"Shuntaro-sama! Shuntaro-sama!"
As soon as Shuntaro returned to Shiranui, he heard calls from behind one after another.
After hearing these calls, Shuntaro was stunned for a moment before realizing that someone was calling him.
In the past two days, Shuntaro has been watching the "Gozen Trial".
In front of Goro Majima and others, Shuntaro always used the name he used before becoming a ninja in Shiranui: Goroku.
Because he had been used to hearing people calling him "Wu Liu" in the past two days, and now it suddenly switched to "Shuntaro", which made him a little uncomfortable.
Shuntaro turned his head and looked back.
He saw a ninja walking towards him at a brisk pace.
This ninja looked unfamiliar, probably a lower-level Chunin or Genin.
The ninja didn't say anything. After he came to Shuntaro, he knelt on one knee and said respectfully:
"Master Shuntaro, Master Enma wants to see you."
"Master Flame Demon? Okay, I get it."
It is now dusk.
The sunset has dyed the sky a dazzling golden color.
Bathed in the sunset glow, Shuntaro quickly ran to the mansion where the Flame Demon lived.
After arriving at Enma's mansion and entering Enma's room, Shuntaro saw Enma sitting cross-legged on the tatami.
"Shuntaro, you're here, just sit down." Enma pointed in front of him.
Shuntarou has never been a person who cares about etiquette.
Even without Yan Mo telling him, he would have carelessly chosen the more casual "cross-legged sitting" instead of the formal "kneeling sitting".
As soon as Shuntaro's buttocks touched the tatami, Enma asked:
"I heard that you have been watching the 'Imperial Trial' these past two days. How was it? Was the 'Imperial Trial' interesting?"
"Yesterday was rather boring," said Shuntaro. "Today, since a lot of people with lower skills were eliminated yesterday, it's finally a bit more interesting."
"How's his fight, Gokutaro?"
"I'm sorry, Lord Enma. As you know, my relationship with Gokutaro has never been very good. I didn't pay attention to how Gokutaro fought."
"Heh... you're all companions after all, so you should take care of each other."
The Flame Demon sat up a little straighter.
"Okay, let's get down to business."
"Shuntaro, I have a mission for you."
When he heard the word "mission", Shuntaro raised his eyebrows slightly.
"After Shintaro's tracking, we finally found the hiding place of the traitorous ninja."
"If we delay too long, he might change his hiding place or find out that we have found him."
"So we must make a quick decision and capture that traitor alive tonight!"
A ferocious smile appeared on the face of the fire demon.
"If anyone dares to help the 'Ku' escape, he must be executed in front of all the ninjas and 'Ku' in the village! Kill the chicken to scare the monkeys!"
"If we can't capture him alive, then just..."
The fire demon raised his hand, made a knife-like gesture, and slashed his neck horizontally.
"I'll leave this mission to you, Shuntaro."
"I will assign Zhou Taro, who is good at using hidden weapons, to be your assistant."
"Take action at 9:00 pm!"
The Flame Demon's majestic voice 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 disappeared.
"Understood."
"In addition to Shutaro, I will send 4 Chunins and 10 Genins to help you. Is this enough?"
"That's enough." Shuntaro nodded slightly.
…
…
Enma watched Shuntaro leave.
After confirming that Shuntaro had left, Enma shouted to the door:
"Pass the order down!"
A ninja who had been guarding outside Enma's door quickly walked into Enma's room and knelt on one knee in front of Enma.
"Go and call Gokutaro and Zhoutaro to me." Yan Mo gave his orders concisely.
The ninja responded loudly and then left the Flame Demon's sight at the speed of wind.
Gokutaro, who was in charge of participating in the "Imperial Examination", had just returned from the martial arts examination venue.
Just after returning to Shiranui, he received a call from Enma, which made Gokutaro very unhappy.
But no matter how unhappy he was, even though Gokutaro acted arrogantly, he never dared to disobey Flame Demon.
Zhou Taro arrived in front of the Flame Demon before Gokutaro.
After Ji and Zhou both arrived, Yan Mo didn't say a word and went straight to the point.
"You two should also know that we caught a 'Gu' named 'Akang' in 'Gu Village' last night."
"This Akang is a big fish. He is very likely to have closely assisted the traitor who helped the 'Ku' escape."
"After torturing him for a long time, he finally admitted to the crime he had committed."
"Not only did he confess that he had closely assisted the traitor."
"It also revealed the identity of the person from outside the village who had been cooperating with the traitorous ninja."
"Oh?" Zhou Tailang raised his eyebrows, "Who is it? Who is this ungrateful fellow who dares to cause trouble for us, Shiranui?"
"That guy is said to be a well-known person in Edo."
As the Fire Demon spoke, he sneered and shook his shoulders.
"She is a woman who works in Yoshiwara and has the nickname 'Yoshiwara Satoshi'—"
"Gua Shengxiu."
"Ueusuke Hide?!" Gokutaro screamed.
"Gokutaro, what's wrong?" Enma cast a puzzled look at Gokutaro, "Do you know this person?"
"I know her." Gokutaro nodded vigorously. "She is very famous in Yoshiwara. Although I haven't seen her very often, I heard that although she is small, her swordsmanship is very good."
"I think I've heard of this person, too." Zhou Taro nodded and agreed, "It is said that she is a well-known figure in Edo because she frequently goes out to Yoshiwara to catch those who don't pay back their debts or cause trouble and escape in Yoshiwara."
