Chapter 84: Caravan

Of course, Masahiko didn't forget his sword in the hot spring; he just walked into a deserted place, then took out a long sword from a sealing scroll that he carried with him.

This sword was the one that he bought when he went to the Five Kages meeting that took place in Iron Land, and it was mixed with Chakra Metal. Masahiko intended to extract the chakra conductive metal from the blade and create two Special Shurikens. But he postponed the work until now. He didn't expect that it will come in handy soon.

Masahiko put the blade on his waist and tidied his clothes, then nodded with satisfaction. "This time, I really look as wandering swordsman…"

Back to the guard recruitment office, there was another young man there in addition to Scarface.

Scarface is recording the young man's information, "Are you a Shinobi? Okay… What's your rank? Ow, you're really back!" While he was talking, he saw Masahiko coming in.

Masahiko smiled, nodding, "Scarface, I've come back to apply, and talk about my reward…" Although Masahiko wasn't short of money, he was a hardworking man…

Scarface stood up and looked at him, sternly, "Let's go! The two of you is enough. Follow me to the caravan spot. Someone will test you both there, then we can talk about your payment." And with a scary expression, he continued, "If someone lied about his rank, the people there would not show any mercy."

However, this frightening didn't work on Masahiko; he kept his heartless smile on his face, while the young man on his side looked horrified.

On the way to the caravan camping ground, Masahiko smiled and asked the boy, "Boy, how old are you? Is this your first mission?"

The boy was anxious at first, but when he heard Masahiko's question, he stood straight and looked him in the eyes, "I'm not a child! I'm 17 years old!" He looked down again, "I'm a civilian ninja, and this is the first time for me to leave Yugakure…"

Masahiko nodded. Indeed, Yugakure is too peaceful; the boy is 17 years old, but this is his first mission.

"But it's not so peaceful after all…" Masahiko murmured, then remained silent.

Seeing Masahiko silent, the boy took the initiative to talk, "Big brother, don't you want to know why I took this mission?"

This… Has really made Masahiko laugh inside his heart, "It's been a while since the last time I was called big brother… But I'm afraid that you will end up getting killed since you act so naively boy…"

"Why do I need to ask? It's either you have a sick mother at home who needs a doctor, or you have a little sister that needs protection…"

The young-man: "…"

Scarface in front of them turned his head when he heard Masahiko, then showed a strange, evil smile, which startled Masahiko…

Without adding any more words, the three of them kept walking all the way to the wildness outside of the village.

Far away, Masahiko saw a caravan parked in the clearing. Around it, there more than one hundred people with a dozen carriages.

Masahiko frowned, "The size of the group is not small, but the carriage is quite long, what kind of things do they transport there."

Near the caravan, a little old man, came face to face with Scarface, and said: "Scarface, why did you only bring two people this time?"

Masahiko could feel that the old man doesn't have any chakra. He's just an ordinary person, even his physical strength was below average. But sure he wasn't just a regular person because he was talking equally with Scarface, which can only indicate that he's someone important, or even the owner of this caravan.

Surely, the way Scarface talked with him confirmed Masahiko's guess.

"Boss, the blond-haired boy claimed to be a high-level Samurai. If it's true, then he's enough…"

The old man frowned, looking at Masahiko. Obviously, he wasn't convinced. However, he didn't question him directly but said lightly: "Fine, then you will test his strength…"

Scarface nodded and turned to the two, "My name is Yukimura Sanada, I'm the guard captain of this caravan and a senior warrior." Then he glanced at Masahiko, "Not Scarface."

"Understood Scarface." Masahiko didn't really care.

(T/N: Sanada Yukimura actual name: Sanada Nobushige, was a Japanese samurai warrior of the Sengoku period. He was especially known as the leading general on the defending side of the Siege of Osaka.)

Scarface didn't like that; he looked angry for a moment, then he smirked.

"Your name is Masajuro, aren't you? You come with me… I will personally test your strength!" Scarface shouted. "Shoji! Come here! Take this boy and the other five and commence the test!"

A mustache-warrior came over and took the nervous boy away.

"Where's the test place?" Masahiko asked with a smile, not showing any trace of nervousness.

"It's here… Boss, take a step back."

The old man nodded and fell back a dozen meters.

"Let's do it…" Scarface said, allowing Masahiko to strike first.

Masahiko shrugged his shoulders, then he unleashed his sword and took his stance, then he swung it at Scarface.

Scarface blocked it, then stood straight again and didn't fight back. "Are you really a high-level Samurai? Your power isn't bad. But still, the angle of your strike isn't right. Your stance is also wrong, even the way you're holding your sword. It's better if you stop now."

Masahiko felt embarrassed; he really hadn't practice any swordsmanship before.

"I'm using a special blade technique, do you want to learn?" Masahiko replied.

Scarface didn't add any more words, and with a stare on his face, he drew his sword, then attacked. This wasn't the first time for Masahiko to fight against a swordsman; he had a few rounds against the Hatake Patriarch before.

"The momentum is good, but no Chakra reaction. He's a traditional warrior…" Although Masahiko doesn't know much about swordsmanship, with the advantage of his physical strength, he readily took a few strikes from Scarface.

Scarface then let out a sigh and nodded, inserting his sword back into the scabbard.

Masahiko thought that the test was already over. But he didn't expect that Scarface would shout, "Laido!"

(T/N: Laido, is a Japanese martial art that emphasizes being aware and capable of quickly drawing the sword and responding to a sudden attack.)

The sward-drawing was as fast as lightning, which made Masahiko's heart move, releasing his Chakra, that he was trying to hide, and blocked Scareface's sudden attack.

Scarface snorted, "It turned out that you're using the new-style, your Chakra amount is quite a lot. No wonder you dared to call yourself a high-level samurai."

He said these few words, then he turned away.

Masahiko scratched his head, not knowing how to respond.

The little old man then walked over, and said with a smile, "The previous sudden attack is to prevent unidentified Shinobi from infiltrating our team. Some spy will quickly use their ninjutsu to defend against that sudden attack. But you did well. Don't let it confuse you, there's a small dispute between the old and new samurai, Scarface here is one of the old generations, so…"

Masahiko nodded, indicating his understanding.

"Welcome, Masajuro… It's your name, right? Welcome to the caravan guards! This is your initial payment, 500,000 Ryo. When the goods are delivered, you will receive the rest."

Masahiko wrinkled his eyebrows and quickly took the money with a smile, and officially joined the caravan guards.

"How come I haven't heard about this prepayment until now…"