"Hehehe, you're still the prettiest. Way better than that old hag I've got at home," the bandit boss slurred, drunk, with one arm around the woman.
"Oh, stop it~" the woman giggled coquettishly. "I left everything behind just to be with you, you know?"
"Hahaha! That sickly man you married couldn't satisfy you anyway, right? Now let me just—hiss, what the hell was that?" The bandit boss winced in pain as something bit his foot. It felt like a mosquito bite, barely noticeable. He didn't think much of it—he was thick-skinned anyway.
The woman, too, felt a sharp sting around her ankle. She looked down, just in time to catch sight of a white snake tail slipping out of view.
"A snake!" she shrieked and staggered upright, only to sway in place, dizzy and weak.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?" the bandit boss caught her as she collapsed into his arms.
Then he, too, felt something was wrong. His limbs weakened, and one leg suddenly went numb. He tried to speak, but his mouth wouldn't move—he couldn't even feel it anymore.
The two of them collapsed to the floor, frothing at the mouth and convulsing. A tiny white snake poked its head out, flicking its tongue with satisfaction at the scene before it.
Asakawa Kiyosuke climbed down from the roof and stepped into the room. He checked their pulses—they were already gone.
"Don't blame me. I'm a shinobi. This was just part of the mission," he murmured softly.
He dragged their corpses onto the bed and covered them with a blanket. Then, using the Transformation Jutsu, he took on the appearance of the bandit boss. After some voice practice, he adjusted his tone and pitch to perfectly match the man's voice. He coughed once, then pushed open the door and stepped outside, grumbling loudly.
"Where the hell is everyone?! Get your asses out here, now!"
At his shout, lanterns lit up all over the hideout. Half-dressed bandits rushed out of their rooms, gripping their weapons.
"Boss, what's going on? Who we cutting up tonight?"
"Round everyone up—we've got a huge job ahead of us!"
Their eyes lit up. One of them asked eagerly, "Boss, what kind of job?"
"The kind that'll stuff our bellies 'til we burst. Get every last man here—I've got something big to say. If we pull this off, none of us will ever have to worry about money again!"
"Sounds great! We'll get everyone right away!"
They scurried off to gather the others.
Just then, a figure landed beside him. It was Asuma.
"We got the hostage out. Kurenai's looking after her. The bandit boss—he's dead?"
"Poisoned," Kiyosuke replied in a low voice.
Asuma nodded after a brief silence.
"Alright. I'll go cut off their escape routes."
"Got it. Stay hidden."
Asuma vanished in a flash.
Soon after, around fifty or sixty bandits gathered. One group looked annoyed.
"Boss, what if that kid we caught earlier escapes? Then what?"
Before Kiyosuke could respond, one of the underlings chimed in,
"Who cares? He's worth next to nothing. Boss said this job's the big one—no more worrying about our future! So, Boss, what exactly are we doing?"
Kiyosuke grinned. "Something big. Real big. Everyone here now?"
"Uh… we're missing three guys. Two were guarding that brat—probably chased after him. One more's missing… no idea where he went."
Those two were probably taken out by Asuma and the others. As for the last one—he had taken care of him personally.
Kiyosuke nodded, raised his hand, and said, "Alright then—let's begin." With that, he leapt onto the rooftop nearby.
"Begin? Begin what? Boss, what are you—?!"
But before they could finish, a voice rang out sharply in the air.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Countless shuriken rained down from above.
"AAAH! It hurts!"
"Boss! What's happening?!"
"No—this is a ninja attack!"
"Someone hired shinobi to wipe us out!"
"I don't wanna die! Please, ninja-sama, have mercy!"
The bandits scrambled in panic, trying to flee—but where could they go with blades falling from the sky?
Some got lucky, only getting hit in non-lethal spots like their arms. Others weren't so fortunate—struck in the chest or head, they died instantly.
Kiyosuke dropped the disguise and reverted to his normal appearance. Flames erupted around him.
"Fire Jet!"
The blaze engulfed the bandits and the hideout, lighting up the night like a burning beacon in the mountains.
"Aaagh! It's burning me alive!"
"No! I don't wanna die yet!"
"It hurts! It hurts so much!"
Under the combined assault of Kiyosuke and Asuma, the entire hideout became a sea of fire. Not a single bandit made it out alive. Mission complete.
The stench of charred flesh hung thick in the air, making both of them wrinkle their noses in disgust.
Yuhi Shinku appeared behind them and said, "You'll need to get used to it."
This is what it meant to be a shinobi—kill or be killed. If it's a mission, you complete it. No questions, no bargaining.
"I know," Kiyosuke coughed. "I've been ready since the day I became a ninja."
"Same here," Asuma added. "What about the hostage? And Kurenai?"
"He's safe. Kurenai's escorting him down the mountain to the employer. She'll be back soon. You all did well today." Shinku was clearly pleased with the team's performance.
"I'd rather stick with D-rank missions," Asuma muttered, shaking his head. "These kinds of missions are just too much."
His dad really didn't hold back—this mission had been far messier than expected.
"Not every C-rank mission is like this," Shinku replied. "You're still Genin. You'll mostly handle D-rank missions anyway. C-ranks aren't that common."
"Alright then. When we get back, I'll treat you all to a proper meal. Let's go."
"I just wanna sleep. I've got no appetite."
"Same here."
Seeing them like this, Shinku chuckled.
"Alright, maybe next time."
They still had some adjusting to do.
They were still young.
But he believed these three would grow into excellent shinobi.
...
The four of them returned to Konoha. There was no celebratory feast—each one went home and rested. For days, none of them had much of an appetite.
...
A few days later, it was time to pick up another mission. As they gathered at the mission desk, Asuma spoke up.
"Man, Kiyosuke, I've been having nightmares for days. My mom's been so worried."
"Oh, I was fine two days ago," Kiyosuke replied flatly. Having a mother really made a difference. He didn't have one—just grass underfoot. And now he had to work with Orochimaru on experiments.
These past few days, aside from training, he'd been clocking in at Orochimaru's lab to help out. Mostly just handing over tools like scissors or scalpels.
Whenever Orochimaru felt like it, he'd start rambling about things Kiyosuke didn't understand. But Kiyosuke listened anyway. Whatever he could grasp was up to him.
The experiments hadn't progressed to human testing yet, but they were already pretty gruesome. After a while, though… he got used to it.
He'd walked out of the shadows and into the fire.
Orochimaru—master of advanced technology.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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