Time goes back to before Ogata rushed into Yoshiwara to rescue Ueyoshi.
Genichi didn't even know Uesugi Hide and the like.
So Genichi didn't understand what the uncle just said.
He could only tell from Ogata's expression that Ogata should know this Uesugi Hide.
After Ogata decided to hand the uncle over to Genichi and go to Yoshiwara alone, Genichi didn't say anything extra and just carried the uncle on his back and ran away.
Although Genichi was wearing a mask, anyone with a little common sense would know that he was already an old man based on his white hair, his old voice, and the wrinkled, dull skin exposed outside his clothes.
When Genichi carried the uncle on his back and started running, the uncle was startled.
"Your Highness..." Although he almost had no strength to speak, the uncle still asked Genichi in a surprised tone, "Are you... okay?"
"What's okay?" Yuan Yi asked.
"You are so old... and you are still running with someone on your back... is it really okay?"
"Oh! That's what you're talking about." Yuan Yi laughed, "My body hasn't aged to the point where I can't even carry a young man."
To Genichi, an uncle who is around 40 years old is indeed a young man.
Even though he was carrying a living person on his back, Genichi was still able to walk briskly.
After a while, he rushed out of the alley.
Looking at the old man who was running with him on his back, the confusion on the uncle's face was gradually replaced by astonishment and shock.
"Your Excellency... May I ask... Are these white hairs on your head really not dyed?"
The uncle originally wanted to ask Yuan Yi directly about his age.
But I felt that it might be rude to directly ask a stranger's age, so I changed to a more euphemistic way of saying it.
"I actually really want to dye my hair black so that I can look younger." Yuan Yi responded to the uncle's question with a witty remark.
Da da da da…
At this moment, Genichi and the uncle both heard footsteps approaching them from behind.
They both looked back at the same time.
Three men in black appeared out of nowhere and followed closely behind Genichi and his companions.
These three people were the ninjas that Shuntaro had just sent out to hunt down the uncle.
"The pursuers from Shiranui..." Genichi whispered.
"They are really haunting me..." The uncle's face darkened. "My lord, judging from their steps, they should all be ninjas who are good at stealth. I think we should use the terrain flexibly to get rid of them..."
Before the uncle finished speaking, Genichi smiled.
"Young man, what nonsense are you talking about?"
"The method you just mentioned is the most basic method that you will only use when you have no other options."
"I left my clan at the age of 16 and became a wandering ronin."
“It has been 48 years since I started traveling around the world.”
"I will tell you now - after 48 years of experience, I have concluded that the 'best way to escape when being chased by the enemy' is what I have concluded."
"The best way to escape is..."
brake……
Genichi suddenly stopped his feet.
The body slid forward a distance due to inertia.
Yuan Yi was barefoot, and the thick calluses on the soles of his feet rubbed against the stone floor, making a "scratching" sound.
"Just kill the enemy that's coming after you."
"As long as no one is chasing you, you can run away at ease."
As Genichirō spoke, he slowly turned around with the uncle on his back and faced the three Shiranui ninjas who were about to kill him.
I supported the uncle on my back with my left hand, and slowly pulled out the Yang Shen from my left waist with my right hand...
"Bear with it for a moment." Yuan Yi said softly, "It might be a little shaky later..."
…
…
Mamiya and the others went to bed long ago.
Just when I was sleeping soundly, I heard a noisy sound coming from the direction of the window.
Mamiya was the first to be awakened and slowly opened his eyes.
While opening my eyes, I said to myself in a puzzled tone:
——Why did Ogata-kun and Genichi-sama make such a big fuss when they returned this time…
Mamiya was the only one among all people who knew that Ogata and Genichi went out hunting rats late at night every day.
Knowing that Genichi was the kind of person who would stubbornly do what he wanted to do even if someone tried to stop him, Mamiya turned a blind eye to Ogata and Genichi's "mouse hunting" late at night every day.
After hearing the noisy noise coming from outside the window, Mamiya naturally thought that Ogata, Genichi and the others had returned.
Every time they went out and came back, it was quiet.
Only this time there was a lot of noise.
Such a loud noise was enough to wake up Mucun and others.
Mamiya slowly opened his eyes and looked toward the window while wondering.
As soon as he saw the scene outside the window, Mamiya, who was originally sleepy, was immediately shocked and lost all sleepiness.
"Master Genichi."