"Oh oh..." Enma cast a stern look at Gokutaro, "I almost forgot, Gokutaro, you have been hanging around Yoshiwara day and night since we moved our base to Edo..."
Hearing what Enma said, a smile with a hint of embarrassment appeared on Gokutaro's face.
After coughing softly a few times, Gokutaro regained his serious expression:
"Master Enma, are you sure that Ueki Hide is one of the people behind the defection of the 'Gu'?"
"In my impression, she seems to be just an ordinary person who works at the Shirobei Club in Yoshiwara."
"That's what the gang said."
The Balrog yawned loudly.
"According to him, the rebel ninja has an extremely secret passage down the mountain."
"The traitorous ninja sent 'Gu' down the mountain through this secret passage."
"And that Uesugi Hide was responsible for escorting the 'Ku' who had successfully descended the mountain out of Edo."
"Because that Ah Bang had assisted that rebel ninja several times, so he had seen that Gua Shengxiu several times with his own eyes."
"In short - it is better to kill someone by mistake than to let him go."
There was a hint of coldness in the Flame Demon's eyes.
"According to the information provided by Ah Bang, we have found the secret passage."
"That traitor is really smart. He was able to find such a secret route down the mountain."
"I have had someone block that secret passage."
"Whether it's that traitor or this melon seed, neither of them can be let off."
"I've handed that traitorous ninja over to Shuntaro to deal with."
Enma turned his attention to Shutarou.
"Shou Taro, you are responsible for assisting Shuntaro in this mission."
"Try to capture the traitor alive. If you can't capture him alive, just kill him."
"Master Enma...but..." Shutaro hesitated, "What about the mission to take care of and monitor the Iga ninjas?"
Since the arrival of the Iga ninjas, Enma sent Shutaro to the side of the Iga ninjas, using the name of "care" to actually "surveil" them.
Zhou Tailang also did this troublesome task diligently and conscientiously.
Last night, I took Hannosuke and others to visit some places in Shiranui.
"Let's put it aside for now." Yan Mo said immediately, "This mission won't take long anyway."
Zhou Taro: “Yes!”
"As for Gokutaro..." Enma turned his gaze to Gokutaro, "You will be responsible for dealing with that Guase Hide."
"No need to leave her alive, just kill her directly."
"Remember to do it cleanly. Don't let anyone know that this man was killed by our Shiranui ninja."
"Got it." Gokutaro grinned, "This kind of mission involving killing is what I'm best at."
"Master Enma, may I use the 'Fire Plan' on this mission?"
Hearing Gokutaro's request, Enma pondered for a while, then nodded slightly.
"Can."
Gokutaro raised his eyebrows, his face showing excitement: "Thank you, Lord Enma, this will make me feel much more relaxed."
"Fire Plan": One of the code words in Shiranui.
This is a very useful trick: when you plan to assassinate someone in a crowded place, first set a fire or do something nearby to create chaos, and then take advantage of the chaos to assassinate the person you want to assassinate.
If time and conditions permit, the body of the murdered person can be thrown into the fire to completely destroy all traces, creating the illusion that the person was burned to death rather than killed by someone.
Fire is the most common disaster in this era.
In Japan at this time, every major city would experience hundreds or even thousands of fires of varying sizes each year.
So even if a fire suddenly breaks out at a certain time and place, it will not arouse suspicion.
"Gokutaro, I will send you two Chunins and eight Genins for this mission. Is that enough?"
"That's enough!" Gokutaro nodded vigorously , "But... Lord Enma, I have one more small request. Can you let Keitaro also accompany me to participate in this mission?"
Keitaro——Gokutaro's inseparable friend and partner.
Keitaro always accompanied Gokutaro when he went to Yoshiwara every night.
"You've been really nice to Keitaro." Enma smiled, "Okay, let Keitaro follow you on this mission like we always did."
Ji Tairou: "Thank you Enma-sama!"
"Capturing the rebel ninja alive and killing Ueyu Hide - the start time of these two missions is set at 9:00 pm!" Enma said in a deep voice, "Because Ueyu is a member of Yoshiwara Shirobei Club, and Yoshiwara is the hometown of that guy Shuntaro."
"If Shuntaro knew that we had caused such trouble in his hometown, he would definitely be unhappy."
"I don't want to cause trouble that can be avoided."
"So I hid the mission of 'Eliminating Uesugi Hide' from Shuntaro."
"Don't let anything slip in the future."
"Especially you, Shuutarou."
"I called you here specifically to give you a mission: keep a close eye on Shuntaro tonight."
"I don't care what means you use, but don't let Shuntaro go to Yoshiwara when Gokutaro goes to kill Ueyu Hide."
"yes."
"Okay, that's all I have to say." Flame Demon waved his hand, "You guys go down and make preparations."
…
…
Gokutaro and Shutaro responded "yes" in unison, and left the Flame Demon's mansion one after the other.
Gokutaro and Shutaro had an average relationship, so after leaving Enma's mansion, the two simply said goodbye and went about their own business.
Zhou Taro went to prepare for tonight's mission.
Gokutaro then found Keitaro who had been waiting outside the Enma mansion for him to come out.
"Keitaro, there is good news." Gokutaro's face was full of smiles.
After putting his lips close to Keitaro's ear, Gokutaro whispered to Keitaro the mission that would be carried out late tonight.
After Gokutaro finished speaking, Keitaro, who was usually serious, rarely showed a faint smile.
