[Pressure Team]

[Ace Trainer]

”This is the Pressure Team, you’ll be like a siphon pump pushing down on the village. You’ll start at the north of the peninsula just outside the village and push down on it. Anyone fleeing the village will be yours to kill. Nobody escapes the village by land.”

One of the two duos, Mondai and Abari were left with Kozan’s simple instructions being their guiding tenants. No one escapes. No one survives. They’d travel by sea until getting to land, then would loop down like a inverse-J, coming down onto the village from the North. Initially, they’d wait outside the village boundaries, hiding within the thick coniferous forests to strike down anyone who attempted to flee. They would have two challenges before them, which would make it difficult to do so, but they’d been given a task and would be expected to complete it.

The first was the breadth of their area, while the village only had two formal exits from it (as the pirates had built the semblance of a front gate), there were plenty of places someone could climb or squeeze out. Regardless, they could monitor the front gates but they needed to ensure no one slipped by them which meant they’d likely need to be constantly on the move. This would mean of course they’d have limited ability to work together – sure, they would a duo, but really they were two shinobi covering the entire mouth of a peninsula to ensure no one got through. No one could get through.

The second challenge would be a more personal one. The people fleeing this way would rarely be the pirates, who would more likely be moving to the docks, or attempting to face off their invaders. No, the people that would be fleeing this way would be the families of the pirates who settled here. Family of pirates were scum none-the-less, but Mondai and Abari’s targets would not be hulking men covered in tattoos that had behaved in such a way to have this genocide ordered, instead it would be their families and children, who were not blameless but certainly held less of it. Though perhaps an advantage, given that it would be a slaughter. The combat ability of these would be far lesser. This was an extermination mission, and while Nishiki had called them all bugs, it was truly the smallest of them that would be filtered out to Abari and Mondai. Now, more than ever, they would need to represent the village.

A ninja lives not for themselves or for anyone else, but for the village, they exist to maintain and further the strength of the village.

When the signal rang, they’d begin their push, the outpour would be slow initially, but almost certain increase suddenly once the people of the village figured out what was happening.

A soft chill would shake the trees they stood among and then…

BOOM

The mission had begun.

[ThatGuy]

It would be a lie to say Abari wasn’t disappointed in his assignment, though he’d never show it. There was no way these pirates could provide an actual challenge, but the boy was hoping for some combat at the very least. On the bright side, he was paired with one of the seven swordsmen of the mist! He’d have to contain his excitement. Mondai might have been the seventh sword, but that didn’t mean he was weak! It was a shame that he wouldn’t be able to see his superior’s skill in combat. This was just going to be a slaughter, no real skill was required for that.

"You’re my superior, so I’ll leave the planning to you. If you want my piece, though, I’d say we might as well have one of us go in and kill the majority while the other hides back and picks off the stragglers. I’ll go with whatever you decide, though, so long as we don’t leave any survivors, how we do it doesn’t really matter."

After listening to Mondai’s reply, the boy got into position. That was probably the most confident he had sounded in years. It was amazing how much he could shift his personality on a mission. The supposed ‘Bloody Demon of the Mist’ was a very useful mask to wear… Or was the shy, self-hating boy Abari the mask? He supposed the former was true, because he hated his own weakness when he didn’t have the responsibility of a mission to steel his resolve.

BOOM

The sounds of battle broke out as Abari realized that the massacre had officially begun. He could hear the screams of countless people in the village. It was a terrible scene, exactly the type of thing that those who defied Kiri deserved. He couldn’t allow himself to feel any pity or sympathy. Abari was a tool of Kirigakure, and now was the time for him to fulfill his function. With a determined expression, the boy watched the gates and waited for his time to act.

[Mre-face]

Mondai wasn't one for senseless killing so when he heard that they would just be there to kill cravens and helpless citizens. What was the point in bringing one of the swordsmen for such a menial task? They might as well get Chunnin to deal with matters like these, missions like these could make them understand what Kirigakure was all about have them shed some blood, and get used to missions like these.

No matter Mondai had little choice and choose to undergo this mission anyway so now he was stuck here but he wasn't sure he could stomach killing those that could clearly not defend or fight even if they wanted to he understood combatants but noncombatants seemed unnecessary. Yuuto is making me soft. He considered that to be the case first but instead, the time he has spent with the "wimpy" pacificist had given him insight into killing and the nature of life. He wasn't in the slums or the trenches right now he wasn't in open war. He didn't "need" to kill this way. The thought of a Democide like this was just dirty in his eyes.

