Swallow Return

As he wielded his still-sheathed sword, dodging and weaving to defeat four black-clad ninjas, he himself inevitably suffered a barrage of ranged attacks.

A shuriken grazed his left leg.

A kunai pierced his right foot.

The two bullets grazed his chest and back respectively.

An arrow grazed his shoulder blade.

All the hidden weapons and projectiles shimmered with an eerie blue hue under the light, clearly indicating they were coated with drugs.

It may not be highly toxic; it is more likely to be an anesthetic or something that prevents wound healing.

If Liu Yun had suffered such an attack a month ago, no matter how strong his bones and muscles were, he would have inevitably been seriously injured and fought a bloody battle.

But things are different now.

At this moment, Liu Yun could wave his hand to pull out the hidden weapons and slingshots from his body, and then the wounds would heal completely in the blink of an eye.

The medication applied to it naturally had no effect.

He incorporated the white bottle from Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei, so even his saliva could heal people, strengthen their bodies, and his own recovery ability was beyond question.

It is completely beyond the harm caused by ordinary weapons and medicines.

That meticulously planned offensive, combining both close and distant attacks, ultimately only managed to leave a few tears in Liu Yun's clothes.

Even the leader of the black-clad ninjas, who should have been a man of great experience, was still speechless upon seeing this.

Not to mention the other ordinary ninjas.

Taking advantage of their surprise and distraction, Liu Yun swung the scabbard like a katana, sweeping it horizontally twice.

The force in his hands was unrestrained, like a dragon emerging from the sea, or lightning piercing through the clouds, and the resulting shockwaves even overturned the wild grass on the ground.

Needless to say, of the twelve ninjas who attacked in close combat, the eight who were still standing had no chance to react or dodge. With a muffled thud, they all fell to the ground.

Eight people were hit; there should have been eight muffled thuds. But the speed was so fast that they were heard in quick succession, making it seem like only one sound.

Given that these people were probably from the Oda clan and thus belonged to the same camp as him, Ryuun showed mercy and did not draw his sword at all, using only the scabbard to defeat the ninjas one by one.

Therefore, there will be no fatal injury; at most, one will faint and feel pain for a while, and will need to rest for ten days to half a month afterward.

The twelve men who rushed forward to attack all fell, while the fourteen men in the distance were stunned, unsure whether to continue their attack.

At this moment, Liu Yun stopped, raised his head, and said, "Do we need to continue?"

The black-clad ninja leader's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He stood there dumbfounded, seemingly unable to believe what he was seeing. After a moment, he finally came to his senses, his face ashen, and he shook his head with a wry smile: "Very convincing. I believe you are not the target I'm after. If it were you, you could probably have killed half the ninjas and retreated calmly long ago, without needing to run away at all..."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yun nodded gently and smiled, saying, "In that case, it's best that the misunderstanding has been cleared up."

At this moment, he felt that the other person might be a useful colleague in the future, so he tried his best to make his expression appear kind and friendly.

Liu Yun knew that his appearance was too rugged and not handsome enough, but his temperament was still relatively civilized.

After all, it is a soul from the 21st century.

However, his smile caused the ninja leader opposite him to break out in a cold sweat and tremble with fear.

There was clearly some misunderstanding, and the emotions were not conveyed effectively.

Liu Yun felt regret and distressed about this.

I initially thought I should explain it, but then I realized that it seems there's no way to explain it.

For example, if someone with the build of Schwarzenegger were to strut down the street carrying a six-barreled Gatling gun by hand, no matter how gentle his expression or how friendly his words, ordinary people would still regard him as a top-tier super-dangerous individual and keep their distance.

Chapter Sixty-Seven: The Oda Clan's "Discussion" - Ninjas (Three chapters released on the day of publication, 2/3)

At this moment, the leader of the black-clad ninjas was in a very bad mood.

On the one hand, his team was less skilled; twenty-six of them couldn't beat one of the other team's players.

