Crushing

"Teach? Hmph!" Nara Hisayo's face twisted with rage. He pulled several shuriken from his ninja pouch and hurled them at Shizuka, who was perched in the tree. The heart-stopping chakra he had just sensed made it clear that even if the three of them joined forces, they might not be a match for their opponent. Yet, the man still dared to treat them like teaching material—how could he endure such an insult?

Shizuka was momentarily stunned by the sudden barrage of shuriken, but she possessed the basic instincts of a samurai. She swung her blade with both hands, parrying the projectiles in quick succession.

"Shadow Bind Technique!" Shuriken were rarely used to kill directly; they were primarily meant to provide cover for an attack. At that moment, Nara Hisayo successfully extended the shadow of a flying shuriken to ensnare Ruri!

"Akiju, Heisaku, move!" Hisayo instinctively felt that something was wrong. How could someone so powerful be caught by the Shadow Bind Technique so easily?

"Super Multi-Size Technique!" Akiju didn't overthink it. His combat awareness wasn't great, and he was only responsible for following orders. Under the effects of the Super Multi-Size Technique, his body swelled into a small mountain. He then curled himself into a ball: "Super Human Bullet Tank!"

The ordinary Human Bullet Tank he had used earlier to clear out fodder could not compare to the Super Human Bullet Tank. While the latter was harder to steer, it covered a wider area and possessed far greater power; there was no need to worry about accuracy! It could easily crush boulders dozens of meters wide! Even for someone like Ruri, being crushed by a meat mountain of that size would be no laughing matter.

"Young lady, watch closely. When performing an Iaijutsu draw, grip the scabbard mouth, press with your pinky, brush against your left belt, pull your left elbow back fully, and then strike!" Despite being caught in the Shadow Possession Technique, Ruri was still able to speak.

"Tch, still running your mouth... Oh no!" Nara Hisayo had just intended to retort, but he felt a surge of immense chakra. The Shadow Possession Technique shattered instantly, unable to hold! The opponent's chakra reserves were practically cheating, but they were undeniably effective!

Ruri did not move his right hand; he drew his blade with his left. With a whoosh, he slashed out!

A wave of air surged forth, but Akichu Akiju seemed unaffected, continuing to roll toward Ruri!

"Sheathing the blade is also a crucial step. The scabbard should be at your side, kept roughly horizontal, and then you slide the blade in. This is the basic respect one shows an opponent. Of course, sometimes if you kill them outright, you can skip this step." Ruri still sheathed his blade with one hand, his eyes fixed ahead.

Shizuka had memorized Ruri's swordsmanship lesson, but she saw the high-speed, giant meat ball still rolling toward him, while Ruri stood motionless, as if frozen in fear!

"Lord Musashi!!" Shizuka screamed in alarm, though she had no idea if it would help.

The giant meat ball that Akichu Akiju had become stopped just as it was about to reach Ruri. His entire body rapidly shrank back to its original size, and he collapsed into unconsciousness. On his chest was a deep, bone-reaching saber wound.

Even while rolling at high speed, Ruri had struck a vital point with a single blow! Shizuka looked closely and realized that a trail of blood had already formed behind Akichu Akiju!

"Mind Transfer Technique!" Yamanaka Heisaku had sensed something was wrong the moment Akichu Akiju launched his attack. The opponent was too calm; he definitely had a backup plan. He had been waiting silently for an opportunity, and now, he had finally found it.

After defeating an enemy with a single strike, an opponent would inevitably feel a moment of pride. This was the moment of greatest vulnerability. He launched a sneak attack, using the Mind Transfer Technique to control the enemy, boasting an eighty percent success rate!

Ruri was hit, but he had allowed it intentionally. Do not forget that he held more than one consciousness within his body. Even the Seven-Tails, completely sealed by the Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals, was not something the will of a mere Yamanaka clan jonin could provoke!

"Get out!" Yamanaka Heisaku felt only the roar of an ancient beast. That mountain-like, sea-like consciousness instantly shattered his own, forcing his mind back into his body. He collapsed to the ground, unconscious!

