The owner of Gentachiya, Sotaro Nishino and Ogata, agreed to meet at the entrance of Gentachiya.
Ogata and Omachi, who had packed their luggage last night, arrived on time with their luggage on their backs.
After arriving at the entrance of Minamoto Tachibana's shop, we saw the motorcade getting ready to go, the employees surrounding the motorcade making final preparations, and the masters and apprentices of Nishino Jiro and the Hosho Kenkan who came to see them off.
Needless to say, Nishino Jiro.
General Ogata is leaving today, and the masters and disciples of the Hosei Sword Hall naturally have no reason not to come and see him off.
As early as when the date to leave Kinno Town was determined, Obori informed the masters and apprentices of the Hosho Sword Hall on what date and time he would leave Kinno Town.
When they learned that Ogata would leave Nishikino Town on January 15, a group of people led by Director Hosei naturally tried to persuade Ogata to stay for a while longer.
During the time Ogata stayed with them as a diner, the masters and apprentices of the Hosheng Sword Hall all felt that they had benefited a lot from his guidance.
They all hope that Ogata can stay in Nishikino Town for a while longer and give them more guidance.
Although the masters and apprentices of the Hosheng Sword Hall were enthusiastic about their efforts to retain him, Ogata had important matters at hand after all, so it was naturally impossible for him to stay specifically for them.
Seeing that Ogata refused their offer to stay, the masters and apprentices of the Hosheng Sword Hall had no choice but to give up their plan to let Ogata stay for a while longer.
They expressed that they wanted to come and see Ogata off when he left.
Ogata did not refuse this small request.
As soon as Ogata and Omachi appeared at the door of Gentachi House, Nishino Jiro and a group of people from the Hosei Sword Hall headed by the director of the Hosei Sword Hall immediately came to greet them.
Not everyone at the Hosheng Sword Hall came to see Ogata off.
The only people who came to see Ogata off were Director Baosheng and a dozen apprentices.
"Master Majima, Mrs. Majima."
Nishino Jiro held an unknown object wrapped in a piece of cloth and rushed to Ogata and Omachi first.
"Please accept this!"
Nishino Jiro handed the unknown object wrapped in cloth to Ogata in his arms.
"What is this?" Ogata took the cloth bag with a puzzled look and found that it was very light.
"Open it and take a look." Nishinojiro smiled.
After Ogata quickly opened the cloth bag, the scene inside the cloth bag appeared in front of Ogata's eyes.
It's a flag.
It is the banner that Jiro Nishino made with his own hands in order to promote "Ittosai" with the words "The Unparalleled Sword in the World: Ogata Issei".
Jiro Nishino made many of these flags and asked the hired propaganda personnel to carry these flags out for publicity.
"I've always wanted to give you something memorable."
Jiro Nishino said:
"After much thought, the only thing that can be given away and has commemorative value is this flag."
He gave a wry smile.
"I hope you don't dislike it."
Ogata unfurled the flag in his hand.
Looking at the words "The Unparalleled Sword in the World: Ogata Ishi" written on it, Ogata couldn't help but laugh.
"Thanks."
"This flag is indeed of commemorative value."
"I will accept this flag."
"Mashima-sama, I wish you a safe journey!" Nishino Jiro said with a bit of reluctance in his eyes, "If you have the opportunity in the future, you are welcome to come to Nishikino Town again."
"Yes." Ogata smiled and nodded, "I will come again if I have the chance. I hope that when I see you next time, you will have become an outstanding kabuki dramatist."
By the way, Takarashimaya successfully made a lot of money after performing the popular "Ittōsai" for 11 consecutive days.
According to their previous agreement with Nishino Jiro, Takarashimaya will distribute part of their income to Nishino Jiro, who is responsible for writing the script.
Nishino Jiro received a total of 6 taels of gold.
After Nishino Jiro received these 6 taels of gold, he divided half of them and gave 3 taels of them to Ogata.
The script of "Ittōsai" was born because of your contribution. You deserve the money. This is what Nishino Jiro said when he handed the three taels of gold to Ogata.
