Chapter 189: One Against a Hundred
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 189: One Against a Hundred
Three consecutive punches, all to knock out the ridiculously tough Hanzo.
But the impact tore a huge hole in the 21st floor, and when I fell through, I landed right in the middle of a banquet hall where an engagement ceremony had just begun.
'This is bad. I don't even have a disguise.'
My original plan was to secretly take the staff elevator down and change clothes, but I suppose I ended up taking a shortcut.
While the dust cloud from the impact briefly obscured the guests' view, I quickly took the scarf from around the unconscious Hanzo's neck and wrapped it around my face.
Then, as I scanned the room for the President, I spotted her staring at me with a dazed expression and spoke, happy to see her.
"I've come to save you, Kumiko-senpai."
My voice seemed to snap her out of it. She started in surprise and asked.
"Yoo-Sung, what are you doing here?!"
"Shh! Quiet!"
To prevent my identity from being exposed by her shouting my name, I quickly shushed her and spoke in a whisper only she could hear.
"The Vice President told me. He said you were being forced into an unwanted engagement."
"...Shinji did something unnecessary."
Understanding the situation, the President's face grew calmer as she spoke to me.
"I appreciate you coming all this way, but you should go now, Yoo-Sung. I'm not exaggerating—if you defy the Saionji and Fujiwara families, you might not be able to live in Japan anymore."
"Thank you for worrying about me, but I refuse."
"Why? There's no reason for you to go this far to save me...!"
I grabbed her by the shoulders and said in a serious voice.
"Because I like you."
"Huh?"
I looked down at the President, whose eyes had gone wide, likely in shock at my sudden confession.
"Do I need a reason to save the woman I like?"
"......."
As she processed my words, the President's face slowly turned as red as a ripe persimmon.
She looked cute, but we were running out of time.
"Pardon me for a moment."
"Kyaa!"
I said, then hoisted the President over my shoulder.
Fortunately, the skirt of her dress was long enough to avoid any unintentional exposure.
The dust had almost completely settled.
Looking around, I saw security guards who had rushed in to protect the guests glaring at me with hostile eyes.
"Our leader is down!"
"Don't let that bastard escape!"
"Surround him completely!"
They were likely Hanzo's subordinates—in other words, ninjas from the Iga clan.
Perhaps because the hall was so enormous, their numbers easily exceeded one hundred.
'This is a little dangerous.'
No matter how strong I was, one person can't fight off ten. Besides, I'd just had a pretty intense fight on the 21st floor, so my stamina was lower than usual.
Sizing up the number of guards, I saw no way to win and had no choice but to pull out my trump card.
'Time limit: five minutes.'
The Fuma clan's secret stimulant: the Ghost Pill.
I had only ever taken this in dire emergencies.
「That's the pill you took when you fought me.」
"Because this is a pretty tight spot."
I replied, but instead of taking the pill immediately, I put it back in my pocket.
'I can't take it right now. Once the time limit is up, I'll be completely drained.'
And it takes at least five minutes to get from the 20th floor down to the 1st. I was already running on fumes; if I became immobilized, I'd be a sitting duck.
'I have no choice but to hold out as long as I can.'
Steeling my resolve, I stared straight ahead.
The engagement ceremony guests had already retreated, and now I was surrounded by ninjas wielding all sorts of weapons: maces, clubs, tonfas, kusarigama, shuriken, and cross-spears.
"Attack!"
At the signal, the suit-clad ninjas charged all at once.
"Hoo—"
I calmly centered myself, taking a slow, deep breath to regain my composure.
"Don't open your mouth. You'll bite your tongue."
After warning the President on my shoulder, I began to circulate my ki in earnest.
Fuma Style Old Martial Arts: Hayate, Second Form
Hayate (Gale)
As the name implies, it's Hayate's signature technique, allowing me to move like a gale.
Its speed is on par with Seomroe, the sword technique Fuma-senpai once showed me.
In an instant, I weaved through the ninjas, lashing out with ki-infused fists and feet in every direction.
My main targets were their joints. The goal was incapacitation, not killing, so I efficiently broke only their bones.