Abari spoke interrupting his trail of thoughts as he lit up a cigarette listening to his suggestion which he liked opting to go for a best-of-both-worlds strategy and then ripping the band-aid off later. "Wazz's there ta decide anyway? Ain't like we'll have much of a fight against these craven."

The younger shinobi sounded confident but then again was it hard to sound sure of yourself if you went into a certain victory?

BOOM

It appears as though the mission had started so Mondai's body was preparing itself for the battle up ahead."Aight 'ere's 'ow we are gonna do this. We'll chill 'ere for a while and take care of the stragglers, then when I say we roll. We roll aight? From that point on yer on yer own. Ya ain't gotta take orders from me." Mondai was his supposed superior so he had no need to fancy up his lowborn speech fearing little judgment as Abari was a prospect but he was very excited to see how good he was which was spoiled by the nature of this mission.

The swordsman stood like a vanguard drawing his huge yet razor-thin glass-like greatsword planted firmly on the ground towards his side. Ready to root it from its placement and get to work on any unfortunate that emerged from the gates. He was expected to be a reaper ready to sow any weeds that cropped up and his comrade was expected to do the same.

[ThatGuy]

Abari simply nodded in response to Mondai. He was a little worried about letting some of the civilians slip by, but he supposed he was overthinking it. They were both trained shinobi, after all. So as the villagers started to flee north, the boy waited for his signal. When Mondai finally gave it, Abari sprinted towards his prey. He figured the most simple way to divide things up was to just have each of them take a different side, so the boy targeted those on the left.

There was a pirate who seemed to be trying to escort the women and children out of the village. Knowing that fear was a powerful tool in combat, the boy decided to make an example of him. Drawing Muramasa, Abari continued to close in on the enemy.

"Ah shit, get back! Run! I’ll hold him o-"

The man didn’t get to finish his sentence, as the boy had already closed the distance and impaled them. After activating Muramasa’s ability, an almost comical amount of blood came spewing from the pirate’s body, coating those close by. Many of the attempted escapees found that their legs refused to cooperate, just as Abari had intended. They had quickly come to realize that there was no hope of escaping. But there were also those foolish enough to think they could outrun Kiri’s judgment. A few thrown kunai were all it took to slow them down, not that they had any chance at outrunning a shinobi in the first place.

"MOM! I DON'T WANT TO DIE, MOM."

"Shhh, shhh, it’ll be okay. sweetie. Please! Do what you want with me, but please spare my child! They have nothing to do with this."

Abari found himself hesitating. He agreed with her, the children had nothing to do with this, but his orders were clear. His eyes moved back and forth between the mother and her child. The young boy couldn’t have been any older than six. So young to have your life ended so abruptly. Cursing his weakness, the boy tried to push himself further. He was a tool for the village. What use was a tool that refused to do the job? This was his moment to prove his loyalty to the village, and yet here he was, frozen in place.

Unable to make his decision just yet, he continued to pursue those that ran away, leaving the cowering group alone for the moment. What the hell was wrong with him?

[Mre-face]

The nod confirmed everything that Mondai needed to know as he placed his sword and watched on as a sentinel before seeing the villagers started emerging from the distance and so it was time for the killing to begin. Lazily handwaving to give Abari the signal that it was his time to start culling of those that fled. "Get ta work ninja!" Mondai lifted his greatsword off the ground before marching forward instead of running like his friend it was incredibly obvious that he didn't need to rush this. None of them were fast enough to escape even with a massive head start.

A squad of three pirates had fleed instead of standing beside and fighting alongside their friends in a typical case which would be smart for a hopeless fight but now they were just running into an inevitable death delaying the inevitable was just necessary they could at least die trying instead of fleeing. Regardless as they reached for their blades a whole host of insults flew his way but was ignored and immediately forgotten by Mondai.

The seventh swordsman cut through the three with a single swing of his blade, arms torsos and head cleanly cut as their swords instantly split in half and were powered through effortlessly unsurprising since they were fleeing. Still, he had wanted a proper fight not only for the thrill of the fight but also for the sake of this not feeling incredibly boring and unnecessary. Regardless he had a job to do rushing over to another feeling young male running him through before chopping of another's head.

