Ayuan's world collapsed. She stared around in disbelief. The fog closed in. She had no idea where she was.
"You—you said what? Only you? Are you insane? Do you think this is a joke holiday? That's a whole country, a whole country. You alone? You want to die, don't drag the whole nation down. So many people wait for me to bring them home. Are you kidding me? You even set off firecrackers as if no one would know I'm on your boat!"
Ayuan crouched and wept. The youth said only one sentence: "You're right."
She looked up, stunned. He wore a serious face and lowered his head to her. "Indeed. We left Minami no Mura so ostentatiously so everyone would know you were taken by me."
"W-why? To make a show for your first mission?" she wiped her tears and asked, bewildered. She'd seen the city walls and the harbor packed with people earlier, cheering him warmly like a state send-off.
"Not for show. To lure out the two who tried to kill you." Shigeo smiled. He'd left; he could not leave danger inside Minami no Kuni. He had to draw it away.
Those two had slaughtered an entire ship and not found Ayuan. With today's boisterous departure and the rumors in town, those killers must have already learned the news. He believed they would show up soon.
The little boat drifted. Shigeo sat at the stern watching waves and fog, relaxed. Ayuan watched the old helmsman at the bow, then glanced back at Shigeo, brow furrowed and uneasy.
Why had he saved her? If she hadn't met him, would she be better off? Then again, without him she might have died at sea.
"Dono, the barrier exit is ahead. The swell's huge. The boat can't push through." the helmsman warned.
"I'll handle it. Rest a little." Shigeo used Fūton (Wind Release) and Suiton (Water Release). The boat surged and soon they were out of the barrier.
Shigeo waved. "Uncle, take Ayuan below. The deck is small. I don't want you hurt."
"All right!" The old man led Ayuan below.
"You… are you really all right?" Ayuan fretted.
"Don't worry. If anything happens, the uncle will bring you back to shore." Shigeo smiled.
"You mean he'll die?" Ayuan whispered as the helmsman ushered her down. The helmsman bristled. "Little one, don't say that. Our village chief is not to be underestimated. Though young, he's no fool."
Silence fell. Past the barrier lay two hundred ri of thick fog. Beyond that the sky cleared.
Shigeo rowed slowly, casual. Far off through the haze two figures appeared on the sea. The fog was dense; only when twenty meters remained did they see the familiar fishing boat.
"One of them—the one who left early with that girl?" the man muttered.
The woman nodded. "Board now?"
"Board. End it quick and bring the girl back to report."
They leapt from their craft, ran across the water, and closed on the fishing boat.
The killers had arrived.
Shigeo turned to face them. Were they Fūton (Wind Release) users? No—the distance was too close for long-range wind combat. They were close-combat attackers.
They struck. The woman spun kunai, deadly and fast. The man, bare-handed, punched toward Shigeo's head.
Shigeo rolled aside. Using jutsu now would look like bullying. He wanted to see how these two had butchered a whole ship despite shinobi aboard.
He spun, feet flashing, and a single strike hit the man's belly. The man staggered and fell into the sea.
The woman froze. How strong was this youth?
She hurled shuriken, then closed, plunging kunai at vital points.
The man hauled himself back aboard and drew from his waist a blade thin as a feather—a soft sword, a wind-like slicing weapon. This was the steel that had carved that ship's crew to pieces.
Shigeo's mouth tilted. The man was a close-range swordsman. The woman—she'd retreated to the stern.
The man rushed, the sword whirling like a cyclone, flashes of light shimmering. Shigeo dodged with lightning speed and met the blade with kunai. He parried, catching clang after clang—dozens, maybe over a hundred strikes rang against his small thrown weapons.
Below, Ayuan and the helmsman peered through the hatch seam, watching. Ayuan's fingers clenched. If this went on he would die. She couldn't imagine him cut to pieces.
Suddenly everything froze. The attackers stopped mid-motion. Even the thin wind-sword hung motionless midair.
"One strike and finish him, Sword!" the woman urged.
Then with a single clang, the man collapsed on the deck, blood gushing from his chest. He died instantly.
Across from him, the youth held a kunai. Blood dripped from the blade. His face was composed, as if he had not just killed someone.
"Impossible. How?" the woman whispered. He used only a kunai.
Among weapons length matters. Swords are stronger in reach and force. The man's soft sword, forged of meteoric metal, could slice steel. How could a plain kunai fell such a master?
"You—you—I'll kill you!" the woman lunged. As she charged her eyes changed—flaring crimson. It was a terrifying glare but not a Sharingan.
(End of Chapter)
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