"Fire Style: Inferno Palm!"
Amamiya Jane landed on the North Mountain, eyes narrowing at the cottage ahead. There was a flicker of deadly intent radiating from the structure, and while she couldn't be certain these were the bandits who had ambushed the convoy, she'd made up her mind: anyone standing against the Amamiya Clan would be wiped out.
Flames roared from her mouth, forming a massive, searing palm that slammed forward with a deafening thud against the gate.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Fall back—ah!"
A bandit's startled cry was cut short as a kunai pierced his chest. Jane emerged from behind him, pushing the corpse aside, and glanced at Raizen.
"Kill them all."
Her words were cold, matter-of-fact. The sudden inferno and Jane's lethal aura stirred the bandits inside. Raizen's eyes widened as dozens of figures bolted out of the cottage. He did a quick headcount—at least fifty bandits. Not a small group by any measure.
"Kill!" Jane's scream cut through the chaos. She blurred forward, an afterimage of death streaking across the battlefield. Each bandit that dared to advance fell like wheat before a sickle, their vitality snuffed out under the relentless storm of her attacks.
Some couldn't take it. The first one screamed, eyes wide with fear, and fled. Others followed. Out of the fifty, more than twenty scrambled toward the cottage, leaving only five standing, unshaken, lips twisted into fierce grins.
"Five Chūnin," Raizen muttered. His stomach tightened. These weren't ordinary bandits—they were trained killers.
Jane's gaze sharpened, a cold blade of intent slicing through the air. "Which clan are you with? Speak, or die."
The five Chūnin exchanged wary glances, circling into defensive stances. Jane's aura flared further, and she let out a roar that rattled the mountain itself.
"Face death!"
In a heartbeat, she closed in on one of the Chūnin. Her kunai descended like a blade of lightning, aimed to end the fight in a single, precise strike.
"Stab!"
The kunai severed the Chūnin's head—but before the body could fall, a puff of smoke erupted, and a wooden stake replaced it.
"Trying to run?" Jane hissed, watching the ninja use the Body Replacement Technique. The "weak" figure exploded with lethal force, leaping like a predatory leopard and charging forward.
The remaining four reacted instantly, forming an earthen wall to block Jane's attack.
"Hmph." She snorted, halting mid-strike, and sprang back to Raizen's side.
Snap! Snap! Snap!
Just as she had to pull back, applause echoed from the cottage. Both Jane and Raizen turned—and froze. A child, maybe a year or two older than Raizen, emerged, carrying three ninja with him.
One of the three applauded Jane, a low, greedy smile spreading across his face. His eyes glimmered with something darker than admiration.
"Amamiya Jane," he said, voice dripping with malice. "Still as…enthusiastic as ever. Always so eager to spill blood."
Jane's jaw tightened. The battle was far from over.
...
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