Chapter 191: Darknet Reactions
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 191: Darknet Reactions
At that very moment,
On a site in the shadows known to all who live in Japan's underworld.
On the free-for-all board of the Japanese server, known to locals as the Darknet's Medieval Japland Branch, an anonymous post appeared.
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1\. Anonymous VIP User: 2017/09/20(Wed) 13:47:14.38 ID:lokoisGod
NINJA MASSACRE AT THE ENGAGEMENT PARTYYYYYY!!!
2\. Anonymous Contractor
What kind of ninja-reciting-a-haiku bullshit is this?
3\. Passing Anonymous User
A ninja? Why a ninja?
4\. Anonymous Hacker
Ninja Reality Shock!
5\. Anonymous Fighter
You guys really need to stop reading so much manga. Is this the darknet or a weeb forum?
6\. Anonymous Contractor
The fact that you recognize the reference means you're already one of us...
7\. Anonymous Fighter
Aaargh! No, I'm not!
8\. Anonymous Hacker
So what manga is this 'ninja massacre at the engagement party' from? 'Tell me' the title.
9\. Anonymous VIP User: 2017/09/20(Wed) 13:50:14.38 ID:lokoisGod
It's not from a manga, it's a true story. It happened just two hours ago, and because of my job, I got to watch it all live.
10\. Anonymous Acupuncturist
What's your job?
11\. Anonymous VIP User: 2017/09/20(Wed) 13:51:14.38 ID:lokoisGod
I've been working for three years at a mid-sized security firm founded by the Iga clan.
12\. Anonymous Acupuncturist
Ah~
13\. Anonymous Hacker
Fair enough, then. So whose engagement party was it that a ninja suddenly crashed? If they hired an underworld security firm, it couldn't have been for ordinary people.
14\. Anonymous VIP User: 2017/09/20(Wed) 13:55:14.38 ID:lokoisGod
It was the engagement of the third-generation heirs of the Fujiwara and Saionji Groups.
15\. Passing Anonymous User
?????
16\. Anonymous Acupuncturist
???????
17\. Anonymous Hacker
??????????????
18\. Anonymous Fighter
Holy shit.
19\. Passing Anonymous User
Is it the same Fujiwara and Saionji that I'm thinking of?
20\. Anonymous Hacker
At this point, shouldn't we be more worried about the ninja who crashed the party? But wait a minute, you said massacre?
21\. Anonymous VIP User: 2017/09/20(Wed) 13:58:14.38 ID:lokoisGod
For real, legit. About 100 people were taken down in an instant.
22\. Anonymous Hacker
What kind of OP character is that? More importantly, if you were all wiped out, how are you chatting right now?
23\. Anonymous VIP User: 2017/09/20(Wed) 14:03:14.38 ID:lokoisGod
Me? I just pretended to charge in and then lay down in a corner.
24\. Anonymous Fighter
Do your job...
25\. Anonymous Acupuncturist
That sweet, sweet paycheck for doing nothing.
26\. Anonymous VIP User: 2017/09/20(Wed) 14:05:14.38 ID:lokoisGod
Anyway, the fact that I was a wage thief isn't what's important right now. What's important are the techniques that mysterious ninja used.
27\. Anonymous Hacker
What kind of techniques did the ninja use?
28\. Anonymous VIP User: 2017/09/20(Wed) 14:06:14.38 ID:lokoisGod
He was freely using Hayate, the secret martial art of the Fuma clan. A technique that was supposedly only passed down to the 17th Fuma Kotaro, the 'Black Yaksha'.
29\. Anonymous Hacker
The Black Yaksha again? Isn't this just some Black Yaksha viral marketing?
30\. Anonymous Patriot
Hearing the name Black Yaksha, I have made my appearance.
31\. Anonymous Fighter
Ah, fuck off. Seriously.
32\. Anonymous Patriot
In this day and age, the only super ninja capable of a ninja massacre is the Black Yaksha. It is even written in the Kojiki.
33\. Anonymous Acupuncturist
Just ignore the troll.
34\. Anonymous VIP User: 2017/09/20(Wed) 14:11:14.38 ID:lokoisGod
But the ninja who crashed the party looked a bit different from the Black Yaksha I know. His voice sounded pretty young, too.
35\. Anonymous Fighter
The Black Yaksha's getting on in years, so maybe he trained a successor while in seclusion? Li Meiling, who just won the GOF, is the successor to 'Dongfang Bubai' Li Senshun, right?
