Chapter 28: Dancing Cherry Blossoms

Soul-cutting grade ninja, leader of the ninja army.
She is a Manifestation user...
Most likely at the peak of Manifestation, just like Shigure Rei.
The esper felt slightly dazzled by her beauty. He raised a single palm and returned the greeting in ninja fashion.
"Domo, pleased to meet you. I am Gongsun Ce."
The last time he fought atop a train was alongside the young lady against a Deathseeker. A Deathseeker who was holding back used only Strange-Appearance and Manifestation, yet it was still enough to push them to the brink of a narrow escape with death. Gongsun Ce had learned an unforgettable lesson from that battle; he fully understood just how terrifying a martial arts master wielding the Dao of Impermanence could be.
Standing before him now was yet another Manifestation user. Her equipment was undoubtedly more complete than Rina's, and her martial arts mastery—called karate in these parts—was likely higher than Madfire's, if not equal. Making a tactical assessment, Gongsun Ce judged that she should be treated as an opponent on the same tier as a Deathseeker wielding a Deathblade!
Two more sets of footsteps echoed as Shigure Rei and Rina arrived. The esper could not afford to look back; he focused all his attention entirely on his opponent.
The white-haired Sakura Dance stood quietly at the front of the train, a short blade sheathed at her waist.
"I heard the cherry blossoms here are breathtaking. Is Sakura-san also here to view the cherry blossoms?"
"The flowers of Inamoto are the treasure of Tsukushi Island," she said softly. "Passing this way, I lingered to view the blossoms and stopped to offer my greetings."
Gongsun Ce made a hand gesture to the two behind him, signaling them not to act rashly. He said with a relaxed expression,
"What a coincidence! Since we are all here to enjoy the flowers, it would ruin the mood to resort to killing and fighting. How about we sit down, brew a pot of tea, and chat, after which you can go back to your work and I can continue my sightseeing?"
To his surprise, she nodded.
"A day of preliminary defeat; it is not a day for violence. Let the Majin-san decide," Sakura Dance said, gripping the hilt of her blade. "To fight for life and death, or to step off the train."
Preliminary defeat. Gongsun Ce vaguely remembered this meant "to proceed is to fail." In the calendar prevalent in ancient times, it was considered an auspicious day that encouraged peaceful actions and avoided contests of victory and defeat.
"Coincidentally, my fortune today is poor, and auspicious days are not for me. Besides..." The esper took a step forward. "I have never put much stock in that sort of thing."
Clack-clack, clack-clack. The Princess Inada grew closer and closer to the forest. The wind blew toward the roof of the carriage, bringing with it an increasingly rich shade of cherry-pink that almost threatened to conceal the four figures atop the carriage. Invisible force churned the air currents, the sound of a blade being drawn blending into the wind. The moment they entered the forest, the two of them struck simultaneously!
"Bind." Countless threads of psychokinesis tightened, wrapping around the ninja's body from below. Sakura Dance spun, drawing her blade, her white sleeves fluttering like butterflies. Relying on her ninja pre-cognition, she leaped upward ahead of time to evade the enemy's opening move, launching a surprise attack from mid-air!
A short blade thrown! Was this a ranged attack aiming for the enemy's vital points? The esper created a white shield while simultaneously intercepting the short blade with psychokinesis. Under the immense pressure, Sakura Dance's blade shattered into countless fragments...
No! The shapes of the fragments possessed an unnatural arc, and their number far exceeded reason. No doubt those of you with ninja dynamic vision have already noticed—the metal fragments had transformed into the shape of cherry flower petals! Sakura Dance had turned the short blade into cherry blossoms!
"Cherry Blossom Blizzard."
The blizzard-like petals assaulted the pure white shield, causing Gongsun Ce to feel an intense shock. The white-haired ninja landed, avoiding the psychokinesis emission with a front handspring, and delivered a lethal hand-strike toward the esper's head. "Iya!" So fast! He managed a clumsy defense with psychokinesis while tightly clenching his right hand. "Formless Fist!" An invisible giant fist smashed toward the ninja!
