Samurai, in the end, were nothing but an obsolete profession.
Whether in terms of raw power or adaptability, they were vastly outclassed by ninjas.
Even the strongest Guardian Samurai nurtured by the Daimyo of the Land of Fire—who only possessed the strength of an Elite Jonin—was instantly obliterated by a single punch from Tatsukaze.
The rest were generally at the Jonin level, which was completely meaningless in this fight.
Perhaps the only thing samurai possessed that was stronger than ninjas was their self-righteous loyalty.
Unfortunately, on the battlefield, no one gave a shit about such trivial things!
Tatsukaze’s face remained as indifferent and calm as ever.
Only a faint sneer on his lips tugged painfully at the Daimyo’s heart.
Tap, tap, tap…
The crisp, resonant sound of his footsteps echoed.
Each step seemed to crush down directly on the Daimyo’s heart, nearly making it stop beating altogether.
Step by step, Tatsukaze, still smiling faintly, ascended the stairs.
“You!
You!
Don’t come any closer!” The Daimyo scrambled backward in a panic, his face completely pale with shock and desperation.
“You incompetent fool.
You can’t even manage to feign a facade of composure?” Tatsukaze sneered, mocking him with biting sarcasm.
“Guards!
Where are my guards?!
Hurry up and stop him!” The Daimyo frantically grabbed at the attendants behind him, but how could any of those servants dare to block Tatsukaze’s path?
As the Daimyo scrambled backward, they retreated even faster.
Pushing and shoving against one another, the massive crowd ended up squeezed into a single, chaotic pile, inadvertently exposing the palace-dressed loli who had originally been standing right beside the Daimyo.
“What’s this?
A whole crowd of grown men, and you intend to send out a little girl to deal with me?”
Tatsukaze scoffed.
His gaze swept over the chaotic pile of attendants surrounding the Daimyo, past the terrified servants, and finally landed on Mina.
Mina knew perfectly well that she was terrified, but she stood rooted to the spot, staring intently at Tatsukaze.
She watched as he single-handedly dominated the crowd, crushing his enemies with a single punch, and leisurely strolled up the stairs.
And then, Mina saw Tatsukaze look at her.
His gaze was calm, composed, entirely at ease…
But the moment she met Tatsukaze’s eyes, her heart suddenly squeezed tight, as if her heartbeat had stopped entirely.
‘So this is the gaze of the truly strong?!
This is the charisma of the strong!’
At that moment, this young girl—born deep within the palace and raised solely by gentle women—experienced the raw, absolute allure of power for the very first time.
Tatsukaze paid the little girl no further mind.
He casually walked right up to the Daimyo, unhurriedly bent down, grabbed him by the collar with one hand, and hoisted him effortlessly into the air.
“Are you trying to kill me?
No!
You can’t do this!
I am the Daimyo!
The Daimyo of the Land of Fire!
Do you have any idea what you’re doing?!”
“This is regicide!
This is high treason!”
Tatsukaze let out a contemptuous laugh.
“A piece of trash like you considers yourself a sovereign?
Whose sovereign are you?
The sovereign of garbage?
You’re certainly not my sovereign!”
“The only king I bow to is myself!”
The Daimyo tried to say something else, but Tatsukaze cut him off coldly.
“Enough!
I’m not here to listen to your endless, irritating babble.”
“If you dare make a single sound, I will kill you!”
“If you dare move a single inch, I will kill you!”
“If you dare make any weird hand signals, I’ll definitely kill you too!”
Tatsukaze wore a wicked, demonic smile.
Hoisting the violently trembling Daimyo in the air, his voice was very soft, yet it sounded like a whisper straight from hell.
“We are here to sign the next phase of the assistance agreement, and to officially conduct the Princess investiture ceremony for my disciple, Tsunade.
This is exactly what was agreed upon beforehand.”
“Therefore, you should know exactly what will happen if you break that agreement!”
The Daimyo trembled uncontrollably.
He felt as if a razor-sharp guillotine were hanging right over his head, and he didn’t dare move an inch or utter a single sound.
“Nothing happened here today.
I did absolutely nothing, and you didn’t say a single word.
If you understand, then behave yourself.”
Tatsukaze loosened his grip, and the Daimyo’s limp body slumped heavily to the floor.
Yet, he clamped his jaw shut, absolutely terrified to make even the slightest noise.
“We have a deal, then!”
A disdainful smile, a relaxed smile, an indifferent smile—everyone present instantly read the true meaning behind his expression.
He completely and utterly disregarded the Daimyo!
Tatsukaze casually walked back down the stairs.
Seeing Tsunade completely exhausted after taking out the last enemy, he smiled and patted her head.
“Alright, the Daimyo and I have come to an agreement.
“Yes!
Sensei!”
Although her body was exhausted, Tsunade’s spirit was surprisingly energized.
She was panting heavily, her body drenched in fragrant sweat, her resolute expression looking incredibly beautiful.
“Hmm?
You’re injured?”
Tatsukaze frowned, and the hearts of everyone in the grand hall simultaneously stopped for a full second.
“It’s nothing, Sensei.
I’ve already taken my revenge!” Tsunade pumped her little fist and huffed proudly.
Tatsukaze swept his gaze over the corpses and wreckage strewn across the floor, fully understanding the situation, and his frown instantly relaxed.
“Then let me heal you up.
Be a good girl, don’t move.”
“Mhm!
Thank you, Sensei!”
Tsunade’s eyes were full of gratitude, but that gratitude vanished completely in the blink of an eye.
During the “treatment,” she screamed in a mix of profound shame and anger:
“Wait!
Sensei, don’t just grope wherever you want!”
“Ah!
That place is—don’t move your hand!”
“I’m not injured there!
I’m really not injured there!
What the hell are you grabbing?!”
Tatsukaze looked entirely righteous and sincere.
“Tsunade, you just don’t understand.
Some areas are extremely prone to accumulating hidden, internal injuries.
If they aren’t treated immediately, they might lead to serious future complications like ‘small breasts’ or ‘menstrual cramps’.”
“As your Sensei, I must take full responsibility for your health!
Come on, be a good girl and relax your body.
It’s useless to try and cover up.
Do you really think you can block your Sensei’s Dragon Claw Breast-Groping Technique?”
Tsunade’s face was completely masked in shock, shame, and fury.
She genuinely couldn’t comprehend if the shameless pervert currently harassing her was actually the same person as the unbelievably handsome, overwhelmingly domineering, and heroic grandmaster from just moments ago.
“I have never heard of hidden injuries causing ‘menstrual cramps’ or ‘small breasts’!”
“Stop it right now, you beast of a Sensei!”