When Ogata was on the merchant ship of Minamoto Tachibana , heading straight for Ezo—
Edo, somewhere——
"Please give me 8 steamed buns."
Hongzhi skillfully stuffed a handful of copper coins into the hands of the manager of the Japanese confectionery shop in front of him.
"Oh! Good afternoon, warrior-sama!"
After the store manager took the coins handed over by Hongzhi, he greeted Hongzhi enthusiastically.
These days, Hongzhi often comes to him to buy Japanese sweets, and after a few visits, they become familiar with each other.
After counting the coins and confirming that the amount was correct, the store manager packed 8 steamed buns with extremely skillful techniques and handed them to Hongzhi.
Holding the still hot steamed buns, Hongzhi was on his way back to the hotel.
This Japanese confectionery shop was not far from the hotel where he and his master stayed.
After turning a corner, the slightly shabby hotel appeared in Hongzhi's field of vision.
Looking at the hotel in front of him where he and his master had lived for some time, a strange expression slowly appeared on Hongzhi's face.
——Is that Majima Goro really that good…
As he said this to himself, he sighed heavily.
Just as he was about to enter the inn through the door, a familiar voice suddenly sounded behind him.
"Oh! I finally found it! Hey! Hongzhi!"
Hearing this familiar shout, Hongzhi was stunned at first, then turned around.
"Mr. Hosaka! Mizuno-kun!"
The shout just now, which was quite familiar to Koji, was the voice of Hirasaka.
Hizaka strode towards Hongzhi and waved at him vigorously.
Mizuno, who is Higasaka's apprentice, followed closely behind Higasaka.
…
…
"Hizaka! It's been such a long time!"
Ishida patted Hizaka's shoulder hard with his left hand while pouring wine for Hizaka with his right hand.
At this moment, Ishida, Koji, Hirasaka, and Mizuno - the two pairs of master and apprentice were crowded in the inn where Ishida and Koji were staying during this period.
Although the room is not big, it is more than enough for four men to sit cross-legged.
"It took me a lot of effort to find you!" Hizaka grinned.
After following Ogata to repel the group of bandits, Hirasaka decided to go south to Edo to celebrate the New Year there and to look for his old friends whom he had not seen for a long time - Ishida and Ishida's apprentice Koji.
After rushing all the way, Hizaka and Mizuno finally arrived in Edo before the New Year.
After the master and his apprentice had a peaceful year in Edo and had a great time, they set out to look for Ishida.
Their way of finding people is also very simple.
Huosaka has friends all over the world, and there are many people in Edo who know both Huosaka and Ishida.
So I kept asking and finally found a friend who knew Ishida's whereabouts.
Following the whereabouts of Ishida revealed by his friend, Hizaka searched all the way here, and finally ran into Koji today who had bought steamed buns and was about to return to the hotel.
Hizaka and Ishida are good friends.
After Koji led Hirasaka and Mizuno into the room where he and his master lived, Ishida was stunned at first, then he laughed and hugged Hirasaka.
Then he took out all the drinks he had on him, intending to have a drink with this friend whom he hadn't seen for a long time.
Ishida and Hizaka were happily chatting.
Mizuno, who was sitting behind Hizaka, was not very familiar with Ishida and Koji, so he just drank silently.
Hongzhi was the same. He was not very familiar with Hibaka and Mizuno, so he just drank silently.
So the following scene appeared: the two masters were chatting happily, while the two apprentices were drinking silently without saying a word.
"Housaka, it's been so long since we last met. Have you encountered anything interesting?" Ishida asked as he filled Hiosaka's glass with wine again.
"Hehe." Hizaka smiled, "I encountered a lot of interesting things."
"What a coincidence." Ishida laughed along, "Me too."
"Let's not talk about this for now." Hizaka drank the wine in the cup in one breath, then looked around, "Ishida, tell me what's going on in your room first, why are there so many pens, ink and paper?"
Just now, when entering the hotel room where Ishida and Koji lived, Hizaka discovered that there were a lot of pens, ink and paper in the room, spread everywhere.
Hearing Hizaka's question, Ishida chuckled.
"Nothing, I just wanted to try to write a Joruri Bunraku puppet play."
"Joruri puppet show?" Hizaka frowned.
Hizaka naturally knew what the Joruri puppet show was.
