Yasooka, Tadao, and Kaneie moved stealthily.
They started from one side of the base, quietly entered a small hut, killed everyone inside, and then proceeded to the next hut.
They were quite successful, killing in this manner until a bandit, who was walking towards a hut, noticed something quickly entering it; he swiftly headed towards the hut.
Tadao was killing inside the hut when he noticed the bandit entering.
He killed everyone inside, then ambushed himself in the hut to kill the approaching bandit. However, the bandit never entered the hut. Instead, he stopped about ten meters away from it.
Tadao frowned.
"If he doesn't hurry, the smell of blood will spread!"
Tadao lost patience and ran towards the bandit. The bandit spotted him and shouted.
"Someone's broken in..."
Tadao cut his throat before he could finish shouting. Unfortunately, the shout alerted everyone.
However, they weren't worried. They had already killed more than half of the bandits.
The three immediately hid behind the hut, waiting for the bandits to rush out.
That shout caused all the bandits to pour out. Itakai was disturbed and displeased. He walked out of the hut irritably.
As soon as the bandits came out, they were ambushed, and another 10 bandits were killed.
Feng Zheng thought to himself.
"Not bad, these guys are quite efficient. However, there don't seem to be any traps here. Is he just a brainless rogue Ninja?"
The remaining bandits were all terrified. They prepared for battle.
Itakai shouted.
"Konoha scum! Die!"
He immediately charged at Yasooka. Yasooka's eyes widened; he discovered that Itakai actually possessed Chakra! He immediately formed Hand Seals and cast Water Release: Fish Bullet Jutsu.
Yasooka spat a stream of water at Itakai. However, Itakai scoffed.
"Water Release? Useless!"
He also made Hand Seals and cast Lightning Release: Lightning Jutsu.
He extended his finger towards the surging water. A small bolt of lightning was released from his finger, striking the water and passing through it to reach Yasooka.
Yasooka did not anticipate this. The lightning struck him, startling him.
Although it didn't seriously harm him, it made his movements more difficult. And in a battle, this alone can be fatal!
Itakai saw the fear on Yasooka's face and couldn't help but smile triumphantly. He grabbed a kunai and ran towards Yasooka.
Tadao and Kaneie also noticed this and were very worried! They immediately killed the bandits in their path and approached Yasooka.
Unfortunately, they were too far away!
Seeing Itakai closing in, Yasooka's life was in grave danger. He struggled to grab a kunai and raise it, but his movements were very slow.
Just as Itakai was about to swing his kunai to attack Yasooka, a Vacuum Bullet struck his forehead and pierced it.
His body was thrown back several meters by the force of the Vacuum Bullet.
Yasooka, who had almost given up hope of survival, was stunned. So were Tadao, Kaneie, and the bandits. Seeing this, the bandits immediately scattered and began to flee.
Feng Zheng had been sensing, but hadn't detected anyone else. So he decided to act.
After all, it wouldn't look good to lose a Ninja on his first mission as a squad leader.
Tadao and Kaneie exchanged glances, thinking.
"Didn't he say he only knew a little Wind Release?"
Feng Zheng, who had been vigilant, suddenly became serious! He made Hand Seals and shouted.
"Get back!"
All three were surprised. Tadao and Kaneie immediately retreated. Yasooka was still struggling.
Feng Zheng's Wind Clone appeared behind him. He grabbed Yasooka by the collar and threw him behind him.
At the same time, he extended his other arm towards Itakai. A swirling Wind Release appeared in front of the clone.
Itakai's body suddenly exploded!
The explosion incinerated everything within a 10-meter radius, and dust and small pebbles splattered far away.
The swirling Wind Release was also destroyed. But no debris flew past it, so Yasooka was safe.
However, Tadao and Kaneie were hit by some small pebbles and slightly injured. The same went for the bandits.
Feng Zheng frowned. He created 5 Wind Clones. 3 stayed with him, and the other 2 flashed towards the bandits, killing them all.
Feng Zheng thought to himself.
"What exactly is going on? He carried at least a hundred Exploding Tags on him. Was this to take revenge on whoever killed him? No, who would do that? It's more likely that someone used him as a trap. But who? And for what purpose?"
Feng Zheng was unsure of his analysis, but his guess was correct.
Ay sent dozens of prisoners to the Land of Fire. They were instructed to act as bandits, or the Hidden Cloud Village would hunt them down again.
Each of these Ninja had a Sealing Jutsu carved into them, a Sealing Jutsu that would cause a massive destructive explosion upon their death.
