As annoying as it was to get dragged along by Kenjumaru I will also admit despite him being insane it was nice simply having someone to talk to. Kojirou would mostly talk to me about training since I only projected him out with enough concentration and focus to give me constant advice and to watch his body and posture to get a better understanding of him explaining why he did things the way he did. 

“It’s time we left. We will be heading towards the nearest tourist village in this land.” He said succinctly. 

His entire tent that was bigger on the inside somehow was taken down and folded back up into a tiny piece of folded up metal in no time at all. It made me think of those camping chairs that you could buy for a store that fold. It made me want to examine the thing even more to get an idea of what it was and maybe how it did what it was doing.

We traveled again and this time I was capable of keeping up much better especially after observing Senjumaru’s movements when using ki. Even with that heavy armor on, his body movements were plain for me to see. Even though it took me far longer compared to using the sword to figure it out I eventually got the hang of it. It wasn’t perfect, but it made it far easier.

When using chakra I felt powerful. Now I felt like Superman. My form rushed through the trees and forest, the ground we gained far more than we had before. The realization hit me that Senjumaru’s lesson yesterday was to help me keep up, among other things.

The issue I was now dealing with was going too fast. If I pushed too much the space in front of me turned into a brown and green blur. I couldn’t tell what was up and everything moved too fast for my mind to keep up. So I have been slowly increasing my speed and what I could perceive experimentating by channeling ki into my eyes. Senjumaru either couldn’t see like me or he did and just didn’t care about moving around the trees as he did his best bulldozer impression knocking any of them down with the subtlety of a bull in a china shop.

It… helped a little, the blur easing up but it needed some adjustments and so far I wasn’t having much luck with that. Senjumaru didn’t complain about the speeds we moved at since he could move far faster than this. I had no doubts about that. Our clash of blades gave me a little insight. A drop into a cave echoing out showing just massive it was.

That was what it was like for me when we sparred. So what little moments we took breaks which were fewer but I felt the exhaustion hit me much harder so we took longer breaks. Abusing ki when you just first got introduced to it tends to suck a lot when you use up a lot of it.

Similar to what chakra exhaustion can be which I haven’t gone through just yet but have come close before calling it quits on my training since coming to this world. So the feeling of my ki being so low felt like the lowest point physically I have ever been in my life. I breathed heavily for minutes, soaked in sweat that was enough to fill a kiddie pool.

Leaning back against a tree sword kept in hand enjoying the shade of my resting spot or about as much as I could. Senjumaru was ahead of me standing in a clearing sunlight acting as a spotlight as he moved through various katas that I absorbed like a sponge with Minds Eye getting weird sensations from what he was doing.

Not once has he taken that armor off… that absurdly heavy armor that weighed who knows how much. This guy was insane. To think I just randomly encountered him after handling that which will not be mentioned in that village. Senjumaru had given the bird an order to let others know about the village being clear now. He had done a quick sweep for anymore of Itohime’s clan. 

None were found beyond a few others which Senjumaru quickly crushed without hesitation. He finally came to an end with the last stance, almost like he was dancing while trying to convey something through it. I was yet again thankful he wasn’t aware of the headband on my arm being the real thing.

“We have idled long enough. Time to go. We do not have much further.” I nodded slowly rising. “I can see why you were chosen to be the holder of the number one.” He said with his back turned to me.

I froze. My heart hammered in my chest, knuckles popping as my hand clutched the sword's handle falling into a stance. But Mind's Eye wasn’t going off, and I stared at Senjumaru’s back as he gathered the few things he had taken out and put them back away.

I slowly fell out of my stance but held my sword in one hand ready to fight no matter if I had a chance or not. Even a cornered rat will fight after all. 

“Y-you knew?” 

He finally turned to face me. “Yes. I am well aware of the situation involving these headbands while working under the Fire Daimyo.”

He disappeared and before I could figure out where he went or pull the sword he gave me free, his armored hand was on my shoulder. I froze, indecision warring inside of me on whether to attack him or let this play out. 

A shaky breath escaped me with me looking up towards the helmet that covered his face. “Be at ease Kojirou. If I wanted to end you I would have done so when we first met.”

A part of me questioned how true that was, but then again Snejumaru is nothing but blunt honesty. Emphasis on blunt considering the trees and branches he rammed through without a second thought.