To put it simply, Joruri puppetry is a stage performing art that has a huge audience and is loved by people of all classes, just like Kabuki.
However, in Joruri puppetry, puppeteers hold puppets that are half a person's height or a person's height and perform and tell stories.
Hizaka has never been very interested in Joruri puppet shows.
Because Hizaka hates those puppets.
Looking at those puppets that looked exactly like humans, Hizaka felt goosebumps all over her body.
Although Hizaka himself was not interested in this, he knew that Ishida was very fond of Joruri puppet shows.
"Ishida." Hizaka crossed her arms over her chest, "I know you love Joruri puppet shows. Why? Because you love it so much that you feel like writing a puppet show of your own?"
"That's not the case." Ishida smiled and shook his head.
After drinking the wine in the glass, Ishida put on a slightly more serious expression.
"Hizaka, to be honest."
"When I brought Koji to Edo to let him participate in the 'Gōzen Jigō' to see the world, I met a very attractive man."
Ishida told the story of how he met "that man" he had just mentioned in a leisurely tone.
He talked about how they met and how he went to great lengths to find out about that person in order to get to know him better.
Then I learned about what that person did in Yoshiwara.
For example: In order to take back the credit that originally belonged to Shirobei Club, he did not hesitate to confront the fire thief Kai, and finally escaped miraculously.
For example: he won the first place in the "literary examination" of the Imperial Examination, and he stood firm in the face of a hatamoto samurai who wanted to kill a man who accidentally dirtied his sword, and then miraculously escaped again.
Hizaka and Mizuno were both mesmerized by the conversation without realizing it.
"What an incredible hero!" Huosaka slapped his thigh, "I didn't expect there are so many heroes in this world! And then? What happened to that hero afterwards?"
"That hero suddenly left Edo afterwards." A wry smile appeared on Hizaka's face. "I went to Yoshiwara where he worked to ask about it. He left Edo because of some things."
"Even the people at the Shirobei Club in Yoshiwara don't know exactly where that person went."
"But I don't know whether the people in Shirobei Club really don't know or are just pretending not to know..."
"I see... He's not in Edo anymore..." Hizaka said with regret, "What a pity! If that hero is still in Edo, I really want to go and get to know him."
"It would be a shame not to make friends with such a hero."
Ishida filled his own glass, drank the wine in the glass again, and then continued:
"How is it? A very charming hero, right?"
"Yeah." Hizaka nodded without hesitation, "Just listening to your description of him makes my blood boil."
"So I fell in love with him." Ishida said suddenly.
The room fell silent instantly.
Because it was so quiet, the atmosphere became weird.
After a long while, Hizaka tilted her head and said, "...Huh?"
If this sentence was said by another man, it would not seem strange.
But this sentence was said by Ishida...
This made Hizaka and Mizuno feel awkward...
"I think such a charismatic hero who is not afraid of power deserves to be remembered by future generations."
Ishida spoke word by word.
"The only entertainment art I am relatively familiar with is puppetry."
“So I want to adapt his story into a Joruri puppet play.”
"Just as people remembered Sanada Yukimura, Takeda Shingen and other heroes of the Warring States Period through storytelling, I want future generations to remember that hero through puppet shows."
"Let that hero live forever in a puppet show."
Ishida's tone was so serious that there was no trace of joking.
This serious tone of voice announced to Hizaka and Mizuno invisibly that he was quite serious.
After listening to Ishida's words silently, Hizaka frowned slightly:
"... Ishida, you don't have any... other feelings towards that hero, right?"
Hearing this question from Hikaru, Ishida was stunned for a moment, then raised his hand and scratched his hair.
"I admit that I do have other feelings for that person."
"I decided to adapt his story into a kabuki play for some selfish reasons."
"But there may be no possibility between him and me. I may never see him for the rest of my life."
"Because there is no possibility between me and that person, Hongzhi agreed to let me write a puppet show based on that person's deeds."
Ishida gave a wry smile and turned to look at Koji who was sitting behind him.
Facing Ishida's gaze, Hongzhi did not respond at all, but just continued to drink silently.
"Although I do have some special feelings for him, everything I just said is true."
"I wanted to write a puppet show based on the hero's deeds mainly for the sake of justice."
