In a vilge that had been ruthlessly sughtered by bandits, Sora activated his Sharingan, sing the area to firm the number of enemies—a total of 34 bandits.
His gaze locked onto four bandits busily unloading barrels of wine.
"It was so enjoyable," one of them bragged, a cruel grin on his face. "The two people I killed were kneeling on the ground, beggio spare them. It was so satisfying!"
"Who says it wasn't?" another chimed in, ughing.
"But this vilge is dirt poor. Even after looting, we only mao get so much. Once we split it, there won't be much left for any of us," the first pined.
"It's not bad," the sed shrugged. "You fet the st vilge was even poorer. At least here, there's something worth taking."
"Don't worry," a third bandit interjected. "Didn't the boss say so? The Land of Sky's vilges are no longer worth the trouble. He pns to take us to the Land of the Moo. That pce is supposed to be loaded. We'll make a real fortuhere."
Like a ghost, Sora appeared silently behind one of them. The cold gleam of his kunai fshed, slig the bandit's throat. The man colpsed with a gurgling gasp.
The other two bandits froze, catg the sickly sweet st of blood. Their eyes darted toward their fallen rade—just in time to see him colpse, clutg his neck.
That brief gnce would be their st.
With blinding speed, Sora's kunai sshed across their throats. Both men crumpled to the ground without even a scream.
The fourth bandit remained oblivious, still rambling about future plunder pns. His words echoed in the dim firelight.
"I heard that although the Land of the Moon is as small as the Land of Sky, it's much richer. Robbing even one vilge there could earn us more than all of the vilges in the Land of Sky bined. Just imagine—we'll finally get our hands on some real wealth."
He paused to ugh, excitement lighting up his face.
"The days ahead are lookier aer. I've been telling you—the bandit life has a future! Don't you believe me now? Hey… why are you all so quiet?"
When no one responded, he frowned and gnced around, his eyes adjusting to the flickering light of the fire. His breath hitched as he took in the se.
The three other bandits were on the ground, clutg their throats. Blood gushed from their wounds, poolih them. They tried to speak but only choked on their own blood. Their eyes locked onto the surviving bandit, wide with pain and terror.
Panic surged through him. Before he could react, a sharp pain shot across his own neck. His hand instinctively flew up to the wound, feeling the warm, sticky liquid that now coated his skin. His breaths came in short, ragged gasps, and his vision blurred as suffocatio in. His body crumpled to the ground alongside his rades.
Sora wiped the blood off his kunai, his cold eyes lingering on the lifeless bodies. With aioone, he murmured, "Thirty."
He disappeared into the darkness, his silhouette swallowed by the night. He was determio clear out the lone bandits first, saving the rger group for a final strike.
As he stalked through the shadows, Sora tinued his silent hunt, whispering the numbers under his breath with each kill.
"Twenty-nine... Twenty-six... Twenty-three..."
The bandits remained blissfully unaware, celebrating loudly around their fire.
"Eh? Where's Shinichi?" one of them asked, his voice slurred from drink. "He said he was going to take a piss, didn't he? Why hasn't he e back yet?"
"That guy probably got drunk and passed out somewhere," another replied, ughing. "His drinking's always been terrible. I swear, it's hirious."
"That's nht!" one bandit excimed. "Souta, Tsukasa, Ryusuke, and Yuya all went to get drinks, and no one has seen them since."
After Sora had assassinated so many of their rades, the remaining bandits began to sehat something was wrong. Fear crept into their ranks.
The bandit leader quickly ahe group, gathering the survivors together and doing a headt. His heart sank when he finished.
"There were 34 of us," he muttered. "Now there are only 21 left. Thirteen people are gone."
Panic spread through the group, but the bandit leader barked a sharp et your ons!"
Under his and, the bandits fanned out in search of the intruder. However, wheumbled upon the lifeless bodies of their rades strewn across the ground, a chill ran down their spines. So many of them had been killed, a not a single sound had been heard. The sense of an unseen, deadly predator was almost paralyzing.
From the shadows, Sora appeared, his Sharingan glowing faintly in the dim light. Swiftly f seals, he smmed his hands to the ground.
"Earth Style: Tearih Spears!"
The grouh the bandits erupted with sharp, jagged rocks. Several bandits were impaled instantly, their cries cut short. The more alert bandits scrambled baarrowly avoiding the deadly spikes.
The bandit leader stared into the darkness, his eyes wide with horror. Though Sora's figure was obscured, the leader had seen enough.
"A ninja…" he whispered, his voice trembling.
In the shinobi world, even a Genin anded resped fear—because of the strength and skill they represented. Before the advent of chakra, warriors had been the pinnacle of power. Now, only the samurai of the Land of Iroaiheir traditions, though even they had adapted to use chakra alongside their swordsmanship.
But these bandits were ordinary people. Fag a ninja, even one fresh out of the academy, was a death sentence.
The bandit leader ched his fists, realizing that retreat would only eheir deaths. Their only ce was to fight.
"Don't panic!" he shouted, rallying the remaining bandits. "There's only one of him! We have the numbers! Stick together, follow my orders, and we take him down!"
The remaining bandits, bolstered by the leader's words, raised their ons and charged at Sora in unison.
Sora's hands flew through a series of seals.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Teique!"
A massive fireball erupted from Sora's mouth, hurtling toward the charging bandits. Those at the front of the group were engulfed iheir screams filling the night as their bodies were thrown backwards.
"Don't stop!" the bandit leader roared from behind. "Keep charging! He 't kill all of us! If we get close, we take him dowreat now, and we're all dead!"
While the bandits hesitated, Sora formed more seals.
"Water Style: Water Wave Teique!"
A powerful jet of water burst from his mouth, striking the advang bandits and soaking many of them. Though the attack cked the power to kill, it scattered the group a pools of water on the ground. Most of the bandits were now drenched, vulnerable to what was i.
Sora's hands moved into his final set of seals.
"Lightning Style: Thunder Shock!"
A surge of blinding lightning burst from Sora's hands, illuminating the battlefield in a brilliant fsh. The lightning arced through the water, striking the soaked bandits. Cries of pain filled the air as their bodies vulsed, smoke rising from charred skin.
Sora drew his sword and charged forward, cutting down the paralyzed bandits one by oh precision. Their ons cttered to the ground, useless irembling hands.
The few remaining bandits who hadn't been soaked stood frozen in fear, watg their rades fall. The overwhelming power of this lone ninja was beyond anything they had ever seen.
"How we fight this?" otered, dropping his on. The others quickly followed suit, panic taking hold.
They turned and fled into the night, abandoning their leader. In their desperation, they didn't notice the bandit leader slipping away as well, hoping to escape unnoticed.
Whe of the paralyzed bandits had been sin, Sora wiped the blood from his bde. His voice was cold and quiet as he ted. "Nine."
With a slight bow of his head, he crouched, chakra flowing to his legs. In an instant, he vanished from sight, propelled forward with immense speed.
The result of three years at the ninja academy, bined with a month of interaining at Orochimaru, sharpened Sora's skills to a fine edge. Even without using Lightning Style Chakra to enhance his body, his speed rivalled what he'd achieved when he first learhe Thunder Breathing teique.
Now, Sora moved like a reaper, cutting through the darko harvest the lives of the fleeing bandits.
The hunt was not yet over.
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