Anko made us pretend to be unaware of the bandits lying in wait until we were right under their noses.

As we reached the middle of the ambush section Anko had us halt right in the most dangerous spot, yet nothing was happening.

Anko snickers.

“*chee* As I thought, just a bunch of cowards… playing dead at the first sign of a ninja armband. Get rid of them, Sakura stay behind to defend.”

This was when the bandits finally reacted.

The bandits each tried to run separately hoping we would chase one of their former allies and not them.

There were 7 of the bandits and I gave them a little headstart as I cast a shadow clone jutsu and made two clones.

Sakura also did the same, unleashing Slutra onto the field to help us catch the bandits.

“*Chaaaa* I’m going to kill them all”

So now there were 5 of us running after the 7 bandits as they ran away from the road and deeper into nearby woods trying to break our chase.

Each of my closes chases a different running bandit, one bandit tried to stand and fight instead of running but he was quickly left bleeding out of his leg and neck after I threw a few shuriken at him and kept chasing his ‘coworkers’.

By the end, I had killed 4 bandits, the initial one with my shuriken, 2 with my kunai and the last I broke his neck. None of them lasted for more than 3 moves when engaged in melee combat.

Slutra had apparently killed the bandit she was chasing by caving their face in if her bloody hand was any indication.

Lastly, Hinata walked out with her bandit bound in ropes.

Anko was unimpressed.

“*sigh* Well done Yami and Slu… Sakura. But Hinata... gets to learn the hard way.”

“Sensei?”

“Hinata… what are we supposed to do with a captured bandit”

“We are… “

She stays silent for a minute, unable to come across any good answer.

“Exactly, there is no good option for a captured bandit Hinata. You can’t bring them with you and jeopardize the mission. 

You can’t release them and risk them doing the same again.”

“But… to kill them”

“What do you think would have happened if we weren’t here Hinata?” 

“...”

“They would have killed Lawrence, stolen any money and goods they could find and dumped his body as they waited for the next target. If there were any women, they might have resorted raped and killed them, not necessarily in that order.

Bandits leave no survivors because it alerts the nearby lords to send their police or hire ninjas to go after them.

There is no honor in letting them leave and no shame in killing someone who would kill you if they had the chance.

If you want to be kind, just do it as fast and painlessly as possible. But don’t let your kindness result in cruelty to others or yourself.”

Hinata couldn’t stand to the see look on the face of the bandit bound in ropes she brought back as he stood still.

The man’s mouth is muffled but he still tries to make sounds to plead for his case and as he listens, tears fall from his face and his muffled sounds grow into muffled screams.

I show some kindness to both of them and touch the man on his shoulder, locking him in place. A few seconds later he can't feel or sense anything, left to his own thoughts and regret in his final moments.

“Thank you, Yami”

“Just this once Hinata, don’t keep him waiting”

Hinata gathers her resolve and with a wail plunges her kunai into the man’s chest, aiming at his heart.

The bandit falls backward and bleeds profusely, dead within seconds, having felt nothing.

I grab hold of Hinata in my arms and don’t let her stare at the body as one of my clones takes it away and buries it in the forest, the same resting place as the other bandits, all except for one...

“Sensei… one fled, should we chase?”

“No, he’s already snake-food.

It seems Anko used a Summoning Jutsu as we were in the forest chasing the rest of the bandits and noticed one was getting away. 

With every loose end tied, we carried on with our mission. 

That night Hinata sneaked inside my roll bed for comfort during Sakura's night shift. 

Anko didn't comment on it the following morning but her stare made it clear it wouldn't be allowed again. 

The next morning, while Hinata and Lawrence were packing camp Anko pulled me and Sakura aside. 

“What is this about Anko-sensei?” Sakura asks.

“Something you said yesterday wasn't quite right. When you told me your clone had caught up to the bandit.”

I realized what Anko was getting at. 

“Shadow Clones bring back memories once dispelled. How did you know what Slutra was doing?”

“Ohh, she told me. But I only got the full details when her clone ended.”

“That is a valuable ability Sakura, we might do some testing when we're not on a mission to find the limits.”

I am not certain I understand the theory behind it. Seeing as Sakura and Slutra are the same person, maybe they are still sharing the same head but Slutra is either remotely controlling Chakra, or maybe she's a separate soul, remotely possessing another body while still linked to Sakura. 

Either way, the result is Sakura being able to remotely communicate with her Slutra clone in real-time.

We meet back with Hinata and Lawrence. 

We got to enjoy the beautiful Vistas of the Land of Flowers in full bloom as we arrived at our destination a day earlier than planned.

Lawrence arrived safely and was still on time to witness his child being born. He signed his stamp proving the mission was accomplished we stayed over for the night before saying goodbye and starting our journey back to Konoha.