11: Urakawa Town
"Where are you looking, brat!"
Seeing Masahiro dare to be distracted while facing him, the man opposite sped up his Ninja Blade slashes. The fierce wind from the blade enveloped all of Masahiro's possible retreat paths.
"Just die already!" Murderous intent flashed violently in his narrow eyes. "This is payback for the exploding tag!"
"Huh?! A Substitution?"
He watched the brat in front of him get sliced into several pieces, but the feeling in his hand told him something was wrong.
"Fierce Wind Palm!"
The man whipped his head around, only to see Masahiro rapidly forming hand seals. In the blink of an eye, the Ninjutsu took shape, and ferocious Chakra surged toward him.
"Such fast hand seals."
Could a level four Fierce Wind Palm be slow? Looking at the man's astonished eyes, Masahiro returned a provocative expression.
Bang!
After being hit by the Ninjutsu, the man who should have been torn apart by the fierce wind instead exploded into a puff of smoke.
At the same time, a chill swept over Masahiro, starting from the crown of his head. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, stimulated by the chilling murderous intent.
"Playtime is over!"
Clang—
The slash that should have decapitated Masahiro was blocked by a Kunai.
"Takashi?!"
The unlucky guy who had taken massive damage from the exploding tag had already been dealt with by Takashi.
"Why are you standing there? Come help!"
"Coming!" Masahiro, having narrowly escaped death, quickly adjusted his mindset. Three Kunai shot out, aimed directly at the enemy's heart, brow, and groin.
He saw that the brat who had killed his comrade was struggling, but facing the precise Kunai attacks from the other brat, the man had no choice but to abandon his offense and go on the defensive.
Strike while the iron is hot!
"Water Release: Water Bullet!"
A dense barrage of Water Bullets slammed toward the man.
Damn this brat, his hand seals are so fast! The man frantically dodged the attacks, moving left and right. Before he could regain his footing, he was greeted by two Kunai shot by Takashi, blocking his upper and lower escape routes.
With no time to think, the man used a Substitution to create distance. But before he could even sigh in relief, he heard Masahiro's faint voice coming from behind him: "Water Release: Water Prison Technique."
What?
A cold, wet surge of Chakra quickly engulfed the man.
Before losing consciousness, the man only saw the brat named Takashi stabbing him with his comrade's Ninja Blade.
"Thanks for that." Masahiro patted his chest, still feeling the lingering fear.
"I'm glad you're fine." Takashi nodded slightly. "Hurry up and go support Zensuke and the others."
There was no need to elaborate on the subsequent fight. In a four-on-one situation, the enemy couldn't hold up, even if he hadn't already been injured.
"Yoshizawa-senpai, you truly have a cruel heart." After dealing with the last enemy, Masahiro grumbled discontentedly toward Yoshizawa's hiding spot: "I almost died just now, and you just stood there without making a move, didn't you?"
"What? Boss, are you okay?" Seeing Zensuke anxiously checking him for injuries, Masahiro waved his hand, indicating he was fine.
"I was already preparing to intervene," Yoshizawa said, flashing over using the Body Flicker Technique. "But when I saw Takashi go to support you, I held back."
"In the fight just now, Retsu and Zensuke cooperated well, and your fundamentals are solid."
Yoshizawa began instructing the group based on the recent battle: "However, you weren't ruthless enough. There were two opportunities where you could have ended the fight early, but you missed them due to your indecisiveness."
Hearing this, the two lowered their heads in shame.
"Takashi performed very well. Although your opponent was heavily injured, it's clear that every move you made was carefully thought out, and your attacks were quick, accurate, and decisive."
Then Yoshizawa looked at Masahiro: "As for you, your hand seal speed is very fast, you grasped the timing of your Ninjutsu release well, and your handling of emergency situations was excellent. But—"
"You know this, don't you!"
Yoshizawa stared into Masahiro's eyes, speaking slowly and deliberately: "The execution of your techniques just now was excellent, but the killing between Ninja is not like sparring in the Clan Academy. If you don't fight with the resolve that one of you must die, you will face the risk of death, just like you did moments ago!"
"Yes, I know, Senpai." Masahiro lowered his head. Yoshizawa hadn't said a single wrong thing.
"Boss—" Zensuke wanted to step forward and offer some comfort.
Takashi pulled Zensuke back and shook his head slightly. "He needs some time to review the fight now."
"Oh my, why so serious?"
Hearing the noise outside gradually fade until everything was quiet, Fujiwara finally dared to pull back the curtain and check the situation outside.
Seeing that the enemies had been dealt with, Fujiwara immediately jumped off the carriage, energized, and approached the group. Masahiro had essentially saved his life just now, and his view of the Hagoromo Clan Ninja had improved significantly.
Sensing the somewhat tense atmosphere among them, Fujiwara asked with a smile, "What's wrong?"
"Thank you very much for the assistance, young Ninja. If it weren't for you, my wife and I would have lost our lives here today."
Seeing the client approach, Yoshizawa stopped his lecture: "You're welcome, Mr. Fujiwara. It is our duty."
"Regardless, I must show my gratitude for saving our lives. Otherwise, what would the people of Urakawa Town think of me, Fujiwara?"
Fujiwara pondered for a moment: "How about this: I shouldn't keep you resting as you have urgent matters. When we arrive at Urakawa Town tomorrow, feel free to take anything you fancy; I will pay for it."
Seeing that Yoshizawa was about to refuse again, Mr. Fujiwara instructed two stablehands to check the goods, then slipped back into the carriage and did not come out again.
------
Urakawa Town is not large, but because it is located at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Waterfalls, trade traffic is frequent, making it very lively.
Counting the time, Masahiro and his group arrived at Urakawa Town on the morning of the third day. Their mission was complete once they safely delivered Fujiwara to the merchants' guild and confirmed that the goods were undamaged.
Yoshizawa couldn't refuse Fujiwara yesterday and had to agree to accept his kind offer. So, as soon as the mission was completed today, he announced free time for the afternoon and then vanished using the Body Flicker Technique.
"I wonder what Senpai rushed off to do."
"Maybe he went to the red-light district."
After reviewing the entire battle overnight and recognizing his shortcomings, Masahiro had adjusted his mindset. He was now in the mood to joke around.
Innocent Retsu's cheeks instantly turned red like a crab when he heard the words "red-light district": "It is not the conduct of a gentleman to criticize a senior behind his back like that."
"Yes, yes, yes. So, Gentleman Retsu, what are you planning to do this afternoon?"
"I heard Urakawa Town is famous for spices, so I plan to—wait, what business is it of yours where I go?"
Seeing Masahiro start teasing Retsu again, Takashi pushed up his glasses, concealing the smile at the corner of his mouth.
"Takashi, Zensuke, where are you two planning to go?"
"Boss, Takashi and I want to check out the bookstore."
"Ah? I was hoping you guys would come with me to find a flower shop!" Masahiro was deeply disappointed to hear he'd have to shop alone today.
"Regarding the flower shop, I asked Mr. Fujiwara about it last night." Takashi said helplessly, looking at Masahiro's dejected expression. "If you walk in this direction, you'll find it."
"You truly are a reassuring man, Takashi!"
Masahiro happily gave Takashi's hand a strong squeeze, then turned and walked in the direction Takashi had pointed.
Watching Masahiro disappear around the street corner, Takashi subtly clenched his right fist, where the soft touch and faint warmth of the younger boy's palm still lingered.
"Let's go, Zensuke."
"Mhm."
.
.
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