Samurai in Hokage (Part 2)

Watching the ninja and the samurai battle, Ye Wuji finally understood the difference between them. It was not about the scale of their power or martial arts, but their attitude toward combat. For a samurai, a fair and square duel was what they pursued; that was why the samurai named Ken had moved away from the carriage to confront the ninjas directly.

For these ninjas, however, as long as they could eliminate the enemy and complete the mission, they cared nothing for the means. That was why they had launched attacks on the carriage while fighting Ken. Regardless of good or evil, purely from a tactical standpoint, the ninjas' choice was correct, and their methods were effective—at the very least, it had successfully distracted Ken.

If they were ninjas themselves, Ken should have prioritized protecting the carriage and its occupants, followed by wounding the enemy, and only then rescuing Ye Wuji, the woman, and the child. Yet, Ken had moved away from the carriage the moment he stepped out, even though his attitude clearly showed he cared deeply about it.

It seems I am clearly better suited to be a samurai, Ye Wuji thought to himself. I didn't even anticipate they would attack the carriage; I thought they would deal with Ken first and then the people inside. It seems this Shan Yi is truly worthy of being an elite Jonin of Iwagakure. Just his ability to seize an opportunity is excellent.

At this moment, Ken was in danger. Shan Yi had already reached his rear. If Ken tried to return to the carriage, he would certainly be struck by Shan Yi's fist. Judging by the ninjutsu Shan Yi was using—the Earth Release: Super Lightweight Rock Technique—if that punch landed, it would likely be fatal. This was reality, not the Naruto World animation where it was difficult for anyone to die.

Sure enough, just as Shan Yi's fist was about to strike, Ken turned rapidly and blocked the blow with his katana. "Bang," followed by a "crack." Two distinct sounds rang out.

The "bang" was the sound of the fist colliding with the blade, while the "crack" was the sound of Ken's katana beginning to fracture.

Ken was sent flying more than ten meters back. He barely managed to keep from falling by stabbing his katana into the ground to halt his momentum. By the time he stopped, a third of the blade had shattered.

"What immense strength," Ken remarked, staring at his sword.

Ye Wuji was shocked by the sight. That strength was simply too great. If nothing else, the katana was made of steel, yet it was ruined in a single blow. The marks on the blade showed it was caused by pure physical force. He never imagined the Earth Release: Super Lightweight Rock Technique could have such terrifying power.

As for Shan Yi, he stood there, his right hand—which had collided with the sword—shedding bits of rock, yet his hand remained completely unscathed. This was the Earth Release: Super Lightweight Rock Technique; Ye Wuji remembered the Third Tsuchikage loved using this move.

Indeed, ninjutsu in reality was completely different from what Ye Wuji had seen in the animation. With such power, it was no wonder ninjas could dominate this world.

Watching Ken panting heavily, it was clear that although Shan Yi's blow hadn't landed directly, Ken had still been injured and would be unable to fight for a while.

Only then did Ye Wuji remember the attacks launched at the carriage. The people inside were in danger. He hurriedly turned his head, but what he saw was a carriage where nothing had happened. The fireball had simply vanished, and there were no traces of shuriken or kunai on the carriage.

Following Ye Wuji's gaze, he noticed some shuriken and kunai marks on the ground around the carriage. Someone else might not have understood the situation, but having watched so much anime, Ye Wuji immediately realized what had happened. Although he didn't know how it was done, it was clear there was a powerful expert inside the carriage—a very powerful one.

Is this a stroke of luck, or the protagonist's treatment? Ye Wuji thought. I didn't expect to run into an expert so easily. Even if I don't know if they can beat that Jonin Shan Yi, it looks like I might actually survive today.

Just as Ye Wuji was lost in these thoughts, the front flap of the carriage opened. A man who looked to be in his thirties, extremely handsome with long blue hair and dressed in white samurai robes, stepped out holding a sheathed sword.

"My apologies, Young Master, for disturbing you." While others said nothing, Ken began to apologize. However, after apologizing, Ken began to rest, clearly feeling completely at ease with his Young Master present.

"Another one here to die?" Shan Yi looked at the man who had emerged without speaking, but he gestured for Tanaka and the others to advance.

Tanaka signaled his subordinates to attack while drawing a kunai himself, looking for an opportunity to strike.

The ninjas no longer bothered with shuriken, realizing they were useless. All six charged with kunai in hand, attacking from six different directions. As they reached the man, Tanaka also moved, launching an attack from behind.

The man watched the people rushing at him from all sides and smiled faintly. His right hand gripped the sword hilt, his left the scabbard, as if he didn't take the attackers seriously at all.

"Swallow Six-Strike Sword Technique," he whispered. He took a single step forward, and a series of afterimages trailed behind him. By the time the afterimages vanished, the man stood in a different position, yet he appeared as if he hadn't moved at all, maintaining the same posture.

The six ninjas—no, seven, including Tanaka—stood motionless behind him. A moment later, they all collapsed. Looking at the seven fallen ninjas, each had a single wound on their neck. In an instant, this man had killed all seven, and with the exact same wound in the exact same spot.

Ye Wuji was stunned. He had thought the man was strong, but not this strong. Shan Yi was clearly startled as well. The man began walking toward him.

As the man approached, Shan Yi launched an attack. He threw several shuriken, then leaped back. "Earth Release: Earth Rising Spear!" As he spoke, several sharp stone pillars erupted from the ground beneath the man, thrusting toward him.

