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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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Ninjas. You might wonder what ninjas were doing in a cyberpunk world. But, surprisingly, they were a recurring presence.
It made sense, considering the information I knew before entering this game world. Some argued that the cyberpunk genre itself stemmed from the fear of a bubble-era 1980s Japan conquering the world.
As if supporting this claim, geishas in white makeup occasionally appeared on city billboards in this world, too. So, ninjas in a cyberpunk world weren’t strange at all.
Of course, while I called them ninjas, they probably weren’t real ninjas. It was more accurate to see them as specialized employees of the Japanese corporation, Ko-ozaka.
They didn’t appear saying “Doh-moh” like in some novels or manga. Incidentally, this fact is even mentioned in the Kojiki.
But even if they weren’t real ninjas, that didn’t mean they weren’t terrifying. Just like ninjas in manga could breathe fire, cyberpunk ninjas could perform similar feats through cyberware implants. In some ways, they could be even more frightening than real ninjas.
Honestly, this was my first time seeing “ninjas” in person. Ninja squads were operated solely by Ko-ozaka. Unless you were their enemy, you couldn’t just see them whenever you wanted.
How could I, seeing ninjas for the first time, recognize them at a glance? The answer was clear just by looking at their appearance. They wore oni-shaped teeth masks and black clothing and tights covering their entire bodies.
The man standing in the center drew his katana. He lightly ran his index and middle fingers along the blade, and a yellow heat reaction rose from the point of contact.
The sheer coolness was insane. It was on a completely different level from Julia’s heated katana I had seen before. That was a fake katana made with magic; what they used were real heated katanas.
I carefully raised my hands.
“…Excuse me, sirs.”
“No need for words! (問答無用 – Mondō Muyō)”
Thanks to the neural computer chip and translation module, their Japanese words were translated. Typical Japanese, using a four-character idiom.
We naturally prepared for battle.
But as soon as they spoke, one of the three ninjas turned and ran.
…Huh?
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I immediately shouted,
“Catherine! Catch the one running away!”
At my voice, Catherine ran forward without asking why.
The sewer path was narrow. To catch the fleeing ninja, the only way was to go straight through the other two.
The other two ninjas confronted Catherine as she ran at incredible speed. Heated katanas sliced through the air. Yellow lines traced their trajectories, relentlessly cutting through the surroundings.
An unbelievably loud noise followed, as if the katana had struck the wall.
CLANG!
Dust erupted from the gaps in the sewer wall where the heated katana had passed. The attack didn’t end with the horizontal slash.
Through the shadows and smoke, the heated katana’s trajectory split into multiple paths. Yellow trails flashed across the ceiling, walls, and floor.
Even amidst the ninja’s ongoing assault, Catherine’s footsteps didn’t stop.
After a short while, the dust cloud gradually settled.
The two ninjas standing in the passageway looked somewhat dumbfounded. They simply stared down the corridor where their comrade and Catherine had run.
Golden hair fluttered behind the ninjas. Catherine’s already distant figure gradually disappeared into the shadows.
A brief silence followed.
In the strange atmosphere, Ko-ozaka William nudged my side.
“…Why did you send her?”
Without letting down my guard, I politely explained to my employer,
“As you know, this entire area is under a jamming signal.”
“Hmm.”
“So, if they want to call for backup, they’ll have to use a method other than radio.”
Ko-ozaka William nodded in understanding. The one we’d just lost could return with ten more later.
“I see. …Then are we alright?”
“What do y–, oh.”
I cut myself off, realizing his intent.
The ninjas, who had been staring blankly behind them, turned their gaze back to us as I spoke.
Come to think of it, their objective was the Vice President’s life. Even if they couldn’t call for backup, they could simply assassinate him here.
I stated briefly,
“We’re in trouble.”
“…What?”
Ko-ozaka William responded in a disbelieving tone.
But what could I do? It was the truth.
I considered my options. Against “cyber ninjas,” whose bodies were likely covered in high-performance Ko-ozaka cyberware, my chances of winning in close combat were near zero.
This was true even with Eve’s help. This was different from fighting Maya.
[Hacking signal cannot connect. This is a fundamental performance difference, requiring closer proximity for successful hacking, I explain.]
As if on cue, Eve confirmed she couldn’t help much.
As we stood still, the ninjas began to slowly approach us, cautiously, wary of their surroundings.
The reasons they didn’t immediately attack were probably: the appearance of unknown individuals, one of whom had effortlessly dodged the attacks of two ninjas, and finally, the unknown nature of the sphere of light floating above my shoulder.
As the ninjas slowly closed in, Ko-ozaka William spoke to me urgently,
“…You said you’re the Only Magician, so shouldn’t you find another way?”
“…Well, it’s not like there’s no way…”
My words seemed to revitalize Ko-ozaka William slightly. His voice grew a bit louder.
