The next day, Hanamizaka, Fujiwara Dojo.
Fujiwara and the bald Ronin sat facing each other on the floor. She had decided to kick him out today.
"Yamatarou, why don't you just leave the Fujiwara Dojo?"
"Huh? Why?"
The bald Ronin's expression changed. Had he been exposed?
"Sigh… It's just that you're really too old…" Fujiwara sighed.
"Look at your fellow disciples, they're only in their teens, even the oldest is barely nineteen. But you?"
"You told me you were almost thirty, but you're actually closer to forty, aren't you?"
"Putting Talents aside, your age alone is enough for you to be my father."
"The earlier one practices swordsmanship, the better. As for why, I think Yamatarou, you should understand. Your age really isn't suitable. I'll refund your tuition, please leave today."
After speaking, Fujiwara took out the Mora she had prepared the previous night and placed it in front of the bald Ronin.
"No, Master! Don't kick me out!" 'If he kicks me out, my boss will beat me into a pig's head!'
The bald Ronin's pleas attracted the attention of others, but it was just attention.
Tedious training always needed some diversion, and this gossip was quite good.
As for interceding for him? What a joke, were they close?
Besides, they also felt awkward. You're old enough to be a father, why are you here learning swordsmanship?
"I'm not kicking you out, it's just that you're really not suitable…"
"Forget it, more words are useless. If you can withstand three of my katana without defeat, you can stay here."
"If you lose, then please leave. The path of swordsmanship is not for you."
Fujiwara stood up, then picked up a wooden katana and threw it in front of the bald Ronin.
"This…"
The bald Ronin looked at the wooden katana in front of him, a hint of hesitation in his eyes. Could he really withstand three moves? Or should he just sneak away?
After thinking for a moment, he decided to give it a try. If his boss found out he had left so dejectedly without putting up any resistance, he would definitely be beaten into a pulp.
And what if he succeeded? At least he had learned a little of the Fujiwara Style these past few days.
Thinking this, the bald Ronin picked up the wooden katana and assumed a standard Chudan-no-Kamae stance.
"It seems you've made your choice. Be careful!"
As her words fell, Fujiwara darted forward, her wooden katana delivering a Kesagiri slash. The bald Ronin barely reacted, attempting to block with his katana, but the next moment, a wooden katana was already at his neck.
"What's going on?"
The bald Ronin was utterly bewildered. When did the other party's katana get to his neck?
His wooden katana was still firmly in his hand, and he hadn't felt any sensation of blocking.
It was as if… the other party's katana had passed right through his.
"Fujiwara Style: Shadow Cut. It's just a simple illusion."
Fujiwara retracted her wooden katana. This Shadow Cut could only be used to bully those weaker than herself.
It looked like it passed directly through the opponent's wooden katana to strike his neck, but in reality, it involved moving the wooden katana around the opponent's blade at an extremely high speed, creating the illusion of passing through.
At the same level, the opponent could completely react and strike back, so it could only be used to bully those weaker than oneself.
"Alright, as per our agreement, you should leave. Go find a job and live a good life."
Fujiwara waved her hand. Seeing this, the bald Ronin could only leave the dojo dejectedly.
'Sure enough, this was a wrong choice. My boss is also crazy, why does he have to fixate on this kid?'
A moment later, in a simple house in Hanamizaka…
"How was it? Was there a chance to make a move today?" The boss asked the bald man who had returned.
"Of course not! Two Menkyo Kaiden! And both are Vision holders, how could there be a chance?" The bald man's tone was unusually firm.
"Can't we just change targets? Do we have to keep an eye on that kid?"
"You make it sound so easy, 'finding a chance.' We're just a bunch of thugs. Running into two Menkyo Kaiden is a dead end!"
"Do you know how much pressure I've been under these past few days? Terrified of being exposed and getting slashed by those two!"
"And I suspect they've discovered something. Today, they kicked me out directly, using the excuse of being too old."
The boss frowned upon hearing this. This was going to be difficult…
"Alright, it seems we can only give up…"
"By the way, what did Ice Block say? Do they still need people?" The boss asked again.
"Boss, you know them. They can take as many people as we send them," a skinny man said.
"Then find a few more and send them over. We still need to eat next month!"
"No problem, same as usual?"
"Mm."
...
Mt. Yougou, Grand Narukami Shrine
"If you want to draw a fortune slip, take one yourself," Gentou Ringo said coldly.
The person who came was a slightly overweight man. After drawing a slip in a pretense, he placed the wooden slip he had prepared beforehand in front of Gentou Ringo.
