"A-Ting, what's wrong with you?"
Looking at Atachi's pale face and uncontrollable shaking of her hands and feet, Ogata felt a tightness in his chest for some reason.
Ogata had never experienced this kind of chest tightness before.
"I, I'm fine..."
Not only were his hands and feet shaking, but Ating's voice was also trembling.
"I'm sorry... Ayi... I made you see how embarrassing I am..."
Ating raised his right hand and grabbed his left wrist tightly, as if trying to stop his wrist from shaking.
But no matter how hard Ating tried, he couldn't stop his hands from shaking. Instead, they shook even more violently.
"Atachi...you don't have to take what that guy just said to heart." Ogata tried his best to comfort Atachi.
However, as soon as Ogata finished speaking, Atachi lowered his head slightly.
"…Heitaro was right…I know that what I said just now, 'Kill as many as come', was just a ridiculous and shameless boast…"
Bitterness and uneasiness appeared on Ating's face.
"How can I, a Genin with ten thousand years of experience, fight against the entire Shiranui, and the Shiranui who has already cooperated with the shogunate..."
"Not to mention the entire Shiranui, Kotaro alone can easily kill me..."
"Kotaro, he is one of the 'Four Heavenly Kings' in our Shiranui."
"He is one of the four strongest ninjas in our Shiranui besides the leader ..."
"Even if I use Suzakura and Kasumi, I can't defeat Kotaro..."
"Ayi, you should have heard Heitaro mention the name 'Atake' just now, right?"
"Yeah." Ogata nodded gently, " I heard it."
"Atake, she was a kunoichi who defected from Shiranui in the middle of last year."
"She is different from me who is a half-baked Genin who has been a Genin for thousands of years. Azhu is a real Jonin."
"After defecting from Shiranui, Azhu, who was so powerful, was unfortunately captured and brought back."
"Ayi, guess what punishment Azhu received?"
"I don't want to know. " Ogata said without hesitation, "Don't say anything."
Ogata noticed that Atachi's body was shaking even more violently, so he quickly spoke up to signal Atachi not to say anything more.
But Atachi seemed not to have heard what Ogata said, and continued:
"In Shiranui, there is a set of punishments specifically for defectors, called 'flaking'."
"This is a punishment very similar to the 'Lingchi' of the Tang Dynasty."
"The executioner will use a knife to peel off all your skin and flesh bit by bit, and then hang your skin and your skeleton on a tree to warn others not to dream of defecting to Shiranui..."
"It's a terrible punishment, isn't it?"
"When a defecting female ninja is captured, she will suffer even more pain , because when she is captured, the ninjas who are responsible for capturing her can torture her as much as they want, as long as they don't kill her..."
"At that time, when I decided to defect to Shiranui, I kept telling myself, 'Don't be afraid', 'I'm mentally prepared'..."
“B-But…”
Ah Ming bit her lower lip.
The eye sockets began to turn red.
"When Shiranui sent a steady stream of pursuers to hunt me down, I was still so scared that I started to tremble..."
With his shoulders slumped and his back hunched, he placed his forehead on the tiger's eyes of his hands and spoke to his hands in a prayer-like tone, with a sobbing tone:
"Please... stop shaking..."
Ating's prayers did not work.
Her hands were still "jumping" violently like a fish jumping out of the water.
Looking at Atachi, whose body seemed to have shrunk, Ogata felt the stuffiness in his chest become even stronger.
…
…
A-Machi is always smiling, but sometimes she shows a cute sly smile.
A-Machi is a bit clumsy and even did something embarrassing like peeing her pants on Ogata's back.
Even after landing on Butterfly Island and encountering the irrational cannibal, Ating did not show any fear.
When facing a monster like the "evil monk" Yichun, Ating bravely fought back without retreating a single step.
Ating was so uneasy and scared at this moment, so scared that her voice and her whole body were shaking...
…
…
Ogata really wanted to say something to comfort Atachi.
But after racking his brains, Ogata realized that at this moment, no matter what he said, it would be impossible to suppress the fear in Atachi's heart.
Ogata slowly turned around and looked at the towering Nijo Castle in the distance.
A bold idea emerged in Ogata's mind.
As soon as this idea popped up in Ogata's mind, he dismissed it.
Because this idea is really too crazy.
