met free Chapter 104 4 million, 6 million, 7 million
Chapter 104 4 million, 6 million, 7 million
Chapter 104 4 million, 6 million, 7 million
On the field, Katsutoshi Nagano and Taichi stood facing each other.
"Kid, once I cut off your limbs, you'll know that not letting you play was for your own good!" Nagano Masaru licked his lips, glancing sideways at Taiichi as if he were a lamb to the slaughter.
Taiyi ignored him, silently drawing the short sword from his back and waiting for the competition to begin.
At this moment, an official from the Daming Prefecture stepped onto the field. After confirming that both sides were ready, he did not delay and quickly left the field after saying "Begin".
As soon as he finished speaking, Taiichi and Nagano Masaru quickly started their attack and charged towards each other.
When the distance between the two was only 10 meters, Nagano Katsu lowered his body, his right hand loosely gripping the hilt of his sword, his eyes fixed on Taiichi who was charging forward, and he shouted excitedly, his saliva unconsciously flying everywhere.
Taiyi knew what was going on from his posture. It was a standard "drawing sword slash" starting stance. After the two of them rushed forward two more steps, Taiyi seized the moment when Nagano Katsu's long sword was about to be drawn. In a flash, he rushed in front of him and slashed hard with his short sword, striking the hilt of his opponent's long sword.
The precise slash avoided the opponent's hand holding the knife.
The surging force forced the drawn longsword back into its sheath.
After the slash, Taichi raised his foot and kicked Nagano Masaru hard in the chest, sending him flying to the edge of the field.
The scene fell silent for a moment, except for the sound of Nagano Masaru struggling to get up on the field.
"Cough cough, you little brat, you deserve to die!"
That kick was clearly not light, and the humiliation of being so easily knocked down clouded Nagano Masaru's judgment.
Without a second thought, he charged toward Taiichi with his long sword. However, just as he was about to draw his sword, Taiichi instantly appeared beside him again, and his short sword slashed at Nagano Katsu's arm as he drew his sword.
Fortunately, he had known about Taiyi's speed beforehand, and with special attention, he retreated in an emergency, narrowly avoiding the slash with his right hand.
Seeing his opponent retreat, Taiyi followed suit, his short sword never leaving the opponent's right hand as he drew his sword. Every time the opponent tried to draw his sword, Taiyi would thrust out his sword, forcing the opponent to withdraw his hand and defend.
After more than a dozen moves, Nagano Masaru couldn't even draw his sword. Even the laymen outside the arena could see that Nagano Masaru's strength was far inferior to Taiichi's.
"Has Taiichi's strength increased again?" Saori couldn't help but ask the captain beside her.
Captain Yamaguchi nodded solemnly: "His strength and speed have improved significantly, and his swordsmanship has also made tremendous progress."
"That samurai is at most a Special Grade warrior. He was even outmaneuvered by Taiichi at the start, which broke his momentum. Now it depends on how far Taiichi wants to win."
As he spoke, the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up, clearly showing his great joy. Taiyi had exceeded expectations in this competition, achieving both face and reason.
In contrast to the relaxed atmosphere on Konoha's side, the atmosphere on the Daimyo's side was heavy. However, the Daimyo kept his face covered with a fan, so others could not see what his expression was. They could only sense a hint of coldness in his slightly narrowed eyes.
On the field, after toying with Taiichi, Nagano Masaru finally drew his long sword.
Nagano Katsu looked completely deranged, his eyes filled with elation as he stared at the unsheathed sword, as if he were certain of victory in the contest once the sword was drawn.
"You damned bastard, your death is near! I'm going to tear you to pieces and feed the shredded meat to the dogs!"
After saying that, he rushed forward without regard for anything else, and swung his long sword at Taiyi with all his might.
Seeing the attack that had completely gone awry, Taiichi did not back down and swung his short sword to meet it head-on.
"Huff, huff, huff"
In all three exchanges, Taiichi used the tip of his short sword to strike the hilt of the long sword, making full use of the dexterity of his short sword to neutralize the heavy blows from his opponent's long sword.
Using this asymmetrical attack, he broke Nagano Masaru's balance, and once again raised his foot and kicked out hard. The same scene repeated itself, and Nagano Masaru was kicked to the edge of the field again.
"Hey, Uncle Nagano, are you going to keep fighting? If you keep going, I won't hold back."
This is truly a blow to the spirit! The Konoha ninjas on the sidelines twitched at Taiichi's words; he really didn't give the other party any face at all.
Seeing that the other party did not respond for a long time, Taiyi was also puzzled. Logically speaking, that kick should not have knocked the person unconscious. Could it be that the other party was so angry that he fainted?
