Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 589 - 501: Battle of the Masters

Chapter 589: Chapter 501: Battle of the Masters

The ninjas had hidden in the forest, an environment favorable for concealment and slaughter, and were nowhere to be found.

"Kano Masato was scared away by you?" Chiyuki Sajou, upon hearing the earlier events, couldn’t help but jab Hosoda Yoshiyuki with her words, "With such reckless attitude, we will never complete the mission."

"If I hadn’t fired, we would have been the ones dead," Hosoda Yoshiyuki let out a light sigh, his tone filled with disdain, "Ninjas come and go like the wind, what could I have done?"

"The thing to do is to figure out how to catch the target," Rinne said, "...We need to formulate a perfect battle plan."

"If you agree to let me take Kano Masato’s head back for the bounty, I can help," Masasuke Hazuki reminded, "You can take his tools and money. Besides, I will share some of the bounty with you."

In fact, what they were really after wasn’t Kano Masato, but Ya Kou Liu Li. Rinne looked at him. Still, an extra hand wouldn’t hurt.

After replenishing their ammunition, they returned to inspect the damaged Mitzu Temple.

"The monastery itself is a high point with a clear view, the ninjas must have fought with the Monk Soldiers to take it down," Masasuke Hazuki crouched down to examine the corpse of a Monk Soldier, "The monks died around 4 to 6 hours ago."

"If it wasn’t for the heavy rain that stopped us, we might have just caught the tail end of the battle," Lu Jing felt regret, "So we missed it."

"Let’s kill Kano Masato to take revenge for the Monk," Masasuke Hazuki turned his head.

"Look around and see if Kano Masato left any trace," Hosoda Yoshiyuki walked deeper into the temple.

"Dead animals, they seem to have been killed along with the Monk," Seeking Shadow noticed small animals killed near the central vegetable garden of the monastery, also decaying.

"Footprints," Masasuke Hazuki, standing on the wall top once occupied by the ninjas, discovered their footprints extending towards the cliffs and the beach. They had come silently, yet fled headlong in a panic when Hosoda Yoshiyuki startled them, too concerned with escape to cover their tracks, "It seems they had set up a nearby camp. To think of it, they were probably going back to their camp after clearing the monastery, but were alerted by your approach up the mountain and came back to encircle you."

"So we may be just one step away from the ninja army," Hosoda Yoshiyuki pondered.

"But they’re wary of your full military gear, so they will only fight in an indirect way," Masasuke Hazuki analyzed, "Once you enter the woods, cliffs, and deep mountains, you’ll fall right into the ninjas’ trap, where you will be exceptionally vulnerable."

Rinne piloted the Anonymous, conducting high-altitude reconnaissance.

"I see a cleared landing site on the beach, with some sneaky people around," Rinne looked down at the coastline, noticed an area hastily constructed like a landing pad, with transmitters, beacons, and low-altitude identifiers placed on it. Apparently, it was designed specifically for the arrival of aerial vehicles. She captured images and transmitted them to the team members.

That’s probably for picking up Ya Kou Liu Li fleeing overseas. Rinne thought to herself. Hunted by Nestor Corporation until now, having been pursued all the way to the beach, had she finally made contact with someone capable of evacuating her?

"If it goes like this," Hosoda Yoshiyuki secretly responded, "we wait by the tree stump for the rabbits. Once the rescue Shuttle Machine arrives, Ya Kou Liu Li and Kano Masato are bound to show up."

"No, maybe this is just a decoy target, deliberately made to distract us," Lu Jing transmitted, "When we focus all our attention on this ’little airport,’ they’ll quietly move Ya Kou Liu Li away."

"By your reasoning," Hosoda Yoshiyuki replied sarcastically, "Ya Kou Liu Li might have already left, and Kano Masato is just here to play games with us? He’s so free, he even has the time to throw the Monk’s head out to mock us, just for fun? Don’t you find that odd?"

"Don’t be so aggressive," Rinne responded with a reproachful tone, "We are a team, the communication channel is not for venting your frustration."

