"Mr. Goro. Have you finished reading my book?"
"I've read half of it," Ogata said. "You really write these books very well. They're easy to read."
Today is the third day since we set sail on the smuggling boat.
The days of crossing the sea are bound to be boring.
In a shaky cabin with so many "roommates" in it, many things cannot be done.
As Atachi was prone to seasickness, she basically spent the whole day lying down to sleep or resting her eyes, leaving Ogata with no one to talk to.
Therefore, in order to kill this boring time, Ogata spent the past three days reading the "Yun Jin Training Manual" given to him by Azhu to relieve his boredom.
It would have been better if I hadn't read it, because once I did, I discovered that this training manual was truly amazing.
Although the book is short, with only 6 pages in total, the sentences are quite concise and the content is easy to understand.
This may also be related to the fact that "Yun Jin" is not that difficult to learn.
Although "using strength" relies on the clever use of muscles to generate bursts of power, it may sound intimidating and difficult to learn, but in fact it is not that difficult to learn.
After mastering the elementary "Yun Jin" with the system, Ogata deeply realized that "Yun Jin" is a very typical martial art that is easy to get started but very difficult to continuously improve.
If a commoner told him that he had roughly learned how to "use energy" by reading this book, Ogata would not be surprised.
There is a world of difference between Azhu's "Training Manual of 'Yun Jin'" and Genichi's "Training Manual of 'Mugu Nito-Ryu'".
If someone told Ogata that he had learned the "Muga Nito-Ryu" just by reading Genichi's training manual, Ogata would be willing to call that person "the world's number one reading comprehension expert."
Because Ogata always took out this training manual to read it, he would often attract Azhu who was sitting near him.
Ogata's frequent reading of the training manual may have made Azhu mistakenly think that Ogata was very interested in "Yun Jin" and was studying hard. Therefore, Azhu would come to ask Ogata from time to time, "How is the book going?", "How is the 'Yun Jin' learning going?"
Azhu comes to visit so frequently, probably because he is bored.
She seemed to have no companions, and was all alone, with nothing to do except to curl up in a corner.
Ogata happened to be bored too, so he welcomed Azhu to come and "visit" and use the opportunity to kill time.
Naturally, Ogata would not tell her honestly: I have actually already mastered the basic technique of "using energy".
After all, this is really too shocking and might scare the child. And it is also difficult to explain to the child how he quickly mastered this "power".
So whenever Azhu came to ask Ogata "how was the viewing" or "how was the practice going", Ogata would often just say something casually like he was doing now to fool him.
After hearing Ogata say that he had finished half of her book, Azhu's face showed some surprise: "Half of it, so so far, is there anything you don't understand?"
"Your book is very well written, and all the contents are easy to understand. So there is nothing that I don't understand now," Ogata replied.
Azhu nodded: "Then just continue reading slowly. If you come across anything you don't understand, you can ask me."
After saying that, Azhu patted her chest, which was a little plump considering her height and age.
When he first met Azhu, Ogata had not noticed this feature of Azhu's body because she was wearing a black robe that covered her entire body.
But after three days of contact, Ogata gradually discovered that Azhu and Atachi were quite similar. The flesh on their bodies seemed to have consciousness, and the flesh was concentrated in two certain places.
Although Azhu's chest flesh is not as much or thick as A-Ming's, it is still far beyond the average for people of her age.
If Ogata were to give a vivid description - Atsuchi is difficult to control with one hand, while Azuchi can just be controlled with one hand.
After Azuki finished speaking, Ogata resisted the urge to make a strange expression.
Every time Azhu said, "If you don't understand anything, you can ask her," Ogata had a strong urge to show a strange look on his face.
Because if he wanted to, he could raise his "energy" to a level that Azhu could not reach in a single breath.
But he couldn't tell the truth, so he could only keep a straight face and say something like "I know" or "I understand" to fool people.
“Hmm…”
At this moment, Atachi, who was lying next to Ogata and had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly let out a low groan of pain.
"Ating, what 's wrong?" Ogata asked hurriedly.
"It's okay..." Ating said, "I just feel a little dizzy again."
"Do you want me to give you a scalp massage?"
"No need. It will be fine in a while."
Azuki, who had been quietly listening to the conversation between Ogata and the other man, suddenly said, "Mr. Goro, you have a really good relationship with your wife. There are very few men like you who would take the initiative to help their wives massage their heads."