"Gokutaro-sama, that's great. It's a long-awaited assassination mission."
"Yeah." Jitaro twisted his neck, "I almost forgot when was the last time I carried out an assassination mission."
"Keitaro, let's go."
"Now let's go have dinner first, then go home and get some sleep."
The mission starts at 6 pm.
Converted into modern Earth units, it is 12 o'clock at night.
There are still more than 6 hours before the mission begins, and Gokutaro plans to take a short nap and recharge his energy while he still has some free time.
Keitaro kept half a step away from Gokutaro and followed closely behind Gokutaro.
As Gokutaro walked away from Enma's mansion, he saw a familiar person walking towards him.
"Hey! Shintaro!" Gokutaro took the initiative to greet the man.
The person walking towards Gokutaro is Shintaro, who is one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" together with Gokutaro.
"Good evening, Gokutaro." Shintaro nodded to Gokutaro.
"Why are you back?" Gokutaro asked, "I remember you were monitoring the hiding place of that traitorous ninja, weren't you?"
"The task of monitoring the hiding place of the traitorous ninja has been handed over to other ninjas." Shintaro replied, "I was called back by Enma to rest."
"Hehe, you should have a good rest." Jitaro smiled, "In order to track down the whereabouts of that traitorous ninja, you must have suffered a lot during this period of time, right?"
"They are just some minor troubles that are not worth mentioning." Shintaro shook his head. "I am very tired now. I will leave you first."
After saying that, Shintaro bowed to Gokutaro, then walked past Gokutaro without looking back and left.
After turning around and glancing at Shintaro's back, Gokutaro said to Keitaro in a half-joking tone:
"I really hope that all ninjas can be as honest and serious as Shintaro."
Although Shintaro is usually taciturn and people can't tell what he is thinking, which is extremely incompatible with Gokutaro's personality, Gokutaro doesn't dislike Shintaro who usually works silently like an old ox.
After hearing what Gokutaro said, Keitaro smiled slightly:
"Yeah, that's right. I really hope that everyone else can be as honest, serious, and hardworking as Shintaro-sama."
…
…
More than an hour later——
Edo, Yoshiwara, Miumeya, Furin-tayu's room——
Fuu Ling Taifu, who had been reading in the house for the whole afternoon, walked slowly back to her room with elegant steps.
After opening the door and entering her room, the lady saw a man sitting in a corner of the room.
The lady was so frightened that she almost screamed.
But after seeing the man's appearance clearly, the lady of honor forced back the scream that was about to rise in her throat.
"Really? Could you please say hello to me before entering my room next time?" The lady said to the man in a bad mood 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 person sitting in the corner of the tayu's room was Shuntaro.
The lady walked slowly to Shintaro, knelt down and sat down, then looked him up and down several times with a suspicious look.
"What's with your attire? Are you going on a mission tonight?"
At this time, Shuntaro was not wearing an ordinary kimono, nor was he wearing the dazzling women's clothing he had worn before.
Instead, they were wearing the male ninja uniforms from their Shiranui, which were pitch black from head to toe.
Shintaro also carries his two swords on his back, with the two handles protruding from behind his right shoulder.
"Yes, there is a mission tonight."
"As for the content of the mission, please allow me to keep it secret."
"Because there are still about two hours before the mission begins, I came to sit with you."
"You can also have some tea from our Meiwu house, right?" the lady asked unhappily.
"You got it right." Shuntaro grinned, "You see, the tea from Umeya is much more fragrant than the tea in our Shiranui."
"You haven't changed at all." Taifu smiled slightly, "When we were little, when we were two naughty kids on the banks of the Rashomon River, you loved coming to my house to eat and drink for free."
"Now that I think about it, things have really changed." Shuntaro continued, "A pair of childhood sweethearts who grew up together on the banks of the Rashomon River, and now one of them has become the famous Furin Taifu."
"The other one is Shuntaro, who is known as the 'chief of the Four Heavenly Kings' in Shiranui."
"It's fate that plays tricks on me."
"Yes, we are both well-known figures now." The lady responded with a smile.
Shuntaro raised his head and looked at the ceiling above him.
After taking a deep breath, he slowly said:
"Chang, although we are both well-known figures now, I am now planning to give up the title of 'the leader of the Four Heavenly Kings'."
"Hmm?" The lady frowned slowly, "What do you mean?"
"I want to quit Shiranui."
"Quit Shiranui?" Furin Taifu's eyes widened in surprise. "Why? Aren't you not allowed to quit Shiranui casually? Once you quit, you will be regarded as a traitor."
"Yeah, that's why I just said I wanted to quit."
Shuntaro crossed his arms over his chest, looking thoughtful.
"I've been thinking lately - is there any point for me to stay in Shiranui?"
"I chose to stay in Shiranui in order to be able to meet powerful masters and compete with them."
"But now... I haven't met anyone stronger than me in a long time."
"In the entire Shiranui, probably the only one who can rival me is Enma."
"But Balrog never competes with me."
"Besides, I don't want to compete with such an old person. Even if I win, I won't feel like a real winner."
"I haven't met any experts worthy of my full efforts, and I have been doing tasks that seem meaningless..."
A bitter smile slowly appeared on Shuntaro's face.
"Honestly, I no longer see the point of me staying in Shiranui."
"To be honest, I have been thinking about whether there is any way to safely exit Shiranui and not be harassed or hunted by the ninjas in Shiranui about half a month ago."
Fuujiya listened quietly.