"Cherry Blossom Fall." A thousand petals flew from Sakura Dance's sleeves, swirling around the invisible force and neutralizing it in one go. She defended using the Dao of Impermanence—what a remarkable skill!
Sakura Dance evaded the pursuit with a back handspring. Gongsun Ce seized the opportunity to steady his white defense. The first round concluded; the extraordinarily thrilling exchange had actually taken less than two seconds. The petals that had drifted in during their movements only now began to fall onto Izumo Rina's hood.
"High Above the Heavens"
The stage was on top of a train rather than beneath a cherry tree; substituting waka poetry and photography with lethal combat, this was how ninjas and espers viewed cherry blossoms—a mortal exchange far more magnificent than the flowers themselves!
"If your ninja suit isn't activated, fine, but are you even unwilling to declare your formal ability? Truly arrogant, Sakura-san," the esper provoked verbally. "A messenger who hurries too much will die of overwork," Sakura Dance retorted with an abstruse proverb, perfectly refuting the esper with the implication that haste makes waste. A poet!

Unfortunately, the young man lacking the cultural heritage of Zero Island truly failed to understand!
"Are you saying you're here to deliver a message?"
Sakura Dance's brows curved into smiles. The swirling cherry blossoms transformed back into the shape of a short blade, which she grasped in her hand. With a shake of her sleeves, Sakura Dance summoned a thousand white cherry blossoms, an overwhelming tide of pristine petals intended to overwhelm the three of them.
Gongsun Ce cautiously pushed his shield forward, the pure white bulwark caught up in a pure white wind... But look! Cracks were appearing on the white surface, which was tougher than any defense. Snap! The white shield shattered after holding for a single second, and the destructive cherry blizzard struck!
Slower than a Deathblade... but it had indeed broken the white defense! Between what can be broken and what cannot, there lies a qualitative difference. "The strength of the ninja army's leader is greater than I imagined." Gongsun Ce mobilized his psychokinesis to its utmost limits, the invisible might colliding with Sakura Dance's white wind and kicking up a sky full of fluttering snow.
Taking advantage of the moment, Gongsun Ce retreated in flight while carrying the two women. Before figuring out the true nature of the enemy's ability, blindly closing in was not a wise strategy; he would first probe her style through mid-range combat. He retreated toward the rear carriages—first, second, third—laying traps along the way. Sakura Dance sheathed her blade, pressing her body forward as she ran, white petals accompanying her like the ribbons of a celestial maiden.
"White Ground Spikes." The esper flicked his fingers repeatedly, triggering the traps he had set while retreating. Sharp spikes two meters high burst out from beneath Sakura Dance's feet! What a sinister ambush, venomous enough to make even the inhuman tactical weapon makibishi feel ashamed of its inferiority!
However, look! Sakura Dance's body spun like a butterfly, dodging at the very last fraction of a second! At the same time, she hurled cherry-colored shuriken!
"I'll defend, Miss Rina!" "Leave it to me!" The two quickly divided their labor. Rina whipped out her multi-section staff and leaped forward, seizing the gap when her opponent dodged the ground spikes to execute a charging, spinning strike from Subduing Demon Karate. "Take this—!" The staff whistled down toward Sakura Dance's flank! "Iya." Deflecting the multi-section staff with a shuriken, Sakura Dance slashed with a hand-edge toward Rina's opening! "Over here—!" Rina parried with her staff and lashed out with her right leg at a tricky angle, while Gongsun Ce's ground spikes erupted simultaneously—
"Iya—!" But Sakura Dance evaded with truly fluid footwork! Her body "passed through" Rina like transparent wind, an illusion of substance brought on by ultra-high speed... It was a speed amplified by the blessings of her ninja suit!
