Chapter 262 The Red Moon Fortress and the Lu Country (Part 1)
"Ayi." A Ding pointed to his neck, "Is your injury okay?"
"Well..." Ogata raised his hand and touched his neck, which had been re-wrapped with a thick white cloth, "Apart from the slight pain due to the wound not healing yet, there is no other discomfort..."
"Okay..." At this moment, Mamiya looked around, "We should have made a big circle..."
Ogata looked around - all the surroundings were covered with sea water, and no trace of land could be seen.
"We have now followed the southeast direction and made a big circle around the sea." Mamiya said softly, "We should be far away from the shogunate's camp. Let's return to the land."
After that, Mamiya put the paddles of both hands into the sea water again, drove the boat in a circle, and started to head straight towards the land.
I have to say - Mamiya's boating skills are really top-notch. He doesn't look like a ronin, but more like a fisherman who comes from a fishing family.
"Do you need my help?" Makimura, who was sitting next to Mamiya, asked.
"No need." Mamiya said cheerfully, "I am not so weak that I will die in just two seconds. Just sit still and it will be fine."
Having said this, Mamiya paused.
After a moment of silence, Mamiya glanced at Ogata and Atachi in front of him.
"We have successfully escaped that ghost place now. What plans do you two have next when we return to land?"
"What kind of plan can we have?" Atachi shrugged helplessly, "Since the mission has been completed, of course we have to return to Shiranui."
"Although there are still many important things we don't know about the cannibals, the information collected so far should be enough to communicate with the leader."
After Atachi finished telling her next plan, Mamiya, Makimura and Atachi all turned their attention to Ogata.
"Ayi." Ading said softly, "Do you... have any plans next?"
Speaking of this, Amachi couldn't help but glance at Ogata's neck, which was wrapped in a thick white cloth.
Ogata did not immediately respond to the questioning glances from Atachi and others.
Instead, he first silently took out the two prescriptions from his arms that the masters and disciples Kazuyo and Kazuo wrote to Konnosuke, who now handed them over to him.
"...I'm going to find the masters and disciples, Kazuyo and Kazuo." Ogata said softly.
After saying this, Ogata's fingers that were holding the two prescriptions involuntarily pinched the two pieces of paper a little tighter.
Upon hearing Ogata's words, everyone, including Atachi, Mamiya and Makimura, looked more or less astonished.
"...Do you want to find this pair of masters and disciples and ask them to help you cure the immortal poison in your body?" Although the sentence structure of Mamiya's sentence is a question, it has an affirmative tone.
.
"Of course." Ogata said in a half-joking tone, "I don't want to die young at a young age."
"Even if you really have to die young, you should die on the grandest stage, instead of dying cowardly because of a so-called 'immortal poison' that you don't know whether it is a toxin or not."
"This pair of masters and disciples had the medicine that could suppress the immortal poison a few years ago."
"Now that several years have passed, they may have more and more powerful medicines that can target immortal poisons."
"I want to find them...and get rid of the immortal poison in my body."
"...That's true." Makimura shrugged and continued, "There is poison in the body that will kill you at some point - this is indeed not something that can be ignored like this."
"Yeah." Ogata nodded, "That's right."
Ogata hid some truth from Amachi, Mamiya, and Makimura.
Ogata concealed the fact that the immortal poison was a double-edged sword, and after it entered his body, his body functions increased.
The main reason why he chose to conceal it was because neither Omachi nor Mamiya and Makimura were close enough to Ogata to tell them all about themselves.
Especially Mamiya and Makimura - Ogata still clearly remembers that Mamiya said that the Calabash House they belong to has been focusing on the investigation of "immortality" over the years.
When dealing with these two people, Ogata must be more reserved about introducing his current physical changes.
"So -" Mamiya asked Ogata, "Japan is so big, where are you going to find this pair of masters and disciples?"
"And the master and apprentice may not be in the country yet, and there is a possibility of escaping abroad."
