After a pause to calm down, Azhu continued to talk about what happened five years ago...
…
…
5 years ago——
"Feng Shang, it seems that... the long period of peace has really made your skills decline a lot... It's a pity that I brought so many subordinates here just for the sake of caution."
An old man whose left eye was a strange grey color, looked at an old man in front of him who was pinned to the ground by several young strong men with naked contempt.
“Jijiu…” The old man who was pinned to the ground cast a pleading look at the old man with gray eyes in front of him, “I can do anything you want me to do… Please… let my family go…”
The grey-eyed old man known as "Jijiu" looked away, as if he was too lazy to even look at the man again.
"Although I am greatly disappointed with your current skills, but... I have gained something unexpected, so this trip is worthwhile."
At this point, a slight smile appeared on Yoshihisa's face.
Taking his eyes away from Feng Shang, he turned to look at the young girl who was pinned to the ground by two strong men beside him.
This is a girl who feels guilty for using the word "cute" to describe herself, as if it were an insult.
Although visible fear spread across the eyes and cheeks of this lovely girl, she still glared fiercely at Yoshihisa in front of her.
"At this age, you can actually defeat three of my subordinates... It's incredible..." Yoshihisa slowly walked towards the girl.
"Don't, don't touch my sister!" The childish voice unique to a young girl pierced Yoshihisa's ears - this was the cry from Azuki.
Azhu was also pinned to the ground by two strong men. He glared at Yoshihisa and struggled hard to break free from the two men's restraints.
But she was only a 10-year-old girl after all, how could she possibly break free from the restraints of two adult men?
Behind Azhu were her father and mother - both her parents had fainted in the melee just now, and were now tied up with hemp ropes.
The powerless father fainted from a heavy blow to the abdomen at the beginning of the melee.
Azhu's mother followed closely behind. Facing the siege from all sides, she was unable to hold on alone. She was accidentally hit on the back of the neck by a knife and fainted.
Yoshihisa ignored Azhu's shouting and didn't even look at Azhu.
"Hey." Yoshihisa knelt on one knee in front of Azhu's sister, Ajiu, and looked down at her who was pinned to the ground. "What's your name? How old are you this year?"
Ajiru ignored Yoshiku and continued to glare at him.
Seeing that Ajiu ignored him, Jijiu didn't get angry. He just turned his head and glanced at Azhu not far away: "That person should be your sister, right?"
"I advise you to listen to me and answer whatever I ask."
"Otherwise - I will give your sister as a reward to my subordinates."
"Although your sister is still very young, I think my subordinates should still be able to have a good time."
After hearing Jijiu's naked threat, Ajiu's face turned pale, and then he said hurriedly:
"My name is Ajiu! I just turned 9!"
"Ajiu...besides using your energy, what other ninjutsu or techniques do you know?"
"I, I can also play the shamisen..."
Although Azhu and Ajiu's father was only a small businessman who ran a grocery store, his business had always been good, so the family was relatively well off.
When it comes to educating his daughters, their father spared no effort. When both of them reached the age to learn piano, he spent a lot of money to hire teachers to tutor his daughters.
At the beginning, both of them learned the Biwa, but because Ajiu found that she was more interested in the Shamisen during the process of learning the Biwa, their father let Ajiu learn the Shamisen instead, while Azhu continued to learn the Biwa.
"That means you can't do anything except using your energy." Ji Jiu slowly stood up, "Feng Shang, you are really wasting God's gift."
Yoshihisa cast a mocking look at Fengshang.
"It's so hard to train a granddaughter with such a high talent."
"Fortunately, I came tonight and discovered this rough diamond early. Otherwise, such a good seedling would have been ruined by you."
"Yoshiku..." Feng Shang cast a frightened look at Yoshiku, "What...what do you want to do?"
Jijiu didn't even look at Fengshang, he just smiled and looked at Ajiu.
"I have decided - I will accept you as my apprentice. I will train you to be the best female kunoichi that my Iga-no-Sato has ever seen."
As soon as Yoshihisa said this, not only Azuki and others, but also Yoshihisa's subordinates were surprised.
Many of them were old subordinates who had followed Yoshihisa for many years. It was the first time they heard that the arrogant Yoshihisa took the initiative to accept them as disciples.