It was so crazy that even Ogata, who had accomplished such a feat as "taking on a hundred people alone and killing the feudal lord", felt that anyone who would put this idea into practice was definitely not a normal person.
Feng Mo, who had been silent from the beginning, said softly:
"...I finally understand what's going on...Komachi, you defected to Shiranui..."
After listening for so long, Fuma also heard from Atachi, Ogata and others what happened to Atachi.
After sighing softly, Fuma turned his head and looked at Ogata, saying seriously:
"Brother Ogata, please take Atachi and leave Kyoto."
"That guy just said that Kotaro will stay in Nijo Castle until the banquet in Nijo Castle is over tonight."
"So as long as we leave Kyoto as soon as possible before the party ends, we might be able to get rid of that Kotaro."
"From what I know, there seems to be another officer of the Fire Thief Kai in Kyoto."
"The Fire Thieves are still the security force of the shogunate. When they encounter a criminal like you who is being hunted by the entire city of Kyoto, there is no reason for them to let you go."
"It's obvious that the place in Nixiang Town is a Hongmen Banquet. The disciples of the six major sword halls must have been ready to fight you."
"Brother Ogata, the Yoriki and Doshin in Kyoto, the officials of the Fire Thief Kai, all the samurai of the six major sword halls, and the common people of Kyoto... these people are all your enemies now. You are the enemy of the whole city. You should leave Kyoto as soon as possible."
"Take A-Ting with you and leave. This will only benefit both of you and A-Ting, not harm."
After listening to Fuma's advice quietly, Ogata did not respond to Fuma.
He just pursed his lips.
Escape? Where to?
Ogata asked himself this in his heart.
He had no relatives in Japan and had nowhere to go.
Where is he taking Ating?
Are you going to live a life with Atachi being hunted by the government and Shiranui all the time?
It would be fine for him alone, but even if these two major forces came to chase him, Ogata would not be afraid at all.
But what about Ating?
Seeing how Atachi is now, I'm afraid she won't be able to sleep well in the future, for fear that the pursuers from Shiranui will come and kill her again...
Fuma's words just now made Ogata feel even more annoyed.
He came to Kyoto this time just to find the master and disciple who might be able to cure the immortal poison in his body.
As a result, he was inexplicably involved in one trouble after another.
He just wanted to find the master and disciple.
After meeting Atachi by chance, I had a new small goal to go watch the Yamaboko parade with Atachi.
All he wanted to do was do these two trivial things in Kyoto.
However, due to the interference of various forces, the city has now fallen to the point where the whole city is surrounded by enemies and the elders have advised them to leave Kyoto as soon as possible.
First there was a group of lunatics who attempted to burn down Kyoto, and now for some reason they targeted him and forced him to attend the Hongmen Banquet.
Later, a group of ninjas from Shiranui chased after Atachi.
——It was these guys who made Ating and I feel so uneasy...
Ogata's gaze once again uncontrollably turned to the towering Nijo Castle in the distance.
The crazy idea that he had just suppressed resurfaced in Ogata's mind.
However, as soon as this thought came to mind, it was suppressed by Ogata.
Even Ogata didn't dare to imagine what kind of retaliation he would face in the future if he put this idea into practice.
If this crazy idea were put into practice, the sensation it would cause would undoubtedly far exceed the "killing of Matsudaira Gennai" battle half a year ago.
The nature of the two is completely different.
Because this idea was too crazy, Ogata had to suppress it again.
But this crazy idea seemed to have its own consciousness. Just as it was suppressed by Ogata, it popped up again in Ogata's mind.
"Brother Ogata!"
Seeing that Ogata had not responded to him, Fuma could not help but speak again.
"Did you hear what I just said? Take Ah-Ming away from Kyoto as soon as possible! I know a secret passage out of Kyoto! I'll take you there!"
"...Will running away...help?"
"What did you say?" Fuma looked at Ogata in surprise.
"A-Ming's enemy... is right there."
Ogata turned his gaze back to Nijo Castle in the distance.
"If we run away, the enemy will chase us...it will never end."
That crazy thought occupied Ogata's mind again.
——Give it a try...!
Ogata said this to himself in his heart.
——It’s not like I haven’t done this kind of crazy thing before!
More than half a year ago, the battle of "forcibly killing Matsudaira Gennai" was also an extremely crazy thing.
