The Fujiwara Clan

"Is that you?" Early the next morning, Ruri followed the contact information and found the one-eyed middle-aged man. He still remembered that Ruri had been standing nearby when he posted the mission.

"We meet again," Ruri said in a low voice. His current persona was that of a powerful, taciturn samurai, so he should not talk too much.

The one-eyed middle-aged man looked Ruri over several times. "Though you're a samurai, if you can take this mission, your strength should be decent."

The Black Market Exchange was trustworthy when it came to heavyweight missions like this. It would not casually recruit any random rabble to make up the numbers. The one-eyed middle-aged man merely gave him a cursory glance, and seeing no obvious flaws was enough.

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

"Bad luck. Why are there so many samurai in the Land of Fire? Didn't they say this lot all hated the Black Market Exchange?" Once the two samurai drew near, the one-eyed middle-aged man snorted disdainfully. They gave him far less of a sense of oppression than Ruri did and were clearly weaker. By samurai rankings, if Ruri was a high-ranking samurai, these two were merely ordinary mid-ranking samurai.

"Let's go. With this fellow and the two of you, we should have enough hands. Follow me back to the base." The one-eyed middle-aged man's expression darkened again. "You've all seen the reward at the Black Market Exchange. It isn't low. If you think this will be easy money, I advise you to withdraw now. Be careful not to lose your lives."

The one-eyed middle-aged man was clearly trying to intimidate the two mid-ranking samurai. Yet instead of frightening them, his threatening words made the young samurai snap in humiliation and anger. "I won't run away again!"

Ruri keenly caught the words "again," but the one-eyed middle-aged man apparently did not take them to heart. He turned and headed toward the base.

On the way back to the base, the middle-aged samurai kept trying to strike up a conversation with Ruri. Ruri was curious about their backgrounds too. Their swords were wrapped in cloth, and he had never seen a samurai wrap up the blade he regarded as his life. But in order to maintain his mysterious, aloof persona, Ruri ignored them.

After failing to befriend Ruri, the middle-aged samurai slowed down and muttered with the young samurai behind him. Ruri used a little Wind chakra, and their conversation drifted over with the breeze.

"Young Master, that samurai won't budge no matter what. He may not help us..."

"Mitsunosuke, this is something we should have relied on our own strength to do from the start!"

"But..."

"The vengeance for Father's murder, the hatred of our clan's destruction—must we really rely on outsiders to avenge such hatred?"

"But..."

"With that sword, we can definitely do it!"

Their conversation was incomprehensible, going on about revenge and swords. Ruri was completely baffled.

[Name: Miike Shizuka]

[Overall Strength: Chunin (mid-ranking samurai)]

[Talent: Jonin (high-ranking samurai)]

[Attribute: Wind]

[Special Ability: None]

[Evaluation: Young Mistress of the Miike Clan. She prefers fighting over forging, but she is nothing more than a flower raised in a greenhouse.]

[Name: Mitsunosuke]

[Overall Strength: Jonin (high-ranking samurai)]

[Talent: Jonin (high-ranking samurai)]

[Attribute: Wind]

[Special Ability: None]

[Evaluation: Retainer of the Miike Clan. He possesses absolute loyalty, but is otherwise utterly unremarkable.]

The system really came through at times like this... The middle-aged samurai had actually concealed his strength. High-ranking samurai were exceedingly rare. But that young samurai was actually a woman? Ruri had not noticed at all!

The young mistress of the Miike Clan. Zongli had told him about it: among the three great clans of the Land of Artisans—the Hojo, Miike, Sanjo, and Fujiwara Clans—the Fujiwara Clan had been the first to be exterminated by Seimei, followed by the Miike Clan. Zongli had escaped the Land of Artisans and sought aid everywhere only after seeing the Miike Clan destroyed and realizing the situation had turned dire. Combined with Shizuka's words about running away, she should have been the Miike Clan's sole survivor.

As for the two's goal, it was simple. Their words plainly showed that they wanted revenge against Seimei. But why had they accepted this mission? That was worth considering.

It seemed this caravan was not simple. Ruri had examined the one-eyed middle-aged man with the system before; he was only an ordinary elite Chunin. The real decision-maker would likely only appear once they reached the base.

The one-eyed middle-aged man remained silent all the way. Before long, they left the port and entered a forest.

From far away, Ruri sensed quite a few chakra signatures—twenty or thirty people in total, some strong and some weak. Most were Genin, with only one Jonin. There were also seventy or eighty extremely faint chakra signatures, probably samurai.

Ruri frowned. "Such a large operation, and still within the Land of Fire, yet Konoha has shown no reaction at all. This is unusual..."

Inside the forest, an old man approached them and said to the one-eyed middle-aged man, "Masanori, set off quickly. If we stay any longer, Konoha's spies may discover us!"

His chakra was extremely weak, and he carried no sword. He could not have been a samurai. This old man was probably just someone assigned to receive guests, so Ruri paid him no mind.

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

"A high-ranking samurai?" The old man found it hard to believe, but he knew the Black Market Exchange's reputation. Besides, he was only an ordinary person and could not make an accurate judgment, so he said nothing more.

The one-eyed middle-aged man nodded and turned to face Ruri and the two samurai. "First, let me introduce myself. My name is Fujiwara Masanori, a Chunin of the Fujiwara Clan." As he spoke, he cast a somewhat contemptuous glance at Shizuka and Mitsunosuke. In the age of ninja, most ninja looked down on samurai.

But... Ruri felt powerless to mock him. This Fujiwara Masanori was obviously a ninja who had switched over from being a samurai. The greatsword on his back was the best proof. The system had even evaluated him as someone whose growth had been limited by changing from samurai training to chakra cultivation; otherwise, he would unquestionably have been a high-ranking samurai...

"A high-ranking samurai? Let me, Fujiwara Masatsune, test your strength." Just as Ruri was inwardly mocking him, a figure flashed over. It was the ninja with Jonin-level chakra whom he had sensed earlier.

Yet Fujiwara Masatsune had clearly switched over from being a samurai as well. Like Fujiwara Masanori, he carried a greatsword on his back.

"Fire Style: Searing Migraine!" Masatsune seemed eager to display his ninjutsu prowess. He spat out a small fireball, which instantly expanded and ignited upon striking the ground, and flames surged toward Ruri!

Ruri remained calm and composed, not even drawing his sword, as though waiting for the flames to approach. But Mitsunosuke and Shizuka behind him revealed nervous expressions. Samurai were inherently at a disadvantage against ninjutsu. Unless they gained an opportunity for close combat, it was difficult to withstand ninjutsu. Even though Mitsunosuke was a high-ranking samurai, he could only evade before a B-rank Fire Style technique like this.

Watching Ruri stand completely still, Shizuka could not help complaining inwardly. If this guy couldn't even withstand such a test, they would definitely have to act. If Mitsunosuke revealed too much of his strength, it would interfere with their plan!