiro used a simple genjutsu to send them back to sleep. Without chakra control, they were especially vulnerable.

  With the first target eliminated, the group moved on to the next house, only a few meters away.

  In the second building, the process was simir: Hiroshi carried out the elimination while Akihiro once again used genjutsu to put the lone woman present to sleep. However, just as they finished, they heard heavy footsteps approaching.

  —Shift change,— growled a rough voice as the door was suddenly flung open.

  A tall man with scars across his face entered the room holding a ntern. His eyes widened as he saw Hiroshi next to the lifeless body of his comrade.

  —Intruders!— he tried to shout, but Aiko silenced him instantly with a kunai to the throat. The man colpsed with a dull thud, but the noise alerted the rest of the camp.

  From outside, voices and hurried footsteps could be heard.

  —We’ve been discovered,— Akihiro murmured, drawing another kunai.

  —There’s no time for subtlety. Eliminate them all,— Aiko ordered firmly.

  The group quickly moved out, taking defensive positions as the bandits began to surround them. Miyuki, watching from her lookout position, observed the situation carefully.

  Suddenly, the door to the house was kicked open, and three bandits burst in, axes in hand.

  Aiko reacted first, throwing a kunai that lodged itself in the forehead of the first enemy, dropping him. Hiroshi blocked the second bandit’s attack with his reinforced kunai, countering with a lethal ssh.

  The third, a burly man with a scar across his nose, charged at Akihiro. His axe cut cleanly through what appeared to be the ninja’s body, which fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

  The bandit ughed, seeing blood on his weapon, but his expression quickly changed as the number of enemies seemed to multiply and the faces of his allies turned hostile.

  —No matter how many you are, I’ll kill you all!— he roared, swinging his axe frantically.

  In his frenzy, the man killed two of his own comrades before Hiroshi finished him off with a precise strike. Akihiro’s illusory body vanished in a puff of smoke.

  —Genjutsu is really effective against these enemies,— Akihiro remarked, watching the chaos.

  However, many bandits remained. From outside, a shout was heard:

  —Archers, fire everything you’ve got! If an arrow hits them, they’re dead!—

  The remaining bandits stepped aside, making way for five archers who quickly took position. Although they weren’t trained soldiers, their arrows posed a serious threat in such a confined space.

  —Dodging this won’t be hard, but we need a pn,— Hiroshi said, catching an arrow mid-air.

  —A wide-range ninjutsu would be enough,— Akihiro suggested.

  —And the civilians?— Hiroshi countered, pointing to the unconscious woman they had hidden under some cloth.

  Akihiro nodded, realizing the fw in his proposal.

  —Can you use your genjutsu to control all the archers?— Aiko asked.

  —No, that’s too much. I can only affect up to five people at most,— Akihiro admitted.

  The group quickly assessed the situation but couldn’t find an ideal solution. Finally, Hiroshi sighed.

  —We’ll have to do it the hard way.—

  The three prepared and executed the Body Flicker Technique, suddenly appearing among the bandits.

  Confusion erupted instantly. Akihiro cast a genjutsu on one of the archers, making him fire at his own comrades while simultaneously attacking another enemy.

  Aiko, with her impeccable perception, moved among the enemies like a shadow, eliminating them with precise movements before they could react.

  Hiroshi was more direct, using a fire ninjutsu to cover an area and attacking the remaining foes with a kunai.

  Little by little, they reduced the number of enemies until nearly all the bandits had fallen.

  Akihiro, Aiko, and Hiroshi were breathing heavily. Though they hadn’t sustained major injuries, the effort and tension of the battle were evident in their exhausted bodies. The group quickly regrouped, taking defensive positions in case of a surprise attack.

  However, no counterattack came. The few bandits remaining, barely a handful, dropped their weapons and fell to their knees. They trembled with fear, their faces filled with panic as they realized their end was near.

  —Please, don’t kill us!— begged one of them, a thin man with a cut on his brow dripping blood. His voice shook as much as his hands, raised in a gesture of surrender. —We were just following orders… we didn’t want this…—

  Another bandit, a burly man with his hands csped as if praying, added:

  —They’re right! We’re sorry! Please forgive us! We’ll never do anything like this again!—

  Akihiro watched the scene with a furrowed brow, his kunai still in hand. Although disgust twisted his stomach at the sight of the sniveling men, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of doubt. Hiroshi, beside him, kept his stance firm, though a slight internal conflict flickered in his eyes.

