บท 19: Chapter 19: Journey to Yumegakure (1)

Making my way south of Kisaragi, I started looking around, hoping to catch sight of the bandit camp. Seeing nothing, I continued onwards. Considering my last camp was cleared by my bow, I decided to use my chokuto to clear this camp.

Continuing onwards, I eventually saw a large cluster of tents. Climbing up into a tree, I observed the camp, counting the number of bandits.

The tents were set in a circle, a fire crackling in the center. There were three rotating patrols of four, as well as a dozen men lounging in the center.

Making my way around the camp, I noticed that there wasn't any bandits hiding in the forest. Sighing in relief, I continued observing the camp.

The men had some simple iron weapons, while the remaining weapons consisted of makeshift weaponry. Only a few men had bows, however they were handmade. The men in the center didn't have any weapons on them, instead allowing them to rest on tables and against chairs.

The patrols moved around the camp slowly. None seemed to truly take the job seriously, as they were all talking to one another, only occasionally sending glances towards the surrounding forest. Thankfully the patrols were far enough away from not only one another but also from the resting men that they wouldn't be heard, and if timed correctly, seen.

Waiting for one patrol to rotate infront of a large tent, I grabbed three senbon and a kunai. Slinking forwards, I made my way to the branches above them, waiting for them to walk under me.

Seeing them slowly pass me, I took aim, launching the senbon towards three of the men, before dropping down and stabbing the remaining man in the middle of his back, covering his mouth with my hand. Quickly dragging the men and their dropped weapons into the foliage, I jumped back up into the tree, waiting for the next patrol.

Repeating that same sequence with both patrols, I had a neat little pile of twelve corpses. Grinning slightly, I climbed to the highest branch, observing the camp again. The bandits hadn't noticed the missing patrols, as all the men were still laughing and joking with each other.

Unsheathing my chokuto, I made my way towards the tents. Quietly slicing a slit into one of the tents, I looked around, noticing a man sleeping in the bed. Looking towards the entrance, I saw the flaps were down. Quickly moving towards him, I stabbed a senbon into his throat, allowing the poison to kill him. Rechecking the entrance, I went back outside, moving between tents. Hearing the men continuing to joke, I slowly and methodically killed a half dozen men in their sleep.

Taking a deep breath, I grabbed four senbon in each hand, tossing them towards the men. Watching eight drop to the floor, I grabbed my chokuto, launching myself into the remaining four. Quickly activating the Body Flicker Technique, I cut down the remaining bandits.

Sighing, I went through the bodies, taking the ears and loose ryo before checking the tents. There was a total of 23,500 ryo, and 30 bandits. After grouping all of them into the center of the camp, I turned East, towards Sagen Harbor.

The journey there was uneventful, and when I reached the harbor I grabbed a bite to eat, contemplating whether I should travel to Sora-Ku and deal with the Nukenin there, or rest now.

Having finished my meal, I rested for a few more minutes, running medical chakra through my body. It had only been six hours since I had departed from Konoha, and it would be another hour run to Sora-Ku. Closing my eyes, I decided I had enough energy to finish of the last bandit camp before stopping at Nikkou Inn Town.