Ogata had also experienced the danger of being on the verge of death.
Although... this crazy idea in my mind is far crazier than the violent killing of Matsudaira Gennai half a year ago...
When he thought of this, Xu Fang felt a little scared again.
He couldn't imagine what would be waiting for him in the future after he put this crazy idea into practice...
The shogunate and Shiranui would probably go crazy and launch an unprecedented fierce revenge on him and A-machi...
Ogata is not afraid of death.
He was just afraid that he would not be able to protect Ah Ting in the future...
…
…
Ogata felt that he was just missing an opportunity.
An opportunity that would allow him to make up his mind and go all out...
…
…
Just then…
"A-Machi...? What's wrong?"
Because Ogata had been facing Nijo Castle from the beginning, his back was facing Atachi.
At this moment, A-machi suddenly walked up, stretched out her still trembling hands, grabbed the back of Ogata's haori, and buried her face in Ogata's back.
Because Atachi buried her entire face in his back, Ogata couldn't see Atachi's face even if he turned his head away.
No matter what Ogata said, Atachi remained silent and buried her face in the haori on Ogata's back.
"That's enough..." Ogata had to turn his head back, then smiled helplessly, "At least say something..."
However——A-Ming remained silent.
After an unknown amount of time, Ating finally said softly:
"Ayi..."
A-machi slowly raised her head while calling out her unique name for Ogata.
After noticing that Atachi no longer buried her face behind him, Ogata turned his gaze back to behind himself.
Because Atachi finally raised her head, Ogata was able to see Atachi's current appearance.
Atachi, who usually has a smiling face and occasionally shows a sly smile that Ogata likes very much, now looks at Ogata pitifully.
The expression on his face was still full of fear and anxiety.
Rather, the fear and anxiety on Atachi's face became even more intense than before.
Omachi tightly grasped the clothes on Ogata's back and said to him in a voice that seemed like she was about to burst into tears at any moment.
"Will I... also be caught by pursuers one day in the future and tortured to death?"
…
…
"A-Ting, let go."
…
…
Ogata declared this to Atachi in a calm tone.
Although she didn't know what Ogata was going to do, Atachi still obediently loosened the clothes on Ogata's back.
Ogata turned around slowly and looked at Atachi expressionlessly.
Then--
Bang.
Ogata struck Atachi on the back of the neck with a knife.
Atachi, who was caught off guard by Ogata's knife attack, slowly closed his eyes and fainted.
In the moment before closing his eyes, confusion flashed in Ating's eyes.
After knocking Atachi unconscious, Ogata gently hugged Atachi and then put Atachi into the arms of Fuma beside her.
"Brother Ogata!" Fuma looked at Ogata in shock, "What are you doing?"
"Master Fuma, I will leave Atachi in your care for the time being."
Ogata's tone and expression were so calm.
Fuma realized something and shouted at Ogata in a surprised tone:
"Brother Ogata, are you planning to go to the six great sword halls alone?"
"That's right." Ogata responded without any hesitation.
"They must have set up a trap by now. If you go to fight them, you will play into their hands."
"So what?"
"You may never come back if you go!"
"Then I won't come back!"
Ogata lifted up the Daishakuten and Daishizai on his waist.
"The bald guy is with Mucun and his men. Only Mucun and his men know where the explosive bombs are placed."
"Let Makimura and the others handle the explosives."
"If we leave those lunatics who burned down Kyoto alone, God knows what they will do next."
"These lunatics who first planned to burn down Kyoto and now are targeting me for no reason... I will take care of them!"
"Tonight, I will defeat all my enemies in Kyoto! And the enemies of A-Machi!"
After saying that, Ogata turned around and strode out.
"Master Fuma, I have one more thing to trouble you with. Please go to Nijo Town and tell those crazy people in Nijo Town that if they want to find me, they can go to Nijo Castle!"
"Nijo Castle?" Fuma repeated the name with a look of shock in his eyes.
At this moment, Fengmo finally realized something.
I realized...what Ogata was planning to do.
Fuma carried Atachi on his back and ran quickly to Ogata and stopped him.
"Brother Ogata, you said you wanted me to deliver a letter to the people of Nimukai Town and ask them to go to Nijo Castle. Are you... planning to attack Nijo Castle? To take on all the ninjas guarding Nijo Castle and the disciples of the six major sword halls at once... just you... alone...?"
