章節 7: Roen and Samurai.

It has been 2 week since I left Kodon clan. I have been continuously moving towards the three wolf mountain. I only stopped to take short break and hunt for food. My plan was to take refuge in land of iron since it is a neutral zone between samurai and ninja. After that I planned to leave towards the land of fire. But this situation was against me. I am currently stuck in a blizzard. I had no visibility, food or water. I was just marching like a zombie fighting through the blizzard, covered in snow, cold.

I could not get a lot of resources from the Kodon clan. Well I did burn down everything although I made sure to memorize the Scrolls about medicines and how they produced kotaro in their bodies using chakra while I was preparing to escape. I could not replicate it because it requires chakra control.

" Where will I learn that from?"

I also took 15 shuriken, 5 kunai and a short sword perfect for my size. Even this amount of baggage was too much to carry through this harsh place. I was thinking about dropping excess baggage when I heard sounds of ground being smashed and a roar which meant, " You do not want to mess with me."

I pushed through further in the direction of the sounds. And what I saw was terrifying. It was Roen, a legendary monster resembling a cross between a tiger and a wolf, bigger in size than the entire kodan clan mansion. It has tentacles on its back. There was talk amongst Kodon clan members about Roen but most regarded it as a myth.

" Why do I have the worse luck" I said to myself and took another peak. Samurai were fighting it. Samurai usually wear heavy, segmented plate armour that covers the shoulders, chest, stomach and lower back, upper back, lower sides, and thighs. They also wear gauntlets, shin guards, and helmets. I heard about them from our instructors. There was one who adorn their helmets with horns. He was probably a senior officer.

They all were wielding a sword. Chakra could be seen channel round it and form the shape of other weapons such as axe, a fan, different variety of sword. Roen swung one of its tentacles on a samurai like a whip. It crushed him and was apparently draining chakra out of him. They took some distance from it and all of them released a crescent of chakra simultaneously at it. All of them collided with him resulting in a huge explosion of power. It halted the blizzard for a moment. Repelled Roen ran away from there.

" They are strong. Why are coming towards me?"

Before I could do any thing I was surrounded by samurai point their swords at me. Their senior officer's sword was an inch away from my forehead. He then proceeded to bombard me with rapid fire questions.

"Why is a kid your age doing here with ninja equipments."

"I was captured by some ninjas. I escaped from them and took whatever I could."

"Your story begs more questions. How did a kid your age managed to escape from ninjas and survive in this blizzard. Also why did you thought weapons will be more important than food or other necessities."

" Those ninjas killed my family and took me hostage with some other kids. We were about to be smuggled somewhere but I escaped."

"You did not tell me how you survive this long."

"My father was a mercenary and he taught me to hunt rabbits and how to use a sword."

"Why are you here?"

"I am going to the land of iron. It's peaceful there my father used to tell me."

"What is your name kid?"

"....Rheo Saito." I mixed some truth with a lot of lies. I lied to him with a straight face in the eyes. I had to gain his favour to stay alive. My story also seem plausible. My tattered condition also appealed for it.

Officer was not entirely convinced but he ordered to withdraw weapons and-

"Okay I will take you there." he said with a little compassion. I felt same compassion as I did from Shizuku. He took me in his arms and body flickered at an amazing speed. He is faster than everyone in Kodon clan.

I am a pragmatic combatant, believing that using any means necessary in a life-and-death battle is essential in victory and survival.