On the other two sides, Kurenai and Asuma also launched their attacks.
"Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!"
"Wind Release: Wind Blade Technique!"
"Enemy attack!!"
"Kill them!"
Very quickly, Yunxiao—and Kurenai and Asuma from the other directions—were discovered by patrolling bandits deeper within the stronghold.
Some of the bandits charged straight at Yunxiao. Others raised warning signals and began shouting alarms.
"Swish! Swish! Swish!!!"
Yunxiao drew the long blade from his back and cut down the oncoming bandits without the slightest hesitation.
Cold flashes of steel flickered. Wherever he passed, bandits fell one after another. Not a single one could withstand even a single exchange.
"That headband—brat! You're a Konoha ninja? Die!!!"
Hearing the commotion, the bandit leader rushed out with more than a dozen subordinates.
The moment he saw Yunxiao—and the forehead protector on his brow—his pupils shrank.
Without a second thought, he drew his blade and used the Body Flicker Technique to charge forward.
"Oh? A genin? Interesting."
Yunxiao smiled faintly.
According to the mission intel, this man was supposed to be an ordinary civilian. Yet here he was, using ninja techniques.
Clearly, his identity wasn't that simple.
Probably a Sand shinobi—or a spy from another village, Yunxiao thought.
No wonder Konoha had issued a mission to wipe out bandits at this critical juncture.
Most likely, bandit groups within the Land of Fire would soon face systematic extermination by Konoha shinobi.
A standard pre-war cleansing measure.
"Clang!!!"
Two figures crossed paths in a flash. Their blades collided with a sharp metallic ring.
"Pfft—!"
Four meters behind Yunxiao, the bandit leader suddenly froze in place.
He coughed up a mouthful of blood, disbelief filling his face.
"How… is that possible…?"
Then his consciousness sank into eternal darkness.
Blood spurted from his neck as he collapsed.
Yunxiao slowly opened his eyes.
They glowed crimson, each iris marked with two black tomoe.
"D-Devil! You're a devil!"
"Idiot! That's the Uchiha's Sharingan! Kill that brat!!"
Their leader had been killed in a single exchange. Seeing Yunxiao's revealed Sharingan, the remaining bandits panicked.
Some hesitated in fear.
Others, emboldened, roared and charged at him.
"Kill!"
Yunxiao sneered.
Without mercy, he activated the Body Flicker Technique repeatedly, flashing across the battlefield over a dozen times in mere breaths.
One strike per enemy.
Instant kills.
Within minutes, the dozens of bandits who had surrounded him were all dead.
Not a single drop of blood stained his clothes.
"Huff… Huff… Yunxiao!"
"Red! Yunxiao!"
Kurenai and Asuma arrived from the other directions and regrouped with him.
Both looked pale.
After all, it was their first time killing.
Yunxiao himself felt the same. The thick scent of blood in the air made his stomach churn.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on it.
He gave them a brief nod.
"Good work. But don't relax yet. Sweep the area. Make sure there are no survivors, then regroup here."
With that, he flickered toward the largest building in the stronghold.
"Yes!"
Kurenai and Asuma had been stunned when they saw his Sharingan and wanted to ask about it—but there was no time now.
They split off in different directions.
—
Outside the stronghold, atop a tall tree, Yūhi Shinku had observed the entire battle.
"Oh? The Sharingan has awakened. And straight to two tomoe in both eyes. What remarkable talent…"
Yunxiao was only ten years old.
Even before this, he had already stood out among his peers. Now that he had awakened the Sharingan—at the two-tomoe stage no less—his strength would leap forward rapidly.
That was always the case with the Uchiha.
Before and after awakening the Sharingan were like two entirely different states.
The Third Hokage will likely be alerted by this, Shinku thought.
Yunxiao was his student, and his character was good. Shinku genuinely felt happy for him.
Especially at this critical wartime moment—Yunxiao's growth was good news not only for himself but also for Kurenai and Asuma.
It eased Shinku's worries.
Of course, Shinku also knew that his daughter liked Yunxiao.
Though he felt a bit complicated about it, at least it was far better than Asuma.
—
The stronghold had already been mostly cleared out.
After a thorough sweep, killing any remaining bandits, rescuing several innocent civilians, and confiscating the stronghold's wealth, the three regrouped in the center.
"Huff… I'm exhausted…"
Asuma panted, flopping down onto the ground without any concern for his image.
"It should be finished, right?"
Kurenai, still pale and slightly short of breath, looked toward Yunxiao.
"Mm."
Yunxiao nodded calmly. "I've checked carefully. Once we deal with the bodies, we can leave."
"Ah? We still have to move the corpses? Spare me…"
Asuma wailed.
He really didn't want to move.
And the corpses had died horribly. He didn't want to touch them.
"What? You want Kurenai and me to handle them together?"
Yunxiao said with a smile, deliberately emphasizing "together."
"No!"
Asuma shot to his feet immediately, arm raised in righteous protest.
"Kurenai is a delicate girl! How can she do something like that? You and I will handle it!"
"Delicate? Me?"
Kurenai put her hands on her hips, glaring at him.
"Asuma, are you looking down on me?"
"I—I didn't mean that! I just—"
The more he spoke, the more flustered he became.
Finally, he sighed helplessly.
"Ah, Kurenai, you know that's not what I meant!"
"Pfft~"
Kurenai suddenly laughed and waved her hand.
"Relax, I'm joking. Let's get to work. We're teammates. No one's exempt. Don't treat me differently—I don't want to be left behind."
With that, she walked off to begin moving bodies.
Clearly, Yunxiao's awakened Sharingan had put pressure on her.
She liked him.
And she wanted to keep up with him—not be left behind.
Today's short battle had already shown her the gap.
She wouldn't miss any opportunity to grow stronger.
"Hehe… so that's how it is…"
Asuma scratched the back of his head foolishly, thinking she looked even cuter like this.
"Idiot."
Yunxiao shook his head speechlessly and went to move bodies as well.
"Hey! What did you just say?!"
"Nothing. Hurry up and move them. Planning to slack off?"
"You—you don't twist my words!"
"…"
Working quickly, the three of them piled all the corpses together in just over ten minutes.