Chapter 38: An Inevitable Encounter

Ren traveled with the caravan toward the unknown waystation, making small talk with the large man driving the wagon, Zongten.

“Uncle Zongten, where is this convoy headed?” Ren asked, feigning casual curiosity.

“We’re taking food and goods from the Land of Fire to a place called the Land of Bears,” Zongten replied, his voice a low rumble. “We’ll trade for their specialties and bring them back to Konoha.”

*The Land of Bears?* Ren wracked his memory. *It doesn’t ring a bell. Must be a minor nation.* He nodded along as if he understood.

“And you, young man? Where are you headed?” Zongten asked.

“Me?” Ren shrugged. “I’m not really sure yet. Just… seeing where the road takes me.”

As they chatted, Ren gleaned more about the Land of Bears. It wasn’t the country itself that was notable, but the hidden village within it—Hoshigakure, the Village Hidden Among Stars. *That’s it,* he realized. *The Star Ninja Village. The one with the meteorite.*

His knowledge from his past life surfaced. The village was founded around a meteor that fell two centuries prior. Ninja trained near it, and its unique radiation reacted with chakra, allowing them to perform a technique called the Peacock Method, which could shape chakra into various forms and even enable flight. The downside was a vulnerability during its use and the severe physical toll the radiation took on most practitioners. The Third Hoshikage had eventually banned the practice. It was a small, insignificant village, its self-proclaimed “Kage” a far cry from the leaders of the Five Great Nations, their strongest likely only at the level of an Elite Jōnin.

*Interesting,* Ren thought, a plan beginning to form. *That meteor contains a fragment of the Ten-Tails’ power. It must be incredibly valuable. If I could… acquire it, the system would probably pay a fortune for it. Heheh…*

As if on cue, the system’s voice echoed in his mind.

***Ding! System Mission Issued: Infiltrate the Land of Bears and seize the Star from Hoshigakure.***

***Mission Reward: 10,000 Points.***

***Mission Failure: 10,000 Point deduction.***

***Time Limit: None.***

***Does the Host accept?***

*Oh ho!* Ren grinned internally. *The system and I are on the same wavelength. Stealing another village’s sacred artifact? How villainous. But… I like it.*

“Accept,” he stated without hesitation.

He tried to pry more specific information about Hoshigakure from Zongten, but the man was just a merchant; his knowledge was limited to trade routes and goods. Ren gave up, lulled into a drowsy state by the wagon’s rhythmic rocking.

His senses, however, remained sharp. Long before the caravan reached it, he detected them—several dozen figures lying in wait in the tall grass on either side of the road ahead. Their heartbeats were loud, their breathing poorly controlled. Most were ordinary men. Only one had a faint, discernible chakra signature, perhaps at the level of a low Genin. *Bandits,* Ren deduced. *The one with chakra is probably their leader.*

*How cliché,* he mused with an internal sneer. *A classic ambush.*

The caravan rolled obliviously into the kill zone. Suddenly, several arrows thudded into the dirt road ahead, blocking their path.

“Ambush! Enemy attack! Be careful! Turn back, turn back!” the two samurai guards yelled, drawing their swords in a panic. But as the drivers frantically tried to turn the wagons around, another group of bandits emerged from behind, cutting off their retreat.

“There are more behind us! Damn it, we’re surrounded!” someone from the caravan cried out. Panic spread like wildfire as the two groups of bandits converged, trapping the merchants in the middle.

“It’s over, it’s over!” Zongten moaned beside Ren, his face pale. “There’s never been bandits on this stretch before! This must be a new group! Just our luck! Maybe… maybe they’ll just take the money and let us live…” He noticed Ren’s utter calm. “Little brother… aren’t you afraid?”

“Afraid?” Ren said with a relaxed smile. “Why would I be? I’m penniless. Bandits won’t bother with someone who has nothing.”

“Won’t bother? They’re bandits! If you have no money, they’ll kill you out of spite!”

