Chapter 321 Ogata Ichitosai Comes Out to Confront!
Kyoto, Yonejuya.
Yonejuya—a very ordinary-looking rice shop in Kyoto.
It is evening now, and it is also the time when the Yamaboko parade is about to start, so there is no business in the store at this time, and no customers come to the door.
The owner of Yonejuya, Sonishichiro Ikeda, also took advantage of this time when few customers came to the door to sit at the counter and calculate the accounts of recent days.
At this moment, Chojiro, who had been with him for many years and was regarded as his old "retainer", suddenly walked quickly to the counter in three steps and two steps at a time, and said urgently to Sunshichiro:
"Lord Ikeda! The people from Calabash House are here!"
Hearing the term "Calabash House", Sun Qilang raised his eyebrows and asked:
"Which adult from Calabash House is here?"
"Yes, Miss Kinoshita is here in person!"
Hearing these words from Chojiro, Sunshichiro couldn't keep calm anymore and hurriedly said to Chojiro:
"Let them in quickly!"
"yes!"
Chojiro, who hurriedly left the sight of Sonshichiro, returned to Sonshichiro's sight again not long after.
Chojiro who returned this time did not come back alone.
Behind him were Lin and Asai.
"Ikeda-kun, long time no see." A slight smile appeared on Lin's face.
Sun Qilang quickly stood up from behind the counter and hurriedly bowed to Lin.
"Miss Kinoshita, it's been a long time since I saw you! Chojiro, serve tea!"
"yes!"
Yonejuya is an ordinary rice shop in Kyoto - of course, it only looks like an ordinary rice shop on the surface.
The relationship between Mijuya and their Calabash House is very close.
Not long after Lin established Calabash House, she helped Sun Qilang, who was about to close down due to poor management, and lent Sun Qilang a large amount of money.
Thanks to the large sum of money lent by Lin, Sun Qilang was able to successfully bring Mijuwu back to life.
Mijuwu and Calabash House have thus formed a deep love.
If one has to say that Son Shichiro has any strengths, it should be that he is quite popular in Kyoto and has a fairly wide range of information gathering channels.
In addition - Sun Qilang himself is the kind of person who loves to inquire about all kinds of gossip and rumors.
So after deciding to find out if anything happened between Shiranui and the shogunate, the first step Lin thought of was to find Sonshichiro.
After all, the counter was not a good place to talk, so Sunshichiro quickly walked out from behind the counter and led Lin and Asai towards the inner room of Misouya.
When leading Lin and the two of them to the inner room of Miju House, Sun Qilang asked Lin:
"Miss Kinoshita, why are you here in Kyoto?"
"I came to Kyoto to do something. Just now, I heard some rumors from some passers-by that I had to pay attention to."
"Those passers-by said: The shogunate has cooperated with some ninjas."
After hearing Lin's words, Sun Qilang, who was leading the way, looked slightly more serious.
"Ikeda-kun, have you heard similar news?"
"Yes." Sunshichiro nodded seriously, "I have heard of it. Let's talk about it in detail after we enter the room. Ms. Kinoshita, we are here."
After saying that, Sun Qilang slowly opened the door of the room in front of him.
This is a room specially used to receive guests.
Be it the tatami or the furniture in the room, they were all kept spotless.
Sonshichiro's younger brother named Chojiro is also very clever and has quick hands and feet.
As soon as Lin and Asai sat down on one side of the low table, he immediately brought over two cups of steaming hot tea.
Looking at the steaming tea on the table in front of her, Lin twitched the corner of her mouth.
After noticing the subtle change in expression on Lin's face, Sun Qilang said hurriedly:
"Miss Kinoshita, you can do whatever you want. You don't need to pay attention to any etiquette in front of me."
"Then... please allow me to be rude."
After saying that, Lin stretched out her hand, grabbed the cup of scalding tea, and then blew on the water of the tea frantically.
Looking at Lin blowing on the tea, Sun Qilang couldn't help but smile and thought to himself:
——I almost forgot that Kinoshita-san can’t eat food that is too hot... I should have asked Chojiro to bring tea that was not very hot just now...
When Sun Qilang was secretly annoyed, Lin blew the tea in the cup and asked Sun Qilang:
"Ikeda-kun, come and tell me in detail what you know."
