6: Actual combat, wipe out the bandit nest

The morning sun had not yet dispelled the coolness of the training ground when Maki’s figure appeared.

“Fifth Squad, assemble.”

His voice was not loud, but it carried far.

Tang Yan, Qian, and Zi Luo, who were training individually on the ground, quickly lined up, their expressions solemn.

“Today’s mission is not to collect materials.” Maki’s gaze swept over their faces one by one; his left face, covered by a white cloth, added a touch of severity.

He unrolled a mission scroll: “Qingfeng Mountain, eliminate a group of roaming bandits. The bandit leader, Sugita, is a wild Ninja of Chunin strength, with two additional Genin, and the rest are ordinary bandits.”

Bandit extermination? Qian’s breathing hitched slightly, her face a mix of nervousness and excitement—this was real combat.

Zi Luo unconsciously clenched his fists, a flicker of excitement in his eyes.

Tang Yan’s expression was calm, but he was already calculating in his mind.

This was a good opportunity to test the combat capabilities of the medicine child and the new puppet, Owl.

“This mission is primarily a combat test,” Maki continued. “Remember, a Ninja who hasn’t shed blood can never truly grow.”

“Yes!” the three responded in unison.

Maki glanced at the three: “The Village will not provide any support. All spoils will be split equally between your squad and the Village. Depart.”

The path to Qingfeng Mountain was still mostly sandy, yet Qingfeng Mountain itself was nestled among rugged, strange rocks, its bareness evoking a sense of desolation.

Zi Luo led the way. He had removed some of his weighted gear, but his steps were still steady and powerful, each foot landing on the most suitable spot.

Qian followed closely, her movements light, occasionally observing her surroundings warily.

Tang Yan walked at the rear, his mental energy spreading out like an invisible net, quietly encompassing every rustle and movement within dozens of meters.

The Tang Clan’s secret technique, “Observation,” allowed him to perceive potential dangers in advance.

“This rugged, rocky mountain path is much harder to walk than the Gobi,” Qian complained softly, wiping sweat from her forehead.

Zi Luo turned back, revealing a mouthful of white teeth: “It’s good to train in this kind of environment. Having experienced it once is always better than experiencing it for the first time without preparation.”

Tang Yan said nothing, his attention focused on a narrow pass ahead.

“Ambush.” Tang Yan’s eyes were sharp as an eagle’s, his voice so low that only his companions beside him could barely catch it.

Before his words faded, a sharp whooshing sound tore through the quiet of the forest! Several dark kunai shot out from the shadows of strange rocks in different directions, their angles tricky, aimed directly at the core of the team.

“Hmph!” Zi Luo grunted, his figure instantly shifting from stillness to motion.

He stomped his foot, his body darting diagonally forward and to the left like an arrow released from a bowstring, while his hands crossed lightning-fast in front of his chest!

“Clang! Clang! Clang!” The crisp sounds of metal clashing rang out repeatedly.

His steel armguards, crafted on the outer sides of his arms, precisely deflected all incoming kunai, sending sparks flying.

His movements were incredibly fluid; the moment he parried, his body was already like a fully coiled spring, his center of gravity lowered, his entire being almost hugging the ground!

“Wind Release: Swift Body Technique!”

With a low exhalation, Zi Luo’s feet exploded, his figure transforming into a blurry afterimage, carrying a faint, sharp sound of tearing air. With astonishing speed, like a hunting cheetah, he charged up the trajectory from which the kunai had come!

Over a dozen ferocious-looking bandits, clad in ragged leather armor, sprang from rocks and even shallow dirt pits, each wielding a sharp blade, their eyes gleaming with bloodthirsty malice, instantly surrounding Zi Luo.

More bandits from the surroundings were continuously joining the fray.

“I’ll leave this to you.” Maki stood on a rock with his arms crossed, as if the slaughter before him had nothing to do with him, observing the battlefield calmly, with no intention of intervening.

Just as the bandits brandished their weapons and lunged at Zi Luo!

Qian’s slender fingers had already deftly pinched several specially prepared cactus seeds.

These seeds, initially improved by Tang Yan, had added hallucinogenic agents, making them more potent than before and carrying a slight nerve-paralyzing effect.

This was a medicinal treatment applied to the seeds, which served as a medium for the jutsu. Tang Yan’s plan was to genetically modify the cactus plants using cultivation techniques from his previous life, but this process would take time.

Her eyes were focused, and her hands formed complex and swift seals in front of her chest—Snake – Ram – Monkey – Boar – Horse – Tiger!

“Secret Art: Cactus Genjutsu: Hazy Mist!”

