Chapter Two: The Thousand Birds Slay the Thieves

“You have spent 10 Justice Points to successfully exchange for an A-rank Ninjutsu, Chidori. You have received a one-time experience permit and 1,000 chakra points.”

It was as if a surge of lightning burst forth from the depths of his body. Shu Mingyuan shuddered from the shock, then felt a strange, powerful energy coursing through him—warm, tingling, and altogether uncomfortable.

“Kid, was it you who killed him?”

Four vicious bandits surrounded Shu Mingyuan, glaring at him and the comrade who now lay in a pool of blood, fresh red pouring endlessly from the man’s slit throat.

The boy seemed to nod in fear, his eyes shifting restlessly, unable to look the bandits in the eye.

“If that’s the case, then die!”

One of the bandits threw a brutal punch, but at that moment a dazzling flash of lightning exploded before them, crackling and hissing as if a thousand birds cried out at once. In an instant, the light vanished. The bandit’s punch struck only empty air. His mouth gaped, his gaze turned vacant, and when he looked down at the boy who had just been cowering on the ground, his own corpse toppled heavily to the floor.

Shu Mingyuan maintained his stance, his hand now stained crimson with blood. The bandit who had stood there moments before now had a gaping hole in his chest, his heart pierced, blood gushing forth like a broken dam. In no time, the entire floor was awash with red.

“You… you killed him?” one bandit stammered, his voice trembling. None of them had seen exactly what happened—just a flash of silver light, and then, in the next second, their companion lay dead at the youth’s feet.

“I’ll kill you!”

The remaining three bandits roared in fury, swinging at him with three different, brutal weapons. Once again, the electric chirping like birdsong crackled in Shu Mingyuan’s palm. His figure vanished before their eyes, and their weapons sliced only the air. Within the room, he left a trail of silver light, and as he flashed past, his palm pierced the chest of each bandit, their faces contorted in terror.

“Congratulations, Host, you have killed four bandits. Reward: 4 Justice Points. Only 95 more chakra points needed to become a Trainee Ninja.” The system’s voice echoed quietly in his mind. Shu Mingyuan’s lips curled into a faint smile. He saw a character avatar, tapped it, and a translucent status window popped up, displaying his attributes.

Name: Shu Mingyuan

Chakra: (5/100) Trainee Ninja

Justice Points: 5

Acquired Ninjutsu: Lightning Style—Chidori (Evolution conditions not yet met)

Ninjutsu Power: 10

Taijutsu Power: 2

Gazing at his newly acquired attributes, Shu Mingyuan thought for a moment and guessed that chakra likely represented the energy within his body, Justice Points were a kind of virtual currency for exchange, while Ninjutsu Power and Taijutsu Power measured the strength of his techniques and physical attacks.

It wasn’t hard to understand, but the fact that Chidori’s power was as high as 10 still surpassed his expectations. After all, he was a fifteen-year-old boy, not much weaker than an adult, and though he had arrived in this world only a few years prior, he had never neglected his training. By his estimation, his strength was about two hundred jin, and even so, his Taijutsu Power was only 2.

Did one point of Taijutsu correspond to a hundred jin of force?

But when he considered the lightning attribute and the burst of speed Chidori provided, he was satisfied. As expected, A-rank ninjutsu from the world of Hidden Leaf was extraordinary!

He rummaged through the bandits’ clothes, found several thousand beli, and slipped the money into his pocket before swaggering out of the cabin.

Now that he understood how to activate his system, the murderous bandits outside were nothing more than walking Justice Points in his eyes.

Even aside from collecting Justice Points, these bandits had slaughtered innocent villagers—they deserved a thousand deaths! Each one would pay with his life for the simple souls they had snuffed out.

In truth, he owed a strange sort of thanks to these bandits. Had they not come, he might never have awakened the system and would have lived as an ordinary man in the world of pirates.

But gratitude was one thing—justice was another. For the sake of his future.

Bandits, your reckoning has come!

…

At the village entrance, on open ground, more than a dozen ferocious bandits had gathered. At their feet lay the corpses of villagers, blood staining the earth crimson. To the side, a small sack stuffed with beli sat on the ground, and a group of children were tied together, destined for the slave market.

“Boss, everything of value in the village is here. Anyone who dared resist is dead. There wasn’t much worth taking, but we did find a few women with decent looks—tonight the brothers can have a good time.”

A few bandits emerged from the edge of the village, each carrying a woman over his shoulder. Their clothes were torn, and it was clear they had already suffered.

“Everyone accounted for?” asked the leader—a burly man with cropped hair, a fierce expression, and a cross-shaped scar slashed across his face.

“Boss, numbers seven, thirteen, nine, eleven, and fifteen are still missing.”

“Where are they? Get them out here, we’re leaving for the next village.”

“They’re probably still enjoying themselves with the women,” someone snickered.

The bandits roared with laughter, their faces leering with obscene delight.

Just then, a severed head suddenly flew out from a corner, aimed squarely at the burly bandit leader.

Sensing danger, the leader spun around and threw a punch, splattering red and white brain matter across the ground. The sudden attack startled the bandits, who saw, upon closer inspection, that the head belonged to one of their own.

All eyes turned toward the sound. From within the village, a youth of fifteen or sixteen strode forth. Seeing the place he had called home transformed into this hellish scene, the anger in his heart boiled over.

“These scum… every last one of them must die!”

At the sight of the boy, a flicker of unease crossed the bandit chief’s face. He bellowed, “Brat, who are you? Where are my men?”

Shu Mingyuan, burning with rage, ground his teeth and spat, “Me? I’m the one who’s here for your lives!”

With that, his left hand erupted in dazzling lightning, accompanied by the cry of a thousand birds. In an instant, his figure shot forward so quickly that to the bandits, he was nothing but a streak of silver light.

“Chidori!”

“Scum, all of you—die!”

The boy’s furious roar rang out. The village where he had lived for seven or eight years had been destroyed by these ruthless bandits. He would avenge the villagers with his own hands.

Wreathed in silver lightning, Shu Mingyuan moved through the bandit ranks like a god of slaughter. These men were only slightly fiercer than ordinary folk; years of unchecked violence had bred fear among the villagers, but to Shu Mingyuan, now empowered by a system and armed with A-rank ninjutsu, they were nothing.

The bandits fell one by one, blood spraying in every direction. Each time Shu Mingyuan’s glowing palm flashed, it pierced another chest. In the end, only the bandit chief remained.

Lightning coiled around Shu Mingyuan as he advanced step by step, his presence like that of a wrathful deity.