Getting up, I paid my bill before leaving towards Sora-Ku.

~~~

This bandit camp... well, it wasn't a camp. It was a small settlement. Three large houses, and two smaller ones, with a dock on the shore. Thankfully the mission report was accurate, as I only saw the twenty bandits and three nukenin.

The Nukenin were wearing Hitai-Ate with three Z's, denoting their prior allegiance to Yumegakure. Of the three, one had markings under her eyes, denoting her possible affiliation with the Tenro Clan. The other two, both Kunoichi, had no discernible markings, meaning they were likely normal kunoichi.

The Tenro girl was directing the bandits on the dock, having them load crates onto two boats. Seeing the large amount of crates, I smiled, realizing that I had time and would be able to sneak around freely, as all but three bandits were moving the crates.

Each stood on a different roof, each able to not only see each other, but in the sightline of the Tenro girl. Pursing my lips, I looked to the other two nukenin, seeing them posted on each side of the dock, keeping a close eye on the bandits.

Summoning my bow, I contemplated my choices. My wind arrows couldn't be controlled once shot, as they were just made from compressed chakra. Once they left my immediate vicinity, the chakra slowly starts to disperse, and I lose control over them. I could try explosive tags for just the bandits, while using normal arrows guided by a long chakra string for the nukenin...

Nodding to myself, I drew a normal arrow before aiming towards the nukenin on the left. She wasn't moving at all, deciding to lounge on a crate, whereas the one on the right was pacing back and forth, berating the bandits.

Moving towards the left side of the settlement, I nocked the arrow, attaching a chakra string. Breathing in, I let the arrow fly, using the string to make the arrow look like it was coming from the center of the settlement.

Hearing the familiar 'thunk' of the arrow sinking into flesh, I drew an explosive arrow, aiming it towards the cluster of bandits. Igniting the tag, I shot it into the center of the group, grinning at the loud 'BOOM!'. Nocking another explosive arrow, I shot it towards the next group, before quickly shooting an arrow towards each of the three sentries.

Placing my bow back into the scroll, I drew my chokuto, moving in towards the remaining few bandits and nukenin.

The Tenro girl was shouting orders, while the other, who had been so loud before, was shaking as she looked towards her friend, who now had an arrow sticking out of her throat. Grabbing a few senbon, I threw them towards the group.

Tenro drew a kunai and blocked the two senbon, growling slightly. Two bandits dropped, leaving one left. The other nukenin followed her example, grabbing her kunai, however I could see her shaking.

I decided to dispatch the other two as quickly, so I tossed another flurry of senbon towards the bandit and scared girl. Watching as the girl managed to deflect the senbon, while the bandit dropped, I clicked my tongue. Slinking into a building, I watched them through the windows.

Tenro had started going through hadsigns, using a Jutsu that transformed her arms slightly, causing them to grow fur and claws. Her eyes, which were previously amber, where now yellow. She looked around, growling.

Moving towards the top of the building, I silently coated my blade in wind chakra before jumping down towards her. Before I could cut her in half, she swayed slightly, managing to almost dodge the blade completely, with only a small chunk of her arm sliding to the ground.

Dropping myself into a protective stance, I waited, deciding to first see what this transformation did for her.

Activating the Body Flicker Technique, I waited, watching her. The Tenro girl launched herself towards me with a roar, her kunai lunging for my throat while she swiped at me with her free hand. Blocking the kunai, I swayed backwards, letting her swipe miss. Stumbling forward, the girl tried to block the tip of my chokuto. Deflecting it slightly, I pierced her shoulder.

Before I could withdraw my blade, she grabbed hold of it with her other hand, glaring at me. Frowning, I let go of the blade, jumping back. Palming a kunai, without letting her see the additional senbon that entered my hand, I waited, staring at her.

Her friend was breathing heavily at the side, and tried to charge at me. However, after I shot her a glance, she froze up, wide eyed, before dropping to her knees.

Scoffing, I turned my attention back to the Tenro, frowning when I saw her simply throw my blade to the ground.

"That's an expensive blade, y'know. Treat it better."

Instead of a response, she just growled again. Looking at her eyes, I grinned, realizing that whatever transformation Jutsu she had used, severely limited her cognition. Darting forward, I stabbed my kunai forward, using it as a feint.

She brought her own kunai up, and after blocking my own, she tried to swipe at me again. However, I had flicked my senbon at her, watching as it pierced her shoulder. Backing up, I waited, watching as the girl started to breath heavier and heavier, before dropping to a knee.

I stood still, my kunai ready to deflect any attack, however none came. She slumped to the ground, her breathing ragged, before she stopped altogether. Looking towards the last girl, she was trembling on the floor, trying to move away.

Appearing above her, I sighed as I looked down at her.

"You are quite lucky I'm not a man. Be thankful, because instead of suffering, I will kill you quickly."

Saying so, I stabbed my kunai through her heart. Confirming her death, I started looking through her gear, replacing my senbon and kunai. Going over to my chokuto, I quickly took her head, before moving to the Tenro girl, doing the same.

Sighing, I looked around. My arrows had caused quite a bit of damage, with the dock burning slightly and in pieces. The crates were littering the shore. Looking through them, I saw decent silks and bundles of herbs. Looking through my gear, I grinned when I saw that I still had an empty storage scroll. Gathering the few clean bolts of silk and bundles of herbs, I placed the scroll back in my vest with care. Depending on the quality of the silk, this mission alone could pay for quite a few rooms!

Quickly gathering my proof of completion, my grin grew wider when I saw the amount of ryo that these people had. Each bandit held 5,000 on average, and the nukenin on the dock had pocketed 30,000. The boats each had a small lock box that held 50,000 each.

In total, these bandits netted me 230,000 ryo! That was more than all these missions combined! However, what really made me giddy was the silk. Even a low quality bolt of silk could be 10,000, and these looked quite decent. Plus, I had quite a bit of it, as they had managed to move a few crates onto the boats.

My grin widened, and I turned towards the south, deciding to celebrate when I reached Nikkou.

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We almost have 100,000 Views! Thank you so much!

Anyways, let me know how this chapter went, and whether or not it was easy to follow or not. I had to pause midway through it, so I had gone from really motivated to kinda motivated. I enjoyed that last little fight, and I always believed the gap between Genin and Chunin was quite large, not to mention the gap between a Genin and almost Jonin.

Welp, I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you continue to enjoy my fic!

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