New chapter of Reincarnated Hero is out! (4/10 chapters)

 

 

Well Done for Seeing Through It

(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)

“No way! The sacred treasure should be in the hidden room! I’m the one who secretly keeps the key! There’s no way it could have been stolen!” (Hidetatsu)

The head of the Toyotomi family, Hidetatsu, shouted with a pale face.

“B-But the opponent is a ninja. There is a possibility they snuck in unseen and already stole the sacred treasure…” (Hideatsu)

“Ugh! That can’t possibly be true!” (Hidetatsu)

Hidetatsu raised his voice angrily and started running straight ahead. Ahead of him was a staircase that appeared to lead to the upper floors. Despite nearly stumbling several times, Hidetatsu hurried up the stairs. The samurai waiting behind quickly chased after him.

“We’ll come too!” (Hideatsu)

Together with his younger brother Hideatsu, Leon also went up the stairs. At the top of the stairs was a wooden corridor, separated by sliding doors called fusuma, a Yamato-style sliding door. The fusuma doors were currently wide open. Beyond the fusuma was the golden tearoom. The walls and ceiling were covered with gold leaf, and it was a place usually reserved for the lord and his close associates to enjoy tea ceremonies.

Hidetatsu opened the fusuma at the back of the tea room, revealing a wall with an unnatural color.

“All right, the door hasn’t been broken! Well, it’s made from Hihiiroukane metal. It should be impossible to break. The key is also… right here!” (Hidetatsu)

Hidetatsu pulled the key out from his chonmage hairstyle. Leon almost wanted to comment on why the key was hidden there. He inserted the key into the keyhole and turned it, producing a clicking sound. When Hidetatsu pushed the wall, it slowly began to rotate.

Apparently, there was a hidden room inside this not-so-large tearoom. In the center of the small room, also covered in gold, was a pedestal.

On top of it lay what appeared to be an old sword.

“What the! It’s definitely here! Don’t scare me like that.” (Hidetatsu)

“Watch out!” (Leon)

“Huh?” (Hidetatsu)

*Kagiiiiin!*

A sharp metallic sound echoed through the room. It was the sound of Leon blocking a deadly strike aimed at Hidetatsu with his sword. Without missing a beat, Leon kicked the attacker’s stomach. The attacker, one of the samurai meant to protect Hidetatsu, was sent flying into the hallway. He, narrowly missed by a few centimeters, groaned “hiee…” and fell backward to the floor.

“What’s going on?” (Hidetatsu)

“Probably, the ninja disguised himself.” (Leon)

“What!?” (Hidetatsu)

Hidetatsu’s eyes widened.

“When did this happen!? Hey, you all, catch that guy quickly!” (Hidetatsu)

He hurriedly commanded the other samurai, but none of them responded. Instead, they took out unfamiliar short daggers, kunai, from their sleeves.

“There’s more than one. Probably everyone here is a ninja.” (Leon)

“What!?” (Hidetatsu)

At that moment, the samurai all transformed at once. They quickly changed into a uniform group dressed in black ninja outfits, lacking any individuality.

“That can’t be true!” (Hidetatsu)

The ninjas began to leap at Leon one after another.

“Just as I said, wasn’t it, degozaru?” (Kisaragi)

Leon readied his sword.

Some attackers charged with ninja swords, others threw throwing weapons called shuriken, and some tried to immobilize him with kusarigama, chain-and-sickle weapons. Their attack methods were varied. An ordinary warrior would have been thrown off by this. However, Leon flawlessly handled every attack and counterattacked at openings. One by one, ninjas fell, rolling onto the tatami mats in the tearoom.

“Impressive, huh!?” (Hidetatsu)

“Right! That’s all thanks to me!” (Hideatsu)

The Toyotomi brothers expressed their admiration as the fierce battle continued.

“…Smoke bomb?” (Leon)

A mysterious projectile exploded at Leon’s feet, filling the area with thick smoke. It was a tactic to obscure vision and gain an advantage, but it didn’t work on Leon. He sensed the ninjas’ movements by their presence and continued to respond. When he used wind magic to blow away the smoke and regain sight, Hidetatsu noticed.

“Ah! The sacred treasure!?” (Hidetatsu)

The ninja, using their high stealth skill, exploited the momentary gap and entered the hidden room at the back. That ninja lifted the sacred treasure from the pedestal.

“Useless.” (Leon)

But Leon spoke to the ninja without any sign of panic. Behind him, the remaining ninjas were immobilized by Leon’s magic and lay defeated on the tatami mats. The last ninja tried to escape with the sacred treasure, but Leon stood blocking the only exit.

However, the next moment–…

The ninja’s figure flickered, and the sacred treasure disappeared from their hands.

“The sacred treasure disappeared!? What’s going on!?” (Hidetatsu)

“Could it be that they switched with another ninja…?” (Leon)

Leon couldn’t hide his surprise. The ninja before him was clearly different from the one moments ago.

“Kukuku… well done to see through it.” (Ninja)

For the first time since arriving, the ninja spoke.

“That was our secret technique, the ‘Substitution Technique’. The sacred treasure has already been stolen.” (Ninja)

(Substitution Technique! The name is just as straightforward!)

Leon thought inside his head, then asked the ninja.

“What do you intend to do with the stolen sacred treasure? What is your goal?” (Leon)

“…” (Ninja)

Apparently, the ninja had no intention of answering.

“Then, I’ll have to make you talk by force.” (Leon)

“Kuku, useless. …Gah!” (Ninja)

The ninja vomited a large amount of blood. At the same time, the ninjas who had fallen also began to writhe in pain.

“Poison…” (Leon)

It seemed they had poisoned their molars. With that, torture was impossible.

“…Well, that doesn’t matter, though?” (Leon)

 

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