Sakura Dance's kimono dissipated into petals, revealing her true posture as a ninja. Pure white fabric woven from fine alloy flakes and high-density fibers clung tightly to her body, outlining breathtaking lines. A cherry-pink oni mask covered half her face, adding a fierce edge to the woman's mesmerizing allure. "Iya." Sakura Dance swung her arm backward in a short arc, striking Rina's back directly with her elbow. The assaulted shrine maiden coughed out the air in her lungs! "Guh-wa..." The stricken Rina tumbled off the roof of the train. Truly dangerous! If she had been grazed by the Princess Inada traveling at 600 kilometers per hour, even a sumo wrestler would have ended up looking more pathetic than minced tuna.
Now was not the time to hold back. "Shigure Rei!" Gongsun Ce grabbed the falling Rina with a psychokinesis rope while erecting a white defense wall in front of himself. However, Sakura Dance's attack was faster than the formation of the white wall. The short blade left its sheath, and the ninja executed a secret karate technique resembling Zen. The gleaming blade-light flashed like lightning in a clear sky, a single instantaneous slash tearing even the wind apart!
"Oh." Sakura Dance's blade stopped abruptly, the sharp edge pressed tight against the young man's skin. Standing behind the ninja was the blue-haired hunter, a black short arrow pressed against the back of her head.
"Go on, then," Shigure Rei provoked, spinning the short arrow. "I'd be more than happy to watch you trade lives one-for-one."
"Even a cornered mouse will bite the cat and kill it," Sakura Dance retorted with a Zero Island proverb. "Who is the cornered mouse, Majin-san?"
A good question. At a glance, Sakura Dance seemed driven to a dead end, but in truth, relying solely on Shigure Rei's meager close-combat skills probably wouldn't even pierce her skin.
If Shigure Rei fully unleashed her Manifestation to forcefully restrain Sakura Dance's movements, and she and Rina swarmed forward to take her down, that would be a fine development. But... in a three-on-one situation, Shigure Rei's abilities would weaken, and Sakura Dance's Dao of Impermanence remained unclear.
With the precedent of the Deathseeker in mind, Gongsun Ce had to proceed with utmost caution. She hadn't even made a declaration—who knew what the true nature of her Manifestation was? Shigure Rei had used pseudo-divinity to bluff him before; might Sakura Dance not be doing the same?
If a real fight broke out and her Manifestation turned out to be an entirely unanticipated ability, it would spell trouble. He remembered clearly that he was currently on a train.
——There were still the lives of several hundred ordinary citizens on board to protect.
The train was about to exit the forest. As thoughts raced through his mind, the esper made a tactical assessment. He reached out to push away Sakura Dance's blade, saying with an awkward expression, "Pardon me, Sakura-san, you're so pretty and wearing that outfit, it's a bit... overwhelming for my heart. Let's talk this out reasonably; could you put your clothes back on first?"
"Hey." "Hey!" The two female teammates delivered concise and sharp reprimands simultaneously, which Gongsun Ce pretended not to hear. A hint of surprise flashed in the female ninja's eyes. She removed her mask, and the cherry blossoms reassembled into a white kimono.
"Has the Majin-san decided?"
"Decided, decided. It just so happens my teammate wants to see cherry blossoms too," Gongsun Ce spread his hands. "Would Sakura-san care to stay and share a cup of tea?"
Sakura Dance smiled faintly without answering. She put away her short blade and said, "Let us decide life and death when we meet next time."
"Please take care of yourself."
Gongsun Ce offered a farewell phrase mimicking Madfire. Using psychokinesis, he retrieved their belongings from inside the carriage, then grabbed the two women and leaped off the roof of the train.
"Please take care of yourself." Sakura Dance faded into the distance along with the train, leaving behind only a solitary white silhouette.
Waiting quietly for the train to clear the forest and confirming the three did not give chase, she retrieved her communication terminal.

"Domo, Drunken Eye-san," Sakura Dance contacted her distant colleague. "The location of the four Shigures has been confirmed. Recovery operations are expected to be completed within thirty minutes."
"Domo, Sakura-san. Truly sorry to trouble you," the steady voice of the old ninja came through the communicator. "I leave the recovery of Shigure Ryahachi and Shigure Seventeen in your hands as well."
