I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Eiichi Shimizu and Kamaitachi first met not much earlier than Kamino, who had just left. He only met Kamaitachi for the first time this morning.

Since they had only met recently and Shimizu Eiichi was not yet familiar with Kamaitachi, he was completely taken aback by Kamaitachi's extremely volatile temper.

After glancing at the Kamaitachi and then at the Rasetsu, Shimizu Eiichi wisely chose to keep his mouth shut and remain silent.

The conflicts among the cadres of the Party who were being punished by law... such matters were not something he could interfere with.

After the weasel's roar subsided, the tea room fell into a brief, graveyard-like silence.

The calm-looking Rakshasa stared intently at the Kamaitachi. After a short while, as if recalling a funny joke, he chuckled and let out a "chichichi" laugh.

“Our cadres in the Party who punish the law… are all so unique.”

With a snap, Rakshasa reached out his left hand and grabbed his beloved sword, Nagayo Masamune, with its red hilt and scabbard, which was resting on his right side. He slowly stood up.

"Kamaitachi, I am now your nominal manager."

"If you don't obey my orders and do whatever you want, where will I put my face?"

How about this?

"Kamaitachi, aren't you the one who loves fighting the most?"

"Let's draw our swords now and have a good fight."

"If you can beat me, I will never bother with you again. You can do whatever you want."

"But if I beat you, you'll have to obey my orders."

What do you think?

Kamaitachi's usually stern face showed a noticeable wavering as Rasetsu finished speaking.

It was probably from the moment they heard the words, "Let's both draw our swords right now..." that Kamaitachi and Rasetsu's gazes sharpened, and a faint wariness and... vigilance appeared between their brows.

Rakshasa noticed the unusual emotion that appeared between Kamaitachi's brows, and with a charming expression on his face, he shrugged slightly.

"Don't worry, I won't make things difficult for you."

"I don't need you to completely defeat me."

"As long as you can leave a wound on me... even if it's just a scratch, I'll consider you the winner."

"And I must beat you so badly that you can't fight back before I can consider myself the winner."

"How about it? This condition isn't too harsh, is it?"

As he said this, Rakshasa subconsciously raised his right hand and touched the area below his right collarbone... to be precise, he touched a shallow, three-inch-long scar located below his right collarbone.

He only needed to leave a small wound on Rasetsu to win... Such favorable conditions did not bring joy to Kamaitachi; instead, they made him look indignant, as if he felt slighted by Rasetsu.

However, even though Rasetsu had offered him such favorable terms for the outcome, Kamaitachi remained silent and did not respond to Rasetsu's challenge.

Looking at the still quite quiet Kamaitachi, Rasetsu smirked, a mocking smile curving her lips.

"What's wrong? The conditions for victory are so favorable to you, yet you still dare not fight me?"

"Kamaitachi, you don't even have the confidence to leave a wound on me?"

Rakshasa's calm, emotionless words... were like a spark that ignited the powder keg that was Kamaitachi.

Kamaitachi's emotions were like lava bursting from a volcano. His cheeks turned red, his eyes widened, and more veins bulged on his neck.

"Damn it! Go ahead and fight! Do you think I'm afraid of you?!"

Kamaitachi leaped backward several steps, widening the distance between himself and Rasetsu. Then, he raised his right hand, gripped the fabric of his clothes tightly on his left shoulder, and flung it backward, removing his upper kimono.

The muscular weasel revealed its back tattoo—a white weasel-like creature with a large scythe as its tail.

It was none other than the famous wind demon: Kamaitachi!

With a "whoosh," the Kamaitachi drew the sword hanging from its left waist.

This is a katana with a very large curve in the blade... It looks just like the scythe tail on the weasel tattoo on his back.

The atmosphere in the tea room changed from suffocating and tense to deadly!

Glancing at the Kamaitachi, whose upper body was adorned with tattoos and whose sword had been drawn, Shimizu Eiichi asked Rasetsu in a deep voice, "Lord Rasetsu... should I excuse myself?"

"No need, no need." Rakshasa smiled calmly. "You can stay here. After all... this battle will be over soon."

Rakshasa tucked the Nagayo Masamune she was holding in her left hand back into the belt on her left side, then tucked both hands into the wide sleeves of her kimono. With her hands inside the kimono, she reached out from the front of her kimono and forcefully lifted the upper part of her kimono back, thus taking off her own upper garment.

As the kimono covering her upper body fell down, the tattoo on Rakshasa's back became visible—she wore jet-black armor that seemed to be one with her flesh and blood, her pale skin looked eerie, and her mouth full of fangs grinned menacingly.

A swift and terrifying demon that feeds on human flesh and blood, and can fly or walk on the ground!

“Come on, Kamaitachi.” Rasetsu beckoned to Kamaitachi with her finger. “Let me see how much your strength has improved since we last met.”

Kamaitachi did not respond to Rasetsu.

He merely snorted heavily through his nose, then, with an astonishingly powerful breath, he lunged at the Rakshasa with the force of a mountain collapsing!

Thump, thump, thump... His large feet slammed onto the tea room floor, producing a dull thud like thunder.

As he charged toward the Rakshasa, Kamaitachi casually drew the scabbard from his left waist, which had been hindering his movements, and tossed it aside.

The scabbard, flung away, flew high into the air, spinning and drawing a beautiful parabola before finally landing heavily in a corner of the tea room.

