Chapter 43: The Trial of Blood (Part 1)
This story begins after Koshino, Kakashi, and the others left the Hidden Leaf Village for their first mission.
As they departed, Koshino couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. After all, among the group, he was the only one leaving the village for the first time.
For an ordinary person at the age of four, leaving the village for training was out of the question. Even successfully cultivating chakra and entering the ninja academy was a challenge.
Of course, children from prestigious clans like the Uchiha and Hyuga might undergo rigorous training at four, given their elite backgrounds.
However, leaving the village for training at such a young age was an experience even Itachi hadn't had, yet Koshino was making history.
Despite his excitement, Koshino maintained a calm exterior to avoid any criticism from Kakashi. Especially with Kakashi and Guy leading the way, their brisk pace left Koshino with no time to be distracted, let alone excited.
"Lei, Gan, do you guys always travel at this speed?"
Wiping the sweat from his forehead during a brief rest, Koshino approached Lighningdō and Tatami to ask.
Underneath their Anbu masks, Lighningdō and Tatami exchanged a wry smile at Koshino's question. Lighningdō sighed deeply and replied, "Shadow, if we always traveled like this, we'd be exhausted! The captain and Turtle suddenly decided to speed up right after we set out."
"Sigh."
"It seems our mission's difficulty level has increased again!"
Hearing Lighningdō's response, Koshino felt helpless. It turned out Kakashi and Guy's competitive spirit was to blame! Initially, Koshino thought Anbu's travel speed was faster than regular ninja due to strict regulations.
As they slowly recovered their energy, Genma Shiranui kindly distributed some food and water, allowing Koshino and the others a moment to catch their breath. Through these interactions, Koshino discovered that despite Genma Shiranui's aloof demeanor, similar to another Kakashi, he was a warm-hearted person.
Gradually, Koshino developed a good rapport with Lighningdō, Tatami, and Genma Shiranui. However, just as Koshino was seeking advice on mission execution, Kakashi, who was keeping track of time, suddenly frowned and said, "Shadow, Fire, Turtle has caused some trouble, go deal with it!"
"Yes!"
Responding promptly, Koshino and Genma Shiranui didn't dare delay under Kakashi's cold gaze and quickly moved to Guy's side.
But when Koshino reached Guy's location, hidden in the grass, he was stunned by the so-called trouble Guy had caused! It wasn't trouble at all; Guy was simply helping some refugees within the Land of Fire with his characteristic enthusiasm.
During wartime, this was often the case.
Civilians from other countries, having lost their homes and families due to war, sought refuge in larger nations when they had no other options.
Unfortunately, these refugees didn't realize that seeking refuge in a major nation was a mistake!
Take the Land of Fire, for example. Even ordinary civilians harbored a sense of rejection towards refugees. Refugees often had to survive in the wilderness, living in rags and going hungry.
If they encountered kind-hearted people, a village might take them in. But if they met cold-hearted individuals, they often perished in the wilderness, either from starvation or as prey for wild animals.
Of course.
If refugees encountered ordinary civilians or regular ninja, they fared somewhat better.
In the ninja world, ninja were prohibited from wantonly slaughtering civilians and refugees, and ordinary civilians couldn't wield weapons against refugees.
However, if refugees encountered Anbu, their fate was sealed—death.
What Guy was doing, sharing food with refugees, was taboo within Anbu. Anbu's duties differed from those of regular ninja. When encountering refugees, they were expected to view them with suspicion, treating all refugees as foreign spies.
But Koshino was just an "Anbu rookie," and even more so, he had the status of a "temporary worker." Seeing Guy helping those civilians, he naturally didn't understand what exactly Kakashi's mission required.
On the other hand, Genma Shiranui, with his experience in Anbu, was already well-acquainted with Anbu's responsibilities.
So, while Koshino was still trying to figure out what Kakashi's task was, a sharp senbon was already in Genma Shiranui's hand.
The next second, Genma Shiranui's figure vanished from beside Koshino!
"Could it be..."
"Could it be that Genma is going to kill them?"
Not long after leaving the village of Konoha, Koshino witnessed the harshness of Anbu!
They were a group of unarmed refugees, each one starved to the point of looking like demons returning from hell.
Yet, under the mountain of "mission," Genma Shiranui showed no mercy. In just a few seconds, he efficiently dealt with all the refugees.
After that, Genma Shiranui's indifferent eyes fell on Koshino, causing the rookie who had just seen blood for the first time to shiver involuntarily!
"Shadow, handle the bodies of these spies. I need to take Turtle to see the captain."
"Yes."
Silently nodding, Koshino, with trembling hands, picked up the shovel Genma Shiranui handed him and prepared to deal with the bodies.
However, Genma Shiranui's slaughter clearly angered Guy.
"Why did you kill these people?"
"They... they were just ordinary people! Bastard!"
With a roar, Guy rushed in front of Genma Shiranui, ready to punch him in the face.
But that punch never landed on Genma Shiranui's face because Kakashi suddenly appeared, catching Guy's fist.
"I've told you before, Turtle, you're not suited for Anbu work at all! Look at Shadow, his performance is much better than yours!"
"As Anbu, our work is definitely different from that of ordinary ninjas."
"So Turtle, if you really can't handle it, then you should just go back!"
As he spoke, Kakashi's cold gaze fell on Koshino again, directly ordering:
"Shadow, make sure to finish off every body!"
"Leave no survivors!"
"Yes, Captain!"
Having already dug the pit with the shovel, Koshino had barely overcome his mental barrier, only for Kakashi to issue another cruel order.
However, after Kakashi gave that brutal command, what surprised both Guy and Kakashi was that Koshino, who usually didn't see eye to eye with Kakashi, actually started silently finishing off the bodies.
Moreover, on each refugee's corpse, Koshino viciously added three more strikes before throwing the finished-off bodies into the pit and burying them.
At that moment, watching Koshino's mechanical actions and his gradually indifferent gaze, Kakashi felt a different sensation in his heart.
Especially as Koshino faced dead bodies for the first time and still managed to calmly complete the cleanup, noticing that Koshino's hand holding the kunai didn't tremble at all, Kakashi narrowed his eyes slightly and ordered Koshino again:
"Koshino, there's a refugee camp five hundred meters to the right."
Thanks for the stones bonus in few minutes :D