Ajiu stared at Jijiu blankly with his bright eyes wide open.
After a while, her lips moved, and it was not difficult to tell from the movement of her lips that she wanted to say the words "I don't want it".
However... just as she was about to utter these words, she closed her lips as if she suddenly thought of something, and turned her head to look at her parents and Azhu who were not far away.
After a long silence——
"I... can take you as my master."
Ajiu raised his head and shot a stubborn look at Jijiu.
"But you have to let my family go! As long as you let all my family go, I will take you as my master!"
"Hey." Jijiu frowned suddenly, "You are not qualified to bargain with me."
"This is my only condition!" Ajiu did not give in and looked straight into Jijiu's eyes. "Otherwise, even if you force me to be your disciple, I will seek all means to commit suicide!"
"Ajiu!" Azhu, with a sorrowful face, shouted Ajiu's name, hoping that Ajiu would not do such a stupid thing as "sacrificing himself to save his family."
Their grandfather Feng Shang was the same and advised Ajiu not to do anything stupid.
However, Ajiu ignored their voices.
Jijiu looked at Ajiu coldly.
It was unknown how much time had passed before Jijiu uttered a few self-deprecating sneers.
"Heh...it looks like he's a good prospect indeed. At such a young age, he was able to meet my gaze without dodging it. It looks like he has a pretty good character."
"Well, I'm in a good mood now. I'll grant half of your wish."
"I'll let half of your family go. Your sister and grandfather can go, but I'll still take your parents away."
"No!" Ajiu screamed, "You must let all my family members go!"
"Hey." Jijiu's gaze was as sharp as a knife, cutting towards Ajiu, "I am willing to let half of your family go, which is already a great mercy from me."
"Don't be ungrateful."
"I really admire your talent and would like to take you in as my apprentice and train you well."
"But you're not important enough to be indispensable."
"If you make me unhappy... just imagine what the consequences will be!"
After all, Ajiu was only a 9-year-old girl. Facing Yoshijiu's extremely oppressive gaze, she couldn't help but shrink her neck out of fear.
After Yoshijiu finished speaking, visible tears slowly appeared in Ajiu's eyes.
After tears welled up in his eyes for a while, Ajiu nodded gently.
"I see……"
Seeing that Ajiu had given in, a gentle smile slowly appeared on Jijiu's face: "Don't worry, I'm not an unkind evil ghost."
"As long as you listen to me obediently in the future, I will let your parents go based on your performance."
After saying this, Jijiu looked at his subordinates and gave them an order:
"Retreat. Release Feng Shang and that brat. Take Ajiu and her parents away."
"Sir, aren't we here just for Feng Shang? Are we just going to let him go?" the subordinate asked back.
"Heh." Jijiu sneered, "This guy has been used to a peaceful life, and his skills have regressed to the point where it's hard to look at him straight."
"I have no interest in this old man who is mediocre in skills and may not live for many years. Let him fend for himself."
"To me now, Feng Shang, this useless old man, is not even as good as a toe of her granddaughter."
Jijiu smiled smugly and turned to look at Ajiu who was being slowly lifted up.
At this time, Ajiu lowered her head, making it impossible to see her face and expression.
"Don't be so rough with her." Ji Jiu scolded the two strong men who lifted Ajiu up, "She is now my last disciple."
After saying this with a look of pride on his face, Yoshihisa issued a new order.
"Oh, by the way, before you let Feng Shang and that brat go, remember to knock them out. I don't want to see them pounce on me like mad dogs right after I let them go."
"yes!"
Azhu saw a knife coming towards the back of her neck.
Then... she felt a black screen before her eyes and passed out.
…
…
Time goes back to the present——
"——Just like that, when I woke up, my father, mother, and Ajiu were all gone, and the guys who called themselves the Iga Remnants were also gone. Only my grandfather and I were left..."
Having said this, Azhu kept taking deep breaths as if to adjust his mood.
At this time, Ogata and Atachi finally had the opportunity to interrupt.
"Have you never seen your parents and your sister since then?" Ogata asked.
"Yeah." Azhu nodded. "It's been five years since they were taken away, and I haven't seen them since."