"Yes." Sun Qilang responded respectfully and then said eloquently, "About half a month ago, I received rumors that the shogunate wanted to cooperate with a certain group of ninjas."
"I was also quite concerned about this matter, so after receiving the news, I started asking around."
"Then I actually learned some interesting news from some of my friends who work in Kyoto Prefecture."
"The news that the shogunate is working with a group of ninjas is true."
"The shogunate who cooperated with this group of ninjas was very bold and asked these ninjas to guard Nijo Castle."
"Guarding Nijo Castle?" Lin frowned slightly.
"My friend said: Tokugawa Munemu, the daimyo of the Owari clan who came specially to watch the Gion Festival, will hold a banquet at Nijo Castle tonight."
"The mission of that group of ninjas is to guard Nijo Castle and ensure the safety of this banquet."
"That's all I know. As for the specific number of ninjas guarding Nijo Castle, and how long this group of ninjas will guard Nijo Castle, I don't know very well."
"When I went out this evening, I made a special detour to take a look at the Higashi Otemon gate in Nijo Castle."
"There are really two young men dressed in black guarding the Higashi Otemon gate."
"What kind of clothes are they wearing?" Lin asked, "Can you describe it a little bit?"
"This...I don't know how to describe it with just one mouth...I'll draw it for you."
Sun Qilang took the paper and pen and ink, and sketched on the drawing paper according to his memory.
Although Sun Qilang's painting skills cannot be said to be exquisite, they are still so-so and passable. At least the things he draws can be understood.
While Lin continued to blow the tea that was still steaming outside, she took the painting that Sun Qilang had drawn and looked at it.
After looking at this painting for a few times, Lin's eyes narrowed slightly:
"...It's the decoration of the ninjas in Shiranui. It seems that Shiranui really cooperated with the shogunate..."
A place like Nijo Castle is not a place where just any cat or dog can serve as a guard.
The ninjas in Shiranui can guard the gate of Nijo Castle with such arrogance - this contains quite a lot of intriguing information.
"...Lord, Shiranui actually cooperated with the shogunate. This is quite troublesome."
Asai sat neatly beside Lin from beginning to end.
"Well... you are right." Lin, who was still blowing on the tea, said solemnly, "In my impression, the current Enma in Shiranui is a person who must take revenge..."
"Um..." Sunchiro, who felt that Lin and Asai seemed to be talking about something very serious, hesitated, "Do I need to avoid it?"
"No need." Lin said without hesitation, "This is not a very confidential matter. The grievances between our Calabash House and Shiranui will be cleared up by everyone on the road."
"Thanks to my uncle, the relationship between us and Shiranui is quite bad. From the beginning to the end, we were only about a hair away from a 'total war'."
"Lord, I remember..." Asai said softly, "When Mr. Gendai was young, he once had a death duel with the current Enma in Shiranui, right?"
"That's right. My uncle also fought very dangerously in that battle. That battle with the Balrog was the first time that my uncle entered the realm of selflessness."
"My uncle, who entered the state of selflessness, instantly suppressed the Balrog who was on par with him, and blinded the Balrog's left eye with a single blow."
While blowing the tea, Lin raised her hand and scratched her left eye from top to bottom.
"It's a pity that the battle failed to end Balrog. After blinding one of Balrog's eyes, Balrog escaped."
"Ninjas don't have any other skills, but they are all very good at escaping."
"This is the first time we have enmity with the Balrog."
"Then there was a second grudge 10 years ago."
"Ten years ago, Fuma-sama attacked Shiranui alone."
"My uncle intervened in the all-out war between Fuma no Sato and Shiranui Sato and mediated the war."
"At that time, Shiranui was thrown into chaos by Fuma-sama. Because of uncle's intervention and uncle's light words, Enma had to swear to never embarrass the people of Fuma no Ri again, nor to hold Fuuma responsible for attacking Shiranui.
Matters here."
"How could the Balrog endure such humiliation?"
"The reason why that guy from Balrog doesn't dare to completely break up with our Calabash House is just because he's still afraid of Uncle Uncle."
"As long as my uncle is still alive, Yan Mo will not dare to act rashly."
