Itching for a fight (III)

"You are not even going to answer your Master now?" Naoki said amusedly as he laughed to himself inwardly.

It was truly satisfying to bully his righthand man by making him reach the peak of his anger. Maybe, it would be possible for him to think smarter then.

Only the sound of breathing was heard as the retainers watched on nervously as one question remained in their mind.

Just one chance was left. Was Daisuke going to succeed at last?

"I see you are never going to reply to me…"

'Master is talking too much now, it's unlike him.' Daisuke said to himself, and without warning, he crouched down and swung his sword toward his feet, and definitely expecting him to dodge it, he quickly raised his right hand and swung the katana above his head.

Everyone was waiting for the tip of his sword to touch the pin holding up their Master's hair, just a second more, and he would win, but the next scene that flashed before his eyes was so unexpected.

The scene left the retainers gasping in shock.

Feeling the breeze below him plus the 'ding' sound from the sword, Naoki quickly jumped, successfully dodging, but before he could relax, he felt air rush above his head and knew something was off.

Knowing that Daisuke was going for his hair as that would count him a winner, he got furious and immediately leaned backward.

At the same moment, he kicked him on the chest without leaving the circle, immediately sending him flying into the wall.

Naoki's eyes snapped open as his fierce gaze landed on the figure grimacing in pain while holding unto his chest.

"Not my hair you moron!"

This was the scene that left the retainers unable to breathe.

Not just was Daisuke unable to touch a strand of their Master's hair, but he also got kicked at the end.

And seeing the effort it was taking him to rise to his feet, they all thought how painful the boot must have been.

Suddenly, they moved their butts backward. None of them wanted to near Naoki for anything related to a fight.

A series of coughs escaped from Daisuke's lungs as he rubbed his chest. At last, he failed and got kicked in the end.

'This was so embarrassing' he thought, not daring to meet Naoki's gaze.

Had it been Naoki had kicked him first before trying to dodge his sword, then he could have won the match, but his Master was so smart as to make him miss his chance before kicking him.

Now, he did not know if he was kicked because Naoki adored his lustrous hair so much, or because of revenge.

Thinking about it, he had done so many things deserving to get hit more than once, starting from forcing his Master to eat against his wishes, to butting in today on behalf of the retainers.

'At least Master is still as strong as ever,' he consoled himself while standing to his feet.

Seeing that he was doing just fine, Naoki looked away from him before shifting his gaze to the scaredy men sitting butt-down on the floor.

Picking up Daisuke's sword that didn't fly into the wall with him, he pointed the tip at them. "All of you, pick up your swords and come at me."

One.

Two.

Three.

No movement. It was as if Naoki's words fell on deaf ears.

"If you don't step forward and fight me, none of you will touch the goodies in here," Naoki said while tapping the wooden box with the tip of the sword, his gaze never, leaving them.

Hearing that, the men scurried to their feet and immediately picked up their katanas ready for another fight as they all got fired up.

They had an idea of what could be in that box, as their Master was known for bringing valuable gifts that would aid in their training.

At least, they would accept to get beaten up and still receive the goodies. In the end, it would be a win-win situation.

Seeing the retainers ready for a fight, Daisuke thought with a shake of his head as he stayed out of the way.

'That's right, just get beaten up and drink up the potion to feel better.'

"Hiiiaaaahh!" One of the retainers at the back screamed while rushing forward with his sword to attack Naoki as the others watched, still a bit taken aback.

'What a fool.' Naoki thought to himself as black lines appeared on his forehead.

Who goes to war these days shouting like prey about to deliver his life into the hands of his enemies?

Surely, shouting would attract his attention and give him a higher chance of defeating him without even trying.

Even Daisuke who was smart enough to sneak up on him during the attacks, still, he was able to subdue him.

Alas! It looks like there was still someone with an empty head amongst his men.

How pathetic!

Tilting his head to the side to glance at Daisuke who immediately looked away, feigning ignorance, Naoki released a deep breath before returning his gaze to the retainer rushing toward him.

As the retainer who was getting closer to him didn't see him trying to make any move to block the incoming attack, he panicked in his head.

'I-Is M-Master… not going to block my sword?'

