He led the remaining two to the entrance where the Wind Dragon had entered.
However, upon entering, he saw no one else. He only saw the corpses of other bandits and a Ninja.
Seeing them dead, he panicked and became even more cautious. He said, “Be careful, they might still be nearby. Let’s search together...”
Suddenly, he jumped up, looking down. The ground moved, trying to trap his feet.
Although he dodged, Feng Zheng sneered from underground, “Got you.”
He had already trapped the other two bandits.
Mieko saw this scene and appeared at the doorway. She quickly made Hand Seals and cast Fireball Technique. The trapped bandits couldn't dodge and were engulfed by the explosion.
Only the leader barely escaped. He saw his last two comrades burning in the flames, disbelieving.
“It’s all over... I have to escape.”
He quickly began to flee.
However, Feng Zheng quietly shot a Chakra-enhanced Shuriken at his left leg.
Due to fear and the urgency of escape, the bandit leader didn't notice it.
The Shuriken struck his left leg from behind, cutting through it like a hot knife through butter.
Suddenly losing his left leg, he fell to the ground, wailing in pain.
Feng Zheng then used Body Flicker Technique to appear directly above him, stabbing a sword into his heart.
The bandit leader died, his face filled with despair.
Feng Zheng looked at Mieko and said, “It seems this matter is over.”
Mieko asked, “Aren’t there still a few people alive in the main room?”
Feng Zheng chuckled and said, “No.”
Then he walked towards the main room. Mieko followed him.
Inside the main room, Hodaka had already killed all the bandits who survived the Wind Dragon and Fire Dragon attack.
Just then, Renjiro also appeared in the main room. He thought, “Not bad, they killed everyone. It seems they have adapted to killing.”
He said, “Well done, this mission is successfully completed.”
Then he looked at his squad and said, “I’m glad to see you’re able to handle killing well.”
The children nodded. Although they were still disgusted by the blood around them, they could control themselves from vomiting.
Renjiro then led his team out of the bandit hideout. Then he began to prepare to cast Earth Release Ninjutsu.
Feng Zheng quickly stopped him and asked, “Teacher, isn’t it a waste to destroy such a good base?”
The sudden question stopped Renjiro from destroying the underground base. He asked, “What do you mean?”
Feng Zheng said, “Can’t we leave this base for our own Ninja to use?”
Renjiro asked, “How would our Ninja use this base?”
Feng Zheng thought for a moment and replied, “Well, it could serve as a base during wartime, a temporary resting place, or we could build an underground supply station.”
Renjiro shook his head and said, “The closest Hidden Village to here is Kusagakure. And they are allied with us. Even if they weren’t, they couldn’t penetrate this deep into the Land of Fire.”
“If there’s any threat, it’s Iwagakure, which is beyond Kusagakure. If they could penetrate deep into the Land of Fire, this base would be useless, because most Iwagakure Ninja are masters of Earth Release Ninjutsu. It would be better to just bury the troops underground. As for supply stations and resting places, there are already enough, so there’s no need for this.”
Feng Zheng pondered, then realized, “Yes, that makes sense. Konoha has existed for decades. Their infrastructure is now first-class. And they must have already identified all bases within the Land of Fire.”
Then he nodded to Renjiro, who then used Earth Release Ninjutsu to destroy the entire bandit hideout.
On the way back to town, Mieko asked, “Teacher, were they really Ninja? Only one person could use Ninjutsu, and it was only Rank E Ninjutsu. They couldn’t resist us at all.”
Renjiro replied, “They were just ordinary bandits who accidentally or fortunately unlocked Chakra. Only their leader was likely a former Ninja bandit. However, he had almost no formal training. So it’s not surprising that he was no match for those of you trained by me.”
Hodaka excitedly asked, “Teacher, is there a bounty for Ninja bandits?”
Renjiro shook his head and said, “Unless they are very famous, those barely qualified as Genin won’t get a bounty.”
This immediately dampened Hodaka’s excitement. He slumped his shoulders and continued to follow the team.
Mieko was still bothered that her enemies were too weak, so she asked, “Teacher, when will we get to fight real Ninja?”
Renjiro turned his head and stared at her. He thought, “This is a good indirect way of asking me for a Rank B mission.”
Realizing Renjiro had seen through her thoughts, Mieko was a little embarrassed. But she didn’t allow that embarrassment to show on her face.
Feng Zheng noticed this and thought, “Damn, these Ninja are born shameless.”
Renjiro smiled and replied, “When you’ve caught that cat a hundred times.”
This answer instantly made Mieko’s face fall.
Hodaka glared at her. Feng Zheng, however, chuckled and thought, “It seems no one can match the shamelessness of the older generation.”
Mieko then began to apologize to Renjiro and started some playful banter.
However, unfortunately, she was no match for Renjiro at all.
---
The Renjiro Squad rested in town for a day. The next morning, they left the town and returned to Konoha.
Upon arrival, they headed to the Hokage Building to hand in their mission report.
Renjiro handed the report to the Chunin in charge of verification. After checking, he handed four packages to Renjiro.
The four missions combined gave them 280,000 ryo. After Renjiro divided it, the three children each received 56,000 ryo.
Feng Zheng thought, “These few missions actually gave 280,000? I’m sure I could complete these missions alone in a day! This is much faster than earning money by making storage scrolls with Sealing Jutsu. Although there is a certain risk if a powerful Ninja is hidden among the bandits. However, if I take on many missions, I should be able to save enough money quickly to buy a Chakra metal sword.”
Unlike Feng Zheng, Mieko and Hodaka weren’t too concerned about money. With fairly wealthy parents, they never had to worry or think about money.
After dividing the money, Renjiro dismissed them, saying, “No training tomorrow. We’ll start training as usual the day after tomorrow.”
The children nodded and then dispersed.
Since it was already lunchtime, Feng Zheng decided to go to Ichiraku Ramen. Along the way, Feng Zheng thought, “Seven Rank D missions, four Rank C missions. Don’t the Chunin Exams only require eight missions? I wonder when Renjiro will let us take the Chunin Exams. Will it be the next round, or will it be like Senju Teru’s squad?”
Thinking of Senju Teru, new thoughts arose in Feng Zheng’s mind.
“Yes, isn’t Senju Teru’s squad participating in the Chunin Exams? I wonder how things are going there. Have the Chunin Exams already started, or is there still some time?”
This question made Feng Zheng realize something crucial.
He thought, “Now that I think about it, I really don’t know anything about what’s happening around me. Besides what I remember will happen in the future, I don’t know what’s actually happening now. I need some way to gather information. But how do I do that...”
He thought for a moment and decided, “Well, at least I should start subscribing to newspapers delivered to my home. Although newspapers won’t contain any critical information, they can at least keep me updated. Besides that, I might also need to build my own intelligence network. Although I don’t think I can make it as complex as Jiraiya’s, it doesn’t need to be that good. Just being able to get unfiltered, timely news will be enough.”
“Well, alright, I’ll deal with this later. Actually building it will require a lot of effort, time, and money. Right now, I have almost no money and no free time...”
His thoughts were interrupted by a shout. He heard, “Old man! Give me three miso ramen.”
Feng Zheng turned to his right and noticed, “Uh, Naruto? I didn’t even notice I had arrived at Ichiraku Ramen. But considering Naruto is here...”