"I sincerely want to let future generations know that during this chaotic Kansei era, there still existed such a hero who deserves respect."
"...I understand the details." Hizaka nodded and smiled, "I didn't expect that you, Ishida, would have such sentiments... You actually plan to make that hero 'eternal' in a puppet show."
"By the way, what's the name of that hero? I haven't heard you introduce him to me."
"Ah..." Ishida looked embarrassed, "I was just telling you the story of that hero and forgot to tell you his name."
"That person's name is Majima Goro."
As soon as Ishida finished speaking, the expressions of Higasaka and Mizuno suddenly changed.
It got pretty weird.
"Mashima Goro?" Hizaka immediately asked, "Ishida, how do you write this name in Chinese characters?"
Although Ishida was confused, he still obediently dipped his fingers in some wine and neatly wrote the four Chinese characters "Mashima Goro" on the tatami.
Looking at the four Chinese characters written by Ishida on the tatami, the expressions on Hizaka and Mizuno's faces became even weirder.
"I didn't expect... that there would be such a coincidence in this world." The changes in the expression on Huosaka's face were quite wonderful.
"Huh?" Ishida asked in confusion, "What's so coincidental?"
"Ishida, don't be too surprised." Hizaka showed a meaningful smile, "Mizuno and I just met this Majima Goro not long ago."
"What?" Ishida's eyes widened in surprise.
The expression of Hiroji, who was sitting next to Ishida, was similar to that of Ishida.
Hizaka slowly recounted the story of how he, Mizuno, and "Mashima Goro" fought against the bandits.
At the same time, Hizaka also told Ishida the appearance characteristics of "Mashima Goro".
After Hizaka finished speaking, Ishida was still in a trance due to excessive shock.
"It's him... His appearance matches perfectly... It must be him, what a coincidence... So Majima-kun went to Oshu... Where is Majima-kun now?"
Hizaka shook her head: "I don't know. He just said that he would continue to train as a warrior. He may be continuing his training somewhere in Japan now."
Seeing that Hizaka didn't know the whereabouts of "Mashima Goro", Ishida's face flashed with disappointment.
"Hizaka, did you guys also run into Majima-kun..." Ishida lowered his head and muttered, looking thoughtful.
After a while, Ishida raised his head and spoke seriously to Hizaka.
"Housaka, is there anything urgent you need to do later?"
"Ah?" Hizaka answered without thinking, "No. As you know, since I escaped from the feudal clan, I have been free every day. I can do whatever I want. There is no urgent matter to do."
"Okay then!" Ishida grabbed Hizaka's hands fiercely, "Then can you stay in Edo and help me compile my puppet show based ?"
"It's a good opportunity to incorporate your and Majima-kun's deeds in fighting against the bandits into the play! It will make Majima-kun's image as a 'hero' even more profound."
"Eh? This..." Hizaka pursed her lips and thought seriously.
Working together to create a puppet show - Hizaka thought it was quite interesting.
But Hizaka doesn't really like things that require thinking.
While Hizaka was thinking, Mizuno, who was sitting behind him, was reminiscing.
Mizuno still remembers the experience of fighting against bandits together with "Mashima Goro" and the words that Goro said to Mizuno when he was about to part with him.
Especially the line "No need to wait for the torch".
"...Master, please stay and help us write the puppet show." Mizuno said.
Hizaka turned her head and cast a look at Mizuno with a hint of doubt and surprise.
"It's quite interesting, isn't it?" Mizuno smiled, "And just as Lord Ishida said just now - a hero like Lord Majima is indeed worthy of his deeds being passed down from generation to generation."
His apprentice immediately agreed.
Hizaka hesitated for a moment, then finally sighed heavily.
"All right."
"Ishida, my apprentice and I will stay here in Edo for a while and work with you on this puppet show."
“感激不尽。”石田身子一躬，“那么——我们现在就先从木偶剧剧本的写法开始学起吧。我已经学了很多天了，稍微有些眉目了。”
"What?!" Hizaka screamed, "Don't you know how the puppet show script is written? Don't you like puppet shows very much?"
"I just like watching puppet shows." Ishida said confidently, "Just because I like watching puppet shows doesn't mean I understand how puppet show scripts are written."
"Without further delay, let's get started now!"