Although Naoki was unable to hear his thoughts, he remained unmoved, but only until he was an arm's length from him.

When everyone in the large space was wondering what his plans were as he was not making any move, they suddenly saw the retainer flying into the wall with Daisuke dodging almost a moment late,

Naoki had palmed his chest without moving the sword in his hand.

On seeing this, Takashi hurriedly went to kneel before him. "Master, please grant me the honor of sparring with you."

Naoki's gaze trailed him for a moment before his thin lips parted. "You have to earn it. I don't have time to play with you all. I only have a shred of patience left from snapping your necks to the wrong side."

Naoki was trying to tell him and the others having the same thought as him, that he had only been playing with them all this while, and he had lost his patience from tolerating them.

In essence, if he were to engage them in a duel, surely, they would be losing a part of their body.

No one wanted that, so they all took a step back as their hearts raced in their chests.

No matter how they would have loved to receive one on one mentoring from their Lord Master, they still wanted their body to remain whole.

Seeing them stepping back in fear plus the sounds of their erratic breathing, Naoki smiled to himself.

At least none of them was foolish enough to come forward for a duel.

"All right! All of you, come at me at once!" Naoki's tone thundered as he put one foot back with the sword tapping the side of his kimono, his gaze turning fierce.

Still interested in the goodies, the retainers all rushed forward with their katanas to attack as Daisuke watched from the sidelines. This was another opportunity to learn a thing or two from his Master.

Without using the edge of his sword on anyone apart from clashing with their swords, Naoki moved quickly in the crowd as fast as lightning.

His human speed was incredible, and his skills were top-notch.

He truly was a descendant of the Fujiwara clan.

Within a few minutes, Naoki who was the last man standing appeared calm as if he had only woken up from sleep while the others sprawled on the floor, panted for air as their chest rose and fell quickly.

"If Master can defeat us in the blink of an eye, that means we will have a greater advantage against the Daimyos in the future." One of the retainers, holding unto his aching arm, whispered a little breathlessly to his neighbor.

Hearing that, Naoki immediately quenched the springing bud of their happiness before they could even begin to sprout.

"Each one of the Daimyos has an equal power as me, but I wouldn't say the same with my supernatural abilities."

This left the men speechless as this just goes to say how powerful the Daimyos actually were.

Then leaving the retainers to figure his revelation out for themselves as they whispered amongst themselves, he shifted his gaze to Daisuke and took a few steps closer.

Looking straight into Daisuke's eyes, he said, "Even if my powers were to be at the tip of my fingers, I will never use them on any of you, because, just a flick and everyone is gone."

Instantly, an eerie silence followed.

All this while Naoki fought with them, he didn't use his supernatural abilities which were true,

If he had used them, he would have immediately sent all of them flying out of the building with just a swing of his sword.

Just how weak were they for all of them to be unable to fight one man at once?

How powerful was he without his supernatural abilities to be able to defeat them effortlessly?

After all, was said and done, Naoki approved of Daisuke to open the wooden box.

Immediately, Daisuke used his sword to strap the unlock off before taking off the lid to reveal the several small porcelain bottles inside.

"I have prepared a potion to rejuvenate your health and give you strength more than ever. When you receive the bottle, take it back to your seats and drink when I ask you to."

Instantly, the faces of the retainers lit up as joy overflowed in their hearts.

"As expected of Master, he brought us something worth more than gold."

This was not the first time their Master was giving them potions to aid with their training and break forth to another level.

"The moment you have thoughts of betrayal, I will plunge your eyes from their sockets and make your body incapacitated."

Sparing each of them a glance, he said thoughtfully as if it was an off-hand comment. "Of what use would it be to be alive and yet, not feel alive?"

In simplicity, he was asking them how it would feel to be alive, and yet not be able to move their bodies in the least.

Obviously, none of them wanted to know the taste of betrayal. They obediently stepped forward in a single file to receive a ceramic bottle each before returning to their sitting position.

Takashi carried over a legless chair and a short-legged wooden table over to Naoki's side and set it up for him.

Naoki sat and watched the long line moving slowly for a few moments before his lashes fluttered close out of boredom.