After Shuntaro finished speaking, Fuujiya spoke softly:
"Have you ever thought about what you're going to do after you leave Shiranui?"
"Yes. I just thought of it today." Shuntaro raised his lips, "I met a very enthusiastic samurai at the martial arts examination venue today."
"His name is Kondo, and he said he's doing warrior training now."
"I am currently working in a shop called 'North Wind House' to save up money for further travels."
“He woke me up.”
"When I stop being a ninja in Shiranui, I plan to train as a warrior and travel around the world."
"Find a powerful master, compete with him, and continue to improve my skills and techniques!"
"So you've even thought about what to do after you quit the Shiranui." Fuujiya smiled helplessly, "But... it's not the Warring States period anymore, there aren't that many masters out there."
"Haven't you heard the old saying, 'In these days, an abacus is better than a knife.'"
"I think even if you practice martial arts, you may not encounter any masters."
"Who said that?" Shuntaro shook his head, "There are still experts out there."
"For example?"
"For example..." Shuntaro pondered for a while, "Isn't that 'Human Slasher Yisei' a famous master?"
"Hitsugen Ishii? Are you referring to 'Executioner Ichitosai' Ogata Ishii?"
"That's right, Hitoshi Ishii should be the 'number one swordsman' in his age group." Shuntaro smiled brightly, "If possible, I really want to meet him and have a good fight with him."
"I heard that Ogata Issei died in Nijo Castle in Kyoto."
"Don't say such unlucky things!" Shuntaro raised his hand and patted Fuuji's shoulder in annoyance.
…
…
About 2 hours later——
9:00 pm (12:00 midnight).
In Edo, on a path leading to Yoshiwara——
"Master Genichi."
"What's up?"
"I'm beginning to wonder if there's any point in us going out to 'hunt rats' every night."
"Of course it makes sense. Look, we have already cleared out two waves of rats, haven't we?"
"We only cleared out two waves of rats."
Ogata emphasized the word "only".
Under the cover of darkness, Genichir and Ogata walked one after 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 Genichir and Ogata still meticulously wore the Tengu and white fox masks to conceal their identities.
Every night he would first go to Yoshiwara's place to work, and then sneak out with Genichi late at night to squat at the gate of Yoshiwara and "hunt rats."
When he first started "mouse hunting", Ogata still felt a little bit of novelty and could get a little bit of rewards.
But Ogata was getting a little fed up now.
So I couldn't help but ask Yuanyi the question just now, "Is there any meaning?"
"Master Genichi, I feel like we can't find the 'rat' anymore." Ogata sighed softly.
There weren't many "rats" whose appearance Genichi could still remember.
He only remembered the people he had offended in recent years.
He basically couldn't remember .
So from the beginning of "rat hunting" to now, Ogata and his team have only hunted two waves of "rats".
Most of the time, I just waited in the cold wind and returned empty-handed...
Ogata was a little fed up with the low efficiency.
"Don't say that." Yuan Yi laughed, "Maybe we will encounter a big fish tonight."
Ogata: “You said the same thing last night…”
…
…
Edo, a remote place.
"Lord Shuntaro." Shutaro said respectfully to Shuntaro who was walking towards him slowly.
"Sorry." Shuntaro said in a calm tone, "I was just sitting at a friend's place for a while, and I was too engrossed in the conversation, so I'm late."
Shuntaro was already dressed in their Shiranui male ninja attire.
The area below the eyes is covered with black cloth.
The area above the eyes is also wrapped with black cloth.
Only a pair of eyes are exposed on the entire face.
"No, Lord Shuntaro, you are not late, you arrived at the right time." Zhou Taro turned his head and looked at the short house not far away.
"The rebel ninja is in that house right now."
Shuntaro glanced at the dark house and asked, "Are you sure the traitor is in there?"
"Our people have been monitoring the rebel ninja since he entered the house. He has not come out since he entered the house this afternoon." Zhou Tailang's tone was firm.
"Well. Is everyone else in place?" asked Shuntaro.
"Everything is in place." Zhou Taro nodded.
"Then let's start the attack." Shuntaro said without any hesitation, "Let's fight quickly and decisively."
"Master Shuntaro," Zhou Tailang said urgently, "Can you let me lead the troops into the house?"
Shuntaro glanced at Shuutarou.
He immediately saw through Zhou Taro's little trick - he planned to perform well in this mission.
The amount of tasks that Shiranui can accept now has shown a decreasing trend year by year.
Fewer missions means it's becoming increasingly difficult for ninjas to get promoted.
If they want to be promoted, ninjas have to do their best to show themselves in these limited tasks.
Shuntaro no longer needs to rely on any missions to express himself.
So I am happy to let others do the troublesome part.
"Okay." Shuntaro nodded, "I'll give you two Chunins and six Genins, and you'll be responsible for the attack."
"I will lead the others to be on guard outside."
"Thank you, Lord Shuntaro." Zhou Taro gave Shuntaro a grateful look and pulled out the kunai with a determined look on his face.
After gesturing to the two Chunins and six Genins not far away to follow him, Zhou Taro led these people and ran quickly towards the short house.
They used the breath-holding and stealth techniques passed down from generation to generation in the Shiranui tribe and approached the low house without making any sound.
They were divided into three groups - one group led by Zhou Tailang personally approached the gate, and the other two groups approached the two windows respectively.
After making sure that everyone was in their positions, Zhou Tailang waved his hand and gave a brief signal to his subordinates: Start the attack!
