Terumi Mei was dangerous.
Her ninjutsu was strange, her reflexes were sharp, and she was clearly a seasoned combatant.
Even though Logan had her bound with Hermit Purple and held her shoulder tightly to keep her within Star Platinum's attack radius, the system still hadn't issued a defeat notification.
That meant only one thing:
Despite appearing restrained, Terumi Mei still possessed the ability to turn the tide. Logan had not fully gained the upper hand.
"In my fight with Kakashi, I defeated the 'Kakashi who gave up,' and I received a soul fragment. But this woman... she's still resisting. Still calculating."
"Just keep her contained," Logan thought. He had no personal grudge against Terumi Mei, and he wasn't interested in a fight to the death—especially not without fully understanding her intentions.
"Name."
"Terumi Mei."
"Gender."
Terumi Mei narrowed her eyes and lifted her chest with pride. "What do you think?"
Logan hesitated.
Recent experiences with assassins made him skeptical. In the ninja world, appearances could be deceiving. Old men could look like children, and men could pose as women. He had learned not to take anything at face value.
"Please answer carefully."
"Female."
Logan nodded.
Terumi Mei felt a curious warmth where Logan's hand rested on her shoulder. It was as if tiny electric pulses from his Ripple technique flowed through her veins, soothing and stimulating her nerves all at once.
An odd feeling.
Logan, unaware of her reaction, monitored her breathing and heartbeat to determine if she was lying.
"Why did you come to Luoxue Village?"
"To see you."
"Are you here to kill me?"
"No," she replied. Not yet, she added silently.
Logan's gaze sharpened. "How did you know I would come here?"
Only Hayato Kanbara knew his destination. And Kanbara wasn't the kind of man to sell out his allies for cash. If he betrayed Logan, it wouldn't be for money—perhaps only under torture.
Kanbara had helped Logan a great deal. Some of that help was transactional, but much of it had been based on friendship—on humanity.
If Kanbara had been captured and forced to talk, Logan needed to know.
Terumi Mei seemed to grasp the stakes behind Logan's question. She thought for a moment and then said, "It was just deduction."
"Based on your pattern of travel and the trail of bounty hunters you left behind, I narrowed down your direction.
You took Samehada for one of two reasons: either to sell it or to use it. Enough time has passed since you killed the Pufferfish Ghost for news to surface if you'd sold it. But there was nothing.
So, you plan to use it. But Samehada is picky. It won't obey just anyone. None of the bodies along your trail bore its bite marks, so I can conclude it hasn't accepted you."
She paused, then corrected herself, remembering the terrifying Star Platinum.
"Or rather... it doesn't suit your fighting style.
Not for sale, and not useful in its current form. That leaves one option."
"Re-forging it," Logan said.
Terumi Mei smiled. "Exactly. Based on that logic, I looked for swordsmiths in this direction. Luoxue Village was the logical conclusion."
Her reasoning was solid. Logan had to admit, she was sharp.
"So what do you intend to do now?"
"I told you. I came to see what kind of person you are. The kind of man who would openly expose the corruption in the Land of Water, who would kill a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen in broad daylight."
Her gaze was intense.
Logan said coldly, "Now that you've seen, you can leave."
"It doesn't work that way. That was just a first impression."
Seeing Logan frown, Terumi Mei shifted her tone.
"I'll stay out of your way. Consider me a traveler passing through. We happened to meet here in a quiet village. When you leave, I will too. Or..."
She leaned back against a broken tree trunk, eyes playful.
"You could kill me now."
Killing her wasn't a simple matter. And from what she'd seen—Logan saving people in Mirage City, worrying over his intelligence broker—Terumi Mei believed she understood his nature.
He wasn't the type to kill just because someone looked suspicious.
He's like a tsundere cat, she thought.
Logan released Hermit Purple from her limbs.
"You trust me now?" Terumi Mei asked.
"The prettier the woman, the more likely she is to lie," Logan replied.