Ogata felt that he had just done some trivial things and did not need to give him such a large sum of money.
But Nishino Jiro's attitude was quite firm and he insisted on asking Ogata to accept the money.
Ogata had no choice but to accept the three taels of gold and add another windfall.
After Nishino Jiro stepped forward to say goodbye to Ogata, the masters and apprentices of the Hosei Sword Hall stepped forward to say goodbye to Ogata one after another.
…
…
After Nishino Jiro and the Hosei Sword Hall group said goodbye to Ogata one by one, Minamoto Tachibana's motorcade happened to have made all preparations for the trip.
This is the first time this year that Minamoto Tachibana has sent a merchant ship to Ezochi to purchase goods. In order to get the year off to a good start, the scale of this caravan is very large.
Nishino Jiro's father, Nishino Soichiro, personally led the team with 4 carriages and 32 subordinates.
Among these 32 subordinates, there were 20 accompanying guards alone.
Ogata had never had a concrete idea of the wealth of Minamoto Tachibana House before.
Now after seeing the size of the caravan of Yuan Juwu, I finally understand how rich Yuan Juwu is.
After the caravan was ready to travel, Ogata and Omachi, watched by Nishino Jiro and others, got into the carriage and drove north with the caravan.
After the caravan drove out of Nishikino Town, Ogata silently opened the car window and looked back at Nishikino Town, which was getting smaller and smaller in his field of vision.
"Huh? Ayi, what are you doing?" Ating asked confusedly, "What are you looking at?"
"I'm just looking at Nishikino Town." Ogata said with a smile, "I may not have the chance to come back again in the future, so while I can still see Nishikino Town, take a look at it more."
He and Atachi lived in Nishikino Town for more than a month in total.
Although it is not a long time, this is the castle town where Ogata has lived the longest since he left the Hirose Domain. It is second only to Edo.
And I also encountered a lot of things in Nishikino Town.
Just assisting Jiro Nishino in compiling "Ittosai" gave the town of Nishino Town a different meaning in Ogata's mind.
There may be a chance to come back to Nishino Town again in the future. But even if I go back to Nishino Town, I don’t know when it will be.
Under the influence of this somewhat sad emotion, Ogata couldn't help but open the car window and looked back at the smaller and smaller Nishikino Town behind him.
"Your emotions are always quite abundant in some strange places." After a few chuckles, A-machi followed Ogata and stuck his head out of the window, and together with Ogata, he and Ogata looked at the smaller and smaller Kinno Town.
…
…
I have to say that Soichiro Nishino was quite kind to Ogata and the others.
Not only did he fulfill his promise and let Ogata and Atachi go to Ezo Land with his caravan, but he also specially vacated a carriage for Ogata and Atachi to ride in, and made a bold statement: Ogata
He paid for all their meals along the way.
After getting on the official road, the caravan drove at a speed that might kill that person if it bumped into it.
Such a fast speed made the car bump very hard.
If you talk, you might bite your tongue.
So Ogata and the others couldn't pass the time by chatting, they could only close their eyes and relax and sleep, and they couldn't do anything else.
Atachi leaned against the back of the chair and took a nap.
Ogata, who was not sleepy and couldn't think of anything to do, pulled out his personal system interface.
Ogata has gained a lot from the nearly two months of experience in Nishikino Town for more than a month.
Since helping that village repel the bandits until now, I have successfully raised my personal level by 2 levels. Sakakihara's one-sword style has been leveled up by one level, Shiranui-ryu's ninjutsu has been leveled up by one level, and Mugo's two-sword style has not been upgraded, but it is still close to being upgraded.
Far.
Counting the 4 skill points he originally saved, Ogata now has a total of 10 skill points.
It is completely enough to upgrade any sword skill that has reached the "Master Level" to the "Grand Master Skill".
Ogata has already made arrangements for which sword skills to upgrade first.
Flow, counterattack, and step are the three skills that should be upgraded first.