Mamiya hurriedly stood up and asked Genichirō, who was standing by the window with his back to the uncle.
"Who is this person? Where is Ogata-kun?"
Just as Mamiya had thought just now - the noise made by Genichi and the others' return this time was so loud that it could have woken up Makimura and the others.
Makimura and the others also woke up at this time. After seeing Genichi carrying a stranger on his back, they all asked Genichi what was going on.
Genichirō deliberately made a loud noise when he returned this time so as to wake Mamiya and the others up.
"It's a long story, I'll explain it to you slowly later." Yuan Yi said as he put the old man down from his back. "Let's save this young man first. He's bleeding a lot, he needs treatment quickly."
When the uncle was put down from Genichi's back, he looked at Genichi as if he was an alien with two heads.
"Ashita...is it true that your hair is not dyed?"
Just now, the uncle witnessed with his own eyes how Genichi carried him on his back while beautifully swinging his sword with one hand to kill the three pursuers from Shiranui who were following closely behind them.
And how she ran all the way here without blushing or getting out of breath, carrying him, a living person.
"I just said that if I could, I would really like to dye my hair back to black."
…
…
Genichi carried an unknown person back on his back - such a big thing could not be hidden from Lin no matter what.
So Genichi had no choice but to wake up Lin and Atachi at the same time.
Genichi led Lin and Atachi back to the large room where the men lived.
Mucun took the initiative to give up his bedding so that the uncle could lie down and rest.
Mamiya, who knew a little about medicine, knelt beside the uncle and provided him with emergency treatment with the only medical supplies he had.
Makimura, Asai and Shimada were nowhere to be seen - Makimura and Shimada went to find a professional doctor, and Asai went to prepare hot water.
When Lin saw the uncle lying on the tatami, her face instantly darkened.
"Bogong, what's going on with this guy? And where is Ogata Ittosai?"
"Ogata-kun has some matters to attend to, so he won't be back until later. As for this person... I actually don't know who he is. I know that he was just being chased by many ninjas from Shiranui."
Lin frowned, "Ninja from Shiranui?"
After hearing the word "Shiranui", Atachi's expression changed.
A-Machi knew better than anyone that there were only two types of people who could be hunted down by a large number of Shiranui ninjas - the target of an assassination mission, or a rebel ninja from Shiranui.
A-Ming walked quickly to the uncle's side.
As soon as he walked to the uncle's side, in the dim candlelight, Ating clearly saw the uncle's face.
After seeing the uncle's face clearly, Ating's beautiful eyes opened wide with intense shock, and she raised her hands to cover her mouth which was open due to excessive surprise.
“Uncle Qing?!”
As soon as Ating called out "Uncle Qing", the uncle, who had his eyes closed due to pain, suddenly opened his eyes.
Looking at Ating who was standing next to him, after seeing Ating's face, the uncle showed almost the same surprised expression as Ating just now.
"A-Ming...why...are you here...?!"
…
…
Ogata carried Uesugi, who had regained his composure, on his back and rushed back to the inn.
Umeboshi lay obediently on Ogata's back, turning his head to look at Ogata's face from time to time.
Then he stretched out his fingers and pinched his face.
"I'm really not dreaming..."
I don’t know how many times Guasheng has said this.
"You're not dreaming."
Ogata also didn't know how many times he had said this.
"Lord Ogata." Ueyu asked Ogata in a cautious tone, "You... are too much... You have been in Yoshiwara... and have deceived me for so long..."
After saying that, Uesugi cast a look towards Ogata that was filled with some resentment.
"Sorry." Ogata showed a slightly apologetic expression, "Due to some complicated reasons, I have to sneak into Yoshiwara."
"I can't show my true face to anyone, so I can only wear a human leather mask and disguise myself as 'Mashima Goro' to hide from others."
"reason……?"
"When I have time later, I will explain it to you slowly."
"Remember to keep it a secret for me."
Ogata turned his head and smiled at Uesugi behind him.
"If everyone knew that 'Mashima Goro' was 'Ogata Yoshisei', I would be very troubled."
"Yes!" Ueyu nodded vigorously, his eyes flashing with a hint of excitement, "This is a secret between you and me, Lord Ogata. I will never tell this secret to anyone else!"
After casting an admiring look at Uesugi, Ogata turned his gaze back to the front.
"By the way, I haven't asked you yet - what was the name of the ninja who worked with you to send 'Smell' out of the Shiranui?"
