Executioner Ittosai—this name may not have spread throughout Japan. People in the distant Tohoku and Kyushu regions may not have heard of this character.
But this name has already spread throughout the Kinki region.
All the samurai in all the shogunate territories in the Kinki region and all the feudal clans knew that there was a lord-killing demon in the Hirose clan.
"That is to say..." Xiaobata murmured, "Is 'Onipei' here to chase 'Executioner Ittosai'?"
"Probably." Sano nodded gently.
"I don't know if 'Kihira' is easy to get along with..." Kohata muttered with a slightly uneasy tone.
"I heard that he is a man who is cruel to bandits and very friendly to ordinary people." Sano smiled and said, "So Xiaobata, just relax and get along with Onipei in an attitude that is neither humble nor arrogant."
Just then - they heard the gentle sound of horse hooves on the horizon ahead.
"Here we come!" After hearing the gentle sound of horse hooves, Sano raised his eyebrows, then quickly turned back and shouted to his subordinates behind him, "Get ready! Lord Hasegawa and the others are coming."
Hearing Sano's loud shout, everyone immediately became energetic.
They all stood up straight and straightened their clothes.
The sound of horse hooves reaching the horizon increased from light to heavy at an extremely fast speed.
A black spot gradually appeared on the horizon.
And this black spot also appeared from the horizon little by little as the sound of horse hooves amplified.
Finally - the black spot completely emerged from the horizon, revealing its complete appearance.
This black spot is a group of warriors riding fast horses.
The number of people is around 5-60.
All members are wearing the Fire Thieves' iconic "black" team uniforms.
The officials who had been transformed into thieves came riding fast horses through the snow, then slowly reined in their horses in front of Sano, Kobata and the others, and all of them got off their horses.
Sano, Kobata and the others quickly led their subordinates forward to greet them.
Sano showed a friendly smile that was neither humble nor arrogant, "It's been a long journey to get here, thank you very much!"
The officials who had been transformed into thieves by fire separated on both sides.
They made way for a middle-aged man standing among them.
This middle-aged man with a gentle smile on his face walked slowly towards Sano and his party along the road made by the official servants.
"Thank you for welcoming me." The middle-aged man's voice was a little low, and his tone was unhurried. "I am a fire-fighting thief-turned-commander - Hasegawa Heizo."
"I have long admired my name." Sano said quickly, "I am the elder of the Tatsuno clan - Sano Munenori. This is Obata Yuichi..."
While introducing themselves to each other, Sano, Obata, and the rest of their subordinates behind them were all secretly looking at the famous "Kibei" who was feared by thieves all over the world.
Not too tall.
The body shape is neither fat nor thin.
A somewhat dark face indicates that this person has been associated with the sun for a long time.
There are many signs of age on the face - wrinkles.
Judging from his appearance, he is about 40 years old. This is consistent with the rumors Sano and others have heard.
According to the rumors heard by Sano and others, "Onipira" happens to be 45 years old this year.
Although the smile on his face was full of laughter, it also had a sense of distance.
Sano is very familiar with this kind of smile.
Those who need to both please those above and deal with those below always have this kind of smile on their faces that cannot find any fault.
"Onipira's" appearance can only be regarded as ordinary, but his eyes are very outstanding.
"Oni Ping's" gaze is like a sword that hides its own edge.
When you are swept by his gaze, you will not feel how sharp his gaze is.
But you can feel it - there is unfathomable power hidden in his not sharp eyes.
After both parties completed a brief self-introduction, Sano said:
"Hasegawa-sama! We have arranged a residence and a welcoming banquet for you."
"Please rest assured - our domain will fully cooperate with you in arresting 'Executioner Ittosai'!"
After hearing Sano's words, the smile on Hasegawa Heizang's face froze.
Then, the look on his face became weird.
Not only Hasegawa Heizou's expression became weird, but also the expressions on the faces of the officials behind Hasegawa Heizou became weird.
After noticing the strangeness of Hasegawa and others, Sano asked with a confused look:
"Huh?" Sano's brows furrowed in confusion, "Mr. Hasegawa, aren't you coming to my domain to pursue the 'Executioner Ittousai'?"
"...Sano-sama, it seems...you have some misunderstandings about us."
The person who spoke was a young man standing behind Hasegawa.
Through the self-introductions just now, Sano recognized this young man. He remembered that this young man seemed to be named Imai Cheng.
After Imai finished speaking, Hasegawa continued:
"We are not here to pursue the 'Ittosai'." Hasegawa said solemnly, "We came to your domain this time to pursue the 'Buddha Enemies'!"
…
…
2 days later.
Somewhere in Tatsuno Domain.
call--!
Another strong wind mixed with snowflakes hit Ogata.
"The weather changes so easily..."
Ogata complained with a wry smile as he tightened his clothes and the hat on his head.
It was still sunny this morning.
As a result, before noon, the sky suddenly became overcast and there was a heavy snowstorm.
This kind of weather is not suitable for long journeys no matter what.
However - there is no place to take shelter from the wind and snow.
So Ogata could only brave the heavy snowstorm and walk straight ahead, trying his luck to see if he could find a good place to shelter from the wind and snow ahead.
Ogata feels like his head is heavy now.
Because the hat on his head was now piled with snow.
Just raise your hand and pull it on the hat, and you can take a picture of a large piece of snow.
Then not long after, the bamboo hat that had just been cleaned was filled with snow again...
So now Ogata is too lazy to care about the snow squeezed on the hat.
After feeling that the bamboo hat was too heavy, I shook my head.
Just shake your head a little, and you can shake a lot of snow from the hat.
Just as Ogata was walking forward despite the wind and snow, he suddenly found a very abrupt black patch in the white snow ahead.
And judging from the size, the size of this abrupt "black" piece is quite small.
What is this? With this thought in mind, Ogata slowly walked towards this "black".
It wasn't until he got closer that Ogata discovered the true face of this "black" piece - a person squatting on the ground.