Chapter 157 The world of ninjas [6000-character chapter]
Who is trying to assassinate him? Sorayama Kazuha is as clueless as everyone else in the gym. Logically speaking, there are not many forces in Edo that have the strength to hire such elite ninjas, but if you look at the whole of Japan, it is not a problem to count thousands of them. If you want to get
The answer is that the only way at present is that the ninja captured alive by him can recruit everything. But who can guarantee that he will not deliberately frame him? This problem seems to have become a dead end.
"see me?"
"Yes, teacher, the captured ninja said... that he wanted to see you before he was executed. Although the government felt that this ninja's request was extremely rude, they still sent someone to inform him that everything would be in accordance with your wishes.
"Kogoro said quite eagerly.
In the early morning, the government sent people to report to the gym. After interrogation and interrogation, the ninja only said that he wanted to see Sorayama Kazuyo. The government thought about it and finally decided to give the choice to Sorayama Kazuyo. It seemed that he knew this sword master.
His Excellency's temper was so bad that the official went directly to Katsura Kogoro to convey their goodwill.
Kazuyo Sorayama was also very curious. He had seen ninjutsu and ninjas for the first time in his life. He also had a desire to explore the captured ninja who almost killed him, so he got up with Kogoro and went straight to the place where he was being held.
The ninja went to prison.
Katsura Kogoro shunned the government officials and guards, consciously walked in front to act as a guard, and walked into the dark and damp cell with Sorayama Kazuha, and saw the man who was imprisoned in the deepest part, with his hands and feet chained.
Hearing the noise, this short ninja appeared from the corner. If he hadn't taken the initiative to appear, Kogoro would not have noticed. However, there was another person hiding in the futon-sized shadow. This ninja had already mastered the art of concealment.
It's like instinct.
Kogoro shouted: "Hey, tell me your name and ask the teacher to come. What do you mean?"
The ninja's empty eyes slowly became brighter, as if he hadn't spoken for a long time. An extremely stiff and difficult voice came out word by word: "Hehe, hehe, how can a ninja deserve to have a last name..."
...Master Sword Master, just call me Heihachi." The ninja named Heihachi couldn't help but focus his gaze and carefully looked at Kazuyo Sorayama, the man who wiped out their entire army.
During the assassination, apart from confirming the opponent's appearance, there is no other thought about the employer. In the eyes of ninjas, as long as they accept the task, even if the opponent is a daimyo, they are just the target to be killed, nothing special. At this time, he is
Trapped in jail, if you look closely again, it's a different feeling.
The empty mountain in front of Yiye exudes a noble temperament that they can't achieve no matter how they pretend. It seems that every move is in line with some natural principle. It is so pleasing to the eye that people can't help but have a strong feeling of "Gods are just like this."
idea.
Compared with lowly people like himself who work hard to get some rations that can barely feed the whole village, the other party is simply a person who is born to have all the enjoyment. Even the disciples around him are arrogant and noble warriors.
With his appearance, even if he is still a young man, he will probably not risk his life for food and clothing in the future.
The world is unfair, what can we do!
"Why did you assassinate the teacher? Which company did you hire? If you confess truthfully, I swear on the honor of the warriors of the Choshu Domain Kei family that I will do my best to ensure that you leave safely. As long as you don't target the teacher again in the future, I can do it too
I promise for the teacher that he will not pursue your case again." Katsura Kogoro said categorically, and also made a decision for Sorayama Kazuha.
From the corner of his eye, he noticed that the teacher looked calm and did not mean to blame him, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Ninja Heihachi laughed again: "Thank you, but I don't want to see Master Sword Master this time just to ask for mercy. As a ninja, although I have a humble status, I must abide by the rules of ninjas just like you samurai."
"Bold! I had good intentions to save you, but you..." Sorayama Kazuha stopped Kogoro who was scolding him, "Forget it, he already has a death wish." He looked into Heihachi's eyes and said, "Although you are ambushing me, you must be
You are acting under orders, you and I are not enemies, tell me, what do you want from me?"
