Nobunaga Oda's Isekai Cultivation Experience

Smelling a fragrant yet suffocating aroma similar to lavender mixed with fruit, an annoyed groan emanated from Nobu's throat as he instinctually attempted to turn away from the smell's source. Unfortunately, the only thing he managed to turn away was his head. He was vaguely aware of a weight pressing him down, and, after a few disorienting seconds had passed, he realized that his hands were, once again, bound."Fuck my life..."As those words left his mouth, Nobu opened his remarkably heavy eyelids with the intent to assess his situation. He almost wished he hadn't, as, the moment he opened his eyes, he came face to face with the thing, scratch that, the person weighing him down."Well hello there. My name's Shizune. What's yours~?"Rather than answering the abnormally heavy woman's question, Nobu's eyes briefly focused on her pink hair before naturally gravitating towards the two ginormous melons partially peeking out from the sides of her pale-pink, nearly white, kimono. She reminded him of the damaged girls that would cosplay as their favorite characters at anime conventions, but, unlike the aforementioned attention-seekers, this girl's hair appeared to be pink to its roots. She also had bright purple eyes, a color that was rumored to exist in his previous world, but, even after nineteen years of living, Nobu had never met a single person with the inordinately rare pigmentation...Though she was tempted to say something when Nobu's eyes focused on her breasts, Shizune was marginally surprised when he, very naturally, transitioned to meet her gaze. It was like he had been merely confirming their existence, and, based on the disgruntled and slightly hostile expression on his face, he wasn't particularly captivated by her beauty.Puffing out her cheeks ever so slightly, Shizune complained, "I already told you my name. I'll be sad if you don't tell me yours..."Frowning in response to the woman's words, Nobu surprised Shizune a second time by unhesitantly replying, "Fuck off." in a no-nonsense tone. Then, having recovered a bit of his strength and mental faculties, he attempted to force the woman off of him by bucking his hips and twisting to the side.Ultimately failing in this endeavor, Nobu immediately commented, "Holy fuck, you're heavy..." with a slightly pained expression on his face. It was like someone had suddenly stacked several weights on his legs, and, due to how far up she was on his thighs, he could barely twist his body, much less buck her off.Though she had been maintaining a smile up until this point, Shizune immediately frowned when she heard Nobu say she was heavy. Sure, she was circulating her aura through her body to increase her weight but that didn't mean he could just say whatever he wanted. She was also quite confident in her beauty, so, rather than complaining, he should be delighted that such a beautiful woman was straddling his waist.Pinching the virtually nonexistent fat around Nobu's waist, Shizune adopted a genuine pout as she said, "It's rude to comment on a woman's weight. Besides, I'm using my aura to hold you down. My actual weight is less than thirty-seven-kilograms. Take it back...!"Despite wincing due to the pain at his waist, Nobu managed an incredulous look on his face as he asked, "Why the fuck are you trying to act cute? I don't even know you and here you are sitting in my lap while my hands and feet tied. You're not being cute. You're being creepy as fuck."Furrowing her brows even further, enough to appear legitimately angry, Shizune ceased pinching Nobu's waist before remarking, "You're weird. It's like you have no sense of self-preservation. You do realize I could kill you whenever I want, right? If you had played along, we could have enjoyed ourselves while getting to know each other. Why go out of your way to escalate things?"Snorting through his nose, Nobu lurched forward in a vain attempt to headbutt Shizune in the face, thoroughly incensing her before shouting, "I told you to fuck off! I ain't no pansy-ass bitch who will start talking just because some pink-haired bitch is grinding my dick...!"With a visible layer of moisture building in her eyes, Shizune slapped Nobu with such intensity that his chin briefly extended past his shoulder. His vision had also completely blanked, and, were it not for the taste of blood in his mouth and a pulsating pain emanating from his left ear, he might have thought he had been knocked unconscious."Fwuckin...bwit..."Though she wasn't entirely sure what he was trying to say, that didn't prevent Shizune from giving Nobu another crisp smack, this time on his right cheek. This caused Nobu to immediately fall silent, head dangling forward and blood dripping from his mouth. Some of this landed on Shizune's pale-pink kimono, but, thanks to her aura, the beads flowed away from her without staining her clothes."Mou...look what you made me do! I really abhor violence, you know!?""