"He is willing to risk his life to help the 'dirty' escape from suffering. He must be a very kind person, right?"
"Well, his name is Keitaro, and he's a very gentle person." Ueki said softly, "Compared to a ninja, he's more like an uncle who spends a lot of time every day trimming his own potted plants."
"I respect him very much, so I usually call him Keitaro-sama."
"Ohh... Keitaro..." Ogata mumbled softly, "Keitaro... huh?"
Ogata's pupils were expanding and contracting at a noticeable rate.
“Celebrate…”
This word is very .
A guess suddenly popped up in Ogata's mind.
Uzui noticed that Ogata's expression was different, so he asked him:
"Lord Ogata, what's wrong with you?"
"…Uewon, hold on tight." Ogata did not respond to Uewon's question, but asked Uewon to hold on tight, "I'm going to speed up, and don't talk anymore, or you'll bite your tongue."
After saying that, Ogata began to concentrate and slightly increased the speed that was already almost at full speed.
Now Ogata just wanted to get back to the hotel where they were staying as soon as possible.
In order to verify whether his bold guess just now was correct.
Rushing back to the hotel where they were staying as quickly as possible, and returning to the room through the window, Xu Fang saw Lin and the others gathered together.
And the uncle lying on the tatami.
The blood-stained clothes on the uncle's upper body had been taken off.
The place where the kunai was originally inserted has been wrapped with thick linen.
Although the wound was beautifully wrapped with linen, blood could still be seen oozing out of the wound.
Mamiya was sitting aside, holding a mortar and pestle, seemingly preparing some medicine.
Ating knelt beside the uncle's head, carefully wiping the sweat that kept oozing out of the uncle's face with a towel.
After Ogata carried Uesugi on his back and walked into the room through the window, everyone in the room focused their eyes on Ogata.
First, Genichi came back carrying an uncle he had never seen before, and now it was Ogata's turn to come back carrying a girl he had never seen before.
Before Lin and the others had the chance to ask Ogata who the girl on his back was, Ueyu was the first to shout anxiously at the uncle lying on the tatami:
"Master Keitaro!"
Hearing Uekushi's voice, the uncle opened his eyes slightly and looked in the direction of Ogata and Uekushi.
A faint smile appeared on the uncle's face.
"That's great..." the uncle said in a weak voice, "Xiao Xiu... you're okay..."
Ogata put the melon down from his back and let it rush to the uncle's side to carefully check his current condition.
After putting Uesugi down, Ogata silently came to Atachi's side.
"A-Ting, this person..."
Before Ogata could finish his words, Atachi continued to wipe the sweat off the old man's face, and said in a tone full of anxiety and worry:
"Ayi, he is Uncle Qing!"
"…It's really him…" Ogata murmured.
Ogata turned his head and looked at the uncle - Keitaro - carefully.
Uncle Qing's face was still pale, his facial features twisted in agony, and in order to ease his pain, he clutched the mattress beneath him with both hands.
No matter how hard Ating wiped, the beads of sweat on Uncle Qing's face caused by pain could not be wiped away.
"Didn't you call a doctor?" Ogata asked anxiously to Lin and others beside him.
"Of course they did. Yahachi and Katsurokuro went to see a doctor early in the morning," Lin replied, "but all the clinics are closed at this time."
"And not all doctors can treat sword wounds."
"Yahachi and Katsurokuro finally brought a doctor. But the doctor doesn't know how to treat this kind of sword wound. He can only treat common minor illnesses."
"Yahachi and Katsurokuro are still looking for a doctor who can treat sword injuries."
"But I don't know when they will find such a doctor."
"I have given him an emergency bandage and treated his wounds briefly." This time it was Mamiya who spoke, "But I am not a professional doctor after all. This is all I can do."
"I'm going to prepare some painkillers for him now."
"My medicine will make him feel a little better."
"Doctor?" Ogata's face darkened.
At this time, almost all clinics are closed, and it is difficult to find a doctor, let alone a doctor who happens to know how to treat knife wounds.
Although Mamiya had already performed simple wound treatment, it was obvious that Mamiya's treatment was not enough. Blood still seeped out of Uncle Qing's wound, staining the linen cloth used for bandage red.
——Where can I find a doctor who can treat sword wounds?
Ogata asked himself anxiously.
As soon as he asked this question in his mind, a face suddenly popped up in Ogata's mind.
As this face appeared in his mind, Ogata's expression froze.