Seeing that the other party still did not make a move, Taiichi turned his gaze towards the daimyo, waiting for his next instructions.
The lord was also filled with anger, but he was still shrewd enough to conceal his rage without making a sound.
"The ninjas of Konoha are indeed formidable; they are far superior to these junior samurai."
As he spoke, he waved to the waiter beside him, indicating that he should leave the area.
Before long, two more waiters came up, supported the fallen Nagano Katsumi on either side, and carried him out.
"Elder Xiaochun, let's go back and discuss the final details."
With that, the daimyo got up and walked into the council hall.
At this moment, everyone followed the daimyo's footsteps, and no one noticed Nagano Katsumi being carried on someone's back.
As he was being helped by a waiter past Taiichi, a hysterical scream rang out: "I want you dead!"
Suddenly, Nagano Katsumi, who had been unconscious, broke free from the servants who were supporting him, pulled out an even shorter wakizashi from his waist, and stabbed it at Taiichi, who was walking with his back turned.
The incident happened suddenly, and no one expected it to happen. The wakizashi was about to pierce Taiichi's waist.
A series of sealing runes flashed beneath Taiichi's feet, causing Nagano Masaru, who was charging forward, to freeze for a moment. This brief pause allowed Taiichi to quickly create distance.
At this moment, Nagano Masaru probably knew that he was going to die today. After breaking free of the seal, he still rushed towards Taiichi without hesitation.
His actions not only angered the Konoha crowd outside the arena, but also thoroughly enraged Taiichi. A large amount of wind-attribute chakra gathered towards the short sword, and the invisible chakra transformed into a tangible wind blade, surging outwards from the blade to both sides, with a clear and sharp whistling sound resounding throughout the arena.
Seeing Nagano Katsu rushing towards him, Taichi also assumed a drawing sword stance. When the distance was right, Taichi instantly moved, swinging his short sword upwards.
In an instant, Taiichi and Nagano Masaru passed each other, and the short sword sliced through Nagano Masaru's body without any hindrance. The remaining chakra, along with the swing of the sword, turned into a streak of light and flew straight towards the courtyard wall.
"Crack" That's the sound of the wakizashi breaking and falling.
"Thump" That's the sound of a human body falling in two.
"Crash!" That was the sound of the wall collapsing after being cleaved by a blade.
With each sound, the crowd outside turned their gaze toward the direction from which the sound came. Eventually, their eyes lingered between the three sources of sound until they all focused on Taiyi, who was standing there with his sword sheathed.
"My lord, I apologize. I didn't stop just now." Taiichi's sharp gaze was fixed on the lord's entire body, as if searching for the best spot to draw his sword.
The daimyo felt a chill run down his spine under Taiichi's gaze, and his lips twitched upon hearing Taiichi's words. His eyes darted back and forth between the man who was now in two, Nagano Katsumi, and the calmly standing Taiichi, while he inwardly screamed: "You haven't stopped yet, and I bet you don't want to stop now either!"
"Forget it, he's a despicable man with no sense of samurai spirit. He deserves to die." With that, he turned and left without looking back.
At this moment, the people from Konoha also stepped forward. Saori was the first to grab Taiichi and carefully examine his waist. What had just happened was so fast that it almost scared her to death. That wakizashi was practically touching Taiichi's skin. If it had been any later, who knows who would have fallen today.
"Taiichi, Taiichi, what just happened? Why did Nagano Masaru suddenly freeze?" Yangping asked excitedly. The scene just now had greatly stimulated him. Even now, his Sharingan was still in a state of reactive activation, with the three tomoe spinning wildly in his eyes, but he himself was completely unaware of it.
"It's a sealing technique: the first-order lamp array," Saori explained to everyone after examining Taiichi. "But Taiichi, how did you activate it so instantly?"
Everyone looked at Taiyi with curiosity, waiting for his answer. After all, this was a trump card. If it could be popularized, it would greatly enhance Konoha's combat strength.
Taiyi seemed to have seen through everyone's thoughts, and without keeping them in suspense, he took out a blank talisman paper from his pocket. "This is it. I had Senior Brother Minato draw the sealing runes for me before, just in case. I didn't expect it to actually come in handy."
So that's how it is. Everyone sighed. Many people know this method, but it's not very practical. It requires a ninja who knows sealing techniques to maintain it, and it's very costly.
"Taichi, staring at the Daimyo like that was very rude. Konoha is the ninja village of the Land of Fire, and you shouldn't overstep your bounds." Koharu Utatane reminded Taiichi that the person was, after all, the Daimyo, and even the Hokage should show him respect.
