Travel- Ambush

Long story short, I lost the spar against my grandfather. I'm not going to recap it or anything, but just know I lost.

It's been 3 years since then, and I've been training non-stop on my cursed energy usage while keeping up my hand-to-hand training with my grandfather.

Blue no longer physically exhausts me, and I can consistently use it to clear out areas. I also can now maintain Infinity for an hour and 10 minutes on the dot.

Hogy says the majority of my improvement is because of him, but I ignore the bastard. He barely talks if it doesn't involve taunting me or fighting.

But currently, me and grandpa are taking a fucking carriage to his friend's home. Despite having numerous super cars, my grandfather decided to take a stupid carriage.

I feel like the old man is doing this out of spite, but I won't address it now. I've also grown over the past three years. I now stand at 5'4" at 9 years old, which is abnormally tall for a Japanese boy.

I'm almost as tall as my mother despite being 9. It's a guarantee that I'm going to be 180+ centimeters as an adult, most likely reaching Gojo's height of 190 cm.

Sighing boredly as I look out at the passing trees, I groan in discomfort at the old-school travel seats.

"Grandpa, do we have to sit in this carriage? I could've run there and back by now." I groan out as my grandfather continues ignoring me, sipping on his horrible-tasting tea.

"Ah, my grandson. This is your greatest flaw despite your supernatural capabilities. You lack neutrality. So impatient you are." My grandfather's voice is wise and teasing as he takes a large gulp of his tea.

"That's besides the point, old man! Why take the longest possible way to your friends' home? Wouldn't it be more polite to get there as fast as possible?" I question.

"Hah! That old coot couldn't care less how long we take as long as we arrive!"

Shaking my head in frustration, I scan the area. My six eyes pinpoint every animal hidden in the foliage from 10 kilometers away.

The ninjas escorting us remain silent despite walking for 2 hours straight next to a carriage.

As I focus my gaze on the surrounding men, I frown. They all look normal, but something's off. Terribly off.

Out of the ten surrounding ninja, one of them lacks the 'aura' everyone else holds. The six eyes give me an 'aura of the person I'm looking at.

The aura had numerous colors. Ranging from black to blue. The lighter the aura, the better the intentions. The darker the aura, the more sinister.

This one ninja has no aura. It's just blank. Like he's a mindless husk. My eyes widen at the realization and I nudge my grandfather's leg.

He follows my gaze immediately, and his face turns serious. Grandfather draws his katana as immediately a large number of men appear on top of the surrounding trees.

"Hirato, my old friend!" An arrogant elderly voice speaks as the surrounding ninja guard gets into defensive positions.

My grandfather's face is serious as he kicks open the carriage door. His sword drawn as I follow behind him.

"Oh! Who's this? A protege of sorts? Hmmm." I finally get a look at the man speaking.

Two katans rest on his back. Both katans have engravings on them, magical engravings. My six eyes immediately tell me these engravings pose a significant threat.

Each of his men wear pitch black and hold firearms, and each have a katana on their hips.

"You're brave to show your face to me again, Sametchi." My grandfather's voice is filled with the most hatred I've heard from him yet.

This makes me frown. My grandfather has never been one to speak with such emotion. He's always been a laid-back old man.

"Oi, old man... who is this?" I question, never taking my eyes off the man.

"He's an old colleague of mine."

"Oh?"

"Who is this boy, Hirato? You don't usually take children under your wing. A grandson, maybe?" The man's voice takes on a tone of wonder as we lock eyes.

"Hmph, there is no mistake. This brat is Aika's offspring. Hoho. Letting your daughter get tainted, I would have never thought."

At those words, my grandfather moves. His figure moving at superhuman speeds as the fight kicks off.

Immediately, I think of Infinity. Bullets pepper me as I frown. This is the 3rd time in my life where I have been threatened.

"All this forest won't do!" I give my allies a warning as I open my right hand. Pulling apart trees as I clear the area in one spin of the axis.

Letting blue clear, I spot half the men with firearms injured.

"Just one blue did all of that to you guys, huh?" Palming my fist, I grin, turning back towards the ninja that were supposed to be guarding me and my grandfather. I gasped in shock.

Each and every one of them lies dead on the floor. Their faces are marred in agony as I feel someone dash at me from behind.

Instead of standing idle, I spin on my heel. My fist strikes out in a blur as the person approaching me is blown back into the dirt.

My six eyes immediately evaluate the situation. This guy is the ninja that lacked a presence. His threat level is high and his mask begins to crumble.

His figure grows as his lifeless eyes glare at me and his mask begins to crumble.

His figure grows as his lifeless eyes glare at me. Bulging muscles rip through his clothing; his eyes glow red as he roars in fury.

"Shit..." I mutter as the man finishes his transformation. The six eyes screamed at me not to drop infinity.

For the first time since I was a toddler, someone is an imminent threat to my life. My face scrunches as I square off.

Standing with bulging muscles, the man, a mindless husk, stands at 5 meters tall. The energy around it seems to fold a bit. This thing utilizes magic.

The ninjas in the surrounding area join the beast's side as I grin a bit. Not because I'm excited or even happy. I grin out of fear.

I've never been in an out-of-control situation in this life. Sure, my life was threatened when I was 3, but I was in my family's compound, and backup was arriving.

This will be my first true combat scenario without support. Grandfather can handle himself well. I am truly confident of that, but how long will it take for him to win his fight? Will he win his fight?

A leaf slowly floats to the floor, and everything launches into hell. Bullets fly as the beast of a man charges me.

Using cursed energy reinforcement, I launch myself toward the creature. Ready for the fight of my life.