Thump.

Thump.

Two sounds of objects hitting the ground rang out almost simultaneously.

At the same moment the scabbard thrown by the weasel landed, something else also fell to the ground at the same instant.

This thing... is the very sword that Kamaitachi should be holding tightly in his hand.

The katana's sword was knocked away, flying horizontally at low altitude before falling to the ground.

Looking back at the Kamaitachi—he now stands motionless before the Rakshasa.

With no knife in his hand, he stared at the Rakshasa right in front of him, who was only inches away, with a look that mixed with astonishment, resentment, and unwillingness.

A chilling metallic glint emanated from the weasel's throat... The sharp tip of Changyang Zhengzong's blade came to a steady stop just half an inch from his throat.

If Rakshasa wished, he, who was holding the Changyang Masamune in one hand, could take the life of Kamaitachi with just a gentle push of the sword forward.

Standing to the side, Shimizu Eiichi... looked exactly like an audience member who had just witnessed a wonderful magic show that made them want to shout "Incredible!"

However, from Shimizu Eiichi's perspective, he had indeed just witnessed a scene that was quite unbelievable and like magic to him.

As the Kamaitachi rushed to the Rasetsu and was about to strike, a silvery-white light flashed before Shimizu Eiichi's eyes—a "silver snake" shot out from the Rasetsu's left waist, precisely striking the Kamaitachi's sword, knocking it away, and then stopping steadily in front of the Kamaitachi's throat with its remaining momentum.

Because the "silver snake" moved so fast, Shimizu Sakae only managed to catch a fleeting afterimage...

Eiichi Shimizu was once just an ordinary Yakuza who could be found anywhere on the streets.

He had no money, no power, and all he had were a good physique, a willingness to fight, and a decent talent for martial arts.

He learned how to fight in battle, and eventually, relying on his own martial prowess, he founded the "Shimizu Clan" with his own sword and spear.

Eiichi Shimizu, known for his fighting prowess, is a complete "martial arts fighter." He is quite confident in his skills, and many swordsmen who are considered to have "exceptionally excellent swordsmanship" have been defeated by him.

Even compared to those swordsmen hailed as sword masters, whose strength was by no means weak, he couldn't even see the trajectory of Rakshasa's sword strike...

At this moment, the Rakshasa spoke up.

He smiled slightly at the Kamaitachi standing in front of him: "It's been so long, Kamaitachi, your strength has improved quite a bit."

"It's just a pity... you're not the only one whose strength can keep improving."

Rakshasa withdrew the Nagayo Masamune that was stopped in front of the Kamaitachi's throat, put the tip of the sword back to the scabbard, and with a "clang", she pulled the Nagayo Masamune back into the scabbard.

"I won this battle."

"Then, Kamaitachi, please keep our promise."

"From now on, you must obediently follow my instructions."

The weasel's face... now resembled a high-speed video recorder, its expressions flashing and changing rapidly.

It turns green one minute and red the next.

He did not respond to the Rakshasa.

He gave a heavy "humph," turned and left, picking up his sword that had been knocked away, as well as the scabbard that had been thrown aside, and strode out of the tea room.

Watching the Kamaitachi depart, and hearing its footsteps fade into the distance, Shimizu Eiichi withdrew his gaze and gave Rasetsu a bitter smile: "What a... hot-tempered person..."

"Heh." Rakshasa sneered, "This hothead Kamaitachi, apart from being extremely loyal to the Fazhu Party and being good at concealing his presence, and having decent strength enough to deal with ordinary martial artists, doesn't have any other merits."

"Will he obediently listen to you and secretly protect Kamino?" Shimizu Eiichi couldn't help but ask this question.

“He will go,” Rasetsu said with certainty. “I know Kamaitachi’s character; he will go to protect Kanna in secret.”

"However... it remains to be seen whether he will put in the effort to protect Jinno seriously."

"But it doesn't matter anyway."

Rakshasa put on her upper body clothes with a cold expression.

"From the very beginning, I never expected Kamaitachi to work hard for me."

"The main reason I sent him to secretly protect Shinno was simply to find him a random job and get rid of him so he wouldn't stay by my side."

"Kamaitachi is only obedient in front of Lord Orochi and Lord Ootakemaru."

"Don't even mention me, even Lord Tamamo-no-Mae and Lord Shuten-dōji can't control him."

"Moreover, the Kamaitachi, with its volatile temper and love of fighting, is primarily a 'combatant,' specifically responsible for acting as a henchman and engaging in combat. I currently do not have any suitable missions for him that only know how to fight."

"Letting this unruly mad dog do nothing all day will only increase the hidden dangers."

"So I just found him any job and kicked him out, out of sight and out of mind. It's better for him and better for me."

"Kano-kun is a good talent, but he is not so outstanding that we can't do without him."

"To put it bluntly, even if Kamino-kun died, I wouldn't be too heartbroken."

"Therefore, it's just right to assign the trivial task of 'secretly protecting Kanna-kun' to Kamaitachi."

Eiichi Shimizu's lips twitched slightly: "Why would Lord Orochi assign such an uncontrollable fellow to you as a subordinate at this time..."

"Heh." Rakshasa sneered again. "That Kamaitachi guy wasn't sent here for me."

"He was punished by Lord Orochi, and was directly demoted and forced upon me."