After leaving the dusty medical clinic, Ogata let out a groan full of disbelief.
"What's happening now...there are three masters and apprentices, two are missing...one is in jail..."
Ogata felt a little pain in his head now.
"Currently the only person who knows the approximate whereabouts is Xuan Zheng's young disciple Xuan Ren." A Ding echoed from the side.
"Well...that's right, so it can't be considered that all the clues have been lost..."
After a moment of silence, Ogata suddenly said coldly:
"...Is there any way to know which prison Xuanren is imprisoned in?"
"Ayi...don't you want to go to jail?"
"I don't want to do such an extreme thing until I have to. Now I just want to see if there is a way to sneak into the prison in Kyoto and see Xuanren secretly."
"Is there anyone who can tell me where the prisons in Kyoto are..."
As soon as he finished murmuring, the face of Hasegawa Heizo suddenly appeared in Ogata's mind.
Hasegawa Taira was the commander of the Hōfu Thieves Kaido. Although his headquarters was in Edo, he might still know where the prisons in Kyoto were.
But as soon as Hasegawa Heizang's face full of righteousness appeared on Ogata's face, Ogata shook his head vigorously, shaking Hasegawa's face out of his mind.
Regardless of the fact that Ogata didn't know where Hasegawa was in Kyoto at the moment, even if he could find Hasegawa, Ogata didn't think that Hasegawa would tell him the specific locations of the prisons in Kyoto.
Just when Ogata was thinking about whether there was any way to know the specific addresses of various prisons in Kyoto, Amachi, who had been deep in thought just now, suddenly said:
"...How about asking Fuma-sama? Maybe Fuma-sama will know the specific locations of the prisons in Kyoto."
"Lord Fuuma?" Atachi suddenly spit out an unfamiliar name, making Ogata frown slightly.
"Ayi, do you know Fuma Kotaro?"
"To be honest - I just heard the name, but I don't have any deep understanding."
"In the Warring States Period more than two hundred years ago, there used to be five great ninjas - Iga no Sato, Koga no Sato, Fuuma no Sato, Togakushi no Sato, and Wanten no Sato." Amachi said eloquently.
, "Fuma Kotaro is the leader of Fuma no Sato."
"The name Fuma Kotaro is actually a title passed down from generation to generation for each generation of leaders in Fuma."
"As long as you become the leader of Fuma no Sato, you will become the new Fuma Kotaro."
"This is very similar to us in Shiranui."
"Our leader in Shiranui also has a title passed down from generation to generation - Enma."
"As long as he can become the new leader of Shiranui, he can become the new Enma."
"Our current leader in Shiranui is the 12th Enma."
"After the title of Fuma Kotaro was passed down to the fifth generation, the Fuma party began to decline due to the demise of the master they served - the Hojo family."
"In the end, after being reported by other ninjas, the Fuuma party was arrested by the Edo shogunate and all of them were executed."
"But the Wind Demon Party did not perish."
"Although in that large-scale arrest operation, most of the ninjas in the Fuma Village, including the fifth generation Fuma Kotaro, were captured and executed."
"But there were several ninjas from Fuuma who escaped that capture."
"And the Wind Demon Party managed to survive because of this..."
"I managed to survive until..."
A-Machi raised his hand and pointed at the ground beneath his feet.
"Now."
"The title Fuma Kotaro has been passed down to the 17th generation."
"The 17th generation Fuma Kotaro is currently living in seclusion in Kyoto."
"The 17th generation Fuma Kotaro has lived in Kyoto for a long time. He may know where the various prisons in Kyoto are."
"Ayi, if you want to see Master Feng Mo, I can help you introduce him."
"Hmm?" Ogata raised his eyebrows, "Machi, do you know the 17th generation Fuma Kotaro?"
"Hmm." A look of reminiscence flashed across A-Ting's face, "About 10 years ago, due to various chances and coincidences, Fuma-sama and my father had some friendship."
"It is precisely thanks to the friendship between Feng Mo and my father that Feng Mo and I know each other."
"It's just... I don't know if Master Feng Mo still remembers me."
Speaking of this, A Machi's face showed a bit of bitterness.
"Master Feng Mo... he should be 72 years old this year. He has already reached an age where it is no surprise that he has become an old fool..."
…
…
Kyoto, Luozhong, a certain sushi restaurant.
This is a sushi restaurant with a very beautiful interior layout and decoration.
