"Here, sir!"
The man with the thick mustache handed a map into the carriage, his bowing posture making him look rather amusing.
Saitama leaned over too, trying to see where they were. Sure, he'd been to the capital before, but there were so many places in between—how was anyone supposed to remember them all?
"We should be right here now." True to his reputation as a general, Kaiho Tora quickly located their current position on the map.
"This river is called the Goddess River," the man with the thick mustache chimed in at the perfect moment, playing the role of a capable narrator. "Legend says it appeared when the ancient goddess Kaguya passed through this area. It's quite well-known around these parts."
"The goddess Kaguya? Saitama smiled, glancing at the river with an amused expression.
"Sir, supplies are complete. We're ready to leave."
A servant approached the carriage respectfully.
"In that case, let's get moving!" The man with the thick mustache waved his whip loudly.
"Looking at this map, we've already covered about a fifth of the journey. Not bad speed," General Tora remarked, rubbing his round face with eager eyes.
*Klang!*
Once again, Saitama landed on the roof of the carriage, resuming his watchful stance.
The convoy began to move. All was quiet except for the man with the thick mustache who kept barking out orders.
...
The convoy had reached hilly terrain, with low mountains lining both sides. As the carriage moved along the main road, Saitama swept his eyes around and noticed something unusual.
"Halt!" He sternly told the man with the thick mustache, already gripping the sword in his hand.
He felt chakra surging from both sides of the road. A lot of it. Whoever was coming couldn't have good intentions. These must be enemies of General Kaiho Tora.
"Ha ha! General, I never expected to meet you here!"
True to expectations, no sooner had Saitama called for a stop than voices echoed down from the hills.
*Swish! Swish! Swish!*
Dozens of figures emerged from both sides of the mountain, each dressed uniformly. The one speaking wore red armor.
"Shimada!"
At this moment, Kaiho Tora stepped out of the carriage and stood at the front.
His voice betrayed surprise, as if puzzled by this person's appearance.
"Surprised to see me, General? Didn't expect it to be me?" Shimada smirked, lifting his chin mockingly.
Shimada was a tall, muscular brute, his frame a full size larger than Kaiho Tora's, yet his facial expressions somehow looked out of place on such a huge body.
"Did I treat you poorly?" Kaiho Tora looked confused, questioning coldly.
"You treated me quite well indeed, but I believe I also have the ability to become a general. There's no contradiction here," Shimada shrugged.
"Why exactly did you show up here today? To kill me?" Kaiho Tora's gaze turned steely and his tone stiffened.
"You gave me my chance, so I won't harm you if you simply surrender peacefully," Shimada smiled confidently. With so many men beside him, he felt victory steadily tipping in his favor.
"So there's nothing left to discuss then?" At this moment, Saitama stepped forward, standing atop the carriage roof with a chilling tone.
"Hm? Who the hell are you?"
"Shimada had already noticed the young man standing on the rooftop."
"You don't need to know who I am," Saitama said, shaking his head and resting a hand on the ninja sword at his waist. His voice was low, as if talking to himself.
"If the general stands in my way, I'll have no choice but to take action." Shimada's voice turned dark. He raised his hand.
"Attack! Spare none!" Shimada's two warriors drew their swords and charged toward the convoy.
Though not on par with Ninjas, samurai in the ninja world still possessed formidable strength.
"Shing! Shing! Shing!" Saitama heard the blades unsheathe before he could even react.
Turning around, those he'd thought were servants now held short blades. Their eyes turned sharp.
"Kill these traitors and protect Lord Kaiho's honor!"
The leader shouted loudly, then rushed forward, meeting the enemies coming down from the mountain.
The enemy were four or five times more numerous than the 'servants' who had accompanied the convoy, yet there wasn't a trace of fear in their eyes.
"My apologies," Saitama said, standing atop the wagon. He listened to Kaiho Tora speak.