That was when he noticed Abari hesitating Mondai wasn't one to pass judgment he perfectly understood why but he was a commander and had to 'act' as if he wanted those two dead. "Tha hell are ya doin' Abari? Leave em or finish the job." It was subtle but this was Mondai way of saying in secret that wanted to leave them while also coming across as if he was 'encouragingly commanding' him to kill the two of them. It was only a child and their mother they had no fear of them retaliating in the future or coming for revenge so what was the point in killing them?

It wasn't Mondai's place to question such things so he left it in Abari's hand he wouldn't tell if he did choose to spare them. He grew up as an untouchable sometimes seeing or hearing nothing about the things that went down was better than telling even if it was the truth he couldn't rat out his subordinate like that and if he did get in trouble for it he would naturally take the blame for it.

Spotting a few more Mondai made his way leaving Abari to follow after he had made his choice.

[ThatGuy]

After cutting down the few fools who thought they could run away, the boy returned to the cowering group. Angry at himself for still hesitating to kill the mother and child. As Mondai called out for him to either leave them or finish the job, the boy was forced to finally make a decision. He found it strange that his superior didn’t specifically tell him to kill them, but he knew what his village expected of him. After taking a deep breath, Abari figured he would try to at least give them an easy death.

"Hug your mother tight, kid. Both of you, close your eyes."

"Please! I’m begging you!"

"If you love your son, you’ll make sure their last moments are peaceful."

"Mom? What does he mean?"

Abari saw the woman’s heart tear in two. The mother’s sobs died down, but the tears did not stop flowing. It seemed that she found reason in the shinobi’s words. After kissing her son on the forehead, she held him tight and gave him words of reassurance.

"It means we’re going to be okay. Just hold Mommy tight and close your eyes. All the bad men will be gone soon."

The woman briefly looked Abari in the eyes before closing her own. The boy’s heart sank as the time finally came to execute these innocents. He’d likely never fully forgive himself for this. But this was the ultimate show of loyalty to his village. The sense of despair melted away as the Bloody Demon of the Mist returned. With a numb heart, the boy cut straight through the embracing family, giving them one last act of mercy. One powerful Iai strike ensured that they both died quickly, hopefully without even realizing what happened.

The rest of the group did not get the same mercy, however, as Abari slaughtered them without any hesitation. When the deed was done, he turned and ran to catch up with his superior. The day was far from over. Without a word, the boy followed Mondai’s lead. Dead eyes scanning for more cowards trying to escape the genocide.

[Ace Trainer]

The crowds that Abari and Mondai were left to deal with weren’t dense, groups of 6 or 7, typically people in their 20s or 30s, people who were on the run or had settled in this small village because they had no where else to go. These were easy targets, the types that didn’t appear innocent, that guilt for their death wouldn’t haunt people. Abari’s decision to kill this family, however, seemed to be the floodgates for the universe to begin its test of not only Abari, but also Mondai.

”You didn’t have to do that!”, a shrill scream would come from behind Abari.

”He said you could leave them!”, seemingly calling out to Mondai.

As Mondai and Abari would turn to the source, they’d see four separate groups, one small huddle of five, a single woman with 4 children in the front, with three groups of similar make up in varying sizes behind them. It seemed the mom and child Abari had just killed were just precursors to what was to come, it became evident suddenly that while some of the random citizens would be fleeing this way, any families that weren’t caught in the hands of the Discord team would be fleeing in this direction, directly into the arms of Abari and Mondai. Kozan’s plan seemed to have predicted this, but it put dirty work in the hands of the Pressure team. In this moment, they were tasked now with slaughtering what many would call innocents, but in the eyes of Kirigakure, they were just a guilty.

”How could you! You could have left her! What did these children do to deserve this!!”, she screamed, demanding answers.

[Mre-face]

Mondai turned his back as Abari followed Mondai's "orders" It rubbed him the wrong way what threat could a mother and a child possibly stand against Kirigakure It was senseless brutality for the sake of it. Nevertheless, he had orders to follow and it seemed like most were of fighting age so he didn't have as much guilt in killing those or so he thought. After walking away he found himself staring down a crowd with a few groups.

The fact that they were brave enough to stand up to them instead of doing the intelligent but useless act of feeling earned some respect in Mondai's eyes at least they were willing to stand their ground before they died. But they did make a point Mondai did say that he could leave them even if Mondai only said so to save face for the real command. It put a bad taste in his mouth, half of these were non-threats they had no real reason to attack them other than the Bloody Mist wanting to show why they were called that in the first place.

