The crimson sky gradually dimmed.
As a cool breeze swept through, Tatsumi inhaled the lingering smell of smoke, causing a slight discomfort in his lungs. The spot on his chest where he had been stabbed by a kunai not long ago still throbbed faintly.
Tatsumi reached down, picked up the kunai in front of him, and stood up.
Nawaki and Mikoto also picked up their kunai.
Then, the three of them pushed open the door and walked in without hesitation.
Although it wasn't their first time killing, it was their first time dealing with unarmed people.
Like Orochimaru said, this was the path they had chosen, and they had to walk it to the end, even if it meant crawling on their knees.
Tatsumi slipped in silently and discovered more than a dozen people tied up inside the house.
Besides a few men who were already a bloody mess, there were also some women. They were entangled by snakes, and their eyes were filled with pain.
Tatsumi glanced at the middle-aged man in front of him, who was helpless, desperate, and angry.
Perhaps, he had once been an influential figure in Windmill Village.
But now, he could only watch as the kunai of the little devil in front of him approached.
When he embarked on this path, he was prepared to be killed, but he never expected to die at the hands of such a small fry.
He had no ability to resist and could only watch as the kunai got closer and closer.
He struggled in agony, which aggravated the injury on his severed arm.
He wore an expression of rage, for these children had destroyed everything here.
Tatsumi walked up to him expressionlessly, and the kunai slowly cut into his neck.
Blood splattered everywhere.
The man let out a muffled cry. Instantly, the whole world turned cold, as if all the cold in the world had suddenly gathered in his throat.
Tatsumi glanced at the blood on the kunai and continued toward the next person.
It was a woman. She struggled, cried, and whimpered, begging Tatsumi to spare her, but the kunai still sliced across her throat.
After Tatsumi finished, he pushed open the door and walked out.
Leaving the rest to Nawaki and Mikoto.
At this time, Orochimaru was sitting on the ground, gazing at the sky.
Tatsumi also sat down opposite him, looking up at the sky as well.
Sitting here, they could see the moon, and further away, the shadowy forest.
If it weren't for the ruins in front of them, the scenery outside would have been extremely bright, and the leaves were a dazzling green.
When Tatsumi was in Konoha, he loved the scenery of Konoha.
But Konoha was neither too big nor too small, and seeing the same scenery every day made him yearn for other places in the ninja world.
But now, only a few days after leaving Konoha… he already missed it a little.
He realized that the scenery outside wasn't so beautiful either.
The bloody smell that had been somewhat dissipated from Tatsumi's body had now become stronger again. His whole demeanor had changed significantly from before.
Orochimaru nodded in satisfaction.
"Because a jonin appeared in this mission, and you killed this jonin, I will apply to raise the mission level to A-rank," Orochimaru said, unusually talkative.
"How is it? Completing an A-rank mission before even becoming a genin, this feeling should be pretty good," Orochimaru licked his lips.
Good my ass, I almost died!
Tatsumi curled his lip. He vowed that he would rather starve to death, die outside, jump off this cliff, than take on another A-rank mission!
Anyone who wants to go can go, but he's not going.
"So, you're an earth clone, right?" Tatsumi didn't look at Orochimaru, but he still said these words.
Orochimaru nodded, "The main body has already gone to chase after that leader."
Tatsumi revealed an "I knew it" expression.
From the moment he discovered that the scarred man looked very similar to the innkeeper couple, he knew that everything was under Orochimaru's control.
So, that inn wasn't just a random place Orochimaru found. He had known about the relationship between the scarred man and the innkeeper for a long time.
This was also the biggest reason why Tatsumi dared to use genjutsu at the last moment.
He wasn't sure if Orochimaru was nearby before.
After understanding this, he knew that Orochimaru must be nearby.
Of course, he wouldn't be stupid enough to ask Orochimaru if he could save them if he failed at the last moment.
Asking such a question would mean that Tatsumi didn't trust Orochimaru. Once a crack appeared in their relationship, it would be impossible to repair it.
"What exactly is going on with this village?" Tatsumi asked in confusion.
Orochimaru didn't answer the question directly, "In fact, the mission to exterminate the bandits here has already been issued twice before."
"So, this place has already been exterminated by ninjas twice. But after a short time, there are still bandits?" Tatsumi said.
"That's right. When I came here to investigate alone, I found that the deputy leader often went to this Rogue Town. Then I discovered that the deputy leader and that couple looked very similar."
"So I understood. This village and Rogue Town are actually one entity. The town sees all kinds of merchants passing through every day."
"Then the people in the town collect information and tell these bandits about the information and strength of these fat sheep. These bandits then choose merchants to rob."
"The reason why the bandits here have never been completely wiped out is because of this. As long as Rogue Town is still there, no matter how many times this village is wiped out, it will be rebuilt."
Tatsumi couldn't help but click his tongue. This once again refreshed his bottom line of understanding. The world of ninjas is truly dark.
Who would have thought that such a town would collude with bandits?
Tatsumi nodded, "Then what do you plan to do with this town?"
"What do you mean, deal with it?" Orochimaru revealed a cold smile.
Tatsumi was stunned.
"Didn't the village already make plans long ago? This is a town leading to the Land of Rivers. The transportation is smooth, and trade is developed."
"Once a war breaks out with the Land of Wind, the importance here is self-evident. This place can be transformed into a new base with almost no effort."
"Otherwise, why would the village send you here? Is it really just to train your abilities?" Orochimaru sneered.
Orochimaru continued in a hoarse voice, "Of course, Konoha has just signed an alliance agreement with the Third Kazekage. Don't spread these words around."
"...."
Tatsumi was speechless. You've already said everything, and you still tell me not to say it.
Wouldn't it be better to have less pretense and more sincerity?
"What about that couple?"
"That's your mission," Orochimaru said indifferently.
"How about sealing their memories and giving them some money to go to the Land of Fire?"
Orochimaru glanced at Tatsumi and was about to say something.
Tatsumi immediately said, "Teacher, this is not pity! If it's a mission, I can kill them without hesitation. Our mission is the bandits in this village. The other party is not within the mission and will not expose anything, just an insignificant person."
"And wouldn't it be better to have less killing?"
"Killing is the essence of a ninja."
"If that's the case, then let me change this ninja world. This is my wish, I want to talk to this ninja world."
"What if we can't come to an agreement?"
"Then I'll just beat the ninja world into submission! I'm a little disappointed in the ninja world. I want to change this ninja world into the way I like it. This is the privilege of the strong, isn't it?"
————————————————————
Review & vote.
And
If you find any error, or mistake tag it/ comment.