Chapter 601 A-cho: I heard that you want to go with 2 female ninjas? (smile) 【6400】
After pausing for a while to collect himself, Azhu continued to talk about the past five years ago...
…
…
5 years ago--
"Feng Shang, it seems... your long-term peaceful life has really made your skills deteriorate a lot... It's a shame that I brought so many subordinates here just to be on the safe side."
An old man with a strange gray left eye looked at an old man in front of him who had been suppressed to the ground by several young strong men, and cast a naked look of contempt.
"Jijiu..." The old man who was suppressed on the ground cast a pleading look at the gray-eyed old man in front of him, "I can do whatever you want... Please... let my family go..."
The gray-eyed old man known as "Jijiu" looked away as if he was too lazy to look at this person again.
"Although your current skills have greatly disappointed me, but... you have gained an unexpected reward, and it is considered a worthwhile trip."
Speaking of this, a slight smile appeared on Jijiu's face.
Looking away from Feng Shang, he turned to look at the young girl beside him who was pinned to the ground by two strong men.
This is a girl who would feel guilty if even the word "cute" was used to describe her.
Although the fear visible to the naked eye spread across this cute girl's eyes and cheeks, she still glared viciously at Jijiu in front of her.
"To be able to defeat three of my subordinates at this age is really incredible..." Yoshihisa slowly walked towards the girl.
"Don't, don't touch my sister!" The childish voice unique to a young girl pierced Jijiu's ears - this was Azhu's cry.
Azhu, who was also pushed to the ground by two strong men, glared at Jijiu while struggling hard to break free from the restraints of the two men.
But after all, she was only a 10-year-old girl, how could she break free from the restraints of two strong men.
Behind Ashu were her father and mother - her parents were both in the melee just now, and accidentally passed out. At this time, they were all tied up with hemp ropes.
The father, who was powerless, fainted from a heavy blow to his abdomen at the beginning of the melee.
Azhu's mother followed closely behind her. Facing the siege from all directions, she was helpless. She was accidentally hit on the back of the neck with a hand knife and passed out.
Jijiu ignored Azhu's shouting and didn't even look at Azhu.
"Hey." Jijiu knelt on one knee in front of Azhu's sister, Ajiu, and looked down at her who was pushed to the ground. "What's your name? How old are you this year?"
Ajiu Li ignored Jijiu and continued to glare at Jijiu angrily.
Seeing that Ajiu ignored him, Jijiu was not annoyed. He just turned his head and glanced at Azhu who was not far away: "That person should be your sister, right?"
"I advise you to listen to me and answer whatever I ask."
"Otherwise - I will reward your sister to my subordinates."
"Although your sister is still very young, I think my subordinates should still be able to have a good time."
After hearing Jijiu's naked threat, Ajiu's face turned pale, and then he said hurriedly:
"My name is Ajiu! I just celebrated my 9th birthday!"
"Ajiu... In addition to luck, what other ninjutsu or techniques do you know?"
"I, I can also play shamisen..."
Although Azhu and Ajiu's father was just a small businessman running a grocery store, his business had always been good, so his family was fairly well off.
Their father spared no effort in cultivating his daughters. After they reached the age where they could learn piano, they spent a lot of money to hire teachers to tutor their daughters.
At first, both of them learned pipa, but because Ajiu found that he was more interested in shamisen while learning pipa, their father asked Ajiu to learn shamisen instead, while Ajiu continued to learn.
lute.
"That means you don't know anything except luck." Jijiu stood up slowly, "Feng Shang, you are such a waste of natural resources."
Yoshihisa cast a mocking look at Toyoshang.
"It's hard to raise a granddaughter with such a high talent."
"Fortunately, I came tonight and discovered this piece of jade as early as possible. Otherwise, such a good seedling would have been ruined by you."
"Jijiu..." Feng Shang cast a frightened look at Jijiu, "You...what do you want to do?"
Jijiu didn't even look at Fengshang, he just smiled and looked at Ajiu.
"I have decided - I will accept you as my disciple. I will train you to be the best kunoichi I have ever seen in Iga."
As soon as Jijiu said this, not only Azhu and others, but also Jijiu and his subordinates all looked surprised.
Among them are many old subordinates who have followed Jijiu for many years. It is the first time for them to hear that the arrogant Jijiu takes the initiative to recruit disciples.
Ajiu stared blankly at Jijiu with her big bright eyes.
After a while, her lips moved, and it was easy to tell from the movements of her lips that she wanted to say the words "I don't want".
However... just as she was about to utter these words, she closed her lips tightly as if she suddenly thought of something, and then turned to look at her parents, A Zhu, who were not far away.