"Takiyo Masanaka, Bad Luck."
After putting down the wooden slip, the man left, and Gentou Ringo, taking advantage of no one around paying attention, pulled out the paper from the slip's interlayer.
She had a mission.
'Disguise and infiltration… No wonder it's Bad Luck.'
Missions within the Anbu were naturally graded, and Bad Luck was a mission that carried some danger but wasn't life-threatening.
Gentou Ringo specialized in disguise and infiltration, so receiving an infiltration mission was not surprising.
Sometimes, it would even involve an assassination on the side. After all, if you've already infiltrated, why not poison someone and kill them!
As for missions marked as Great Bad Luck, those were decapitation assassinations, usually carried out by Jonin.
Small Good Luck was the simplest mission because there was no danger involved, such as delivering messages or investigating information.
Gentou Ringo lit the paper and threw it into the trash can, then headed to the Anbu's safe house.
She would "become" another person there, and "Gentou Ringo" would be replaced by someone else.
'A deeply hidden human trafficking organization. It seems waiting for them to come to me is a good option.'
She planned to be captured as "cargo." Undercover work was too time-consuming.
She remembered a senior who stayed within the Kamisato Clan's rival faction for three years, and then three more, and the family head only ordered a sweep when he had become an elder.
She didn't believe that such a large organization wouldn't have a single woman.
As long as the body shape wasn't too different, she could take her place.
'The clothes need to be old, to give the impression of being poor, and her face should be dirty. As for identity… A hapless person robbed by Ronin? Or a poor person attacked by monsters?'
'Hmm, I'll choose a poor person attacked by monsters. Ronin, after all, leave traces.'
'And my current name is…'
"Momoyo!"
In the safe house, Momoyo deliberately aged a brand new kimono, cut a few slits in it, and then rolled around on the floor a few times before putting on the outfit.
Her face and neck were smeared with some mud, as was her hair.
If an ordinary person were like this, they would probably have gone to bathe long ago.
But Momoyo was a ninja. Having undergone various trainings since childhood, she possessed extraordinary endurance. This level of discomfort was nothing to her.
However, the consequences of a female ninja being discovered were far worse than for a male, completely like something out of a hentai.
So, to prevent suffering more torment and humiliation, they would all prepare something to bite on in their mouths.
As soon as they confirmed there was no hope of escape, they would bite down on the object, thus committing suicide by poison.
"Hmm, everything is ready."
After re-disguising the safe house, Momoyo took a small boat and sailed towards Inazuma City.
...
Kamisato Estate
Shiki put down Bosacius's Adeptal Art [Yaksa's Gaze: Three Thousand]. She had just practiced it briefly.
Indeed, it was as she expected; the pattern formed by the Adeptal Art was related to her own elemental power.
So, next, she would delineate her own Adeptal Art on her own meridians map.
However…
"You didn't return to Seirai Island?" Shiki turned and asked.
"No rush, I plan to go back after Asase Shrine has been renovated," Hana Sanri shook his head.
Yesterday, she had already crafted the Catalyst, Hakuchen Ring, and replaced her body with a brand new one.
It has to be said, this one is the best; although it's also a four-star weapon, it's much more comfortable than Wavebreaker's Fin.
Shiki thought for a moment, "Then you'll have to wait a few more days."
"Given the efficiency of those workers, it'll probably be another three or four days, right?"
"Hehe, I already said I'm not in a hurry. A few days is nothing," Hana Sanri chuckled softly.
"Also, I have something to give you, Shogun."
"What?"
"It's… a spell? After changing Catalysts, I recalled some memories that were originally lost, including the method for the previous Shogun to condense a consciousness space."
"Are you referring to Plane of Euthymia?"
Shiki couldn't help but feel curious. Plane of Euthymia was boundless and could even pull people in, much like an innate barrier.
"Plane of Euthymia is just the name for the previous Shogun's sister's consciousness space. What it's called is entirely up to you to decide."
"This was something the three of us researched together a long time ago, no… I only contributed a small part."
"Originally, I didn't have this memory, but now that I've recovered it, I think I should give it to you."
Hana Sanri was formed from a combination of Kitsune Saiguu's partial memories and Hana Sanri's memories; she didn't possess all of Kitsune Saiguu's memories.
However, when she moved into the Hakuchen Ring that Kitsune Saiguu used in her lifetime, she remembered many things.
It was somewhat like seeing something that triggered a memory; though not much, it was useful.
Hana Sanri placed a golden magatama into the girl's hand.
"I refined this last night from a prototype scrap. It can guide you to awaken your own 'Pure Land'."
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