Chapter 60: The Chrysanthemum and the Sword
Sakimori, Jappon Country.
Taking advantage of the thick fog, a small boat quietly docked by the shore.
A person dressed as a ronin disembarked from the boat.
"I've already explained the specific points to pay attention to. The Jappon Capital is currently under martial law, and civilians are not allowed to carry weapons."
"You must be especially careful about this. It's a serious crime and will immediately draw attention from the authorities."
"I entrust this country to you."
An old man on the boat knelt before the ronin, speaking while repeatedly kowtowing.
The ronin waved his hand dismissively and walked forward, his figure quickly disappearing into the dense fog.
...
This ronin was none other than Mord, who had accepted the association's mission and traveled to Jappon.
Not wanting to be discovered, Mord had disembarked in a rainforest. The country's only port was tightly controlled by the current shogun of Jappon and was used only for transporting important supplies and personnel.
As a stowaway, Mord naturally couldn't take the official routes.
What he hadn't expected was that even such a remote place had been monitored.
Mord pretended as if nothing was wrong and continued walking forward. A dark figure was perched on a large tree not far from him. The other party was well-hidden, and an ordinary person likely wouldn't have noticed.
"A ninja?" Mord thought to himself.
He expanded his En, the three-meter radius around him, outward until it reached about thirty meters before stopping.
Although his perception detected only this one ninja, Mord still took precautions.
"He's alone."
With a single thought, Mord vanished from his spot.
"Huh? Where did he go? He disappeared?" The ninja hidden in the tree frowned as he looked at the empty ground below. He placed his hand on his waist while cautiously observing his surroundings.
Had he been discovered?
The other party couldn't have gone far. He must have used some technique to conceal his presence and was hiding somewhere nearby.
The towering trees all around greatly obstructed the view, making it easy to hide. As a ninja, he was an expert in concealment himself.
Where exactly was this person hiding?
The ninja's thoughts raced rapidly.
"Are you looking for me?"
A voice suddenly sounded from behind.
Without the slightest hesitation, the black-clad ninja dodged to the side while simultaneously throwing a shuriken from his hand.
Mord plucked a leaf and flicked it forward.
Clang!
The leaf, infused with nen, deflected the incoming shuriken and continued flying forward.
The ninja was shocked and drew the tachi at his waist, slashing fiercely at the leaf.
Another metallic clang rang out.
The black-clad ninja staggered back several steps, his katana broken in two, his right shoulder cut by a leaf. His entire body trembled.
"What terrifying power."
The black-clad ninja looked up at Mord, his gaze as if beholding a monster.
Faced with such a being, he couldn't muster even a shred of resistance in his heart.
Escape. He had to escape immediately.
His short figure moved swiftly, leaping and darting between the trees with remarkable speed.
But just as he leaped into the air, a dark shadow appeared above him. With a thud, it slammed him heavily back to the ground.
"Who are you? Why are you following me?" Mord looked coldly at the ninja beneath him, his voice icy.
This person's strength was not weak—naturally inferior to Hanzo during the Hunter Exam, but roughly on par with Gon at that time.
For someone without a Nen Ability, this was already among the top tier of combat prowess.
Especially his speed, likely achieved through a special technique. The burst of speed he displayed while fleeing was truly astonishing.
"Plucking flowers and throwing leaves to injure others—this is a legendary realm. You... just who are you?"
Crack!
The sound of a joint breaking.
"I'm the one asking questions here. I won't repeat myself. Who are you? Why are you here? And why are you following me?"
Mord's expression was stern as he demanded, "Speak! What is your mission?!"
A ninja of his caliber would never idly hide in a rainforest like this in the middle of the night for no reason.
His arrival on the island should have been top-secret; it was unlikely the information had been leaked.
After all, this mission was directly coordinated with that old geezer Netero, so the possibility of the leak originating from the Hunter Association was almost zero.
Could it really be just bad luck? Or had the enemy deployed forces along the entire coastline?
If that were the case, then he would need to reassess the enemy's combat strength.
How many people would it take to deploy forces of this level along the entire island's coastline?
Mord had just arrived in this country and knew far too little. He needed to extract more information from his captive!
"Speak!"
The black-clad ninja was lifted by the neck, hoisted into the air like a chick.
His face turned crimson, his breathing grew labored, but instead of showing any sign of compromise, his expression twisted into something sinister and grotesque. "A nin... ninja... Zetsu!... Never betrays!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the skin on his face began to take on a strange blackish-purple hue, and he died on the spot.
Poison suicide?!
Mord immediately released his grip and tossed the corpse aside.
Who knew if the poison could be transmitted through skin contact?
Jappon country in the Hunter world was far too similar to the little Japan from his previous life.
Even the so-called ninja spirit and bushido were identical.
Based on his memories of his past life, Mord had to admit—he didn't have a favorable impression of this land. But he had to acknowledge one thing: the Jappon people, living on this resource-scarce, earthquake-prone little island, were not to be underestimated as opponents.
Compared to the self-proclaimed "number one in the universe" Korea that only knows how to boast, the nation of Japan is far more terrifying.
Throughout Korea's entire history, from ancient times to the present, it has always been a vassal to stronger powers. After World War II, it barely achieved economic independence and somewhat wanted to spend money to "put back on each piece of clothing it had once taken off." There's a segment in their genes that goes: "What are they saying? Are they fucking looking down on me?!"
It is precisely this distorted sense of superiority that leads them to believe they are the best in the universe.
Japan, however, is completely different. A dog that doesn't bark often bites the hardest.
Cruelty and perseverance are almost engraved in their blood, whether it be ninjas or samurai.
It seems this mission won't go so smoothly.
Since guards were stationed here, if the other side doesn't receive messages from this location for an extended period, they will soon send people to investigate.
Therefore, we cannot stay here long.
Mord threw the corpse into the nearby lake, erased all other traces at the scene as much as possible, and then quickly disappeared into the rainforest.
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