He was lucky; the Seven-Tails was not a malevolent tailed beast. Had it been a creature like the Nine-Tails, a bundle of hateful chakra, Heisaku would likely have been reduced to a vegetable after using the Mind Transfer Technique.

"Retreat!" With two jonin already down and their fates unknown, Nara Hisayo saw the chunin in the rear being pushed back step by step by Mitsunosuke, Fujiwara Masanori, and the others. He finally made the decision to retreat.

Hisayo scooped up Heisaku and Akiju, one in each arm, and looked up to ask: "Who are you? Do you intend to make an enemy of our Takigakure?"

"Miyamoto Musashi, a samurai." Ruri watched Hisayo leave with a faint smile. He had his own agenda and had no intention of exerting himself here. This Nara Hisayo seemed quite capable; not only could he carry a Yamanaka ninja with one hand, but he could even hoist the fat man from the Akimichi clan.

"Miyamoto Musashi, is it? Kon... Takigakure will remember this!" With a few body-flicker movements, Nara Hisayo's silhouette vanished into the distant forest.

Even at a time like this, he didn't forget to smear Takigakure's name? Just how much resentment did Tobirama hold toward Takigakure to make his subordinates go to such lengths? With the Ino-Shika-Cho trio's signature techniques on display, only someone as ignorant as Mitsunosuke could fail to recognize them...

Fujiwara Masanori, his face covered in blood, arrived with Mitsunosuke. Masanori looked embarrassed; as a jonin, he had been unable to handle a group of chunin, and in the end, he had let every single one of them escape. Although part of it was due to Mitsunosuke holding back to exhaust the Fujiwara clansmen, his own performance as a jonin was undeniably lackluster.

"Why did you let them all go?" Fujiwara Masanori asked, his expression displeased. He had sensed the chakra eruption earlier and assumed the enemy jonin had killed Ruri. He hadn't expected Ruri to defeat them so easily, only to let them escape without making any attempt to stop them.

"My mission is to protect the goods the caravan is transporting. The lives of the enemies are of no concern to me." In front of Fujiwara Masanori, Ruri reverted to his unfathomable, cold persona.

"You...!" Masanori was momentarily speechless, but even in his anger, there was nothing he could do about Ruri.

"Senior Musashi, thank you for saving my life." Mitsunosuke performed a standard samurai bow. If Ruri hadn't intervened, he would surely be dead.

"Let's continue our journey." Ruri waved his hand. He had only intervened for his own purposes; Mitsunosuke and his group still had value.

Masanori, perhaps feeling frustrated, went to handle the scene without another word. The bodies of the lower-ranking samurai needed to be disposed of quickly; if there were pursuers, they could easily track them by the bloodstains.

With nothing better to do, Ruri took a whim and continued teaching Shizuka swordsmanship under the tree. Mitsunosuke watched from the side; swordsmanship of this caliber was beneficial to him as well.

"Lord Musashi..." Fujiwara Shizume walked up to Ruri, leaning on his cane. Mitsunosuke immediately pulled Shizuka to the side.

"Clan Leader Fujiwara, is something the matter?" Ruri asked indifferently. He had previously assumed Fujiwara Shizume would die in the sneak attack, but he had managed to escape unscathed. One had to remember that even Fujiwara Masanori, an elite chunin, had fallen in battle.

[Name: Fujiwara Shizume]
[Overall Strength: Jonin (High-Level Samurai)]
[Talent: Elite Jonin (High-Level Samurai)]
[Attribute: Wind]
[Special Ability: None]
[Evaluation: An old man who once embodied the samurai spirit. His later years were tarnished by the study of ninjutsu, which took a heavy toll on his body, yet his strength remains.]

Hm? This old man was quite adept at hiding! Ruri had instinctively used the system to scan his data, only to discover that Fujiwara Shizume was actually a high-level samurai. Previously, the old man's aura had always given him a weak impression, making him easy to overlook. He hadn't expected him to be hiding so much!

"That was a Konoha ninja just now, wasn't it?"