At that moment, Ryun's Sharingan instantly activated. Three tomoe appeared, then transformed into six tomoe, and finally became a six-tomoe Sharingan with a circular border.
A genjutsu was launched. The Rain-nin's action of opening the canister halted. His eyes showed a dazed look, and he stood there motionless.
Ryun breathed a sigh of relief. He then took the poison canister with his right hand, used Susanoo to dig open the ground, buried the canister underground, and covered it with soil.
"Minato, finish him." Ryun said this as if it were a very ordinary and common thing, something that could be done easily.
Namikaze Minato nodded. Currently, the Rain-nin was under genjutsu control. Although a kunai could slit his throat, Minato worried he might break free from the genjutsu due to the pain.
So, he immediately used Wind Release: Wind Dagger. Not sparing the chakra for this, the wind blades on his arms severed the head of the ninja from Amegakure.
Ryun smiled and nodded. "Good. Today, I will teach you a lesson. When facing ninja from enemy nations, never show mercy. Mercy towards the enemy is cruelty towards your own people."
"Once you strike, you must go all out. Minato did very well in this regard."
In Ryun's eyes, Minato's caution would allow him to survive on the battlefield.
The other five children nodded, clearly remembering Ryun's words. Seeing this, Ryun nodded. He swung the Blazing Flame Fan in his right hand, and flames shot out, burning the Rain-nin on the ground into ashes.
The wind blew, scattering the ashes. Ryun smiled and said, "Let's continue."
Everyone nodded, closely following behind Ryun as they moved forward slowly. They felt nothing about the scene they had just witnessed.
Ryun knew then that his decision to have them deal with the death row prisoners yesterday was correct.
Two hours later, Ryun brought the six children to a nearby village and met the village chief.
The chief warmly received them. During the meal, the chief spoke, "Honorable ninja, the bandits on Mount Kemo are mostly local good-for-nothing ruffians."
"Originally, their actions weren't so brazen. But later, for some reason, they suddenly organized all the bandits from the nearby mountains and began plundering all the surrounding villages."
"They conduct small raids every three days and major robberies every five days. Many people can't make a living because of this. The village chiefs nearby finally decided that I should take the lead to hire you esteemed ninja from Konoha to subdue them."
"Besides the elderly, children, and able-bodied men, all the women and girls in the villages have been captured and taken up the mountain. Even my own daughter..."
At this point, the old man's eyes reddened with tears. He stood up and knelt on the ground. "Please, honorable sirs, help us eliminate this scourge and rescue our wives and daughters."
Ryun nodded. "Old uncle, rest assured. We will help you resolve this matter. And this time, we will not accept any payment."
Ryun's original intention was to let these children gain experience and train. The reward was secondary.
Moreover, these people had suffered so much. Asking for money now... Besides, they were villagers within the Land of Fire, under Ryun's protection, so he absolutely could not accept money.
"This... This is the rule, the rule since ancient times, honorable ninja. Please do not refuse." The old man still took out a bag of silver.
Ryun pushed the silver back. "You have suffered enough. Eliminating bandits is what we of Konoha should do. Payment is really unnecessary."
"And don't let their youth fool you. These kids are all ninjas. Dealing with those bandits will be more than enough for them." Ryun said with a smile.
The old man wept continuously, nodding repeatedly. "Thank you, honorable ninja." Ryun quickly helped the old man up. "We have eaten our fill. It is time we set off. I promise you, before tonight, the bandits will be completely eradicated. Your wives and daughters, as long as they are alive, will be returned to you."
The old man cried his thanks. He never expected that the bounty he sent out yesterday would bring people today.
If only they had taken this matter seriously a few days earlier, it wouldn't have come to this.
Ryun bid farewell to the old man and led the six children towards Mount Kemo. On the way, he said, "Tell me what information you gathered."
"Those bandits are very rampant. They are scum, and everyone has the right to punish them." Sarutobi Shinnosuke's eyes were full of anger now. He gripped his iron staff tightly, and a murderous aura emanated from him.
Ryun nodded. "Well said. Anything else?"
Yamanaka Inoichi stroked his chin. "Just now, the old man said these bandits were originally local ruffians, but then they suddenly changed."
"I just can't figure out what caused such a big change in them. It's like they transformed from a group of stragglers into an army-like group of bandits."
He presented the information he had gathered and raised the question. Ryun nodded. Good, he had grasped the key point.
Namikaze Minato looked up, his eyes lighting up. "A ninja joined their ranks. No, not just one ninja. There are also figures similar to military commanders."
"And the Rain-nin we encountered earlier... I suspect they are ninjas from the Land of Rain who can't make a living there."
Ryun nodded. "Good, Minato. You are absolutely correct."
Ryun released his soul sensing technique. From afar, he could sense three ninjas from Amegakure on the mountain. The ninja sitting in the main seat was thin and small. On his left and right were two tall Rain-nin.
Clearly, the thin, small ninja was the leader of these bandits. The other two big men were his guards or subordinates.
Minato was actually able to connect all this and make a deduction, accurately identifying it as Rain-nin causing trouble. This made Ryun very happy.
"Minato's guess is completely correct. There are three ninjas on the mountain. One is a Chunin, two are Genin. The rest are just rogue bandits and ruffians. Before we go up the mountain, think about how you will deal with them." After saying this, Ryun disappeared. He would provide backup.
This time, it was training for the six children. If he intervened easily, it wouldn't serve the purpose of training. A great Buddha, with one hand, could crush the entire mountain and the bandits on it.
After seeing Ryun leave, everyone's expressions turned serious. Ryun had already given them the information: there were three ninja among the bandits, one Chunin and two Genin.
He had already given them an advantage. The rest was up to them.
Everyone looked at Namikaze Minato. Minato's expression was grave now, his mind constantly thinking of countermeasures. Although they were six ninjas, they only had chakra levels equivalent to Genin. The other side had one Chunin, two Genin, and hundreds of bandits.
One wrong step could put them in danger. Therefore, Minato was under great pressure now. Even Sarutobi Shinnosuke did not disturb him.
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