As Zhou Taro gave the order, the ninjas scattered at various entrances and exits rushed into the room together.
As soon as he rushed into the low house, Zhou Tailang frowned.
Because - he smelled a pleasant, faint fragrance in the air.
It seems to be the smell of the "fragrance powder" that women use to make themselves fragrant.
——This guy is really leisurely...
Zhou Tailang said with contempt in his heart.
——He even spent money to buy women to have fun with him.
The qualities and skills of the ninja were brought into full play by Zhou Taro and his companions.
No sound was made until the attack began. After rushing into the house, they quickly controlled every part of the house.
However - every room was empty.
It was not until Zhou Tailang and others rushed into the last small room of the low house that they finally saw a figure.
This is a room without any furniture.
A figure was sitting cross-legged in the corner of the room.
"Found it..." Zhou Taro gave a ferocious smile to the figure in the room.
The figure was neither strong nor thin.
The wrinkles on his face have mottled marks, and he is not young anymore.
She was wearing an ordinary kimono, without hakama or socks, and a pair of worn straw sandals on her feet.
The uncle was sitting cross-legged on the tatami in the room, smoking a pipe leisurely.
Even though Zhou Tailang and others rushed in, the uncle remained calm as ever.
"We finally caught you, you traitor... Do you know how long it took us to track you down?"
"Just surrender yourself."
"You can't escape anyway, so just surrender and you'll feel better."
"... Zhou Taro, don't be too confident." The uncle blew out a smoke ring and said, "After all, I am a jonin just like you."
"You seem a little too relaxed about being an enemy of a jonin, don't you?"
"Do you think I don't know your background?" Zhou Taro sneered, "Although you and I are both jonin, you are not outstanding in terms of fighting ability."
"If it's a one-on-one duel, you are no match for me."
"What's more... I'll tell you another piece of good news." A hint of sarcasm appeared on Zhou Taro's face, "The one who came to arrest you this time is also Lord Shuntaro."
"Shuntaro?" The uncle who had been calm from the beginning finally showed a slight change in his expression. "...Humph, what an honor... I was able to alert the 'Four Heavenly Kings' to come and catch me."
Zhou Taro was very satisfied with the subtle change in the uncle's facial expression just now.
After revealing an even more ferocious smile, Zhou Taro continued:
"I'll kindly tell you another piece of good news."
"In addition to tracking your whereabouts, we also found out who your accomplice is."
"I remember his name was Uesugi Hide, right? I never thought that a mere person working in Yoshiwara would have the guts to go against Shiranui."
"Now, our people have gone to Yoshiwara."
"Before long, your accomplice will become a cold corpse."
Zhou Taro's words made the uncle's face waver even more than before.
Zhou Taro, who had been carefully observing the changes in the uncle's expression, laughed even more happily.
"When you and your accomplice decided to go against Shiranui, you should have thought about what would happen to you in the future."
"If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for being so stupid in the first place."
The uncle's expression and look returned to calm at this time.
He raised the pipe in his hand again, took a deep breath, and after exhaling with a big eye circle, he said softly:
"I underestimated you guys... You were able to find out so much in such a short time..."
A hint of pride appeared on Zhou Taro's face.
Just as he was about to say something—
"But - while I underestimated you, you also underestimated me."
After saying that, the uncle turned the pipe in his hand, with the tip facing downward, and stuffed it into a small hole on the tatami next to him.
There was no light around, and even the uncle's face was blurry to Zhou Taro.
It was not until now that Zhou Taro discovered that there was such an inconspicuous little hole on the tatami next to the uncle.
The bong hit the edge of the small hole hard, and dazzling sparks fell into the hole.
When Zhou Taro saw this, his pupils contracted violently with fear.
"Get out of the house!!"
When Zhou Taro quickly realized what the uncle was going to do, he yelled like that with a reflex and ran 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 that was emitting thick smoke at the fastest speed he could achieve.
As soon as he arrived at the low house, Shuntaro saw Zhou Taro, who was covered in dust and had blood on his face.
"What's going on?" Shuntaro asked anxiously.
“Ahem, ahem… that bastard… buried explosives under the tatami… and used the flame of a cigarette gun to detonate them…”
The current situation of Zhou Tailang and others is miserable.
Of the people who had just entered the house, only half were still safe and sound.
The half of the group, led by Zhou Tailang, managed to escape the explosion range in time and thus saved their lives.
The other half, who were less skilled or slower in reaction, were seriously injured or killed directly in the explosion.
"So that's how it is..." Zhou Tailang said bitterly, "The fragrance in the room... is used to cover up the smell of gunpowder."
When he entered the house, Zhou Tailang thought that the faint fragrance in the air was the scent left after buying a woman for fun.
Zhou Tailang also bought women for fun.
So he knew that the perfumed powders used by some women had a strong smell and lasted a long time.
It was not until now that Zhou Taro realized that he was wrong - the fragrance was created deliberately to cover up the smell of gunpowder.
"Where is the rebel nin?" Shuntaro asked, "Where did he go?"
"He escaped through the tunnel." Zhou Taro gritted his teeth, "But I shot him with a kunai before he got into the tunnel. My kunai hit his side."
Just before escaping from the house, Zhou Tailang saw the uncle ignite the gunpowder, then he immediately lifted the tatami under his butt and crawled in.
Hidden weapons are Zhou Tailang's specialty.