In the past three days, whenever Azhu came to ask Ogata "how is the 'Yun Jin' learning going", the two would simply chat. Therefore, after a few exchanges, Azhu also knew the relationship between Ogata and A-Ming, and also knew Ogata's identity.
Of course, the identity of Ogata that Azhu knew was just a fake identity of "Ezo goods merchant" that Ogata made up.
"After all, my wife and I have been through a lot together." Ogata smiled, "By the time I came to my senses, we had already developed a deep bond."
"That's great..." Azhu looked longing, "I wonder if I will ever have a husband like this who can share my ups and downs with me in the future..."
"It's a pity that I still have to travel around... I won't have the time to get married for a long time..."
As he said this, a fleeting dark color flashed in Azhu's eyes.
"Is your trip so important?" Ogata asked casually, "It makes you not even think about getting married."
"Yes." Azhu answered without hesitation, "Traveling is the most important thing for me now. Everything else is trivial."
"Why do you travel?" Ogata asked. "To see the world's beautiful scenery?"
"Well..." Azhu laughed, "Secret~~"
After three days of getting along, Ogata also had a little understanding of Azhu's personality.
In a nutshell, no matter what he says or does, there is a hint of innocence and romance in his words and deeds.
To put it simply, she is just a little girl who still has a bit of childishness.
This may also have something to do with her young age.
By the way: During these three days, Ogata asked about Azhu's age.
Azhu's age is exactly what Ogata guessed - he is exactly 15 years old this year.
Although she is still a little girl with a childish side, she is very smart in some aspects.
After learning that Azhu sold the "Luck Power" at a low price just to raise money for his travel, Ogata became curious about the purpose of Azhu's trip.
Is this child a descendant of the Iga ninja? Or is she just an ordinary civilian girl who got the "Iga-ryu forbidden technique" by accident?
Did this kid know that this was a "forbidden technique of Iga-ryu" but still sold it cheaply? Or did she really not know that this was a "forbidden technique of Iga-ryu"?
Why would he sell this martial art at a low price just to raise enough money for the trip?
In fact, Ogata has asked Azuki more than once, directly or indirectly, about the reason for her journey. He also asked about Azuki's background several times, wanting to confirm her relationship with Iga.
But Azhu fooled them all.
When asked about the purpose of the trip, Azhu would be vague or just play dumb.
When asked about her origins, she kept saying that she was the daughter of an ordinary merchant. Apart from emphasizing that she was the daughter of a merchant, she did not talk about other things about her family.
Faced with Azhu's vague attitude towards these questions, Ogata was not actually annoyed - after all, he was just asking out of curiosity.
Until now, Ogata still has no great interest in Iga.
When facing Azhu, Ogata has always positioned her as "a passer-by in life who will have no connection with her or possibility of meeting her anymore after getting off the smuggling boat."
So even if this passer-by in his life never directly answered his questions, Ogata didn't care much. At most, he just felt a little regretful that his curiosity was not satisfied.
…
…
"Would you like to get up and drink some water?"
"Hmm..." Ating nodded .
Seeing Ah-Ming nod, Ogata helped Ah-Ming sit up, unscrewed the bamboo tube filled with clean water, and poured the water into Ah-Ming little by little.
It is just past noon now.
It seemed that Azhu really had no other dry food on her. For the past three days, she had been living on the dry food that Ogata had given her in the name of "instead of money to buy her straw sandals."
I don’t know if Ah Zhu had a small appetite or if she was intentionally controlling her consumption of dry food, but after eating only a small piece of dried fish, she didn’t eat anything else and fell asleep leaning against the wall.
Azhu's sleeping posture... to put it nicely, it's heroic.
Leaning against the corner, with his head raised and his mouth slightly open, a drop of crystal clear saliva could be vaguely seen at the corner of his mouth about to flow down.
And you can also faintly hear low snoring coming from her mouth and nose.
Because Azhu's sleeping posture was so conspicuous, A-Ming couldn't help but cast a strange look at him after drinking the water.
"It's amazing that the child can fall asleep in such a noisy environment..." Ating sighed.
"Yeah." Ogata agreed and turned his head to look not far away.
I saw a lot of people gathered in three circles inside and three circles outside in the center of the cabin.
In the center of the circle was a warrior with a sword, a neatly shaved head, and a conspicuous birthmark in the center of his head - he was one of the guards of the ship.