...""Ara~? I made sure to hold back the second time. Did that really cause you really pass out...?"With Nobu failing to answer her, Shizune lifted his head with both hands to make sure she hadn't accidentally broken his neck. She didn't feel anything out of place, so, after a cursory check of his bleeding ear, she opened his eyes to find that one of his pupils was slightly bigger than the other."Oh my...that's going to smart when you wake up. I didn't think such a light slap would give you a concussion. How strange. Even if your aura is extremely weak, it should have protected you..."Since there was no way her quarry could answer her while he was knocked unconscious, Shizune decided to continue where she had left off prior to his awakening. This included a comprehensive examination of his body, and, though she had already checked it previously, his aura."Hmmm...?"Now that she was paying closer attention to it, Shizune noticed that Nobu's aura didn't fluctuate in the same manner as a normal cultivator. Instead, it appeared to remain constant despite the fact he was both unconscious and injured.Under normal circumstances, a person's aura would either recover or increased during periods of rest or relaxation. Inversely, the moment they sustained even minor injuries, their aura would slowly deplete as their body's natural recovery processes were gradually accelerated. Though there were a number of methods to take advantage of these two states, neither was a voluntary response."Well, if his aura isn't behaving naturally, the obvious answer is that something unnatural is going on. It's no wonder Yui-sama took an interest in him. There's clearly something extraordinary taking place in this barbaric man's body. It's a shame his character is so dreadful. I was looking forward to being able to try out the skills those old bats keep forcing me to learn..."Raising Nobu's face with her left hand, Shizune used a pale-pink handkerchief to wipe away the blood staining the left side of his face and flowing from his lips. Throughout this entire process, a practiced smile remained perpetually affixed to her face. It was only when she attempted to wipe the blood away from Nobu's mouth that a glimmer of curiosity returned to her amethyst eyes, as, even while unconscious, he seemed to be avoiding anything nearing his nose.........After failing to find any traces of Nobu within the burrow, Yui immediately doubled back to secure Rynka before following what she believed to be Yuriko's trail. The only other trail had been sloppy, at best, so, despite consuming a tremendous volume of aura, she followed the virtually non-existent path left by Yuriko until it spontaneously ended at a river.Fueled by a rage she had never experienced before, Yui screamed, "Fuck...!" at the top of her voice before immediately tossing the barely conscious Rynka into the freezing cold water. Winter might have ended, but, due to the river being fed by a distant mountain, the water was still as frigid as it had been during the coldest night in Shimotsuki(Month of Frost/November).Were it not for the fact Yui had held onto her using a golden rope, Rynka would have immediately been swept away by the powerful current. Instead, she emerged gasping from the water, her body shivering madly despite the aura remaining in her reserves. This was one of the primary downsides to the Metal Infusion Technique, as, despite offering ample protection against physical and magical attacks, it was extremely susceptible to changes in temperature.With the type of expression frequently reserved for demons guarding the gates of hell, Yui sank her fingernails into the shivering Rynka's baby-faced cheeks before screaming, "If you don't tell me the details of your mission, you're spending the rest of the night in this river! I might be unwilling to kill you but that doesn't mean I won't let nature do it for me...!"Opening her almond-shaped eyes, Rynka's pitch-black irises reflected a resolute as she groaned, "If you think I'll squeal or beg for my life, you're a bigger idiot than I thought...even we kunoichis...have our pride..."Punctuating her words, Rynka spat foamy white spittle into Yui's face. She would have liked to see a slug-like glob of phlegm roll down the latter's face, but, thanks to a severe case of dehydration and blood loss, froth was the best she could manage.Though she couldn't help but grit her teeth in fury and frustration, Yui's time with Nobu had given her a certain appreciation for obstinate fools. Thus, rather than throwing Rynka back into the river, Yui flung the petite trainee to the side before throwing her overcoat over the girl's trembling body. Then, despite understanding how futile it was, she began to search up and down the banks of the river for any signs that Yuriko had passed through the area.........With several hours passing