After a long moment of silence——
"I...can worship you as my teacher."
Ajiu raised his head and shot a stubborn look at Jijiu.
"But you have to let my family go! As long as you let all my family members go, I will worship you as my teacher!"
"Hey." Suddenly, Jijiu frowned, "You are not qualified to bargain with me."
"This is my only condition!" Ajiu did not give in and looked straight into Jijiu's eyes. "Otherwise, even if you force me to become your disciple, I will seek all means to commit suicide!"
"Ajiu!" Azhu, with a sad face, shouted Ajiu's name, hoping that Ajiu would not do such a stupid thing as "sacrifice himself to save his family".
Their grandfather Feng Shang was also like this, and advised Ajiu not to do stupid things.
However, Ajiu ignored their voices.
Jijiu looked at Ajiu coldly.
It had been an unknown amount of time before Jijiu let out a few self-deprecating sneers.
"Ha... It seems that he is indeed a good young man. At such a young age, he is able to meet my gaze without dodge. It seems that he has a pretty good character."
"Okay, I'm in a good mood now. I'll grant half of your wishes."
"I'll let half of your family go. Your sister and grandpa can let go, but I still have to take your parents away."
"No!" Ajiu screamed, "All my family members must be let go!"
"Hey." Jijiu's gaze was as sharp as a knife, slicing towards Ajiu, "I am willing to let half of your family go, which is a great mercy on my part."
"Don't be ungrateful."
"I really appreciate your talent and would like to accept you as my disciple and train you well."
"But you are not important enough to be indispensable."
"If you make me unhappy... just imagine what the consequences will be!"
After all, Ajiu is a girl who is only 9 years old. Facing Jijiu's oppressive gaze, she can't help but shrink her neck in fear.
After Jijiu's words fell, visible tears slowly appeared in Ajiu's eyes.
After tears rolled in his eyes for a while, Ajiu nodded gently.
"I see……"
Seeing that Ajiu had softened, a gentle smile slowly appeared on Jijiu's face: "Don't worry, I'm not an inhuman evil ghost."
"As long as you obey me, I will let your parents go based on your performance in the future."
After finishing speaking, Jijiu looked at his subordinates beside him and ordered:
"Retreat. Let Feng Shang and that kid go. Take Ajiu and her parents away."
"Sir, aren't we here just for Feng Shang? Are we going to let him go like this?" the subordinate asked.
"Ha." Jijiu sneered, "This guy is used to living a peaceful life, and his skills have deteriorated to the point where it's hard to watch him directly."
"I have no interest in this kind of old man who has mediocre skills and may not have a few years to live. Let him fend for himself."
"To me now, Feng Shang, an old man who is no longer useful, is not as good as a toe of her granddaughter."
Jijiu smiled proudly and turned to look at Ajiu who was being slowly lifted up.
Ajiu lowered her head at this time, making it difficult for people to see her current face and expression clearly.
"Don't be so rough with her." Ji Jiu scolded the two strong men who lifted Ajiu up, "She is now my closed disciple."
After saying these words full of pride, Yoshihisa issued a new order.
"Oh, by the way, remember to knock Feng Shang and that kid unconscious before letting them go. I don't want to see them rushing towards me like mad dogs just after I let them go."
"yes!"
Azhu saw a knife strike towards the back of her neck.
Then...she felt her vision go dark and fainted.
…
…
Time returns to the present——
"——Just like that, after I woke up, my father, mother, and Ajiu were all gone, and so were the guys who called themselves the Iga remnants. Only grandpa and I were left..."
Speaking of this, Azhu kept taking deep breaths as if to adjust his mood.
At this time, Ogata and Atachi finally had the opportunity to intervene.
"Have you never seen your parents and your sister since then?" Ogata asked.
"Yes." Azhu nodded, "It has been five years since they were taken away, and I have never seen them again."
"Important parents, my sister was taken away by force like this, I don't want to just treat it like nothing happened."
"I want to get them back."
"So after my parents and sister were kidnapped, I prayed to my grandfather, who was lucky enough not to be kidnapped at that time, to teach me the Iga-ryu ninjutsu and give me the ability to bring my parents and sister back."
"It took me a lot of effort to finally convince my grandfather who originally wanted to end Iga ninjutsu in his generation."
"That's how I studied Iga Ninjutsu for four and a half years under my grandfather's command."
"Probably because my eagerness to find my family inspired my talent. My learning speed suddenly increased a lot."
"I originally wanted to study hard under my grandfather for a few more years, but... time waits for no one."
"Grandpa was already very old and not in particularly good health. He died of illness about half a year ago."
Azhu paused for a moment, with a slightly sad look on his face.
