Don't Your Eyes Get Dry?

Before Ringo Ameyuri could finish speaking, Samehada was already coming down. How could things get more and more ridiculous?

Without chakra, just pure swordsmanship? That wasn't something a ninja—or even a samurai—could do. Even Mifune, the Admiral of the Land of Iron, couldn't manage it!

"Clang!"

Biwa Juzo drew Kubikiribōchō from his back and blocked Suikazan Fuguki's descending Samehada. Calmly, he said, "Let her continue.

"Although what she's saying is wildly implausible, it does fit with what she said earlier. I think there's at least some truth to it."

"Drip..."

Cold sweat dripped from Ringo Ameyuri's forehead onto the wooden floor. She was at her wits' end. Why wouldn't anyone believe her when she was telling the truth?

Did she have to make up ten elite jonin enemies or something?

"At the time, we reacted just like the two of you—unable to believe it. Someone had managed to do something like that without relying on chakra, using nothing but pure swordsmanship.

"Before we could even process what was happening, he attacked. His sword rose and fell, again and again, without him blinking once.

"After that, only three of us were left alive."

Recounting those memories was undoubtedly torture for Ringo Ameyuri. It was like tearing open her own wounds and showing them to strangers.

Kisame Hoshigaki, who had been standing in the corner like some underling, raised a hand and voiced his question. "If he went that long without blinking, wouldn't his eyes get dry?"

Ringo Ameyuri: ...

Was this really a question of whether he blinked?

I said he killed without blinking, and you're asking whether his eyes got dry?

At a loss, Ringo Ameyuri still explained, "Probably not. He killed the chūnin with a single strike each time.

"Even six or seven ninjas together couldn't hold him off for five seconds. It was just like the legendary White Fang of the Leaf."

Biwa Juzo and Suikazan Fuguki's expressions suddenly turned serious. Ringo Ameyuri's story was still absurd, but it held together.

And by bringing up Hatake Sakumo, the White Fang of the Leaf, she had reminded them of something.

There really were people capable of such a thing... At the very least, Hatake Sakumo, the late head of Konohagakure's Anbu, had been a master of the blade just like that.

He didn't need flashy techniques, or even much chakra. An ordinary-looking slash was enough to take a ninja's life.

Suikazan Fuguki glared at Kisame Hoshigaki, then finally seemed somewhat convinced. He turned and gestured for Ringo Ameyuri to continue.

"Then he badly wounded me and killed another ninja. Apart from him, only Captain Kaguya was still standing.

"Captain Kaguya felt the pressure too and used his Kekkei Genkai. Bones surged from the ground, turning into a forest and rushing toward that Himura Kenshin.

"He still held his sword in one hand. There wasn't the slightest trace of chakra, yet when he swung, thunder gathered in the sky.

"It transformed into a lightning phoenix. After destroying the entire bone forest, it killed Captain Kaguya.

"The whole thing took about half a minute."

A Kage Level fighter—he had to be a Kage Level fighter!

Suikazan Fuguki and Biwa Juzo exchanged a glance. They could tell what the other was thinking.

They had seen Kaguya Taiga's Dance of the Seedling Fern before. It was the Kaguya Clan's ultimate technique, used only when they were fighting for their lives, and it took a heavy toll.

Even they weren't sure they could withstand that move unscathed.

The room fell utterly silent. Wiping out a squad led by a Kekkei Genkai jonin in half a minute was a feat that had truly shaken them.

Perhaps Ringo Ameyuri hadn't sensed any chakra because the man had used very little of it—and controlled it with such mastery that she couldn't detect it.

The two leaders were already halfway convinced. There was just one last question.

Suikazan Fuguki scrutinized Ringo Ameyuri as she knelt on one knee. His sharp gaze made her uneasy as he asked, "If even Kaguya Taiga died on the mission, why were you the one who survived?

"Don't tell me you escaped while he wasn't looking. Against an opponent like that, even I couldn't get away."

"I asked him the same thing—why he spared me.

"He said that a master was lonely, and he hoped someone would challenge him in swordsmanship one day.

"He said I had a lot of talent, so he let me live."

As Ringo Ameyuri explained, the memory of Rasa's profile made her heart flutter again.

Maybe that really was how true masters thought. Ordinary people like her were too far beneath them to understand.

Suikazan Fuguki said nothing. It was certainly possible. Madara Uchiha had once spared Ōnoki, the Third Tsuchikage, while Hanzo the Salamander had spared the Sannin and Mifune at different times.

By now, an image had taken shape in everyone's minds: a swordsman from the Land of Iron, whose skill stood at the pinnacle of the Shinobi World, with a sense of justice but also a fondness for nurturing talent.

Suikazan Fuguki couldn't help feeling a headache coming on. There was a Kage Level fighter in the Land of Artisans who loved standing up for the weak and couldn't stand to see people ganging up on someone.

And they still had to finish their cleanup. If word got out and any loose ends remained, Yagura would have them drinking two glasses of Shenyang Good Juice for the sake of Kirigakure's reputation—even if he didn't kill them outright.

Suikazan Fuguki looked at Biwa Juzo, the other leader of the mission, and decided to dump the problem on him. "What do we do?

"Keep hunting them down, or head back to the village?"

Biwa Juzo refused to take the blame and passed it to everyone else. "Let's hear everyone's ideas. Think of a solution."

Everyone was at a loss. If they kept searching and hunting, they might run into that terrifying man. If they went back to the village, none of them would have a pleasant time.

After a long while, Ringo Ameyuri came up with an idea and suggested, "How about splitting up?

"He can't stand people violating the samurai's code, so we can search separately and work more efficiently. It'll just be a little more dangerous."

Biwa Juzo nodded. "Maybe this Himura Kenshin has other quirks too, but for now, it seems we have no other choice."

Clack, clack, went the wooden sandals.

A ghost—a red-haired ghost—wandered through the streets of the Land of Artisans.

The Electromagnetic Force spread out, forming a faint magnetic field. It wasn't strong enough to kill anyone, but it was more than enough to sense things.

"Based on the Electromagnetic Force I left behind, this should be the place."

Rasa glanced up at the inn's sign: Maple Forest Pavilion. I like that name. Then he stepped inside.

The ninja sitting behind the front desk on night duty saw Rasa enter and impatiently shooed him away like a fly. "Get out, get out. We've booked this entire inn."

He couldn't stand these wandering ninjas dressed like samurai. They were neither one thing nor the other.

"Shh..."

Rasa smiled and raised the index finger of his left hand to his lips, making a gesture for silence.

The ninja didn't understand. What was he playing at?

Since he couldn't sense any chakra, he wasn't especially wary.

Electromagnetic Force, move.

A dazzling flash of swordlight streaked by. A head fell to the ground, its eyes still wide open.

The clack of wooden sandals gradually faded into the distance.

Please show this newbie some love~

Please vote and add to your collection~

Anyway, I've set out my shabby bowl...