So when he saw the uncle was about to go into the tunnel, he quickly raised his hand and threw a kunai, accurately hitting the uncle's side.
After the kunai hit the uncle's side, Zhou Taro clearly heard the uncle let out a low cry of pain.
"Master Shuntaro, let's go after him!" Zhou Tailang said urgently, "There's no way there's a tunnel in this shabby house! So the tunnel must have been dug temporarily by him, and it shouldn't be very long!"
"Plus, he's been stabbed by my kunai. If we chase him now, we might be able to catch up with him!"
…
…
Edo, Yoshiwara, an inconspicuous place outside the gate——
"Huh... the weather seems to be getting colder and colder." Yuan Yi said this while tightening his shirt. "I'm really getting old. I can't stand this little bit of chill."
Genichi was wearing the same white yukata as always.
Although Genichi said this, Ogata did not see even a single goose bump on Genichi's skin.
Ogata has been with Genichi for quite some time now, so he has become more and more accustomed to the "Versailles" remarks that Genichi makes from time to time.
"Master Genichi..." Ogata sighed, "I feel like we won't gain anything tonight..."
Ogata and Genichirō stared at the gate of Yoshiwara for nearly half an hour.
It should be early morning now, and there are only a few people entering and leaving Yoshiwara, almost none.
"It seems that our luck tonight is not very good." Genichi agreed with what Ogata had just said, "There is nothing we can do. We can only wait until tomorrow night. We might run into the 'rat' tomorrow night. Let's go back to sleep."
Ogata let out a helpless sigh tinged with sadness.
——I’ve been freezing in vain tonight…
While thinking this in his mind, he stood up and walked quickly with Yuan Yi, one in front of the other, back to the hotel.
Because they were in a hurry to go back to sleep, Ogata and Genichi walked quite fast.
I quickly left the gate of Yoshiwara, went down the Nihon Dam, and started on the road back to the hotel.
However, when they were about halfway to the inn—
Pah la la la…
Ogata and Genichi both heard a sound like something being knocked over.
"What's that sound?" Ogata stopped first.
"From the sound, it seems to be not far from us." After saying that, Yuan Yi sniffed hard, "It smells like blood..."
"Master Genichi, can you smell this?"
"I'm very sensitive to the smell of blood."
"The smell of blood..." Ogata's face darkened, "Could it be that a samurai is beheading someone to test his sword..."
Late at night and in the early hours of the morning are the peak times for those cruel warriors to kill people and test their swords.
Ogata was disgusted by this kind of crazy pervert who used living people to test his skills.
"It's possible." Genichi's expression became more serious at this time, "Ogata-kun, let's go and take a look."
"Yeah." Without any hesitation, Ogata held the knife at his waist and walked side by side with Genichi, running towards the source of the strange noise.
…
…
“Haha…haha…haha…haha…”
In the alley, the uncle covered his left abdomen with one hand and held the wall with the other hand, moving forward little by little at a speed as if he was moving.
He raised his left hand, which had been covering the wound, and took a look at his left palm - it was already covered in blood.
Looking at his bloody left hand, the uncle couldn't help but smile bitterly.
Just before crawling into the tunnel he had dug with great effort, Zhou Taro threw a kunai at him with extremely quick reaction.
Zhou Taro is an expert in hidden weapons in Shiranui.
When it comes to the ability to throw hidden weapons, he is the best among all the Shiranui.
The uncle was confident that he could take the kunai thrown by others.
But he had no way to deal with the kunai thrown by Zhou Taro.
Shōtarou's kunai pierced his side with precision.
The uncle didn't dare to pull out the kunai.
If this kunai is pulled out, large amounts of blood will ooze out of the wound.
He has no medicine to stop the bleeding, so pulling out the kunai now will only make him 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, coupled with 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 at the entrance of the alley because he was walking unsteadily.
Although every step forward was extremely painful, the uncle still moved forward firmly.
Walking steadily in the direction of Yoshiwara.
"A Xiu..." The uncle whispered a name.
As he uttered this name, a string of memories emerged from the depths of the uncle's mind.
This string of memories is a sentence.
(Let's give Shiranui a head-on blow together!)
This is what a girl named "Use Hide" said to him when she decided to work with him to help the "Gu" escape from Shiranui.
Recalling this sentence, a faint smile appeared on the corner of the uncle's mouth.
The determination in his eyes became more intense with the appearance of a smile at the corner of his mouth.
Just then——
"Hey, what's wrong with you? "
A young male voice suddenly sounded behind him.
As soon as the male voice sounded, the uncle's pupils suddenly shrank.
——Have you caught up?!
The uncle's senses were weakened a lot due to the blurred consciousness caused by the blood loss and the severe pain. He didn't even notice that there was someone 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.
Two weirdos.
One wore a Tengu mask and the other wore a white fox mask.
Judging from the clothes they showed outside their clothes, 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 they had in common was that they both wore swords on their waists.
…
…
Ogata and Genichi rushed all the way to the place where the strange noise came from - an alley.
There were fallen bamboo poles scattered around the entrance of the alley.
After Ogata and Genichir walked through the alley and went deeper into the alley, they saw an old man with a kunai stuck in his side.
Looking at the standard ninja equipment inserted on the uncle's waist, Ogata frowned slightly.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?"
As soon as Ogata finished speaking, the uncle immediately turned around with a panicked look on his face.
After taking a glance at Ogata and Genichi's faces, surprise and confusion appeared on their faces.
"You don't have to be afraid." Ogata said softly, "We have no ill intentions. Did anything happen to you?"