since the time she knocked Nobu unconscious, Shizune had managed to learn quite a few things about him. First and foremost among these discoveries was his remarkable sense of smell, so, while she concluded his physical examination, her Shikigami spread out to gather several plants and flowers with deodorizing and fumigation properties."Okay, sleepyhead. Time to wake up~."Since she had already prepared everything she needed, Shizune used a small vial of smelling salts to jolt Nobu awake."Holy fucking shit fuck! Did you fucking piss on your fingers!?"With the active ingredient in smelling salts being ammonia carbonate, it was easily one of the most foul-smelling aromas most people would ever experience. It also had the effect of accelerating the heart rate and forcing the body to take in additional oxygen to compensate, so, the moment Nobu awoke, an extreme case of vertigo caused his right eye to briefly deviate from its natural focal point.Though his reaction was far more extreme than she expected, Shizune was more than satisfied with the result. If he was this susceptible to aromas, she could leverage it against him for information, so, after watching him silently for several seconds, a perpetual smile on her face, she explained, "I really don't want to hurt you. So long as you answer my questions obediently, I'll even provide you a face mask to filter out ambient aromas. If you're especially cooperative, I might even give you a reward."Having punctuated her final statement with a genuinely expectant smile, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that Shizune was both disappointed and frustrated when Nobu glared at her and repeated, "Fuck...off...!" between labored breaths. This placed her in a difficult position, as, while it might not sound very convincing from the perspective of her captive, she was serious when she said she didn't want to hurt him. Unfortunately, as he would soon find out, there was a very big difference between not wanting to do something and being incapable of doing it..."You're really leaving me with no choice..."......(A/N: Damn...and here I thought Rynka was bad. Compared to Shizune, she might as well be a kind and benevolent Goddess...)

While others might have been deterred by Shizune's casual threat, Nobu, having already formed the resolve to die, simply glared at her. He had learned a long time ago never to show weakness in front of someone who thought they had the upper hand. Attempting to cooperate with them only fed this sentiment. The act of acquiescing also left you mentally vulnerable, so, even if it guaranteed him additional pain, Nobu forced himself to stay in fight mode so that the anxiety and helplessness he was feeling remained hidden beneath a veil of rage and ferocity...Cupping her cheek with a pretend helpless expression on her face, Shizune attempted to shake Nobu's resolve by asking, "Could it be...you're actually a masochist...?"Without losing even a minuscule amount of his edge, Nobu managed a taunting sneer as he said, "I bet you would enjoy that, wouldn't you? You sadistic cunt."Just as it had been back in Nobu's homeworld, the word 'cunt' was particularly effective when used as an insult against females. It caused Shizune's mask to immediately fall away, replaced by a look of revulsion as she remarked, "How uncouth...I don't think I've met anyone with such a distasteful way of speaking. Do you really want me to hurt you that badly?"Restraining a fit of dark laughter, Nobu maintained the venomous sneer on his face as he said, "I already told you what I want. If you just fucked off as I suggested, we wouldn't be in this situation. It's your psychopathic ass that's choosing to stay behind and play these stupid games."Inhaling deeply through her nose, Shizune resisted the urge to give Nobu's face another slap and instead held up the vial of smelling salts between her thumb and index finger, saying, "I've already discovered your weakness. If you're going to keep talking like that, I'll have no choice but to shove this tiny vial up your nose. You only got a whiff of it previously. Do you want every breath you take from this moment onward to smell like ammonia?"Though his complexion paled the moment Shizune held up the vial, Nobu only hesitated for a brief moment before repeating the words that were quickly becoming his catchphrase, "Fuck. Off."Squinting her eyes, Shizune didn't immediately respond to Nobu's words. She didn't actually want to follow through on her threats. After all, she wasn't lying when she said she abhorred violence. If Nobu just refused to speak altogether, she might have simply ignored him. Instead, he was doing everything in his power to annoy her, almost as if he wanted to be tortured...Adopting her characteristic pout, Shizune promptly returned the vial of smelling salts to her first aid kit before meeting Nobu's gaze and saying, "I'm not going to torture