Yesterday's chapter was blocked, maybe because someone reported it...
I have made modifications and am silently waiting for the ban to be lifted...
For those who didn’t have time to read yesterday’s chapter, go and read it elsewhere.
What a pity for those very talented commentators...
[Thank you to the new leader for "making the hero burst into tears"! I originally planned to post an update today, but because of the appearance of the new leader, I will post more today! Update 1W5! Please thank the new leader.
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"Shuntaro-sama! Shuntaro-sama!"
As soon as Shuntaro returned to Shiranui, he heard calls one after another coming from behind him.
After hearing these calls, Shuntaro was stunned for a moment before he realized that someone was calling him.
In the past two days, Shuntaro has been going to watch the "Gozen Trial Match".
In front of Majima Goro and others, Shuntaro always used the name he used before becoming a ninja in Shiranui: Goryoku.
Because he has been used to hearing people call him "Foroku" for the past two days, and now he suddenly switched to "Shuntaro", which made him a little uncomfortable.
Shuntaro turned his head and looked back.
He saw a ninja striding towards him.
This ninja is relatively unfamiliar, probably a lower-level chuunin or genin.
This ninja didn't say any nonsense. When he came to Shuntaro, he knelt down on one knee and said respectfully:
"Shuntaro-sama, Enma-sama is looking for you."
"Lord Enma? Okay, I understand."
It's dusk now.
The sunset has dyed the sky a dazzling golden yellow.
Shuntaro was bathed in the glow and quickly ran to the mansion where Enma lived.
Arriving at Enma's mansion and entering Enma's room, Shuntaro saw Enma sitting cross-legged on the tatami.
"Shuntaro, you're here, sit down wherever you want." Enma pointed in front of him.
Shuntaro has never been someone who cared about etiquette.
Even without Enma's advice, he would carelessly choose the more casual "sitting cross-legged" instead of the formal "sitting kneeling".
As soon as Shuntaro's butt touched the tatami, Enma asked:
"I heard that you have been going to watch the "Yu Qian Trial Combination" in the past two days. How about "Yu Qian Trial Combination"? Is "Yu Qian Trial Combination" good to watch?"
"Yesterday was boring." Shuntaro said, "Today is finally a little more interesting because we eliminated a lot of inferior people yesterday."
"How's his fight, Kitaro?"
"I'm sorry, Enma-sama, as you know, the relationship between Kitaro and I has never been good. I didn't pay attention to how Kitaro was playing."
"Ha... you are considered companions after all, so it's better to take care of each other."
Balrog sat up slightly straighter.
"Okay, let's talk about business."
"Shuntaro, I have a mission for you."
After hearing the word "mission", Shuntaro's brows raised slightly.
"After Shintaro's tracking, we finally found the hiding place of the traitorous ninja."
"If it takes too long, he may change his hiding place or find that we have found him."
"So make a quick decision and capture that traitorous ninja alive tonight!"
A ferocious smile appeared on Balrog's face.
"If you dare to help the Kus escape, you must be sentenced to death in front of all the ninjas in the village! Kill the chicken to scare the monkeys!"
"If we can't capture him alive, just..."
Balrog raised his hand, gestured with a hand knife, and slashed his neck horizontally.
"I leave this task to you, Shuntaro."
"I will assign Zhou Taro, who is good at using hidden weapons, to be your assistant."
"Do it at twilight nine o'clock!"
The majestic voice of the demon fell.
A hint of hesitation appeared in Shuntaro's eyes.
The flickering look of hesitation was like a swaying flame.
Shuntaro slowly closed his eyes.
After a while, when he opened his eyes again, the hesitation in Shuntaro's eyes had completely dissipated.
"Understood."
"In addition to Shuutaro, I will send 4 more chuunin and 10 genin to attack you. Is this enough combat power?"
"That's enough." Shuntaro nodded lightly.
…
…
Enma watched Shuntaro leave.
After confirming that Shuntaro had left, Enma shouted toward the door:
"Pass the order!"
A ninja who had been guarding the door of Enma's room quickly entered Enma's room, and then knelt on one knee in front of Enma.
"Go and call me Taro Ji and Taro Shu." Enma gave his order concisely and concisely.
The ninja responded loudly and then left the Balrog's sight at a speed as fast as the wind.
Gokutaro, who was responsible for participating in the "Gozen Trial Combination", had just returned from the martial arts trial venue at this time.
Just after returning to Shiranui, he received a summons from Enma, which made Kitaro very unhappy.
But the dissatisfaction ended with dissatisfaction. Although Ji Tairou acted arrogantly, he never dared to have any disobedience to Enma.
Shuutaro arrived in front of Enma one step ahead of Gokutaro.
In Jiji, after everyone arrived on Tuesday, Balrog didn't say any nonsense and went straight to the point.
"You two should also know that we caught a 'Ku' named 'Akang' in 'Ku Village' last night."
"This Akang is a big fish. It is very possible that he has closely assisted the traitorous ninja who helped the Kus escape."
"After torturing him for a long time, he finally admitted the crime he had committed."
"Not only did he confess that he had closely assisted the traitorous ninja."
"It also revealed who the outsider in the village was who had been cooperating with the traitorous ninja."
"Oh?" Zhou Taro raised his eyebrows, "Who is it? What kind of ungrateful guy dares to cause trouble for us Shiranui?"
"That guy is said to be quite famous in Edo."
As the demon spoke, he sneered and shook his shoulders.
"She is a woman who works in Yoshiwara and is nicknamed 'Yoshiwara Toxin'"
"Melon show."
"Melon show?!" Kitaro screamed.
"Jutarou, what's wrong?" Enma cast a confused look at Jitaro, "Do you know this person?"