"There are still clues for the time being." Ogata said softly, "Both Sokai and Kinnosuke have said that the master and disciple have a very strong Kyoto accent."
"So - I plan to go to Kyoto next."
Ogata, who was focused on telling his next plan, didn't notice that when he spit out the place name "Kyoto", Makimura raised his eyebrows and a strange light flashed in his eyes.
Of course, the light that flashed in his eyes was only fleeting. In an instant, his eyes returned to calmness.
"Kyoto...Ogata-kun, are you planning to go find this pair of masters and disciples alone?" Mamiya said.
"Of course." Ogata rolled his eyes at Mamiya.
Ogata's eyes seemed to be saying to Mamiya: Aren't you talking nonsense?
"I am a homeless ronin with no one to rely on. Of course I went to Kyoto alone."
Having said this, Ogata turned his attention back to the two prescriptions in his hand.
"Let's go to Kyoto first, and then ask them one by one to see if anyone in Kyoto recognizes these handwritings..."
"...Ogata-kun." A faint smile appeared on Mamiya's face at this time, "I have a small suggestion. I wonder if you are interested in hearing it?"
"Oh? What advice?"
"Would you like to join our Calabash House?"
Mamiya put the oar he was holding in his right hand back on the boat, and then stretched out his right hand towards Ogata.
"I should have told you, right? Our Calabash House has been investigating the 'immortality' over the years."
"You want to find the master and disciple to remove the 'immortal poison' from your body."
"And we want to investigate the 'Immortal'. Our next target is also this pair of suspicious masters and disciples who may know a lot of information related to the 'Immortal'."
"Our goals are now the same."
"We have the same goals, so we are the best partners."
"It just so happens that our Calabash House is short of manpower right now."
"Although our Calabash House has not many members, our Calabash House has a huge network of contacts throughout almost all of Japan."
"If you cooperate with us, you will cooperate with us."
"The pursuit of that pair of master and disciple will definitely yield twice the result with half the effort."
"How about it? Do you want to join our Calabash House?"
Ogata didn't expect that Mamiya would extend an olive branch to him.
After looking at Mamiya several times with stunned eyes, Ogata asked in a joking tone:
"Is it really okay for you to just randomly recruit people into your gang without consulting the leader?"
"I am the second boss of Calabash House for the time being." Mamiya smiled, "I still have the right to recruit people to join the gang without the master's consent."
"Second boss?" Ogata raised his eyebrows and cast a questioning look at Makimura on the side.
After feeling Ogata's questioning gaze, Makimura nodded gently.
"If my lord is the head of our Calabash House, then that palace is indeed our second head."
"In the Gourd House, apart from the Lord and Genichi, I only listen to Mamiya's words."
"...If Mamiya is considered the second in charge, then who is Genichi Kinoshita?" Ogata couldn't help but ask.
"Genichi-san is an exception." Makimura said with a bitter smile, "Genichi-san never cares about things and is very free. In fact, he is more like a guest of our Calabash House... When he is in a good mood, he will help us with some tasks.
When I’m in a bad mood, I just stay at home and drink and have fun.”
After learning more about the mysterious organization Calabash House, Ogata nodded gently.
Then he turned his attention back to Mamiya's right hand that was spreading towards him.
"Will you join your Calabash House..."
A faint smile appeared on Ogata's face.
"What you said makes sense..."
"Our current goals are the same."
"There are indeed many benefits if we work together."
"I can increase your Huluwu's combat power."
"And you can also help me find the master and disciple."
"It is indeed a great and very worthwhile cooperation."
After hearing Ogata's words, Mamiya, who thought Ogata was going to agree to cooperate with them, looked happy.
Just when Mamiya was ready to step forward and hug this new companion——
"But I refuse."
Ogata said this word for word in a firm tone.
The expressions on Mamiya, Makimura, and Atachi who were sitting next to Ogata all froze at this time.