She stood, brushing herself off with a smile. "So you think I'm pretty?"
Logan turned and walked away. Just before disappearing into the woods, his voice drifted back:
"You look deceptive."
Terumi Mei laughed, the motion tugging on her sore cheek.
"Damn man. That punch still hurts."
---
Logan and Terumi Mei returned to the house.
The dinner atmosphere was odd but settled down by the end. Logan used Ripple Qigong to cure Bai's mother's strange cold. Her recovery brought relief and smiles to the whole family.
They thanked Logan repeatedly, and the trio—Logan, Sasuke, and Momo—stayed overnight at Bai's home.
They laid mats on the floor. The candle went out, and soft moonlight filtered through the window. Momo, exhausted, was sound asleep. Sasuke, however, lay wide-eyed.
"Brother Logan... is Teacher Zhao a killer?"
Logan replied calmly, "Not yet. But she might be. Stay alert."
"Mm."
Sasuke's eyes drifted to Bai's family's room. "That illness... Bai's mother isn't just sick, is she? I felt a strange coldness."
Logan nodded. "Her organs are releasing a chill that should've killed her long ago. But she's still alive. That alone is strange."
He tucked Momo in gently. "Everyone has secrets. If they don't want to share, don't pry. Go to sleep."
Sasuke murmured a soft "mm" and crawled under the blanket.
---
They were woken the next morning by shouting.
"Sir, please! That's all the food we have left! If you take it, we'll starve!"
"Starve? That's your fault for being lazy!"
Crying and wailing followed.
Logan and the others walked outside.
Two samurai, one fat and one thin, were beating a crippled man. His wife tried to shield him and was struck down as well.
"Tch." The fat one spat and yanked a bag from the man's arms. Inside was a pitiful supply: animal fodder, corn, and unprocessed rice.
"This is it? Pathetic."
Then the thin one grinned and seized the woman. "Sell her to pay the heating tax."
In the aftermath of Yagura's corruption, new local officials adopted similar cruelty. No one stopped them.
"No! My lord, please!"
The man limped after them, only to be kicked down again.
The Bai family watched silently. Bai bit her lip.
Logan asked quietly, "What is the heating tax?"
Bai whispered, "It's one of many new taxes. Since a new magistrate arrived, we've had to pay for heating, fishing, marriage, childbirth, everything.
We're poor here. That chicken from last night? Teacher Zhao brought it. Most people here don't see meat in years.
A healthy man can barely scrape by. But someone like that crippled man? He's doomed."
The fat samurai arrived at Bai's doorstep.
"You paid your tax, huh?" he asked Bai's father.
"Yes, sir. We paid already."
The samurai pointed to Logan, Sasuke, and Momo. "What about them?"
"They're travelers."
"So they don't need warmth? That's defying the magistrate's order."
He unsheathed his sword.
The thin one licked his lips and stared at Momo. "Then hand her over."
Momo's eyes widened. She trembled, pink hair falling over her face.
As the thin samurai approached, he reached to touch her cheek—
Crack!
His forearm snapped at a grotesque angle. Logan released it casually.
The man screamed in agony, reaching for his sword. But his hands wouldn't move.
"Draw it, and you die," Logan said flatly.
The man froze.
Logan let go. The samurai collapsed in a heap, eyes full of fear.
"Still scared?" Logan asked Momo.
She sniffled. "Not anymore."
"Good."
The fat samurai growled and moved forward.
Logan didn't waste time. "Sasuke, break one leg each. Then throw them out."
"Yes."
Logan walked away toward the forge, leaving the horrified villagers behind.
The old blacksmith sat at his door, eating a rice ball as he watched Sasuke deliver a beating.
When Logan approached, the old man grinned.
"You must be the guy that pervert told me about."
"Pervert?"
"Kanbara."
Logan nodded.
The blacksmith chuckled. "He's got guts."
He eyed the massive blade on Logan's back.
"Samehada... Been a long time. So, how do you want it reforged?"
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