"If my uncle dies one day in the future, Enma will definitely lead all the forces of Shiranui to attack us."
"So sooner or later there will be a battle between us and Shiranui..."
"Now that Shiranui is cooperating with the shogunate, it is not good news for our Gourd House no matter what."
"Now that we are cooperating with the shogunate and our strength has greatly increased, no matter what Enma does, it is not surprising..."
"Maybe they will take advantage of the moment to attack us..."
"...Lord." Asai said solemnly, "If Shiranui attacks our Calabash House, how should we fight against the enemy?"
"How else can we face the enemy..." Lin, who was still blowing tea, let out a few chuckles, "Of course I will face the enemy head-on. I will let Enma and the ungrateful ninjas under his command look at me.
Kinoshita Rin and my generals are like one worth a thousand."
"Facing the enemy head-on..." Asai muttered.
"What? Are you scared, Seven Soldiers?"
"Ha." Asai, who had the same pitiful expression on his face as Lin, actually had a smile on his face at this time, "If the ninjas in Shiranui come to attack, I will let them understand why people often say 'No way.
The sword of a swordsman practicing Satsuma Kegenryu."
"That's good." Lin nodded slightly, "Of course - if I have to go into a full-scale confrontation with Shiranui one day in the future, I won't just wait for Shiranui to attack."
Speaking of this, Lin's eyes shone with a cold light.
“Take the initiative and strike first to gain the upper hand—this is in line with our Huluwu style.”
Boom, boom, boom!
At this moment, loud footsteps "dong dong dong" suddenly sounded in the corridor outside the room.
"Lord Ikeda!"
The voice of Sonshichiro's shop boy, Chojiro, sounded outside the door.
"Oops! Something big happened outside!"
"Big deal?" Sun Qilang frowned, "Come in and tell us in detail!"
"yes!"
Chojiro opened the paper sliding door, rushed to the table where Lin and others were sitting, knelt down on one knee, and said urgently:
"The masters of the six major sword halls and a large number of disciples were killed!"
With just one sentence from Chojiro, the expressions of Lin and others changed.
Chojiro then continued:
"The surviving disciples in the Six Great Sword Halls claimed that they suspected that Ogata Ittousai massacred their master and fellow apprentices."
"They asked Ogata Ittosai to go to Futamicho to confront them!"
"Currently, quite a few disciples from the six major sword halls have gathered in Nixiang Town!"
After Chojiro finished speaking, Sunchiro looked horrified.
Only Lin and Asai slowly regained their composure.
But judging from the changes in the expressions in their pupils, they were not too calm.
"...How many people are currently gathered in Nixiang Town?" Lin asked.
"It is said that there are already more than fifty people, and the number is still increasing!"
"...Lord." Asai said solemnly, "What do you think?"
"I don't think Ogata would do such a thing." Lin said bluntly, "No matter how powerful Ogata is, he can't kill so many people in such a short period of time."
"But...since these people in the Six Great Sword Halls are now asking Ogata to come and confront them, Ogata is now in a difficult situation..."
"The disciples of the Six Great Sword Halls have been assisting the officers in hunting down Ogata tonight."
"In such a situation where the masters of the six major sword halls and a large number of disciples were killed inexplicably, Ogata is indeed the biggest suspect..."
"If Ogata doesn't confront them, people will think that he is cowardly and scared... and others will suspect that he has something up his sleeve..."
"If I go... I don't believe that if Ogata goes to confront them, the confrontation will end in a quite peaceful outcome..."
"No matter which option you choose, it's not a good option..."
Lin paused and asked:
"Are all the masters of the six major sword halls dead?"
"It doesn't seem to be the case... The owner of the Metaphysics Hall, who is currently recovering from his injuries in an unknown hospital, seems to be fine. However, many disciples of the Metaphysics Hall were also killed."
"Because the owner of the Metaphysics Hall, Inaba, is recovering from his injuries, the Metaphysics Hall is now leaderless."
"In order to find out the truth behind the murder of the master and his brothers, the surviving disciples of the Xuanxue Hall also responded to the call and gathered in Futami Town with people from other sword halls. Waiting for Ogata to come and confront them."
"...Tonight is such an eventful night." Lin sighed after being silent for a while.