Chapter 5

A man stood before his gaze.

His slurred speech and expression were the result of being drunk.

But that's not what Yujito froze for.

The man gave him a chill, as he was remembering something.

However, that was short-lived.

The bandit must've seen the corpse, as his face turned to something in horror. Yujito could not talk himself out of this one.

So, he reached for the kunai, pulled it out, and pointed it at the drunk bandit.

Though, his supposed enemy was bolting down the pathway, into the camp.

"Crap," Yujito groaned, getting up, "They will find me if I try to run,"

This was true, but he decided not to run.

Yujito just wanted something to eat. If they were going to attack him, so be it. He will fight back.

The woman's corpse came back into view, specifically the sheath on her right.

'A Katana will be awkward for me right now,' He grabbed the handle with some difficulty, 'so a shorter sword will do,'

With a huff, Yujito pulled out a Wakizashi, gripping it by the handle, leaving the sheath with the woman.

Something else came through as well.

•••

Acquired new skills, Boss!

[Bukijutsu:

Wakizashi]

Chakra

•••

'I only learned Chakra now? Oh well,' He breathed in, and began walking, 'Time for some food,'

Without a second thought, Yujito moved down the trail and entered the camp.

To be honest, there were way more campfires than he thought, which included more people that did not notice him.

He could thank the dark for that, and the drunken states the bandits were in.

This didn't stop a group from noticing him and stopping him.

Yujito only recognized one person. The man who ran away.

"This i-is the kid, man! Burp!" He shouted at the other three, who looked at him with disbelieving gazes, "He maade iit into the camp,"

One of the other bandits, who was not drunk, took out a katana, "I don't believe this blue-haired kid could have killed Uruku, but he has wondered into our camp, so let's kill him,"

The man walked with the sword held high as if to bring it down with a heavy blow.

'That's what to expect from this time,' Yujito thought, gripping the shorter blade, 'I just wanted something to eat,'

With that, the bandit brought the sword down.

SHINK!

But found a sword slashed into his neck and across his chest.

It was easy to dodge, but that put Yujito in more dung.

Those at the campfires were mostly drunk, but hearing the scream and the calling of other men, most were curious about the commotion.

'Horrible,' Yujito thought, pulling the sword back and facing the three left, 'I don't care, but that's two from this camp. How many more for a bowl of stew?'

The three bandits were shocked at what they saw. Who would've thought that a young kid that wandered into a bandit camp would kill with such efficiency? These bandits didn't.

"Screw this!" One said, running away.

"Co-coward!" The drunk one shouted, pulling out his own sword, "He can't get us if we attack him at once,"

The other bandit was scared, but it felt logical that two men could take out one kid.

So with both of them staring at Yujito, swords drawn, they had a plan.

However, Yujito got a flashback.

'No way,' He thought, remembering what happened at Kaisu village, 'could these guys be...'

As they moved closer, Yujito shook his head.

'No, that's just an assumption,' His stomach growled, 'this is not good,'

"Hyah!" The drunk bandit screamed, charging forward.

The one behind him looked on in surprise, "Wait!"

CLANG!

As the bandit brought his sword down, Yujito brought the Wakizashi up and deflected the blow.

SHILK!

"Uh," The bandit could only glance at the blue-haired child in front of him before his vision began to spin.

Without thinking, Yujito dashed toward the other bandit.

As a body and a head fell, the sword sliced through another.

Yujito stood, listening to the two bodies falling to the ground, and shivered.

'Four,' He thought, not feeling anything, 'that's four enemies for a goddamn bowl of stew!'

The blood on his clothes did not make him falter. Yujito just walked to one of the fires.

There, a group of around ten bandits, six men, and four women, sat around the roaring fire.

No sound of rejoicing and enjoyment came, only the loud stares that they stared into Yujito explained their reactions.

Or perhaps, a ten-year-old kid with a sword in his hands and blood on his clothes was a little too disturbing.

"What is a kid doing wandering around our camp?!" One man shouted, picking up a spear that was near him, "Those screams, it must mean danger,"

"He had to disturb our time,"

"Let's get rid of him,"

The chattering of the group grew as all of them were standing, taking out their own weapons, while the bandit with the spear was moving closer.

'That pile,' Yujito had noticed it.

Not too far away, almost out of the light's reach, was a pile of what looked like weapons and other things.

That specific pile of weapons was rather huge. Maybe it was for the bandits in the camp? No, the group of drunk and angered enemies had their weapons with them. With this, Yujito's mind thought.

WOOSH!

