Fleeing from Konoha

Ichihime’s eyes behind the mask narrowed slightly, emitting a cold and sharp light.

Oyashiro pointed to the large arena below, seemingly oblivious to Ichihime’s piercing gaze, and said with a smile, "How about it? Are you able to go up and perform? If you can win three matches in a row, I’ll tell you everything I know. Of course, you can refuse, but if you lose, I’ll have to spend money to ransom you back. Oh, and if you lose, you won’t be crying to your parents, will you?"

"You’re truly an unpleasant guy in every sense."

Ichihime lifted her head, meeting Oyashiro’s smiling gaze.

"Thank you for the compliment, it’s one of the few entertainments I have. If you don’t agree, you can leave right away, and pretend this transaction never happened."

After Oyashiro finished speaking, he ignored Ichihime, sat back on the deck chair, holding his wine glass, displaying a look of enjoyment.

"Just need to win three in a row, right?"

Ichihime asked indifferently, suppressing the anger in her heart.

"Correct, three wins in a row."

Oyashiro nodded, his face full of a thick smile.

"Hope you don’t break your word then, or it won’t be a pretty death for you."

Ichihime left these words and exited the room.

Oyashiro chuckled lightly, picked up the communicator beside him, and made a call to the arena staff:

"I’m the owner of VIP room number seven, please make arrangements for me..."

◎

Without putting on a Ninja Suit, but dressed in casual attire, Ichihime stood openly in the arena, looking like an elegant noble lady, which clashed with the atmosphere of the arena, causing quite a stir among some people.

The wealthy in the audience, accustomed to seeing poorly dressed ninjas, were seeing such a splendid figure for the first time in the arena, preparing to fight against ninjas.

This immediately opened a certain box of desire within them.

However, some doubted Ichihime’s strength in such a guise.

Because standing in the center of the arena, a ninja cannot win on appearance alone; those who look unassuming or are large and fierce tend to be stronger.

Compared to them, Ichihime looked extremely frail, as if she might be blown away by the wind.

At this moment, a well-dressed adult male stepped to the center of the arena, enthusiastically introducing the situation to the wealthy spectators in the stands:

"Bestow glory upon the winner, despair upon the weak. Today, the twenty-eighth Ninja Duel Competition is about to begin. Appearing on the left is Oyashiro-san’s card—Ms. Senjo."

Applause erupted in the stands.

Some spectators showed signs of doubt in their eyes; the surname Oyashiro was quite infamous on this Isolated Island.

The opponent was a top-tier businessman in the Ninja Realm. Though not wealthy enough to rival a nation, he was a prominent figure on the Isolated Island.

Yet, Ichihime, under the alias of Senjo, not only appeared in non-ninja attire but also wore a mask concealing her face, along with Oyashiro behind her, some people already sensed something unusual.

But for most of the audience, they only cared whether the upcoming battle was exciting and could bring them supreme joy and pleasure.

Flashy but impractical ninjas have only one road here: to death.

"Next, coming up on the right is Mr. Dai’s card, possessing a sixty percent win rate in the arena, claiming to be the Light of Swift Shadow, and confident in speed as the talented ninja of the second generation Raikage—Narumaru."

The male commentator responsible for officiating introduced Ichihime’s opponent.

After the commentator finished speaking, a figure suddenly appeared on the stage, with the spectators unable to perceive his movement trajectory; he arrived directly at the stage where the battle was set to occur.

Approximately twenty years old, tall and slim, he tilted his head, lightly massaging his wrist, thoroughly examining Ichihime, and Narumaru’s face soon showed disdain.

"What? Today’s opponent is a little girl? Is this really alright? I’m not one for showing mercy, you know."

He said to the commentator.

The commentator merely had a professional smile on his face, not answering Narumaru’s question.

"Match, begin now."

After the two were positioned, without extra words, the commentator quickly retreated to a safe place to observe the fight.

Following the battle command, Narumaru’s figure flashed again, disappearing from the field.

"Hmph, my speed ranks second in the Ninja Realm, even Raikage is astonished, do you really think a little girl like you can keep up with me?"

The voices echoed from all sides, opening the eyes of the wealthy audience.

Although they couldn’t see Narumaru’s figure, they knew his speed was so fast, it couldn’t be discerned by the naked eye.

"Truly a statement befitting a third-rate minnow, disappointing, the second fastest in the Ninja Realm."

Ichihime, without looking sideways, evaluated Narumaru’s speed.

"What did you say? Hmph, your tough talk will only last now, clearly shocked and unable to react."

The whistling sound became more intense, proving Narumaru had increased his speed again.

Despite the boastful words, Narumaru, experienced in the arena for years, was not the type to understand nothing.