"Ugh! Ugh!" The mustached man was so frightened he couldn't speak properly, his body trembling uncontrollably—he was only a steward!
"Oh? Do you have anything else to say? Go ahead and share it with me."
The enemy revealed a fierce expression; he had caught the mockery in Saitama's tone.
"Damn it!" He shouted as he slashed toward the mustached man's neck while already thinking of an escape plan.
The kunai stabbed downward suddenly, and despair filled the mustached man's eyes before he tightly shut them.
"Zzzz!" A blue-white blur flashed by—this time moving faster than ever before, even quicker than the descending kunai.
As Saitama advanced, he could clearly see the enemy's widened pupils and the mustache on the man's slightly pursed lips.
"Ding!"
A sword appeared beneath the kunai, and the enemy was instantly sent flying from a tremendous force—that was Saitama's kick.
"Puh!" Blood burst from his mouth, but only now did realization dawn upon him. It was too late.
Pushing the mustached man aside roughly, Saitama planted his foot firmly and pursued the enemy midair as he flew backward.
"Hehe! Let's die together!" No wonder he was a rogue ninja. When he saw escape was impossible, madness crossed his face.
"Hu-lah!" He tore open his leather armor, revealing a body wrapped entirely in explosive tags, which he activated using chakra.
"Sss!" Dangerous energy began spreading. Saitama's expression darkened.
"So many explosive tags—even I wouldn't survive this without serious damage. Guess I'll have to meet the Sage of Six Paths soon," he thought. Twisting his body, Saitama tried evading the blast.
"Where do you think you're going?" Facing death himself, the rogue ninja decided he'd take someone down with him. At the exact moment Saitama tried dodging, the ninja recklessly lunged forward and grabbed Saitama tightly—even as Saitama's blade slashed into him.
"Damn it!" [Chidori Current] surged through Saitama's body, sending violent shocks through the enemy who clung desperately to him, shaking him violently—but still his grip did not loosen.
"Boom!" The explosive tags reached their detonation point, exploding instantaneously!
At the original spot, there now lay a massive crater alongside burning scraps of clothing. Not far away stood Saitama's sword, miraculously intact.
"Saitama?" The mustached man stood at a distance—the explosion hadn't injured him much, merely leaving him terrified enough to fall flat onto the ground.
The last image burned into his mind had been the enemy grabbing Saitama before the explosion.
"Dead?" A heavy feeling settled over the mustached man. After all, Saitama died protecting his master.
"Plop!" From the center of the crater, the earth cracked open, revealing a small hole in the ground. A hand stretched out from within.
"Hmm?" Crawling up to the edge of the crater, the mustached man stared intently at that little opening. At this moment, he surprisingly didn't fear that it might be the enemy who emerged alive.
"Ding!" Kaiho Tora may not have seemed impressive at first glance, but he now had the upper hand in his fight against the samurai named Shimada.
Though he bore several injuries, they were obviously lighter than those suffered by Shimada, whose abdomen had been torn open, revealing a large wound.
"Heh... heh..." Seeing how both Saitama and their hired ninja perished together in the explosion, and how all the samurai he brought had been routed by Kaiho Tora's subordinates, Shimada realized the battle was beyond lost.
"Still as blessed by heaven as ever, always escaping danger. But this time's struggle will not end in victory for you, General." Shimada clutched his abdomen, refusing to back down even as blood spilled from his mouth.
"There's no need for you to worry about that, General Shimada."
"Saitama!" Came a surprised voice from the side. Kaiho Tora recognized the steward with a thick mustache.
"Huff!"
Pushing away the layer of earth covering him, Saitama pulled himself out and took deep breaths of fresh air.
"It's so wonderful to be alive!" Rolling onto the ground, Saitama lay there while countless wounds large and small decorated his body, creating a rather terrifying sight.
When the explosion happened, Saitama couldn't escape. He had no choice but to face it head-on by activating his ultimate technique—[Lightning Release — Chakra Mode]—which covered his body in a layer of crackling lightning. Because he used most of the remaining chakra inside him at that moment, the armor solidified completely, just like real armor.
This was precisely why Saitama wasn't killed instantly. However, even such a powerful defense couldn't provide full protection under those circumstances. The "lightning armor" still shattered, and damage still affected Saitama.
Saitama then used Ninjutsu to dig a hole beneath his feet and dove into it just as the explosion was still raging after the enemy was destroyed.
"Saitama, are you alright?" Seeing Saitama crawl out of the hole, the man with a thick mustache quickly ran over, attempting to help him up.
"Don't touch me! Let me lie here a bit!"
Saitama's voice still carried strength, so the man with a thick mustache complied, not touching him.
On the other side, Kaiho Tora smiled slightly: "It seems your hired ninja didn't perform as expected."
"Hmph!" Shimada maintained his fighting stance.
After lying there for a moment, Saitama stood up on his own. Although his injuries looked severe, they were only scattered burns and splash damages—nothing truly threatening.
His internal chakra recovered enough during those few moments to rise above the danger zone.
"Puh!" Only now did Saitama spit out some dirt-mixed saliva. Supporting himself on his knees, he slowly stood up. His clothes were already reduced to rags; disregarding them, he tore them off, wincing in pain as some wounds reopened.
The battle involving these retainers had come to an end. One could never have guessed their combat power was actually quite formidable among ordinary samurai. Most of the dozens of warriors brought by Shimada had been wiped out by this group of about ten men, with the remainder surrendering on their knees waving white flags. Though two of these retainers had died as well, their overall strength was undeniable.