Unfortunately, before the pillars could pierce him, the man severed them all with his sword. His blade was incredibly fast; he cut each pillar as it emerged. Though the time was short, the man had swung his sword over a dozen times.

Seeing his ninjutsu was useless, Shan Yi abandoned it and charged. "Clang, clang, clang!" The two clashed over a dozen times. It looked like a stalemate, but from their expressions, the white-clad samurai had the upper hand, as he even had time to sheath his sword between strikes.

Shan Yi seemed desperate now. He threw his kunai and charged empty-handed. The samurai dodged the kunai, and his sword met Shan Yi's fist. The expected outcome of someone being sent flying didn't happen; it was an even match. No, as Shan Yi hesitated, the man's sword thrust directly at him. Shan Yi was clearly shocked that the samurai's strength could rival his own while using the Earth Release: Super Lightweight Rock Technique, and he was caught off guard.

As the sword sheathed, Shan Yi appeared uninjured. "Haha!" Shan Yi laughed loudly. "You are quite strong, but you still can't break my hardening technique. Now, watch this!" As he laughed, he prepared to attack again, only to realize he had been sliced in two. He hadn't even felt it.

"What a fast sword," Shan Yi said, looking at his own wounds.

"Father is amazing!" The girl's voice rang out again. Ye Wuji looked toward the sound and saw the fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl stepping off the carriage, seemingly coming down because she saw her father had won.

The moment her foot touched the ground, a voice sounded: "Earth Release: Subterranean Voyage Technique." A hand reached out from the ground, grabbing toward the girl's foot.

"Swish!" A flash of light passed. The white-clad samurai was already standing beside the girl. The Shan Yi who had been cut in two was now a pile of dirt and rock, and the severed hand was also rapidly turning into earth. They were all clones.

"Truly impressive. I've never encountered such a powerful samurai. Today has been an eye-opener." About ten meters away, a figure slowly emerged from the ground—it was the real Shan Yi.

As Shan Yi stood on the ground, he looked around, his gaze drifting over the fallen ninja corpses. "I didn't expect to be so unlucky today, running into someone like you. I suppose it's my bad luck. I'll leave this to you; I'm leaving." Shan Yi saw that the situation was untenable; he had no confidence in winning if he kept fighting. He wanted to retreat, but he was unwilling to leave without saying a few parting words.

"You think you can just leave? Don't you think that's a bit too easy?" the white-clad samurai said.

"Then what do you want? If I really want to leave, do you think you can stop me?" Shan Yi suppressed his rage. He had lost his subordinates, and he was furious, especially over Tanaka, who had the level of a Special Jonin—such rogue ninjas were hard to find. The other six were Chunin or Genin, whom he didn't care much about.

Shan Yi had originally wanted to capture the girl as a hostage, but he had failed. He hadn't succeeded when catching them off guard; now that they were prepared, it was impossible. As for Ye Wuji, the young woman, and the child, Shan Yi had simply given up on them.

The opponent was a samurai; taking hostages was effective. But taking random people would at most force the man to stop. Shan Yi was confident in his ability to escape; taking hostages now would only be a burden.

"I don't want anything. You killed so many people. If I hadn't run into it, fine, but since I did, it's your bad luck," the samurai said.

"Hmph, then come and get me!" Shan Yi didn't seem to care about the threat and turned to leave.

"Secret Technique: Swallow Return." The samurai launched his attack. Several sword lights surrounded Shan Yi. As the light passed, only a few severed logs remained—a "Substitution Technique." The samurai's face turned pale, as if the move had consumed a great deal of his energy.

Not far away, Shan Yi appeared on a tree, shouting angrily, "I will avenge today's events!" He turned to leave, but before he could move, he fell from the tree.

From Ye Wuji's perspective, Shan Yi's body began to spray blood; he had died just like that. What a terrifying guy. Ye Wuji had never seen anyone kill someone who used the Substitution Technique. He hadn't expected to see it here, and by a samurai, not a ninja. If they were all this strong, how were ninjas supposed to survive? The Substitution Technique, which Ye Wuji considered a life-saving skill, had been useless.

Later, Ye Wuji learned that it wasn't that the Substitution Technique was useless, but that the "Swallow Return" secret technique countered it. Very few people in the entire Naruto World knew this skill. The best way to deal with Swallow Return was to block or counter-attack; once you tried to run, that was when your luck ran out.

The so-called Swallow Return was created by a master samurai watching swallows. Swallows could withstand wind pressure to dodge a blade, regardless of speed. No matter the sword, it couldn't be swung without vibrating the air. They sensed that vibration and changed direction. Thus, no single strike could hit a swallow. A sword was merely a line; it made sense that it couldn't catch a swallow darting through the air.

"So, you just have to block its retreat. One strike attacks the swallow, the other seals its retreat from the wind pressure. But they are agile; a long sword can't keep up with a second strike. To succeed, both strikes must be performed almost simultaneously. If they are truly simultaneous, both would be too slow. Therefore, there must be a third strike to block the side retreat."

The Substitution Technique was a ninjutsu used when attacked. To leave a substitute and escape, there had to be a gap. Swallow Return blocked that gap. That was why Shan Yi hadn't escaped despite using the technique.

Watching Shan Yi fall, the man looked at the scene and said to Ken, who seemed to have recovered, "Uncle Ken, please take care of this."

"What about the others?" Ken asked, referring to the three survivors.

"Take them with us for now. We'll see later; we can't just leave them here," the samurai said.