Then he subconsciously murmured:
"I know where there is a doctor who can treat knife wounds..."
…
…
Edo, Kitakazeya.
"Look, Chiba, the kitten is starting to eat. "
"Oh, how cute~~ Come on, Kondo, bring some more dried fish."
It's clearly early morning now.
But one room in North Wind House was still lit.
The owner of Kitakaze-ya treated Kondo and Chiba, whom he hired, very kindly.
Not only food but also accommodation is provided.
This room is where Kondo and Chiba live.
At this moment, Kondo and Chiba were both lying on the tatami.
Chiba, who has a very strong physique, rests his right elbow on the ground and supports his right cheek with his palm.
Kondo, who also has a strong physique, rested his elbows on the ground and supported his chin with his palms.
Meow~~
In front of the two of them, there was a small black and white cat.
The kitten nibbled on the dried fish silently as Kondo and Chiba watched.
Then from time to time he would raise his head and make a cute "meow" sound towards Kondo and Chiba.
Every time the kitten meowed, Kondo and Chiba would have an auntie smile on their faces that was totally inconsistent with their muscular figures.
This kitten was a wild kitten that they picked up from the street a few days ago.
Like most cats, this little wild cat sleeps during the day and becomes active at night.
In order to witness the active presence of this little wild cat and play with it, Kondo and Chiba basically go to bed until dawn these days.
Watching the kitten eat silently like this has become a daily routine for the two of them.
"Hey, Chiba."
"Um?"
"It's time to give it a name."
"That's true." Qianye nodded, "It's time to give it a name."
"We finally convinced the owner to let us keep a cat, so we have to give it a decent name."
"Yeah..." Qianye let out a long sigh, "It was really not easy to convince the boss to let us keep it..."
Bang bang bang!
Before Qianye could finish his words, there was a knock on the door.
Hearing the knock on the door, Kondo and Chiba frowned at the same time.
"Is there a guest?" Qianye asked puzzledly.
"Who's crazy enough to come shopping at this time?" Kondo said unhappily.
Kondo's job is to protect Kitafuya.
Someone suddenly knocked on the door in the middle of the night, and Kondo naturally had the obligation to go forward to check the situation.
Kondo crawled out of the bed with an unhappy look on his face, picked up his sword, and walked towards the door of Kitafuya.
Chiba's position is the employer's "personal doctor" and this kind of thing is not his responsibility.
But it was really strange to hear someone knocking on the door in the middle of the night, so Chiba picked up his sword and walked out of the room one after another with Kondo and rushed to the door.
"Here I come."
After arriving at the front door, although he was very unhappy, Kondo suppressed his unhappiness, unlocked the door, and said in the softest tone possible:
"Sir, I'm sorry, but our store is closed now, so if you want to buy anything, please wait until tomorrow... Shi, ah, no! Majima?!"
Kondo hadn't finished his polite words of expelling the person when he was shocked by the face that appeared in front of him and couldn't continue.
After opening the door, the person standing outside the door of Beifeng House was Ogata.
Ogata, who was out of breath, said hurriedly when he saw Kondo and Chiba:
"It seems you haven't slept yet, that's great."
"Chiba-kun, could you please come with me? I have a patient with sword injuries that I would like you to treat."
…
…
After learning the news that "Enma is dead" from the ninja who came to report the news, Shuntaro immediately led the ninjas who survived the mission, led by Shutaro, back to Shiranui.
It was obvious that the task of capturing the rebel ninja alive could no longer be taken care of at this moment.
As soon as he returned to the village, Shuntaro clearly felt the atmosphere of panic and anxiety in the air.
After the news that "Shuntaro is back" spread, the panic and anxiety in the air eased a little.
Although the only three remaining of the "Four Heavenly Kings" currently have their own supporters in the "competition for the position of Flame Demon", there are undoubtedly the most people supporting Shuntaro to be the next Flame Demon.
The return of Shuntaro, who has the highest reputation, did have a stabilizing effect.
As soon as he returned to the village, a large number of ninjas immediately surrounded him and started talking to Shuntaro.
"Master Shuntaro! You're finally back!"
"Master Shuntaro! Great, you're back!"
"Master Shuntaro! We must find the murderer who killed Master Enma!"
"Master Shuntaro..."
…
Shuntaro's mind is actually blank right now.
I have no idea what happened.
After saying something casually to the ninjas who had surrounded him and calming everyone's uneasy hearts, Shuntaro went to find Shintaro.
