"Konoha? Hmph, just another lowly shinobi, is that it?" A young nobleman at the training grounds sneered with disdain.
Kirito simply shrugged in response, unfazed. He had no interest in arguing with a bunch of bored, self-important nobles. Besides, he wasn't even a ninja, just someone from Konoha. Their mockery completely missed the mark.
"Well then, if there's nothing else, I'll be on my way."
Just as he turned to leave, the idle noble brats revealed their true nature, they weren't about to let him go so easily.
"Hmph!" The lead noble boy tilted his chin up at a 45-degree angle, nostrils flaring as he stared coldly at Kirito like he was beneath him. "Who said you could walk away in my presence…? Stop right there!"
But before he could even finish his pretentious line, Kirito had already turned his back, striding away without a care.
"You little- !" the noble fumed, the chill of his staged coolness utterly shattered by Kirito's blatant disregard. His clenched teeth practically sparked as he yelled at the nearby guards, "Seize that suspicious nobody, now!"
Without hesitation, the guards moved to encircle Kirito.
They wore formal samurai attire and carried impressive-looking long blades. From the outside, they looked professional and menacing, but standing at the center of their formation, Kirito didn't feel the slightest hint of tension.
Sigh "What a pain…"
"I already told you, I'm a visitor from Konoha, here on the Daimyō's orders. I heard the sounds of fighting nearby and came to investigate out of curiosity. Now that I see there's no actual incident, my business here is done."
"Hah! You think if something had happened, you'd be of any use?" The noble scoffed and drew his katana, twirling it theatrically before pointing it at Kirito. "Even if there were trouble, we noble samurai are more than enough to handle it. What use is a lowborn shinobi like you?"
"Alright, alright," Kirito said with a shrug, "So what now, your 'noble warriors' are detaining me for what, exactly?"
His casual attitude only made the noble brats more furious. They were used to being flattered, bowed to, fawned over. Kirito's indifference was like a hardcore disrespect for them.
"You trespassed on a noble gathering. By law, that's a punishable offense. But…" The noble's smirk turned sly. "If you obey our orders from now on, maybe we'll be generous enough to pardon your rudeness."
Kirito gave the smirking samurai an odd look. They were clearly up to something, and now he was just curious how low they could go.
"Oh? And what do you want me to do?"
The young noble snickered. "Aren't you shinobi famous for your little monkey tricks? Show us some jutsu. Come on, give us a performance."
The whole group burst into laughter.
"Ah, I see… that's what this is about." Kirito's voice remained calm. "What a shame, I'm not a ninja. I don't know any jutsu. Not Ninjutsu, not Genjutsu."
"What?! Don't screw with us, kid! You're from Konoha and you expect us to believe you're not a ninja?"
"Believe what you want." Kirito clearly had no intention of humoring their nonsense. He turned and began stepping past the guards blocking his path.
"Why, you-! I'll make you dance, monkey!" The noble was so enraged he started laughing again. "Take him down!"
"Yes, sir!"
The guards lunged forward, muscles bulging and swords raised.
Crack!
Kirito sidestepped the first, gently tapping his palm into the man's back. The armored brute collapsed instantly, paralyzed.
Another came in swinging. Kirito caught the punch midair, pivoted, and flung the attacker into the dirt.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
One after another, the so-called "elite warriors" were thrown aside like sacks of grain. Kirito dusted off his hands with a bored look.
"This is pointless. Let's wrap this up, shall we?"
"What?!"
The noble's face twisted with fury as he watched the guards he'd paid a fortune to hire get humiliated one by one. His expression turned a sickly green, then white, then red.
"You useless trash!"
It was like being slapped across the face with the truth: his elite warriors were nothing but decorative wastes of coin.
Furious and humiliated, the noble drew his own sword and charged at Kirito in a fit of rage.
"I- I am a noble samurai! A master of the blade- !"
Crack!
His charge came to a screeching halt. His finely crafted sword snapped clean in half with a loud clink. The broken tip spun through the air and landed on the floor with a sharp clang.
The room fell into stunned silence.
Kirito's sword, no one even saw him draw it, was already back in its sheath.
"Please," he said flatly, "Don't take another step. I'd hate for anyone to get hurt."
Eyes wide, jaws slack, the crowd stood frozen in disbelief. Kirito's casual demonstration had shaken them. They'd rarely encountered real shinobi, and certainly none like him.
Satisfied with the shock he'd delivered, Kirito turned to leave.
But just then-
Thwip!
A slender rapier landed in the floor before him with a crisp metallic ring.
From behind came a clear and melodious voice:
"Wait a moment… swordsman."
<><>---------------------------------------
200 P.S = 1 Extra Chapters