“I at first believed you to be an impostor for some reason or another… maybe a dishonorable shinobi village using you as a decoy to draw others out that sought this headband.” His other hand had the headband trail along their palm before it slid off.

“But I see now that you are the one everyone seeks. You are indeed worthy of holding such a thing,” Yeah right like hell I am, I thought to myself. “A shame it was bestowed upon you when you have yet to reach your full potential.”

His hand left my shoulder after giving me a pat that made me wince. It almost felt like I got struck by a baseball bat. “You can leave now and take what little you have with you or come with me to the village to at least get yourself cleaned up and look presentable as befitting of your station.”

I blinked at that. After collecting my thoughts for a moment longer with him leaving me I made my choice despite kicking myself for doing so. “Why do all of this for me then? If you know what this is and who I am then why help me when you might have to kill me?”

“Because you are a talented ronin, and will make a fine samurai one day should you ever get the interest of a noble or even a Daimyo should fortune favor you. I have no orders to kill you, nor hunt down the headbands. So I do not and for that you have nothing to fear. And because you are under my tutelage for this brief period I will protect you as any master does with their student.”

I opened my mouth before closing it when his head turned back to watch me before I gave a slow dip of my head swallowing whatever disbelieving comment down. Senjumaru was a strange one. Had anyone else been in his situation and was a die hard samurai under their leader then I wouldn’t doubt they would take the extra steps to kill me and take the headband even if they can’t get the wish. 

We stayed silent with me moving slower but learning to use my ki more efficiently. The aches and bone deep exhaustion was still there, but it wasn’t as bad. As mom would tell me, work smarter not harder. So I tried to. 

Brief bursts of speed when a minor amount of ki was applied instead of using it all the time. Every time my feet land the ki was applied with just enough power timing it just right when I press off the ground. 

It was far more efficient if slower than what I was doing before. When going all out I was moving faster than most land vehicles back on Earth. Now I was moving about as fast as I would be going with chakra if not a little faster. What made it even more convenient I was getting better and with that came more speed.

Senjumaru slowed down enough to run by my side. “Good, you don’t have much ki since you just started.” He said to me because of course he hadn’t failed to notice me using it like this. “We can slow down now, we are almost upon the village. You made the wise decision to stay, Kojirou.”

We soon both landed once we reached the end of the forest and what I saw was no village. It sat out on the plains with steam moving through the air from the various hot springs that the land was known for. We walked closer with the village looking bigger and far livelier than any large town I had seen back on Earth.

Merchants dressed in various colors from all kinds of different nations, tourists of equally varying states of dress and colors that would make a peacock envious. They all moved around it on the road towards the villages equivalent to gates even though the guards were far too relaxed. I tensed up when the sudden realization hit me just when the edges of the headband brushed against my arm.

Senjumaru walked forward unbothered by the crowd of people despite how he stood out amongst them. Letting out a breath I had been holding before moving towards the bustling tourist town. Before long the crowd parts for the towering samurai.

The guards moved up even though I knew that if it came down to it even I could manhandle them. But Senjumaru stops for them.

“Business?” One asks.

“Bounty. From Karasu-mura.” At his comment both guards paused before they looked towards one another. 

“Is… is it finally taken care of?” One asked hesitantly. He got a nod in response. 

“Alright.” They didn’t do anything more simply letting the two of us inside. The tourist attraction for a town was bustling and from what I could infer about what was happening with that village of the damned it was affecting business for these people.

But as far as I could tell it didn’t do a thing considering this was a lot of people. Something I would expect out of a busy city back on Earth. Mind I doubt the actual numbers matched those cities but the number of people moving around the area was enough for me to think that. I half expected people to act like fish and move around us instead they gave us a wide berth. 

What a small fish would do when near a massive shark. I felt like a fish out of water here. Even some of the less wealthy people seemed better dressed than me with the sights and sounds off-putting when the only other thing I have dealt with for some time was that of nature. 

I watched merchants haggle or yell about their wares with the people moving around the place making it a kaleidoscope of colors within a hurricane.

So it all felt overwhelming and I even felt like curling in on myself by being surrounded by so many people.

In my teenage years I was a shut-in and didn’t like large crowds. By the time I got into college, I didn’t like being so closed off from people, especially after seeing the guys around me picking up girls all the time. 

So I made myself open up and became more sociable after realizing being a withdrawn antisocial creature of the night sucked. It wasn’t easy at first considering I wasn’t used to dealing with long conversations with most people and embarrassed myself on more than one occasion but it was worth it in the end. 