With a clear shout, she thrust her palms forward! The scattered seeds burst silently in the air, transforming into a rapidly spreading pale pink mist.

This mist carried a faint, sweet, peculiar scent, instantly enveloping the seven or eight bandits at the very front.

The effect was immediate!

The bandits who rushed into the mist suddenly froze, as if trapped in an invisible quagmire. Their eyes instantly became hollow and bewildered, and expressions of terror and distortion appeared on their faces.

“Ugh! Bugs! So many bugs!” One bandit frantically clawed at his arms and neck, as if countless unseen insects were crawling, burrowing, and gnawing beneath his skin, his nails even drawing blood.

“Beasts… so many beasts! Don’t come any closer!” Another bandit screamed, swinging his blade in terror at his companions, who warped into terrifying plant monsters in his eyes.

Their senses were completely disrupted, their sense of direction lost, their attacks became chaotic, and they even began pushing and accidentally injuring each other.

“Wind Release: Shifting Sand!”

Zi Luo’s figure flickered a few times among the rocks, and he had already killed several targets.

One Genin was still on the edge of the Genjutsu’s influence, just realizing something was wrong when Zi Luo’s fist, accompanied by a whooshing sound, struck.

“Bang!”

With a dull thud, that Genin was sent flying, crashing against the mountain wall, his fate unknown.

Almost the instant Zi Luo moved, Tang Yan’s hands also moved.

Tang Yan released the medicine child and Owl from the storage scroll behind him.

“Black Secret Technique: Dual Machine Manipulation!”

His fingertips moved slightly, and Chakra threads extended silently.

The medicine child’s figure was nimble, its ten fingers flying, as several glowing poison needles shot towards a bandit attempting to ambush Zi Luo.

The bandit screamed, his movements instantly stiffening, and he fell straight down, his skin rapidly turning black.

Owl, on the other hand, was more direct, spreading its arms, extending its blade-like claws, and unleashing a bloody storm among the ordinary bandits.

These minor enemies were not worthy of Tang Clan’s hidden weapons; that would be pure waste.

Tang Yan controlled Owl to clear the periphery in the simplest and most efficient way.

The other puppet was the small and exquisite medicine child, which concealed deadly intentions.

The medicine child’s goal was to assist Zi Luo in dealing with the other Genin and the bandit leader, Sugita.

Screams rose and fell.

The ordinary bandits, under the attacks of Tang Yan and Qian, gradually lost their fighting capability, either dying or being injured.

On the other side, Zi Luo had already engaged in combat.

That Genin was quite skilled, and for a moment, he fought Zi Luo to a standstill.

The medicine child silently circled behind that Genin, its ten fingers flashing, as several fine needles coated with paralyzing poison precisely struck his vital joints.

That Genin felt his body stiffen, and a momentary flaw appeared in his movements.

Zi Luo seized the opportunity, delivering a heavy punch squarely to his chest.

“Crack!” The sound of bone breaking was clearly audible.

“Beautiful!” Qian couldn’t help but exclaim, while quickly throwing several kunai with explosive tags, sealing off other directions of the pass to prevent any stragglers from escaping.

Maki stood at the rear, quietly observing the trio’s coordination, with no intention of intervening.

What he wanted to see was their true skill level.

“Who are you people?!” A furious roar came from behind the pass.

A burly man with a scarred face rushed out; it was indeed the bandit leader, Sugita.

He immediately saw his fallen subordinates and the several individuals wreaking havoc, and his eyes gleamed with fierce malice.

“You’re asking for death!” Sugita formed hand seals, Chakra surging.

“Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!”

A wall of earth rose from the ground, blocking the medicine child’s subsequent attacks.

“Chunin.” Tang Yan’s gaze narrowed slightly.

Sugita’s figure flickered, and he charged directly towards Qian, who seemed the weakest.

“First, deal with that little girl!”

“Over my dead body!” Zi Luo roared, meeting his charge.

“Wind Release: Sky Split Kick!”

Sugita sneered, neither dodging nor parrying, and threw a punch as well.

“Bang!”

Fists and feet met, and Zi Luo grunted, actually being forced back several steps.

This Sugita’s strength far exceeded that of the previous Genin.

“A little interesting.” Sugita grinned maliciously, then opened his mouth and spat.

“Whoosh whoosh whoosh!”

Several senbon shot towards Zi Luo’s face like venomous snakes.

Zi Luo reacted extremely quickly, narrowly avoiding them with a backbend.

Just then, the medicine child moved.

Its small body exploded with astonishing speed, its surgical blades gleaming with cold light, striking directly at Sugita’s ribs.

Sugita was already prepared, and he blocked with a backhand kunai.

“Clang!” Sparks flew.