"I know her." Jitaro nodded vigorously, "This person is well-known in Yoshiwara. Although I haven't seen her much, I heard that although she is small, her swordsmanship is very good."
"I seem to have heard of this person." Shutaro nodded and agreed, "It is said that she frequently went out to Yoshiwara to catch those who failed to repay credit or made trouble and absconded in Yoshiwara, so she was also a minor in Edo.
A famous person."
"Oh..." Enma cast a somewhat stern gaze on Kitaro, "I almost forgot, you kid, Kitaro, has been hanging around Yoshiwara day and night since we moved our base to Edo..."
Hearing Enma's words, a slightly embarrassed smile appeared on Ji Tairou's face.
After Ji Tairou coughed softly a few times, the expression on his face returned to seriousness:
"Lord Enma, are you sure that Gua Shengxiu is one of the masterminds behind the defection of the Kus?"
"In my impression, she seems to be just an ordinary person working at the Shirobei Club in Yoshiwara."
"That's what that gangster said."
Balrog yawned greatly.
"According to what she said, the traitorous ninja has an extremely secret passage down the mountain."
"That traitorous ninja sent 'Ku' down the mountain through this secret passage."
"And that Gua Shengxiu is responsible for sending the 'Ku' that successfully made it down the mountain out of Edo."
"Because that gangster had assisted the traitorous ninja several times, so he had seen Nagua Shengxiu with his own eyes."
"In short, it is better to kill by mistake than let go."
A bit of coldness flashed in the eyes of the demon.
"According to the information provided by Gang, the secret passage has been found."
"That traitorous ninja is smart enough to be able to discover such a secret route down the mountain."
"I've already had people block that secret passage."
"Whether it's that traitorous ninja or this Gua Shengxiu, we can't let them go."
"I have handed over to Shuntaro to deal with that traitorous ninja."
Enma turned his attention to Shutaro.
"Shutaro, you are responsible for assisting Shutaro in this mission."
"Try to capture the rebellious ninja alive. If you can't capture him alive, just kill the rebellious ninja directly."
"Enma-sama...but..." Shuutaro hesitated, "What about the mission of caring for and monitoring the Iga ninjas?"
After the Iga ninjas arrived, Enma sent Shuutaro to the Iga ninjas, using the name of "care" as a "surveillance".
And Zhou Taro also performed his duties diligently for this troublesome task.
Last night, I took Hannosuke and others to visit some places in Shiranui.
"Let's let it go first." Balrog said immediately, "Anyway, this task won't take long."
Zhou Taro: "Yes!"
"As for Ji Tairou..." Enma turned his attention to Ji Tairou, "You are responsible for solving that Guashengxiu."
"There is no need to leave her alive, just kill her."
"Remember to do it cleanly. Don't let anyone find out that this person was killed by our Shiranui ninjas."
"I know." Ji Tairou smiled ferociously, "I'm the best at tasks related to killing people."
"Lord Balrog, can you allow me to use the 'Fire Strategy' for this mission?"
Upon hearing Jitaro's request, Enma pondered for a while, then nodded gently.
"Can."
Ji Tairou raised his eyebrows with excitement on his face: "Thank you, Enma-sama. This way, I can feel much more relaxed."
"Fire plan": One of Shiranui's code words.
This is a very useful trick: when you plan to assassinate someone in a crowded place, first set a fire or cause something not far away, create chaos, and then take advantage of the chaos to assassinate the person you want to assassinate.
.
If time and conditions permit, you can also throw the body of the person you killed into the fire to completely destroy the body and create an illusion that the person was burned to death rather than killed by someone.
.
Fire is the most common disaster in this era.
In this era of Japan, every major city will break out hundreds or even thousands of fires, large and small, every year.
Therefore, even if a fire breaks out suddenly in a certain place at a certain time, it will not arouse any suspicion.
"Gokutaro, for this mission, I will send you 2 chuunin and 8 genin. Is that enough?"
"That's enough!" Jitaro nodded vigorously, "But... Lord Enma, I have a small request. Can Eitaro also follow me to participate in this mission?"
Eitaro and Gitaro are inseparable friends and partners.
When Gokutaro went to Yoshiwara for fun every night, Eitaro stayed with him.
"You treat Eitaro well." Enma smiled, "Okay, let Eitaro follow you on this mission as before."
Ji Tairou: "Thank you Enma-sama!"
"The start time of the two tasks of capturing the traitorous ninja alive and wiping out Kuao Xiu is set at nine o'clock in the evening!" Enma said solemnly, "Because Guao is from Yoshiwara Shirobei Club, and Yoshihara is Shuntaro's guy.
hometown.”
"If Shuntaro knew that we had done these things in his hometown, he would definitely be dissatisfied."
"I don't want to cause trouble that could have been avoided."
"That's why I hid the mission of 'erasing Guashu' from Shuntaro."
"Don't let anything slip from now on."
"Especially you, Taro Shu."
"I specially called you here to give you a mission: keep an eye on Shuntaro tonight."
"I don't care what means you use, but don't let Shuntaro go to Yoshiwara when Gokutaro goes to obliterate Kuaoxiu."
"yes."
"Okay, that's all I have to say." Balrog waved his hand, "You go down and make preparations. I will take part in these two missions later."
…
…
Gokutaro and Shuutarou said "yes" in unison, and left Enma's mansion one after another.
The friendship between Gokutaro and Shuutaro was average, so after leaving Enma's mansion, the two simply said goodbye and went about their own business.
Shuutaro went to prepare for tonight's mission.
Gokutaro, on the other hand, found Eitaro who had been waiting outside Enma's mansion, waiting for him to come out.
"Eitaro, there is good news." Keitaro's face was full of smiles.
After bringing his lips close to Eitaro's ear, Gokutaro informed Eitaro in a concise and concise whisper about the mission that was about to begin late tonight.