“Then they’ll kill me,” Ren shrugged. “I’m not afraid to die.”

“You… you… I’ve never seen anyone so casual about dying!” Zongten sputtered, turning his attention back to the impending disaster.

The bandit leader, a burly man with a scar across his cheek, swaggered to the front. “Hahaha! Waited all day, and finally we catch a fat sheep!” he roared, eyeing the laden wagons greedily.

“W-What do you want?” one of the samurai guards stammered, his sword shaking in his hand.

“Haha! What do I want? You even have to ask?” the leader laughed. “Boys! Tell this fool what Uncle wants to do!”

“Boss, stop wasting time with them! Let’s just kill them all and be done with it!” one bandit suggested, only to be kicked to the ground by his leader.

“Idiot! You want to bring disaster on us? If we slaughter them, it becomes a big deal. Other caravans will hire ninja to hunt us down! We’ll be running for the rest of our lives!” The leader turned back to the caravan. “You all know the drill. We want the money and the goods. Leave everything, and you can walk away. Otherwise… don’t blame me for being cruel.”

At that moment, the elder from the covered wagon stepped out. He faced the numerous bandits without a trace of fear, an air of arrogant confidence about him. “Hmph! I despise bandits like you the most. No class whatsoever.” He pulled a heavy money pouch from his robe and tossed it at the bandit leader’s feet. “Consider this a reward. Now, scurry off. Otherwise, you’ll regret it.” He turned to go back to his wagon. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novèlfire.net

Ren watched, intrigued. *This old man has quite the act. But what’s his play? Is he relying on these two useless samurai? Impossible. I could kill them with a sneeze. What is he counting on?*

“Hey! Old man! You looking to die? Seems you didn’t understand me!” the bandit leader snarled, his patience wearing thin.

“Hmph! Greedy filth. It seems kindness is wasted on you.” The old man snapped his fingers at the two samurai. “You two! Deal with him. I don’t wish to see his face again.”

The two samurai guards looked at each other, their faces etched with pure terror. They shuffled their feet but didn’t move.

“Did you not hear me? Now!” the old man barked.

“Are you finished?” the bandit leader growled, drawing a large, cleaver-like sword from his back. “If you won’t make a move, then I will!”

“You two! You claimed you were masters! You said you’d each slain a hundred bandits single-handedly! That’s why I hired you! Now, drive them away!” the old man yelled, his confidence finally cracking into desperation.

The taller samurai hung his head. “S-Sir… we… we lied. We just said that to get the job. We’ve never… we’re not fighters…”

“What?! You… you swindlers! You fools!” the old man sputtered, his face turning purple with rage and fear. His entire bluff had been called.

“Hahaha!” the bandit leader roared with laughter. “You hear that, boys? The old man’s bodyguards are fakes! You got anything else to rely on, old timer?”

“Pfft! Hahaha~” A laugh rang out, clear and mocking. It was Ren. He could no longer contain his amusement. “So the old man’s big plan was to rely on these two clowns to act tough? What a fantastic joke! You’re not just pretending to be strong, you’re pretending to be an idiot!”

“Enough!” the bandit leader bellowed, his mirth turning back to menace. “I’m tired of this farce. Maybe killing you all *will* cause trouble, but this haul is worth the risk! Boys, kill them all!”

*Humph! I still need this caravan to get me to the Land of Bears. I can’t let you ruin my plans,* Ren thought, his amusement vanishing.

Just as the bandits surged forward, Ren leaped from the wagon seat. His hands flashed through a series of seals in mid-air.

“Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!”

He took a deep breath and exhaled a massive orb of roaring flame toward the group of bandits blocking the rear. They were mere mortals; they had no hope of evading a ninja’s technique. The fireball engulfed them, their screams cut short almost instantly.

*Nani?!* The bandit leader’s eyes bulged. “A ninja?! Damn it! I’ll kill you myself!” Enraged by the loss of his men, he raised his massive sword and charged directly at Ren.

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