Volume 3 Buddha's Enemy Chapter 157: The Shogunate's Reply
"Won't."
As soon as Hasegawa finished speaking, Obe responded without thinking.
"I won't regret it."
"If I could go back in time once, even if I knew I would be imprisoned, I would still wield my sword and kill that bastard Matsudaira Gennai without hesitation."
Ogata's tone was not high when he spoke.
But he said it with certainty and without any hesitation.
Hasegawa stared straight at Ogata.
He didn't know if it was Ogata's illusion, but he always felt that there was a hint of smile on Hasegawa's expressionless face.
"...Ogata Ittosai. I don't actually hate you."
"Regarding the former lord of Hirose Domain, Matsudaira Gennai... Although I have lived in Edo for a long time, I have also heard some of his deeds."
"You killed this beast for the people of Hirose Domain... To be honest, I admire you very much."
At this point, Hasegawa's face looked a little more heavy, as if some bad memories had come back to him.
"I... I wish I could have the courage and determination like you..."
"From the perspective of the shogunate and bushido, you are a traitor who has committed the heinous crime of regicide and is unforgivable ."
"But from the perspective of the people and the righteousness of the world, you are a hero worthy of respect."
"If I can help it, I don't actually want to arrest you."
"But... I'm sorry. We each have our own masters and our own policies."
"I am a retainer of the shogunate, and the superior of the fire thief Kai. "
"So... I'm sorry."
"Oniihara, you don't have to apologize to me." Ogata shrugged, "I understand you. So you don't have to apologize to me, and you don't have to feel any guilt."
"When I decided to kill that bastard Matsudaira Gennai, I was mentally prepared for this day to come."
After saying that, Ogata leaned back casually, leaning against the cold and slightly damp brick wall behind him in a very comfortable posture.
"Then - Onihei. What punishment will I be subjected to? Will I be executed on the spot, or will I be taken back to Edo and executed later?"
"If I could choose , I would choose the latter."
"Before I die, I want to see what Edo, the most prosperous city in Japan, looks like."
"I will try my best to help you get this treatment."
After saying this in a half-joking tone, Hasegawa straightened up from leaning against the wall behind him, then turned and left.
"Hurry up and eat, Ogata Ittosai. I'll come to see you later when I'm free."
"Hey! Wait a minute! I have some questions for you!"
Ogata still has many questions to ask Hasegawa, such as: Has Mamiya been caught by you?
But Hasegawa just waved his hand.
"I will answer your questions slowly when I come to see you next time."
…
…
Ogata didn't know or care where he was being held.
Maybe it was because Hasegawa had given him special care, but Ogata had three meals a day, and each meal was quite rich.
Although the food was good, life was very boring.
After all, in prison, there is nothing else to do except eating and sleeping.
Of course, Ogata's two swords were not with him.
The certificate of Sakakibara Ittoryu Menkyo Kaiden, the secret manual of Muga Nitoryu, and his purse - these three things of his were naturally all confiscated by the fire thieves Kai's officers.
Ogata has nothing to do, and the only way he can kill time is to practice "Origin Breathing"...
Although Hasegawa had said before that he would come to see him when he was free, Ogata never saw Hasegawa again after that separation.
Just like this, more than a month has passed...
…
…
In the temporary residence of the fire thief Kai in the Tatsuno Domain——
Hasegawa is now in his room, flipping through a book.
And this book was one of the few pieces of luggage that were found on Ogata - "Muga Nistoryu".
After quickly flipping through it several times, Hasegawa let out a long sigh.
"No... I still can't understand... What kind of crappy book is this..."
Over the past month, Hasegawa would read the book "Muga Nito-ryu" whenever he had free time.
As a sword practitioner, he was naturally very interested in this book which looked like a sword-fighting secret manual.
But over the past month, no matter how many times Hasegawa picked up the book, he would end up putting it down helplessly.
No matter how many times he read it, Hasegawa couldn't understand what was written on it.
This made Hasegawa doubt more than once - this might not be a sword-fighting secret book at all, but just some doodles drawn by someone who was bored.
Although they have successfully captured "Ryuko Hachiman" and "Executioner Ittosai", the real target of Hasegawa and his team's trip - "Buddha's enemy" - has not been found.
So after capturing Mamiya and Ogata, Hasegawa still led his subordinates to stay in the Tatsuno domain and continued to search for the traces of the "Buddhist enemy".
However - more than a month of tracking yielded nothing.
The "Buddha's enemy" might have already left the Tatsuno domain - although he was reluctant to face it, Hasegawa had to admit that this might be a cruel reality.
The reason why Hasegawa led his subordinates to stay in Tatsuno Domain was, on the one hand, to continue pursuing the "Buddhist enemy".
Another reason was to wait for a reply from Edo.
Regarding... how to deal with the replies from Ogata and Mamiya.
If it were in the past, Hasegawa would definitely not have needed to go through so much trouble to send a message to Edo to ask for instructions from the shogunate.
But now , with some special circumstances happening in Kii, Hasegawa had to inform the shogunate first after catching serious criminals like Ogata and Mamiya, so that the shogunate could decide on the disposal plan.
Before the shogunate's response arrived, Hasegawa had no choice but to lock Ogata and Mamiya in jail .
Hasegawa had just closed the copy of Muga Nito-ryu in his hand and put it back on the table in front of him when he heard Imai's excited shout from outside the room:
"Lord Hasegawa! The shogunate's messenger just arrived with a reply letter!"
Hearing Imai's words, Hasegawa hurriedly said:
"Bring me the reply!"
"yes!"
Imai pulled the sliding paper door open without any hesitation.
Imai, with a happy look on his face, walked quickly into the room holding a rolled-up scroll and handed it to Hasegawa.
After taking the scroll handed over by Imai and confirming that there were no signs that the scroll had ever been opened, Hasegawa hurriedly loosened the ropes that bound the scroll and then quickly unfolded it.
He scanned every word written on the scroll at a glance.
As Hasegawa's eyes moved quickly across the words on the scroll, his expression became more and more complicated.