"Ah...please express your condolences..." Ogata said.
A-Machi also followed closely behind, saying his condolences.
A Zhu smiled and shook his head: "Grandpa passed away at such an old age, so he is considered a sad person. The only regret is that he didn't see my parents and sister come back until he passed away..."
"On the eve of my grandfather's death, he gave me this kunoichi uniform."
Azuki raised his hand and touched the hem of the kunoichi uniform he was wearing.
"My grandpa told me when he was still alive - this is the rule of Iga no Sato. When a ninja can become a ninja, he can have his own ninja costume and can officially participate in the mission."
"This is probably my grandfather's recognition of my four and a half years of hard training. He thinks that I have reached the level where I can barely become a teacher, so he gave me this kunoichi uniform..."
"Besides burying my grandfather, since I can no longer improve myself under my grandfather's command, I probably won't be able to achieve anything by practicing blindly, so I embarked on a journey to find my family in advance."
"If you just look around aimlessly like this, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack. You don't know where to find it."
"So I thought of a good way - selling the 'luck energy' cultivation method."
Ogata raised his eyebrows at this time: "I see... is it used to lure out the remnants of Iga? No wonder you sold it so cheaply and were so generous to give me a copy. It turns out you weren't doing it for money at all.
And I'm selling a training book on 'Luck'..."
"That's right! You're right!" A Zhu nodded his head vigorously a few times.
"If the remnants of Iga no Sato learn that there is a girl selling the 'Luck' training method everywhere, they will definitely be lured here."
"As long as Iga's remnants can be found, we can follow the clues and find out the whereabouts of my parents and sister."
"So, while searching aimlessly, I sold the training method of 'luck' everywhere, trying to lure out the remnants of Iga."
"I thought that even if I did this, it might take a long time to get results."
"But I didn't expect that not long after I left home, I received an important piece of information."
"About three months ago, I was selling straw sandals and "luck" training books at an izakaya in Echizen."
"After the owner of the izakaya saw the training book I compiled and my personal demonstration, he actually told me that he had seen the exact same martial arts from someone before."
"The owner of the izakaya said: At the end of the second year of Kansei (AD 1790), several people came to his izakaya to drink."
"Those people look like they are just ordinary civilians, but they all have extraordinary skills."
"While they were drinking heavily, several guests at the table next to them became drunk because they drank too much."
"For these drunken and crazy guys, those few people easily beat them down."
"And the martial arts used by one of them are very similar to Yun Jin."
"To help drive away the drunken customers, the boss wanted to treat them to a few more drinks."
"But those people said they wanted nothing, as long as the boss helped answer one of their questions - 'Have you ever seen Ogata Ittousai?'"
Both Ogata and Omachi's expressions changed slightly at this time.
"After the owner of the izakaya said he had never seen him, those people drank for a while and then left."
The serious look on Azhu's face was now extremely intense.
"Since one of those people can use luck, it means that they are most likely a member of the remnants of Iga."
"After the izakaya owner said that these people seemed to be heading north, I went all the way north, trying to find those people."
"In the end, I went all the way to Matsumae Clan, but I couldn't find any trace of them."
"After Matsumae Domain failed to receive any goods, we had no choice but to take a stowaway boat and prepare to return to Japan, and then we met you, Lord Ittosai."
Azuki raised his eyes and looked directly into Ogata's eyes.
"Although I couldn't find those people, it's an unexpected surprise to meet you, Mr. Ittosai."
"Those people asked about your whereabouts at the izakaya in Echizen."
"So... I suspect that the remnants of Iga may be looking for you for some purpose now."
"In this case, as long as I follow you, the chance of meeting the remnants of Iga will be greatly increased."
"That's why I said that I want to travel with Ogata-sama."
At this point, Ogata and A-Machi finally understood the reason why A-Zhu wanted to travel with them.
Amachi's face was full of doubts from just now, and she looked at Ogata beside her with a confused look mixed with a little uneasiness.
Without asking, Ogata knew that Omachi was wondering and uneasy about something - if those people were really the remnants of Iga no Sato, why were they looking for Ogata?
Their only connection with Iga was that during the decisive battle with Shiranui, Iga's ninjas helped Shiranui - but Ogata never saw those Iga ninjas during the whole process.
Ogata didn't have confusion on his face like Omachi.
He looked solemn.
After hearing that several people who were suspected to be Iga remnants were looking for him, he couldn't help but recall a sentence he heard from the Miyabu during the day that concerned him very much:
[Sir, he... sent so many people to look for you... I didn't expect that I would meet you in a place like this... It's really... a trick of fate...]