…
…
In the third year of Kansei (1791 AD), January 26, afternoon -
Ogata and A-machi stood side by side at the stern, looking at the sea view.
The weather is very good today, there is no snow, only beams of warm sunshine.
It would be a shame not to go out on deck to get some fresh air in such nice weather.
Few people come to the stern, so during this period, the stern has almost become Ogata's "secret base". When the weather outside is good and Atachi does not need his care, he will go to the stern to enjoy the scenery and get some fresh air.
The currents in the sea area where merchant ships are currently sailing are quite stable and the ships are hardly shaking.
Ating felt much better today and had enough energy to go to the deck and enjoy the scenery.
So in order not to waste this rare opportunity of feeling more comfortable, A-machi followed Ogata to the stern of the ship to see the sea view.
The scenery is beautiful.
The sea breeze was a little annoying.
Another gust of cold wind blew, bringing with it a bone-chilling chill.
"It's so cold..." Ating tied the scarf around her neck tighter.
"After all, we're almost in Ezo," Ogata on the side said.
"How long will it take before we see land?" Ating asked.
"It should be soon." Ogata continued, "The crew member told me this morning that if nothing goes wrong, they will arrive in the afternoon. So they should be able to land soon."
Today is their 8th day at sea.
Originally, according to Soichiro Nishino and Ogata, it would take them about 10 days to reach Ezo.
But they were very lucky.
Since setting out to sea, we have not encountered any bad weather and have frequently encountered tailwinds, so the speed is faster than expected.
This morning, a crew member informed Ogata and his team that they should be able to arrive in Ezo safely by this afternoon.
It was already afternoon, and their brief sea voyage would soon come to an end.
"Finally we can land..." Ating breathed a sigh of relief, "It was so uncomfortable at sea..."
"How do you feel now?" Ogata asked with concern, "Do you still feel uncomfortable somewhere?"
"I'm fine now. I'm still a little dizzy, but I don't feel like vomiting anymore."
After saying that, Ating sighed softly.
"Alas...why am I so afraid of the sea..."
"With this kind of physique, it's impossible to travel across the sea..."
"I had planned to take a boat to the southern barbarian country if I had the chance in the future."
"Huh? Ating, are you interested in the southern barbarian country?" A look of surprise appeared on Ogata's face.
Until now, people of this era are still accustomed to calling Europeans and Americans "Southern Barbarians" because more than two hundred years ago, the first European ship landed in southern Japan.
Because they appeared in the south, they were called "Nanman", and this name habit has continued to this day.
A-machi wanted to travel to Europe and America by ship - this was the first time Ogata heard of it.
"Rather than being interested in the Nanman country, I'd say I'm interested in the Nanman's firearms." Ating smiled, "The Nanman's firearms are very advanced, so if I have the chance, I'd like to go to the Nanman country to take a look."
"It's a pity that I'm afraid of the sea, so it will be difficult for me to go to the southern barbarian country."
"It is said that it will take at least half a year to travel to the southern barbarian country by boat."
"If I have to spend half a year at sea, I might not even be alive by the time I reach the southern barbarian country..."
"A barbarian country in the south..." Ogata turned his head and looked towards the western horizon.
Then he said in a joking tone:
"A-Ming, if you want to go to the southern barbarian country, there are other ways besides going by sea."
"Oh? What method?"
"First, take a ship through the Tsushima Strait to reach Korea, then follow Korea into Tang territory, and then head west."
"You should know this, right? Tangtu and the Southern Barbarians are on the same continent, just a little far apart."
"As long as we go west, we will reach the country of the southern barbarians."
As soon as Ogata finished speaking, Atachi said unhappily:
"If you go to the country of the southern barbarians in this way, wouldn't you have to travel across half the world? How many years will it take to reach the country of the southern barbarians?"
Ogata was just speaking casually just now.
A-Machi could tell that Ogata was just joking with her, so she was just pretending to be angry.
Just as Ogata and Atachi were chatting happily, they suddenly heard the sound of footsteps behind them.
The two looked back in the direction of the sound.
A crew member was walking quickly towards them.
"Mashima-sama!" the crew member shouted, "We are almost entering the port of Matsumae Castle!"
…
…
During this short sea voyage, Ogata occasionally had the opportunity to chat with Soichiro Nishino.