Since it was no longer lunch time, there were only a few customers in the store.
Although it is no longer meal time, some guests still come from time to time.
For example - right now, four people dressed as samurai lifted the curtains of the store door, walked slowly into the store, and casually found a place to sit down.
"Guest! Welcome!"
As soon as these four guests dressed as samurai took their seats, a waiter immediately enthusiastically shouted "Welcome" while handing four menus to the four guests.
After handing the four menus to the four warriors, the waiter keenly noticed that among the four warriors, the one who was the shortest and most delicate seemed to be respected.
After the other three samurai casually looked at the menus in their hands, they all focused their attention on the shortest samurai.
The shortest warrior glanced at the menu in his hand casually, then returned the menu to the waiter and said:
“Every sushi on the menu should be ordered for two.”
This waiter has seen many customers who directly threaten to order all the sushi on the menu.
This sushi restaurant is considered a relatively high-end restaurant in Kyoto, and the people who patronize this sushi restaurant are not ordinary people. Such generous customers are not uncommon in this restaurant.
After respectfully saying "I understand," the waiter took back all four menus handed to the four samurai, then left quickly and went to the kitchen to greet the sushi chefs to start working.
After the waiter left, the shortest warrior said sternly to the other three warriors in front of him:
"Let's all eat up. We might be busy next time."
As soon as the short warrior finished speaking, the other three warriors immediately said in unison:
"yes!"
This short samurai is none other than Kinoshita Rin.
The three samurai sitting in front of Lin were Makimura, Asai, and Shimada who accompanied Lin to Kyoto.
Although the departure time was 3 days later than Ogata, Lin and the others arrived in Kyoto less than half a day later than Ogata.
Ogata arrived in Kyoto today, the morning of July 17th.
Lin and her party arrived in Kyoto just now - that is, in the afternoon.
After successfully passing through the Seventh Gate of Beijing and entering Luozhong, Lin and the others went straight to the hotel and put down their luggage.
After putting down their luggage, Lin announced their first mission after arriving in Kyoto: to find a restaurant with delicious food to fill their stomachs.
The time when Lin and the others arrived in Kyoto, converted to earth time, was already past 14:00 in the afternoon, nearly 15:00.
They haven't had lunch until now, and they are all hungry.
While waiting for the sushi to be served, Shimada asked Lin:
"Lord, shall we set off immediately after lunch to find the master and disciple, Heshi and Hezhi?"
"That's right." Lin nodded gently.
For convenience, Lin is now dressed in men's clothing.
Her chin-length hair is now braided into a beautiful bun. She is wearing a dark red kimono and a white hakama. From the outside, she looks like a pretty boy with a delicate appearance.
"...Can that Fuma Kotaro really help us find Kazuyo and Kazuo, masters and disciples?" Shimada couldn't help but ask Lin.
[Benefits for Book Friends] You can get cash or coins by reading books, and iPhone12 and Switch are waiting for you! Follow the vx official account [Book Friends Base Camp] to get it!
When leading Makimura and three people to Luo, Lin informed Makimura and three others of her plan on the way to Kyoto - after arriving in Kyoto, she would go directly to find the 17th generation Fuma Kotaro who is currently living in seclusion in Kyoto.
"Master Fuuma has lived in Kyoto for nearly 40 years." Lin said softly, "In terms of understanding of Kyoto, I am afraid that his understanding of Kyoto is deeper than those who have lived in Kyoto since childhood, as well as the officials of Kyoto and the officials of Kyoto town."
"If you want to find someone in Kyoto, or ask about things related to Kyoto, it is most useful to ask Mr. Fuma."
"If Lord Feng Mo can't provide us with any useful clues, then let's wait until then."
"...I can't believe it until now." Shimada murmured, "I didn't expect that the Fuma Party still exists, and Fuma Kotaro has been passed down to the 17th generation..."
Among Lin's group, Shimada was the only one who didn't know that the Fuuma Party still existed.
So when he learned from Lin that the Fuma Party still existed and that Fuma Kotaro had passed down to the 17th generation, Shimada's jaw almost dropped to the ground in shock.
"Then when you meet Fuma-sama, Shimada, please remember to take a few more glances." Makimura said in a half-joking tone, "The Fuma Kotaro you will see later will be the last Fuma Kotaro."
"Huh?" Shimada looked stunned, "What do you mean?"