  —Aiko…— Akihiro murmured, not taking his eyes off the bandits. —What do we do with them?—

  Aiko stepped forward, calmly wiping the bde of her kunai. Her gaze was cold, devoid of any trace of compassion.

  —What do we do?— she repeated, her voice as icy as the bde in her hand. —You already know.—

  The bandits looked up at her, but all they found was the unyielding determination in her eyes.

  —No! Wait! We can be useful! We can tell you where the hidden treasures are!— one of them shouted, scrambling backward on his knees.

  —Yes, yes! There are more bandits in the region; we can lead you to them… we’re worth more alive than dead!— another added desperately.

  —Valuable?— Aiko tilted her head slightly, as if pondering the cim for a brief moment. Then she looked toward Hiroshi and Akihiro.

  —You’re nothing but trash,— she decred, hurling her kunai with precision. The bde pierced the throat of the man who had just spoken, silencing him forever.

  The remaining bandits screamed in horror, retreating as the man’s body fell to the ground with a dull thud.

  —Please, no! You have to show mercy!— cried another, covering his head with his hands.

  Hiroshi, now free of hesitation, lunged forward and dispatched him easily.

  Aiko stepped toward the st man. Her kunai sliced through the air once more, and the bandit fell without making another sound.

  Akihiro sighed, closing his eyes for a moment.

  —It’s the right thing…— he muttered weakly to himself. In the end, they had even tried to sell out people like themselves to save their lives, showing just how worthless they truly were.

  Hiroshi nodded, though there was a trace of unease in his expression.

  —This was our mission,— Aiko said, cleaning her kunai with a grim expression. Though she acted cold, it wasn’t as if she felt comfortable killing people who could barely defend themselves.

  With that, the group finished their task. The forest fell silent once more. Only the sound of their bored breathing filled the air.

  Miyuki appeared suddenly in front of the group, her presence as silent as a specter.

  —You’re not done yet. Gather the corpses and burn them; if you don’t, it could lead to a pgue. Make sure no bodies remain,— she ordered firmly before turning and leaving without waiting for a response.

  Akihiro, Hiroshi, and Aiko exchanged gnces, exhausted. Despite their fatigue, they began to carry out Miyuki’s order. Aiko was the first to move, nodding toward a clearing where they could start burning the bodies.

  —Let’s gather them quickly. I don’t want to stay here any longer than necessary,— she said quietly, avoiding looking at the faces of the fallen bandits.

  Hiroshi nodded grimly, clearly unenthusiastic about the task. Akihiro, though equally reluctant, was even more drained from the extensive use of jutsus during the fight.

  The three worked in silence, moving the bodies one by one to the clearing Aiko had indicated. Although they were ninjas trained for dangerous missions, handling corpses wasn’t something they had anticipated.

  While piling the bodies, Aiko noticed something unusual on one of them: a small pouch tied to the belt of a burly man with a scar on his nose. She picked it up and opened it, finding a handful of cash bundles and several rings, likely stolen from the bandits’ victims.

  —Miyuki was right. They didn’t deserve mercy. All of this… it was stolen from innocent people,— she murmured, gritting her teeth.

  Akihiro, who had been silently watching her, remarked:

  —Maybe, but it’s still hard. Not everyone here chose this life… Some might not have had a choice.—

  Hiroshi, pcing another body onto the pile, looked up.

  —If we stop to reflect on who had a choice and who didn’t, we’ll never finish the job. Our mission is clear. What happens afterward isn’t our concern.—

  Aiko nodded slowly, though her expression remained somber. When they finished gathering the bodies, Hiroshi used a fire jutsu to ignite the pyre. The fmes began consuming the corpses, filling the air with an acrid smell that made the three step back a few paces.

  Miyuki appeared once more, her gaze fixed on the fmes.

  —Well done. This will ensure no traces are left. It’s time to return and report the mission’s success. The vilge chief will be pleased.— Her eyes shifted to a group of girls who had gathered now that the chaos had ended. —You will come with us.—

  The girls nodded, aware they had no other choice.

  Akihiro noticed they carried a few items that had belonged to the bandits but decided not to say anything. He didn’t care about the possessions of the dead.

  Without another word, Miyuki began walking toward the edge of the forest, expecting the others to follow. Hiroshi, Akihiro, and Aiko exchanged gnces before complying. The girls, though slower, managed to keep pace.

  They stopped in a nearby city, where they presented a report of the events and left the girls under the protection of the Daimyō. Only then did they resume their journey back to Kusa.