Mondai clutched his greatsword in frustration but then he thought of what Yuuto would do or think about this whole situation. Could Mondai walk away from this and speak of this mission in full detail without Yuuto's disapproval? As much as he didn't like to admit it Yuuto has had an influence over him over the years. And a sense of guilt fell over him.

Now Mondai was left with a choice of what to do with them. He couldn't explicitly disobey orders and just let them leave but he could kill just enough to let the rest go or at least the youngest.

"Yeah I did! But truth is ion' enjoy doing this kinda shit, but orders are orders, and I'm puttin' my neck on the line if I don't." Mondai walked forward to complete his orders but hesitated upon stepping forward which Abari would surely notice Mondai before he looked towards Abari it appeared that being directly confronted with the slaughter shook Mondai more than he anticipated so he decided to do the second best thing which would likely get a reaction from Abari.

"Abari I know I said orders are order but this shit is senseless, How 'bout we execute the oldest and then let the kids go. Maybe let one older lead them outta here and we ain't gotta speak of this again. They'll never know. What's the thrill of the honor of killing people who can't even fight back?" Maybe appealing to his empathy wasn't enough so possibly appealing to his honor, especially in front of a member of the seven swordsmen would do it. Never did Mondai think he would disobey the way he was doing right now but he couldn't go through with this.

His personal sense of honor and empathy for the underdog didn't allow it and Yuuto's influence didn't help either, What he was hoping for was that Abari would go along but seeing as he already killed the mother and her child that might have been enough for him what's a few more? But there was also a strong chance that it did the complete opposite and not wanting to go through it again could make it so that Mondai's suggestion would possibly go through to him.

[ThatGuy]

As the woman yelled at Abari, it was like the world was spinning around him. The boy stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around to face the woman. He became all too aware of the group of innocents around her. There were so many children… She was right. Mondai didn’t specifically say to kill them. He had found it odd, but now it was apparent to him that his superior was trying to give him an out. All the resolve he had obtained earlier vanished as the confusion took hold. The boy watched Mondai as he spoke and the hesitation that followed. So he wasn’t the only one who didn’t sit right with these orders. When Mondai turned to him and proposed that they leave the youngest alive, the sense of confusion only grew. Nothing seemed right, like the world around him was distorted. Was this real or just a dream? Furrowing his brow, the boy tried to focus on finding the words to say.

"It’s not… It’s not about thrills, it’s not about honor either. It’s about loyalty… Dedication… Doing what Kiri asks of you. What you’re suggesting is treason, Mondai. I don’t want to kill them either. I’m sick to my stomach about it. But it’s not about what I want, it’s not about my honor... What use is a tool that can’t do the job? We have t-"

The boy’s words were cut off as the sense of confusion grew to be utterly unbearable. His heart pounded in his chest as he started to hyperventilate. The persona of the Bloody Demon was not enough to pull himself together. Looking back at the woman, he saw the hate in her eyes, it pierced right through him. He looked over at the children, some were terrified, while others carried defiance in their eyes. His eyes then wandered over to the corpses of the mother and child he had killed. The scene put together a perfect picture of what Abari had become. He was a monster. This was something he’d most likely never forgive himself for. Yet another reason for the boy to hate himself. Looking back at his superior, he felt himself splitting in two. Just when it felt like he was about to go insane, a switch was flipped in his mind. The emotional turmoil faded as the boy found himself in a complete state of calm. The complete change in demeanor made the boy seem like a totally different person. With a peaceful look in his eyes, the boy spoke to his superior.

"We’re not killing anyone, we haven’t killed anyone, sir. Don’t you see? They all died when Kiri ordered their execution. These aren’t people, they aren’t innocents, they aren’t mothers or children, they’re walking corpses. What we’re doing is no different than pruning a tree or weeding a garden. They’re just debris that needs to be cleared for the village. I see now that there’s no reason to feel conflicted about it."

With that, the boy’s gaze returned to the group of innocents. It was so much easier now that he realized that they weren’t people. Abari didn’t need to feel bad. If anyone was to be guilty, it should be Kozan. But everyone here, including him, was just doing their job. With that same peaceful look in his eyes, the boy casually started walking towards the group, carrying himself with a carefree demeanor.

[Mre-face]

As the swordsmen tried to reason with Abari, the prospect didn't seem to find his words ultimately however he was right they were weapons to be pointed at bodies and would and should do so without question but as he kept talking he seemed to spiral more, and more into a pit of confusion.