you. As I said previously, I just want to know more about you. If you promise to behave, I'm even willing to remove your bindings. Contrary to what you might think, I'm not actually the person who tied you up."Since intimidation didn't seem to work, Shizune tried switching back to the bread and butter of her skills as a kunoichi, playful seduction. This was the method she was originally intending to use, but, due to the abrasive nature of her captive, she had been 'forced' to use methods she neither enjoyed nor had any real practice executing. She couldn't even slice the throat of a critically injured rabbit to put it out its misery, and, when it came time to execute a captive bandit, she just evaded his attacks until he bled out on his own. She genuinely abhorred violence, so, even if her actions compromised everything she had been building up to, she was willing to try and start over from scratch.Though he had originally been planning to tell the woman to fuck off, Nobu fell silent the moment she offered to remove his bindings. His previous experience with ropes had led to him swearing to never let himself be bound again. That, very clearly, hadn't panned out the way he would have liked, but, now that he had the option, he only hesitated for a brief moment before nodding his head and saying, "Fine. I'm not going to roll over and suddenly start listening to everything you tell me to do, but, so long as you remove these shitty ropes, I don't mind having a chat."Clapping her hands together with a radiant smile on her face, Shizune seemed genuinely enthused by Nobu's response. She suspected he might try something the moment he was released, but, with a full Realm separating them, it would be like an unarmed child trying to beat up a warrior wearing full armor. She had even managed to knock him out with two slaps, so, while there was a chance he was hiding something, Shizune was confident she could restrain him using a single Shikigami.With this in mind, Shizune struggled for a very brief moment to cut the silvery bindings retraining Nobu's ankles before leaning her body against him, smiling as she reached around behind his back to sever the ones keeping his arms in place. Her breasts were nearly two cup sizes larger than every other girl in her generation, so, while most of her efforts went into caring for her skin and hair, she was most confident in the size of her bust.Like any guy, Nobu couldn't help but take note of the ridiculously soft sensation pressing against him. Despite this, he maintained a relatively calm expression on his face, asking, "How old are you?" while shaking out the tension from his wrists.Without leaning away from his body, Shizune cocked her head to the side in an effort to appear adorable before answering, "A woman's age is one of her most cherished secrets. However, if you answer two of my questions, I wouldn't mind giving you a hint..."Seeing Shizune playfully lick her lips towards the end of her statement, the frown on Nobu's face deepened as he asked, "What do you want to know?"Now that her target was beginning to cooperate, the smile on Shizune's face became noticeably more alluring as she began to gently move her hips in a circle. Then, before he could complain or protest, she answered, "I want to know your name and where you came from..." in a seductive purr.With his frown deepening even further, the result of Shizune's actions and the smell of what he assumed to be her perfume, Nobu flatly answered, "My name is Nanamori Nobu. I grew up in Owari-Asai alongside my Grandfather."After quickly recalling the specifics of the aforementioned city, Shizune nodded her head as if to approve of his response before linking her arms around his neck and whispering, "Old enough..." in the most inviting tone Nobu had ever heard.Contrary to Shizune's expectations, Nobu quickly turned away from her approaching lips, saying, "Bullshit." while trying to remove her arms from around his neck. This ultimately ended in failure, primarily due to the fact that a silver membrane appeared wherever he touched, so, with a serious expression on his face, Nobu stated, "You might have big tits but real women don't have baby fat in their cheeks. Besides, you're even shorter than Yui. There's no way you're eighteen."Though she was initially annoyed by Nobu's response, Shizune became legitimately confused when Nobu mentioned the age of eighteen. It was customary in Nian for girls as young as 8 to be married off, and, while the official rites between a man and woman couldn't be conducted until she reached physical maturity, humans were generally considered adults at the age of fifteen. In some provinces, specifically those with higher mortality rates, some people were considered adults the moment they slew their first Demon."I don't understand. As far as I know, the age of consent in Owari-Asai is thirteen. I recently turned fifteen-years-old, and, if