Lu Jing did not participate in the response, watching the dialogue in the communication channel through her virtual view. Her eyebrows were knitted tightly together as doubt, confusion, and fear spread among the team.

If this continued, they would be wiped out during the mission.

"This is the art of supreme ninjutsu," Lu Jing thought to herself. The ninjas hadn’t actually inflicted any real damage, but they had already subdued everyone with fear and suspicion. Kano Masato was hiding in the darker side of the forest, probably fully aware of their current state of disunity.

After all, except for a few individual connections, the "Disciples" squad didn’t have particularly strong bonds, nor did they have someone who could take the role of a leader.

With this in mind, Lu Jing dispiritedly turned off the communication, looked back at the team, and saw that everyone had already dispersed inside the monastery to collect supplies, in a passive state, with only Hazuki Masasuke still watching the woods intently.

"Are you concerned about Kano Masato?" Lu Jing asked.

"My ability has a high ceiling. If I can perform perfectly, I should be able to defeat him. He’s also the most valuable target I can find," Hazuki Masasuke said calmly.

"So hung up on money, no wonder you’re a bounty hunter."

"With my abilities, I could have retired a long time ago," Hazuki Masasuke said sullenly. "You should also recognize, I’m not just any common desperado."

"Then why are you so fixated on money?" Lu Jing asked, curious.

"The woman I love," Hazuki Masasuke squatted at the edge of the monastery, looking out into the dense forest and the seaside cliffs that formed a complex and extremely dangerous terrain that required bravery to enter. "A type of cancer. The doctors say there’s hope for a cure and recommended she participate in an experimental treatment using experimental drugs produced by the Lighthouse Core, but it’s too expensive."

"So it’s like being a guinea pig... How much does the medicine cost?"

"One hundred and seventy thousand for a box, lasting a month."

"A regrettable situation," Lu Jing sighed. "But if Kano Masato is taken out, she’ll definitely have the money for treatment."

"Money..." Hazuki Masasuke uttered softly, then fell silent, as if regretting having shared so much trivial information with Lu Jing.

He sat on the earthen slope to the east of the monastery, his katana on his back, still looking sharp.

"We haven’t decided what to do yet," Lu Jing explained, being a person of sensitive nature, she could sense the sorrow in Hazuki Masasuke.

"It’s okay, the Ninja Master thinks he’s safe now, but one day he will be killed by Nestor Corporation," Hazuki Masasuke stood up. "Nestor Corporation has taken over all public security affairs, there are fewer and fewer jobs, maybe being a bounty hunter in the Northern Archipelago is about to become a thing of the past."

We are the ones sent by Nestor Corporation, Lu Jing thought to herself. But she couldn’t say it.

"You could join Nestor Corporation," Lu Jing suggested obliquely.

"The money comes too slowly, they’re sluggish with each employee, and most positions are just for maintaining livelihood," Hazuki Masasuke said calmly. "That’s too slow for those in dire need of money, who are deep in debt. So, there will always be people in the Northern Archipelago taking risks, becoming desperados."

"Come with me," Lu Jing led Hazuki Masasuke back to the center of the monastery, where they first took care of the monk’s remains, and then Lu Jing proposed her suggestion, "... Mr. Hazuki Masasuke is an experienced bounty hunter. I think at this time we can listen to his opinions. We need to have an open and honest exchange of any information that can help us capture Kano Masato."

"Is he trustworthy?" Hosoda Yoshiyuki doubted.

"If the mission fails, everyone will be disappointed in us, so... we must try." Lu Jing nodded vigorously.

Seeking Shadow glanced at Masasuke Hazuki for a while and suddenly came up with a new action plan.

"Do you follow any ’Mystics’?" Seeking Shadow asked, "Those powerful beings, perhaps you understand."

"No, nothing." Masasuke Hazuki frowned, "My magic formulas are verified clean spells that only increase the burden on the body, not sell the soul to monsters."

This bounty hunter was a completely nonbelieving pure human through and through, Seeking Shadow analyzed; he should be adaptable to the forest’s secret techniques. Chiyuki Sajou was also a pure human but mainly practiced Moonlight Power, which differed from the forest in compatibility.