After Gokutaro finished speaking, Eitaro, who was usually stoic, showed a rare faint smile.
"Lord Gokutaro, that's great. It's an assassination mission I haven't seen for a long time."
"Yeah." Ji Tairou twisted his neck, "I almost forgot the last time I carried out an assassination mission."
"Eitaro, let's go."
"Now let's go have dinner first, and then go home and take a nap."
The start time of the mission is 6pm.
Converted to modern Earth units, that's 12 p.m.
There are still more than 6 hours left before the mission starts, and Gokutaro plans to take a nap while he still has some free time to recharge his batteries.
Eitaro kept half a step away from Gokutaro and followed closely behind Gokutaro.
As soon as Kitaro left Enma's mansion, he saw an acquaintance walking towards him.
"Hey! Shintaro!" Jitaro took the initiative to greet this person.
The man who was walking towards Gokutaro was none other than Shintaro, who was one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" together with Gokutaro.
"Good evening, Gokutaro." Shintaro nodded to Gokutaro.
"Why are you back?" Ji Tairou asked, "I remember that you were monitoring the hiding place of the traitorous ninja, right?"
"The task of monitoring the hiding place of the traitorous ninja has been handed over to other ninjas." Shintaro responded, "I was called back to rest by Enma."
"Hehe, it's time for you to take a good rest." Ji Tairou smiled, "In order to track the whereabouts of that traitorous ninja, you must have suffered a lot during this time, right?"
"They're just small pains that are not worth mentioning." Shintaro shook his head, "I'm very tired now, so I'll excuse you now."
After that, Shintaro bowed to Gokutaro, then passed by Gokutaro and walked away without looking back.
After turning around and taking a look at Shintaro's back, Gokutaro said to Eitaro in a half-joking tone:
"I really hope that all ninjas can be as honest and honest as Shintaro, and do things seriously and unequivocally."
Although Shintaro is usually very taciturn, making it difficult for people to see what he is thinking, which is extremely inconsistent with Gokutaro's character, Gokutaro does not hate Shintaro who usually works silently like an old scalper.
After hearing these words from Ji Taro, Eitaro smiled slightly:
"Well, yes. I really hope that other people can be as honest, serious and diligent as Mr. Shintaro."
…
…
More than 1 hour later
Edo, Yoshiwara, Mimeya, Fubell Taifu's Room
Mr. Feng Chime, who had been reading in the house all afternoon, walked slowly and elegantly on his way back to his room.
After opening the door and entering his room, the Taifu saw a man sitting in the corner of the room.
The husband was so frightened that he almost screamed.
But after seeing this person's appearance clearly, the Taifu suppressed the screams that were already rising in his throat.
"Really, can you say hello to me first before entering my room next time?" The Taifu said to this person angrily while closing the door.
"I saw that you were not here, so I planned to wait for you in your room. I will pay attention next time."
The man sitting in the corner of Taifu's room is Shuntaro.
Taifu walked slowly to Shuntaro, sat down on his knees, and looked at Shuntaro several times with suspicious eyes.
"What's with your outfit? Are you going on a mission tonight?"
At this time, Shuntaro was not wearing an ordinary kimono, nor was he wearing the eye-catching women's clothes from before.
Instead, he was wearing their Shiranui male ninja uniform, which was completely black from head to toe.
Shuntaro also carries his two swords on his back, and the two handles protrude from behind Shuntaro's right shoulder.
"Yes, I have a mission tonight."
"As for the content of the mission, please allow me to keep it a secret."
"Because there are still almost two hours until the mission starts, so I came to sit here with you."
"Let's have some tea at Plum House, right?" the Taifu asked angrily.
"You were right." Shuntaro grinned, "You see, the tea in Umeya is much more fragrant than the tea in our Shiranui."
"You haven't changed at all." Taifu smiled slightly, "When we were young, when we were two urchins on the banks of the Rashomon River, you especially liked to come to my house to eat and drink."
"Now that I think about it carefully, things have really changed." Shuntaro continued, "A pair of childhood sweethearts grew up together on the banks of the Rashomon River, and now one of them has become the famous Fubell Taifu."
"The other one became Shuntaro, who is known as the 'Head of the Four Heavenly Kings' in Shiranui."
"What a trick of fate."
"Yes, the two of us are now considered prominent figures." Taifu agreed with a smile.
Shuntaro raised his head and looked at the ceiling above his head.
After taking a deep breath, he slowly said:
"A Chang, although we are both now prominent figures, I plan to give up the title of 'Head of the Four Heavenly Kings'."
"Huh?" Taifu slowly frowned, "What do you mean?"
"I want to quit Shiranui."
"Quit Shiranui?" Taifu Fuzu's eyes widened in surprise, "Why? You can't quit Shiranui at will, right? Once you quit, you will be regarded as a treasonous ninja."
"Yeah, that's why I just said 'I want to quit'."
Shuntaro crossed his arms in front of his chest, thinking deeply.
"I've been thinking recently, is there any point in staying in Shiranui?"
"I chose to stay in Shiranui so that I could meet and compete with powerful masters."
"But now... I haven't met anyone better than me for a long time."
"In the entire Shiranui, Enma is probably the only one who can rival me."
"But Balrog never competes with me."
"And I don't want to compete with such an elderly person. Even if I win, I won't have the real feeling of victory."
"I can't meet a master who is worthy of my all-out efforts. I have been doing some tasks that don't feel meaningful..."
A wry smile slowly appeared on Shuntaro's face.
"To be honest, I no longer see the point of staying in Shiranui."
"To be honest, about half a month ago, I was already thinking about whether there was any way to safely exit Shiranui without being harassed and hunted by the ninjas in Shiranui."
Mr. Feng Chime listened quietly.