But after so long being away from most people besides the few villagers I could spare time to talk to when I needed something after doing a job for them I am right back to being uncomfortable around all these people. What wasn’t helping the situation was my growing concern for the headband that just wouldn’t go the hell away or stay concealed.

Some of them glanced or looked at me. A few of them seem to take particular interest in me when seeing my headband wrapped around my arm. Most of them simply looked at me and Senjumaru but didn't look longer than necessary when the hulking samurai turned his head in their direction and they simply went back to whatever they were doing, seemingly not caring.

“Senjumaru, we need to hurry. They seemed to know of me, never mind the ones that either didn’t know or more likely didn’t show interest but do know.” I speak quietly so he would be the only one to hear it. 

I can only grimace as an eye twitches at his nonchalant behavior of bringing me into this possible lion's den. “They won’t make a move unless they want some severe political backlash. This nation may be peaceful but other nations do not take kindly to attacks being done near their own people or powerful and notable individuals being put at risk, especially in one of the few places they can all go to relax and enjoy themselves besides their homes. They may have information on you now which they would have had on you no matter what. If you have battled someone recently and if they survived then most will know of you.”

His reasoning doesn’t help ease the tension in me as I think to simply flee from this place but seeing no one make a move against me I relax if only slightly, “Yes I did.”

“Then that means those who seek you have the information they need to identify you and have a rough estimate of where you are.” 

I didn’t exactly have time to think it over when fleeing for my life but he isn’t wrong. That Mist shinobi didn’t find me by accident. He was waiting or maybe looking around the local area to find me. But how did he know?

We made our way through the town towards a more official looking place that had far more guards stationed around it. I remained behind while Senjumaru went inside lugging in the giant box on his back. 

It was only a few minutes later that he came out and tossed me a pouch. “It has a metal card inside of it. Don’t lose it.” 

I opened it up and eyed the gleaming piece of metal that I realized was made from silver. The sheen it had was the same my great grandmother's spoons had and those were real silver. It had digits and various kanji pressed into it. It denoted the amount that was on it I assumed, like a debit card. 

Senjumaru wasted no time when his hand reached out and grabbed the sword he had given me. “W-what?! I need that!” I pointed out to him.

“You need to get your own blade. Come.” I followed and before long we came to a blacksmith near the craftsmen side of the place. 

The man was covered in stains from working the forge and plenty of weapons were on display. The man looked toughened up by the years of work he had to have done in his trade. Unlike the guards he wasn’t as intimidated by Senjumaru, and after handing him the silver plate he took out something that resembled a card puncher pressing it into it.

He quickly got to work getting everything I needed for my journey. Unfortunately, even with the decent bounty I had gotten from killing Itohime, it wasn’t enough to afford even getting a sword similar to the one Senjumaru had lent me.

The smith even laughed and thanked me for the praise thinking he could craft that type of weapon. Apparently, those swords which were backup weapons were something special and only smiths under a Daimyo’s employ could make them, let alone the three swords I had taken. He clammed up when asked about those giving me a strange look.

While the smith was handling my order of all the swords I would need since my previous weapon had been made useless, Senjumaru took me to a hot spring to clean myself up.

“You should look proper, whether you are a ronin or samurai, always appear proper. Your dignity will not survive otherwise.” 

He had an attendant at the place take me in and take my clothes from me. I cannot lie, that hotspring was amazing. It felt like my skin and muscles would slide right off of me with how relaxed it all became the instant I got in the water.

The warm water washed away all the grime and the stress that had built up melted off of me. I don’t think I had ever let out a moan that sounded like it was a mix of sexual pleasure and relief in my life. The hot spring went by far too fast for my liking with the attendant that had taken my clothes appearing with a new set.

When asked about it he said my sensei had them ordered for me. I felt bad thinking he was going to kill me for the headband after all he had done for me… Even the beating he gave me to test my skills. 

That was something I hoped to repay him for in the future. Leaving the room dressed in a well made traveling outfit with the bulk of it a dark lavender with some cranes embroidered into it.

“Much better.” Senjumaru’s voice rumbled out of his suit, having remained inside of it.

“You should try the hot springs out, they are heavenly.” I said with a lamenting sigh.

He actually chuckled at me. “If you think those are good, one day if you ever find yourself in the Land of Fire in the Fire Daimyo’s court, find me and I can show you much better.”

