Chapter 94: Danger Approaches
Kaito sat on a branch and began his meditation. Soon, he could sense all chakra signatures within a 1.2-kilometer radius.
Kaito thought to himself, "I haven't specifically trained my sensory abilities for several months. However, simply due to my increased chakra reserves, improved chakra control, and frequent combat experience, my progress has been quite good."
"I should try to maintain this state for a full two hours. This should be good training. My chakra reserves are currently full, so let's see how long I can sustain it."
Kaito meditated for a full two hours. During this time, he used all his sensory abilities to inspect the merchants and their goods, finding nothing unusual.
He also had to constantly adjust his sensory range between 600 meters and 1.2 kilometers to achieve optimal chakra management, and he successfully maintained it for the full two hours without any issues.
In the end, he still had about sixty percent of his chakra remaining. He woke Hodaka and then went to sleep.
Thus, the group traveled smoothly for four days without encountering any problems.
Around 9 AM on the fifth day, the group was surrounded by a band of bandits hiding behind trees or in the branches above.
All four shinobi noticed the bandits but did not react immediately.
Kaito asked softly, "Who will deal with them?"
Hodaka immediately said, "I'll deal with them! I haven't fought or trained for four days straight!"
However, Mieko argued, "Neither have I. And you know, ladies first!"
Hodaka commented, "You're just a little girl. Talk when you become a lady."
This immediately angered her. She turned back and shouted, "What did you say—"
However, Renjiro interrupted her, saying, "Quiet."
Mieko closed her mouth, glaring angrily at Hodaka.
Renjiro said, "The three of you will deal with them together. I won't help you, but remember, you must also protect the goods and merchants."
Kaito asked, "Should we kill them directly, or find their base and destroy it?"
Renjiro said, "Both. But only for this bandit group. Each time a bandit group attacks, you must first get my permission before going after their base."
The three nodded.
Hodaka looked at Kaito and asked, "Where should I check?"
Kaito said, "Seven hundred meters northwest, nine hundred meters east."
Hodaka activated his Byakugan, checked both locations, and said, "Nine hundred meters to the east are several ordinary residences. The base is seven hundred meters to the northwest."
Kaito asked Renjiro, "Sensei, when we attack the base, will you protect the goods, or should we also defend them?"
Renjiro said, "After you eliminate the bandits here, the three of you can leave to handle the base."
Kaito said, "Alright, let's begin."
The three moved incredibly fast, appearing as if they had vanished instantly using Body Flicker. Both the merchants and the bandits secretly watching were greatly surprised.
In less than a minute, all the surrounding bandits were dead. Some bodies, and even severed heads, fell from the trees next to the merchants.
The merchants didn't panic, as they had witnessed similar scenes many times over the past few days.
However, what surprised them was that the ones responsible were three innocent-looking nine-to-ten-year-old children.
Subsequently, the genin used Body Flicker to reach the bandit base and eliminated everyone there.
They killed two more bandits who had been in another part of the forest, completing the objective of eliminating the entire bandit group within five minutes.
The caravan continued their journey.
Over the next eight days, fourteen more bandit bases were eliminated.
The three wondered if they would earn the nickname "Bandit Slayers" upon their return to Konoha. What they didn't know was that their squad was already known by this name among the chunin who distributed missions.
By this point, Team Renjiro's rapid and brutal anti-bandit operation around Konoha had become widely known.
Many bandit groups had already fled the area around Konoha. Some even began leaving the Land of Fire entirely, moving to weaker neighboring countries like the Land of Rivers, Land of Grass, Land of Rain, and Land of Rice Fields to continue their criminal activities.
This time, it was the turn of the bandits along this route to suffer.
In less than a month, news of the slaughter would reach nearby bandit groups. Some would come to investigate if the rumors were true.
They would witness the bloody aftermath and eventually either abandon their bandit lifestyle or relocate, making trade routes much safer for Konoha merchants.
Hiruzen would soon notice these developments and launch even more systematic operations against these criminal groups.
This would not only boost the Land of Fire's economy through increased trade but also enhance the reputation of Konoha shinobi, leading to more mission requests for the village.
Konoha would also receive increased funding from the Daimyo of the Land of Fire as a result.
This was tremendously helpful for Konoha's recovery from the losses of the Third Shinobi World War.
Especially in the next three years, over 1,000 genin would join the reserve forces, and hundreds of genin would begin training under the guidance of their jonin instructors.
Of course, the loss of experienced jonin due to the Nine-Tails attack would be difficult to compensate for within the next decade.
More importantly, during the recovery process, Konoha would eventually lose one of its strongest clans due to internal conflict!
It was the thirteenth day of the journey for Team Renjiro and the Land of Tea merchants. Iha Toshio said, "We should enter the Land of Tea by evening, but it will still take two more days to reach the port."
Renjiro nodded and said, "Stay alert."
The genin acknowledged the order.
The group traveled until noon, arriving at an open plain.
They decided to rest there and eat lunch.
The plain was about the size of a large training ground. One side bordered a dense forest, and the other was a small hill.
Kaito and Hodaka checked the surrounding area for safety and found no one nearby.
While eating lunch, Renjiro noticed something but said nothing.
Neither his students nor the merchants noticed the subtle change in his expression. However, he was carefully observing his students.
While eating lunch, Kaito habitually activated his sensory field.
When he activated it, he was shocked!
About two hundred people had entered the forest, approximately six hundred to nine hundred meters away from them! They were moving quickly toward their position.
Unlike Renjiro, Kaito's change in expression was easily noticed by Hodaka and Mieko.
They became alert and looked at him.
Kaito said, "About two hundred enemies have surrounded us and are closing in. Approximately one hundred fifty are in the forest, and about fifty are on the hill."
Mieko frowned and asked, "Are they all bandits again?"
Kaito looked at Renjiro and said, "Not just bandits. About fifty people have significant chakra levels, with about a dozen at chunin-level chakra and two at jonin-level chakra!"
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