Daidao (Part 2)

"Hahaha! As expected, I couldn't hide it from you!" Daidao sheathed his sword, looking relieved.

"This is merely a fight between children at the genin level. Why would a powerful samurai like you need to step in?" Tsunade shook her head and continued, "Besides me, there probably isn't anyone else here worthy enough to be your opponent!"

"I'm curious—do you even know who I am, daring to fight me?" Tsunade brushed back the blond hair at her temple, looking utterly unconcerned.

"How could I not recognize one of the legendary Sannin? If Lord Mifune hadn't stopped me, I would have come to challenge you long ago!" Daidao said fearlessly, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit.

"Then why aren't you listening to Mifune's advice now?" Tsunade shifted a few steps to maintain the distance between them and asked casually.

"That's because..."

Before he could finish, Daidao suddenly stepped forward and slashed down at Tsunade.

Fortunately, Tsunade had already been on guard. She lightly twisted aside and dodged the blow. Then she slapped the blade with her palm, and her tremendous strength nearly knocked Daidao's sword from his hand.

"That's because you openly brawled in the streets. As a law-enforcing samurai, it is only proper for me to come and punish you!" Borrowing Tsunade's force, Daidao retreated several steps and continued explaining.

"Oh? In other words, even without this incident, you would have found an excuse to fight me?" A look of understanding appeared on Tsunade's pretty face.

Heaven-Guarding Kick

Tsunade suddenly stomped down, shattering the terrain within several meters. The once-flat ground instantly crumbled and split apart, making it difficult to find solid footing.

Yizhe estimated that she had held back her strength. Otherwise, its power would not have been limited to this.

"Ha!"

Daidao shouted and swung his sword, forcibly shaving the uneven terrain flat!

"What a nuisance!" Tsunade raised her brows, seemingly dissatisfied with the result of her attack.

"Again!"

Daidao raised his sword and swung it fiercely at Tsunade from afar. Three streaks of sword energy condensed out of thin air and slashed toward her.

"Annoying." Tsunade was getting impatient.

She gathered her strength and punched the ground. Huge chunks of earth and rock, mixed with snowflakes, were blasted up from underground by her overwhelming force, forming a temporary earthen barrier that blocked Daidao's three slashes of sword energy.

Tsunade's monstrous strength made Daidao abandon any thought of launching another close-range surprise attack.

Likewise, Daidao's incredibly fast sword-drawing speed made Tsunade somewhat wary.

Although ninja also used weapons and engaged in close-quarters taijutsu, they naturally paled in comparison to elite samurai in that regard.

Moreover, this was Tsunade's first time fighting such a high-level samurai, so she could not think of a better response for the moment.

Though she possessed regenerative power and was not afraid of injury, it would still permanently drain her body. This was only a sparring match; there was no need for her to use such a forbidden technique.

"How about we settle this with one move?" With neither side able to gain the upper hand, Daidao finally suggested ending things quickly.

Once word of his fight with Tsunade reached Mifune's ears, he would certainly be stopped.

"Fine!" This suggestion happened to match Tsunade's own thoughts, so she agreed readily.

Daidao returned his sword to its sheath, placed his hand on the hilt at his waist, and stared intently at Tsunade as he gathered momentum, like a tiger preparing to hunt.

Through the Byakugan, Yizhe clearly saw a large amount of chakra gathering in Daidao's right hand.

Tsunade appeared much more relaxed. She was nowhere near as tense as Daidao, merely remaining cautiously alert.

"Slash!"

With Daidao's shout, Yizhe could not see how he had drawn his sword at all. He only saw a silver radiance seem to emerge from Daidao's scabbard, nearly thirty feet long, shooting straight toward Tsunade.

That must be Iaijutsu! It was truly terrifying! Remembering that he had previously fought someone this powerful, Yizhe felt chills run down his back.

"Hmph!"

Tsunade made no unnecessary movements. She simply snorted coldly, gathered all her strength, and punched the ground.

This time, she seemed to have unleashed part of her power. Within dozens of meters, the ground was smashed apart by her monstrous strength. Earth and rocks collapsed, and the ground shook as though an earthquake had struck.

That streak of silver radiance was directly blocked by the earth and rocks Tsunade had blasted into the air, vanishing without a trace.

Only after the dust and rocks settled did Yizhe find Daidao amid the rubble.

Daidao no longer had the high spirits he had shown at the start. Tsunade's overwhelming strength had injured him, and he lay miserably amid the snow-speckled rubble.

"Are you convinced now?" Tsunade slowly walked to Daidao's side and asked softly.

"I have no choice but to be convinced! The Sannin truly live up to their reputation!" Daidao shook his head with a bitter smile.

"I've practiced swordsmanship for so many years. I thought I had already reached the pinnacle of the sword, yet before you, I was still utterly powerless!"

"Are ninja really this strong? Or have samurai truly declined?" Daidao murmured to himself, deeply dejected.

Since childhood, he had diligently trained in swordsmanship in the hope that one day he could revive the samurai line and prevent samurai from fading into history and becoming a thing of the past.

But today, before Tsunade, his dream had been mercilessly shattered.

Their duel could be called a clash between a peak samurai and a peak ninja, yet the samurai had been so utterly helpless before the ninja.

He suddenly understood somewhat why ninja had risen while samurai had gradually disappeared.

Hearing Daidao's heartfelt words, Tsunade understood that he was not simply a battle-hungry man who wanted to challenge her.

The fittest survived, while the unfit were eliminated. That was the law of nature.

The replacement of samurai by ninja was the result of time's test. She did not know how to comfort this pure-hearted swordsman.

"Such are the times, such is fate!"

Daidao struggled to his feet, refused Tsunade's treatment, and sat blankly on the ground leaning on his sword, without moving.

Looking at this desolate samurai, like a broken sword, Yizhe felt it was such a pity. A man like this should not be destroyed here.

He did not dislike swordsmen. If anything, he felt a great fondness for such pure-hearted swordsmen.

Perhaps it came from the admiration he had carried over from his previous life.

Back then, he had read many wuxia novels and had once yearned for a life roaming the martial world with a sword at his side. Unfortunately, that had ultimately been nothing but a fantasy.

After being reborn into this world, he had learned of the two professions of ninja and samurai.

Originally, he had planned to fulfill the dream of his previous life and become a true swordsman.

But the reality that samurai had already been eliminated by ninja completely extinguished that thought.

The elimination of samurai showed that the profession inevitably had its limitations. Yizhe could not go against the prevailing tide and choose such a declining profession.

Besides, how could the prestigious Hyuga Clan of the Ninja World, along with his parents, allow such a rebel to appear?

So once again, he had no connection with swordsmen.

Until today, when he saw a living swordsman like this, the swordsman's heart within him began to stir once more.

It was as if he saw his former dream continuing through this man.

He felt that he should do something!

He could not let this living swordsman fall into complete despair!

He could not let this swordsman waste away like this!

I spent more than an hour revising the ending of this chapter. It finally doesn't seem quite so awkward anymore T_T. In the next chapter, the transition won't be so abrupt either O(≧?≦)O

I'll keep revising tonight T_T

I'm seriously exhausted. I really want to... (you guess →_→)