Chapter 17: 11.5TH FIGHT; SECRET CLAN DRAMA (2)

11t.5h FIGHT: SECRET CLAN WARS (2).

-XOXOXOX-

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-XOXOXOX-

Walking into the compound, what they saw were simple yet homely buildings of oriental design with several clan members walking about surveilling the proximity.

And as they entered the compound, they could feel the inquisitive stares of many others within one of the buildings, even when there was a wall that separated them.

In a sense, it seemed to be one of the many abilities of the strong to sense each other and their competition.

"Here." Sliding the door open they saw a meeting place that held about two to three dozen men that were considered 'outsiders' to the clan sitting and lounging about. "Please wait for the Young Master to debrief you."

And with that, the man vanished.

-WHISTLE-

'Ah, he disappeared. Is he a ninja or something, or is he B*tman?' Myoujou whistled before stepping into the wide living room followed by a relaxed as-ever Shintarou.

Judging by the actions of those present, it looks like the meeting hasn't started yet. And as they entered, those gazes only grew in intensity.

'So that's the 'Phantom Titan'…

'And he even got himself a little disciple too…'

'Heh. With the number of enemies, the 'Phantom Titan' got on his back; it'd be a miracle if his disciple manages to stick around for long…'

'This fucker… He's not gonna have this shitty brat he's babysitting slow us down, eh?'

As if he could tell the thoughts of the men before him, Myoujou perked his eyebrow up slightly. "You seem pretty popular among these guys, Shintarou. But guessing by the way they're staring at us, I doubt that they're members of your Fanclub." Myoujou said while gently elbowing Shintarou to get his intention.

He may be young and not the smartest tool in the shed, but due to living within 'The Inside' for most of his life, he was well aware of these kinds of looks that they were giving him.

They were the looks that said;

-'It doesn't matter whether or not you did or didn't do anything; I'm ready to cause trouble for you.'

In other words, the looks of most of the people here were of those that were ready to start a conflict, no matter how forced it may be.

'How unprofessional, even at a job, huh?' Myoujou clicked his tongue. 'I don't really wanna cause any problems on the job but it looks like these guys are willing to…'

'-Well, If they don't want to play nice, then I won't either.'

"Hmmn. No idea kid. Maybe they are members of my Fanclub and are just too shy to ask for an autograph…" Shintarou mused loudly.

-Maybe a bit too loudly.

'Tch!'

'Arrogant as always.'

'This fucker-!'

As the surroundings continue to get even quieter and tenser, a maid walks out towards a podium stationed just ahead of the group to start their briefing.

With eerie glints in their eyes, the men had harbored quite the amount of dirty untoward thoughts and delusions about the beauty of this maid…

-But Myoujou was different.

Not because he was a gentleman or anything...

In fact, he very well understood the reason for the other's gazes, as if one were to ask Myoujou what he thought of the maid before him, then the words 'Nice tits.' would be the first thought that entered and exited his juvenile mind.

But because under his stone-cold poker face, he was quite surprised at the fact that even the maid seemed decently strong.

'So even the maids of the strong are strong too… As expected of the strong. Looks like this ain't your average ninja palace.' Myoujou thought, reaching a different kind of delusion from the other men.

-A delusion of secret spy ninjas fighting the government and the likes seen only in manga.

"We thank you for coming out today and accepting this request…" The made opened with a brief speech, before getting to the main point. "And now to start with, allow me to introduce our young master, the head of the Kuremisago Clan, Kuremisago Senzui."

-SLIDE-

"!"

And as the sliding door opened, a fairly tall man, around 185cm with slick back hair and a youthful face stepped out.

And although there was no grandiose pressure emanating from the man, the man had a charismatic countenance and walked with a relaxed gait as if he had no worries.

But even then, they could all tell that the aura this man gave off was monstrous.

-Monstrously competent and efficient.

'So this is the leader of this clan. This guy might be smiling, but he's the real deal.' Staring ahead, Myoujou and the man exchanged glances as a familiar light flashed in the man's eyes, as if he had recognized someone he knew from the past before continuing to walk on.

'This guy… Is the real deal.' Myoujou held back both his sweat and a smile.

"Ah, I must say, you have my thanks for responding to this job invite." Senzui cleared his throat as he began to speak. "I'm glad that you all could make it."

He seemed to be a dependable leader with a cool, clear voice, that easily diffused the tense atmosphere the room had earlier without even needing to directly try to.

