Chapter 155: A String of Slashes!
However, the cheers had barely lasted halfway before they were abruptly cut short.
The camera angle widened, and a close-up of that human head appeared before the eyes of every single Japanese person.
General Amaterasu-no-Mikoto!
"Ahhhhhhh!"
The internet was instantly flooded with a barrage of frantic messages. Countless Japanese people experienced an emotional breakdown as their faith collapsed entirely.
The grand imperial general who claimed to be Amaterasu incarnate, hailed as possessing the protection of the Emperor and deemed an undying powerhouse whom no one in Japan could kill, had been instantly slaughtered by Ye Tian in a single exchange!
His head was even being tossed around casually like a bowling ball!
It was an absolute, monumental humiliation!
While the spectators' mental states suffered a complete meltdown, the morale of the crowd on the tarmac plummeted instantly. They held their breath, completely devoid of their previous jubilation.
Conversely, the Ito family was given a shot of adrenaline and immediately broke into beaming smiles.
"Mr. Ye possesses invincible grace. To be able to effortlessly slaughter Amaterasu-no-Mikoto like that... it seems even if he cannot defeat the remaining few, he will still be able to leave safely," Ito Hizand said with a look of relief.
"As expected of our new patriarch, truly formidable! I admire him so much!" Ito Sawa said excitedly.
"It's not over yet. Let's just watch for now," the old man frowned. This brat's attitude changed way too fast, a veritable reed bending with the wind.
He worried that this fellow would rush forward to curry favor later, thereby threatening his own position as chief supervisor.
...
"What is the meaning of this? Didn't you say you would protect us with all your might? Iga, Koga, what on earth are you two doing!"
Musashi let out a panicked scream.
Damn it, didn't Amaterasu-no-Mikoto claim his life force was immensely stubborn? How was he the first one to croak?
Does that mean they were next in line?
"Don't panic!"
A flash of silvery blade light cut through the air, hacking down toward Ye Tian's back.
Yet, seeing this, Ye Tian assumed a classic martial posture, effortlessly blocking the strike. With a gorgeous pivot, he executed a sweeping counter-maneuver, flicking away the fiercely descending samurai sword.
Another slash!
The grandmaster of bushido, Kusunoki, was separated from his head!
Looking at the second head rolling along the ground, the entire scene fell into dead silence.
What happened to the grand crusade to subjugate Ye Tian with the might of thunder?
Why, in this brief span of time, had two Shadow-tier powerhouses fallen, while Ye Tian appeared completely unharmed?
Are you kidding me!
They came here to watch a spectacle, not to watch these people make complete fools of themselves!
For a time, a torrent of endless abuse surged across the internet.
"What kind of garbage is Amaterasu-no-Mikoto, and what 'spirit of the samurai'—they're just two lumps of dog shit!"
"The fight hasn't even properly begun, and they've already kicked the bucket like this! The offerings you usually consume are paid for by our national taxes, you useless trash!"
"Exactly, a bunch of good-for-nothings!"
Japan's Ten Shadows enjoyed offerings each year equivalent to 0.1 percent of the ruling government's tax revenue—an astronomical sum!
Ten Shadows alone devoured one-tenth of the total tax collection!
Therefore, seeing the mighty figures they had adored for so many years fall so easily, the vast majority of people felt deeply resentful.
Filled with even greater fury!
"What do we do? Think of something, quick!"
Looking at Ye Tian standing tall with his blade, Musashi felt his hair stand on end. His previous ferocity had vanished completely, leaving only sheer terror in its wake.
Two Second-Rank Martial Kings had been slain back-to-back, and one of them had even been stronger than himself!
Moreover, the opponent's gaze had already turned toward him.
If Iga and the others didn't make a move now, he wouldn't survive either.
Meanwhile, Iga and Koga, hiding in the shadows, exchanged glances, their eyes filled with utter helplessness.
Their original plan had been for the three men to pin down Ye Tian and strike the instant the opponent was distracted by defense.
However...
This Ye Tian didn't even bother to take up a fighting stance. He just stood there directly in place, looking full of openings, yet every single time they attempted to strike, they found that no matter what method of attack they employed, it yielded zero results.
Why on earth was that?
"Forget it, let's save him first."
Left with no other choice, the figures of Iga and Koga materialized simultaneously.
Pitch-black shadows as dark as ink extended from the soles of their feet, slithering toward Ye Tian's shadow.
Still trying this pathetic trick?
Ye Tian sneered.
He hadn't expected the Japanese to be so fond of sharing, spreading immortal arts everywhere after learning them.
However, this clumsy imitation wasn't even worthy of carrying the shoes of a genuine immortal art!
Before those two trails of darkness had reached even halfway, they suddenly executed a sharp U-turn and raced back along the path they came.
The two peak ninja masters turned pale with shock, hurriedly cutting off their jutsu as their forms vanished into thin air once more.
A ninja's combat style had never been about fighting head-on. When it came to a direct clash, even Iga would need to expend a massive amount of effort just to defeat Musashi.
Yet, if they used a ninja's unique tactics to launch sneak attacks and deception, ten Musashis wouldn't be enough for him to slaughter.
This was precisely why the two had chosen to conceal themselves earlier while those three engaged in a drawn-out battle with Ye Tian.
Hearts trembling as they plunged back into the shadows, the two pondered frantically.
Why had the Shadow Binding Technique failed? This was an immortal art, which had a 100 percent success rate even against Martial Kings above the Third Rank.
Why, when cast upon this man, did it not only fail to work, but the shadow actually turned to backfire on them?
The two of them simply could not fathom the reason.
"Hey, why did they back off again?!"
Musashi stood frozen in place, the corners of his mouth not even having the chance to curl upward yet before his two older brothers went into hiding once more.
"What is this? Dignified peak ninja masters, the strongest in Japan, and they only have this much backbone?"
"Running away the moment things get tough, are you trying to shame us Japanese people?"
Curses rose one after another, showing a strong one-sided trend.
The crusade against Ye Tian a moment ago was now redirected toward the Five Shadows.
People are profoundly realistic; no matter how well you control public opinion or how hard you hype up their strength, the moment they drop the ball when it really counts, the crowd will only kick them while they're down.
It was the same now.
"Damnable foolish citizens!" Musashi was burning with rage, wishing he could leap out immediately and curse right back at those onlookers.
Yet he simply didn't have the luxury of time, because Ye Tian was already walking toward him, dragging his blade.
"Instead of watching others, you'd better concern yourself with your own survival." A flash of blade light crossed the air, and Musashi didn't even have a chance to react before one of his thighs was cleanly severed.
Blood gushed forth as he let out a miserable, piercing scream.
"Iga, you two cowards!"
"Didn't you promise coordination? Is this how you treat the three of us? I bet the two of you wanted to use a borrowed knife to kill us off so you could monopolize the offerings!"
"You two bastards!"
Idiots, still infighting when death was right on the doorstep.
Ye Tian rested his horizontal blade against the man's neck, his expression cold and stern.
In this life, he loathed traitors and race-traitors the most, especially individuals like Musashi—who, despite being of white descent, willingly cast aside his own identity for the sake of lavish offerings, altering his appearance to serve as a lackey for the Japanese.
This fellow's scandalous deeds had even been plastered across the front page of American news outlets once; it was an absolute disgrace to the utmost degree!
"Ye Tian, I think we can talk this over!"
Feeling the threat of death, Musashi was finally terrified, and he pleaded desperately, "Killing me won't do you any good either. How about we strike a deal and kill those two together?"
"If we do that, we can split the offerings of the Ten Shadows evenly!"