Taiichi curled his lip. He had no respect for this daimyo and wouldn't have bothered with him if it weren't for the village's sake. But he still spoke sincerely: "Yes, Advisor. I was just ambushed and acted impulsively."
"Okay, let's go. Don't keep the Daimyo waiting."
When the Konoha members returned to the council hall, the Daimyo was once again seated in his place. Only after Koharu Utatane took her seat did the two sides resume their previous negotiations.
Because of the previous agreement, there was nothing for the two sides to argue about, and they quickly determined the final amount. Just as the two sides were about to finalize the result, the daimyo sitting above spoke up.
"Elder Xiaochun, the competition just now turned out so badly; it's all my fault for misjudging people. Therefore, to express my apology to Konoha, I'll add another 1 million taels to the military budget, making it a total of 7 million taels. What do you say?"
This shocked not only the people of Konoha, but also the Finance Minister who had just been in complicated negotiations. To express his apology, he offered an additional 1 million ryo. Daimyo, do you not value money?
Of course, this can only be thought in one's heart; it must never be said aloud.
"Well, thank you so much for your generous gift, Lord Daimyo!" Koharu Utatane expressed her deepest gratitude, fully satisfying the Daimyo's vanity. Little did she know that he was currently sitting in the seat of honor, covering his mouth with his fan and chuckling.
After discussing all the business matters, what followed was a round of meaningless small talk. The daimyo even specially invited everyone to a sumptuous lunch at the daimyo mansion.
During this time, the daimyo kept pulling Koharu Utatane aside to chat, and other officials who were accompanying them to dinner would also frequently step forward to chat with Captain Yamaguchi, and even Taichi, Yohei, and Saori.
The content was incredibly diverse, including various personal questions such as how to live in Konoha.
Taiichi was such a smart person that he realized right away that the Daimyo was probably trying to poach Konoha's talent.
Captain Yamaguchi's gaze swept discreetly over the others, his eyes calm and revealing nothing. Saori's expression was one of disgust, clearly understanding the implication. Only Yohei spoke freely and unabashedly about the wonderful things he had done in Konoha, leaving the officials he was talking to completely bewildered.
Taiichi also responded to the officials who chatted with him in a half-hearted manner, and sometimes he imitated Yangping by praising the beauty of Konoha.
After the banquet ended and the Konoha people left the Daimyo's residence, the Daimyo returned to the council hall and asked the minister who had just been in charge of the negotiations.
"So, is there any possibility of winning them over?"
"It's difficult." The Finance Minister shook his head. "That Matsushita Taichi is very cunning and keeps stalling us. That Furukawa Saori is disgusted by our attempts to win her over. As for that Uchiha ninja, I don't know if he's pretending to be stupid or if he really doesn't understand, he hasn't responded at all."
"Alright, send a letter to Konoha and request detailed information about the team members from this mission. In the future, whenever possible, have Konoha send this team." The Daimyo instructed, "That Matsushita Taichi, who was said to be an orphan, is someone who could be recruited. Make sure to maintain contact with him in the future."
"Also, from now on, regularly assign tasks to Konoha, instructing them to send at least three Jonin teams to the Daimyo's residence each time to protect my safety. As for what happens after that, you know what to do, right?"
"Yes! Lord Daimyo, everything is for the Land of Fire, for the Daimyo!" The Finance Minister's face was full of fervor.
After the finance minister left, leaving only the daimyo in the large council hall, his smiling face gradually turned gloomy: It seems that samurai are still not enough, we still need to recruit ninjas, but finding so many suitable ninjas is not something that can be done overnight.
Meanwhile, the Konoha members, embarking on their return journey, were in high spirits. Not only had the ninjutsu been successfully completed, but they had also exceeded their target. Thinking of the 7 million ryo, even Koharu Utatane's usually stern face couldn't help but break into a smile.
Turning to look at Taichi, who was guarding her, Koharu Utatane also had a satisfied look on her face. "What a good boy. No wonder Hiruzen favors him so much."
And so, the group returned to Konoha after two days. With that, Team 8's escort mission was successfully completed. Koharu Utatane and Captain Yamaguchi went to report to the Hokage. Taichi and the other two agreed to train together before returning home.
Back home, Taiyi, having washed away the dust of his journey, sat at his desk, reflecting on the course of the mission—a habit he had formed after each task. He would summarize the gains and losses of each mission, review the experiences, and consider whether there were better solutions or his own shortcomings.
After recalling the events, the image in my mind was frozen on the moment when Nagano Katsura stabbed me.
That was thrilling! If that knife had actually stabbed me, I'd be seriously injured, if not killed. Looking at the location, my happiness for the rest of my life might be gone—it's a kidney, after all!
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