After Shuntaro's words fell, Fu Chime Taifu said softly:
"Have you ever thought about what you will do after leaving Shiranui?"
"Yes. I just thought about it today." Shuntaro raised the corner of his mouth, "I met a very enthusiastic new samurai at the martial arts test venue today."
"His name is Kondo, and he said he is currently practicing as a warrior."
"Right now, I'm working in a shop called 'North Wind House' to save money for my trip."
"He woke me up."
"After I stop being a ninja in Shiranui, I plan to practice martial arts and travel around the world."
"Look for powerful masters, compete with them, and continue to improve my skills and skills!"
"It turns out that you have already thought about what to do after exiting Shiranui." Taifu Fuzu showed a helpless smile, "But...it is no longer the chaotic times of the Warring States Period, and there are not so many masters in the field."
"Haven't you heard of the current saying? 'In today's world, an abacus is more useful than a knife.'"
"I think even if you practice as a warrior, you may not be able to meet any masters."
"Who said that?" Shuntaro shook his head, "There are still masters."
"For example?"
"For example..." Shuntaro pondered for a while, "Isn't that 'Renzai Yishi' a famous master?"
"Human Killing Issei? Do you mean the 'Executioner Ittosai' Ogata Issei?"
"That's right, Renzan Issei should be the 'number one swordsman' among his age group." Shuntaro showed a bright smile, "If possible, I really want to meet him and have a good fight with him.
ah."
"I heard that Ogata Issei died in Nijo Castle in Kyoto."
"Don't say such unlucky words!" Shuntaro raised his hand angrily and patted Fuzuki Taifu on the shoulder.
…
…
About 2 hours later
Nine o'clock in the evening (12 o'clock in the evening).
Edo, on a certain path leading to Yoshiwara
"Mr. Genichi."
"What's up?"
"I'm starting to wonder if there's any point in us going out every night to 'hunt rats'."
"Of course it makes sense. Didn't you see that we have already eliminated two waves of rats?"
"It was 'only' that cleared two waves of rats."
Ogata emphasized the word "only".
Under the cover of darkness, Genichi and Ogata walked one behind the other on the path to Yoshiwara.
It's almost 12 o'clock in the evening, and there are almost no pedestrians on the road.
But Genichi and Ogata still meticulously put on the Tengu and White Fox masks to hide their identities.
Every night, I first went to work at Yoshiwara's place, and then sneaked out with Genichi late at night and stayed at Yoshiwara's gate to "hunt rats."
When Ogata first started "rat hunting", it was still a bit fresh and he could still gain a little bit.
But Ogata is a little fed up now.
So I couldn't help but ask Chao Yuanyi the question "Is there still any meaning?" just now.
"Genichi-san, I feel like we can't find the 'rat' anymore." Ogata sighed softly.
There are not many "rats" whose appearance Yuan Yi can still remember.
He only remembered people he had offended in recent years.
He barely remembers the faces of some of the enemies he had feuded with long ago.
So from the beginning of "rat hunting" to now, Ogata and the others have only hunted 2 waves of "rats".
Most of the time, I just wait in the cold wind and then return without success...
The low efficiency made Ogata a little tired.
"Don't say that." Yuan Yi chuckled, "Maybe we will catch a big fish tonight."
Ogata: "You said the same thing last night..."
…
…
Edo, a remote place.
"Shuntaro-sama." Shutaro said respectfully to Shutaro, who was slowly walking towards him.
"I'm sorry." Shuntaro said in a calm tone that was neither salty nor indifferent, "I just sat at my friend's place for a while and got too involved in chatting, so I came late."
Shuntaro has already put on his Shiranui male ninja uniform.
The area below the eyes was covered with black cloth.
The area above the eyes is also wrapped with black cloth.
Only one pair of eyes is exposed on the entire face.
"No, Shuntaro-sama, you are not late. You came just in time." Shuutaro turned his head and looked at the low house not far away.
"That traitorous ninja is in that house now."
Shuntaro glanced at the low house without any light, "Are you sure the traitorous ninja is inside?"
"Our people have been monitoring the traitor since he entered the house. From the time he entered the house this afternoon to now, he has not come out again." Zhou Tailang's tone was quite firm.
"Hmm. Is everyone else in place?" Shuntaro asked.
"Everything is in place." Zhou Tarang nodded.
"Then let's start the attack." Shuntaro said without any hesitation, "We will fight quickly."
"Shuntaro-sama." Shutaro said urgently, "Can you give me the task of leading the people to attack the house?"
Shutaro glanced at Shutaro.
He instantly saw through Zhou Taro's little thoughts and planned to perform well in this mission.
The amount of tasks Shiranui can now receive has shown a trend of decreasing year by year.
The reduction in tasks means that it is becoming more and more difficult for ninjas to be promoted.
If they want to be promoted, ninjas have to find ways to express themselves in this limited task.
Shuntaro no longer needs any tasks to express himself.
So I am happy to leave the troublesome part to others.
"Okay." Shuntaro nodded, "I will give you 2 chunin and 6 genin, and you will be responsible for attacking."
"I will lead the others to be on guard outside."
"Thank you, Shuntaro-sama." After casting a grateful look at Shutaro, Shutaro pulled out the kunai with a look of determination on his face.
Using hand gestures to signal the two chuunin who were not far away, and six genin following him, Shuutaro led these people and quickly ran toward the low house.
They used the breath-holding and stealth techniques passed down from generation to generation in Shiranui, and approached the low house without making a sound.
They were divided into three groups, with one group led by Zhou Taro and leaning against the door, while the other two groups leaned against the two windows respectively.
After confirming that everyone was in their respective positions, Zhou Taro waved his hand and issued a brief signal to his subordinates: Start attacking!