After saying that, Ogata raised his finger and pointed at the kunai inserted in the uncle's side.
The uncle opened his mouth and seemed to want to say something.
But as soon as he opened his mouth, he spat out a mouthful of blood, groaned in pain, and then fell to one knee on the ground.
Ogata: "Hey! Are you okay?"
Ogata and Genichi walked forward together and squatted beside the uncle.
After taking a look at the uncle's injury, Yuan Yi said in a deep voice: "Your injury needs to be treated immediately. I'll take you to see a doctor."
"No, no need... I... I have something very important to do..."
"Don't be silly." Ogata also said in a serious tone at this time, "You are in this state, and it is difficult for you to even walk. What can you do? Don't talk, the two of us will take you to see a doctor."
A strong look of struggle appeared on the uncle's face.
This look of struggle appeared on the uncle's face for a moment, and then slowly turned into a look of determination.
He looked as if he had made up his mind.
"Two warriors... I... have a favor to ask of you..."
"Please go to Yoshiwara now... and find a girl named Ueyu Hide..."
"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...it will be troublesome..."
“Please…”
"Uekushi?!" Ogata exclaimed.
As soon as Ogata heard the name "Uekushime" from the uncle's mouth, his face was filled with surprise.
Ogata quickly raised his hands, pressed the uncle's shoulders, and helped him up.
Just when he was about to question the uncle, Ogata suddenly heard footsteps approaching from behind.
Hearing the footsteps, the uncle's face changed: "Here they come...!"
Ogata and Genichi looked back in the direction of the sound.
They saw four men in black clothes running towards them.
Two of them were running on the ground in an orderly manner.
The other two people climbed over the eaves and walls and rushed towards Ogata and others along the roofs of the houses beside the alley.
"See! That guy is there!" An excited shout rang out among the four men in black.
After this excited shout, one of the four men in black suddenly took out a round object and threw it hard into the sky.
This round object is like a whistling arrow, and when it is thrown into the sky, it makes a loud but not harsh "chi" sound.
After seeing the two men in black running across the rooftop, Ogata and Genichi's expressions both changed.
Genichi and Shiranui are old rivals.
Ogata has mastered the intermediate level of the Shiranui stealth technique.
Therefore, the two of them instantly realized from the movements of the two men in black running on the roof that they were using the stealth technique from Shiranui!
"Hey, hey...uncle..." Ogata said in a deep voice, "How did you get involved with the ninja in Shiranui?"
Even if Ogata used his butt to see and think, he could see and imagine what was going on - these four Shiranui ninjas were chasing this uncle.
Seeing that Ogata could accurately point out the true identities of these uninvited guests, the uncle's face showed surprise and shock.
Although he wanted to ask Ogata and the others why they could recognize this as a ninja from Shiranui, the uncle suppressed his doubts and shock and said to Ogata:
"You two... hurry up... go to Yoshiwara... find Uesugi Hide... please..."
"I'll hold them back..."
Before the uncle could finish his words, Ogata and Genichirō completely ignored him and performed the same action - drawing their swords.
No one said a word, but Ogata and Genichi drew their katana at the same time in perfect sync.
However, they rushed in different directions.
Genichi leaped onto the roof and attacked the two ninjas moving on the roof.
Ogata lowered his body's center of gravity and "flew" towards the other two ninjas running on the ground at a speed that seemed to be flying close to the ground...
There was no suspense in the battle.
Ogata only swung out two flashes of sword light, and with the efficiency of one man, one sword, he cut down the two Shiranui ninjas on the ground.
[Ding! Use Sakakibara's sword style, Bird Thorn, to kill the enemy.]
[Gain 150 points of personal experience and 100 points of swordsmanship "Sakakibara Ittoryu" experience]
[Current personal level: Lv33 (3760/5000)]
[Sakakibara Ittoryu Level: 11th Stage (6655/7000)]
…
[Ding! Use Sakakibara Ittoryu: Waterfall to kill the enemy.]
[Gained 160 personal experience points, and 110 swordsmanship "Sakakibara Ittoryu" experience points]
[Current personal level: Lv33 (3880/5000)]
[Sakakibara Ittoryu Level: 11th Stage (6655/7000)]
…
Ogata and Genichi rushed towards the enemy at almost the same time.
Then the battle ended almost at the same time.
When Ogata sheathed his sword, two bodies slid down from the roof. Genichi jumped down from the roof holding Yangshen and jumped back to Ogata's side.
The uncle looked at all this in amazement.
"Uncle." Ogata walked back to the uncle and asked, "How many Shiranui ninjas are chasing you?"
The uncle who was awakened by Ogata's question replied:
"I'm not sure... but it's definitely not that few... there will definitely be other people coming here... later..."
"I think so too..." Ogata just saw the four ninjas throwing out something like a whistling arrow, which should be a prop used to inform their companions.
I have so many questions I want to ask this uncle, they are like a mountain.
But now is clearly not the right time to ask questions.
"Lord Tengu, take this uncle away. Since he is being hunted by so many Shiranui ninjas, he must not be a simple person."
"This uncle might know something about Shiranui. We can't let him die like this."
"This uncle's injury is very serious. Take him to a safe place to heal."
Because they were in front of outsiders, in order to hide his identity, Ogata did not call out Genichi's real name, but called him "Tengu-sama".
"Hmm?" Genichi raised an eyebrow, "Aren't you going with us?"