Shintaro and six high-ranking jonin were kneeling in Enma's room with serious expressions.
On the tatami in the middle of the room was a corpse with its face covered with a white cloth.
Shintaro and others just gathered around the corpse.
As soon as Shuntaro entered the room and saw him, Shintaro immediately breathed a sigh of relief as if he had seen a savior, and said softly:
"Shuntaro, you're finally back... "
"Shintaro!" Shuntaro didn't say a word and went straight to the point, "Is Enma really dead?!"
"...Yeah." Shintaro nodded heavily, then looked at the corpse placed in the middle of the room.
Shuntaro walked to the corpse with a sullen face and lifted the white cloth covering the corpse's face.
An old face with a huge scar running vertically across his left eye - it was definitely the face of the Fire Demon.
Looking at the corpse of the Enma, Shuntaro had a feeling... that he was floating.
There is a strong sense of unreality.
Since joining Shiranui, Shuntaro has heard a lot about Enma's deeds when he was young.
What about he once wiped out an entire group of wild samurai by himself.
Something like he had successfully sneaked into a certain daimyo's castle and stole important information.
These are all true stories that actually happened.
Such a powerful Flame Demon died so suddenly - Shuntaro still hasn't gotten used to this fact.
With a gloomy face, Shuntaro simply looked up and down the body of Enma, and then he found that Enma's lips were a strange purple color.
"Was Lord Enma poisoned to death?" asked Shuntaro.
"Yes..." Shintaro slowly closed his eyes, "According to our examination just now, Lord Enma died of a deadly poison..."
"Shintaro, what happened?" Shuntaro slowly stood up and looked at Shintaro with a sharp gaze that seemed to be able to pierce through the human body. "Tell me everything clearly."
"The story begins when you and Gokutaro were out on a mission..."
Shintaro tells the story of Enma's death bit by bit...
…
…
After Shuntaro and Gokutaro both left Shiranui to carry out their respective tasks, Enma temporarily put aside some pending but not very important matters at hand and patrolled various places in the village.
It was a very common sight for the Fire Demon to suddenly walk around the village and patrol everywhere.
Every few days, the Fire Demon would patrol various places in the village.
So no matter who it was, when they saw the Fire Demon walking around in the village, they all looked as if they were used to it.
The Flame Demon's patrol this time was not without purpose.
He recently plans to make new plans and adjustments to the layout of the village.
The purpose of his inspection this time was to personally examine the current layout of the village and prepare for subsequent layout adjustments.
Precisely because of this political purpose, the Flame Demon is not patrolling alone.
Following behind him is Shintaro.
The "Four Heavenly Kings" are the beings in Shiranui, whose status is second only to Enma.
As one of the "Four Heavenly Kings", Shintaro naturally has the ability and qualifications to participate in important decisions such as "adjusting the village layout" that affect the entire body.
The reason why Enma brought Shintaro along on this inspection was to hear the opinions of the "Four Heavenly Kings" on adjusting the layout of the village.
Shintaro walked behind and to the side of Enma, keeping half a body length away from him the whole time.
"Shintaro." Enma pointed to the empty space next to him and said to the village leaders headed by Shintaro behind him, "What do you think about building a new dojo here later?"
As soon as Enma finished speaking, Shintaro nodded and said:
"I think it's a good idea. The current temples in the village are too small. We should build a bigger and more spacious temple."
Enma and Shintaro were walking slowly around the village, exchanging ideas on adjusting the layout of the village.
Although it is now night, there are still many ninjas walking around the village, doing their respective tasks.
After seeing Enma and Shintaro, these ninjas immediately saluted and greeted them as if it was a conditioned reflex.
"Master Flame Demon, how are you?"
"Master Flame Demon!"
…
Every ninja who saw Enma knelt on one knee respectfully and saluted him.
The Flame Demon also kept waving his hands, greeting everyone.
After waving to another ninja who saluted him, Enma suddenly let out a sigh.
"Shintaro..."
Shintaro immediately responded, "I'm here."
"Now that I look closely, there are fewer and fewer ninjas in the village..."
The Flame Demon's tone was light.
It was so soft that Shintaro could hardly hear what he was saying.
After hearing Enma's somewhat melancholy sigh, Shintaro pursed his lips.
After a moment of silence, Shintaro opened his lips and whispered:
"Lord Enma, we are now the shogunate's official ninja."