Following Shutaro's order, the ninjas scattered at various entrances and exits rushed into the room.
As soon as he rushed into this low house, Zhou Tarang frowned.
Because he smelled a nice faint fragrance in the air.
It seems to be the smell of the "powder" that women use to make themselves fragrant.
This guy is really laid back...
Zhou Taro said contemptuously in his heart.
He even spent money to buy women to come and have fun.
The qualities and abilities of ninjas were brought into full play by Shu Taro and others.
They couldn't make a sound until they started attacking. After rushing into the house, they quickly controlled every part of the house.
However, every room is empty.
It wasn't until Zhou Taro and others rushed into the last small room of this low house that they finally saw a human figure.
This is a room without any furniture.
A figure was sitting cross-legged in the corner of the room.
"Found it..." Zhou Taro smiled ferociously at the figure in the room.
The figure's figure is neither strong nor thin.
The wrinkles on his face have mottled marks, and he is no longer young.
Wearing an ordinary kimono, no hakama or socks on the lower body, and a pair of worn-out straw sandals on her feet.
This uncle just sat cross-legged on the tatami in this room, smoking leisurely with a cigarette.
Even though Zhou Taro and others rushed in, the uncle remained as calm as ever.
"I finally caught you, you traitor... Do you know how long it took us to track your whereabouts?"
"Just surrender and capture him."
"Anyway, it's impossible for you to escape. You'll feel better if you just surrender."
"...Shou Taro, don't be too confident." After the uncle blew out a smoke ring, "I am a jounin just like you."
"Being an enemy of Jonin, you seem too relaxed, don't you think?"
"Do you think I don't know your background?" Zhou Taro sneered, "Although you and I are both Jonin, in terms of fighting ability, you are not outstanding."
"If it's a one-on-one fight, you're no match for me."
"What's more... let me tell you another piece of good news." A faint sarcasm appeared on Shuutaro's face, "Shuntaro-sama is also here to arrest you this time."
"Shuntaro?" The uncle, who had been calm since just now, finally showed a slight change in his expression, "...Humph, what an honor...to be able to alert the 'Head of the Four Heavenly Kings' to come and arrest me."
Zhou Taro was very satisfied with the subtle change in the expression on his uncle's face just now.
After showing an even more ferocious smile, Zhou Taro continued:
"I would like to tell you another piece of good news."
"In addition to tracking your whereabouts, we also found out who your accomplices are."
"I remember it was called Gua Shengxiu, right? I didn't expect that a mere person working in Yoshiwara would have the courage to go against Shiranui."
"Now, our people have gone to Yoshiwara."
"It won't be long before your accomplice will turn into a cold corpse."
Zhou Taro's words made the uncle's face appear much more shaken than before.
Zhou Taro, who had been carefully observing the changes in his uncle's expression, laughed even more happily.
"When you and your accomplices decided to go against Shiranui, you should have thought about what would happen in the future."
"If you want to blame, just blame yourself for being so stupid in the first place."
The uncle's expression at this time returned to calmness.
He raised the pipe in his hand again, took a deep breath, puffed out a big eye circle, and said softly:
"I still underestimate you... you were able to find out so much in such a short period of time..."
A little pride appeared on Zhou Taro's face.
Just when he was about to say something
"But while I underestimated you, you also underestimated me."
After that, the uncle turned the pipe in his hand, pointed it downwards, and stuffed it into a small hole in the tatami next to him.
There was no light around, and even the uncle's face could be seen vaguely by Zhou Taro.
It was only now that Zhou Taro discovered that there was such an inconspicuous little hole on the tatami beside his uncle.
The pipe hit the edge of the small hole hard, and dazzling sparks fell into the hole.
Seeing this, Zhou Taro's pupils contracted violently in fear.
"Get out of the house!!"
When he quickly realized what the uncle was planning to do, Shu Taro yelled like this as quickly as a conditioned reflex, and then fled out of the house...
…
boom!
…
There was a deafening explosion.
Nearly a quarter of the roof of this low house was blown off.
The explosion not only woke up the surrounding residents.
It also woke up Shuntaro who was on guard outside.
Shuntaro looked at the low house not far away with one-third of the tatami missing. After being stunned for a moment, he rushed to the low house with thick smoke pouring out at the highest speed he could.
.
As soon as he arrived at the small hut, Shutaro saw a disgraced Shuutaro with a little blood on his face.
"What's going on?" Shuntaro asked urgently.
"Ahem, cough... That bastard... buried explosives under the tatami... and then used the flame of the pipe to detonate..."
The current situation of Shu Taro and others is miserable.
Only half of the people who had just entered the house were still safe.
The half of the group headed by Shu Taro escaped from the explosion range in time and saved their lives.
The other half, who were less skilled or slow to react, were seriously injured or killed directly.
"So that's it..." Zhou Taro said bitterly, "The fragrance in the room... is used to cover up the smell of gunpowder."
When he entered the house, Shuutaro thought that the faint fragrance that filled the air was the fragrance left behind after buying a woman for fun.
Zhou Taro also bought women for fun.
So he knew that some perfumes used by women had a strong smell and lasted for a long time.
Only now did Shutaro realize that he had mistakenly thought that the scent was created on purpose to cover up the smell of gunpowder.
"Where is the traitorous ninja?" Shuntaro asked next, "Where has he gone?"
"He escaped through the tunnel." Zhou Taro gritted his teeth, "But I shot him a kunai before he entered the tunnel. My kunai hit his side."
Just before escaping from the house, Shu Taro saw his uncle igniting the gunpowder and immediately opened the tatami under his buttocks and got in.
Hidden weapons are Shu Taro's specialty.
So when I saw that the uncle was about to get into the tunnel, I quickly raised my hand and threw a kunai, accurately hitting the uncle's side.