Needless to say, there are counterattacks for defense and step moves for dodge.
Flow is Ogata's most applicable attack skill at present, and it can be used in any situation.
Circulation is not afraid of one-on-one and one-to-many.
The four major sword skills of Sakakihara's Itto-ryu are not very suitable for use in a dozen or more, and their applicability is far inferior to that of flow.
Ogata wants to upgrade the flow to the master level first.
But if you want to upgrade the flow to the "grandmaster level", you must first upgrade the blade to the "grandmaster level".
Anyway, I have nothing to do now, so I simply decided to take advantage of this moment and use this time to save up skill points.
When you click on the system interface, the small question mark behind the skill item of Blade Back will show the conditions required to upgrade Blade Back to the "Grand Master Level": strength, agility, and reflex nerves each reach 15 points.
With the help of "Immortal Poison", Ogata's physical functions have already exceeded the prerequisite for Basuga to be promoted to "Grandmaster Level".
The "Habai" of the Mugo Two Sword Style has been upgraded to the "Grandmaster Level".
As soon as Ogata finished his silent recitation, some long-lost system sounds prompting skill upgrades sounded in Ogata's mind:
[Ding! Spend 8 skill points, Wuwo Sword Style Sword Skill·Blade Counter is upgraded to a "Grand Master Level" skill]
[Currently remaining skill points: 2 points]
In just a moment, Ogata, who originally had 10 skill points, now only had 2 points. He returned to before liberation overnight.
Ogata plans to save the remaining 2 skill points and use them to transfer to the "Grandmaster level" later.
After the Blade was successfully upgraded, Ogata looked at his personal system interface several times again, and then closed it with a satisfied look on his face.
Counting the Breath of the Source, Ogata now has two "grandmaster-level" skills.
Ogata has experienced what a "grandmaster-level" blade is like through the "selfless realm" a long time ago.
Previously, after upgrading the bastard to "Master Level", entering the "Selfless Realm" can temporarily upgrade the bastard to "Grandmaster Level".
"Grandmaster level" is a magical state that is somewhat difficult to describe in words.
Whether it's Bird Thorn, Flow, or Step Step, these skills at the "Master Level" actually show a very different effect after being promoted to the "Grand Master Level" by relying on the "Selfless Realm".
That is to become ordinary.
Whether it is attack skills such as Bird Sting or Flow, or dodge skills such as Stepping, after being upgraded to a "Grand Master Skill", every move becomes ordinary and looks ordinary, without any fancy elements.
But precisely because there are no superfluous movements or fancy elements, every move and style is simple and direct, and contains extremely powerful power.
If I were to use a word to describe it, the only word Ogata could think of was "returning to nature".
After upgrading the skill to the "Grandmaster Level", the skill will enter a state of "returning to its original nature".
Generally speaking, even those who have both hard work and talent will have to spend a lifetime to hone their sword skills to the state of "returning to nature".
But Ogata relied on skill points to reach a level that many people would never reach in their lifetime.
If those warriors who have devoted their whole lives to martial arts see that the sword skills used by Ogata, who is only 21 years old, have reached a level that they have never reached in their entire lives, I am afraid they will be shocked.
Stare your eyes out.
After closing the personal system interface, Ouri couldn't wait to take a deep breath.
Then slowly adjust your breathing to the "breath of the source".
Ogata has wanted to know for a long time.
That is, if you already have a "grandmaster level" sword skill, will it still be upgraded after entering the "selfless realm"?
As the breathing rhythm changes, the breathing method switches to the "selfless state", and the series of system tones unique to the "selfless state" sound in Ogata's mind.
[Ding! The host enters the realm of selflessness!]
[Pain perception decreased by 70%]
[Fatigue perception reduced by 70%]
…
[Martial Arts Wuwo Two-sword Style·Blade Counterattack, Improvement]
…
Ogata listened carefully.
Basei no longer directly upgrades to a level like before.
Ogata said secretly:
Once you enter the "selfless realm", you will only gain enhancements. Your level will not be directly upgraded by one level like before...