"This barren forest actually has spiritual power that can be utilized." Seeking Shadow explained, "It would be great if Hazuki Masasuke could help release a Spell. According to the records, this Spell could help us teleport to our target’s side, as long as we know his name and he is indeed located in the forest."

"Directly teleport to Kano Masato?" Hosoda Yoshiyuki was excited.

"Mm." Seeking Shadow nodded seriously. At least the internal report in the disk said so.

After the cooperation, the Forest Master provided many files on mysticism, it’s just that there were not many occasions to verify their effects at the moment.

If one had deep ties with the Forest Master, one could directly summon the rage of the Ground. But now the group was complex, either nonbelievers, not like humans, or of mixed faiths, making it difficult to communicate deeply with the Forest Master.

On the contrary, it was only the bounty hunter Hazuki Masasuke who seemed to be able to participate in the ritual as a "normal and ordinary human."

"Such a convenient Spell? It’s worth a try," Hazuki Masasuke turned his head, feeling increasingly astonished, "but... who exactly are you guys?"

"Come with me." Seeking Shadow took Hazuki Masasuke to the side of the ancient tree that Hosoda Yoshiyuki had knocked down, such an old tree could be used as a ritual point to connect with the Forest Master.

She read the internal documents of the Nestor Corporation on the disk and drew ancient secret script symbols in the dirt, praying for the aid of the Forest Master.

At least 40 lines of complex ancient secret scripts were drawn, and everyone held their breath in silence.

A solemn atmosphere emerged spontaneously, they exchanged glances, feeling absolute tranquility within the vast natural world.

Following that, the secret scripts disappeared into the soil, and rumbling sounds continued, with vines rising like living snakes, a truly hair-raising spectacle as they danced wildly in the air! Almost enraged.

"Hazuki Masasuke! Grab it!" Seeking Shadow commanded, "Then shout the ninja’s name!"

Hazuki Masasuke’s expression changed, and he immediately grabbed the vines.

"Kano Masato!" Masasuke Hazuki yelled.

In an instant, the vines clutched his wrist tightly, dragging his whole arm into the soil, his body quickly sliding towards the ground, as if the earth itself had devoured him, hand and all!

"His arm is going to break! Where is he?" Lu Jing was greatly alarmed.

Masasuke Hazuki disappeared into the pit, beneath which a leaping green glow still shimmered.

"Has he become a sacrifice?" Chiyuki Sajou’s face turned pale, "The earth has eaten him!"

"I don’t know!" Seeking Shadow was just following the files on the disk.

"If he really teleported to Kano Masato, wouldn’t that mean one against a hundred?" Lu Jing shouted.

"Let’s do this!" Hosoda Yoshiyuki reached for the green glow, and the earth immediately stretched out more vines, pulling Hosoda Yoshiyuki into it as well.

...

Meanwhile, Kano Masato was sitting in a clearing in the forest, showing the ninjas his bento.

"Sushi is an important fuel for ninjas, not to be overlooked." Kano Masato listed the master’s bento on the tablecloth, "Look, salmon sashimi, sea bream rolls, sweet shrimp warships, foie gras nigiri, eating three meals a day is also part of a ninja’s training."

"Oh!" The ninjas were very satisfied.

Bang!

The soil suddenly cracked open, with clods and leaves blasting the sushi in front of Kano Masato, who promptly used the Teleportation Technique to pull back.

Hazuki Masasuke flipped out into the field.

"Intruder!"

"Yayaya!"

"Die!" The ninjas jumped up from the ground.

"You little..." Kano Masato glanced at the scattered sushi on the ground, seething with rage, snorted coldly, "You really don’t take us seriously..."

Hazuki Masasuke jumped in the air, dodging the shurikens shot at him, his expression tense.

Then, the ninjas saw an even more terrifying modified human forcefully climbing out of the soil!

"Hey, isn’t this a ninja meeting?" Hosoda Yoshiyuki looked around, and seeing his wishes fulfilled, showed a bloodthirsty expression while the ninjas opposite him were in panic.

Now they had no escape.