Miyamoto Musashi

"Searing Migraine? Kakuzu uses that technique often, though his is far more powerful." Ruri muttered to himself, focusing his mind slightly.

"There is no inherent superiority between ninjas and samurai! Since ninjas can utilize sword techniques, samurai can naturally utilize chakra; there is no conflict between the two, only a difference in conviction!" Ruri had originally looked down on samurai, but after learning from the system that the strike he used to freeze the waterfall with natural energy required a massive amount of chakra, he realized that a samurai could achieve the same feat through the sheer conviction of Bushido without chakra. This greatly altered his perspective, even sparking an idea to popularize sword techniques in Takigakure. The samurai were not obsolete; it was simply that the samurai who truly embodied the spirit of Bushido had yet to be born. Perhaps when that time came, the samurai would regain their former glory.

"Iaijutsu!" With another flash of Iaijutsu, Ruri drew his blade with his left hand. This time, he focused on speed—a speed so great that to an outsider, it appeared as if he hadn't moved at all.

"So fast!" Mitsunosuke, standing to the side, barely managed to track the speed of the strike, but it took him a long time to react, let alone anyone else. Fujiwara Masatsune assumed Ruri had been too terrified to move.

"Ha! So what if you're a high-ranking samurai? In the face of ninjutsu, you're too scared to even move!" The sliver of respect Fujiwara Masanori had held for Ruri vanished without a trace. He felt that although he was currently only an elite chunin, with his powerful ninjutsu, he might even be able to defeat a high-ranking samurai!

"That's not right..." As the one who cast the technique, Fujiwara Masatsune sensed something was wrong immediately. In his plan, the flames of Searing Migraine should have burned away Ruri's robes to reveal his true identity, yet the fire had stopped right in front of his opponent, motionless!

Perhaps sensing the doubt in Fujiwara Masatsune's heart, the flames provided an answer the next moment. The fire, which had been spreading for several meters, simply extinguished, followed by a surging wave of sword intent.

"How is it, Master Masatsune? How does a high-ranking samurai feel to you?" Ruri said indifferently. This strike had consumed only a tenth of his chakra; he reckoned those so-called generals in the Land of Iron could likely do the same.

"This... may I ask your name, sir?" Being able to extinguish a Fire Style technique with a sword strike—no matter how much Fujiwara Masatsune looked down on samurai, he had to show proper respect.

"Huh?" Ruri paused, only then realizing he hadn't given his name. That seemed quite contrary to the spirit of Bushido, so he blurted out, "Miyamoto Musashi."

"Senior Musashi, we shall depart now. Do you require a carriage?" Masatsune asked respectfully. As for the name, someone like him who had long abandoned the code of Bushido didn't care; he assumed the man simply didn't want to reveal his identity since he had accepted the mission from the Black Market Exchange.

"He..." Shizuka started to say something, but Mitsunosuke blocked her behind him.

As a high-ranking samurai, Mitsunosuke understood the terror of that strike better than anyone. Setting aside raw strength, one had to cultivate their sword intent to a certain realm to execute such a move. While such a person might disrupt their plans, it was best not to provoke them if they didn't have to become enemies.

"What's wrong, little brother? This is Niten Ichi-ryu. Want to learn about it?" Ruri heard Shizuka's voice, turned around, and whispered, emphasizing the words "little brother."

"I want to..." For some reason, Shizuka answered instinctively. In her heart, she felt that only such a sword technique could serve as the capital for her revenge.

"If you want to learn, you'll have to pay the price of a lifetime~" After leaving those words behind, Ruri followed Fujiwara Masatsune into the forest. Although he didn't know the specifics of their plan, Seimei was certainly not someone the two of them could defeat with their current strength.

"A high-ranking samurai? Masatsune must have challenged you, right? My apologies, that has always been his temperament..." An elderly man with white hair, leaning on a cane, spoke to Ruri in the woods. He was the true decision-maker, the head of the Fujiwara Clan, Fujiwara Shizume.

"Then, I leave it to you, Master Musashi, as well as Mitsunosuke and Shizuka. Beyond the bounty from the Black Market Exchange, I will pay three hundred thousand ryo out of my own pocket. I hope you will all give your best in the coming operation as a token of my sincerity." A smile appeared on Fujiwara Shizume's withered face as he pulled out a cloth bundle and handed it to the three of them.

Ruri frowned, but he didn't reveal any flaws. Three hundred thousand ryo was no small sum. The total reward for this mission was only three million; split between three people, that was one million each. Taking the bundle, he realized this caravan was likely not as simple as it seemed.

He had founded the Black Market Exchange. Over the years, even as his control had waned, the initial rules remained unchanged: aside from the mission bounty, the Black Market Exchange strictly prohibited private transactions between clients and executors. Once discovered, such cases would be met with permanent pursuit by the Black Market Exchange.

Unless this group was confident they could silence them after the mission was complete—which seemed unlikely after Ruri had revealed a glimpse of his strength—the only remaining explanation was that this mission was extremely dangerous, a nine-death-one-life scenario. They didn't believe Ruri and the others would survive, and the money was merely to ensure they gave their all.

After a brief conversation and introduction, the caravan set off. According to them, the caravan was transporting highly valuable cargo, and since some information might have leaked, powerful ninjas would likely come to plunder it.

These words were, of course, unbelievable. He didn't think there was anything that required posting a mission on the Black Market Exchange. The Exchange dealt in shady business; practically no merchant caravan would seek guards there. Those who accepted such missions were mostly vicious criminals. What if these rogue ninjas or bandits suddenly decided to seize the goods and run? They didn't care about their reputation, and even if the Black Market Exchange wanted to intervene, it couldn't manage such things.

"But they are indeed transporting something. What on earth could it be that requires such secrecy?" Ruri muttered to himself. The Fujiwara Clan seemed to be an obscure hermit family; he couldn't make heads or tails of it.

"That's it!" At that moment, Ruri overheard Shizuka and Mitsunosuke whispering.

"Young Mistress, are you sure?" Mitsunosuke looked in the direction Shizuka was staring. It was just a wooden box placed on the carriage. If it really were that thing, how could it be left out so openly?

"That's right, that's the item! The Fujiwara Clan anticipated that someone would come to rob us along the way, so they placed it out in the open to make others overlook it. But I am different; the secret archives at home have records of this wooden box. I have seen it before!" Shizuka said with certainty, her eyes locked on the box.

"Tell me, what exactly is that thing? If you keep staring at it like that, you're going to be discovered, you know?!" Ruri appeared in front of Shizuka out of nowhere, his voice sounding sinister.

"Ah! You!" Shizuka seemed terrified. Mitsunosuke gripped the hilt of his sword; if Ruri showed any intention of exposing their conversation, he would attack even if it meant his death. The secret must not leak!