Kaoru rummaged through the bandits’ belongings and corpses, gathering anything of value. He managed to find 100,000 Ryo, a handful of explosive tags, kunais and shurikens still intact, and a scroll for the Fireball Technique. Among the wreckage, he also recovered some supplies that had miraculously survived his water-based onslaught. With everything stashed neatly in his storage seal, Kaoru tucked it back into his satchel. He was going to hand it all over to Shin later.
With that done, Kaoru flickered to the rendezvous point where Akane and the rescued children were waiting.
“How do you feel, Ru? You’re not hurt, are you?” Akane asked, scanning him for injuries. Her tone was more worried than usual.
Kaoru brushed her concern aside with a faint smile. “I’m fine, Ane. Just a couple of scratches from my own explosion tags.” He stretched out his arms as if to prove he was unharmed. “What about the kids?”
Akane glanced over at the three children—two boys and one girl, all barely six years old. They sat huddled together, their faces pale and eyes hollow. “They are shaken, of course, but at least they are safe now.” Sadness clouded her expression as she gazed at them.
Kaoru crouched down to meet the children’s eye level, trying to put on his warmest smile. “Don’t worry, we’ll get you back home. First, we need to meet up with our friends. They’ll help us bring you back.”
The children barely reacted. They nodded stiffly but remained silent, their trust in humanity clearly shattered after witnessing nothing but pain and suffering. Kaoru couldn’t shake his unease.
[Why would bandits kidnap children so young?] His initial assumption was that the girls were taken to… breed future bandits, but now he realized it might be far worse. [These kids—they were probably going to be sold like livestock.] The thought made him angry, regretting delivering quick death.
Kaoru shook off the dark idea and pulled some food from his storage seal—simple sandwiches he’d made himself. “Here,” he offered gently, holding the food out to them.
The children hesitated, shrinking back. But their rumbling stomachs betrayed their hunger, and soon, they cautiously reached for the food. They ate slowly, their tiny hands trembling.
Kaoru and Akane started guiding the group toward the base of the mountain, moving at a crawl to match the children’s slow pace.
[We’re going to be late, way too late.] Kaoru did the math in his head. Shin had given them two hours, and one was already gone. At this rate, it would take at least three more.
Kaoru sighed and turned to Akane. “Ane, go ahead and tell Shin what’s going on. I’ll stay back with the kids. Thanks to my eyes, I can avoid any danger that comes our way.”
Akane hesitated, clearly reluctant to leave him. But after a moment of thought, she nodded. “Be careful, Ru.” With that, she flickered away, disappearing into the mist.
Kaoru glanced at the kids again, their fragile forms trudging forward. [Don’t worry. I’ll get you back safely. You’ve suffered enough already.]
Kaoru wanted to help ease the children’s fear, so he tried to distract them. “Wanna see something cool?” he asked, his tone was cheerful.
The children did not respond. Instead, they froze in place and even took a cautious step back, their small frames trembling.
Undeterred, Kaoru moved the water droplet hovering next to his cheek in front of them. It danced through the air, jumping from one spot to another like a tiny acrobat. The children’s eyes widened, curiosity momentarily overtaking their fear.
Kaoru smiled softly. “It’s okay, you don’t have to be afraid. This is just something I can do with my eyes—it’s harmless, see?” He made the droplet form into the shape of a tiny animal before letting it return to its original spherical form.
The kids stared at the droplet with fascination, their shoulders relaxing slightly.
“Let’s keep moving,” Kaoru said, encouraged by their reactions. “I’ll even tell you a story about how I tricked my sister into training me when I was about your age. It’s a good one—I was such a little brat back then!” he added with a grin.
The children didn’t respond verbally, but they began walking again, their steps a little less hesitant.
It took three long hours, but they finally reached the rendezvous point where Shin, Mizuki and Akane were waiting. To Kaoru’s surprise, they had also rescued children—six of them. The sight of the extra kids surprised him, but what really caught his attention was Mizuki’s expression. Her usual stoic demeanor was gone, replaced by something like guilt.
[What happened to her?] Kaoru wondered but kept his thoughts to himself.
“Sensei, what are we going to do now?” Kaoru asked immediately, his focus shifting back to the mission.
Shin took a moment to assess the situation. “We can’t postpone the attack, but we also can’t bring the kids with us. Here’s the plan: Mizuki and Akane will take the kids back to the village. Kaoru, you’ll follow me.”