After the kunai hit the uncle's side, Shuutaro clearly heard the uncle let out a low cry of pain.
"Lord Shuntaro, let's go after him quickly!" Shuutaro said urgently, "There is no way there is a tunnel in such a broken house! So the tunnel must have been dug temporarily by him, and it shouldn't be long!"
"In addition, he has been stabbed by my kunai. If we chase him now, we might be able to catch him!"
…
…
Edo, Yoshiwara, an inconspicuous place outside the gate
"Huh... the weather seems to be getting colder and colder now." Yuan Yi said this while tightening his upper body clothes, "I am indeed getting older. It's so cold.
I feel a little unbearable.”
Genichi was wearing the same white yukata as always.
Although Genichi said so, Ogata didn't see even a single goosebump on Genichi's skin.
Ogata has been getting along with Genichi for a long time now, so he has become more and more accustomed to Genichi's "Versailles" speeches that appear from time to time.
"Master Gendai..." Ogata sighed, "I feel that we will gain nothing tonight..."
Ogata and Genichi stared at Yoshihara's gate for nearly half an hour.
It must be early in the morning now, and there are very few people going in and out of Yoshiwara, almost none.
"It seems that our luck is not very good tonight." Genichi agreed with Ogata's words just now. "We have no choice but to wait until tomorrow night. We might encounter a 'rat' tomorrow night.
Let’s go back to sleep.”
Ogata let out a helpless sigh that was somewhat heartbreaking.
It’s been cold again tonight...
While thinking this secretly in his mind, he stood up and walked quickly back to the hotel with Yuan one by one.
Because they were in a hurry to go back to sleep, Ogata and Genichi's footsteps were not slow.
He quickly left the main gate of Yoshiwara, got off the Nippon Embankment, and embarked on the road back to the hotel.
However, when we were still almost half way to the hotel,
Bang, bang, bang...
Ogata and Minamoto both heard a sound like something being knocked down.
"What's the sound?" Ogata stopped first.
"From the sound, it seems like it's not far from our place." After saying that, Yuan Yi sniffed hard, "It smells of blood..."
"Master Yuan Yi, can you smell all this?"
"I'm very sensitive to the smell of blood."
"The smell of blood..." Ogata's face darkened, "Could it be that a samurai was trying to kill people with his sword..."
Late at night and early in the morning are the peak times for those frenzied warriors to test their swordsmanship by beheading people.
Ogata was very disgusted with this kind of crazy pervert who used living people to test the knife.
"It's possible." Genichi's expression became more serious at this time, "Ogata-kun, let's go and take a look."
"Yes." Ogata didn't hesitate at all. He held the knife at his waist and walked side by side with Genichi, running towards the origin of the strange sound just now.
…
…
"Ho...ho...ho...ho..."
In the alley, the uncle was covering the left side of his abdomen with one hand and holding on to the wall with the other, moving forward bit by bit at a speed that seemed to be moving.
He raised his left hand that had been covering the wound and looked at his left palm, which was already covered in blood.
Looking at his blood-red left hand, the uncle couldn't help but smile bitterly.
Just before climbing into the tunnel he had dug with great effort, Shuutaro threw a kunai at him with extremely quick reaction.
Shuutaro is a master of hidden weapons in Shiranui.
When it comes to throwing concealed weapons, he is the best in Shiranui.
The uncle had the confidence to accept the kunai thrown by others.
But there was nothing he could do about the kunai thrown by Shu Taro.
Shuutaro's kunai shot accurately into his side.
The uncle didn't dare to pull out the kunai.
If the kunai is pulled out, large streams of blood will emerge from the wound.
He doesn't have any medicine to stop the bleeding, so if he takes out the kunai now, he will only die faster.
There was a kunai stuck in his side, causing the uncle to feel extreme pain every time he took a step forward.
The continuous blood loss and the severe pain made the uncle feel dizzy. When he walked, he felt like he was not "walking" but "floating".
He even accidentally knocked over the row of bamboo poles placed at the entrance of the alley just now because he was not walking steadily.
Although every step forward was very painful, the uncle still walked forward firmly.
Walking firmly in the direction of Yoshihara.
"Axiu..." The uncle whispered a name softly.
While spitting out this name, a string of memories emerged from the depths of the uncle's mind.
This string of memories is one sentence.
(Let’s give Shiranui a head-on blow together!)
This is what a girl named "Gua Shengxiu" said to him when she decided to work with him to help the "Kugas" escape from Shiranui.
Recalling these words, a faint smile appeared on the corner of the uncle's mouth.
The determined look in his eyes became more intense with the appearance of the smile on his lips.
at this time
"Hey, what's wrong with you?"
Suddenly a young male voice sounded behind him.
As soon as this male voice sounded, the uncle's pupils suddenly shrank.
Have you caught up?!
The blur of consciousness caused by blood loss and increased pain made the uncle's senses fade so much that he didn't even notice that there was an extra person behind him.
The uncle looked back hurriedly.
However, when he turned his gaze behind him, the uncle discovered that the person standing behind him was not the pursuer he had imagined.
But two weirdos.
One is wearing a tengu mask, and the other is wearing a white fox mask.
According to the clothes they wore, the one wearing the tengu mask should be an old man, while the one wearing the white fox mask should be a young man.
The only thing the two have in common is that they both wear sabers on their waists.
…
…
Ogata and Genichi rushed all the way and arrived at the entrance of an alley where the strange noise had just come from.
There were knocked down bamboo poles scattered at the entrance of the alley.
Ogata and Genichi walked through the alley and walked deeper into the alley when they saw an old man with a kunai stuck in his side.
Ogata frowned slightly as he looked at the standard ninja equipment stuck on his uncle's side.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?"