"I'm going to Yoshiwara." Ogata said in a deep voice.
Ogata is still confused.
It is not clear what the relationship is between this uncle and Gua Sheng.
Ogata didn't even know whether it was true that "Urasaki was in danger".
But Ogata still decided to go and take a look at Yoshiwara.
No matter what, Ogata couldn't just sit back and watch a friend who might be in danger. Even if the possibility of that friend being in danger was only one percent.
After hearing these words from Ogata, the uncle was stunned for a moment, then showed an ecstatic expression.
When he was about to say something, he felt a sharp pain in his waist and abdomen, and the words that were about to come out of his mouth turned into a gasp.
"Don't move, and don't talk."
Genichi 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 helped up by Genichi, the uncle still endured the severe pain and said to Ogata:
"Please be careful, my dear..."
"The one who went to hunt down Uezaki... was also a ninja from Shiranui..."
"And... Shuntaro, the leader of the Four Heavenly Kings... should be nearby..."
"I don't know... whether Shuntaro will participate in the assassination of Urobuchi..."
"Anyway...be careful...!"
After hearing the name "Shuntaro" from the uncle's mouth, Ogata's pupils shrank slightly.
"…Thanks for the reminder. Lord Tengu, please take this uncle away. I will be back later."
"Well, I wish you good luck in martial arts."
Yuan Yi didn't leave any ink.
It was confirmed that Ogata had decided to go to Yoshiwara alone without saying any more nonsense.
He carried the old man on his back and ran towards the hotel where they were staying at a speed that did not seem like that of an elderly man.
If they wanted to go to Yoshiwara, they would have to go in the opposite direction of the direction that Genichi and the others were 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 had time to turn around, he suddenly heard a sharp sound of breaking through the air behind him.
Hearing the sound of breaking air behind him, Ogata's pupils shrank slightly.
He turned quickly with his left foot as the axis, and pulled out the Great Shitian while turning.
Daishiten turned around and faced Ogata, drew a semicircle, and accurately hit a kunai that was flying towards Ogata's back.
Just as he turned around and threw the kunai, Ogata saw a dark shadow flash before him - a man in black holding two black-bladed ninja swords leaped towards Ogata's position, then aimed at Ogata's head with the force of a mountain pressing down on him, and chopped down with great force.
clang!
Ogata held the Daishikuten tightly with both hands and blocked the two ninja swords that were chopped by the man in black.
The powerful force coming from the knife made Ogata's eyes flash with surprise.
Seeing that his attack was ineffective, the man in black took the initiative to retreat and distance himself from Ogata.
It was not until the man in black took the initiative to distance himself that Ogata was finally able to see his appearance clearly - he was dressed in black, and the parts below and above his eyes were wrapped in thick black cloth, making it impossible to see his specific features.
There is only one kind of person who would attack Ogata without any explanation at this time.
——Have the pursuers from Shiranui arrived?
Ogata's expression became a little more serious, and he clenched the Daishakuten with both hands.
…
…
In order to increase the search efficiency, Shintaro and others split into four groups and spread out, each looking for the rebel ninja.
Once you catch the traitor, throw out the "Naruto Ball" to contact the others.
The jingle ball is one of the communication props in their Shiranui. As long as it is thrown with enough force, it can make a loud but not harsh sound.
When Shuntaro led his three subordinates to search for the rebel ninja, they suddenly heard the sound of the ball.
Without any hesitation, Shuntaro hurriedly led his subordinates to the place where the sound came from.
Before entering the alley where the ringing ball sounded, Shuntaro, who had night vision and extremely good eyesight, saw the rebel ninja from afar.
Next to the rebel ninja, two strange men were seen wearing a Tengu mask and a white fox mask respectively.
Not far away on the ground lay the bodies of four of their Shiranui ninjas.
"Tengu" carried the rebellious ninja on his back and left the scene at an extremely fast speed.
Only the "White Fox" remained where it was.
——So that traitorous ninja has accomplices…!
Despite the unexpected situation, Shuntaro remained calm.
"Split into two groups. The three of you take a long detour to chase after the traitorous ninja and the 'Tengu'."
"I'm going to deal with that 'white fox' and I'll catch up with him later."
“Yes”*3
In Shiranui, where the hierarchy is strict, the orders of superiors are absolute.
After responding in unison without thinking, the three subordinates of Shuntaro separated from him and took another route to chase the rebel ninja.
Shuntaro drew out the two ninja swords on his back and rushed straight towards the "White Fox".
After closing the distance to a suitable level, Shuntaro threw a kunai at the "White Fox".
This is Shuntaro's usual move: derivative pursuit slash.
First throw a kunai or something else to injure the enemy or attract the enemy's attention, then close the distance between you and the enemy in one breath, and then knock down the enemy with one blow.
The kunai thrown by Shuntaro cut through the air and flew straight towards the back of the "White Fox".
But just as the kunai was about to hit, the "white fox" suddenly turned around.
While turning back, he drew his sword and chopped down the kunai.
When the "White Fox" chopped down the kunai, Shuntaro, who had just rushed into a good attack range, leaped towards the "White Fox", then swung the two swords in his hands and chopped at the "White Fox".
And Shuntaro's attack was once again caught by the "white fox".
——This guy…? !
Shuntaro's pupils contracted in surprise.
If it were any other person with average skills, his head would have been chopped off by now.
Realizing that he had met a master, Shuntaro quickly jumped back and put some distance between himself and the "White Fox".