36\. Anonymous Hacker
Dongfang Bubai (eliminated in the semifinals)
37\. Passing Anonymous User
lol Are you an idiot? Everyone knows the loss in Russia doesn't count.
38\. Anonymous VIP User: 2017/09/20(Wed) 14:13:14.38 ID:lokoisGod
True, it's been 10 years, so I guess he could have trained a successor or two. Anyway, that ninja was absurdly strong, we couldn't even touch him and got wiped out.
39\. Anonymous Hacker
Hey, why are your descriptive skills so lacking at the most important part?
40\. Anonymous VIP User: 2017/09/20(Wed) 14:16:15.38 ID:lokoisGod
It was just so incredible I can't put it into words. Ah, the hotel's CCTV footage should still be there. I'll copy it and bring it over. The fight between that ninja and our captain must have been recorded.
41\. Anonymous Patriot
The successor to the Black Yaksha who vanished 10 years ago vs. Japan's current strongest ninja? This is gonna be an epic showdown...
42\. Anonymous Hacker
You crazy bastard! Don't just leave, finish the story first!
43\. Go-player Regular
Ah, I missed all the juicy gossip because I was playing a game of Go.
*
The morning of the last day of the school trip.
I woke up at dawn, just like any other day, only to find myself frozen by a completely unexpected situation.
"Mmmph..."
The President, who had definitely been on the other side of the pillow barricade before I fell asleep, had somehow crossed the line and was now hugging me like a teddy bear.
'What should I do?'
I had the option of pretending not to notice and going back to sleep, but if I did that, there was a very high chance Satoru would wake up before me, see this, and have a fit.
'...I have no choice.'
I gently shook the shoulder of the President, who was still wandering through dreamland.
Her neatly closed eyes slowly fluttered open.
"Yoo-Sung, why are you in my dream...?"
I whispered to her in a small voice.
"This is reality, President."
Realization of last night's events seemed to dawn on her then, and with a strange sound like, 'Ah-hyek!', she scrambled away from me.
"I-I-I-I'm sorry! I'm a really restless sleeper."
"It's fine. These things can happen when you're sleeping."
I calmed the President, who was stuttering badly in her panic, and glanced over at the other two, who were still asleep.
Despite the minor commotion, neither of them showed any sign of waking.
「Putting on a good show first thing in the morning, Kim Yoo-Sung. Now, build the pyramid.」
「K-I-S-S-I-N-G~♪」
...You two ghosts in the peanut gallery, could you please be quiet?
I shot a glare at the two ghosts before straightening out the messy futon and asking,
"Were you able to sleep comfortably last night?"
"Ah, yes. Thanks to the three of you making space for me, I slept very well."
the President said, straightening her disheveled clothes.
"How are you planning to get back to Tokyo?"
"For now, I'm thinking of asking Mr. Matsuda, the head teacher for the second-years. If I travel alone, my family's people might catch me on the way."
"Right, that's a possibility. The saying goes, 'the best place to hide a tree is in a forest,' so that sounds like a good plan."
"Hehe, I'm glad to hear you think so."
As one topic of conversation ended, silence fell once more.
I hesitated for a moment before finally asking.
"The engagement ceremony was ruined yesterday because of me and the Vice President... Are you really okay with that?"
The President smiled gently and placed a hand over her heart.
"To be honest, I feel rather relieved."
"Relieved?"
"Yes. I was born with a good bloodline and have lived my whole life doing only what I wanted, so I thought accepting an arranged marriage according to my grandfather's wishes was my natural duty as the daughter of a prestigious family."
"A duty, you say."
"So when the engagement was decided without my consent, I had half-resigned myself to it. But what you and Shinji showed me yesterday changed my mind."
Maybe it's okay to be stubborn after all?
"I started to think, 'Instead of being bound by old traditions and entering a marriage I don't want, why not endure the criticism and marry someone I actually love?'"
The President trailed off, scratching her cheek shyly.
"Well, it's all thanks to you working up the courage to confess first, Yoo-Sung."
"......"
As the memory of yesterday resurfaced, I found myself wanting to find a hole to crawl into and hide.
I felt so pathetic.
'To think I made such a lame confession.'
My face flushed with heat, and I quickly stood up.
"Oh? Where are you going all of a sudden?"
"I'm just going to get some fresh air. You can wash up first, President."
Then, I fled the room as if escaping.