"Ain't politics always the same? Interest's the only real loyalty out there!"
After Saitama spoke, Kaiho Tora flinched slightly. His eyes closed for a moment, then opened again with resignation.
"I originally considered Shimada as my successor. I have no offspring, and I even hoped to let him take over my position in a few years. Unexpected!" Kaiho Tora's voice trembled, his hands tightly gripping the sides of his thighs.
"Here they come!" Saitama muttered barely audibly.
"Whoosh!" He leaped off the wagon with a powerful kick. His entire body shot forward like an arrow, sending the wagon shaking violently from the force of his leap.
"Didn't expect you to actually be a ninja either," said a ninja wearing leather armor, marked as a rogue Mist ninja by his forehead protector. He held a large blade half his height.
"A rogue ninja?" Saitama landed before the enemy.
"Hmph, kid, prepare to die!"
[Ninjutsu - Hiding in Mist Technique!] The enemy formed a hand seal, and a thick white mist began spreading around.
"Wanna know how you want to die, ninja from Konoha?" The voice came from all directions. Saitama stopped moving, carefully observing the surroundings.
Saitama recognized this technique immediately. It had been used before by Zabuza Momochi when fighting Kakashi's team. It summoned mist to block the enemy's vision.
Complementing it was the "Mist Hidden - Assassination Technique," which masked the user's presence, making it even harder for enemies whose sight was already impaired to track him.
"Sharingan!" Saitama didn't dare relax. This rogue ninja's strength wasn't low, and his specialty was exactly this assassination technique; he needed to proceed cautiously.
"Shua!" The long sword suddenly appeared before Saitama's chest. He quickly stepped back, drawing his sword and holding it across his chest.
"This is getting interesting!" The Mist ninja's voice rang again, but Saitama still couldn't determine the enemy's location.
"Do you choose to protect yourself well... or protect your client?" The enemy's voice tried to manipulate Saitama.
"Hmm?" Saitama abruptly turned around, quickly heading toward where he remembered Kaiho Tora was.
Soon, Saitama sensed a familiar aura and rapidly approached to stand beside Kaiho Tora.
"Stay here and don't move." Kaiho Tora seemed startled by Saitama's sudden appearance, but upon recognizing his voice, he patted his own chest to calm himself.
"That's the Silent Killing Technique from Mist Hidden, isn't it?" As he spoke, Kaiho Tora edged closer to Saitama. Ignoring him, Saitama kept scanning the surroundings with a serious expression, alert for any attacks.
Kaiho Tora wore an expression of palpitation and moved even nearer to Saitama.
When they stood less than half a meter apart, Kaiho Tora revealed a sinister look, slipping his hand beneath his sleeve to draw out a kunai.
"Swish!"
"Die!"
"Puk!" The head fell off, landing heavily onto the ground—Kaiho Tora's head had rolled away.
"You think I'm an idiot?" Saitama turned around. The ninja sword in his hand still shimmered with crackling electricity.
Kaiho Tora's body dissolved into a puddle of water and vanished. Apparently, this imposter was merely a Water Clone of the enemy.
[Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!] Saitama had no intention of continuing this pointless game of cat and mouse.
A gale erupted from his mouth, instantly dispersing the surrounding mist.
"Huh? The enemy emerged several meters away from Saitama, cloaked in a dark purple aura of chakra.
"That must be the Silent Killing Technique." Saitama recalled that Zabuza once used this ninjutsu.
"Deng!" Spotting the enemy, Saitama hesitated no further, charging straight forward.
His peripheral vision also caught sight of another battle nearby: Kaiho Tora and the samurai named Shimada were already locked in fierce combat, trading blows back and forth.
"Tch! Before the Mist ninja could recover from the shock of his Water Clone being discovered, the mist vanished, leaving him fully exposed to the enemy."
"Damn it!" Seeing Saitama approaching, he cursed. But his reaction was equally quick; he rushed forward to meet Saitama head-on.