"I have a few questions to ask you, sir. If I don't have the answers, I feel like I'm being blamed for the three hundred years of Feng Moli's inheritance, and even more so for my twenty-one years and seventy-five days of hard work." He looked honest and languid.
The moment Heihachi said these words, he suddenly burst out with the aura of a fatal blow when he assassinated Sorayama Kazuha. Katsura Kogoro couldn't help but press the handle of the knife and stared warily at the thin figure behind the thick wooden fence.
.
Heihachi organized his words a little and asked seriously: "Master Swordsman, the proprietress of the izakaya has obviously been affected by the illusion, why didn't she react? The one who cast the spell was Kyoko, the strongest illusion master in Fuma. For an ordinary woman,
There is absolutely no chance of a miss! As long as this poisonous needle that seals your throat with blood can scratch your skin, we may not need to take action... Seventeen masters have died under this illusion."
Kazuyo Sorayama's heart tightened. It turned out that he was so close to death! Although he also noticed the strangeness of the boss's wife, it seemed that his attraction to any middle-aged woman would cause some strangeness in the other party, so he didn't care too much. If it weren't for the boss's wife every time
The closer you get from behind, the more dangerous you will instinctively feel, and you can't help but exude a fierce sword intent. Maybe you are already a corpse now...
It seems that people are fragile after all. No matter how invincible the swordsmanship is, it does not mean that he is truly invincible. After experiencing several worlds, it seems that this is the closest to death.
Seeing Kazuha Sorayama's silent expression, Heihachi seemed to have figured out that the other party was not aware of his arrangement and just escaped by relying on inexplicable luck. He couldn't help but feel extremely disappointed, but he couldn't help but feel an extreme feeling in his heart.
Feeling of relief: Even the sword master can be killed by the ninjutsu in Fuma! He murmured: "It seems that we are unlucky..."
Kogoro did not have the slightest concern about his teacher's safety. In his mind, the other party's illusion must have been cracked secretly by the teacher, but the teacher was unwilling to explain it. But the Matsuko boss lady is an ordinary person! He shouted angrily: "
How despicable! What did you do to the boss lady!"
Heihachi laughed dumbly: "Little samurai, we are ninjas, do you want us to open up and fight with the sword master? Even if we are ambushed, we are no match for the sword master's sword!"
Thinking of his friends who were easily killed, Heihachi couldn't help but feel sad in his heart, "Don't worry, that needle is only for external use. If the proprietress was not stupid, she should still be alive and well. The moment Kyoko was killed, the genjutsu was
The compulsion has been lifted, alas, Kyoko didn’t have to die originally, she was only nineteen years old..."
"Sword Master, I have one more question." Heihachi stopped his grief and continued: "I saw with my own eyes that you drank a lot of wine, how could you not be poisoned?"
"Did you see it with your own eyes? How did you see it in the soil? Also, if you have malicious intentions against me, there is no way I won't have any sense!" Kazuyo Sorayama was quite curious about this.
"It's just a trivial trick. Compared with the Sword Master's swordsmanship, it's nothing worth mentioning. The reason why you can still see the outside situation while lurking in the soil like a dead man is the secret technique of hearing in our Fuma.
, it was originally used to spy on intelligence. As for concealing the perception of adults, it is also another secret breath-containing technique."
"It's amazing!" Kogoro exclaimed. He was very enthusiastic about this secret technique that could catch the teacher off guard. If he could practice it... although it would not be helpful in frontal combat, if it was used to escape and hide, it would be absolutely invincible!
The ninja seemed to see Kogoro's envy, as if recalling something that caused him extreme pain, the stiff muscles on his face began to tremble slightly. He took a few deep breaths and said with a grimace: "Little samurai, even if I kneel down to beg you
, if you knew how to practice this kind of forbearance, you would be scared and run away."
This despicable ninja actually looks down on the perseverance of a samurai? How unreasonable! Does he think practicing swordsmanship is not painful? Damn it!
Ignoring the angry samurai, the ninja said with a half-smile: "From the time when you were just sensible, about 4 or 5 years old, I buried you in the soil, leaving only a bamboo tube to breathe. If you didn't die after five days,
, and then you can practice it in the next step, and you can master it in about 10 years. This is just the basics. There are many more earth escapes in our Fuma than this cruel ninjutsu. What, do you still want to learn?"