Through chatting with Soichiro Nishino during this period, Ogata learned a lot about Ezo and Ezo.
The shogunate's sphere of influence only extended to a very small area in the southern part of Ezo.
On this small piece of land in the southern part of Ezo, the small feudal state of Matsumae was established.
Because the Matsumae domain was too small, it only had one castle - their capital, Matsumae Castle.
This was the only town in the Matsumae domain, and because it was located on the sea, it had the only port in the vast Ezo land.
This port is the destination of Minamoto Tachibana's caravan.
After the crew member informed Ogata that they were about to arrive at the port, Ogata and Atachi hurried to the bow and looked towards the north.
After a while, a port with great momentum and scale appeared in Ogata's field of vision.
"Is that the port of Matsumae Castle..." Ogata murmured.
Ogata originally thought that this port might be shabby.
After actually seeing it, he found that it was much larger than he had imagined.
Not only is the scale larger than imagined, but the number of ships docked, entering and leaving this port is also much greater than imagined.
"Ayi, look, there are so many boats." Ating suddenly pointed to the southwest.
Ogata looked in the direction that Atachi's finger was pointing.
We discovered that there was a small fleet in the southwest slowly heading north.
Their destination should also be the port not far away.
"strangeness……"
At this moment, Ogata heard Soichiro Nishino beside him mumbling with a puzzled look.
Soichiro Nishino had been standing next to Ogata, looking at the port that had appeared in sight with him.
Soichiro Nishino discovered the fleet to the southwest almost at the same time as Atachi.
"Why are there so many shogunate ships..."
"Is that fleet the shogunate's fleet?" Ogata asked.
"Yes." Nishino Soichiro nodded, "Only the shogunate can use that type of ship, and only the shogunate's ships can have sunflower patterns painted on their hulls."
"It's really strange... This is the first time I see so many official ships in the harbor..."
After mumbling a puzzled tone, Soichiro Nishino withdrew his gaze.
He was not interested in the shogunate's ships, he just felt a little confused and curious.
The same is true for Ogata. He is also not very interested in the shogunate's ships or the shogunate's affairs.
So after taking a few glances at the shogunate fleet that was also heading towards the port, he retracted his gaze.
…
…
The two merchant ships of Genjuya were docked steadily at the port.
The men under Soichiro Nishino began to busy themselves with unloading the things on the ship.
"Mr. Nishino, thank you for your care these days."
While expressing his gratitude, Ogata bowed deeply to Soichiro Nishino who was standing in front of him.
And Atachi, who was standing next to Ogata, followed quickly and bowed to Soichiro Nishino to express his gratitude along with Ogata.
At this moment, Ogata and A-machi were standing somewhere in the port, preparing to say goodbye to Soichiro Nishino.
"Mashima-sama, Mashima-san, you don't have to be so polite." Nishino Soichiro quickly returned the greeting, "I should be the one to thank you. Thank you for spending so much time helping my son write his kabuki script."
“I just did some insignificant things.”
After Ogata and Nishino exchanged a few polite words of farewell, Nishino left, ready to go and direct his men to unload the carriages and other items that were loaded on the ship.
Ogata and Atachi also tightened their luggage on their backs, preparing to leave the port and enter Matsumae Castle.
Walking north along the port, you will enter Matsumae Castle.
Looking to the north, Ating could not help but sigh:
"Finally... we've arrived in Ezo..."
“Hmm.” Ogata also sighed, “We’ve reached a very far place…”
After a lot of effort, we finally succeeded in reaching Ezo.
The journey to Ezo has finally officially begun.
…
…
After leaving the port, Ogata and Atachi headed north.
Soon, the two arrived at the urban area connected to the port.
After entering the city, the two instantly felt the "exotic atmosphere" blowing towards them.
Although the surrounding buildings are still Japanese-style.
The people around me were also wearing kimonos.
But the atmosphere in the air was quite different from all the places Ogata had been to before.
It’s hard to explain, but I can just feel the difference.
Even the temperature is quite different.
Suddenly a cold wind blew.
"hiss……"
Ah-Ming gasped and pulled her clothes tighter.
"As expected of Ezo, located in the northern borderland..." Atachi muttered, "It's quite cold..."
The first thing Ogata and his friends had to do was naturally to find a hotel with a reasonable price and quality.
