Hey all. Sorry for not posting as much as I should be. I've been somewhat demotivated in terms of writing (even though I have plans for this story) and I have been really busy in my IRL life.

Again, I thank you all for showing your love and support for this story!

Unfortunately, once again, this is not a part of the main story but a continuation of The Swordsman side story. It is getting a bit lengthy... Let me know in the comments whether or not I should make this a separate story!

Without further ado, let's continue.


The Swordsman (Part 3)


The YiLing Patriarch had befriended Mito Uzumaki after their duel and dinner. They conversed and found themselves opening up little by little. And soon they found themselves together day after day. The long-haired male would be led by Mito as she would tour around the village, explaining the different historical sites, favorite restaurants and "hang-out" spots, and whatnot. Kuruma would often stay behind in the hotel room, sleeping and eating... it was a happy time for the duo.

It's been about a month for them now. And the YiLing Patriarch would consider the female Uzumaki his best friend. Every day it was a new place for them to go, the fastness of Uzushiogakure amazed him with every site she took him to. The culture here was so different and so similar at the same time. He found himself looking forward to wherever he was taken... and today was no different. The YiLing Patriarch exited from the inn he was staying, dressed in his long, and usual, black and red robes to which he found himself face to face, to which both faces had a smile, with Mito Uzumaki.

"It seemed like we visited every part of the village already, Mito." He would say with that same soft smile on his face as he gazed upon the beautiful red head. She looked away and then back at him...

"Not every part." She corrects. "Not... my part." She continued and left off, motioning a hand for him to follow her as she turned and began to walk. The YiLing Patriarch took a moment while following to observe the way she carried herself. It was confident, noble-like in some ways, but more like a warrior who has seen many battles. Her back was straight, her hair, long and red, kept into a mix of combat-braids and a bun in the back of her head. Her blue armor barely clinked with every step, which was a testament to her control over her body, minimizing the amount of noise she made which was a must for Shinobi. Her hand, which wore fingerless gloves, idly rested on the pommel of her sword (a Katana, he remembered her telling him), combat ready in case somebody attacked... His thoughts and observation were cut short when she stopped.

He tore his gaze at her and looked at where she took him... it was considerably different from the other attractions she took him to. Militaristic in style, it was built with high walls, painted a light gray with blue tile roof. Over the walls the YiLing Patriarch could make out more buildings, taller... and the sound of grunts of effort could be made out through the silence of morning... The front had an grand archway as the entrance, on the top had the Uzumaki swirl engraved into the wood of the wall.

"This is..." The YiLing Patriarch started.

"The Uzumaki Compound. My home." She would finish for him. She turned to smile at him, showing off her white teeth.

"Come on!" She invites, turning and fast walking inside. He looked at her... and smiled as she entered her home, excited to show it off to him. However, the smile on his face would quickly turn into a frown as he felt a sense of dread deep within himself. The YiLing Patriarch stared at the arch way into her home and took a deep breath, before stepping in and jogging to catch up with her.

His feeling of dread would almost instantly become warranted as he felt the eyes of the Uzumaki Clan lock onto his form as he strode through the complex. They stepped out from their homes with calculating expressions on their faces. Those who saw them in the training ground would shift their focus from their instructor to Uzumaki Mito... rather the friend she brought home. The YiLing Patriarch would remain calm, remembering how he has faced worse odds than this... He clutched onto the sword which hung off of his hip as he followed her. He turned to look at his friend, and saw her carefree expression as she strode towards the biggest building in the complex.

She opened the front doors and called out. "Tadaima!" She slipped off her shoes and walked into the house, to which she was greeted by many servants who took the armor she slid off and her sword, before shooting a glare at the YiLing Patriarch and then backing off. He frowned and continued to follow her, his footsteps silent as she went out the back of the door into a large garden. She approached an older man, dressed in white robes, slightly hunched over with a pair of clippers and cutting at a tiny tree... which obviously caught the YiLing Patriarch's attention. Mito bowed to the elderly man.

"I'm home, father." She says while bowed. To which the elderly man turned to look at her with a gentle expression, the crow's feet around his eyes along with his focused expression indicated years of battle. These dangerous eyes then shifted to the YiLing Patriarch, who allowed his expression to sink into that of neutrality as he clasped his hands together and bowed at the older man.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." The YiLing Patriarch would say, his eyes closed.

"So... you're the one my daughter speaks so highly of?" He heard a gravelly, older voice. The YiLing Patriarch opened his eyes to stare at his shoes before closing his eyes once more.

"Yes, they call me the YiLing Patriarch." He would introduce himself to the older man in a respectful manner. The old man continued to eye him...

"Why not tell us your real name? It isn't very respectful to tell us simply a title." He would ask, raising one of his grey-haired eyebrows.

"I..." He searched for an excuse... "I... abandoned my name long ago. The name to me brought too much pain..." It wasn't a lie when he says this, he remembered his death, and the amount of hatred he would hear in the people's voices.

"I see... you're also the man that defeated one of my disciples, and then defeated my daughter?" He would hear the Uzumaki Patriarch ask, before feeling a strong killing intent shake through his body. The YiLing Patriarch looked up from his bow to make eye contact with the old man... His aura was strong, malicious intent swirled through the old man's body... but the YiLing Patriarch, while shocked at the move, wasn't brought down by it. Instead, he rose from his bow, closing his eyes before opening them once again, his grey eyes now red as he fought back with his own burst of killing intent, which quickly matched the old man's.

The Elder's eyes widened slightly at the counter, and was going to increase it before-

"Stop it you two." Mito's voice broke through the conflict... Her father looked at her, and then back into the crimson orbs of the YiLing Patriarch, before receding his Killing Intent. To which the Long-haired man would do the same.

"Forgive me Senior..." He would apologize. The Old man waved a hand.

"It was a test of will... There is no need to apologize." The elder said, tearing his eyes away from the YiLing Patriarch and began to trim his tiny trees once again.

"I welcome you to our compound, YiLing Patriarch. I appreciate you being here..." His voice would drift. The YiLing Patriarch stared, before feeling his hand being taken and pulled away from the elder. Mito was dragging him away from the garden.

After they left the main house, she bowed to him at a low right angle.

"I'm sorry!" She apologizes, clearly embarrassed at her father's behavior towards him. He simply smiled and waved it off. "I understand why he did it... he wants his daughter to be surrounded by strong influences... I believe." He would say in understanding, which shifted to uncertainty at the reasoning.

"But I'm not offended by it." He would then clear up, placing a hand on her shoulder. Mito let out a sigh of relief as she looked up at him with blushed cheeks.

"Thank you... Now, let me give you the grand tour!" She says smiling at him once again with pearly white teeth. He himself let out a sigh of relief...

But the dread within him remained.


Yeah... I know it's been a while. But I've been busy, and rather unmotivated when it came to writing recently. I've had a lot on my plate, but I'm glad that this story is getting as popular as it is. I've been rewatching MoDaoZuShi and The Untamed to give me references, as well as rewatching some of Naruto in order to re-establish some cultural as well as physical attributes of the world. I want to make this story good. And furthermore, I want to actually finish it... There's a decent number of stories in my profile which aren't close to being finished, which is a shame because I believe that, in terms of crossover, they're the first of their kind. And I really want to make this work.

Once again, thank you guys so much for all of your support, and thank you guys for continuing to read my garbage.

Until next chapter,

Nitro