"As long as we seize this precious opportunity and work hard to develop ourselves."
"One day, we in Shiranui will surely be able to recreate the grand occasion of 200 years ago when Taiko-sama was still alive."
“I have always believed in this.”
Taiko - that is, Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
200 years ago, Shiranui joined Toyotomi Hideyoshi. With the support of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Shiranui experienced its first explosive development and entered an unprecedented heyday.
Although this heyday was only a flash in the pan, that period was undoubtedly the proudest and most honorable period in history for all the ninjas loyal to Shiranui.
Hearing Shintaro's answer, a faint smile appeared on Enma's face.
"Yeah. You're right, Shintaro."
The thin layer of melancholy that had originally covered the Flame Demon's face dissipated a little at this moment.
"Come on, Shintaro, let's go over there and take a look... um...!"
Before he could finish his words, the Flame Demon suddenly raised his hands and covered his chest.
His face turned a strange purple-red, and his facial features were twisted in pain.
His body twisted into a ball, leaning forward and falling to his knees.
This sudden change not only scared Shintaro, but also scared the surrounding ninjas.
Because Enma and Shintaro happened to be walking on a crowded road at the time, when Enma suddenly knelt down with a look of pain on his face, Shintaro and the other ninjas around him immediately surrounded him.
"Lord Enma!" As soon as Shintaro supported Enma, he saw that his lips had turned a strange purple color and his body was convulsing at a terrifying frequency.
Shintaro didn't hesitate at all. After supporting Enma, he immediately shouted to the ninjas surrounding him:
"Quick! Take Lord Flame Demon to get treated!"
…
…
"… This is what happened." Shintaro's voice trembled slightly when he said this. "After carrying Enma-sama away for treatment, although we treated him at all costs, we still failed to save Enma-sama."
"..." After knowing the whole story, Shuntaro raised his hand and pressed his swollen forehead, "Have you found out how Lord Enma was poisoned?"
"After the accident of Lord Enma, I immediately sent people to control all those who were responsible for cooking Enma's meals today, and started to investigate which food, water, and tableware had problems today." Shintaro replied, "But we haven't found any results yet, so we may have to wait a little longer."
"Where are the ninjas from Iga?" Shuntaro asked. "Where are the ninjas from Iga now?"
Flame was suddenly murdered, poisoned to death - the Iga ninjas who had suddenly visited them a few days ago and temporarily stayed in their Shiranui were naturally the biggest suspects.
Hearing Shuntaro's question, the faces of the ninjas present, led by Shintaro, darkened.
"After Lord Enma got into trouble, I immediately sent people to look for the Iga ninjas." Shintaro said in a deep voice, "But when my people arrived at the Iga ninjas' residence, they found that the place was empty."
"I don't know where the Iga ninjas have gone."
"And the eight ninjas who were originally responsible for monitoring the Iga ninjas were all killed..."
Originally, the person in charge of monitoring the Iga ninjas was Shutaro.
But tonight, Shutaro was sent to assist Shuntaro in capturing the rebel ninja, so the person in charge of monitoring this group of Iga ninjas was temporarily replaced by another senior ninja.
And now, this temporarily replaced Jonin and his subordinates who were responsible for assisting him in monitoring the Iga ninjas have all become cold corpses.
"In other words...the Iga ninjas escaped..." Shuntaro felt that his already swollen head became even more swollen.
After Enma died of poisoning, the Iga ninjas suddenly fled - these Iga ninjas have become the biggest suspects.
"I sent people to look for the ninjas in Iga," Shintaro added, "but... until now, there is no clue about their whereabouts."
"These bastards from Iga!" A jonin sitting next to Shintaro gritted his teeth, "We must find them and tear them into pieces!"
"There is no rush to find the Iga ninjas." Another jonin spoke up at this time, "Compared to finding the Iga ninjas, it is obvious that there is a more important thing waiting for us to do!"
The jonin paused, cleared his throat, and spoke word by word:
"Now that Lord Enma has passed away, the people in the village are in turmoil."
"In order to stabilize people's hearts, we now need someone to step forward! To succeed the Flame Demon's throne!"
As soon as the jonin finished speaking, he turned his head and looked at Shuntaro.
It's not just him.
Shintaro and the other three jonin present all turned their eyes to Shuntaro.
"Shuntaro," Shintaro said solemnly, "Please ascend the throne of Enma and take the name of the 13th Enma."