The "birthmark warrior" was now talking incessantly, and the people around him were listening attentively.
Because the voice of this "birthmark warrior" was so loud that the whole cabin became a little noisy, A-Machi was surprised that A-Tsuku could fall asleep in such a noisy environment.
There were a total of 8 guards on this ship, all of whom were warriors with swords at their waists.
These eight guards would take turns to stand guard and patrol the cabin from time to time to check if there were any stowaways causing trouble.
Perhaps all the stowaways, including Ogata, are most familiar with this samurai with a birthmark on his head.
Because this "birthmark warrior" is a chatterbox, and he loves to tell everyone in the cabin about his past heroic deeds.
Ogata once listened to a few "speeches" by the "Birthmark Samurai" out of boredom. This "Birthmark Samurai" used to be a ronin who wandered around the Ou region. He mainly talked about the various things he had experienced when he was a ronin.
And this "birthmark warrior" happened to be a very good speaker, so many people were willing to listen to the "birthmark warrior" tell his story.
At this moment, the "Birthmark Warrior" is talking about his heroic past again.
"The swordsmanship I studied is called 'Tenshin Hiou Ryu'. I wonder if you have heard of it."
The birthmarked warrior imitated the tone of a storyteller.
The people surrounding him and listening all had puzzled expressions on their faces.
"This is a sword style that is only spread in a small area of ​​the Dewa region."
"But just as there are often masters in the inconspicuous streets and alleys, there are also often sword schools that are not well-known but very powerful."
"For example, the 'Innocent Flying Owl Style' that I am studying."
"The reason why it's named 'Innocent Seagull Style' is because it contains a secret sword move that was created based on the movements of seagulls hunting on the sea surface - Oogiri!"
"Like a seagull catching its prey, bring down your sword quickly and kill the enemy with one strike!"
"Because it is a secret sword, according to the rules of the sect, only those who have obtained permission from the 'Directory' can learn this move."
At this point, the warrior with the birthmark showed a proud look, and then raised his right thumb and pointed it at himself.
"And I am very fortunate. Through hard work, I have obtained the permission of the sect's 'catalog' and obtained the qualification to learn this move."
There were exclamations and surprises from the audience around.
"Can you demonstrate to us the secret sword move of your sect?" a young man asked bravely.
As soon as the young man said this, the others turned their curious eyes to the warrior with the birthmark.
Perhaps it was because of the gazes of the crowd that the birthmark warrior felt a little flattered. After hesitating for a while, the birthmark warrior cleared his throat:
"This is our sect's unique skill. Generally speaking, it cannot be shown to outsiders."
"But since you want to see it so much, I'll show you."
After saying that, the warrior with the birthmark drew the sword from his waist, and then raised the sword in his hand high in a slightly strange posture.
Because the warrior with the birthmark had such a loud voice, Ogata couldn't help but hear it.
After hearing that the warrior with the birthmark was going to demonstrate his so-called secret sword of his sect, both Ogata and Atachi could not help but become interested and turned to look at the warrior with the birthmark.
The warrior with the birthmark raised his sword high in a strange posture, and then he took deep breaths and accumulated strength. After accumulating enough strength, he chopped the sword heavily into the air in front of him.
The momentum of his strike was indeed very strong, causing the ignorant listeners around him to show expressions of shock and praise.
As for those who know...
“Huh…” Ogata showed an expression of “That’s it?” and then shook his head slightly.
The birthmarked warrior did not notice Ogata, who now had an expression of "That's it?" on his face. He had already sheathed his sword and was now immersed in the shocked and admiring looks from the people around him.
But at this moment——
"Is this the secret sword of your so-called 'Innocent Flying Owl School'? If such a flashy and useless move can be used as a secret sword, then your 'Innocent Flying Owl School' is probably not a sword school worth mentioning."
A cold voice sounded.
As soon as this voice was uttered, everyone who was still awake in the room looked stunned - including Ogata.
Everyone focused their attention on the owner of the voice—a very handsome young man.
This beautiful boy was sitting quite far away from Ogata.
His appearance reminded Ogata of Asai - both were handsome young men who would not be surprised if Ogata were told that they were supported by many men who preferred Zhongdao.
Like Ogata, she did not shave her hair, but kept her hair long. However, she did not tie it into a bun like Ogata did, but tied her hair into a high ponytail at the back of her head.