"Although the Fuma Party managed to survive the siege by the shogunate two hundred years ago." Asai replied at this time, "But the Fuma Party has been living a very hard life for the past two hundred years."
"I'm really just trying to survive."
"When the 17th generation Fuma Kotaro took office 40 years ago, there were less than 10 members of the Fuma party left."
"And 10 years ago, the current Fuma-sama issued his last order as the leader of the Fuma Party: to completely disband the Fuma no Sato."
"Uncle, he has some friendship with the current Fuma Kotaro." Lin said softly now, "Thanks to uncle, I have met Lord Fuma several times."
"Lord Fuuma, he has told me and my uncle more than once - he has no intention of rebuilding the Fuuma Village, nor does he intend to pass on the ninjutsu that has been passed down from generation to generation by his Fuuma party to others."
"'In the direction of Fuma, the history of Fuma Kotaro ends with me' - these are the exact words that Fuma-sama once told me and my uncle."
"Does he hate Fuma no Sato and being a ninja...?" Shimada asked.
"...Katsurokuro, do you know how the other ninjas of the Fuuma Party reacted when Lord Fuuma and the other ninjas of the Fuuma Party announced the dissolution of Fuuma no Sato 40 years ago?"
"Um...very sad?" Shimada asked in a tentative tone.
"Wrong. When Master Fuma announced the disbandment of Fuma no Sato, the other ninjas in Fuma's party were so happy that they almost cried."
Speaking of this, Lin paused.
After a moment of silence, he spoke again.
But when she spoke again, Lin's tone was a bit more lost and sad.
"In the past two hundred years, the descendants of the Feng Mo Party... must have been in pain..."
"It's like carrying a big rock on your back all the time..."
After saying that, Lin paused again.
Lin paused this time to sort out her emotions.
After sorting out her emotions, Lin's expression and tone returned to their previous state - expressionless on her face and cold in tone.
"Katsurokuro." Lin continued, "Although what Mihachi just said makes some sense, the Fuma-sama we will meet later will be the last Fuma Kotaro in history. You can take advantage of this precious opportunity.
, look at Lord Feng Mo more, or say a few more words to Lord Feng Mo."
"But remember to be polite. Don't do anything that will annoy Mr. Fuma."
"The current Fuma Kotaro is not only the last Fuma Kotaro, but also the strongest Fuma Kotaro in history."
"The strongest...?" Shimada said the word Lin just said word by word.
"This is what my uncle told me personally. He praised the current Fuma Kotaro as definitely the strongest Fuma Kotaro in history."
"Uncle, he even told me personally - even in his heyday, he was not sure of winning against Master Feng Mo in his heyday."
"Is it so powerful..." Shimada swallowed.
"It's very powerful. According to what Uncle Uncle said: Master Feng Mo went through unimaginable hard training when he was young to reach such a height."
"Katsurokuro, let me tell you another legendary story related to Fuma-sama."
"Ten years ago, a full-scale confrontation suddenly broke out between Shiranui and Fuma no Sato."
"I don't know much about the reason for the outbreak of resistance."
"At that time, there were less than 10 ninjas left in the Fuma Village, including Lord Fuma."
"Although I don't know how many ninjas there were in Shiranui at that time, they definitely had much more ninjas than Fuma no Sato."
"There is a huge disparity in the number of people. This should have been a losing battle in the Wind Demon."
"But in the end, this war ended with Shiranui being killed and defeated."
"Master Fuuma broke into Shiranui alone, turned Shiranui upside down, and finally escaped without a trace."
"Although Fuma-sama was able to escape unscathed in the end, a large part of the reason was because of the help of my uncle, and because most of the main force in Shiranui happened to be away at that time, Fuma-sama successfully broke into the empty door."
"But even so, the terrifying strength of Master Feng Mo is still evident."
"After the war, under the auspices of Uncle Uncle, Shiranui and Fuma no Sato signed a peace agreement. Since then, the two sides have been on the same page."
"Of course - this was already 10 years ago."
"Now 10 years have passed, and Master Feng Mo is now 72 years old."
Speaking of this, Lin sighed softly.
"I don't know how much power Mr. Feng Mo has left at the age of 72..."
"...Maybe I don't even have the strength to hold the knife anymore." Makimura, who was sitting opposite Lin, added in a half-joking tone.
Lin did not make any rebuttal to Makimura's words.
He only nodded slightly, agreeing with what Makimura just said.