Shimada also knelt before Kaiho Tora. Naturally, it wasn't an act of surrender. At this point, he didn't expect to live anymore—it was simply the result of being beaten down forcefully.
"Saitama!" Turning around, Kaiho Tora nodded toward Saitama, who looked pitiful with half his body exposed and covered in wounds.
The sword had also been retrieved by the man with a thick mustache and returned to Saitama's waist.
"Just kill me already, General!" Blood had already pooled beneath Shimada's knees, flowing from his abdominal wound. His face paled greatly, clearly nearing his end.
"Shimada!"
Kaiho seemed to hesitate for a moment, the weapon tightly gripped in his hands trembling slightly.
"I don't need your sympathy, Kaiho Tora!" Shimada shouted with his last bit of strength. At this moment, choosing to face death head-on, he felt no fear—only a sense of relief. He'd made his choice based on his own desires, and was ready for whatever came next—that's just how it goes for winners and losers alike!
"Whoosh!" The blade sliced through, a head rolled, and Kaiho Tora shut his eyes tightly, his hand no longer trembling.
"Alright, alright! The battle's over!" Saitama spoke casually, cutting through the atmosphere.
"Clean up the battlefield and properly bury our fallen warriors!" Kaiho Tora looked at the few remaining subordinates standing before him, most of the familiar faces now gone.
"Yes sir!" The retainers answered in unison, their expressions solemn and serious.
While they cleaned the battlefield, Saitama found some clothes and put them on—he certainly didn't have any exhibitionist tendencies.
"We still need to remain alert. There might be enemies left," Saitama remarked, indifferent to the power struggle unfolding around Kaiho Tora. He only cared about completing his mission.
...
"Move out!"
The convoy resumed its journey. But across that mountainous terrain, many departed souls lingered. Hopefully, in their next lives, they'd be reborn into better circumstances, free from such deadly conflicts.
"Kaiho, this time we owe you for taking out that ninja," the carriage continued rolling forward as Kaiho Tora spoke toward the roof where Saitama sat. At that moment, he sat side by side with the man with the thick mustache, driving the carriage together.
"Just doing what the mission required," Saitama replied while sitting cross-legged atop, his eyes fixed straight ahead.
With Kaiho Tora handling the reins, the pace became faster than before—he clearly wanted to reach the Capital City as soon as possible.
Shimada's sudden appearance had made Kaiho Tora feel like things were slipping beyond his control, forcing him to accelerate his plans to reach the capital.
As night fell, the convoy stopped for dinner and set up camp nearby.
"Not going to eat something?" Kaiho Tora approached Saitama, holding out a large piece of breast meat.
"No thanks. I stick to rations during missions," Saitama remained true to his principles, unwilling to break his routine even for the offer.
"I wonder how things are going back in the Capital..." Kaiho Tora sighed after biting into the meat.
After that afternoon's battle, Saitama found himself slightly intrigued by Kaiho Tora's situation. After all, the conflict between superior and subordinate was classic material for historical dramas.
"One minister in the Capital bears me enmity. This whole affair was his scheme to destroy me. Naturally, I won't just roll over and let him."
"Hmm." Saitama listened silently.
"For certain reasons, the Daimyo's decided not to get involved between us. So this conflict is purely between that minister and myself.
"Most of the court officials seem to have sided behind him, but I represent the Land of Fire's military faction. This time, we won't stand for his tyranny anymore. If he wants to keep lording it over others, he'll have to step over my lifeless body first!"
Kaiho Tora spoke gravely, then fell silent.
"I'm going to go patrol a bit," Saitama stood up and prepared to take a walk around the camp.
Although still bearing wounds, Saitama's chakra (energy) had mostly recovered. A minor injury wouldn't slow him down.
The convoy stopped on an open plain this time, though there was a forest to the east—not directly on Saitama and the others' planned route, though.
Tonight's moonlight was especially bright, sparsely sprinkled across the land, yet Saitama's mood remained far from pleasant.
After patrolling the perimeter, Saitama returned to guard the camp. The day's events wore him out. Though he said nothing, his body told a different story.
Kaiho Tora and his subordinates hadn't gone to sleep yet. They sat around several fires, chatting about something.
The man with a thick mustache didn't join them. Instead, he sat atop the carriage beside Saitama, both gazing at the stars.
Thinking back, the man with a thick mustache had brushed close to death today. If it weren't for Saitama refusing to give up on saving him, his corpse would already be cold by now.
"Saitama, do you think Kaiho can win when we get back?" The man felt uneasy deep inside. Even Shimada, a favorite of Kaiho Tora, had betrayed their master. He couldn't begin to picture what awaited them in the Capital City.
His entire life had been spent following Kaiho Tora—or rather, both he and his ancestors had belonged to the Kaiho family. He couldn't bear to picture what would become of himself if anything happened to Kaiho Tora.
Would he follow Kaiho Tora into some dark place, never to wake again?
"My mission doesn't include that sort of thing. I only need to ensure Kaiho Tora arrives safely in the Capital City." Saitama replied indifferently, stretching his legs out over the edge of the carriage and supporting himself with both hands on the sides.
"That's true. None of this has anything to do with you, Saitama." The man smiled faintly, then sank into thought once more, perhaps imagining his own eventual fate.
"I believe Kaiho will defeat that person!" After an unknown amount of time passed, the man seemed to mutter to himself, his voice barely audible.
"Perhaps."
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>