Ogata stared at Fuma without saying a word.
Then he walked away silently.
This time, Fengmo did not chase after him.
Instead, she looked at Ogata's gradually receding back with complicated eyes.
It was not until Ogata's back was completely out of sight that Fuma let out a long sigh:
"...I really feel more and more that Ogata-san and Genichi are very similar..."
…
…
Kyoto, Nijo Castle (Nijo Imperial Palace).
The two Shiranui ninjas guarding the only entrance and exit of Nijo Castle were yawning in boredom.
And chatted idly.
"It's so boring... When will this boring mission of guarding Nijo Castle end?"
"It should be soon. The banquet will be over in less than half an hour. When the banquet is over, our mission to defend Nijo Castle will also be over."
"That's great... Although this mission is boring, it's also pretty relaxing. This is the easiest mission I've ever experienced in my life."
"After the mission of guarding Nijo Castle is over, we still have a mission! We also have to hunt down the traitor A-machi."
"This mission is too easy! It's a piece of cake to deal with that guy named A-Ming who was demoted to 'dirty'... Hmm? Who is he?"
After noticing someone approaching, the two ninjas immediately stopped chatting.
After looking forward carefully, I found that there was only one person coming.
He is a young samurai wearing a light green haori and with two swords hanging from his waist.
After appearing within the field of vision of the two ninjas, the young warrior spoke softly in a calm tone that seemed to contain no emotion or color:
"Let me confirm - the castle ahead is Nijo Castle, right?"
"That's right!" One of the two ninjas said without hesitation, "Nijo Castle is ahead! Now that you know that Nijo Castle is ahead, get out of here! This kind of place is not for outsiders like you to get close to... Hey! Wait! What do you want to do?!"
The young warrior, who was originally walking slowly, suddenly sped up at an extremely fast speed!
While charging towards Higashiotemon Gate, the young samurai drew the katana from his waist.
The cold light reflected by the snow-white blade made the pupils of the two ninjas shrink suddenly.
The two ninjas, who were not prepared at all, were both shocked by this sudden change.
"Asshole! Do you know where this is? How dare you draw your sword here?! Tell me your name..."
"Tell me your name?" The young warrior asked back before the ninja could finish his words.
Then, the young warrior, who was only inches away from the two ninjas, suddenly accelerated, and turned into a shadow and attacked the two ninjas.
The two ninjas, who had not expected that Ogata's speed could be increased, hurriedly pulled out the wakizashi from their lower backs.
clang!
The young samurai's katana collided heavily with the wakizashi that one of the ninjas had just unsheathed.
The ninja only lasted for less than a second before he was unable to withstand the huge force of the young samurai and flew backwards, crashing heavily into Todai Temon behind him.
Suddenly, wood chips flew everywhere.
The young warrior shouted loudly amid the flying sawdust:
"Sakakibara's Ittoryu, Muga's Two-Sword Ryu."
"Ogata Yisei."
"Go ahead!!"
…
…
Kyoto, Nijo Castle, Ninomaru Garden.
The banquet is almost coming to an end.
"Master Shenshan. It's a pleasure to work with you."
Horida left the table and went to find Kamiyama and toasted him.
Kamiyama had no reason to refuse Horida's toast and accepted it respectfully.
After drinking a cup with Kamiyama, Horida sighed softly:
"It's a pity that our actions tonight can only disgust Toda Tadahiro, but not enough to trip him up..."
"Just being able to disgust him like this is enough." Kamiyama smiled helplessly, "Lord Horita, people should not be too greedy."
"I understand." Horida shrugged with a wry smile, then picked up the bottle and poured wine into Kamiyama's glass himself.
Just then, the two saw a ninja running towards the banquet venue in a panic.
Kamiyama recognized this ninja.
He remembered that this man was the leader of the group of ninjas responsible for guarding Nijo Castle tonight, and his name seemed to be Kotaro.
After Kotaro rushed into the banquet, he shouted to everyone present:
"My Lords! Please leave here through the secret passage! Nijo Castle is under attack!"
As soon as Kotaro finished speaking, everyone present looked panicked.
"Nijo Castle was attacked ?!"
"How is this possible! Who in the world has the guts to attack Nijo Castle?!"