"Now, to cut to the chase, we need your help." Senzui said as he made a short bow.

"Y-Young Master." Seeing this, the maid tried to stop Senzui as the act of lowering one's head would be simply unthinkable for the man that leads the Kuremisago Clan.

"It's fine. The Kuremisago is a clan that prided itself on the isolationist views of the old Japan for far too long, and just as time changes, so will traditions." Senzui spoke solemnly. "You see, the very act of bringing an outsider in these grounds would be grounds for treason."

"However, that is not something I can accept."

"To grow we must expand and connect with others so that we may use not only the power of strength but of our bonds as well. To open up to outsiders and show the world our 'light'."

"-Which in turn is why I hired you all."

"That's nice and all, but it doesn't change the fact that by joining with you we're all headed into hell in a handbasket." Hearing Senzui's speech, a rough-looking mercenary stood up while smirking. "'Cuz we're being hired as mercenaries or rather, 'Meat-shields' for you guys to do your 'honorable' fighting, eh?"

-Quite a bold statement, indeed.

And although the other mercenaries were surprised, they stayed silent as they all agreed with his sentiments.

"This outsider! You dare-" Agitated by the man's brusque words the maid was calmed by Senzui as he waved it away, telling her to calm down. "Let him speak. After all, he was invited here."

"But…" The maid tried to insist but was silenced with a 'look' by Senzui.

"Continue." Senzui said as he looked at the bold 'outsider'.

Looking at the man standing up in the middle of the crowd, Myoujou pestered Shintarou for an answer. "Huh? Who's this guy?"

"Oh him, the 'Terror Fist'. Just one of the mercenaries hired here as well." Shintarou yawned. "Some random guy that likes to beat people up, and changes emotions on the flip of a hat."

"Don't worry about him though; I doubt you'll see much of him very soon anyway."

"Wow, for real?" Myoujou said but didn't bother thinking much about it, since they won't be crossing paths for much longer.

"Yeah, in a way, both of you got something in common; childish, and got a bucket load 'o issues." Shintarou said.

"Hey, easy there old man, after living in that slums for so long on stealth-mode it's just kinda weird not having to deal with restraining emotions and all of that stuff.' Myoujou said. "Sometimes I still think that anything higher than a whisper is too loud when speaking."

"Plus, I'm sure that once I've fully grown, I'll be a much more stable person than that guy."

"In what, the next few years? Give me an estimate that isn't when I kick the bucket of old age." Shintarou retorted.

"How are you even sure that you'll kick the bucket in old age? For all you know, it could be earlier, like when you drink too much!" Myoujou shot back.

As the two were chatting back and forth without care about what was being said by one of the mercenaries as their conversation had reached its peak.

"Let's not pretend. I'm sure that we all feel the same." The mercenary said whilst looking around. "But as long as we get some proper compensation, then we'll be sure to do our best."

"Hahaha… You're funny, you know that?" Senzui said with a smile. "Of course you will be compensated. It won't be easy, which is why we will handsomely reward you."

And as the mercenary seemed as if he would close his mouth, he opened it once more. "Heh. That's nice and all, but now there's one more thing."

"You, Satou Shintarou 'The Phantom Titan'. You think that your hot shit, ain't ya?"

The man then tried to berate Shintarou to which the former just laughed at him, further enraging him. "You think you're hot shit that you can bring one of the babies your training to a job, huh?"

"Haaa- Is there something wrong, rookie?" Shintarou snickered.

"Don't get me wrong, but I don't wanna kick the bucket because some brat wet himself in the middle of the war." The mercenary said.

"Eh-? Then you don't gotta worry about that." Shintarou said. "You kickin' the bucket in the middle of battle won't happen because of my little disciple…"

"-Since you're weak and all."

And as the man was about to yell, Shintarou cut him off. "But seriously, whadd'ya you even want though?"

"Hmph. I suggest we see if this brat that's behind him is any good in the first place." The mercenary glared. He saw a chance to make fun of Shintarou and he wouldn't wait one second for it.

"You must be bored out of your damned mind buckaroo, it's not like your paycheck will increase if you show off…" Shintarou said while sighing. "Where's the alcohol? I'm not getting paid enough to deal with this clown."

"Now, now, don't get too defensive! I didn't mean to scare ya'." The man snickered. "I was just trying to help."