Akane opened her mouth to protest but hesitated. She glanced at the children, then at Kaoru, and realized the truth—Kaoru’s skills would be more useful in the coming fight. Swallowing her disappointment, she nodded with a dejected expression.
What surprised Kaoru even more was Mizuki’s reaction. She didn’t argue at all. She simply nodded and walked toward the children, a fake smile plastered on her face.
[Something definitely happened. But what?] Kaoru thought, his curiosity bubbling, but he knew now wasn’t the time to ask.
As Shin turned to flicker away, Kaoru crouched down in front of the three children he had been entertaining with his stories. “Don’t worry, guys,” he said softly. “These girls are really strong—they’ll protect you better than I could.”
The children didn’t speak, but one of them clutched the sandwich Kaoru had given earlier as if it were a treasure.
Kaoru reached into his satchel and pulled out three more sandwiches, handing them to the kids. “Here, take these for the road. You’ve got a long walk ahead.”
The girl hesitated but eventually took one. “Thank you,” she whispered, barely audible.
Kaoru smiled and ruffled her hair gently before standing up and following Shin.
“Let’s end this quickly,” he muttered, his eyes glowing faintly in the dim light.
—-----------
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Shin and Kaoru crouched behind a line of thick bushes near the cave entrance. The faint glow of torches illuminated the area, casting shadows that danced along the stone walls.
“I want you to go all out in this fight. I’ll cover you. Just show me how powerful you are—prioritize efficiency,” Shin instructed.
Kaoru hesitated for a moment. “Alright, but my chakra reserves aren’t high enough to show my full power,” he admitted, a little dejected.
Shin’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Do you think you’ll always be in perfect condition during a fight? This mission was meant for genins, and we both know you’re stronger than most chunin. If you can’t deal with these small fries even with your current chakra reserves, then maybe you are still just a genin.”
Kaoru flinched at the blunt statement.
“Sometimes,” Shin continued, “you’ll have to fight with a body that barely responds to you. You might have to stay awake for days, unable to tell reality from dreams. Adapt. Plan. There are no excuses—use what you have and make it work.”
It was the longest speech Kaoru had ever heard from Shin, and the weight of it hit him. He could see that Shin wasn’t trying to tear him down; it was a lesson, a harsh one, but a necessary one.
“Understood, sensei,” Kaoru said, his voice steady now. He realized Shin’s words weren’t just about this fight—they were about survival.
Activating his Suijingan, Kaoru focused on the guards at the entrance. A faint glow flickered in his cyan eyes, “Lingering Death.”
Droplets of water formed silently in the guards’ blind spots, condensing into razor-sharp needles. A moment later, the three guards dropped to the ground, their deaths so quick they didn’t even bleed.
Kaoru flickered inside the cave, his senses heightened as he scanned the chakra signatures scattered throughout the area. The bandits had no idea what was coming.
[Efficiency is key,] he thought as he worked through the cave.
He started with those he could eliminate silently, targeting them one by one with Lingering Death. In five minutes, half the bandits were down.
[I’ve still got a little over a third of my chakra left. I need to keep this pace.]
Kaoru moved toward a larger room, detecting seven stronger chakra signatures inside. He pulled several explosive tags from his satchel and tossed them into the room. The stealth approach was done—he had to make this count.
The tags detonated with a thunderous boom, the shockwave shaking the cave walls. Dust and debris filled the air as Kaoru flickered to the doorway, scanning the aftermath with his Suijingan. Two of the seven chunin were dead, their bodies charred. The remaining five were severely injured, but still capable of fighting.
[Not ideal, but manageable.]
Kaoru flickered behind one of the injured chunin, his kunai finding its mark in the man’s back. The blade pierced his heart cleanly, and the bandit collapsed without a sound.
The remaining four turned to face Kaoru, but he was already moving. Focusing his chakra, Kaoru fired a series of water bullets, four in total. Three of the bullets found their targets, incapacitating another three bandits.
The last one, however, managed to sink into the ground with an earth release technique. Kaoru didn’t panic. He tracked the man’s movements underground using his Suijingan. Manipulating the water into the ground Kaoru guided a thin tendril toward the chunin’s chakra signature.
Moments later, the water pierced the bandit’s head, killing him instantly.
[At least he doesn’t need a grave,] Kaoru thought grimly.