Tang Yan controlled the medicine child to entangle with Sugita, while also controlling Owl to clear out the remaining ordinary bandits.

“Qian, Genjutsu interference!” Tang Yan’s voice came through.

Qian immediately understood, and once again activated the cactus seeds, this time, she focused her target solely on Sugita.

Sugita felt his vision blur for a moment, and his movements involuntarily paused.

In a battle between experts, every second counts.

Zi Luo seized this opportunity, closing in once more, his fists raining down like a storm.

The medicine child also cooperated seamlessly, assisting from the side, its surgical blades specifically targeting Sugita’s joints and weak defensive points.

Sugita was a Chunin after all, and although he was a wild Ninja, his combat experience was extensive. He forcibly broke free from the Genjutsu’s influence, roared, and his Chakra erupted, temporarily pushing back Zi Luo and the medicine child.

“You brats!” Sugita’s eyes were bloodshot; he hadn’t expected to be pushed to this extent by three Sunagakure Genin.

He formed hand seals again.

“Earth Release: Hardening Jutsu!”

Sugita’s skin took on a rock-like sheen, and his defense greatly increased.

“Troublesome.” Zi Luo frowned deeply.

Tang Yan, however, was calm. He controlled the medicine child to advance instead of retreat, and at the same time, a sleeve dart quietly slid into the medicine child’s firing mechanism.

“Now!”

The medicine child executed a clever dodge, avoiding Sugita’s heavy punch, while three sleeve darts, tipped with Tang Yan’s specially formulated neurotoxin, shot in a triangular pattern towards Sugita’s face.

This toxin was refined from gelsemium elegans the previous night and then carefully compounded; it acted extremely fast, but the dosage was not lethal, primarily for paralysis.

Sugita was greatly alarmed; he could feel the dangerous aura attached to the sleeve darts.

He tried his best to turn his head, dodging two, but the last one still grazed his cheek, leaving a bloody scratch.

A slight tingling sensation of numbness quickly spread from the wound.

“Not good!” Sugita thought inwardly, his body’s reactions beginning to slow.

Seeing this, Qian unhesitatingly threw several kunai with explosive tags, blocking Sugita’s retreat.

Zi Luo, meanwhile, unleashed his full strength, delivering a direct punch imbued with the Seven Day Breathing Method’s first active power, striking Sugita squarely in the chest.

“Pfft!”

Sugita was hit as if by a heavy hammer, spitting out a mouthful of blood, and his Hardening Jutsu was forcibly broken.

The medicine child’s surgical blade, like the Shinigami’s scythe, precisely cut across Sugita’s throat.

Blood gushed out like a fountain.

Sugita clutched his neck, his eyes filled with unwillingness and disbelief, and slowly collapsed.

The battle ended.

The pass was a mess.

Maki walked over and glanced at Sugita’s corpse.

“Although you killed a Chunin, he was just a wild Ninja, and his strength was at the bottom among Chunin.” Maki’s tone remained flat. “However, for your first actual combat, reaching this level is not bad.”

Qian and Zi Luo both breathed a sigh of relief, their faces showing a mix of fatigue and excitement.

Tang Yan silently retrieved the medicine child and Owl, checking the puppets for damage. Fortunately, there were only minor scratches.

“Clear the battlefield, see if there are any stragglers, and scavenge for valuables. Prepare to withdraw,” Maki instructed. “Then, destroy this place.”

There wasn’t much valuable in the bandit lair; besides some scattered gold and silver and a few barely usable Ninja tools, the biggest haul was the food and water the bandits had hoarded.

Tang Yan and Qian gathered all the valuables they could take, then placed explosive tags in various corners of the bandit lair.

“Boom!”

Amidst a massive explosion, the bandit lair that had long occupied Qingfeng Mountain was reduced to ruins.

On the way back to the Village, the atmosphere was much more relaxed than on the way there.

“Tang Yan, your puppets are amazing!” Qian praised sincerely. “The small one, its movements are so flexible.”

Zi Luo also nodded: “Yes, it worked very well with me.”

Tang Yan merely smiled faintly.

Back in the Village, they submitted the mission report and the captured valuables.

According to the rules, the Village took half, and the remaining half was to be distributed by the Fifth Squad themselves.

The several thousand taels they received was a considerable income for Genin.

After bidding farewell to Qian and Zi Luo, Tang Yan did not go straight home, but turned into a quiet alley.

He took out a small jade bottle from his embrace, containing a few drops of blood collected from Sugita’s wound.

Sugita’s state of forcibly bursting Chakra to temporarily resist the poison before his death gave him some new ideas.

Perhaps, he could develop some more specialized poisons specifically targeting a Ninja’s Chakra.