"Are you still human..." Kogoro turned pale and couldn't help blurting out.
"It's just a ninja." Heihachi said nonchalantly, "Lord Sorayama, you haven't told me the answer yet."
"Actually, I didn't drink." Kazuyo Sorayama replied: "What you saw is all fake." After recovering from his contemplation, he began to look at this group of ninjas with admiration, and also felt some differences with the skinny Heihachi in front of him.
Willingness to communicate on an equal footing.
Regarding the bottle of wine, although he didn't know that it was poisonous, every time he picked up the bottle, he would always feel a strong sense of uneasiness. He had already taken precautions, and with the level of a leaf in an empty mountain, he could control his muscles to make a drinking state.
It was so easy that all the wine actually flowed into the cuff along his thumb, and was shaken by his force into the mat under the table without even sticking to his skin.
After Kazuyo Sorayama patiently explained to the ninja in front of him, Heihachi couldn't help but give a thumbs up: "As expected of a sword master! I can't imagine anyone else could deceive my eyes with this approach. But how did you do it?
Did you find poison in the wine? Fortunately, you may be able to detect it, but there will definitely be no problem with the way he poisoned it. Even the shopkeeper and the landlady can't find it."
"Oh? I'm curious how you do it, if it's convenient."
Kazuyo Sorayama was certain that the ninja who was lying on the roof did not move from beginning to end until the sneak attack on him; and the female ninja who was hiding in the room and releasing illusions also came out with the guests who ran out in panic.
When was the poison administered? If the izakaya was not involved in the assassination, it would have been impossible to prepare the poisoned wine in advance.
"Our Fuma will disappear completely after today... There is nothing that can't be said. Fortunately, Yukinosuke used the 'naraku' technique secretly taught by our sect, and used an almost transparent silk thread to put the wine that was being heated downwards.
bottle, and then drop the poison into the wine along the silk thread. It's actually very simple, just one drop is enough." Heihachi said with some pride.
Kazuyo Sorayama exclaimed: "What a technique! What a thought! What a ninjutsu!"
Although Heihachi said it was easy, putting a long, stress-free silk thread into the narrow mouth of a bottle requires such precise eyesight and powerful control! You must know that it is a thread, with such a light weight.
, as long as the air fluctuates slightly, it will fly thousands of miles, and there is transpiration of water vapor under the wine bottle, which not only has a great impact on the silk thread, but also makes it difficult to see the bottle clearly, and even he would not be sure to invest in it.
Once inside, it’s no wonder that the ninja who made a sneak attack on the roof is so skilled in hidden weapons.
"The ones participating in the ambush this time are already the last seven ninjas in our Fuuma. Except for the three genin who are responsible for attracting your attention at the door, the rest, including me, are all elite chuunin. It can be said that they devoted themselves to this mission.
We tried our best. We know how difficult it is to kill a sword master, but the wealth is so valuable. We ninjas are just a group of birds flying around for a little food. The other party's deposit is enough to save us, a whole village, from going hungry.
Starving, so even if the mission fails, this bounty must not be given up." Heihachi said calmly, life and death are no longer the most important thing to him.
Kogoro puzzled: "With your ability, what mission can't you accept? Why did you fall into such a miserable situation? As far as I know, there are many ninjas who are no worse than samurai."
"What this little samurai-sama doesn't know is that there have been no jounin in our Fuma for nearly a hundred years. You must know that only those ninja villages with jonin can have enough food and clothing, and can be valued and recruited by daimyo, and we chunin
Genin are nothing more than tools working for their lives."
"Jounin? Are their ninjutsu more powerful than yours?"
"Ninjutsu? Ninjutsu is nothing! The most important thing about becoming a jounin is not ninjutsu."
"Ah? Not Ninjutsu? Don't you all rely on Ninjutsu to complete your employer's tasks?"
"Haha, this little samurai-sama also said that ninjutsu is to complete the mission, but what about before the mission?" "Of course I accepted the commission."
Kogoro said in confusion, isn't this nonsense!