Looking at Shintarou's amused face and the faces of everyone around, Myoujou understood just what the man was hoping to achieve.

'Ok now, what's with this dude? I get that he's trying to force a conflict, but why is acting like a 'Saturday Morning Cartoon' villain-'

'Oh. I see. Seems like the old man reaaallyyy got some people holding grudges against him.' And with that, a calculating glint shone in Myoujou's eyes.

'Isn't this my time to shine? That guy's about twenty centimeters taller than me, and weighs even more… The bigger guy beaten down by a shorter underdog would raise my cred quite a bit, wouldn't it?"

-'Disciple defeats strong man at the Kuremisago Clan would make a great debut story. It's like his existence would be just an outlet for me to show off how amazing I could be.'

"Hey Shintarou, how about we take him up on his little deal..." Myoujou said.

"---And see if he's not just full of hot air."

"Heh, do you know who I am?" He said whilst looking down at Myoujou.

And as an imperceptible smirk raises on the corners of one Myoujou's lips, it seemed as if things were only about to get hectic.

You see, it's said that in a child's development, it's quite common for them to imprint onto themselves the habits of those who were around them as they create their identity and to integrate them into who they are.

And that moment, Myoujou would display one of the so-called bad habits that were slowly rubbing off on him due to spending around three-plus years under his care.

"Nah. I don't. Who are you anyway?" Myoujou's smirk grew wider, "And why should I care, you geezer?"

-'Disregard' and 'Disrespect'.

"!"

'This brat…'

'He really is that man's disciple…'

'His mouth is as dirty as his Master's…'

'What a familiar-looking boy- Reminds me of another mercenary…"

To think that the young-looking disciple of the 'Phantom Titan' would have such a dirty mouth and that he would say such things with a straight face at that.

"You little-!"

-SWIISH-

And as the man rushed to bash his fist into Myoujou's face, a voice suddenly interrupted them.

"!"

"That's enough."

"If the ability of that disciple is your concern, then you needn't worry as he is quite the talented one who was managed to keep up a bit with one of my guards." Senzui said which caused some of the eyebrows of those in the room to rise a bit.

"Ain't that so? Well if my employer is so confident, then I guess why not?" The man said as he moved his fist that was stopped just a few centimeters from Myoujou's face. "You're lucky. You hear that kid?"

'Why not my ass, you just wanted to show off.' Myoujou smiled inwardly. 'Now what would happen if I'd end up kicking your ass?'

"Whatever, so like what Shintarou said; are you getting paid more to act like this, or not?" Myoujou said as he moved his leg that was aimed at the man's groin.

And as things simmered down, Senzui reached the end of his speech. "Now allow me to tell you our cause."

You are reading story Tenmaou: Strongest Martial Artist at novel35.com

This job that they were taking up was a chance to participate in a war between the factions of the Kuremisago Clan.

"The Kuremisago has been at war with each other for quite some time across the lands, though it was kept secret." Senzui said. "You may not know, but as of now the Kuremisago has split into two factions..."

"-The Kuremisago mainland wanted to keep the status quo and its status as an isolationist state, and us, The Liberationist Party wanted to experience change."

"We always talk about peace and this and peace that, but without strength, it can't be brought about. Though, judging by the words of the 'Terror Fist', I doubt that you care much about that no? No need to pretend." Senzui said gaining a few chuckles from them.

Once more displaying the charisma of a natural-born leader, Senzui had ended his speech and debriefing, informing them that a few days from now they would be dispatched in one of the fields, ready to join the battle.

And although the feeling of confidence and reassurance emanated from Senzui's speech and eventually calmed the quarries and concerns of the mercenaries, Myoujou couldn't help but feel odd as if had a feeling that this wouldn't be such a simple mercenary job.

'Weird. Something feels, kinda off…' Myoujou thought whilst staring at the Kuremisago Clan Leader, Senzui.

'Kinda like this guy… Especially like… this guy.'

-XOXOXOX-

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-LATE EVENING-

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-XOXOXOX-

-SLAM!-

"Sutoreito Furusshu/ Straight Flush." Myoujou said in utterly perfect English as he slammed down a perfect hand of cards.

"Victory, is mine."

After being debriefed they were busy lounging within one of the rooms provided as they played a game of poker, awaiting further orders.

At first, Myoujou had won by a landslide, showcasing his ability to adapt and perform before Shintarou had suddenly turned the tables on him.

