Kaidō instantly realized something was wrong just from the tone of Asuma's voice. His expression turned frantic as he immediately spun around and ran back. His subordinates quickly made way, clearing a path. While fleeing, Kaidō shouted orders:
"Quick! Get up there and kill him! Whoever takes him down gets five times the bounty!"
Though hesitant, driven by greed and their superior numbers, a dozen or so thugs at the front roared and charged toward Sarutobi Asuma, attempting to surround him.
"He's just one guy! We don't need to be afraid!" one of them yelled, both to intimidate Asuma and to boost his allies' morale.
Asuma scoffed coldly. He pulled out his trench knives, the Chakra Blades (Flying Swallow), from his ninja pouch and gripped them in a reverse hold. Infusing them with wind-nature chakra, a pale blue glow—nearly tangible—covered the blades, forming a pair of weapons sharp enough to slice through anything.
With large, decisive steps, Asuma lunged forward, sweeping both chakra blades in a wide arc at the approaching attackers. It was a simple slash, but with his power and speed—plus the enhancement from wind chakra—the strike was nothing short of lethal.
Shing!
Several thugs tried to block his attack with their weapons, but under the chakra-enhanced blade, ordinary metal was like paper. The moment the blue light flashed, their weapons shattered like twigs, and the chakra blades passed cleanly across their throats.
In one fluid motion, Asuma crossed his arms and lunged toward a group flanking from the left. It wasn't until this moment that the thugs he had just passed began to show signs of trauma—thin red lines appeared on their necks, and blood gushed out as they collapsed to the ground, clutching their throats and struggling in vain.
Seeing Asuma charging straight at them, the left-flank thugs turned pale. These men, used to bullying civilians, now faced a trained shinobi—a professional killer. Terrified, they raised their weapons, only for Asuma to either sidestep or slice clean through them. In just a few strides, he was among them. With sweeping arcs of his chakra blades, he cut them down like wheat. Within mere seconds, they were all dispatched.
At that moment, three thugs bypassed Asuma entirely and charged toward Tazuna, clearly intending to take him hostage.
Asuma's eyes gleamed coldly. The wind chakra coating his trench knives faded until only a thin layer remained. Then, timing his throw perfectly—
Whoosh!
The blades, now thrown, flashed like lightning. The human body posed no obstacle to their momentum; they sliced cleanly through all three attackers. One blade even pierced through two at once.
Clang!
The Flying Swallow blades buried themselves deep into the sturdy bridge surface. The three thugs collapsed instantly.
In mere moments, Asuma had slain over a dozen attackers. The remaining men who had witnessed the slaughter collectively gulped, their eyes wide with fear.
"He dropped his weapons!" shouted a thug with multiple braids and sunglasses, a man carrying several long swords on his back. Spotting Asuma's now-empty hands, he signaled his comrades. Dozens of thugs surged forward.
"Fire Style: Ash Pile Burning!"
Asuma sneered. After briefly checking the wind direction, he formed hand seals at high speed, took a deep breath, and exhaled a dense black cloud of ash that engulfed the charging mob.
"What is this!?"
"I can't see a thing!"
The black mist was thick and choking. Caught off guard, the thugs panicked.
"Is this… gunpowder?" One of them sniffed the air and shouted in terror.
BOOM!
BOOM!
At that moment, Asuma bit down slightly. The flint hidden in his molars sparked, igniting the ash cloud. In a blinding flash and deafening explosion, fire consumed the entire area.
The heat wave forced the rear thugs to retreat. When the smoke cleared, the attackers closest to the blast were charred and mutilated beyond recognition. The air was filled with the sickening smell of scorched flesh. Asuma stood nearby, expression cold, his hands empty—yet even more terrifying than before. Wherever his gaze landed, the thugs instinctively stepped back.
"This is a ninja!? How can anyone be this strong?!" Kaidō, who had only ever seen rogue samurai in action, was now shaking with fear. The brutal efficiency of a true shinobi defied everything he had known. Bodies littered the ground between him and Asuma. There was no room left for illusions.
"Wait! Wait!" Kaidō shouted desperately. He noticed that every time Asuma stepped forward, his subordinates recoiled. Their fighting spirit was completely broken. "I have hostages!"
Asuma paused, a conflicted look flashing across his face. Kaidō quickly added, "I sent two of my men to kidnap Tazuna's daughter and grandson—"
"Is that so?"
The voice didn't come from Asuma or Tazuna, but from directly behind Kaidō. The heat of someone's breath tickled his ear—a devil's whisper in the dark. A strong hand clamped down on his shoulder, preventing him from turning.
With a stiff motion, Kaidō slowly looked back. At some unknown point, a young boy with a ponytail—around fourteen or fifteen years old, though slightly taller than his peers—had silently appeared behind him. With a calm expression and a chilling smile, the boy said,
"Those two rogue samurai? Their skills were decent, but I killed them."
"Impossible—"
Shing!
Kaidō's eyes widened. Just as he was about to speak, Shikamaru—uninterested in wasting words—drove a kunai forward with his free hand. It pierced Kaidō's chest, and with a slight twist, shattered his heart. Not even Tsunade could've saved him.
The thugs in front had already noticed Shikamaru but hesitated to act while Kaidō was in his hands. Now, seeing the boy kill without hesitation, they were momentarily stunned.
One thug wielding a massive twin-bladed sword lunged at Shikamaru on instinct.
Shikamaru's body relaxed. He bent his knees, lowered his center of gravity, arched his back, and entered the taijutsu stance Asuma had taught him. He ducked low and sidestepped the incoming slash with uncanny agility.
Lacking reach and raw strength, Shikamaru didn't target his foe's vital points. Instead, he grabbed the attacker's wrist, slashed the tendons with his kunai, then caught the falling sword in one smooth motion and—
Slash!
The thug's eyes widened in disbelief. Blood sprayed as the blade swept across his neck, splattering the comrade beside him.