"With pleasure." Sakura Dance seemed on the verge of cutting the connection. As if remembering something after a moment's pause, she added, "I passed by the train mentioned in the intelligence reports and investigated."
"What is the situation?"
"All three were present. I withdrew after exchanging probing pleasantries." Lightly concealing the fact that she had tried to dissuade them from leaving the train while reporting the genuine situation—classic superior ninja rhetoric!
"A wise judgment, Sakura-san. That place is not our battlefield," Drunken Eye replied meticulously. "When you return to Ashihara, I count on you for a detailed threat assessment."
"With pleasure." Sakura Dance cut the connection. The white-clad woman drifted toward the sky like a butterfly, leaving behind only a single cherry petal on the train roof, blown far away by the wind.
·
Behind the railway lay the Forest of Inamoto.
The three of them stared at each other in dismay beneath a cherry tree, and Shigure Rei was the first to break her silence.
"That you are soft-hearted and considerate of civilians, I can understand. That you had deep concerns and chose to avoid battle could also be considered strategy. But what on earth were you thinking when you grabbed our things and jumped off the train in a place like this?!"
Rina rubbed her back, drawing in breath through her teeth—Sakura Dance's elbow strike had been brutal. She chimed in gloomily, "The nearest station to the Forest of Inamoto is a two-hour walk..."
Gongsun Ce adjusted his glasses and said solemnly, "I just got caught up in the mood..."
The blue-haired hunter grabbed him by the collar: "Weren't you just trying to look cool?!"
"A man always has moments when he needs to make swift decisions!"
Shigure Rei let go of his collar, curled her lip, and lectured, "I see right through you, Gongsun Ce. You had your wits stolen by that ninja just because she's white-haired and an older-sister type—right up your alley!"
"As if that's true." "Have the guts to look me in the eye and say that." "Didn't you keep whining about wanting to see cherry blossoms? This fulfills your sightseeing dream." "I meant viewing blossoms from inside a train, not standing around like an idiot beneath a tree!" "You fake sightseeing enthusiast!" "Shut up, you have no right to say that to me!"
The two of them devolved into bickering once more. Without a word, Rina spread a sheet of paper beneath the tree to serve as a makeshift picnic mat. "So, are we heading out now, or sitting down to enjoy the blossoms for a bit?"
In unison, the two of them replied, "Enjoy the blossoms first."
Rina thought to herself, *I knew heartless monsters like you two would do this.* She gazed at the falling petals filling the sky and asked with bewilderment, "What on earth was the leader of the ninja army thinking?"
Gongsun Ce propped up his phone at a suitable angle so that Qiluo could enjoy the scenery conveniently. "How many leaders does the ninja army have?"
"As I recall, there are four: Crush, Drunken Eye, Pure, and Sakura Dance."
The esper scratched his head. "I don't think the leaders of the ninja army are necessarily all of one mind."
Where should they head next? Would they really have to spend the night in the wild? Would more God-Hiders come looking for trouble?... He temporarily set aside the chaotic thoughts in his mind, letting himself become a true tourist in this moment.
Beneath the pale pink sky, flower petals drifted like snow. No matter how beautiful a scenery was, one would eventually grow tired of it if viewed too long; yet thinking that this floral season would end in a matter of days, thinking that he might never have the chance to come view them again, Gongsun Ce widened his eyes involuntarily, wanting to etch this sight into his heart.
He had seen the cherry blossoms, which reminded him of Sakura Dance, and that breathtaking visage. If this were back in high school, he would have gone over to strike up a conversation no matter what; even if he couldn't get her contact info, he would have spoken a few more words before leaving... Gongsun Ce laughed self-deprecatingly and said, "Truly beautiful."
"Truly beautiful." At that exact moment, the same sentiment echoed beside him. Gongsun Ce and Shigure Rei locked eyes, snorted in unison, and turned their heads away. Unbeknownst to them, Rina watched from the side and giggled quietly.