The Fujiwara Clan

"Is it you?" Early the next morning, Ruri followed the contact information to find the one-eyed middle-aged man. The man still remembered Ruri standing nearby when he had posted the mission.

"We meet again." Ruri spoke in a low, heavy voice. His current persona was that of a taciturn, powerful samurai; he shouldn't talk too much.

The one-eyed man stared at Ruri, sizing him up from head to toe. "Although you are a samurai, if you can accept this mission, your strength should be decent."

The Black Market Exchange was quite reliable when it came to high-level missions; it was impossible for them to just find any stray dog to make up the numbers. Therefore, the one-eyed man only took a cursory glance, and seeing no obvious flaws was enough for him.

Before long, two more people arrived. It seemed they, like Ruri, had accepted the mission from the Black Market Exchange.

"Bad luck. Why are there so many samurai in the Land of Fire? Weren't these guys supposed to hate the Black Market Exchange?" Once the two samurai drew near, the one-eyed man snorted in disdain. The impression these two gave him was far inferior to the pressure Ruri exuded; they were clearly a cut below. If judged by samurai ranks, Ruri was a high-level samurai, while these two were merely ordinary mid-level ones.

"Let's go. With this guy and the two of you, the manpower should be sufficient. Follow me back to the base." The one-eyed man then said with a gloomy face, "You all saw the reward at the Black Market Exchange; it's not low. If you want to make an easy buck, I advise you to quit now, lest you lose your lives."

The one-eyed man was clearly trying to scare the two mid-level samurai. However, instead of being intimidated by this threat, the younger samurai replied with indignant anger: "I will not run away again!"

Ruri keenly caught the word "again," though the one-eyed man didn't seem to take it to heart, turning around and walking toward the base.

On the way back to the base following the one-eyed man, the middle-aged samurai kept trying to strike up a conversation with Ruri. Ruri was also curious about their background; their swords were wrapped in cloth. He had never seen a samurai wrap up the blades they regarded as their lives. However, to maintain his mysterious and aloof persona, Ruri ignored them.

After failing to engage Ruri, the middle-aged samurai slowed down and whispered something to the young samurai behind him. Ruri slightly utilized his wind-attribute chakra, and their conversation drifted over on the wind.

"Young Master, that samurai is impenetrable; he might not necessarily help us..."

"Mitsunosuke, this matter should have been handled by our own strength to begin with!"

"But..."

"The hatred of a murdered father and a destroyed clan—must we rely on the hands of outsiders for such vengeance?"

"But..."

"With that blade, it can definitely be done!"

Their conversation was baffling. Between the talk of revenge and the blade, Ruri was completely lost.

[Name: Miike Shizuka]
[Overall Strength: Chunin (Mid-level Samurai)]
[Talent: Jonin (High-level Samurai)]
[Attribute: Wind]
[Special Ability: None]
[Evaluation: Young Master of the Miike Clan. Prefers combat over forging techniques, yet is merely a flower in a greenhouse.]

[Name: Mitsunosuke]
[Overall Strength: Jonin (High-level Samurai)]
[Talent: Jonin (High-level Samurai)]
[Attribute: Wind]
[Special Ability: None]
[Evaluation: Retainer of the Miike Clan. Possesses absolute loyalty; otherwise, unremarkable.]

The system is truly useful at times like this... The middle-aged samurai had actually hidden his strength; high-level samurai were extremely rare. But the young samurai was actually a woman? Ruri hadn't noticed at all!

The Miike Clan Young Master—Zongli had told him about the three great families of the Land of Artisans: Hojo, Miike, and Sanjo. The Fujiwara Clan was the first to be wiped out by Seimei, followed by the Miike Clan. Zongli had only escaped the Land of Artisans to seek help everywhere after seeing the Miike Clan destroyed. Combining this with what Shizuka said about running away, she must be the sole survivor of the Miike Clan.

As for the purpose of these two, it was simple. Their words clearly indicated they wanted revenge against Seimei. However, why they accepted this mission was worth pondering.

It seems this caravan is not simple. He had used the system to check the one-eyed man earlier; he was just an ordinary elite Chunin. The real person in charge would likely only be seen once they reached the base.

The one-eyed man didn't speak the whole way. After walking for a while, they left the port and entered a forest.

From afar, Ruri sensed quite a bit of chakra—a full twenty or thirty people. Some were strong, some weak, mostly Genin, with only one Jonin. There were also seventy or eighty very faint chakra signatures, likely the samurai.

Ruri frowned. "Such a large formation, and still within the Land of Fire—Konoha hasn't reacted at all? This is unusual..."

In the forest, an old man walked up to meet them and said to the one-eyed man, "Masanori, let's set off quickly. If we stay any longer, I fear we'll be discovered by Konoha's scouts!"

Extremely weak chakra, no sword on his person—he couldn't be a samurai. This old man was likely just a receptionist, so Ruri didn't pay him any mind.

"Steward, prepare to depart. This black-robed, masked person is a high-level samurai."

"A high-level samurai?" The old man was somewhat skeptical, but he knew the reputation of the Black Market Exchange. Besides, he was just an ordinary person unable to make an accurate judgment, so he didn't say anything more.

The one-eyed man nodded, turned to face Ruri and the two samurai, and said, "First, let me introduce myself. My name is Fujiwara Masanori, a Chunin of the Fujiwara Clan." As he spoke, he glanced at Shizuka and Mitsunosuke with some contempt. In the era of ninjas, most ninjas didn't think much of samurai.

However... Ruri felt a bit speechless. This Fujiwara Masanori was clearly a samurai-turned-ninja; the great sword on his back was the best proof. Furthermore, the system evaluation had noted that his transition to chakra had limited his growth; otherwise, he would have been a solid high-level samurai...

"A high-level samurai? Let me, Fujiwara Masatsune, test your strength." Just as Ruri was thinking this, a figure flashed over. It was the ninja he had sensed earlier who possessed Jonin-level chakra.

However, this Fujiwara Masatsune was clearly also a samurai-turned-ninja, carrying a great sword on his back just like Fujiwara Masanori.

"Fire Style: Searing Migraine!" Masatsune seemed eager to show off his ninjutsu prowess, spitting out a small fireball that expanded into a raging inferno the moment it hit the ground, surging toward Ruri!

Ruri remained calm and collected, not even drawing his sword, seemingly waiting for the flames to approach. But behind him, Mitsunosuke and Shizuka revealed nervous expressions. Samurai were inherently disadvantaged against ninjutsu; unless they could close the distance, it was difficult to defend against it. Even if Mitsunosuke was a high-level samurai, he would only be able to dodge in the face of such B-rank Fire Style.

Watching Ruri remain motionless, Shizuka couldn't help but complain. If this guy couldn't even handle such a test, they would definitely have to intervene. If Mitsunosuke exposed too much of his strength, it would interfere with their plan!