They cried and begged.
"Don't kill me. I'll follow the boss. I'll give all my savings. Spare my life, please!" Chen Mazi wailed again. He regretted betraying A-Mo. If he hadn't tattled with that portrait, the bandits wouldn't have found them.
They resisted, but were dragged out.
Outside the cave lay a small plaza. Lanterns lit it bright. Bandits ringed the square, blades flashing. They chanted, "Kill them! Kill them!"
The captives' legs went weak. Children in the caravan started to cry. Chen Mazi dropped to his knees and kowtowed, terrified he would be next.
"Execute!" Lianpian Huzi shouted.
They were forced to kneel. The curved blades fell.
"Clang!"
At the moment the cold blades were about to finish the sentence, a thunderous blast struck the cave above. Shards of rock rained down. Then countless shuriken flashed through the black. Metal rang. The executioners' curved knives were struck and sparks flew.
"Someone saved them!" someone in the crowd shouted. A ripple of screams followed. "Help has come!"
Chaos erupted in the night. The bandits rushed to the ruined cave entrance. In the plaza the prisoners loosened their posture and looked around for their savior.
"Who did it? Did you see?" someone asked.
Da Zhuang scanned the crowd, stunned. "I didn't see. Where's A-Mo? Since we entered the stronghold I haven't seen him. A-Mo! A-Mo!" He shouted, fear tightening his voice.
"I'm here. Don't worry. I'm fine."
A youth stepped out of the darkness. He walked forward with calm steps. Light cloak, steady breath.
"You… you're okay?" Da Zhuang asked.
"Yeah." Shigeo waved a hand. "You all wait over there. I'll handle this."
"You bastard—" Chen Mazi started to curse, but a caravan elder punched him hard. "Shut up. One more word and I'll kill you. If not for you, we'd never be here. You scoundrel. I want to beat you senseless." Others agreed and pushed Chen Mazi aside.
Bandits closed in on the plaza. The cave mouth had been cleared. From the opening stepped two figures: Ame-Neri and the sensory ninja Fujitsu.
They had tried to flee when the explosion hit. The secret tunnel had been blown shut. Seals that suppressed chakra were pasted on the mountain exits. Earth techniques could not free them. Only a frontal fight remained.
"Big brother, I'm sorry. I used my sensing at full range. I didn't find any chakra. I didn't expect they snuck one in." Fujitsu bowed his yellow head and apologized, guilt on his face.
"Ame-Neri, black-market price: twenty million." Shigeo looked at them and spoke flatly.
Ame-Neri said nothing. He glanced at Fujitsu. Fujitsu understood. "Only one. Chakra level above Chūnin (middle-rank ninja)."
The caravan murmured. "He's a ninja?" someone breathed.
Chen Mazi snorted. "So what? A Chūnin. This stronghold has plenty of ninja."
Indeed, the bandit lair sheltered at least two dozen former shinobi. They had once followed Hanzō of the Salamander. After Hanzō's death at Akatsuki's hand, a thousand fled. In time only a few dozen survived here. They became bandits to live. Their area grew. Villages were emptied. Farms died.
These bandits were cunning. They kept multiple sensory ninja. Fujitsu was the most famous. Before an operation they scouted, then used sensers to confirm nothing dangerous lurked. If any presence showed, they withdrew. That caution kept them alive and growing.
They'd also enslaved villagers to farm for them. The peasants barely ate.
Now they had overlooked one ninja.
Twenty or so bandits surged at Shigeo. Ame-Neri barked, "Kill him!"
Even if only a Chūnin, Ame-Neri would not allow such a lapse. The man must die.
They charged. Shigeo planted his feet. He surged chakra outward. A burst wave knocked the first wave flat.
"Die." He whispered.
In the dark wind, kunai spun and curved. Shuriken cut the air. Flames flickered on steel. The revolving shuriken glowed faint blue. They were poisoned weapons.
Shigeo's cloak whipped free. He hooked every thrown shuriken into the folds of his cloak. They clattered to the ground in a heap.
Doton (Earth Release) covered the ground. He leapt. With a Doton strike he crushed a Doton user into pulp.
He pivoted. Around the plaza translucent ice-mirrors rose—Hyōton (Ice Release) ice mirrors. They split the bandits from the battered villagers.
Firelight danced on the ice. The onlookers froze, wondering what jutsu this was.
(End of Chapter)
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