my garb didn't make it clear, I'm also a kunoichi. Well, I'm technically still a trainee but that isn't really important right now. Tell me, what does being eighteen have to do with anything?"Frowning in response to Shizune's words, Nobu was about to tell her off for trying to seduce grown men when she was still a brat, but, even back on Earth, the age of consent in Japan was infamously 13. As for his home state of Michigan, you could sleep with girls as young as sixteen, but, due to the recent trends of Political Correctness and several other cancerous movements, sleeping with anyone younger than the age of eighteen was equivalent to begging for a statutory **** conviction. There had even been an incident on campus where a guy ended up getting five years for having sex with a sixteen-year-old girl who snuck into a frat party. Thus, while it might be acceptable in this world, his brain was hardcoded to avoid younger women as if they carried the plague.Realizing he didn't actually have an answer to Shizune's question, Nobu decided to give a different yet equally legitimate excuse, stating, "My beliefs don't allow me to lie with a woman younger than eighteen. Besides, you reek of a virgin whose more curious than anything. You might be a kunoichi or whatever, but I guarantee you'll regret it if your first time is with a guy you just met. If you're that desperate for a fucking, go and find a group of homeless people. If you're specifically targeting me, come back in a few years. You're pretty cute so I wouldn't mind sharing a few drinks and smashing you a few times."With how obstinate Nobu was before, Shizune was genuinely taken aback by how straightforward he was behaving in the present. His words were still extremely abrasive but he somehow managed to string together advice, insults, and compliments as if it were completely normal. He was nothing like what the Elders and her mother had taught her to expect. Instead, he was simultaneously more genuine and less dignified than anyone she had ever met.Though she couldn't fully wrap her head around the reasons why, Shizune found herself giggling in response to Nobu's words. At the same time, however, a sudden desire to break his inhibitions had cemented itself within her mind. There were fewer things more exciting than profaning a taboo, so, now that she had learned that Nobu's reasons were spiritual in nature, she was tempted to see how long he could hold out before surrendering to the desirous impulses that had allowed humans to become the most populous among the Eight Sovereign Species.........After failing to locate any additional traces of Yuriko, Yui returned to find Rynka in the process of sawing through her bindings using a serrated kunai clasped between bloody teeth. She had such a look of determination on her face that, were it not for the fact they were enemies, Yui might have commended her effort. Instead, she surprised Rynka by spontaneously picking her up by the scruff and asking, "Do I need to gag you...?"Opening her mouth, and subsequently dropping the serrated kunai, Rynka adopted a hostile yet visibly fatigued glare as she dryly answered, "Do your worst...no matter what...I won't give up..."Noticing the girl's dry and cracked lips, a frustrated sigh escaped Yui's throat as she pulled out her waterskin and said, "Drink. You're no use to me if you're dead..."Though Yui's words had tempted her not to drink, Rynka's thirst ultimately won out. She might be willing to sacrifice her life in order to complete her mission but that didn't mean she wanted to die. Eating food and drinking water would also help replenish her aura reserves, so, telling herself it was necessary for her escape, Rynka eagerly consumed the water proferred forth by Yui until the leather pouch was completely empty.Watching Rynka suckle the mouth of the waterskin as if her life depended on it, Yui found herself restraining a second sigh as a feeling of helplessness suddenly washed over her. At this point, she was pretty confident that the only reason Yuriko and Rynka had shown up was to delay her arrival. Their mission was basically to prevent her success, and, while this usually went against the code of their family, there were countless loopholes when it came to conducting their rites of passage. She had delayed her own by three years, so, while it was incredibly frustrating, Yui wasn't surprised that the Elders had upped the difficulty of her mission at the last moment. The only concern she had was whether or not this was a ploy of her Grandmother or one of the other Elders..."This is bullshit..."......(A/N: I kind of feel bad for Yui...she really deserves better than this (T ^ T)...)

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.........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.........(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...!!!)

Chapter 32: Obstinance : Forcing