He seems to be younger than Ogata, probably around 17 or 18 years old.
Next to the beautiful boy was sitting cross-legged an old man who was about 60 years old. The old man was constantly pulling the boy's sleeves and whispering something to him, but the boy remained unmoved.
There is no doubt about it——the words just now from the beautiful boy made the birthmark warrior's face change drastically.
"Hey, what did you just say?" The warrior with birthmark strode towards the beautiful boy with a gloomy face.
"I just said - the so-called secret sword of yours is nothing but a flashy trick. Using such a flashy trick as the so-called 'secret sword', your 'Innocent Flying Owl Style' must not be a very mainstream swordsmanship school." The beautiful boy repeated roughly what he had just said without showing any weakness.
The birthmark warrior's expression now became very interesting - his entire face turned liver color.
The beautiful young man then continued:
"The so-called 'Owl Cut' you just used was a fancy sword stance, and the attack was just for show. Such a move has no practical value at all. It can only be used for show to fool the common people who don't know swordsmanship."
"If you use your Owl Cut to fight a real swordsman, you'll probably be cut down before you even have a chance to put on your fancy sword stance."
Hearing the beautiful boy accurately describe the various defects of the so-called secret sword of the birthmark warrior, Ogata couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, and then looked at the beautiful boy seriously.
"Alas..." At this time, the beautiful boy sighed, "These so-called secret swords and unique swords are really harmful to people. Their popularity is one of the important reasons for the decline of swordsmanship now..."
The words that the beautiful boy just said were like a needle piercing the birthmark warrior's heart.
The angry warrior with birthmark opened and closed his mouth, as if he was thinking of words to debate with the beautiful boy.
But in the end - the warrior with the birthmark chose to put his hand on the sword at his waist.
"You bastard! You are just a commoner, do you know anything about swordsmanship? How dare you insult a samurai with such outrageous words! I will chop you down with my sword!"
The birthmark warrior's action of drawing his sword scared many people around him.
Many people stood between the warrior with the birthmark and the beautiful boy, preventing the warrior with the birthmark from drawing his sword and persuading him to calm down.
At this time, Ogata also frowned, ready to step forward quickly to stop it if anything unexpected happened.
As for Azhu - she was awakened by the noisy noise. She was wiping the saliva from the corner of her mouth and looking around in a daze.
As for the protagonist of this incident, the beautiful young boy, he was still kneeling silently in the same place, looking unmoved by the warrior with birthmark who was about to draw his sword and kill him.
Perhaps because he gradually calmed down, the birthmark warrior's complexion gradually improved.
After glaring at the handsome boy with hatred, he gritted his teeth and said, "Boy, you are lucky to have saved your life. If it weren't for the boss's rule that we cannot use weapons on this ship, I would have killed you right now."
After saying that, perhaps because he was in no mood to stay here any longer, the birthmarked warrior flicked his sleeves and strode out of the cabin.
With the departure of the birthmarked warrior, the tense atmosphere in the cabin immediately dissipated.
Seeing that the incident ended peacefully, Ogata's brow slowly relaxed.
Those who were originally listening to the birthmark warrior telling the story either looked at each other in confusion or cast strange looks at the beautiful boy, and then dispersed one by one.
As for Azhu, when she saw that things seemed to be over, she leaned her head back and fell asleep again, saliva flowing from the corners of her mouth again.
"I almost thought a fight was about to break out..." Atachi muttered.
"Me too." Ogata continued, "Fortunately, the matter was resolved peacefully. Well, let's continue with our work, shall we? Do you want to get some more sleep?"
Ogata treated what happened just now as a minor incident and didn't pay any more attention to it.
But at this moment, Ogata suddenly heard footsteps behind him and a friendly greeting.
"Greetings, your Excellency."
Ogata raised his eyebrows and turned to look behind him.
The person who was walking towards him from behind and greeting him was the handsome boy who almost caused a big incident just now.
Next to the beautiful boy was the old man who had been sitting next to him.
Compared to the kind face of the beautiful boy, the old man had a look of helplessness on his face.
After the handsome boy knelt down beside Ogata in a very familiar manner, Ogata calmly asked, "Excuse me, is there anything I can help you with?"
The beautiful boy smiled slightly, then lowered his voice and said, "You are... a samurai, right?"
