The bartender opened the door and saw Fang Yuan walking out with a calm expression. However, the bartender noticed that Fang Yuan seemed tainted by the stench of death, as if the child was drenched in it.
Fang Yuan approached the table where the group was drinking and eating meat. As soon as a muscular man sensed something was wrong, Fang Yuan stepped forward, pulled a kunai from his sleeve, and drove it into the man's throat without hesitation. The man's eyes widened in shock as he clutched his neck, blood gushing out uncontrollably.
"What are you doing!!!" one of the others yelled in shock.
"Damn it!" another cursed as they realized what was happening. Although they were drunk, they could still distinguish the blood and their fallen comrade.
Led by the captain, the remaining members of the group stood up, glaring at Fang Yuan with hatred.
"You little devil, you're courting death!" one man shouted angrily, kicking away a bench and drawing a long knife from his waist.
The sharp blade flashed as the man swung at Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan dodged by leaning sideways, stepped closer, and struck the man's wrist with a palm blade. The thug's hand went numb, causing the knife to slip from his grip. Fang Yuan caught the knife in mid-air, swiftly slicing through the man's neck. The head flew through the air as Fang Yuan passed by, leaving a trail of blood and flesh.
"Hiss…" The remaining patrons gasped in fear and backed away. The sight was horrifying, and Fang Yuan appeared far from a mere child.
"Little devil, we have no grudge against each other. Why attack us?" The middle-aged man known as the Captain looked at Fang Yuan with a mix of doubt and wariness. His comrades, including Beihu Zhuren, appeared pale and shaken.
"Hand over the mission scroll for Putian Yilang," Fang Yuan demanded coldly.
"This... this is what you came for? No problem. Put the knife down first, and I'll find it for you right away," the Captain said, stretching out his hands in a placating gesture. He walked to a black package beside the table and began to fumble with it.
Fang Yuan noticed a glint of cunning in the Captain's eyes.
"Smart move," Fang Yuan sneered, silently forming a seal.
In the next moment, the Captain's eyes narrowed with malice. He pulled out several kunai from the package and hurled them at Fang Yuan. The kunai were attached to detonating talismans, making a crackling sound as they ignited.
Fang Yuan vanished from his spot using a teleportation technique. A fiery wave erupted from the location where he had just been standing.
Boom!
The explosion threw everyone around, including Fang Yuan, off balance. As the smoke cleared, several long swords were thrust toward Fang Yuan. He blocked one with a backhand swing, kicked a man away, and used the explosion's inertia to evade the subsequent attacks. He leaped away, his chest swelling with the intense heat of a fireball.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
The Taohai Gang members charging toward him were caught off guard by the sudden surge of heat. Their swords and blades turned red, and several people were incinerated to charcoal. Those in better condition struggled within the inferno.
"Ah, ah, ah! If we want to survive this, we need to put out the fire!" the bartender, witnessing the devastation, became frantic. Fearing the entire bar would burn down, he rushed to intervene.
"Water Style: Water Stream Bullet Technique!"
The bartender unleashed a water technique to douse the flames.
As the battle reached its climax, the Kitado Colonel, hiding behind the Captain, seized the moment when Fang Yuan's fireball ended to strike. He executed a lightning release technique.
"Lightning Release: Earth Walk!"
Fang Yuan, however, was not easily caught. As the lightning surged towards him, he performed another teleportation technique, vanishing from sight.
The Kitado Colonel's eyes widened in shock and cold sweat formed on his brow.
"Later!!!" the Captain shouted, alerting his teammates.
But it was too late. Fang Yuan appeared behind the Beihu cultivator, grabbing his neck and swiftly slashing it. The Beihu Cultivator's eyes dimmed as he fell, blood pouring from the wound.
"Ah! Little devil! You've gone too far!" The Captain roared in fury, trembling with rage. He charged at Fang Yuan, ignoring his fear.
Fang Yuan remained calm, using the Beihu Cultivator's corpse as a shield. The Captain hesitated, momentarily halting his attack. Fang Yuan took advantage, driving his sword through the corpse and into the Captain behind it.
"You… are despicable!!!" The Captain's eyes were bloodshot, blood seeping from his mouth as he cursed Fang Yuan. He was enraged, his teeth bared.
Fang Yuan's expression remained cold as he twisted the knife cruelly, causing the Captain to let out a gut-wrenching scream.
"I'm going to kill you!" the Captain's will to fight was remarkable. He staggered back, forcefully pulling the knife from his abdomen.
As Fang Yuan assessed the situation, he saw the Captain's backup plan. The Captain removed his black pirate eyepatch, revealing an eye that Fang Yuan recognized with dread.
Fang Yuan's tone grew icy. "Where did you get the Sharingan?"
"Want to know? Go to hell and ask," the Captain spat defiantly.
The Captain quickly formed hand seals, causing a large drop of water to appear beneath Fang Yuan's feet, enveloping him.
It was the Water Style: Water Prison Technique.
The intense pressure from the water prison restricted Fang Yuan's movement and made it difficult for him to breathe. The Captain's cruel smile widened as he threw shurikens into the water prison, using his Sharingan to anticipate Fang Yuan's movements.
Fang Yuan, however, was not without recourse. He replicated the water prison technique's seal sequence after observing it once, releasing himself from the prison.
"Water Style: Water Prison Technique: Release!"
The water droplets dissipated, and Fang Yuan immediately followed up with another technique.
"Water Style: Water Shock Wall!"
A high water curtain shot up, dispersing the shurikens and countering the Captain's attack.
"How is this possible!!!" The Captain, bewildered, saw the extent of Fang Yuan's chakra. Such a weak chakra level producing such powerful water jutsu was inconceivable.
Terrified, the Captain's will to fight crumbled. He watched helplessly as his comrades writhed in agony around him.
"I'll ask again, where did the Sharingan come from?" Fang Yuan's gaze was steely, advancing with each step, causing the Captain to retreat in fear.
"In a tomb! I was robbing tombs in a valley, and then… yes! Then I saw a lot of corpses! They would eat people! I don't want to die!" The Captain's sanity cracked, his fear and desperation evident.
"In a tomb? What tomb?" Fang Yuan pressed.
"There's a man-eating monster! And… there's a stone slab! On it… is the ultimate weapon!" The Captain's mind seemed to unravel further.
"The ultimate weapon? The Uchiha's?" Fang Yuan murmured, contemplating the information.
The Captain began to spit blood, his body convulsing before collapsing.
"What a shame. He can't die yet, but I don't know any healing jutsu," Fang Yuan lamented, feeling frustrated.
He examined the Captain's body but found no further useful clues. The Captain's final words remained cryptic.
Fang Yuan retrieved the accepted mission scroll and various ninja tools from the group's package. He dealt with the remaining Taohai Gang members and left the tavern with a bloody Sharingan and a piece of intelligence paper from the fat man. The paper contained information about a wolf from Putian.
"Hanawanichicho, it looks like a rather unreliable casino…"