Kazuha Sorayama seemed to understand Heihachi's statement. The ninja continued: "Yes, accepting the commission is the most important thing to the Ninja Village. The Jonin is the one who carries out the most important work. That's it.
Well, for example, Sword Master and I, if we are both equally powerful, which one can receive the Daimyo's mission?"
Katsura Kogoro couldn't help but rolled his eyes, looking at this short ninja with wrinkled skin. No one would question him saying that he was an old farmer in the countryside. There were such people all over Japan, and they wouldn't even look at him twice.
The presence of one glance; and the teacher Ichiyo Sorayama... even if he and the shogun were sitting in the castle tower discussing the world, it would not be out of the ordinary.
The two of them were like a phoenix in the sky and a stripped chicken. There was no comparison at all. Thinking of this, Kogoro also began to understand the meaning of Heihachi's words.
"It seems you understand. People like me can only accept the most dangerous jobs from the poorest employers, often killing and injuring several people, but only getting a few days of rations for the whole village. And Master Sword Master
...Sigh, there used to be hundreds of people and dozens of elite ninjas in the village, but after today, even a single ninja no longer exists..."
Heihachi shook his head sadly and continued to explain: "If you have superb physical skills and strong martial arts, you are a qualified genin; if you can do these while mastering several ninjutsu, you are a chunin."
; If you can stand alone and lead your partners to complete tasks, you are an elite chuunin; and jounin... you also need to have a unique temperament, extensive knowledge, elegant conversation, and be good at various arts, so that you can deal with the most senior employers and take over.
The most rewarding mission. Do you know, sir, that in the Warring States period when ninjas were most glorious, jounin was a figure who could talk poetry and morals with daimyo ministers! Just like Momochi Santao, Koshin Koji, Hattori Hanmasagi and others,
Every jounin is the supreme leader and most valuable asset of the village."
Kazuyo Sorayama and Katsura Kogoro listened in silence. The hostility they had when they came had disappeared. Kazuyo Sorayama had seen this kind of misery many times and was still able to remain calm.
Katsura Kogoro, who was kind-hearted and hoped to change the country one day, felt sad in his heart and couldn't help but said loudly: "Then you can give up your identity as a ninja and work peacefully, why do you have to accept dangerous tasks! Don't you do anything but kill people?
can you?"
Heihachi couldn't help but show an extremely sarcastic expression, and shouted angrily: "What do you know? What do you know! You samurai can receive salary for generations, and have no worries about food and clothing every day. You even go to an izakaya to drink and eat meat if you feel the food is not to your taste.
But what about us?! There are thirty-nine households in the village, but the whole village only has twenty complete pieces of clothing! Do you know the desperation of the whole village who are naked, plowing the barren land under the sun, and looking for food in the ice and snow? Do you know
How does it feel for a girl to have her menstruation and have to reluctantly wipe it with sand? Do you know that apart from the mountains where even wild dogs can't survive, there is still land in Japan that is not occupied by your samurai? You don't know anything! We are alive.
Every day, I endure pain that you can’t imagine! You don’t even know that for this mission, we have taken away all the weapons, hidden weapons, and equipment passed down from generation to generation in Feng Mo. We have no intention of going back alive!”
Heihachi beat his hands on the ground, his hair disheveled, and he was almost roaring. After alerting the cell guards and being shouted back by Katsura Kogoro, Heihachi slowly regained his composure.
"If you believe me and tell me the location of your village, I can help move them to the Choshu Domain. It is the richest domain in Japan. If you work hard, you can still have a full stomach."
In his agitated mood, Kogoro couldn't help but feel compassion for this once ferocious enemy, although he knew that this approach was very inconsistent with his current status. If he was reported by someone with intentions, the most serious consequences would even be to cut him off.
Although he attacked the status of the feudal lord and drove him out of the feudal clan, he still couldn't help but want to change the tragic fate of these poor people.
Heihachi also regained his composure after hearing the young samurai's heartfelt words, "No need, thanks to the Sword Master, this mission is enough for the village to live well for a while. As a repayment of goodwill, I can tell you, although we
The ninja's rule is not to disclose the employer, but the person who contacted us this time was also a ninja. After explaining everything, he simply took poison and committed suicide, so we have no clue who the real employer behind the scenes is."
