By circulating her aura internally, Yui managed to recover from her disorientation after a few deep breaths. This was exponentially faster than Rynka, so, while the aforementioned was still struggling to stand, Yui grabbed her by the collar of her kimono before slamming her to the ground using an overhead throw.

With her usually invisible aura flashing a vibrant silver, Rynka coughed up a small amount of blood, cursing, "You wench...!" before attempting to grab something from one of the many pouches lining her body. This was rewarded with a stomp to the face before Yui used a bident-like weapon to pin the hostile kunoichi's neck to the ground.

Though a person's aura could protect them from harm, it wasn't an absolute defense. A sufficiently powerful blow would cause it to deform, so, taking advantage of her aura's inherent characteristics, Yui raised her left foot, an inordinately thick golden greave manifesting around her calf and foot as she dropped it with meteoric might against Rynka's diaphragm.

With her neck pinned to the ground, Rynka's offensive and defensive options had been significantly reduced. Thus, when Yui's foot came crashing down, an audible crack resounded through the forest as an intense pain radiated through her entire chest. Her aura, which had manifested to protect her, now had a foot-shaped imprint just beneath her breasts, and, as a result, all the air had been forced from her lungs.

As Rynka had been the one to set off the explosion that had potentially buried Nobu, Yui felt very little remorse about the internal injuries she had inflicted upon her younger clanswoman. The only reason she didn't outright kill her was that she didn't believe the Elders of the Yoshitsune Clan, not even the ones who hated her, would arbitrarily issue a mission to kill her. If that were the case, they would have sent a team of elites, not a trainee and someone she had defeated well over a hundred times in training.

Using several other bident-like weapons, colloquially known as sasumata, Yui systematically pinned each of Rynka's joints before leaving her to writhe painfully on the ground. Immediately after that, she leaped to the branch of a nearby tree to get a better vantage point on Yuriko's position.

"As expected...Yuriko wouldn't be taken out so easily..."

Lamenting the time she had wasted on Rynka, Yui shook her head before shooting a golden line into a distant tree. Then, with the assistance of several other cables, she was able to navigate the densely packed forward with a finesse that could have rivaled a certain spider-themed hero from Brooklyn...

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After retreating a safe distance and painstakingly setting her dislocated arm, Yuriko showed no hesitation regarding the decision to leave Rynka to her fate. She seriously doubted that Yui would kill a member of her own clan. Rather, if she was truly as coldhearted as people made her out to be, she wouldn't have insisted on pursuing the path of an 'honorable warrior'.

Confident in her assessment of Yui's character, Yuriko raced back to the location of the burrow. Her highest priority at the moment was securing the man Yui had been escorting. The brief skirmish had made it exceedingly clear they couldn't defeat Yui in a direct confrontation, so, now that their initial plan had gone south, they had little choice but to rely on their contingencies.

"It's fortunate I left Shizune in charge of his capture. That personality of hers could use some work but she shouldn't have had any difficulties capturing a commoner..."

Despite the apparent confidence in her tone, Yuriko ignored the pain radiating from her left ribs in order to reach her destination as quickly as possible. Shizune might have been able to capture their quarry with relative ease, but, should Yui get to her first, the pinkette lacked the mental fortitude to issue and follow through with threats.

Shizune was someone who abhorred unnecessary violence, and, were it not for the fact she could command Shikigami, an exceptionally rare ability, she most likely would have ended up working in a brothel to gather information. Such was the fate of incompetent kunoichi, as, even with the Oda Clan's backing, they still needed to earn additional income in order to purchase the equipment and resources required to nurture the more talented members of their Clan.

Fortunately, while Shizune had earned a poor evaluation regarding her slaughter and assassination techniques, her actual combat prowess wasn't bad. She could also infiltrate manors and businesses with her Shikigami, so, while most trainees would immediately be regarded as a failure for refusing to kill, the Elders had made an exception in regards to the peculiar pinkette. After all, when it came to conducting operations in foreign territories, the ability to covertly gather information was often more important than individual lethality.

The biggest problem with Shizune was that she had developed the mentality that she was already an important asset to the Yoshitsune Clan. She didn't particularly care about earning the official title of kunoichi, as, from her perspective, she would never be assigned the tasks that led some kunoichi to commit suicide. Simply put, she had developed something of a Princess mentality, and, while she would generally follow orders, she rarely put in more than a middling amount of effort.

Fearing that her young protege might simply 'give up' if she deemed the task too annoying, Yuriko reached the site of the burrow in just under a minute. To her relief, she immediately noticed Shizune crouching next to their unconscious target. What Yuriko didn't expect was to find the troublesome pinkette in the middle of fiddling around with the target's genitalia...

"Trainee Shizune...what the hell are you doing...?"

Though she startled upon hearing Yuriko's voice, Shizune quickly regained her composure, smiling as she explained, "You should see it for yourself. Look. Isn't this one much larger than the toys used in our lectures? It isn't even hard and it's already as long as my hand."

Despite sneaking a quick peek, largely due to disbelief, Yuriko still struck the top of Shizune's head with her fist, asking, "What the hell is wrong with you!? At least tie him and secure him someplace safe before you start fooling around...!"