A spear was thrust at the boy, but the bandit was dumbfounded as the foe in front of him dodged, and raised his foot over the spear's tip.

BASH!

Nothing surprised him more as this threw him forward with the spear.

Yujito, now in alignment, grabbed his kunai in the other hand and jabbed it into the man's neck.

It went in a few more times before the bandit went limp.

'Did I just unintentionally do the Mikiri Counter?!' He looked away upon pulling the kunai out, 'I must be going insane,'

Then, a throb banged in his head. Yujito looked up, and his eyes widened in surprise.

TING!

TING!

'How did I deflect those two kunai?' He thought, before focusing his attention on the two women, one with two sickles and the other with two kunai.

They stood on his left and right. Yujito was in between.

'Crap, they are pretty coordinated for drunk bandits,'

Thinking quickly, Yujito hurled his kunai at the one with sickles and focused on the other one.

He heard her deflect it, but the other one was his main problem.

SHINK!

Her arms were lowered, with the kunai ready to dig into the chest.

The bandit's head was open, so Yujito's sword went downwards, from the top, across the right eye, and left at the edge of her chin.

It was not something Yujito wished to see, but quickly snatching the kunai out of her hands, he turned around and flung both of them.

They were deflected again by the other woman. She charged forward, slashing downwards.

Yujito flung himself to the right and saw his kunai on the ground.

With speed, he dashed towards it, catching one of the deflected kunai from the air.

'I'm glad to have this system,' He thought, picking it up, now having two kunai, 'now, to solve the problem,'

The sickle bandit was facing him once again, one arm raised, the other lowered to the middle of her chest.

This one and the other one he killed were wearing rags and what he conceived to be normal clothes.

But, Yujito did something even weirder.

In that short time, the wakizashi was gripped in his mouth, held by his teeth. The blade protruded out the right like a plane's wing. Each kunai were in his hands, backhanded.

'What am I doing? This is not cool,' Yujito thought, moving his mouth, 'I don't hold a sword in my mouth by its handle! But still, let me trust my thoughts, I am fighting for my life, right?'

So, he dashed forward, slashing at the foe in front of him.

Nothing was easier to block the kunai with her own small sickle.

Another slice, another block.

However, the woman did not account for Yujito to swing his head and body vigorously to the left.

SINCH!

She, in fact, was not paying attention to the blade cutting her head off.

Once he landed, Yujito winced at the exhaustion from his body.

'Did the system give a skill for stamina?' He thought, facing the remaining bandits, 'Holy cow, how have I been fighting for this long?'

Staring down the encroaching foes, Yujito felt exhausted, but he could still go on.

So Yujito stood, breathing in and out a few times, his mouth filled with spit. He wanted to take the handle out of his mouth, but he couldn't risk it.

But as one of the bandits moved forward, something swung from left to right.

Yujito knew this weapon. A kusarigama.

The sickle end was held in his left hand. The right hand was swinging with the heavy part.

'Wait for an opening,' He thought, watching it intently, 'there!'

With a jolt, Yujito rushed forward once the chain was swung down.

CLANG!

It was deflected by a kunai.

"Hmph!" The bandit struck forward with the sickle, aiming at the kid in front of him.

Yujito dodged the diagonal slash by jumping and spinning in the air.

Instinctively, he flipped the wakizashi in his mouth, letting it face the other way.

The spinning motion sent the blade flying into the bandit's shoulder.

Red, crimson blood painted his and Yujito's already stained clothes.

The feat in front of the remaining six bandits sent them trembling and moving back.

"Get Giroku, now!" One man roared at the two women, who ran away.

The four men would've done so too if they didn't see Yujito's tired face.

'This blood,' He thought, spitting out the wakizashi, 'why am I tasting blood?'

'Eight,' He looked up at the four armed bandits, who were now encouraged by Yujito's posture, 'the pain won't stop, but I'll die if I give up,'

So, with a gnawing stomach, Yujito dropped the kunai and reached for the kusarigama. His left hand held the sickle and his right was gripped around a part of the chain, holding the heavy end.

•••

Acquired new skills, Boss!

Bukijutsu:

Kusarigama

•••

Then, like always, Yujito felt a shock, as if some familiarity had just been gained.

WOOSH!

WOOSH!

WOOSH!

Slowly, he swung the heavy end around and around, each time gaining speed and momentum.

The opponents stood unwavering, not backing down despite witnessing this kid demolish men before.

Perhaps it was to bide the girls that ran time?

Either way, Yujito didn't care.

With his blood-stained clothes and his face now half-covered with blood, he glared back with a single thought.

'I was only hungry!'