Carrying a Blade (Part 1)

"This presence feels a little familiar!" Yizhe quietly took two steps back.

The wind and snow gradually parted, revealing a samurai in blue robes standing in the middle of the field. He rested a hand on his sword without drawing it, looking down on everyone with an arrogant air.

"Kid, you were the one openly brawling in the street last night, weren't you? And now it's you again. Don't you know that fighting freely within the city is forbidden? You have no respect at all for the Land of Iron!" the blue-robed samurai shouted coldly.

"Lord Daidao, these people are the ones provoking the laws of the Land of Iron!" As though he had found someone to rely on, Miyamoto scrambled over to the blue-robed samurai and relentlessly pointed at Yizhe and the other two as he complained.

"His name is Daidao?" Yizhe silently committed the name to memory.

"Get lost!" Daidao, the blue-robed samurai, shot Miyamoto a cold glare before adding, "You were involved in this too! Once I have dealt with them, I'll settle accounts with you!"

Hearing that, Miyamoto could only turn and leave resentfully. He knew Daidao's temper better than anyone. The man was famous throughout the Land of Iron for being stubborn. If Miyamoto refused to listen, he would definitely suffer for it.

Before leaving, he did not forget to sneak several more glances at Tsunade's chest.

Once Miyamoto and his men had left, Daidao turned his attention back to Yizhe's group. With a cold face, he said arrogantly, "Will you surrender quietly, or do I have to take you down myself?"

"Sir, we..."

"We won't surrender!"

The instant Yizhe sensed Daidao's overwhelming presence, he knew he was no match for the man. Whether he resisted or not, the outcome would be the same, so he chose to settle things peacefully. That way, he might suffer a little less.

Surely a mere street brawl would not bring too severe a punishment!

However, just as he was about to try making peace, Tsunade's teasing voice sounded from behind him.

"You crazy woman! Are you trying to get me killed?!" Yizhe's head heated up, and he spun around to roar at Tsunade.

He had been holding back a bellyful of anger ever since breakfast, and now he finally could not contain it any longer.

"What? You actually dare..."

"Please calm down!" Shizune hurriedly grabbed hold of the furious Tsunade.

"Let go, let go of me! I'm going to beat him half to death!" Tsunade struggled and shouted.

After venting, Yizhe finally calmed down somewhat. Seeing Tsunade's furious expression, waves of fear rose in his heart.

Others might not know, but he had witnessed Jiraiya's miserable state firsthand!

"You need to have a reason if you want to hit me! It's not like I'm a masochist!" Yizhe's tone weakened considerably as he began to yield, hoping to quell Tsunade's anger.

Seeing that he had indirectly agreed, Tsunade's anger indeed subsided quite a bit. She said bitterly, "With me here, what are you afraid of!"

"As long as you still have one breath left, I won't let you die!"

"Besides, if you don't challenge the strong, how can you grow quickly? How will you protect us in the future?"

Listening to Tsunade's forced logic, Yizhe was completely speechless. Shouldn't Shizune and I be the ones needing protection?

Of course, he did not dare say that aloud.

"So, have you made your decision? Will you fight me and let me drag you back, or will you walk back with me and accept your punishment?" Daidao suddenly cut in.

He had watched the three of them argue from the side with great confidence, never taking the opportunity to attack. By now, he had grown impatient.

"Please enlighten me!" Because of Tsunade, Yizhe had no choice but to face him head-on.

He quickly composed himself and stared solemnly at Daidao, taking up a defensive stance and hoping only that he could last a few more exchanges.

Smack!

He only saw a blur before his eyes, and suddenly someone was standing in front of him. Daidao's scabbard had already struck his waist with a dull thud!

"Hiss—" He sucked in a sharp breath from the pain.

"What incredible speed!" Yizhe was shocked by Daidao's speed. He had only sensed a gust of wind before his waist was struck.

"No, I need to keep moving! I'm slower than him. There's no way I can hold my ground and defend!" He immediately judged the situation.