Before Ogata could say anything, the beautiful boy continued:
"Before we boarded the ship, I noticed the way you walked - your right foot was shallow and your left foot was deep."
"This is the kind of footwork that only people who always have something heavy hanging around their left waist develop."
A hint of surprise and vigilance uncontrollably emerged in the depths of Ogata's eyes.
The beautiful boy seemed to notice the vigilance in Ogata's eyes, so he quickly said:
"Don't be nervous. I don't mean to do you any harm."
"To be honest, I, like you, concealed my identity as a samurai in order to board the ship smoothly."
The beautiful boy straightened his back slightly.
"I am Selongma."
"My name is Naoki Iki." The old man sitting next to the beautiful boy - that is, next to Isshiki - also bowed and introduced himself to Ogata.
Seeing that they had all recognized his identity as a samurai, and that he had honestly "revealed" his identity as a samurai, Ogata stopped playing dumb:
"My name is Majima Goro. I wonder what brings you here to visit me."
"To be honest." Isshiki smiled, "Just now, after the samurai demonstrated his so-called secret sword, I noticed that you also showed a disdainful expression."
"Do you also think that the so-called secret sword that the warrior just used is useless?"
"...I guess so." Ogata nodded, "Just as you said just now. I also think that the move that the samurai just used is completely useless in actual combat."
Seeing Ogata say this, a look of joy slowly appeared on Isshiki's face.
"That's right. The man's moves just now are completely useless in actual combat."
Having said this, Isshiki paused, then asked seriously:
"Sir, allow me to ask you a question - what do you think of these so-called 'secret swords'?"
Ogata looked Isese up and down several times with a puzzled look.
Although I don't know why Isshiki asked this suddenly, this question is not difficult or taboo to answer, so Ogata answered honestly:
"I think all these 'swords' and 'swords' should be eliminated in this era."
As Ogata finished speaking, the excitement on Isshiki's face became even more intense.
"You are right. I think the same as you."
After saying this, Isshiki sighed softly.
"Since I went abroad to study, it's really rare to meet someone who thinks the same as me..."
"Since I started my study tour, the more I study, the more frightened I feel."
"These so-called secret swords and ultimate swords are really harmful to people."
"Since the opening of the Edo Shogunate, it is said that there have been more than 400 schools of swordsmanship alone."
"But the increasing number of sects did not make swordsmanship flourish. Instead, it became increasingly declining."
"The vast majority of sects are just famous but inferior sects."
"The surge in the number of sects is simply because too many warriors use swordsmanship to make a living."
"Many sects simply made some so-called 'improvements' on a few moves from some famous sects, such as Katori Shinto Ryu, and then claimed to have created a new 'new sect'."
"In order to prevent the disciples they depend on for a living from being snatched away by people from other sects, they made up some fancy and unrealistic so-called secret swords and unique swords to highlight the difference between their own sect and other sects, and use this to deceive more people to come to their sword hall to learn swordsmanship."
"Too many young people who had great potential have had their lives wasted by learning these 'fraudulent sword techniques'."
Isshiki slowly revealed an angry expression at this moment.
"True swordsmanship should focus on one's physical fitness first, and then emphasize these techniques."
"Whether it's swordsmanship, unarmed combat, or spearmanship, the most important thing is always your own physical strength."
"If the enemy is stronger and faster than you, no matter how great your skills are or how powerful your so-called 'secret sword' is, it will be useless."
"Physical fitness is the most important thing. Skills can only be most effective if they are based on a strong physique."
"So any swordsmanship that focuses on technique instead of physical training is a crooked way that is not worth mentioning."
"The swordsmanship that focuses on strengthening the body is the 'true sword'."
Isshiki spoke seriously about his understanding of swordsmanship.
But at this moment, he suddenly discovered that Ogata seemed to be amused by a joke and let out a low laugh.
"Your Excellency." Isse asked in confusion, "May I ask what you were laughing at just now?"
"Um..." Ogata scratched his hair, "The reason I laughed is because I found that you seemed to have misunderstood something..."
"I just said that all these 'swords' and 'swords' should be eliminated in this era. It's not just those flashy secret swords and ultimate swords."
"This also includes the 'real sword' you just mentioned."
"Let me put it in simpler terms - I think all swordplay should be phased out."
As soon as Ogata finished speaking, Isshiki and his grandfather who was sitting next to him all changed their expressions.