While Ogata and Atachi were silent with various emotions, Atzuki suddenly put his hands on the ground, and then used the Doge Seat on Ogata again with the momentum of a tiger descending a mountain.
"So - Lord Ittosai! After knowing my purpose and difficulties, please let me travel with you! I want to find my parents and my sister no matter what!"
"I promise I will never hold you back or cause you any trouble!"
Atachi wanted to say subconsciously, "No matter what, we can't take you with us. It's very dangerous to follow us."
But Ogata beside her actually said first:
"Give us some time, I want to discuss it with my wife."
Both A-machi and A-zuku looked at Ogata in surprise.
"My wife and I have shared weal and woe for a long time, and she is almost half my body." Ogata smiled at Azuki, "I must listen to her opinion on any major matter."
"In short - please wait here for a while and give us some time to discuss."
…
…
Ogata and Omachi came to a corridor of the hotel that no one passed by.
The two of them even checked the ceiling above their heads. After confirming that there was no one around, Ogata lowered his voice and spoke directly to Amachi:
"I plan to let Azhu come with us."
As soon as Ogata finished speaking, Atachi looked puzzled and stunned at first, but his expression soon returned to the original.
This was not the first time she had met Ogata. When she heard what Ogata said, she immediately subconsciously thought that Ogata must have made such a decision for some reason.
Before A-Machi could ask a question, Oome started talking.
He vomited everything he encountered on the pirate ship today to Atachi one by one.
Since he solved the gang of pirates, Ogata has not been able to tell A-machi in detail about the strange things he saw on the pirate ship today because he could not find the right time to reveal it.
Atachi's expression changed several times as Ogata recounted today's experience.
After confessing everything that happened on the pirate ship today, Ogata concluded:
"That guy wearing a handsome human skin mask, the unique poison of Xuan Zheng and his master and apprentice fell out of his body...Xuan Zhi has already left this force, but Xuan Zheng is very likely to still stay in that force. So what all this means
What, you should know, right?"
"...The guy wearing the handsome human skin mask and his subordinates are most likely members of the forces that study immortality." Atachi responded in a deep voice.
Ogata nodded: "The forces researching immortality are looking for me. And the remnants of Iga are also looking for me... It would be too much of a coincidence to say this is a coincidence."
"So I suspect that the forces that study immortality are in the same group as the remnants of Iga."
"The leader of the force who was studying immortality was looking for me for some purpose, so he sent the remnants of Iga to look for me everywhere. This is consistent with what the guy wearing the human skin mask said before committing suicide by taking poison.
Already..."
"Honestly, I'd rather know why they're looking for me."
"Moreover - if the force that studies immortality can come to me on its own initiative, it will save me a lot of time and energy, and I can confront them directly."
Ogata subconsciously raised his hand and caressed the left side of his neck.
"So I want to take Azhu's child with me."
"Although that kid's method of selling the 'Luck' training book everywhere is a bit stupid, it is actually very effective. There is a high probability that Iga's remnants will be attracted."
"As long as Iga's remnants can be found, we can follow the clues to find out whether they are related to the forces that study immortality."
"So I plan to ask Azuki to follow us. What we have to do now remains unchanged. We continue to Owari and entrust our friends at Calabash House to help find a powerful swordsmith who can repair Daishiten and Daizizai."
"On the way to Owari, Azuki continued to sell her 'luck' training book, trying to print out the remnants of Iga."
"It won't delay us from finding someone to repair the sword, nor will it delay us from finding out why the Iga remnants are looking for us, and finding out whether the Iga remnants have anything to do with the forces that study immortality."
"Atachi, what do you think?"
Ogata revealed all his plans in one breath.
After listening quietly, Ating thought for a while and then asked a question:
"If we want that child to follow us...do we need to explain to her that you have immortality in your body and are looking for a way to avoid sudden death?"
"We don't need to talk about this for now." Ogata replied.
After the two asked and answered, Ating fell silent again.
After a while, Amachi looked up and down at Ogata with strange eyes.
Then he gave Ogata a "warm smile".
"...You shouldn't be planning to let that child follow us just to have a cute kunoichi by your side, right?"
"How is that possible..." Ogata couldn't help but let out a few awkward laughs, "I intend to let the child travel with us purely for the sake of profit, without any personal feelings involved."
What Ogata said is true.
But his words could not dissipate the strange look in A-Machi's eyes and the "warm smile" on his face.
Atachi was still looking at him with strange eyes.
After a while, A-Machi put away the strange look in his eyes and the "smile" on his face, sighed softly, and then said softly——
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What I mentioned in this chapter about the Iga ninjas being able to get their own ninja costumes when they are ready to join the army was just made up by me.
Speaking of which, this book already has over 600 chapters... it goes so fast.