Kakashi filled the three in on the situation. To him, such a scene had long become commonplace—he had seen it all before. He had even participated in annihilating villages himself, though that had been during the Great Ninja World War.
"Those bandits?" Sakura and the others wore expressions of anger, their previous hesitation about having to kill every last one of the bandits now significantly diminished. "They really deserve to die!"
Chapter 154: The Sly Fox Kakashi [End]
The arrival of Kakashi's group drew attention from everyone in the village. A group of elderly, infirm, and wounded villagers turned to look, and the emptiness in their eyes chilled Sakura to her core.
"You're the ninja from Konoha, right?" An emaciated old man hurried over, his eyes shining with excitement as he looked at Kakashi and his companions. "You've finally arrived!"
"You must be the village headman who requested the mission!" Kakashi handed the mission scroll forward for confirmation and said, "Please check this. If there's no problem, we'll move out immediately to eliminate those bandits."
"Really? That's wonderful! Wonderful!" Tears welled up in the old man's eyes as he spoke, his voice trembling with excitement. "Please, kill all those demons! I beg you!"
"Don't worry. Once we've accepted a mission, we always see it through completely and perfectly!" Kakashi responded, then bid farewell to the village headman and led Sakura and the others toward the location of the bandit hideout.
"Do any of you still feel reluctant about killing them?"
On the road, Kakashi asked the group, "Do you still have feelings of compassion and reluctance to kill?"
"Only anger now!" Sakura tightened her grip on the hilt of Starlit Night, her eyes burning with fury. "When I saw the villagers' desperate expressions back in that little hamlet, all sympathy left me. Every single one of those bandits deserves to die!"
Thinking about the tiny graves near the village, the numb expressions on the survivors' faces, and the sight of severely wounded people lying there crying out in pain made Sakura feel like she couldn't breathe.
"Killing is an inescapable burden for a ninja. No ninja in this world has untouched hands when it comes to bloodshed. All we can do is strive to avoid harming the innocent," Kakashi said gently as he patted Sakura on the head. "Since you feel angry, put that energy into wiping out the bandits—it'll be revenge for all the innocent villagers who died tragically."
"Kakashi-sensei, you actually already knew what happened to this village, didn't you? And you deliberately brought us here to witness it yourself!" Sakura suddenly said, her head lowered.
"Why would you say that?" Kakashi felt a shift inside but maintained an expressionless face as he asked calmly.
"Earlier, I took the chance to check the mission scroll. On that scroll, the client wasn't just this village headman alone. Along our journey, we passed through several different small villages. There were times when you secretly created Shadow Clones and slipped away for a while—you must've been taking copies of the mission scroll for them to confirm. Although those villages appeared quite poor, there was no sign of bandit attacks. This village might just be the only one among all the clients that really got hit by bandits. The real reason you brought us here was probably to make us feel better about killing those bandits!"
Sakura exhaled deeply, analyzing everything step by step.
"Spot-on deduction!" Kakashi gave Sakura a thumbs-up. "This mission was jointly commissioned by multiple villages. The village we visited earlier was the leading one initiating the task. After being attacked by bandits, the remaining villagers decided to take revenge, so they pooled all their savings and contacted nearby settlements to issue this mission together. They poured every last coin they had into revenge!"
"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura suddenly smiled. "To make us feel better about this, you really went out of your way, didn't you?"
"You're my students; of course, as your teacher, I need to consider what's best for you," Kakashi said with a smile in his eyes. "Originally, I didn't plan to have you do extermination-level missions this early. But there's no helping it—Chunin Exams are coming up soon, and the Third specifically ordered your participation. This year's Chunin Exam will be exceptionally large-scale, full of cutthroat competition. If you don't witness more bloodshed beforehand, I'm afraid you might hesitate or show mercy toward enemies. In the world of ninja, kindness toward enemies can cost your life. For your own safety, I'd rather you toughen up now while you still can."
"We understand your good intentions, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura said with a grin. However, for some reason, Kakashi suddenly felt a chill down his back.
"But you know, Kakashi-sensei, people like you—cunning old foxes scheming behind others' backs—are usually dealt with in a certain way by me!"
"H-h-how exactly?" Kakashi's smile instantly froze on his face. He had a bad feeling he was about to suffer some misfortune.
"I wouldn't treat you the same way as I deal with others!" Sakura smiled sweetly, but Kakashi felt even more uneasy instead.
"By the way, Kakashi-sensei, you and Ayame-nee-san have officially become a couple, right?!" Sakura suddenly asked an unrelated question.
"Yes," Kakashi's eyes shimmered gently.
"Then later, I'll let you experience what married life feels like—a little taste of married life ahead of time!" A clearly malicious undertone crept into Sakura's otherwise cheerful smile.
"???" Several question marks hovered above Kakashi's head. What did that mean?
No matter how Kakashi pressed her for answers, Sakura just kept that enigmatic smile plastered on her face, not giving an inch. Sasuke, all too familiar with Sakura's demonic tendencies, quietly drew a cross on Kakashi's back in silent prayer—let's hope you don't end up too badly later.
The bandits' lair perched atop a small hill. Maybe something worth celebrating had happened—already from the foot of the mountain, the group could hear loud cheers and rowdy noises.
"Sensei, just wait right here for us—and enjoy what I was telling you about earlier!"
Sakura suddenly stopped walking. Without waiting for Kakashi to react, she swiftly formed [Hand Seals]. A massive tree burst from the earth beneath Kakashi's feet, wrapping around him and pinning him to the trunk in the blink of an eye—like a cocoon sealing him in.
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