"What are you ninjas doing here? Repel the invading enemies!"
…
Shenshan was the first to regain his composure.
"How many people are attacking?" Shenshan asked in a deep voice.
"1, 1!" Kotaro seemed to know that what he was about to say next would sound ridiculous, so he stammered.
"1?!" Shenshan exclaimed.
Not only Kamiyama, but everyone else present, including Horida, was terrified.
"Since there is only one, why don't you kill that guy quickly!" Toda yelled with a pale face.
He was the governor of Kyoto.
Nijo Castle was a symbol of the shogunate's power.
If anything goes wrong in Nijo Castle, he, as the governor of Kyoto, will bear the primary responsibility!
Tokugawa Munemitsu, who was sitting in the first seat, was also frightened and angry at this time. He scolded Kotaro and asked him to repel the enemy quickly.
"We have already launched an attack!"
Kotaro gritted his teeth.
"My subordinates are now fighting the enemy at Tangmen!"
"But my subordinates... don't seem to be able to hold out for long!"
"While my subordinates are buying time, please leave Nijo Castle through the secret passage as soon as possible!"
"Although this is a little difficult to say... If you gentlemen continue to stay here, we cannot guarantee that the next battle will not involve you!"
"Please get out of here as soon as possible!"
…
…
Nimukai-cho, Kyoto.
"Ogata Ittosai still hasn't come..."
Tsurugan, who was still guarding Nimukai Town, had a hint of impatience on his face.
Tsurugan was now standing among Ryunosuke's subordinates.
He raised his head and glanced at the night sky above him.
Based on the night sky above his head, Tsurugen deduced that the half-hour deadline he and Ryunosuke had agreed upon was approaching.
The agreement he made with Ryunosuke was to wait in Nimukai-cho for only half an hour.
If Ogata Ittosai cannot be forced here within half an hour, he will have to proceed according to the original plan and disperse Ryunosuke's subordinates to various places in Kyoto and burn down Kyoto.
Seeing that the time limit was approaching, Tsuruga was thinking about whether to order Ryunosuke's subordinates to act according to the original "burn Kyoto" plan. Suddenly, a strange and sudden old male voice sounded from the darkness beside him:
"Hello."
After this voice fell, He Xian, who was startled by the sudden sound, quickly turned his head towards the sound.
The owner of this male voice was an old man who was carrying a beautiful woman on his back.
Looking at the old man, He Xian's face sank.
I thought to myself:
——This guy…when and where did he appear just now?
He Xian was completely unaware that a person appeared not far from him.
The subordinates of Ryunosuke who were around did not seem to notice in advance that there was an old man not far away, so they all reached for the knives at their left waists as if they were facing a great enemy.
"Don't be nervous." The old man waved his hand, "I'm just here to pass on a message. After I've passed on the message, I'll leave immediately."
"Pass the message?" He Xian asked doubtfully.
"If you want to find Ogata Ittosai, go to Nijo Castle." The old man said this word by word.
"Nijo Castle?" The look of doubt on Tsuruga's face became even more intense.
Not only Tsurugaru looked puzzled, but Ryunosuke's subordinates around him also looked puzzled.
At this moment, someone shouted:
"Look! Look at Nijo Castle!"
As soon as this loud shout from someone unknown came out, Hexian hurriedly looked in the direction of Nijo Castle.
After turning his gaze in the direction of Nijo Castle, Tsurugan's pupils suddenly shrank.
All I saw was thick black smoke floating in the sky above Nijo Castle.
All the black smoke came out from Nijo Castle.
As black smoke was rising, Tsurumen could vaguely see flames coming out of Nijo Castle.
"Nijo Castle... is on fire?!" A look of horror appeared on Tsuruga's face.
Looking at the Nijo Castle where black smoke and flames were rising, and thinking about what the man had just said to him, Tsurugen suddenly realized something.
"No way..." Tsuruga muttered absentmindedly, "That Ogata Ittosai... is he a lunatic?! Does he know what attacking Nijo Castle means?!"
Ryunosuke's subordinates around him were also in a panic at this time.
"Lord Tsurugen..." One of Ryunosuke's subordinates standing next to Tsurugen hesitated, "What should we do now?"
"...Let's go!" He Xian shouted after a long silence, "To Nijo Castle!"