If nothing unexpected happens, the two of them will probably live here for a long time.
The Matsumae Castle where the two are currently located is the only castle town in both the Matsumae domain and Ezo, and it has the only port in Ezo.
If the master and disciple Gensho and Gennao, the biggest suspects in the Choujima Incident and the people who might be able to cure Ogata's "Immortal Poison", had come to Ezo, then there is a great possibility that they had landed at Matsumae Castle.
Therefore, Matsumae Castle is most likely to have clues about their whereabouts.
Ogata decided to start his investigation from the only castle town in the Matsumae domain.
He randomly found a passerby and asked for the location of the nearest hotel to them which was not low-class at the same time.
As they walked straight in the direction pointed by the passerby, Ogata, who was originally looking at everything around with curiosity along with Atachi, suddenly lowered his voice and whispered to Atachi beside him.
"A-Ming, did you notice behind us?"
While asking the question, Ogata still looked as if he was observing his surroundings, and his expression remained normal.
"Yeah, I noticed that too." Ating said the same thing, and he was also expressionless when he spoke.
Just when they left the port and entered the city, Xu Fang sensed that someone was following them.
The people who were following them were quite persistent and were still sticking closely behind them and not letting them go.
Their tracking technology is terrible though.
Not to mention the female ninja Atachi who had received relevant training.
Even Ogata, who had never received any such training and whose senses were much sharper than those of ordinary people, could clearly sense that someone was following them.
There were exactly three people following them.
After thinking for a moment, Ogata said softly to Atachi, "Let's go this way."
After saying that, Ogata led Atachi to turn to the street on the right.
After wandering around in this unfamiliar land, Ogata finally led Atachi into an alley where there was no one in sight.
As soon as he entered the alley, Osamu turned around and said loudly behind him:
"Can I come out now?"
Ogata didn't want a group of unidentified people who had been following them to know what the inn they were going to stay in was and where it was.
If the location of the hotel where they were going to stay was known by the group of people who had been following them, who knows what kind of trouble would come.
As soon as Ogata finished speaking, three figures slowly walked out from the shadows.
After these three figures appeared, Ogata was finally able to see their appearance clearly.
The next moment after seeing their appearance clearly, Ogata and Atachi both showed a hint of surprise on their faces.
Although these three people are all wearing kimonos, their facial features are completely different from those of Japanese people.
The skin color is darker, and the facial features are deeper and more three-dimensional - they look a bit like Western white people.
As soon as the three men emerged from the shadows where they had just been hiding, they silently took out something from under their thick clothes.
bow.
All three of them pulled out a bow from under their thick clothes.
The bows in their hands were not the kind that were as tall as a person, but were shorter.
He drew the bow, put an arrow on it, aimed at Ogata and Atachi, and shot - all in one smooth motion, without any hesitation or words to Ogata and the others.
Just draw the bow and shoot.
At the moment the arrows flew out, the faces of these three people, which had been expressionless, showed a few traces of ferocity and ecstasy.
It was as if they had already seen the scene of Ogata and Atachi being killed by the arrows they shot, and were celebrating in advance.
To some extent, they have met each other.
They are quite decisive.
But today they met a more determined person...
Facing the arrows they shot at him, Ogata remained calm, with no change in his expression.
The short length that can be pulled out quickly from the waist makes it easy to use in narrow spaces.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The knife flashed three times.
The three arrows flying towards them were all blocked by Ogata and deflected from their original direction.
Ogata had never expected that he would have the opportunity to try out the "Grandmaster-level" Blade Counter so soon.
Having upgraded his Blade Parry to the highest level, Ogata's defensive capabilities have been raised to a terrifying level.
Relying on his "Grandmaster-level" Blade Parr and his reflexes that had now increased to 15 points, Ogata easily blocked their arrows.
Then, without even a running start, he leaped towards the three guys who were attacking them without any reason.
The expressions of these three people now vary greatly.
He hurriedly tried to take out new arrows for a new wave of attack.
But it was too late.
Ogata's already extremely high strength and agility give him extremely strong explosive power.
In the blink of an eye, Ogata jumped in front of the three people.
The knife flashed from top to bottom.
The stroke was made from the right shoulder to the left abdomen of the leader of the three men.