"Yer right bu- Yo Abari?."

His head appeared to be spinning looking frantically and breathing heavily which bewildered Mondai to an extent as this man was a ninja of kirigakure wasn't he in the great war just as he was? Had he not killed before? Maybe the circumstances were different and he couldn't handle the stress but Mondai couldn't allow him to spiral this way It was a liability if this were to happen against actual threats so he needed him to snap out of it.

But then just as Mondai was about to shout him into reality from out of nowhere he seemingly snapped back into a peaceful gaze looking as if this was just a regular day for him and that he found some sort of peaceful serenity in this slaughter like nothing had happened. Mondai heard Abari then switch from talking about orders to not even qualifying these people as human or even alive in the first place. Already declaring them dead but Mondai couldn't accept that on principle. He was still having his breakdown but instead of turning into a mass panic, it turned into a cold state of mind.

This way of coping with this mission infuriated Mondai, this need to hide and shy away by deluding oneself this way angered him because at the very least have the guts to do this on your own. It infuriated him so much that he knew he had to interfere. If he was going to go through with his orders then Mondai wasn't going to let him delude himself, he wanted it to be authentic to reality. It may come across as vindictive and prideful which it was but it was necessary there was no honor in tricking your own mind.

Stepping to Abari's side and pushing him back gently with his greatsword. "Oi! Snap outta It if yer gonna do this, then YOU are gonna face reality for what it is none of this shying away shit...." Mondai paused with an angry snare before continuing. "These here are people... Acknowledge that or no more people die." Mondai gave him a pretty straightforward glare it was to accept that he was going to kill these people or Mondai wasn't going to let him.

[Ace Trainer]

Kozan’s voice rarely changed in volume, let along tone. Always measured, level, ‘grey’ and monotone, the young experiment hadn’t the experience or understanding to fully process emotions most of the time. So when his voice resonated through the samsara that had been given to Mondai, it was likely shocking the very clear anger that resonated through the voice. ”The order is to kill anyone who is attempting to flee the village and pressure them back towards the Discord team if you cannot do so.”, he chastised.

”You are a weapon, act like one. The Seventh Sword isn’t able to kill some rats living in a village? Abari, kill them. Mondai, kill them. That is an order from this mission command.”, the voice was stern, anger palpable in it. It sounded almost awkward with how Kozan seemed to be experiencing this anger for the first time and wasn’t entirely sure how to express it.

And as quickly as the voice came through the samsara, it vanished. The order was clear. This wasn’t a time to take some moral stance or demand some expectation of how to do a kill. It was time to kill. They were on a mission.

[ThatGuy]

Abari tilted his head quizzically towards Mondai as they spoke. He wasn’t shying away from reality, in fact, he was finally seeing it clearly! The fact that the swordsman went as far as to raise his weapon only made the boy more confused. Would Mondai really jeopardize the mission over Abari’s behavior? The boy couldn’t see the issue for the life of him. Was he the crazy one here? The very thought made him think back to his Iijutsu mentor. How many times had he been lectured for losing control? Maybe this was one of those moments. Kozan’s voice was what eventually snapped the boy back to reality. His sense of peace shattered, and in its place was the all-too-familiar feeling of shame. Abari yet again cursed himself for his weakness.

"Sorry. You’re right. They’re people. You can believe me or not, but none of that really matters. The fact is that they’re our targets, and we’ve spent far too much time hesitating. If Kiri declares it, then even women and children are enemies of the village. If you want to, you may remember them, but I won’t allow myself to spare another thought towards the enemy. So I’m going to go fulfill our orders." Abari gently pushed Mondai’s blade away from his chest and started to walk towards the group again. "Cut me down if you still find my demeanor unacceptable, I doubt there’d be any retaliation. I am just a rank-and-file shinobi, after all. But they will die. Whether you are involved with it or not."

The boy looked at Mondai with determination in his eyes. It wasn’t a challenge, the boy had no hope against a swordsman of the mist, but he was not going to quit here. Abari was determined to prove himself to his village, and while he had made a horrible show of it so far, he was dead set on salvaging as much of the situation as he could. So as he walked past his superior, the boy drew his sword. It was not long after that the screaming resumed.

