Kazekage Ninja: The Rise of the Hidden Sand-Chapter 153 - 48: The Daimyo’s Fury

"Iai Slash!"

Chikugo Tajima drew his sword from its sheath with lightning speed, slicing horizontally. A sharp blade aura swiftly cut through four or five bandits in front of him, instantly severing them in two.

He then moved swiftly among the group of henchmen, sometimes slashing horizontally, sometimes cutting diagonally, and sometimes chopping vertically. No one was his match wherever the blade light flashed, and for a moment, the sand bandits were thrown into chaos.

"All of you, stop!"

Kawashima Tsunemi shouted loudly, and the sand bandit henchmen immediately made a small clearing. Chikugo Tajima sheathed his sword with a cold expression, looking around, realizing that apart from himself, there were no other standing samurai, and he was in a situation of certain death.

"Samurai, your swordsmanship is impressive. No need to die in vain. How about joining me? I'll make you the fourth chair of the Black Wind Fortress."

Kawashima Tsunemi said arrogantly.

"Hmph!"

Chikugo Tajima seemed disdainful to speak with bandits, merely snorting through his nose. He then lowered his center of gravity, with the sword hilt facing outward, his right hand resting loosely, ready to fight to the death.

"Heh, seems like you're a tough one. Fine! If you want to die, I'll grant you that. No one else should intervene; I'll personally send him off."

"Boss! No need..."

The newly appointed third-in-command, Azhao, tried to stop him but was waved off by Kawashima Tsunemi.

"He's a samurai. Even in death, he deserves dignity. You don't understand. Listen to me; no one should interfere. Don't ruin my reputation. I still need to operate in this area!"

With that, Kawashima Tsunemi assumed the same stance as Chikugo Tajima, except the blade faced his own thigh, with the back of the sword towards the enemy, making Chikugo Tajima quite puzzled.

"Why does he draw his sword like this? Is he going to use a reverse grip? But this doesn't look like a proper sword grip..."

Unable to think further, Chikugo Tajima decided to strike first!

"Iai Lion Cut!"

This move was Chikugo Tajima's strongest technique. Once the blade was drawn, the sword aura surged like a lion, capable of tearing through rocks.

Yet, Kawashima Tsunemi moved like a phantom, reaching Chikugo Tajima within half a breath, just as Chikugo's sword was barely out of its sheath.

"Lift Blade Style!"

At some point, Kawashima Tsunemi had quickly switched to a tanto short sword. The short sword was fast, and in a flash, the back of the short sword incredibly altered Chikugo Tajima's attack direction.

The sharp blade aura, like a roaring lion, cut down several people in succession from a distance, leaving a deep sword mark on the solid stone wall!

"Not good!"

Only then did Chikugo Tajima understand the bandit leader's intention. At the start, he deliberately faced the back of the sword towards him, actually adjusting the position of the short sword. Using the advantage of quick drawing, he lifted the sword to deflect his Iai Lion Cut. Now the short sword's edge was in place, leaving himself wide open, almost at his mercy!

"Stab! Clang!"

Chikugo Tajima's right arm, along with the sword and hand, was cut off at the root. The intense pain made him kneel, yet he remained silent.

Kawashima Tsunemi solemnly tossed the short sword to Chikugo Tajima and then drew his katana, standing behind him.

A defeated samurai has only one choice.

Seppuku!

Kawashima Tsunemi's position was precisely that of the kaishakunin.

Without hesitation, Chikugo Tajima picked up the short sword with his left hand and plunged it into his abdomen with a "puchi" sound, then pulled it horizontally, causing his intestines to spill out.

"Hah!"

Kawashima Tsunemi shouted loudly, swinging his sword down...

"What? Say that again!"

The Daimyo of the Land of Wind was so shocked that he spat out the beef brisket rice he was enjoying at the card table.

The attendant Mutou looked terrified, trembling as he held an opened letter.

"The taxes from thirty-four villages in the west were plundered by sand bandits, and the eight hundred escorting samurai... were completely wiped out!"

"How much... was lost?"

The Daimyo's voice was already trembling.

"Five billion ryo!"

Mutou knelt down in fear.

"Crash!"

In a fit of rage, the Daimyo smashed the fragrant rice bowl onto the ground, shattering it into pieces. He gritted his teeth and said, "Who was responsible for the escort?"

"Chikugo Tajima."

"The brother of the samurai leader Chikugo Hyōe?"

"Yes."

"And where is he?"

"He committed seppuku."

The Daimyo of the Land of Wind was furious, pounding the table with his hand, his face showing a mad expression.

"Seppuku! Seppuku! Seppuku! These samurai can't accomplish tasks, all they know is seppuku! Do I want the bezoar and dog treasures in their stomachs? I want my taxes! I want my money! A bunch of fools! Bastards! Pig brains! Dog balls! Donkey dung!"

The Daimyo vented for a long time, almost using every dirty word he knew in his life. Mutou lay trembling on the ground, shivering like a cicada in winter.

Finally, the Daimyo was exhausted from cursing, and he ordered while panting heavily, "Immediately draft an order in my name, commanding Chikugo Hyōe and Hachigaku to lead two thousand samurai and recover the taxes within a month, annihilating these reckless sand bandits!"

The Land of Wind had two first-class samurai, equivalent to Kage-level ninja strength, precisely the two mentioned by the Daimyo.

"Master, you mustn't!"

Mutou hurriedly advised. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

"Why not?"

The Daimyo asked with some dissatisfaction.

"Master, the sand bandits have surely hidden deep in the desert with the taxes. Finding a group of bandits in the vast desert is easier said than done. If you want to send troops to attack, you'll need to prepare a large amount of water and food, and a month is far from enough. Haste makes waste!"

"Then three months?"

Mutou shook his head.

"Half a year?!"

The Daimyo was already somewhat angry. Without these taxes, he wouldn't be able to maintain his luxurious lifestyle, and his administrative team wouldn't be able to function normally.

"Master, I believe the best fit for this task is the ninja. Tracking and assassination are their specialties."

"Ninja?"

The Daimyo thought for a moment but ultimately shook his head.

In recent years, he had hardly given Sunagakure any military funds, and the relationship was somewhat delicate. The Third Kazekage, Jinghang, also seemed to listen to orders but not follow them, and even tricked him into selling the valuable Yuexi Peninsula at an extremely low price. Every time he played cards, he would grit his teeth thinking about this.

This property should have all belonged to me!

"Forget it, these ninjas are no good, too cunning. Besides, hiring them would cost a lot, and if they really recover the taxes and have evil intentions, wouldn't I lose a lot again? Not wise, not wise."

Mutou was almost about to collapse. With Sunagakure's current financial resources, five billion ryo might not even be worth their attention, but he couldn't watch the Daimyo of the Land of Wind waste the only armed force. Otherwise, he'd have to go hungry!

Suddenly, his eyes rolled, and he quickly came up with an idea.

"Master, why not spend a little money to buy an A-rank mission from Sunagakure, to find the whereabouts of these sand bandits. Once located, Chikugo and Hachigaku can lead the samurai to strike directly. This way, it's cost-effective and perfect."

"Hmm, very good. How much is an A-rank mission now?"

"About 800,000 to 1 million."

"So expensive?"

The Daimyo of the Land of Wind painfully picked up a small golden block from the table.

"Remember to return any excess fees."

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