“Then do something!”
“It’s a method that might get my clothes dirty.”
“?”
[…]
I continued explaining casually,
“These are expensive clothes, you see. I’m already worried about the smell from walking through the dump, and if they get soaked in this polluted water…”
“I’ll buy you as many clothes as you need! Just take care of this!”
His true colors were showing. But within his outburst were the words I wanted to hear.
[…Perhaps.]
Eve started to speak as if confirming a suspicion, but then fell silent.
…Since I was working anyway, it would be nice to get some free clothes. Custom-made clothing from the Ko-ozaka Group… I was already looking forward to it.
Just then, the approaching ninjas stopped, looking around as if sensing something amiss.
“…!”
The polluted water in the waterway, which had been flowing rapidly until just a moment ago, had become still.
“The water…”
“Endure (忍 – Shinobi).”
Responding with “Shinobi”… they were a bit too into their ninja persona.
Unlike the visibly flustered ninja, the other remained completely calm, maintaining his stance and continuing to watch me.
Well, whether they panicked or not didn’t matter much to me. I had gathered enough mana while walking, and their cautious approach had given me time to block the waterway and prepare the “water” I needed.
Creating water from nothing required a significant amount of mana, but manipulating existing water required much less.
I released the blocked waterway.
WHOOSH!
Polluted water erupted along the sewer channel. The torrent was so powerful it resembled a sideways waterfall.
While casually deflecting the droplets splashing towards me, I redirected the torrent towards the ninjas.
“Hmm!”
With a short grunt, the ninjas braced themselves against the current. One tried to jump over the water and attack me, but I redirected the flow again, sending him tumbling through the air.
The waterfall of polluted water gradually diminished. The ninjas, now covered in filthy contaminants, looked angry, even through their masks. It was strange that I could read their expressions despite the masks.
Well, it would be weirder not to be angry after being drenched in sewage.
But my magic didn’t end there. If I had just wanted to spray them with water, I wouldn’t have carefully directed the flow like that.
Playfully, I mimicked hand gestures for a ninja technique I’d seen in some manga, doing a sloppy imitation.
“Ninjutsu.”
“…?”
Ko-ozaka William looked at me like I was crazy.
I tried to ignore him. Romance should be countered with romance.
“Lightning Bolt!”
It was just regular electrical magic. It wasn’t called Lightning Bolt, and it wasn’t ninjutsu or anything.
–!!
The shock wasn’t a joke. The high-voltage electricity was an unavoidable attack for them in their soaked state.
The ninjas collapsed with convulsions. Faint white smoke rose from their bodies.
If they had attacked us head-on when it was just the two of us, this wouldn’t have happened. This was the consequence of giving a mage time.
I spoke to Ko-ozaka William, who was behind me,
“Let’s move forward again.”
“Hmm, before that…”
Ko-ozaka William pointed at the collapsed ninjas.
“Can you use the electricity one more time?”
“…Do we really need to confirm the kill?”
This time, I looked at him like he was crazy.
So he was this cruel… As expected of someone who rose to the position of a megacorp Vice President.
“…No, what do you take me for? It’s because Ko-ozaka’s ninja squad members are equipped with self-resurrection implants.”
“…There’s such a thing?”
Ninjas who could return from death… What kind of beings were cyberpunk ninjas?
He had a point; it was better to be safe than sorry. I gathered mana for a moment and fired another electrical shock at the fallen ninjas.
I wasn’t sure if they could have actually gotten up. But seeing the twitching ninjas, I felt a pang of guilt. Teabagging was forbidden even in fighting games…
Just then, from the dark corridor, footsteps approached.
At first, I thought it was Catherine, but the footsteps belonged to more than one person. I hurriedly prepared to gather mana. Whether vagrants or ninjas, they were definitely not allies.
…We were in trouble.
I’d just used magic consecutively, so it would take some time to use it again. Earlier, I had said we were in trouble half-jokingly, but now, I truly felt like we were facing a serious situation.
Slowly, two figures emerged from the shadows, walking towards us. One had a massive build, and the other had red hair and pointed ears…
…
It was Drek and Andrea.
What? How did they even know to come here?
I raised my hand and shouted,
“Yo!”
Seeing me, they both smiled widely.
“Oh, Shiun!”
I didn’t know how they found us, but they were the most reliable allies in this situation.
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I said,
“…You’re saying you couldn’t contact Catherine and me, so you ended up searching the entire sewer area leading to Neon City, dealing with all the strange things that appeared along the way? This is Sector E… That area is huge.”
Andrea and Drek replied,
“The eight-legged lizard was pretty tough.”
“I’d vote for the giant robot with saw blades.”
I remained silent.
“……”
Anyway, I understood they had come after going through a lot of trouble.
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