As soon as Ogata finished speaking, the uncle immediately turned his head in a panic.
After glancing at the faces of Ogata and Genichi, surprise and confusion appeared on their faces.
"You don't have to be afraid." Ogata said softly, "We don't mean any harm. Did something happen to you?"
After saying that, Ogata raised his finger and pointed at the kunai inserted into the uncle's side.
The uncle opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something.
But as soon as he opened his mouth, he spit out a mouthful of blood, let out painful groans, and then fell to one knee on the ground.
Ogata: "Hey! Are you okay?"
Ogata and Yuan both stepped forward and squatted beside the uncle.
After Yuan Yi took a look at the uncle's injury, he said solemnly: "Your injury needs to be treated immediately. I will take you to see a doctor."
"No, no need... I... still have very important things to do..."
"Don't be stupid." Ogata also said in a serious tone at this time, "You look like this. It's difficult to even walk. What can you do? Stop talking. The two of us will take you to the doctor."
A strong look of struggle appeared on the uncle's face.
After this look of struggle appeared on the uncle's face for a moment, it slowly turned into a look of determination.
He looked like he had made up his mind.
"Two warriors... I... have something to ask of you..."
"Please go to Yoshiwara now... to find a girl named Gua Shengxiu..."
"She works at the Shirobei Club...it should be easy to find her..."
"She is now being targeted by a group of bad guys..."
"If we don't rescue her quickly... we'll be in trouble..."
"Please..."
"Melon show?!" Ogata exclaimed.
As soon as he heard the name "Gua Shengxiu" from his uncle's mouth, Ogata's face was full of astonishment.
Ogata quickly raised his hands, held the uncle's shoulders, and helped him up.
Just when he was about to question the uncle, Ogata suddenly heard footsteps coming from far and near behind him.
Hearing the footsteps, the uncle's expression changed: "Here we come...!"
Ogata and Genichi followed the sound and looked back.
They saw four men in black clothes running towards them.
Two of them were running on the ground in a normal manner.
The other two people jumped over the walls and rushed towards Ogata and others along the roofs of the houses next to the alley.
"I saw it! That guy is there!" An excited shout rang out from the four men in black.
After the excited shouting, one of the four men in black suddenly took out a round object and threw it into the sky.
This round object was like a chirping hammer, making a loud but not harsh "chi" sound when it was thrown into the sky.
After seeing the figures of the two men in black running on the roof, both Ogata and Genichi's expressions changed.
Genichi and Shiranui are old enemies.
And Ogata masters the "Intermediate" Shiranui Stealth Technique.
Therefore, the two of them instantly knew from the movements of the men in black who were galloping on the roof that they were using Shiranui's stealth technique!
"Hey, hey... uncle..." Ogata said in a deep voice, "How did you get into trouble with the ninjas in Shiranui?"
Even if Ogata looked at it with his buttocks and thought about it, he could see and imagine what was going on. The four Shiranui ninjas were chasing this uncle.
Seeing that Ogata could accurately identify the true identities of these uninvited guests, the uncle's face showed surprise and shock.
Although he really wanted to ask Ogata why he could recognize this ninja from Shiranui, the uncle suppressed the doubts and shock in his heart first and said to Ogata:
"You two...go quickly...go to Yoshiwara...find Gua Shengxiu...please..."
"I'll hold you back..."
Before the uncle finished speaking, Ogata and Genichi, who completely ignored him, made the same move and drew their swords.
No one said a word, but Ogata and Genichi still had a tacit understanding and drew their swords at the same time.
But rushing in different directions.
Genichi jumped up to the roof and faced the two ninjas moving on the roof.
Ogata, on the other hand, lowered his center of gravity and "flyed" toward the other two ninjas running on the ground at a speed that seemed like flying close to the ground...
There is no suspense in the battle.
Ogata only swung two swords, and with the efficiency of one man and one sword, he chopped down the two Shiranui ninjas on the ground.
[Ding! Use Sakakibara Itto style Bird Thorn to kill the enemy]
[Acquire 150 personal experience points and 100 swordsmanship "Sakakibara Itto-ryu" experience points]
[Current personal level: LV33 (3760/5000]
[Sakakihara Itto-ryu Level: 11th Dan (6655/7000)]
…
[Ding! Use Sakakibara's Ichidou Style·Shui Fall to kill the enemy]
[Acquire 160 personal experience points and 110 swordsmanship "Sakakibara Itto-ryu" experience points]
[Current personal level: LV33 (3880/5000]
[Sakakihara Itto-ryu Level: 11th Dan (6655/7000)]
…
Ogata and Genichi attacked the enemy at almost the same moment.
Then the battle ended almost at the same moment.
When Ogata was sheathing his sword, two corpses slid down from the roof. Genichi jumped off the roof with Yogami in hand, and jumped back to Ogata's side.
The uncle stared at all this with his mouth open.
"Uncle." Ogata quickly walked back to the uncle and asked, "How many Shiranui ninjas are chasing you?"
The uncle, who was awakened by Ogata's question, replied:
"Not sure...but it's definitely not that few...there will definitely be others...here later..."
"I think so..." Ogata just saw the four ninjas throwing something like a hammer, which should be a prop used to inform his companions.
There are so many questions to ask this uncle.
But now is obviously not a good time to ask questions.
"Tengu-sama, please take this uncle away. Since this uncle is being hunted by so many ninjas from Shiranui, he must not be a simple person."
"This uncle might know some information related to Shiranui. We can't let him die like this."
"This uncle's injury is very serious. Please take him to a safe place to heal."
Because it was in front of outsiders, in order to hide his identity, Ogata did not call out Genichi's real name, but called "Tengu-sama".
"Huh?" Yuan Yi raised his eyebrows, "Aren't you coming with us?"
