chapter 24: Attack
The old man in charge slapped the girl across the face, partly out of pity and partly in annoyance. "I told you to keep your mouth shut. Why don't you apologize to me now?"
Stunned by the slap, the girl cried out, overwhelmed by her sense of injustice.
"Cry if you want! Keep crying!"
As he spoke, the old man made a move to hit her again.
At that moment, the bandit leader behind him grabbed the old man's wrist and shouted, "Stop fighting!"
The old man in charge thought the matter was settled, but the bandit leader's next words sent a chill down his spine.
The bandit leader grinned lewdly at Akari and murmured to himself, "It won't be entertaining if you break her."
"Hahaha~~~"
At this moment, the surrounding bandits erupted into laughter and quickly closed in on the caravan.
"Uncle, we don't want these things anymore! Please, let my granddaughter go!"
The old man knelt on the ground, tugging at the bandit leader's sleeve as he begged bitterly.
However, the bandit leader simply swore, "Get lost!" He kicked the old man aside and reached for the little girl.
"Hey! Why are you looking for death?"
Listening to the old man's pleading and Akari's sobs, Baishi muttered to himself.
"What did you say?"
The bandit leader shot a glance at Baishi and, noticing the katana at his waist, sneered as he scratched his ear, feigning ignorance.
"I said," Baishi replied slowly, "why don't you just take the money? Why do you have to seek death?"
With that, he drew his sword and swiftly cut the bandit leader's neck.
The leader's body collapsed to the ground with a clang as he clutched his neck and looked down in disbelief, uttering two words: "So fast."
Then, he fell backward.
Observing the still-twitching bandit leader, Baishi shook the blood from his blade and sighed. "Ah~, it looks like my good luck has run out."
Logically, he shouldn't have intervened, as it would leave traces, but some actions are unavoidable. While he didn't consider himself a good person, he at least had some principles.
Since he couldn't stand by, he felt no need to worry about the consequences. Overthinking would drain the joy out of life.
At that moment, a cold glint flickered in Baishi's eyes.
In the next instant, he dashed toward several bandits, swiftly eliminating them with a few precise slashes.
It was a short event, occurring within just a few breaths. It wasn't long before the remaining bandits recognized the chaos.
"The boss is dead!"
"Ermao and Laipi are dead too!"
"Quick, everyone, gather together and kill him!"
Some shouted as they charged toward Baishi, while others, frightened, began retreating.
However, Baishi didn't pay them any mind; he methodically cut down the opponents in front of him.
In this moment, he showcased the efficient killing techniques he had been trained in at Root. In less than a minute, dozens of bandits lay dead on the ground—each struck down cleanly and effectively.
He didn't hold back. For a professional, hiding his skills wouldn't make sense, and he was far from being adept at it.
Rather than dilly-dallying, it was better to seize the moment and escape.
With that thought, Baishi glanced at the caravan. Everyone was looking at him in fear, as if they thought he would turn on them next. He found it amusing.
If he had aimed to silence witnesses, he wouldn't have acted so openly.
"Forget it, let's go!" Baishi dismissed the caravan's stares and hurried toward the woods beside the road.
As he disappeared into the foliage, the girl named Akari shouted, "Big brother, thank you!"
Hearing this, Baishi paused momentarily, then used a teleportation technique to vanish into the depths of the dense forest.
He picked a random direction, ran a considerable distance, then stopped.
After verifying that no one was around, Baishi canceled the transformation technique, allowing the vines to fall from his body, revealing his true appearance.
"Ah, this feels much more comfortable!"
After stretching a bit, he formed hand seals again, mobilized chakra, and performed the Wood Release: Wood Clone Technique.
As his shoulders shifted, four identical clones appeared behind him.
Signaling one of the clones to pick up the bloody katana, Baishi instructed, "You all know the plan. Let's get started!"
The four clones nodded silently before selecting different directions and sprinting into the depths of the jungle.
If observed from above, it would be clear that Baishi and his four clones were moving in a fan-shaped formation.
Initially, the overlapping auras of the original and the clones made it hard to distinguish between them. As time passed and the distance grew, tracking would become more challenging.
In this manner, if he were to be pursued, the pressure would be significantly alleviated.
This was Baishi's simple yet effective plan.
Nevertheless, he hoped, if possible, that Root would refrain from chasing him.
Unfortunately, fate had other plans.
Only a few hours after his departure, a dozen ninjas in masks and cloaks arrived at the ambush site.
These were the pursuit ninjas dispatched by Danzo, led by his right-hand man, Aburame Ryoma.
Standing in the middle of the road, Aburame Ryoma surveyed the area as if confirming certain details, then declared, "This is it! Search!"
"Yes, sir!"
After the response, the ninjas dispersed to conduct a comprehensive search of the surroundings.
One team had a specific target: a few small hills in the woods beside the road.
Earth Style: Doryukari.
With one swift jutsu, the hills cracked open, revealing corpses beneath the surface.
Had Baishi been present, he would have easily recognized the bodies of bandits.
The Root Ninjas displayed no surprise at the sight, as if they had been expecting to find them.
This expectation was grounded in truth; after Baishi's departure, the old man in charge had buried the bodies and decided against moving further, opting instead to return to the Kingdom of Rivers.
Despite his insistence on discretion, the caravan's many chatterboxes spread the word quickly, and soon enough, the tale reached Aburame Ryoma and the others.
After hearing about the incident, they remembered Baishi.
Indeed, in a place like this, skilled ninjas were few and far between, and it was only natural for them to suspect his involvement after tracking the caravan here.
Employing a few dirty tricks, they pieced together the entire story and ultimately tracked Baishi to this very site.
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