On the other hand, since the guy who beat up an entire elite ninja squad wasn't the one they were after, it meant that the real target had already used this opportunity as cover to escape.

He was beaten up again and his mission failed, a double blow.

On the contrary, Liu Yun was in a pretty good mood.

First, the charges were cleared in time, preventing the victim from being falsely accused.

Secondly, he beat up the other person to avoid being beaten up himself.

Regardless of the reasons or causes, beating someone up is always much more enjoyable than being beaten up.

Therefore, Liu Yun harbored no hostility towards the ninjas who had attacked him. Instead, he asked warmly, "Why don't we go together and explain things clearly?"

By this time, it was probably past midnight, and the sky was still pitch black.

The ninja leader subconsciously took two steps away from Ryuun, let out a long breath to calm himself down, and forced a smile, saying, "You are Lord Sasaki Ryuun, serving under Lord Kinoshita Tokichiro at Yokoyama Castle, right? Then let's go to Yokoyama Castle to rest for a while."

Liu Yun nodded in agreement.

Then everyone went to Hengshan City together.

Liu Yun took the lantern and led the way, while the ninjas, each wearing masks and straw hats, followed behind, supporting and carrying the wounded. They arrived in just a quarter of an hour.

Upon entering the city gate, they happened to run into Maeno Nagayasu, who was in charge of the patrol. Ryuun briefly described what had happened, and Maeno Nagayasu was astonished. He led a group of people to the citadel and then reported to his superiors.

Kinoshita Tokichiro, who was spending the night getting to know the three women he had just taken in, heard the news and quickly got out of bed.

Hachisuka Masakatsu was also woken up.

At the same time, a group of guards were also awakened.

It seems that Shigeharu Takenaka went to the mountains to study some kind of magic, while Koichiro Kinoshita went out on business as his brother's representative; otherwise, he would probably have been present.

They all took these men in black, who claimed to be "direct ninjas of the Oda clan," very seriously.

Many lights were lit, and they met in the palace of Yokoyama Castle.

The outside was guarded by elite soldiers.

Inside, Kinoshita Tokichiro, Hachisuka Masakatsu, and Maeno Nagayasu were all dressed in ordinary clothes, but they were clearly hiding weapons in case of unforeseen circumstances.

The black-clad ninja leader, who had been wearing a mask, cloak, and straw hat the whole way, only removed these items and revealed his face after entering the palace.

After meeting, Kinoshita Tokichiro, Hachisuka Masakatsu, and Maeno Nagayasu all relaxed.

Then the three of them said in unison, "So it's Lord Zhu! It's been a long time! What a pleasure to meet you!"

The leader of the black-clad ninjas shook his head with a wry smile and said, "The three of you are not outsiders, just call me A-Zhu."

Since we're acquaintances, everything is easy to discuss.

So Liu Yun carefully memorized the appearance of this "Master Zhu".

He was an ordinary young man. Of medium build, with an average face, and the demeanor of a country farmer—the kind of person who would be easily overlooked in a crowd.

Perhaps that's why he's suited to be a ninja?

This "Master Take" explained in detail: "As you all know, the Kai Takeda clan has been making moves lately, seemingly intending to march on Kyoto to oppose our clan and rescue the Asakura and Asai. Therefore, our 'Kyodan' has been paying close attention to anyone coming from that direction. In just a few days, we captured a group of 'Toha' ninja disguised as merchants in Kyoto, but unfortunately, our operation was not successful, and the ringleader escaped. I then followed the trail to this place..."

After hearing this, Liu Yun roughly guessed that the so-called "Xiangtan" was probably the name of the Oda clan's ninja force, while "Toupa" was a code name for the Takeda clan's ninjas.

Then Liu Yun picked up the conversation: "At that time, I happened to be lured to an abandoned temple outside the city by a woman I didn't know very well."

In the middle of the night, he was lured by a woman to meet her in a secluded place.

These words sounded incredibly ambiguous, brimming with a hint of eroticism.

However, Liu Yun spoke with an upright and dignified air, without the slightest hint of shame or embarrassment, which made it impossible for anyone to feel like teasing him.