Even after hearing what Ogata said just now, Omachi thought that Ogata was going to agree to join Mamiya and the others in their Calabash House.
"I'm just a ronin born with a sword."
Ogata smiled slightly.
"Although my ronin career has only lasted less than three months from beginning to end..."
"I have only been a ronin for less than three months, and I was caught on this broken island."
"Although the time is short, I have become accustomed to this unrestrained life."
"I no longer want to join any organization, let alone have another lord above my head."
"So——Mamiya, thank you for your kindness and invitation."
"Although I won't join your Calabash House, I can be friends with your Calabash House."
"If your Calabash House encounters any trouble in the future, and I can help with it, I will do my best to help you."
Although Ogata's words contained a touch of joking, whether it was Amachi, Mamiya, or Makimura, they all heard a strong sense of determination in Ogata's words.
Mamiya, who knew that he probably couldn't persuade Ogata to change his mind, sighed silently.
"Okay... In that case, I won't force you."
"Ogata-kun, if you change your mind at any time, you can come to us at any time. Our Gourd House welcomes experts like you to join us at any time."
"Yeah." Ogata nodded and said casually, "I will."
Ogata's words were really just casual remarks.
After saying this, he had no idea of joining other organizations and simply threw Mamiya's suggestion of "you can come to them at any time" to the back of his mind...
…
…
When the sun was about to sink below the horizon, the small boat Ogata and his party were riding finally successfully arrived at the shore.
After the boat arrived at the shore, Atachi couldn't wait to jump out of the boat.
As soon as his feet touched the ground, A-Machi let out a long sigh of relief. While stretching vigorously, he sighed:
"It's more comfortable to stand on land..."
After landing ashore immediately after Amachi, Ogata looked around.
As far as the eye could see, there was a large area of gravel - although they didn't know where they landed, there were no shogunate soldiers around, so they should have successfully moved away from the shogunate's camp.
"Let's find a place to spend the night tonight." After jumping off the boat, Mamiya glanced at the sun that was about to disappear from the horizon. "We can wait until daybreak tomorrow before setting off."
Ogata was noncommittal about Mamiya's proposal.
However, A-Machi said at this time:
"No, I'll leave now."
[Get cash red envelopes] You can get cash by reading books! Follow WeChat and the public account [Book Friends Base Camp], cash/point coins are waiting for you!
"Now?" As soon as A-Machi finished speaking, Oubon was the first to show surprise, "A-Machi, didn't you see that it's almost dark now?"
"Walking at night is a piece of cake for a ninja like me." Amachi shrugged, "One of the most important criteria in judging the completion of tasks in Shiranui is time."
"The shorter the time a person can complete a task, the higher the evaluation he will receive."
"So I have to go back to Shiranui as soon as possible to complete my mission more beautifully."
"...A-Machi." After hesitating for a while, Ogata asked A-Machi, "After completing your mission...is it possible that you will be demoted?"
"Hmm..." Amachi pondered for a while, "Probably not. Shiranui's judgment on whether to be demoted depends on whether you have completed the task beautifully."
"Only those genin who have been unable to complete their missions will be demoted to Ku."
"I have now collected a lot of information related to cannibals. This mission should be completed quite beautifully."
"After you successfully complete a mission, you will not be demoted to dirt."
After learning that Omachi would not be demoted to Kumu, Ogata immediately felt relieved, as if a big stone had fallen from his heart.
"That's it...that's good."
After muttering like this, Ogata wanted to say something like "I wish you good luck in martial arts" to say goodbye to Omachi.
But when he opened his mouth and words came to his mouth, he couldn't get out these farewell words.
For some reason, when he thought of Omachi's imminent departure, Oubang felt a sense of emptiness in his heart...
At this moment, Mamiya, who had been standing next to Ogata, whispered to Ogata at a volume that only he and Ogata could hear clearly:
"Ogata-kun, although there is always a banquet in the world, one day you may meet someone again at a certain time and place."