"You're asking for it!"
Kazama was ready to teach these guards a lesson right then and there.
"Oh, you wanna throw hands? One swing of my whip, and you're done, punk!"
The guards didn't take Kazama seriously at all.
"How dare you!"
Just then, a middle-aged man dressed in fine silk robes stepped forward.
"This young shinobi is someone the Daimyō of Hi no Kuni personally requested from Konoha to protect our princess! How dare you treat him with such disrespect? Apologize to him at once!"
"What?!"
The guards froze, their hearts skipping a beat.
They never would've guessed that this guy, who they thought was some pathetic nobody, was actually a ninja sent by the Daimyō of Hi no Kuni.
Sure, they could look down on Kazama, but defying the Daimyō's orders? No way they'd risk that.
So, with fake smiles plastered on their faces, they reluctantly apologized to Kazama.
"Young shinobi, don't waste your time with these fools. Come with me to meet the Daimyō—he's been waiting for you!" the middle-aged man said.
Seeing the guards back off, Kazama didn't bother dealing with them anymore.
But as soon as he walked away, the guards started whispering among themselves again.
"What's the Daimyō thinking, hiring a loser like that to protect the princess? And sending someone to personally escort him, no less!"
"I bet this scruffy kid's the Daimyō's secret lovechild or something. 'Hired ninja'? Yeah, right, it's just a cover!"
"Haha! With that ugly mug? No way he's related to the Daimyō!"
The guards thought Kazama was long gone, so their mocking wouldn't reach his ears.
What they didn't know was that Kazama, with his superhuman sensory abilities, could pick up every single word and movement crystal clear.
"Hmph! You guys just don't learn, do you?"
From a distance, Kazama let out a cold smirk and unleashed a sound-based genjutsu on the guards.
Thanks to absorbing some of Oto-nin Tayuya's techniques in the past, Kazama had inherited her abilities.
Sure, the guards were far away, but sound waves travel with the wind.
In just a few breaths, the mocking guards fell under his genjutsu.
And then, they started taking turns performing Sennen Goroshi—Thousand Years of Death—on each other.
"What the hell, man?! Stop it!"
"I can't stop! Why aren't you stopping?!"
"I can't stop either!"
Amid their pained howls, the palace entrance turned into a chaotic mess, with the guards caught in a bizarre mix of agony and… something else.
Meanwhile, Kazama had just arrived at the Daimyō of Hi no Kuni's private chambers.
But the scene before him was pure chaos—everyone was in a panic.
"What's going on here?" Kazama asked, puzzled.
"You don't know, young shinobi," the middle-aged man explained. "The Daimyō's health has always been frail. Recently, the princess was attacked by bandits, and when the Daimyō heard about it, he was so furious it worsened his condition. We've called every renowned doctor in Hi no Kuni, but none of them can improve his health!"
With that, the man led Kazama inside.
After all, since Kazama was sent by Konoha to protect the princess, it was only right for the Daimyō to meet him.
"Sigh… the Daimyō's illness is beyond saving. We're out of options. It's time to prepare for the end," one of the royal physicians said.
As soon as Kazama stepped inside, he saw the room full of physicians, all shaking their heads and sighing.
"No way! I was counting on finishing this mission and getting a big reward from the Daimyō. And now they're saying it's over?" Kazama thought to himself.
He stepped forward, wondering if his Yōton—Yang Release—could help save the Daimyō.
So, he quickly turned to the middle-aged man and said, "I've studied some medical ninjutsu. Could I try treating the Daimyō?"
"What? Who do you think you are, kid? You think you can treat the Daimyō?!"
Before the middle-aged man could even respond, a crowd of royal physicians surrounded Kazama, shouting and scolding him.