"I want to go to Yoshiwara." Ogata said solemnly.
Ogata is still confused until now.
I don’t know the relationship between this uncle and Gua Sheng.
Ogata didn't even know if it was true that "melons are dangerous".
But Ogata still decided to go to Yoshihara's place to have a look.
No matter what, Ogata could not sit idly by and ignore a friend who might be in danger. Even if the possibility of that friend being in danger was only one percent.
After hearing this sentence from Ogata's mouth, the uncle was stunned for a moment and showed an ecstatic expression.
Just when he was about to say something, the severe pain in his waist and abdomen turned the words that came to his mouth into gasps.
"Don't move or talk."
Yuan Yi leaned down and helped the uncle up.
"I'll carry you to a safe place to heal."
Although Genichi warned him not to speak, after being lifted up by Genichi, the uncle still endured the severe pain and said to Ogata:
"Every step you take...please be careful..."
"The one who went after Gua Sheng... was also a ninja from Shiranui..."
"Then...Shuntaro, the 'Head of the Four Heavenly Kings'...should be nearby..."
"I don't know...whether Shuntaro will be involved in the assassination of Gua Sheng..."
"Anyway...be careful...!"
After hearing the name "Shuntaro" from his uncle's mouth, Ogata's pupils shrank slightly.
"...Thanks for the reminder. Lord Tengu, please take this uncle away quickly. I will be back later."
"Well, I wish you good luck in martial arts."
There is no trace of ink on the source.
I'm sure Ogata decided to go to Yoshiwara alone and not talk nonsense anymore.
He picked up the uncle on his back and ran towards the hotel where they were staying at a speed that was too fast to look like an old man.
If we want to go to Yoshiwara, the direction we need to go is exactly opposite to the direction in which Genichi and the others are escaping.
After watching Genichi and the others leave, Ogata took a deep breath and prepared to turn around and head to Yoshiwara.
But before Ogata could turn around, he suddenly heard a sharp sound piercing the air behind him.
Listening to the sound of breaking the air behind him, Ogata's pupils shrank slightly.
He quickly turned around with his left foot as the axis, and while turning around, he pulled out the Great Buddha.
Daishiten followed Ogata, who turned back, and after drawing a semicircle, accurately hit a kunai that had just been aimed at Ogata's back.
As soon as he turned around and chopped down the kunai, Ogata saw a black shadow flashing in front of him. A man in black holding two black-edged ninja swords jumped up towards Ogata's position, and then used the mountain to press him up.
Aiming at Ogata's head, he made a powerful and heavy blow.
clang!
Ogata clenched the Daishiten with both hands and held the two ninja swords that the man in black was attacking at the same time.
The powerful force coming from the sword made Ogata's eyes flash with a hint of surprise.
After seeing that his attack was ineffective, the man in black took the initiative to retreat and distance himself from Ogata.
It wasn't until the man in black took the initiative to distance himself that Ogata finally saw clearly the appearance of this man. He was dressed in pitch black, with the area below the eyes and the area above the eyes covered with thick black cloth.
People can't see clearly his specific appearance.
There was only one kind of person who would attack Ogata without any reason at this time.
Are the pursuers from Shiranui coming...
Ogata's expression became a little more serious, and he held the Daishiten tightly with both hands.
…
…
In order to increase the efficiency of the search, Shuntaro and others were divided into four groups and spread out, each searching for the traitorous ninja.
When you catch the person who rebelled against the ninja, throw the "ringing ball" to contact other people.
The buzzing ball is one of their communication tools in Shiranui. As long as it is thrown with enough force, it can make a loud but not harsh sound.
When Shuntaro led three of his subordinates to look for the traitorous ninja, they suddenly heard the sound of Naruto.
Without any hesitation, Shuntaro hurriedly led his subordinates to the place where the sound came from.
Before he entered the alley where the buzzing ball sounded, Shuntaro, who had night vision and extremely good eyesight, saw the rebel nin from a distance.
And next to the rebellious ninja, he saw two strange men wearing tengu masks and white fox masks.
On the ground not far away, lay the bodies of four of their Shiranui ninjas.
The "Tengu" picked up the rebellious ninja and left the scene at an extremely fast speed.
Only the "white fox" remained in place.
Does the traitorous ninja have any accomplices?
Although an emergency situation occurred, Shuntaro remained calm.
"The troops are divided into two groups. The three of you will take a long detour to chase the traitorous ninja and the 'Tengu'."
"I'm going to deal with that 'white fox' and I'll catch up later."
"Yes"*3
In the strict hierarchy of Shiranui, orders from superiors are absolute.
After responding in unison without thinking, Shuntaro's three subordinates separated from him and took a detour to chase the rebellious nin.
Shuntaro, on the other hand, drew out the two ninja swords on his back and rushed straight towards the "White Fox".
After closing to a suitable distance, Shuntaro threw a kunai at the "White Fox".
This is Shuntaro's usual technique: Derived Chase.
First throw a kunai or something else to injure the enemy or attract the enemy's attention, then close the distance with the enemy in one breath, and then kill the opponent with one blow.
The kunai thrown by Shuntaro cut through the air and flew straight towards the "White Fox"'s back.
But just when the kunai was about to hit, the "white fox" suddenly turned around.
While turning back, he drew his knife and chopped down the kunai.
When the "white fox" chopped down Kunai, Shuntaro, who had just rushed into a good attack range, jumped towards the "white fox", then waved his two swords, aiming at the "white fox" and taking note
hack.
Shuntaro's slash was once again caught by the "White Fox".
This guy……?!
Shuntaro's pupils shrank in surprise.
If it were any other person with average skills, his head would definitely have been moved by now.
Shuntaro realized that he had met a master, and quickly jumped back to put some distance between him and the "White Fox".