With her aura protecting her, Shizune felt no pain from Yuriko's strike. Instead, she offered a half-eyed smile before bringing the tips of her fingers together and replying, "That's a wonderful idea. It's no wonder everyone calls you a genius, Yuriko-san."

Ignoring the insincere compliment, Yuriko quickly bound Nobu's hands and feet before tying a rope around his body and throwing him over her shoulder. This caused her ribs to scream out in protest, but, without so much as a single change in expression, she turned towards Shizune and said, "Yui is a lot stronger than we anticipated. We need to move quickly before she finishes dealing with Rynka and follows suit. The way she is behaving is very abnormal so we might not be able to use this man as a hostage. Our best bet is to split up and find someplace to hunker down. So long as we can buy enough time, this is our victory."

Though she didn't disagree with Yuriko's words, the former's casual mention of Rynka being dealt with caused Shizune to adopt a wry smile and ask, "Ano...what should I do if Yui-sama catches up with me...?"

Placing her hand on Shizune's shoulder, Yuriko adopted a thoroughly heartless expression as she said, "Just do your best. Don't worry. Even if she tortures you, your life shouldn't be in any danger..."

Paling in response to the relatively straightforward answer, Shizune was about to suggest they stick together when Yuriko gave her shoulder another pat and said, "This is an order, trainee. Flee as far as you can. If you are captured, do not give up any information. Your ability to use shikigami might be invaluable to the Clan, but, if it is discovered you will readily part with the information you have collected, you will become a liability. Do you believe your mother will be able to protect you if the other Elders learn you gave information to the 'enemy' just to avoid a bit of pain?"

With her smile quickly morphing into a pretentious glower, Shizune surprised Yuriko quite a bit by saying, "Leave the man with me. I don't want to get tortured just to buy you some time. So long as I have him, Yui shouldn't do anything extreme. You know I hate violence. If anyone is going to act as bait, it should be the person with the highest speed and maneuverability. It's also highly likely that Yui-sama will also assume you're the one with the hostage so there's no sense in forcing me to take unnecessary risks. Hand him over."

Like a spoiled child demanding candy, Shizune extended her hand towards Yuriko, her milky white and callus-free palm facing upward. Even more surprising was the fact that a moderately murderous aura was emanating from her body, clearly indicating that she would rather fight for ownership over the unconscious man than face off against an enraged Yui.

Disapproving of Shizune's behavior, Yuriko's expression immediately morphed into a scowl. She was generally a pretty laid-back person, but, sensing the malice contained in Shizune's tone as the latter unabashedly committed insubordination, her fury quickly increased to dangerous levels. Were it not for the fact this was merely a training mission, she would have immediately cut Shizune's throat for such an egregious breach of the chain of command.

Inhaling a deep breath, enough to cause her ribs to throb in pain, Yuriko did her best to calm down and assess the situation. If she analyzed things objectively, Shizune's words weren't incorrect. It was highly likely that Yui would first pursue her as she was very clearly the team leader. She was also the only one ruthless enough to slit a hostage's throat when push came to shove, so, after realizing that the other person was Shizune, the first person Yui would try to eliminate is her.

Though the actual odds were something along the lines of 70:30, Yuriko ultimately decided to just go with the flow. This was, after all, a mission to assess Rynka's and Shizune's potential as kunoichi. She wasn't supposed to be completing the mission for them. Her primary responsibility was making sure they didn't lose their lives. Thus, even if the mission ended in failure, Shizune and Rynka would receive a far more severe punishment than the one meted out to her.

"Very well. However, if I learn that you just hid somewhere and played around while I did my best to buy time, don't expect the Elders to protect you. It might not be today, tomorrow, or even ten years from now. At some point, I will get even with you for today's slights."

Releasing a far more powerful bloodlust than the insignificant aura exuding from Shizune's body, Yuriko was hoping to scare the troublesome pinkette into obedience. Instead, the only thing she managed was forcing Shizune to pale slightly before the latter adopted an annoyingly triumphant smile and said, "Understood." in an audibly excited tone of voice.

Restraining a sigh, Yuriko basically threw Nobu's unconscious body towards Shizune before bolting up a tree and darting in the opposite direction. This caused the pinkette to adopt an offended look, but, having ultimately gotten her way, it didn't take long for her smile to return. Then, with a slightly mischievous look on her face, she eyed the unconscious Nobu and said, "Knowing Yuriko, she really will do her best to buy time. So long as that monster doesn't immediately pursue us, that gives you and I plenty of time to get to know each other. Ufufufufufu~"

Though it was true that her nature was somewhat terrible, Shizune's interest in Nobu was primarily the result of his appearance. There had to be a reason for his uncanny resemblance to the current Lord of the Oda Clan, so, as someone whose primary skills revolved around information gathering and seduction, Shizune was determined to get the answers she sought...

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(A/N: What's this!? Is our main boyo in danger!? Will FBI-sama save him from the clutches of a predatory loli or will he be the one to put behind bars!? Find out in the next 'surprisingly pink' episode of Nobunaga Oda's Isekai Cultivation Experience...!!!)