With that decided, he pushed off with his feet and used the Body Flicker Technique to break away, circling around Daidao as he ran.

Even though his reaction had been extremely fast, the instant he started moving, Daidao's scabbard struck him again.

"Useless! At your speed, there is no possibility of dodging my sword!" Daidao said coldly.

He slowly closed his eyes, not even intending to watch the youth circling him in preparation for an attack.

"You're too arrogant!" Daidao's disregard completely ignited Yizhe's anger.

The moment Daidao shut his eyes completely, Yizhe roared and launched an elbow strike at Daidao's back.

Smack!

Yizhe's heart sank halfway. The strike he had thought was certain to land had missed.

Daidao did not even turn around. He simply blocked the elbow strike behind his back with his scabbard.

"Hmph!" Yizhe snorted coldly, leaping backward once more to retreat before circling Daidao again.

"I told you, it's useless!" Daidao said calmly, his eyes still closed.

"Lady Tsunade, is this samurai really that strong?" Shizune asked worriedly from the side. She had also seen Yizhe's sneak attack fail.

"Not just strong. Extremely strong!" Tsunade stared fixedly at the battlefield and answered gravely.

Smack! Smack! ...

No matter how Yizhe tried to launch sneak attacks, he could not touch even a corner of Daidao's clothes. The samurai before him was far, far stronger than he was!

"I've played enough. It's time to end this!" Daidao said softly with his eyes closed.

"What!" Daidao's words made Yizhe's heart tighten.

An icy aura suddenly spread from Daidao's body. It was exactly the same aura as that of the samurai Yizhe had encountered that night!

Only then did he realize that Daidao was the samurai who had stopped him from pursuing someone that night!

And now, every subtle movement Daidao made while drawing his sword seemed to be clearly imprinted in Yizhe's eyes, while Yizhe himself felt as though his movements had stopped.

No! He suddenly realized that it was not that he had stopped moving, but that Daidao was simply too fast!

So fast that it gave him the illusion that he had frozen in place!

Draw!

Daidao's low voice exploded beside Yizhe's ear. They were clearly nearly ten feet apart, yet Yizhe felt as though Daidao were standing right next to him, so close that the distance seemed nonexistent!

Then, Yizhe saw a flash of light in Daidao's scabbard. No other color remained in his vision as that brilliant radiance completely filled it.

Bang!

An overwhelming force struck him while he was moving at high speed. Pain exploded in his chest, and he was sent flying!

"Cough, cough, cough!" Yizhe struggled to crawl out of the snow, coughing violently and gasping for air.

Daidao's fierce strike had nearly knocked the breath out of him!

"Are you all right?" Shizune jogged over and asked with concern.

"I'm fine. He had no killing intent. He used the back of the blade!" As he spoke, Yizhe pulled open his clothes.

Shizune could clearly see a red mark across Yizhe's chest.

"Big Sis Shizune, hurry and treat me. My breastbone hurts badly. I think the bone may be fractured!" he said through gritted teeth.

"Okay, I'll treat you right away!"

Shizune nodded, rolled up her sleeves, pressed both hands against Yizhe's chest, and gathered chakra as she prepared to begin treatment.

Mystical Palm Technique

Immediately afterward, Yizhe felt a warm, gentle energy flow into the injured area, and an indescribable sense of comfort swept over him.

His wound was healing!

"Princess Tsunade, won't you come down and offer me some guidance?" Daidao opened his eyes in the field and looked at her with fighting spirit burning in them. Then, he pretended to be disdainful as he said, "Or are you afraid to fight and planning to return with me to accept punishment?"

"From the very beginning, I was your target, wasn't I?"

Tsunade curled her lips into a smile and answered with great interest, no longer paying attention to Yizhe and Shizune at the side.

There's a plot twist coming in the next chapter, and it feels especially awful →→ Even I can barely stand it. The transition feels way too forced, but I can't think of a better turning point right now T_T It's so annoying. If I put it out there, I'm afraid it'll poison you all to death T_T I'll keep thinking and see how I can make it work →→