[Mre-face]

It appears as though Mondai had managed to get through to him to some degree at the very least snap Abari out of his stressed state into a state of normalcy helped by Kozan barking orders at him. Causing Mondai to bark back at the samsara and by proxy Kozan. He was a seven swordsman he was part of an elite unit not some clean-up crew against no-name pirates. Sure it sent a message but his sense of pride and all the years of hard work felt wasted on weaklings such as this. The Especially triggering Mondai when his ability to kill targets he deemed lesser than the swordsmen was questioned. "The seven swordsmen ain't made to kill rats, We're meant to kill warriors! I am better than this! WE are better than this..."

"When I joined the seven swordsmen I thought to us elites were meant to take out real threats against this village, not some weak-ass target practice shit like these folk 'ere!" Mondai paused in frustration looking at Abari before looking to the people and then back to the Samsara. "We should send the daggers or chunnin' for shit or somethin' we could be better used elsewhere..." A sigh was audibly heard before Mondai stopped his rant orders were orders he supposed but he still felt insulted that such a prestige unit was spent here instead of taking care of more real threats. "Whatever I'll kill them."

Stopped his speech to the samsara before looking towards Abari who for some reason thought that Mondai would attack his own comrades. While they might disagree over the why and how of this mission. Mondai wasn't one to vent his frustrations on his fellow ninjas, especially prospects under the very elite unit he thought so highly of. "Ain't gonna cut ya down ya dumbass. Let's continue the mission..." Mondai said in a disappointed tone before marching forward only planning to target those in their teens or adults leaving Abari to take care of the young. Mondai was too frustrated and prideful to attack children he couldn't stomach the idea of killing mere defenseless and weak children. Mondai was a seven swordsman, not some janitor.

[ThatGuy]

As he indiscriminately slaughtered the last of the women and children left alive, Abari detached himself from the situation. The boy didn’t allow himself to lose control, but he couldn’t bear the guilt that would come with staying present in the moment. Instincts kicked in, and he executed them with brutal efficiency. Not thinking twice as he cut down figures far too small to be a threat to anyone. It wasn’t the Bloody Demon of the Mist carrying out this task. It wasn’t entirely Abari either, the action was almost completely unconscious. Almost. This was simply the most efficient state for him to be in while carrying out such a terrible act. It was a sacrifice he had to make for his village. It wasn’t that he expected Kiri to be proud or even recognize his efforts. In fact, Abari fully expected his weakness to be mentioned in Kozan’s report. But he at least proved to himself that he could overcome his weakness, even if he made a poor show doing so. When the act was done, the boy looked around for any more fleeing figures. He didn’t know how much time had passed, but it seemed that the genocide was coming to an end. Covered from head to toe in blood, Abari turned to Mondai and spoke.

”It’s getting quiet, I think the job is almost done. What do you say? One last sweep before we wait for Kozan’s signal that the mission is over? Hopefully the next one will be less grim.”

Things had not gone even remotely as Abari had expected when he took the mission, but he figured it was a good learning experience. Sure, he had embarrassed himself in front of a swordsman of the mist, but he still had the honor of ‘fighting’ alongside one. While he still didn’t feel great about Mondai proposing that they leave the children alive, he couldn’t hold it against his superior. Killing the young had cost Abari a part of his soul. But now he was positive that he was able to do anything his village asked of him. After using a jutsu to clear some of the blood from around his eyes, the boy couldn’t help but chuckle.

A shinobi is nothing without his village

[Mre-face]

Blood filled the air and spilled across his massive greatsword's color turning from a shiny glass-like yellowish color humming quietly and glowing ever so slightly into a crimson red no longer faintly glowing because of the thick red coating. Mondai was a reaper that came to harvest each woman and young teen. With each kill he felt more shame and anger. He felt personally spat on that he was part of an elite unit and was relegated to killing defenseless pedestrians. He knew he couldn't talk about this to Yuuto hell he could barely talk about it to himself or his family. He didn't want to know what kind of judgment he would face. His father died a warrior's death so killing non-combatants was something that just brought him even greater disappointment against himself.

Finally, it was over Abari looked over to Mondai asking for a last sweep to make sure that there were no survivors. "Do a final sweep, take care of em when you find em. I'm going back to the meeting point." Clear annoyance was in his voice leaving Abari to deal with the rest. Mondai wondered what the report would reflect conflicting ideas and anger made his mind chaotic did he fail as a shinobi was he not made for this life? He wondered what Kozan had to say. No matter his idea of swordsmen and the shinobi was getting called into question. Was he anything without the seven swordsmen? Only one statement plagued his mind.


A shinobi is nothing without his village