Naruto: Starting With Three Tomoe Sharingan, Girlfriend Kushina

Night fell.

Uchiha Ryun followed Orochimaru and his disciple to an unfamiliar mountainous area.

The destination wasn't too far from Konoha Village, but the trio's pace was deliberately slow. Ryun sensed that they might have been waiting for nightfall on purpose.

"A shinobi cannot avoid fighting or killing. Tonight's mission is to eliminate a bandit stronghold..."

Pointing at a brightly lit mountain fortress, Orochimaru directly stated the mission.

"!!!"

Ryun was visibly shocked. He hadn't expected... Orochimaru to be taking him out to experience bloodshed tonight.

"Nawaki, tonight's mission will be carried out by you alone. Make sure to eradicate them completely, leaving no survivors."

Orochimaru assigned the task solely to Nawaki, showing no intention of forcing Ryun to participate.

"Understood, Orochimaru-sensei!"

Nawaki nodded respectfully, his expression showing little tension.

He had already undergone bloodshed training before. Having killed once, receiving another killing mission didn't unsettle him as much.

A qualified shinobi must inevitably go through the test of bloodshed.

Shinobi are, by nature, synonymous with "assassins"—killers who operate in the shadows. In the shinobi world, no shinobi's hands remain untainted by blood.

Under the cover of a moonless and windy night, Nawaki silently eliminated the bandit fortress's sentries—both the visible and hidden ones.

His movements were clean and precise. In no time, under Orochimaru and Ryun's watchful eyes, he infiltrated the fortress.

"Follow me."

Orochimaru jumped down from the tree and motioned for Ryun, who was hiding in the shadows, to follow. Then, he strode toward the fortress.

Ryun emerged from the bushes and quickly caught up with Orochimaru.

When he reached the fortress entrance, the sight of blood covering the ground struck him deeply.

Bandits and guard dogs lay dead, their throats slit or pierced by Nawaki in an instant. Their lifeless eyes stared blankly, their bodies drained of most of their blood.

In his past life, Ryun had grown up in the countryside. As a child, he had witnessed pigs being slaughtered. He had always been bold by nature—even his first time seeing livestock killed hadn't frightened him with their dying cries or the bloodshed.

Back then, his primary reaction had been a sense of cruelty. The sight of blood had made him slightly uncomfortable, but he hadn't considered it fear.

If someone was afraid, they would instinctively avoid it and never dare to watch again. But Ryun had no such instincts. He had always been willing to witness those brutal scenes.

Now, facing the corpses of bandits with slit throats, for some reason, he felt none of the sympathy he had once felt watching cattle being slaughtered...

However, the physical discomfort was much stronger this time, leaving his face pale and visibly uneasy.

Taking a few deep breaths in the night breeze, Ryun gradually calmed himself, and his complexion soon returned to normal.

"Heh... Ryun-kun has quite the nerve. You handled this much better than Nawaki did the first time he saw death." Orochimaru chuckled hoarsely, offering rare praise.

"..."

Ryun forced a stiff smile and said nothing.

As the two entered the fortress, a gust of wind carried the nauseating stench of blood into their noses.

At the same time, angry shouts and the sounds of fighting erupted from inside the bandit den. From the commotion, it was clear Nawaki had been discovered.

Orochimaru showed no trace of concern. He had full confidence in Nawaki's abilities. He didn't believe a mere group of bandits could pose a threat to a shinobi.

Even if some among them had trained and possessed chakra, they would still be no match for Nawaki.

With every step, Ryun saw more corpses. The rooms where the bandits slept were filled with bodies—many had their throats slit by Nawaki before they even woke.

Shinobi against ordinary people was always a one-sided slaughter, especially when the attacker concealed their presence and scent.

"Ryun-kun, I have a task for you now. Gather all the corpses for me..."

Orochimaru's raspy voice suddenly spoke up.

Ryun's face paled, but in the end, he nodded and obediently began the grim work of collecting bodies...

Orochimaru hadn't brought him here just to watch. Experiencing bloodshed was part of growing up, but so was learning to obey orders.

Ryun moved back and forth between the rooms, dragging out corpses one by one and dumping them unceremoniously in the open space.

His nose was now filled with the stench of blood, feces, and urine.

The bandits with slit throats didn't disgust him too much—until he encountered one who had been bisected. The sight of scattered entrails finally made him vomit.

In his mind, Ryun cursed Nawaki's ancestors eighteen generations back, while also being grateful he hadn't eaten dinner, sparing him a more miserable vomiting experience.

Gritting his teeth against the overwhelming stench and nausea, Ryun eventually gathered all the dismembered limbs.

Not long after, an explosion rang out, and the fortress fell into an eerie silence.

"Sensei, mission accomplished. All targets eliminated!"

Nawaki walked up to Orochimaru to report, though his face was pale, showing clear signs of mental strain.

After all, he was still a cheerful teenager. Being forced into the role of executioner naturally left its mark.

"How many dogs died? And how many bandits did you kill?" Orochimaru asked expressionlessly.

"Three dogs outside, two large dogs and a litter of puppies inside the fortress... As for the bandits, I didn't count..." Nawaki answered truthfully.

"Not counting means you don't know? I've told you before—stay sharp during battle. If you had remained calm while killing, you wouldn't have forgotten the number. There weren't that many bandits here to begin with."

Orochimaru's tone was cold, his dissatisfaction evident.

He hadn't instructed Nawaki to tally the kills beforehand because he wanted to test his disciple's composure in the moment. The result disappointed him.

"Sorry, sensei..."

Nawaki lowered his head in apology.

"Next time, don't let negative emotions cloud your judgment. Your mind must remain clear and calm at all times."

Orochimaru sighed and waved his hand, not pressing the issue further.

"Understood..."

"Go help Ryun-kun clean up the battlefield... Collect anything of value." Orochimaru methodically assigned the remaining tasks.

"Yes!"

One gave orders, one collected bodies, one gathered valuables—the division of labor was clear.

"Hehe... Ryun-kun, working hard, huh?"

When Nawaki ran into Ryun hauling corpses and doing the dirty work, he couldn't resist teasing him.

"..."

Ryun's face remained dark the entire time. He didn't bother responding to the brat.

"Ryun-kun, come here for a moment..."

Orochimaru's voice suddenly called from outside. Hearing it, Ryun instinctively frowned.

"Coming..."

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