Although the skills that have been upgraded to the "Grandmaster Level" will no longer be improved by one level in the "Selfless Realm" state, but with the blessing of the "Selfless Realm", the Grandmaster Level skills can still be further improved.
of enhancement.
Ogata pulled out the Taizuo placed aside, pointed it at the air in front of the carriage, and then imagined that there was an enemy in front of him, killing him, and then he used his sword to defend himself.
After entering the "Selfless Realm", the already "Grand Master Level" Blade is indeed more powerful.
"Hello."
At this moment, Omachi mumbled angrily next to him.
Atachi, who had been napping just now, opened his eyes at some point.
"Don't draw a knife in such a narrow space in the car. It's so dangerous. What if the car shakes later and you don't have the heart to stab yourself with the knife?"
"Feel sorry……"
Ogata smiled bitterly and put the sword back into its scabbard, and silently exited the "selfless state".
…
…
Minamoto Tachibana is worthy of being a wealthy merchant with two merchant ships, and his meals are extremely rich.
Every meal is served with rice, and every meal comes with the standard three dishes and one soup, including fish and vegetables.
Such a sumptuous meal was enough to make many starving ronin rush to apply for jobs, begging them to be hired to look after the home and nursing home of Genju House.
Minamoto Tachibana's caravan had traveled this route from Nishinocho to the port where Minamoto Tachibana's merchant ships docked countless times, and was already familiar with it.
They knew exactly where the hotel was and at what speed they could travel to reach it.
Thanks to Minamoto Tachibana's familiarity with this route, Ogata and the others have a hotel to stay in every night, so they don't have to sleep in the open in such a severe winter.
They ate delicious food and drank spicy food every day, and stayed in a comfortable hotel at night. Ogata and Atachi had no idea how comfortable they had been these days.
After three days of trekking, Ogata finally smelled the sea breeze and finally arrived at the port where the merchant ship docked at Minamoto Tachibana House.
This port is located in the east of Oshu region, facing the Pacific Ocean.
Waves of icy sea breeze blew from the Pacific Ocean, forcing Ogata, who was not very afraid of the cold due to his high vitality, to tighten the scarf around his neck.
…
…
"So big……"
Looking at the two large ships docked at the port in front of him, Amachi exclaimed.
These two large ships are the ships of Minamoto Tachibana.
They both have the names Sennomaru and Hanagemaru.
The first impression that these two ships of Minamoto Tachibana House gave to Ogata and Omachi was that they were large.
It was larger than the boat they took from Owari to Edo before.
Such a big ship is more than enough to accommodate the four carriages brought by Nishino Soichiro this time.
After looking at the two large ships for a few times, Ogata turned his head and cast a worried look at Omachi.
"After you get on the boat, if you feel any discomfort, remember to tell me in time."
Ogata remembered very clearly that Omachi was seasick.
And it’s still the kind of severe seasickness.
When he took a boat from Owari to Edo a few months ago, Ogata put in a lot of effort to take care of Omachi, who basically could only lie down.
"I know." A-Ting waved his hand, "The reason why I got so seasick before was mainly because the boat was too small, so it was bumpy."
"Now that we have a bigger ship, I think the hull will not rock so much, and I won't get as seasick as I did last time."
Atachi said this confidently.
…
…
1 hour later
…
…
"Uh...it feels so uncomfortable..."
A-Machi was lying on the side of the railing of the boat, hanging his little head on the railing, and sticking his head outside the railing. He closed his eyes tightly and his face was as white as paper.
Ogata stood behind A-Machi with a look of helplessness, patting him on the back.
"How's it going? Do you feel better?"
"No...it feels so uncomfortable...well..."
Azachi, who knew nothing about navigation, made a misjudgment.
That is, no matter how big the ship is, it is just a small dot in the sea. When the waves hit it, it will still bump and shake.
They started boarding the ship an hour ago.
Half an hour later, two merchant ships left the port and headed north along the eastern coast of Japan on the Pacific Ocean.
