Reborn in a Daimyo's court in Naruto

Part 23

Chapter 23

AKIHITO SHIRAHOSHI

Akihito Shirahoshi felt his body ache as he made to open his eyes. The vision was blurry, the injuries from the battles last night had been extensive enough that he had lost consciousness halfway through the journey to the western fort, yet it didn't matter.

For they had won.

At great cost, though, of the initial hundred that had ridden out with him, he had lost twenty-three men last night, yet the number was much greater for their enemies. The Mahiro forces had been routed and had been wiped out from the Western side.

"My lord, you need to rest," came the voice of a servant as he made to sit up, yet he shook his head as he scanned the bandages wrapped around his whole body.

"No, I need to see Kato-san," he told the servant, who nodded.

"I will really your message, but my lord, the healer, said you need rest. You have lost too much blood," the servant said, and he waved him off as he repeated.

"Call Kato-san," he reiterated, and the servant rushed out of the room, leaving him alone with his futon, as he sat up and began to look around the wooden room.

The castle had changed little from what he could see, the room was as he remembered, but yet even as he lay there looking around the room his mind raced as he thought of their next move.

Last night, they had exhausted their most potent weapon in the form of Kirin san's special ability, but given that she was not a shinobi, she could not use it for long and would only be able to use it after a few days at least, which could easily become a week.

Yet her help had been instrumental in directing their forces last night as they had mounted their counterattack.

They had suffered losses but had taken down at least four of Mahiro's samurai, and that number could increase even more when he received word from Gin about his crusade on the Eastern side.

As he was lost in thought, the door to the room slid open as an old man walked in. Dressed in a fine black hakama, his head had no hair, yet despite his age, his face lacked any wrinkles, but he had a long scar running down diagonally across it, mishappening his nose.

This man was the oldest samurai in his lands, Shinohara Kato, and was one of the men who taught him how to wield.

"It is good to see you, Kato-sensei," he said as he tried to stand up and give the man a bow.

"Please, there is no need for that, my lord. Be seated," he said with a smile as he stopped him and sat down opposite to him, beckoning the servant to bring tea.

"When I saw you fall down last night, I had feared the worst, yet it seems you remain as resilient and stubborn as the day I met you, Akihito," he praised him with a smile as Akihito recalled their ungodly training sessions when he was learning to wield a blade from the man.

"It isn't so easy to kill me," he retorted as tea was served, and both of them took a small sip.

"I must say I was rather impressed by Shohei-kun yesterday. You have trained him to be rather formidable," he commended the man's other student, Tachiyama Shohei, the man who had saved them yesterday.

"Ahh, Shohei-kun has grown quite a bit over the years, though I haven't had much to teach him for years now," the old man replied with a smile, and both of them knew that was a lie.

"But I was more impressed with you, my lord. Defeating Watashi Masamune in single combat, even I wouldn't be confident enough to take on the Sword of East like that," he continued with a smile and Akihito shrugged.