"Hehehe… You idiot disciple" Shintarou cackled menacingly as he slowly revealed his hand.

"Huh? Now hold on-" Myoujou muttered as he suddenly got a funny feeling. But alas, it was too late.

"It's far too early in the story for me; the master, to lose to you; the disciple."

"-just one damned-"

"Royal-"

"-minute!"

"Flush."

"..."

"…"

"…"

Not breaking his poker face down, several thoughts went through Myoujou's head before he finally concluded; "You cheated, didn't you?"

Looking to the side, Shintarou whistled. "Of course not, you're just bad at this, boyo~"

"Bad at what? That's bullshit." At this point, Myoujou knew that Shintarou was cheating, but for the love of everything holy, he couldn't find out how.

"But seriously, how?"

As Myoujou stared at the hand of poker cards in front of him, Shintarou hopped up from his seat as he headed for the door.

Grinning foolishly, Shintarou waved his hands. "You know what my boy? I need a break from all of this winning."

"Huh? You're not running are you?" Myoujou said. "No way, I haven't even found out how you're cheating."

"Runiiiiiing-? Meeeee? Of course nooooot! I'm just tired of beating you over and over, that's all." Shintarou snickered before leaving.

"Hey… My money…" Shocked that Shintarou ran, Myoujou could only sigh as rested his head by lying down within the room. 'Haaa… You gotta be kidding me.'

'You've got to be kidding me... What kind of Sensei cheats in a card game and runs off with their disciple's money?'

'Should I sue? Nah, that wouldn't work...'

'You know what? Whatever.'

Eventually, as he put aside the food containers the maids came to collect them.

Several minutes passed as Myoujou just stared at the starry-night sky above him.

-CLICK!-

Opening the locket he stared at the picture of his mother for a few minutes. It was a habit he gained as a means to cool down which later became something he did whenever he had the time to.

-Case in point, right now. As he had nothing major to do as of late.

"Mother… now that I think about it, in your journal, you never really wrote about where you grew up…"

"Or maybe that's because other parts of it are missing..."

"That makes me wonder though, did that 'Ogre' bastard really tore some pages out just to send me on some wild goose chase?"

"Or did you tear those out yourself, not wanting what was written down to remain?"

Closing the locket, he then went outside, walking through chilly Kuremisago Compound that in his opinion slowly started to smell like snow.

"Wherever it was, I'm sure you knew how to stop cheating old men in card games too, right?"

Myoujou smiled at the night sky as he took a deep breath and stretched.

Walking across the Clan compound looking at the maids and butlers that paced about friskily as they attended to their duties that this scenery felt somewhat familiar despite him never being here before, leading Myoujou felt a strong sense of 'Deja-Vu' as he entered the 'Training Grounds'.

'Have I been to a place like this before? I dunno.'

But as he continued walking towards the rectangular training grounds fresh and clean after a routine sweeping, he came across two figures engaged in a not so friendly conversation.

'Huh? There's someone else here?' He came across the same mercenary who was arguing with him earlier speaking with someone that didn't seem to be listening to him.

The rough-looking mercenary was talking to a tall and slim blond man that wore a striped suit with arm and leg gauntlets for battle.

And whatever they were talking about, it didn't look like it was going so well, as the mercenary angrily stomped, and when coming in contact with Myoujou tried to shoulder bump him.

Unfortunately for him though, that would fail because instead of staggering Myoujou, he would only have himself be pushed out the way by a little.

You see although he had much to improve on when it came to the finesse of fighting and its techniques when it came to his body and raw physical strength, his body was a work of art that went beyond the very definition of durable.

Gnashing his teeth at his failed attempts of intimidation, the man continued to stomp off.

"Seems like he doesn't like you that much either, huh?" The blond man suddenly said, appearing next to Myoujou.

"Eh? You think so? I think he has a grudge and just wants to kill me." Myoujou said. "But hey, you meet all kinds of people in the outside world, Old man."

Talking to people like this would be something unthinkable for the always cautious Myoujou from three years ago, as he was always isolating himself from others in order to survive.

-But now, here he was, speaking to a complete stranger of an old man late at night.

"O-Old man? Well, aren't you a funny kid?" The blond man said as he went for a handshake. "The name's Saiga, Furinji Saiga."

'Gee, what a friendly guy. I didn't really ask, but alright I guess.' Myoujou shrugged as he shook Saiga's hand. "Furinji Saiga, eh? The name's Myoujou, Kurogami Myoujou."

