Samurai!?

Minato calmly instructed Feng Xun and the other, "They've already spotted us. To keep them from using the refugees as shields, we'll split up first."

Uchiha Ryu snorted coldly at that, silently accepting what Minato had just said.

"Xun, you and Ryu draw away the bandits coming to investigate. I'll deal with that one-eyed leader alone," Minato said again.

Uchiha Ryu raised no objections, but Feng Xun, whose eyes carried an icy chill, disagreed. "I think I can deal with the one-eyed man with the sword."

Hearing Feng Xun say that, Minato turned serious. "Xun, this isn't the time to mess around. I don't think that one-eyed bandit is simple. The fact that he blocked Ryu's ninja tools just now definitely can't be explained by luck."

"I know. But that's exactly why I chose him."

Seeing the determination in Feng Xun's eyes, Minato had no choice but to agree. "Then be careful. Once Ryu and I finish off these bandits, we'll come help you."

With that, Minato and Uchiha Ryu rushed out from the bushes together and fled in opposite directions.

"They're over there! Brothers, follow me!" When Kihara spotted Minato and the other, he waved his arm and immediately led the men behind him in pursuit.

Once only the refugees and the one-eyed man remained, Feng Xun felt a little excited.

The reason he hadn't acted with Uchiha Ryu wasn't because he disliked him, but because he had taken a liking to the one-eyed bandit's potential value.

When he had first shot the bandit dead and checked his points, he discovered that the man had only contributed 3 points. There were only a little over a hundred people present, which meant that even if he killed them all himself, he would only earn a little over three hundred points.

Yet that one-eyed man had blocked Uchiha Ryu's Shuriken while his katana had not even fully left its sheath. That meant he possessed at least the strength of an Elite Genin, or perhaps a Chunin.

The points a Chunin could contribute would undoubtedly be far greater than those bandits from before.

As for whether the man was hiding even greater strength, Feng Xun considered that highly unlikely. If the man possessed strength above that of a Jōnin, he should have been able to stop Feng Xun before the first bandit died. But he hadn't, which meant he probably wasn't that strong.

With that in mind, Feng Xun concealed his presence, pulled a Kunai from his ninja tool pouch, and swiftly closed in on his opponent.

The one-eyed samurai gripped his katana tightly and stared at the trembling refugees before him. Not the slightest emotional change could be seen in his eye, as though the creatures before him were not people like himself, but lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

Suddenly, the one-eyed samurai's ear twitched, and the katana in his grasp instantly left its sheath.

Clang!

The cold, sharp blade blocked the black shadow that had suddenly darted out from behind him.

He's highly alert!

Feng Xun did not hesitate after his failed strike. As he withdrew his Kunai, his right hand swiftly fired a handful of Shuriken at the man.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The one-eyed samurai quickly retreated while rapidly striking forward with his katana.

Under the moonlight, the cold blade gleamed like a venomous snake locked onto its prey. After swiftly clearing away the obstacles before it, it continued straight toward Feng Xun.

But just as the blade's tip touched Feng Xun's body, the blade

unexpectedly pierced straight through, as though the figure before him was not solid, but merely an illusion.

As the one-eyed samurai's heart jolted, a vicious gust suddenly struck from behind him.

Though the one-eyed samurai twisted his body at the last moment, Feng Xun's Kunai still stabbed into his right shoulder.

Clutching his injured shoulder, the one-eyed samurai swiftly pulled away from Feng Xun.

By the moonlight, the one-eyed samurai finally saw his attacker clearly.

"I never expected the one who wounded me to be a brat who looks less than ten years old." When the one-eyed samurai opened his mouth, his hoarse, low voice made Feng Xun nearly mistake him for a dead man.

"You're not bad either. I didn't expect to encounter a samurai with Chunin-level strength outside the Land of Iron," Feng Xun praised him.

"Heh, the Land of Iron? What a familiar name!" The one-eyed samurai paused. Seeing that Feng Xun had no intention of continuing his attack for the moment, he spoke again. "But you got one thing wrong. I'm no samurai now. The glory of a samurai has long ceased to exist within me. Now, I'm merely a bandit who treats a blade as a tool."

"Is that so?" Feng Xun shrugged, his expression entirely unmoved. The only reason he had patiently listened to the man speak was to use this time to signal the refugees to get away quickly, because he was about to unleash his ultimate move.

It had to be said that no one who had survived in this chaotic era until now was a fool.

When the refugees saw Feng Xun's hand signals behind his back, they immediately understood what to do.

The one-eyed samurai made no move to stop the refugees from slowly leaving. Right now, all he wanted was to figure out how to eliminate the opponent before him.

Taking a deep breath, the one-eyed samurai silently transferred the sword from his right hand to his left and said in a low voice, "Actually, I'm right-handed, but my strongest sword technique can only unleash its full power in my left hand."

Feng Xun had only three words for the man's rather pretentious speech: What a poser!

His right arm hanging at his side, the one-eyed samurai raised his left hand and pointed the blade at Feng Xun. "For this final strike, either you die or I do."

Heh, still posing!

As Feng Xun inwardly scoffed, he also lowered his stance, placing both hands at his waist in the shape of a flower bud. "Perfect. I was thinking the same thing."

Before his words had faded, bright light gradually began to shine from Feng Xun's hands.

As for the one-eyed samurai, there was no unusual phenomenon on his blade. Only the faintly trembling dead leaves on the ground revealed that he was not merely putting on a show.

"Ka-me... ha-me..."

"Secret Technique: Swallow..."

Just as the one-eyed samurai silently gathered his strength, the ball of light in Feng Xun's hands suddenly dimmed. Then, before the one-eyed samurai could react, Feng Xun abruptly rushed in front of him.

The Kunai hidden in his sleeve sliced across the man's throat in an instant.

A thin line of blood appeared on the one-eyed samurai's neck. His eyes widened as he stared at the cold-faced Feng Xun, before finally collapsing to the ground. He did not understand why Feng Xun had suddenly rushed right up to him.

"So, you say you're no longer a samurai, yet weren't you still obediently following Bushido?"

Looking at the one-eyed samurai, who had become nothing more than a corpse, Feng Xun sighed inwardly.

I'm a ninja! How could a ninja pursue a fair duel like a samurai? A ninja only needs to do whatever it takes.

Still, it was fortunate he hadn't been allowed to fully use that move. Otherwise, the one who lost might have been me.

Feng Xun lowered his head and glanced at the shallow sword wound on his chest, silently sighing.

My strength is still not enough!