Since assassination failed, he'd face-off directly. He couldn't believe he, an elite Jonin well-versed in assassination techniques, would lose to someone who looked barely more than a boy.
"Clang!" Their blades clashed, their faces drawing close together.
"Hmm! Those eyes?" The Mist ninja finally noticed Saitama's gaze.
"Boom!" Kneeing upward from the right, Saitama's leg smashed against the enemy's left limb.
"Sizzz!" Chidori Current surged across his body as Saitama advanced rather than retreating, forcing his weight aggressively onto the enemy.
"Boom!" "Clang!" "Crackle-pop!"
They exchanged blow after blow. The enemy's extensive combat experience gave Saitama a real challenge—each strike came at unpredictable, hard-to-guard angles.
"Swish!" Saitama swung his blade, electric arcs cutting a white trail through the air.
"Boom!" In the gap following another slash, a foot came flying toward him.
At point-blank range with absolutely no room to evade, Saitama unleashed the Chidori Current again, forcing the attacking foot backward.
"Hmph!" The Mist ninja now recognized how troublesome Saitama truly was.
Quickly putting some distance between them, Saitama frowned slightly.
"Swish!" Swinging his sword in front of him several times, waves of the Chidori Current surged continuously.
"Pa! A sharp sound echoed as he landed firmly behind Saitama."
Saitama pressed forward rapidly again, pushing his speed even harder this time. The currents coursing along his body gathered into a crude armor-like formation.
"Swish!"
This slash didn't miss entirely—it struck his chest, leaving a deep and gushing wound.
"Clomp! Clomp! Clomp!" Saitama pressed forward rapidly, continuing his assault without giving the Mist ninja any chance to catch his breath.
The blade was like an unbreakable net, trapping the enemy helplessly beneath its storm. For a moment, the enemy could do nothing but endure the battering blows of Saitama.
"Hyah!" The blade tore through the enemy's thigh, spewing blood as it passed through.
"Ahh!" Unable to bear such pain, the Mist ninja screamed in agony.
"Fzzt!" At the instant of pulling out the sword, the Chidori Current surged again, causing the Mist ninja's face to twist in alarm.
"Shua!" Even in this desperate situation, the Mist ninja still managed a counterattack, swinging his blade toward Saitama's neck.
The Sharingan had already predicted the enemy's movement. Saitama tilted his head back and dashed backward swiftly.
"Damn it!" Clutching his thigh, the Mist ninja felt blood spurt from the wound.
He shot Saitama a venomous glare before his eyes darted craftily, as if plotting an escape. But with his current injuries, how could he possibly get away?
Scanning the surroundings, the Mist ninja seemed to spot a chance for survival.
"Clink!" Because of the wound in his thigh, he lowered onto one knee, then steadied himself with his blade plunged into the ground before rising again.
"Konoha ninja," he said with a strained smile, his voice pleading as he faced Saitama, "I'm calling it quits on this job. Please, just let me go."
"Don't flatter yourself too much. There's only one way to quit now—and that's death!"
Ignoring him completely, Saitama charged at his enemy once more.
"It's your fault!" Gritting his teeth, the enemy spat out these words before pulling several explosive tags from his pack. Wrapped together with kunai, they were hurled directly at Saitama.
"Boom! Kaboom! Boom!"
"Hmm?" Quickly dodging the explosives, Saitama noticed that instead of charging toward him or fleeing straight back, the enemy dashed toward a nearby carriage.
There, crouching near the front of the vehicle and trembling slightly, was the man with the thick mustache—the steward.
"Don't come any closer, or I'll kill him right here!"
The Mist ninja rushed to the carriage, taking the man hostage while shouting furiously.
Saitama stood still, watching the enemy's next move without showing any reaction.
"Hahaha." Seeing that Saitama truly froze upon hearing his threat, the Mist ninja couldn't help but laugh out loud.
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