'Now that I look at it, most guys here a super cautious of each other yet he's as nonchalant as ever. What's his story?'

'Kurogami Myoujou? What a strong name.' Saiga thought as he took a good look at Myoujou. Judging by his face seemed to be a young fellow, and with his trained eye, he could see such a durably built body even under the almost baggy red coat. 'This kid… He looks familiar to another guy that Dad doesn't get along with…'

'Could he be related to that guy? Nah, couldn't be, they even got different last names too.'

Myoujou on the other hand had not too different thoughts as Saiga. 'Wait, Saiga Furinji… Furinji, that's one the names of the Martial Arts bigshots Shintarou told me about…'

"Yup, it's as you guessed it." Saiga said, scratching his head as he saw the extremely minute change in Myoujou's expression and instantly realized what he was thinking. "I'm related to That Furinji. In fact, I'm his son."

And the name wasn't given about 'that' person; both knew exactly 'who' they were referring to.

-'The Invincible Superman, Hayato Furinji.'

'What the hell... Didn't Shintarou say that the Furinji family were all about the 'save-the-people-and-never-take-a-life-shtick'? Whatchamacallit? The Katsujinken/ Life Saving Fist mantra and belief? What happened for a guy like this hanging around here?'

'Well, anything could happen in life, right?' Myoujou thought. Not because the father was some 'Hero' meant that the son also had to be a hero.

Talking with the man, Myoujou realized that Saiga wasn't a mercenary hired by the clan, but one of the three leaders of their little rebellion in the first place.

Honestly, he wasn't too surprised, though he did find it funny due to how silly and laid-back Saiga behaved as if the guy wasn't even involved in a war at all.

Apparently, Saiga fell in love with one of the ladies from this clan, with the lady being the very Kuremisago 'Princess' herself, someone who was supposed to get together with the Clan Leader Senzui.

And although the Kuremisago Clan heavily protested their union since Saiga was an outsider, they would still go on to have a child together in the end.

And now he wants nothing more than to end this whole clan feud so he can live with her.

'A man fighting for the hand of the woman he loves, and then later fighting to live in peace with his wife and child… What a pretty noble goal- Almost like he's a knight in a fairytale.' Myoujou thought. If what this Saiga guy said wasn't complete lies, then he would be quite the decent fellow indeed.

After a few minutes had passed, Saiga suddenly stood up as he gazed at the large moon that stood in the night sky.

"Well Myoujou, seems like it's time for me to go." Saiga said, his expression going serious for a second as he looked at Myoujou. "And as an 'Old Man' with some life experience, let me tell you this…"

"Try not to die, okay?" Saiga smiled.

"Hmmn, got it, Old man." Myoujou gave a 'peace sign'. "Y'know, 'Old man'. You seem like a pretty decent dude. I hope you can achieve what you're fighting for."

Nodding, Saiga waved his hand as he turned to leave, but as soon as he stepped on the veranda-

"!"

Shouts from around the clan compound were heard as everyone scrambled about.

As a clan member ran to Saiga, he suddenly bombarded the man with questions.

"What's going on?" Saiga asked the Kuremisago clansman. "Is there an attack from the Kuremisago mainland?"

"Furinji-dono… We found out some not-so-great news."

"Today, we found the dead bodies of three of our members."

"What?" Saiga asked. "Just how did they die, and why?"

"Looking at their bodies it seemed to be a spear to the chest… But that's not the main thing." The clansman said.

"What everyone is saying… Is that you were there when they died…"

"- And you, were the one to kill them, Saiga-dono."

"W-What…" Saiga muttered, his brain working overtime trying to find out who and why would frame him.

Looking at the scenario that was playing out in front of him, Myoujou felt that once again, his feelings of a premonition occurring was slowly starting to turn true.

And as he looked around the panicked Kuremisago compound, he realized…

-That this was an environment where schemes, violence, and the stench of blood would soon become a regular occurrence.

'I knew it… This wasn't some simple inky-dinky job that Shintarou brought me on…'

'But I still can't shake the feeling that something even worse is yet to happen.' Myoujou frowned as he gazed at Saiga and the panicked Kuremisago clansman.

-XOXOXOX-

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11.5th Fight: SECRET CLAN DRAMA(2) END

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-XOXOXOX-

11th Chapter Out!

As always, thanks for the support~

The plot thickens...

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