Sanshui Town is located in the western region of the Land of Rivers. As Mokgetsu led his disciples toward this area, they could clearly feel that the vegetation had become much sparser; the forests commonly seen everywhere in the Land of Fire were rare here.
"The scenery here is quite unique," Obito said with interest.
Having grown tired of the Land of Fire's abundance of green trees everywhere, the northern part of the Land of Rivers felt novel to him.
"If we walk a bit further west, we could see the desert, but we need to complete the task first," Mokgetsu said with a smile.
Not living in the desert but just visiting for the sake of the scenery was quite nice.
"Great, complete the task and go sightseeing," Obito said with a bit of excitement.
"It'd be great to have a camera to show Rin," Obito suddenly thought of Nohara Rin, who was far away in Konoha.
Obito only regretted not taking on A-level missions every day; he didn't have enough money, and cameras weren't cheap.
Although he had earned some money since interning, he and the other disciples planned to buy a gift for Teacher Mokgetsu and also gave a significant amount to his grandma, leaving him not much for personal use.
Then Mokgetsu led them to find the client living in Sanshui Town to gather detailed intelligence.
The client was a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his forties. From him, Mokgetsu learned that this was a crowdfunded contractual task, with major participants being residents of Sanshui Town and nearby villages.
"These bandits have frequently been looting in our town and around Siya Mountain for the past few months, but they're elusive. Last time, we got some samurai, too, but they returned without any success," the middle-aged client sighed.
"Don't worry, Uncle. We're much more powerful than samurai. Dealing with these bandits is a piece of cake," Obito immediately declared after listening.
The middle-aged man carefully examined Obito, shaking his head internally. He thought Obito seemed naive and unreliable, just like a very ordinary child.
Aside from the adult Mokgetsu, the silent child wearing a mask seemed the most competent in the middle-aged man's eyes.
"We'll handle it quickly," Mokgetsu smiled and said.
It's just a group of bandits; Mokgetsu didn't take them seriously. No matter how well they hide, they couldn't possibly elude his Byakugan.
"I'll trouble you, ninjas, to resolve this as soon as possible. It's manageable here, but villages near Siya Mountain are constantly living in fear," the middle-aged man said, bowing.
Following the middle-aged man's instructions, Mokgetsu and his team headed to Siya Mountain, not far from Sanshui Town.
Siya Mountain was a bit taller and seemed more treacherous than the mountain they visited last time in Kawakita Town.
However, no mountain was treacherous enough to impede Mokgetsu and the ninjas, as they could use Chakra to swiftly move up and down walls.
Upon reaching the mountain, Mokgetsu and his team found some signs of life but did not spot a single person.
"Could it be these bandits happened to go elsewhere to rob today?" Might Guy asked, looking around with confusion, not seeing anyone.
"There are indeed people, but they're all hiding," Mokgetsu shook his head and said.
These bandits were indeed capable, seemingly having been tipped off and dispersed in advance to hide.
If they'd encountered ordinary ninjas without dog-type Summoning Beasts or search methods, they might indeed have gotten away.
Unfortunately for them, they weren't so lucky as they encountered Mokgetsu, who didn't even close his Byakugan halfway up the mountain, scanning all the way.
"Something's off. Why did they disperse so quickly?" Kakashi noticed something suspicious. If it were a hasty retreat, there would surely be traces along the way.
"I discovered some people. Let's catch them first to ask," Mokgetsu said.
Mokgetsu then took his disciples to find those bandits he had discovered.
Some bandits, seeing Obito and Kakashi looking like children, tried to take them hostage to threaten Mokgetsu. Some had their front teeth kicked out by Might Guy, while others were left howling after being burned by Obito.
"Who is your leader, and where are the others hiding?" Mokgetsu asked coldly.
The bandits exchanged glances but remained silent.
"If you don't speak, I'll treat you to a fireball," Obito threatened, flames igniting in his hand.
"Let's interrogate them separately; surely someone doesn't want to die," Mokgetsu said with a smile.
Then Mokgetsu split the bandits into six groups for separate questioning, with each of his three disciples interrogating one, while Mokgetsu used two Shadow Clones to interrogate three.
"We won't betray our brothers," the bandits refused to cooperate in response to Mokgetsu's questions.
At this time, Mokgetsu's Shadow Clone approached and said, "The people over there confessed. There are other bandits hiding in the pathways of the cave and..."
The bandit, who initially showed resolve, immediately went blank because he knew people were indeed hiding there. He hurriedly said,
"I'll spill everything, sparing my life. Four are hidden in the cave's secret passage, and..."
Fearing he'd become useless if he spoke too slowly, the bandit quickly disclosed all the hiding spots he knew.
Mokgetsu's expression remained unchanged—it was all performance. None of them over there had actually been interrogated. That location was one Mokgetsu had discovered but didn't act on, waiting for this precise moment.
"Others have already revealed this information. If that's all you've got, you can die now," Mokgetsu, holding a Kunai, approached to stab the bandit's neck.
"Don't act rashly. I have more information. Villagers have been collaborating with us, passing on messages, allowing us to perfectly execute robberies and avoid sieges," the bandit quickly admitted, seeing the sharp Kunai, trying to think rapidly.
Mokgetsu paused, not too surprised by this information. It wasn't uncommon for villagers to collaborate with bandits during difficult times—sometimes entire villages would turn into bandits.
However, Mokgetsu didn't believe him immediately. He repeated the process with other bandits, concluding the first bandit wasn't lying.
After capturing all the bandits, Mokgetsu separated them for further interrogation, having them testify against each other. If their crimes were minor and they provided valuable information, their lives could be spared. In the end, Mokgetsu killed most of the bandits, taking the remaining few and the villagers who collaborated with the bandits to be handed over to the client.
"That's the situation. You may decide how to deal with them," Mokgetsu said to the client.
"Thank you very much," the client expressed gratitude in surprise and delight. He didn't expect Mokgetsu and his team to resolve the bandit problem in just one day.
"These bandits are truly despicable, with able bodies yet choosing to rob and harm others," Obito said indignantly as they left Sanshui Town.
Seeing Mokgetsu interrogate the bandit's crimes had infuriated him; some didn't just steal money but also took lives.
"Yeah, it's really infuriating listening to it," the hot-blooded Might Guy said, angered by the darkness of the topic.
Kakashi remained silent. He had previously undertaken bandit eradication tasks but would find them and kill them all without feeling as angry as today.
"If you're angry, work harder in your cultivation. Making the world a better place requires strong abilities," Mokgetsu looked up at the sky and said.
Then, just as previously mentioned, Mokgetsu led his disciples westward, reaching a desert filled with yellow sand.
Looking out, Obito saw nothing but golden sand everywhere, without a single tree—just the yellow of the earth and the blue of the sky, with no other colors.
"It's amazing to see so much sand," Obito marveled, his anger soothed slightly by nature's wonder.
Curious, Obito reached into the sand with his hand, finding it surprisingly hot, and then made Might Guy and Kakashi feel the heat too.
Just as Mokgetsu pondered whether to stay and cultivate with his students for a few days before returning, he suddenly noticed a yellow mist rising in the desert with someone running fast.
Mokgetsu immediately activated his Byakugan to observe. Upon seeing who it was, he was somewhat surprised. Obito's prediction indeed had substance—the Raikage was approaching, though it was the future Raikage.