Kazuyo Sorayama stopped Kogoro who wanted to make an impassioned speech and nodded to Heihachi: "Thank you very much. Do you have any other wishes?"
"Not in this life. In the next life, I hope to become a samurai." The ninja Heihachi raised his head, suppressing his envious and longing eyes. He took one last look at the two of them, turned around and closed his eyes without saying a word.
It wasn't until the footsteps of the two disappeared in the cell and the sound of the guard approaching was heard that he slowly opened his eyes.
He put his hands under his hairless armpits and kneaded the skin a few times. From the outside, it looked like a lazy man scratching an itch. But when he took it out, he already had more than his palm.
A few inches of paper-like round sheet that looks like skin but not skin;
He grabbed a few more times in his hair, and found a small brown needle, only an inch long, on his fingertips. Heihachi calmly spread the thin slices on his forearm, and the hand holding the needle seemed to be on the other hand.
There are circles drawn on the forearm for scratching, but in fact, every time a circle is drawn, a vein in the arm will be pierced, and the needle tip is stained with blood. Using an extremely simple and special symbol, the day begins with the ambush of Sorayama Kazuha, and ends with the dialogue with Sorayama Kazuha in the prison.
Describe the situation again.
After doing all this, Heihachi hid the small needle in his hair again by wiping his sweat, and then put his fingertips into his mouth, picking at the gaps between his teeth back and forth, looking like he was picking his teeth out of boredom.
Suddenly, a small wax ball appeared in his hand. He kneaded the thin piece of skin a little and wrapped it in the wax ball, and finally swallowed it quietly.
In the eyes of the guards, although the man inside was an extremely dangerous ninja who had been ordered by his superior to be under strict supervision, he was actually just a villager. He tickled his teeth and yawned, showing an authentic peasant style of this era. See
The ninja ended up lying on the straw, thinking he just wanted to take a nap.
Everything that needs to be done has been done. As a ninja, although the mission failed, he has done his duty after all. With the death of himself, the last chuunin, Fuma will disappear. After the big shots who hired them
In the eyes, it was just a small loss of money, but the bounty was enough for the remaining old, weak, women and children to choose a peaceful village to settle down and live a comfortable life for a few years.
Heihachi fantasizes with satisfaction, imagining the scene where everyone in the village has clothes and everyone happily eats white rice. He exerts force on his upper and lower jaws, crushing the fangs in the deepest part of his mouth. His muscles all over his body stiffen and loosen, with a smile.
Die quietly.
In the graveyard, the crying night wind gave a shuddering chill in the late summer night. A woman in tattered clothes and disheveled hair pulled an even thinner little girl, no more than 4 or 5 years old, standing blankly on a
The front of the newly excavated mound.
Without saying a word, the woman dug up the mound with a branch and pulled out Heihachi's already stiff body. She looked carefully at the body. After seeing the blood hole the size of a pinhole on Heihachi's left forearm, she took it out of her arms.
With a small knife, he expertly cut open Heihachi's abdominal cavity and cut open his stomach. After groping for a few times, he took out a wax pill and held it firmly in his hand.
Seeing the expression of satisfaction on the face of the dead body that was beginning to swell, the woman let out a few extremely sad sobs. She couldn't bear to look at it anymore, turned her head and pushed Heihachi's body back into the pit, grabbed a handful of soil with her somewhat stiff hands, and
He filled up the pit, then pulled the little girl with the same numb face and stumbled into the darkness.
This conspiracy against Kazuyo Sorayama seemed to have come to an end with the death of the last ninja, and Fumari, like most ninja villages, was swept away by the torrent of the times.
Only a few people who endure the pain and survive will recall in their midnight thoughts that there is an inconspicuous small earthen dump in a mass grave outside Edo Castle, and buried underneath is a ninja who can only place his hope in the afterlife.
The story of the ninja has ended, but the threads of fate are complicated and confusing, entangled people who know and are not aware, related and unrelated, until the next reincarnation of fate, no one can get rid of this bondage, maybe this is what makes people helpless