As he stood among the carnage, Kaoru felt no guilt. Memories of the terrified children and the atrocities these bandits had committed filled his mind.
[They deserve worse,] he thought as he took a steadying breath.
Kaoru wiped his kunai clean, his Suijingan still active as he scanned the area. His gaze locked onto the chakra signatures. Five left. One of them had chakra reserves far beyond the others.
[There's no way I can handle him with this little chakra left,] he thought, panic creeping in as he tried to formulate a plan.
Before he could decide, the remaining bandits moved, four of them already entering the adjacent room.
“F*ck this,” Kaoru hissed, forming hand signs quickly.
“Water Release: Water Dragon!”
Kaoru pulled every bit of moisture from the air and ground, bolstered by his chakra, creating a massive water dragon. The beast surged forward, roaring as it barreled through the door and into the room, scattering splinters and debris.
Inside, the four chunin bandits sprang into action. They responded quickly, forming hand signs in unison.
“Earth Wall!”
Four massive stone barriers rose, layering one behind the other. The water dragon smashed into the first wall, shattering it. The second held longer, but it too crumbled. By the time it reached the third, the technique had lost most of its momentum, dispersing in a spray of water.
[They’re coordinated. This won’t be easy.]
The room was now a swamp of water, stone debris, and mud—just as Kaoru had planned.
“Who the hell are you?!” one of the chunin yelled, his voice cutting through the chaos.
Kaoru ignored him. He wasn’t here to chat. He flickered behind one of the bandits, his kunai aimed for the back of the man’s neck.
But the chunin wasn’t inexperienced. He twisted, blocking Kaoru’s strike with ease, and countered with a kick that hit Kaoru square in the face. Or so it seemed.
The bandit’s foot passed through Kaoru’s head, which dissolved into water.
“A clone?!”
The real Kaoru appeared in front of another chunin, already finishing his hand signs.
“Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!”
Kaoru exhaled, unleashing a powerful gust of wind. Mud and water from the ground swirled into a blinding storm, forcing the bandits to shield their eyes.
By the time they could see again, Kaoru had already manipulated the water under their feet. Sharp spikes shot up from the ground, aiming to impale them.
One chunin tried to raise another earth wall, but Kaoru’s water spike pierced through it like paper, skewering him on the spot.
The remaining three dodged just in time.
“That was close!” one muttered, only for his relief to turn into dread as water started forming into a sphere around them.
[This will finish them,] Kaoru thought, his focus unrelenting as he pushed his chakra to its limit.
But before the water prison could fully form, a booming voice rang out.
“You weaklings disgust me.”
Kaoru’s head snapped toward the source.
The bandit leader strode into the room, wielding a massive blade. With a single swing, he shattered the forming water prison, releasing the three surviving chunin.
Kaoru stumbled, gasping for breath. His chakra reserves had dipped below 5%, and the toll of his Suijingan slammed into him like a sledgehammer. His vision blurred, and his head throbbed with unbearable pain.
[This is bad. I can’t keep going…]
“You couldn’t even kill a kid?” the leader scoffed, glaring at his subordinates. Then he turned to Kaoru, sneering as he charged.
Kaoru forced himself to stand, barely able to lift his kunai.
Suddenly a crack of thunder split the air, and a bolt of lightning struck the ground between Kaoru and the bandit leader.
Startled, Kaoru looked up to see Shin stepping forward, lightning dancing around him.
“You did great, Kaoru,” Shin said calmly, summoning the Kiba Twin Swords from a storage seal on his arm. “Go. Retreat. I’ll take it from here.”
Relief flooded Kaoru as he nodded and flickered away, retreating as fast as his battered body would allow.
Behind him, Shin leveled a cold gaze at the bandit leader.
“It looks like I’ll get to test these swords after all,” Shin said, a rare smile tugging at his lips as lightning got more intense with each second.
**
A/N -
There’s a new Swordsman of the Mist in town, and his name is Arakawa Shin. The next chapter will finally showcase just how powerful Shin truly is. I might even drop a secret or two about his mysterious background and what really drives him.
Thank you for reading! As I write this, it’s 4 a.m., and I’m about to collapse into bed. Have a great day/night, wherever you are! See you in the next chapter! 💤
Character Notes:
Shin - Excited - “Maki said these blades would enhance my lightning, can’t wait to electrocute something!”
Kaoru - Running - “Three fights, two near-death experiences. Is my luck that bad?”
**