To ensure they wouldn't surrender, they were all threatened with dire consequences for themselves or their loved ones if they disobeyed.
Ay's goal was to bring instability back to the Land of Fire's trade caravans. At the same time, he would also strike at Konoha's Ninja.
Most of the prisoners he released could easily kill Genin. If they could kill young Genin, that would be even better.
And if they were killed by Chunin or Jonin, there was a good chance the explosion would kill them too.
For Konoha, which was just beginning to recover, such a loss could be a setback.
Unfortunately for Ay, in this particular instance, his opponent was a Ninja who valued his own life very much and would not fall into such a trap.
However, if Ay knew about Itakai's disappointing performance, he wouldn't care too much. Itakai and his bandit gang had already mercilessly killed three caravans.
When this news spread, it would cause panic among merchants, who would not believe that the Land of Fire could provide them with absolute safety.
Even after killing all the bandits, Feng Zheng did not sense anyone else. So he flashed to the closest tree to the explosion and said.
"Gather here."
The three nodded and began to walk towards Feng Zheng.
The Genin now looked at Feng Zheng with new eyes. Without him, they likely wouldn't have made it back alive!
Feng Zheng created a Shadow Clone to collect the remaining parts of Itakai's body and store them in a scroll.
Feng Zheng asked.
"How are your injuries?"
Yasooka said.
"I'm fine. I was electrocuted just now, and my body was a bit restricted. I've recovered now."
Tadao said.
"I'm fine too, just some minor scrapes from the pebbles."
Kaneie said.
"Me too."
Feng Zheng nodded. None of them were seriously injured.
Yasooka asked.
"Feng Zheng, you're a Sensor Ninja, right? Did you sense that Ninja before we attacked?"
Feng Zheng shook his head and said.
"No, I didn't sense any Chakra from him. I estimate he either knows how to suppress Chakra, or he has some kind of Sealing Jutsu that can hide his Chakra from Sensor Ninja."
Yasooka's expression became solemn. If such things happened frequently, the risk of them taking Rank C missions would multiply!
Tadao and Kaneie's expressions also became solemn.
Feng Zheng understood why their expressions were solemn, but said nothing.
Feng Zheng's Shadow Clone had already collected the bodies, and then gathered all the survivors in the camp.
There were 8 young girls. Due to the terrible things they had experienced and the blood surrounding them, everyone was very scared.
Feng Zheng asked.
"Is anyone among you good at first aid?"
Kaneie said.
"I am."
Feng Zheng said.
"Good, give them the necessary first aid first, and we need to leave quickly."
Kaneie gave them first aid and comforted them slightly. Seeing that they were Konoha Ninja, the girls relaxed a little.
The group walked a few more kilometers before setting up camp for the night.
They rested for one night and set off for Konoha the next day.
Since the civilian girls were also accompanying them, the return journey took a day and a half!
Upon returning to Konoha, they handed the girls over to the relevant authorities, then headed straight to the mission center.
Feng Zheng reported the details of the mission to Shichirō. Shichirō was surprised. He said.
"I didn't expect such a new bandit group to have such a powerful Ninja."
He breathed a sigh of relief, thinking.
"Fortunately, I chose Feng Zheng. Otherwise, some of them might have died."
Shichirō had witnessed the deaths of many classmates. He didn't want to see any more die.
He handed Feng Zheng a piece of paper and said.
"Feng Zheng, as the squad leader, you must write a mission report. Please fill in the details on this form and describe how the mission progressed and your observations."
Feng Zheng nodded and took the form. Shichirō continued.
"Since the enemy in this mission was a Chunin-level Ninja, I will upgrade your mission to Rank B, and your bonus will be increased from 50,000 ryo to 500,000 ryo."
Hearing this, the Genin's moods improved.
With ten times the bonus, they wouldn't need to take missions for almost a year. If they needed money, they could perform safe Rank D missions.
Feng Zheng took 200,000 ryo and gave each of the three 100,000. The four said goodbye and left.
Before leaving, Feng Zheng glanced at Shichirō and reminded him.
"Don't assign me Rank C missions anymore."
Shichirō's eye twitched. He said.
"This is already a Rank B mission."
Feng Zheng said.
"That's not the same. If you assign me another Rank C mission, I will refuse."
Without waiting for his reply, Feng Zheng flashed away.
Shichirō grumbled.
"These kids are so annoying! How could I assign a Rank B mission? Didn't Lord Renjiro tell them?"