Chương 55: Leave my Country

Shunsui did not know when Genma had been eliminated. He did not know when two of the Iwa genin had been knocked out of the competition. He did not know when the endless energy of Guy had finally run out and the green clad boy had been forced to stop fighting and rest. He did not know when his kimono had been ripped apart in so many places that it barely looked like a proper outfit anymore. But he did know one thing.

'My kenjutsu has improved.' The thought brought a grin to his face even as sweat dripped down his forehea'The only other time I ever learned kenjutsu was from those academy classes.' His eye twitched slightly as he remembered those lessons. The academy instructor had treated swordsmanship with all the excitement of someone reading tax reports. He had taught only the basics which included Slashing, Stabbing and blocking. Repeat. That was practically the entire curriculum.

'They should have at least taught me some cool style like Zoro's three sword style or even some two sword style moves.' Shunsui parried another strike as his thoughts wandered.

'But no. All they taught me was slash, stab, and block.'

'These samurai sure know some cool stuff though.' The grin on his face widened.

'I cannot wait to master all of these moves once we get back to Konoha.' The thought filled him with excitement. As far as Shunsui was concerned, this mission was already a complete success. Sure, they were supposed to be competing for a political alliance. But learning cool sword techniques was also important. Probably. Maybe. At least according to him. The samurai opposite him rushed forward once more. Shunsui raised his sword to block. However, before their blades could meet, the samurai suddenly stopped.

Shunsui blinked as the head samurai approached them.

"Everyone else has been eliminated. You are the last one standing. Congratulations." For a moment, Shunsui simply stared. Then he looked around. Only one other participant had remained with him. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The Iwa genin who was huge. He looked like someone who specialized entirely in taijutsu. Sword wounds covered nearly every visible part of him. Most importantly, he looked exhausted and probably had used all of his chakra.

Shunsui stared at him for a few seconds.

'That guy definitely beat more opponents than me.' While the Iwa genin had been busy defeating people, Shunsui had spent half the competition collecting new techniques like a child collecting trading cards. Then he remembered that the head samurai's explanation at the beginning of the test. Shunsui's eyes widened as he had the realisation.

'Ah.'

'I completely forgot that the test was about who would still be standing at the end and not who defeated more opponents.' The head samurai continued speaking.

"The Daimyo will be informed about the results of this test. He will make his decision soon. Follow us to your jonin." Shunsui nodded. A few minutes later, he found Choza, Shikaku, Guy, and Genma. More specifically, he found them sitting around a massive meal. There was enough food on the table to feed an entire platoon. Choza was happily eating barbecue. Naturally, Shunsui and the other two carefully sat down. His body was hurt and his clothes were torn. Several small wounds covered his arms.

He completely ignored all of that. Instead, he grabbed a plate. Guy immediately sat down next to him. Genma did the same. Within seconds all three genin were eating. No one spoke anything. The only sounds came from chewing. The Iwa team stared. Their two jonins stared. Eeveral samurai stared. Everyone looked confused. The Konoha team had just completed an important test that could determine the future relationship between two nations.

Yet they were acting as though they had simply finished a normal training session. One Iwa genin could not hold back his confusion.

"Shouldn't you be discussing the results?" Choza swallowed a piece of meat.

"No." The Iwa genin blinked.

"No?" Choza nodded.

"Food first." The Iwa genin looked even more confused. Choza pointed at the table.

"Talk later." The Iwa genin slowly nodded. Then Choza added another piece of wisdom.

"Stress even later." The Iwa team stared. The Konoha team continued eating. What the Iwa shinobi did not know was that Inoichi had already shared the test details through telepathy which only took acouple of seconds. Everyone already knew what had happened. There was no urgency and no panic. It was something to throw off the Iwa shinobi. Several minutes later, the head samurai entered the room.

"The Daimyo has made his decision. He will see you now." The atmosphere immediately became serious. The teams rose from their seats. Soon they arrived inside the Daimyo's meeting hall. The ruler sat at the front of the room. His expression was calm with his advisors standing nearby. The samurai guards remained stationed throughout the hall. There was no buildup or lengthy speech. The Daimyo simply got straight to the point.

"We have decided that we will be giving the long term mission regarding the bandits to Konoha." The room became silent as Daimyō added,"Thank you, Iwa, for coming here." Shikaku smiled slightly. Shunsui almost laughed.'Damn.' His eyes shifted toward the Iwa delegation.

'That is a very polite way to say, "Fuck you, Iwa. You can leave now."' The Iwa team clearly understood the meaning as well. Their genin looked unhappy and shameful. Their jonin, Ritsu, stepped forward. His expression had darkened considerably.

"You should reconsider, Daimyo-sama."

"It is we who share borders with your nation, not Konoha." Shunsui raised an eyebrow.

'And there it is. They sure were acting friendly before.' The statement was not an outright threat. However, everyone understood the implication. The Daimyo understood it too. His expression hardened.

"Your subtle threats are noted, jonin from Iwa."

"Now leave my country." Immediately every samurai in the hall moved at the behest of Daimyō's words. Weapons were drawn. One wrong move could start a fight. Shunsui glanced around. The number of guards was impressive. Every one of them looked prepared for battle.

'I wonder if all of them together would be enough to fight Han.' After all, Han was a jinchuriki. That was an entirely different level of power. The thought quickly disappeared when he noticed Ritsu staring toward Konoha. The Iwa jonin looked furious. The remaining Iwa genin were not much better. They glared openly at Shunsui's team. Eventually, Ritsu turned around and so did the rest of them. Without another word, the Iwa delegation left. The tension slowly faded after they disappeared. Shikaku stepped forward.

"We will also take our leave, Daimyo-sama." The Daimyo nodded.

"I will relay your decision to the Hokage. He will send teams to clear out the bandits as soon as possible."

"Further discussions regarding our alliance can happen after we have dealt with the bandit problem. It will demonstrate Konoha's sincerity." The Daimyo nodded again.

"That would be acceptable."