The merciless July sun scorched the earth, so intense it drove away even the clouds.
Beneath the unrelenting rays, crops wilted under the heat, and every living creature scurried for the cool shade of the forest.
Yet under this blazing sky, the mountain bandits felt a chill deep in their bones.
One by one, their comrades charged forward, only to collapse lifelessly like cut grass.
Bodies lay scattered across the ground in chaos; fresh blood gushed from corpses, flowing over the dry earth before vanishing into the air within moments.
The stench of blood mixed with filth inside the bandit camp, making the air putrid and sickening.
A muscular man named Han, clutching a tanto, stepped tremblingly from the crowd and said, "Honorable Ninja, we're all homeless drifters with nowhere to go—we had no choice but to become bandits."
"Please spare us! We'll never dare again!"
Aozora ignored him, already producing another kunai in his palm.
The thick calluses on his thumb area revealed years of sword practice—such strength was not built overnight.
Aya looked at the trembling bandits with reluctant pity before instinctively turning her face away.
At that moment, the burly man whirled his arm back, aiming to slash toward Aya with his tanto.
Before the blade could leave his hand, Aozora's kunai had already buried itself into his wrist.
"Clang!"
The tanto fell onto the hardened earth with a crisp sound. Aya quickly turned back, her face pale with shock.
Without expression, Aozora said, "Aya, did your father ever tell you that mercy toward enemies means cruelty toward yourself?"
Aya shook her head numbly.
Aozora continued, "Then remember this well today."
The bandit gripped his bleeding wrist, his face twisting angrily. "Even if I die, I'll take some of you with me!"
Spurred on by his words, the remaining bandits turned even more savage.
Each of them had blood on their hands, having lived for years on the edge of death, long past fearing it.
Hundreds of fierce outlaws surged toward the three ninja.
Jifeng and Aya grew tense, instinctively biting their lips.
Aozora knew throwing kunai would no longer resolve the situation. He ordered directly, "Step back!"
With that, he rapidly formed hand seals.
"Snake–Ram–Monkey–Boar–Horse–Tiger!"
[Fire Release - Great Fireball Jutsu!]
An enormous ball of fire burst from Aozora's mouth, roaring toward the group of bandits.
As Aya and Jifeng flew backward, they looked behind to see Aozora's slender silhouette framed against a sky ablaze.
Facing the incoming torrent of flames, the bandits' fearless resolve instantly collapsed into terror. Their savage expressions melted into panic. As they tried fleeing in all directions, the fire consumed them in the next instant.
"Boom!"
The massive fireball exploded, sending many bandits flying through the air. Others caught their clothing aflame, running about wildly.
Despite feeling sympathy, Aozora stated coldly, "Annihilate them all."
He resumed killing bandits methodically with shuriken.
Jifeng exchanged glances with Aya before silently joining the battle. This was their mission, and their duty.
Now panicked and directionless, the bandits posed no further threat to the trio, and were soon completely wiped out.
Dropping the kunai from her hand, Aya stared in shock at the brutal scene before her.
These lifeless bodies and pools of blood... was this really her doing?
Shibi Aburame arrived just in time, saying, "The mission is over!"
He knew it was time to get the three of them away from here.
Time heals wounds—it would gradually calm their hearts and help them get used to being ninja.
Upon hearing this, Jifeng and Aya quickly turned around, eager to leave this place as soon as possible.
But Uchiha Aozora remained rooted in place. "You guys go ahead first," he said. "I still have something to handle."
Shibi Aburame asked in surprise, "What is it?"
Uchiha Aozora replied, "I need to deal with these bodies. It's not right to leave them exposed like this."
After a moment of silence, Shibi spoke again. "These were evil people with no redemption. There's no reason for you to feel guilty."
Uchiha Aozora shook his head. "I don't feel guilty."
Of course he didn't dwell on such things. After all, the previously empty Wordless Heavenly Page now showed five golden droplets. Even heaven seemed to acknowledge justice—killing these people wasn't wrong.
But just because they were criminals meant they deserved to be left rotting in the wild?
Even if one took a thousand steps back and disregarded what was right for the deceased, one should still consider the villagers living down the mountain.
"Given the current weather, these bodies will rot and emit a foul odor quickly. If we don't handle so many corpses properly, it might cause an epidemic."
Pushing his glasses up slightly with his index finger, Shibi reassessed Uchiha Aozora.
If he had to score the performance of the three during this mission,
he would give Inuzuka Aya a 7. She passed, but lacked experience, and wasn't ruthless enough. This kind of ruthlessness wasn't needed against civilians or comrades, but must be present when facing enemies.
As for Hayate Gekko, he'd rate him a 9. Shibi couldn't find any flaws in Hayate Gekko's behavior. He believed Hayate's performance was no worse than his own in his early days—displaying all the necessary qualities a ninja should possess. For someone who had killed for the first time, keeping control and staying calm constantly was impressive.
As for Uchiha Aozora, he had initially planned to give him only a 5.
Because Aozora was too rational. To force himself to adapt to killing, he had approached a mountain bandit whose throat had been pierced by a kunai, watching him die with his own eyes. Later, he had also remained indifferent toward the bandits' pleas for mercy.
This may appear perfectly aligned with the standards of a ninja, but to Shibi, emotionless ninjas like that were far too dangerous—in his view, failing.
However, Uchiha Aozora's final actions surprised him.
He could remain completely unfeeling toward his enemies, yet still show respect for the remains of the dead.
Rather than fleeing the aftermath or merely soothing his own heart, he considered the safety of those living below the mountain.
Such thoughts had never so much as brushed past Shibi's mind.
At this moment, he finally understood what a perfect score truly meant.
A 9 simply meant completing the mission. But a true 10 meant doing everything necessary even after the mission was over.
Shibi then offered, "You're right. Do you need help with anything?"
Aya and Hayate Gekko also expressed willingness to assist.
Aozora looked back at them and said, "Gather the bodies together. Find some trees too—um, even doors and pillars from these houses will work. Stack them all up. We'll perform a cremation!"
"Alright!"
So Team Three assembled a raised platform using logs and branches, then laid all the mountain bandits' bodies on top.
Finally, [Great Fireball Technique!] Aozora ignited the massive pyre with a blazing burst of flame.
The enormous fire blazed up with a roar, devouring their clothing and reducing every trace to ash.
Standing a distance away, Aozora gazed solemnly at the sacred flames and said, "May this fire burn away your worldly sins. May your souls find peace in the next life."
He hadn't believed in gods or Buddhas—until he transmigrated to this world.
He hadn't believed in karma—until the Gongde (spiritual merit) from the Heavenly Book helped him complete his Mystical Technique.
You reap what you sow!
Sure enough, two new marks of Gongde appeared on the Heavenly Book.
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