I soon followed him out and I got my swords from the blacksmith who had gotten them in a storage scroll with a seal on it. It cost me a decent bit of money but I still had plenty left over… I think? It’s kind of hard to figure out the actual worth of something when the money involved wasn’t the same currency I had back in America. 

Some supplies like water and food were gathered so I could have something on the journey with my time with the samurai coming to an end. I soon stood across from Senjumaru and bowed deeply to the man. “Thank you for everything, sensei.” 

He nodded back. “It was the least I could do for assisting albeit unknowingly in my mission. And to help one with a bright future full of potential such as yours was something no samurai with or without any honor would pass up a chance of teaching.”

It would probably be the first and only time I bow to anyone but he had earned it for helping me and the gifts he had given me.

 

We walked to the outskirts as Senjumaru gave me the advice on where I might go to buy time and get some distance from those who hunt me. 

“Your plan was not a bad one but I wouldn’t say it was a feasible one either. The Land of Vegetables would have been a good place to hide in. The problem you would face is that despite most nations agreeing that they must never be attacked since a large portion of food that is grown comes from that land, there are still rogue individuals of each nation and groups including monks, and even as bitter as it is to say it would also include other samurai.” Senjumaru said sourly when he acknowledged that other samurai or those who follow the way of the sword would come for me. I wasn’t not surprised.

The reward should they find and kill me is far too great to pass up. It’s why I was so gung-ho about being on my own. But coming here and seeing no one besides a few eyes on my headband and not starting a conflict over it makes me question going completely secluded and cut off from society. Maybe depending on things I could occasionally be near other people. I will need to think more about that later.

Oblivious to my thoughts on rethinking staying in seclusion he continues, “The problem you face is the long journey to get there with who knows how many people looking for you. I am rather certain you would have a great many fights on the way here. Another thing is the nation itself either having people there who would also be after you even if they are far simpler to fight against which regardless would cause issues with the Land of Vegetables itself.” He listed off things I had not taken into account or thought of.

“The Land of Mountains beyond it depending on how you view it could be better or worse but comes down to the issue of you getting there alive and in one piece. The other issue is if you do get there trying to survive in a harsh land for anyone that is not familiar with it. Never mind trying to get food or water until you manage to master ki enough to avoid such things for a time. A good place to hide by all means since it’s not named the Land of Mountains for no reason but you will not be the only person hiding there. Then you have everyone knowing about the nation iconic for that reason so you also have others laying in wait for anyone with a decent bounty to come to that area. Some bounty hunters have managed to amass a fortune using such methods.”

We were at a decent distance from the village seeing a great many people either on foot or others on carriages pulled along by horses for presumably people of higher standing or simple merchants. Paying them no mind as we walked along Senjumaru gave his opinion on things.

“Well if those choices were bad ones, what do you think would be a good place to go to?” My voice is even while staring ahead at the sun high into the sky. It better be something I can use…

“The Land of Lightning.” He says after a moment of thought saying it with the utmost seriousness so far. He held a hand out silencing me as I was going to immediately reject the idea, “I know it is home to one of the more powerful shinobi villages along with having its fair share of monasteries along with one of the world's finest contingent of samurai.”

“But the land itself is known for its mountains and plenty of places to hide. It’s much closer than the original destinations you had in mind even if you must go through the Land of Frost. Yes, the people of the land may know of it better than you, but it would be more hospitable than the Land of Mountains and you could get work there as well.” He says to me a finger pointed at me and gesturing to the pack holding my supplies and storage scroll with the rest of the swords inside of it. 

“You won’t be able to just make food appear nor water and whatever resources you would need out of thin air. Just think about it since it is your choice to make in the end. It was an honor meeting you Kojirou and may the gods watch over you! I look forward to meeting you in the future and seeing how far you have grown.” He says this with me imagining him with a calm serene smile.

“Thank you for the advice and the aid you have given me. Hopefully, we will meet again. Stay safe and good travels to you.” Another deep bow and walked off waving goodbye to the man as I headed further west in my goal to reach either of those nations where I could be assured of my safety. 

While his advice had some merit to it, I think I was better off sticking to what my original plan was. I could only hope it wouldn’t go horribly wrong as the samurai disappeared in a blur now rushing off easily moving out of my sight.

“It would be nice to do that one day myself and run far away from all of this.” I said with jealousy briefly looking at the headband before walking away.