As soon as we sailed out of the port, Atachi began to feel uncomfortable.
Afterwards, this scene appeared very quickly: A-Machi was slumped on the edge of the railing, and Ogata stood behind A-Machi, patting her back, trying his best to make her feel better.
In this era, there were no motion sickness pills or seasickness pills.
Faced with seasickness, you can only fight it out.
…
…
2 hours later
Ogata sat cross-legged beside Omachi's bed.
The quilt covering A-Machi's body was rising and falling evenly.
Looking at Omachi's peaceful sleeping face, Ogata let out a sigh of relief silently.
Did you finally fall asleep...?
The ship Ogata, Omachi and the others are traveling on is the Sennomaru.
Sennomaru is the largest of the two merchant ships owned by Minamoto Tachibana, and it is also the one with the largest passenger and cargo capacity.
The two of them were currently in a certain room in Sennomaru's cabin.
Nishino Soichiro was as kind as ever and gave a fairly spacious room to Ogata and his companions.
Ogata and Omachi will spend the rest of their lives at sea in this room.
They set off at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon.
By now, around 5 o'clock in the afternoon, probably because we were sailing to an area with gentle sea currents, Omachi was gradually feeling better and could sleep peacefully.
Seeing that Omachi was finally able to sleep, Ogata felt a little relieved.
Atachi is no different from a patient now.
Taking care of patients has always been a very tiring task.
Now that Omachi is asleep, Ogata, who has nothing to do now, plans to go to the deck to look at the sea view, get some air, and relax his body and mind that have been tense just now.
Ogata did not go to the bow, but to the stern.
There is currently no one on the narrower stern deck.
Ogata stood on the stern deck of the ship, resting his hands on the railing and looking at the Pacific Ocean to the east.
It happens to be the time when the sun is about to sink below the sea level.
The sun, as red as blood, dyed the eastern sky a brilliant red.
Under the sky that is about to turn into night, the endless sea is rippling with countless bright water waves like mercury.
Waves hit Sennomaru's hull continuously.
The waves collided with the hull of the ship, and then broke into thousands of sparkling silver waves.
Undoubtedly beautiful.
The last time I saw the sea view was several months ago.
Ogata crossed his arms, smiled, and silently looked at the beautiful seascape ahead.
With such a beautiful scenery, Ogata really wanted to share it with Amachi, but it was a pity that Amachi couldn't see the sea view now.
After looking at the ocean to the east for a while, Ogata turned his gaze to the north, which is the direction the ship is currently traveling.
The scenery to the north is roughly the same as the scenery to the east.
The destination of Ogata's trip, Ezo, is now waiting for his arrival in the north.
According to what Soichiro Nishino said before, it will take them about 10 days to sail to their destination.
When Ogata thought that he was about to set foot on this completely unfamiliar land, he felt a mixture of emotions in his heart.
There is both excitement and anticipation, as well as a slight anxiety about facing the "unknown".
Just when Ogata was looking at the northern sea level in a trance, a magnetic middle-aged male voice suddenly came into his ears from Ogata's side.
"Mashima-sama, I found you. It turns out you are at the stern of the ship."
Ogata looked around and saw a very majestic face that he often saw these days.
"Ah, Mr. Nishino."
The owner and visitor of the voice was none other than Soichiro Nishino.
Soichiro Nishino crossed his arms and walked out of the hatch on the side.
"I'm looking for you everywhere." Nishino Soichiro smiled.
Ogata: "Looking for me?"
"Yeah. But it's not for anything important. I just want to ask how your Ling Zheng is doing."
"Thank you for your concern." Ogata thanked him, "Now the ship has sailed to a place with stable sea currents, and my wife's symptoms of seasickness have improved a little, and she is sleeping in the room now."
"That's it...that's good."
After that, Soichiro Nishino walked to Ogata's side, then closed his eyes, feeling the sea breeze blowing on his face.
"The sea is truly magical."
Nishino Soichiro opened his eyes and smiled.