Then the black-clad ninja leader, referred to as "Lord Take," added, "The woman who lured you out of the city must have been a spy for the Takeda clan. They worked together seamlessly, killing two birds with one stone: they could cover the escape of their master while also framing our family's newly emerging talent. However, what they didn't expect was that Lord Sasaki Ryūun was far too valiant. Even with my twenty-five best men, I was no match for him and was quickly defeated. Moreover, Lord Ryūun never drew his sword, using only the scabbard as his weapon."

After hearing this—

Maeno Nagayasu seemed to have heard something unbelievable and appeared quite surprised.

Hachisuka Masakatsu raised his eyebrows, slightly surprised.

Kinoshita Tokichiro simply nodded slightly, not at all surprised.

Logically speaking, all three of them had already witnessed Liu Yun's martial arts skills and knew the strength of "Lord Zhu" and the others.

However, their levels of understanding are vastly different.

Perhaps the stronger one's own abilities, the more accurate one's judgment will be.

After a brief exchange, Liu Yun inquired, "Lord Zhu, were your subordinates seriously injured? Although I only used the scabbard, I did not hold back at all."

The black-clad ninja leader, addressed as "Lord Take," shook his head and said, "Thank you for your concern, Lord Ryuun, but there's no need to worry. For us 'Feast Talk' ninjas, pain is something we're already used to. Tonight's ordeal is within our means."

Without hesitation, Liu Yun continued, "If I had been captured by you back then, it would have been difficult to explain later. Therefore, I had no choice but to hold back. Please forgive me."

Upon hearing this, everyone else present fell silent.

Kinoshita Tokichiro immediately chuckled and smoothed things over: "How could that be! Even if Brother Ryuyun has unfortunately been wronged and burdened with a crime, you are still innocent after all! Putting aside everything else, I will definitely do my best to help you prove your innocence."

Hachisuka Masakatsu and Maeno Nagayasu quickly nodded in agreement.

However, the expressions on the faces of the three of them as they spoke did not seem very natural.

The black-clad ninja leader, referred to as "Lord Take," remained silent for a moment, then sighed and said softly, "Lord Ryuun is right. Lawsuits between common people require solid evidence; the innocent must not be wrongly accused. However, the ninjas of 'Xiangtan' carry out missions in the shadows, often preferring to kill the innocent rather than let the guilty go free. Once they fall into our hands, even innocent people will find it difficult to escape."

As soon as the words were spoken, the atmosphere became heavy.

This person is so straightforward that it leaves you unsure how to respond.

Now it's understandable why this "Master Take" and Kinoshita Tokichiro have such a good relationship.

Both of them seem to be down-to-earth people who don't talk about pleasantries.

Although sometimes the words are harsh, they do give people peace of mind.

After a moment of silence, Kinoshita Tokichiro changed the subject, saying, "Should we report this matter to Lord Danjo (Oda Nobunaga) immediately?"

The black-clad ninja leader, addressed as "Lord Take," smiled but did not answer the question. Instead, he said, "I would appreciate it if Lord Kinoshita could arrange some lodgings in the city tonight. My men have been working in the wilderness for six days straight, and although they are all ninjas, they need a rest."

Kinoshita Tokichiro naturally agreed.

Chapter Sixty-Eight: Iron Cavalry Gallops, Beauty Bids Farewell (Three chapters released on the day of publication, 3/3)

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Ryuun quietly slipped out and found Igawa Asagi, who was temporarily staying in an abandoned street in the castle town. He told her, "Your team member named Oboro is probably a spy for the Takeda family. Last night, she tried to frame me and then escape, but I stopped her and she detonated explosives and committed suicide."

Upon hearing this, Ikawa Asagi's expression froze instantly, her eyes glazed over, and her face turned deathly pale.

Liu Yun said this to remind the other party to be careful about whether there are other undercover agents, and to think about whether there is anything suspicious in the formation process of the Demon Ninja organization.