"Aaaaaargh! My arm!"
"My leg! My leg!"
Having taken down eight men in the blink of an eye, I stomped the ground hard and pushed forward.
Baji Quan: Outer Gate Top Elbow
Unlike the Rushing Hammer, which is a forward-moving punch, this technique uses the elbow—one of the hardest parts of the human body—to strike the opponent's torso.
Combined with my Indestructibility trait, a simple elbow strike transforms into a blow with the force of a battering ram.
CRASH!!
A large man who took my elbow went flying backward as if hit by a dump truck, smashing through the guest tables.
But seeing this, the other security guards charged at me without hesitation.
This time, it was a pincer attack from both sides.
One wielded a cross-spear, the other a jitte.
Fuma Style Old Martial Arts: Hayate, Seventh Form
Ryunobori (Tornado)
It's a technique that creates an updraft around my body, forcibly launching any nearby enemies into the air.
The two men caught in the fierce whirlwind slammed their heads against the hard ceiling before crashing back to the floor.
Next came ninjas with shuriken in both hands.
Deciding to just swarm me, several more rushed at me.
I tried to use Ryunobori to neutralize them as before, but perhaps because they'd seen their comrades get taken down, they threw shuriken to break my concentration.
"Tch."
It seems they were certain I would protect the President.
"Die!"
We naturally fell into an infight.
I twisted the wrist of the first kunoichi to reach me while kicking an oncoming guard in the stomach.
"Keuk!"
The guard flew up and hit the ceiling, his body going limp as he was knocked unconscious.
But the attacks weren't over.
Ch-ch-ch-chank!
The weight of a kusarigama came flying at my head.
I narrowly dodged it by tilting my head back, then grabbed the chain and yanked it hard.
The guard holding the kusarigama was lifted off his feet.
I spun around once, hard.
The ninjas he crashed into fell like autumn leaves.
'That's twenty.'
But there were still plenty of enemies around.
Just as I was considering when to chew the Ghost Pill before my stamina dropped further, a commotion erupted at the entrance.
"Out of the way, small fry!"
"Do not block my path!"
Two familiar voices.
"Gyaaaack!"
Finally, the guards blocking the entrance went flying, revealing the Vice President, who was for some reason shirtless, and Ryuji, whose normally orange hair had turned gold.
"Lady Kumiko! I've come to save you!"
"I trust I have not arrived too late!"
I couldn't help but be moved by the appearance of my two allies.
It truly felt like reinforcements of a thousand troops had arrived.
And I wasn't the only one surprised by the Vice President's appearance.
"Shinjiro! You dare betray the Saionji family?!"
The President's grandfather, who had been surrounded by his agents, shouted the Vice President's name, his face contorted with rage.
But the Vice President was unfazed, replying with a calm expression.
"Since entering the main house at the age of five, I have served not the Saionji family, but Lady Kumiko and her alone. And as her vassal, I will do anything for her happiness."
"Shinjiroooooo!! Guh!"
Unable to contain his rage, the President's grandfather clutched the back of his neck as his blood pressure apparently skyrocketed.
"President!"
"Father!"
The family members around him rushed to support him.
The cause of it all, the Vice President, seemed to have already steeled his heart. He dispatched the guards blocking his path mechanically, without batting an eye.
I hadn't noticed before since his clothes usually hid it, but seeing him now, the Vice President's physique was nothing to scoff at.
As for Ryuji,
"Hahahaha! Excellent! This is excellent! It feels as though I've returned to my days as a prince!"
Mahes still seemed to be in control of his body, rampaging wildly among the security guards.
Seeing his hair had turned a vivid gold, it seemed Mahes's spirit was influencing Ryuji's physical body.
Just like how my hair turns white when Chiaki possesses me.
"...I can't lose to them, either."
They had gone out of their way to come help me.
I couldn't just stand here groaning by myself.
CRUNCH!
I took the Ghost Pill from my pocket, tossed it into my mouth, and crushed it between my teeth. A familiar sense of exhilaration washed over me as yang energy surged up from deep within my body, and I smiled.
"Now then, shall we begin?"