"As long as you look at the sea and feel the sea breeze, your mood will get better involuntarily."
"Mr. Nishino, do you like the sea very much?" Ogata asked casually.
"Yes. I like it very much." Soichiro Nishino nodded vigorously, "It's because I like the sea that I decided to become a businessman engaged in ocean trade."
"I originally wanted to trade with the Qing Dynasty in the Tang Dynasty and North Korea on the peninsula."
"But it was too difficult, so we had to settle for the next best thing and trade with the Ezo people in the Ezo land."
Upon hearing Soichiro Nishino's words, Ogata seemed to have remembered something, quickly turned to look at Soichiro Nishino, and then asked:
"Mr. Nishino, are you free now?"
"Hmm? I have some free time, what's the matter?"
"It's nothing, I just want to talk to you about Ezo in Ezo." Ogata said slowly, "My wife and I don't know anything about Ezo."
“So I want to know as much as possible about the Ezo land and Ezo people.”
"Mr. Nishino, as a businessman who specializes in trading with Ezo, you should know a lot about Ezo, right?"
As a place where he might stay for a long time in the future, Ogata has always wanted to know as much as possible about Ezo and the Ezo people who live on this land.
But I have been struggling to find anyone who knows enough information.
When he lived in Nishino Town and took a carriage to the port where the ship was anchored, Ogata never had the opportunity to be alone with Nishino Soichiro and talk in detail.
Now it is rare to be alone with Nishino Soichiro, so Ogata decided to take advantage of this opportunity to get as much information as possible from Nishino Soichiro.
Upon hearing Ogata's question, Nishino Soichiro was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly.
"Ezochi and Ezo...Ezochi is okay, but I don't really know much about Ezo."
"Because I only do business with a few fixed settlements. I haven't come into contact with many Ezo."
"I only know some customs of Ezo and some Ezo language."
"The Ezo people I have come into contact with are very gentle and very friendly to people like us."
"But there are also some Ezo who are very hostile to us and the people. They think that we and the people have invaded their homeland."
Speaking of this, Soichiro Nishino paused for a moment, and then changed to a half-joking tone.
"About the resistance in Ezo... there is a rumor that is widely circulated in Ezo. Are you interested in hearing it?"
"Oh? I'd like to hear the details." Ogata nodded.
"There are a lot of gold mines hidden in the soil of Ezo, did you know?"
"Yeah. I know."
He had just learned about this from the "former hunter" Shisukena.
"It is said that a long time ago, there was a group of Ezo who regarded us and Japan as enemies. In order to fight against our Yamato nation, they spent decades plundering a large amount of gold from all over the Ezo land."
"They plan to use this gold to purchase advanced weapons from the Western Nanman to fight against us."
"But for some reason, they eventually gave up using gold to buy weapons."
"Instead, he hid the gold somewhere in Ezo."
"It is said that even a family of three would not be able to spend all the gold originally intended to purchase weapons in a hundred lifetimes."
"This legend is widely circulated in Ezo."
"There are also some people who go out to search for treasure places in order to verify the authenticity of this legend."
"It is said that even the shogunate secretly sent people to look for gold."
"But without exception, they all got nothing."
"Until now, I still don't know whether this legend is true or false."
"Many people now speculate that this legend is just a false story spread by gold diggers who are crazy about getting rich."
"Can a family of three spend more gold than they can spend in a hundred lifetimes..." Ogata smiled, and then said in a joking tone, "If someone is lucky enough to accidentally find the location of this batch of gold,
Wouldn’t he instantly become the richest person in the country?”
"Of course." Soichiro Nishino responded in the same half-joking tone, "But we have to find this batch of gold."
"Furthermore, there are other theories regarding this batch of gold. What the Ezo group hid was not gold at all."
"The story of Ezo collecting gold and hiding it in order to fight against us and others is completely untrue."
"That group of Ezo did look for something in order to fight against us and others, and they did hide it in the end. But no one knows what they hid."
“So it’s still unclear whether a large amount of gold is hidden or not.”