"My important parents and sister were forcibly taken away like this. I don't want to just pretend nothing happened."
“I want to get them back.”
"So after my parents and sister were kidnapped, I prayed to my grandfather who was also lucky enough not to be kidnapped at the time, and prayed that he would teach me the Iga-ryu ninjutsu so that I would have the ability to find my parents and sister."
"It took me a lot of effort to finally convince my grandfather who wanted to end Iga Ninjutsu in his generation."
"I studied Iga Ninjutsu for four and a half years under my grandfather's command."
"Perhaps it's because of my eagerness to find my family that stimulated my talent. My learning speed increased a lot."
"I wanted to study hard under my grandfather for a few more years, but... time waits for no one."
"Grandpa was already quite old, and his health wasn't particularly good. He passed away about half a year ago."
Azhu paused, a look of sadness on his face.
"Ah...please accept my condolences..." Ogata said.
A-Ming followed closely behind and expressed his condolences.
Ah Zhu smiled and shook his head: "Grandpa passed away at such an old age, which can be considered a happy funeral. The only regret is that he didn't see my parents and sister come back until he passed away..."
"On the eve of my grandfather's death, he gave me this female kunoichi uniform."
Azhu raised her hand and touched the collar of the ninja uniform she was wearing.
"When my grandfather was still alive, he told me that this is the rule of Iga-no-Sato. When a ninja is able to go out as an apprentice, he can have his own ninja uniform and can officially participate in missions."
"This is probably my grandfather's recognition of my four and a half years of hard training. He thinks that I have reached the level where I can barely become a master, so he gave me this female ninja uniform..."
"After burying my grandfather, I couldn't improve myself under him anymore, and I probably wouldn't be able to learn anything by practicing blindly on my own, so I set out on a journey to find my family ahead of time."
"If we just look around aimlessly, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. It would take who knows when we'll find it."
"So I thought of a good idea - selling the 'Yun Jin' training method."
Ogata raised his eyebrows at this time: "I see... to lure out the remnants of Iga? No wonder you sell it so cheaply, and you were so generous to give me a copy directly. It turns out that you are not selling the "Yun Jin" training book for money..."
"That's right! You are right!" Azhu nodded his head vigorously several times.
"If the remnants of Iga no Sato knew that there was a girl selling the training method of 'Yun Jin' everywhere, they would definitely be attracted here."
"As long as we can find the remnants of Iga, we can follow the clues and find out the whereabouts of my parents and sister."
"So I searched aimlessly while selling the training method of 'Yun Jin' everywhere, trying to lure out the remnants of Iga."
"I thought that even if I did this, it might take a long time to get results."
"But I didn't expect that I would get an important piece of information not long after I left home."
"About three months ago, I was selling straw sandals and 'Yun Jin' training books at a pub in Echizen."
"After seeing the training book I compiled and my personal demonstration, the owner of the pub told me that he had seen the exact same martial arts from someone before."
"The owner of the izakaya said that at the end of the second year of Kansei (1790 AD), several people came to his izakaya to drink."
"Those people may look like ordinary civilians, but they are all very skilled."
"While they were drinking, several guests at the table next to them started to get drunk and started to act crazy."
"Those guys easily knocked down these drunk guys."
"And the martial arts used by one of them is very similar to Yun Jin."
"The boss wanted to buy them a few more drinks for helping to drive away the drunken guests."
"But those people said they didn't want anything, just wanted the boss to answer one of their questions - 'Have you seen Ogata Ittosai?'"
Both Ogata and Atachi's expressions changed slightly at this moment.
"After the pub owner said he hadn't seen them, the men drank for a while and then left."
The seriousness on Azhu's face was now so intense that it could not be any more serious.
"Since one of those people can use Yun Jin, it means that they are most likely part of the Iga remnants."
"After the izakaya owner said that the group seemed to be heading north, I headed north to try to find them."
"In the end, we went all the way to the Matsumae Domain, but we couldn't find any trace of them."
"After failing to gain anything from the Matsumae Domain, I had no choice but to board a smuggling ship and prepare to return to mainland Japan, and then I met you, Lord Ittosai."
Azhu raised his eyes and looked directly into Ogata's eyes.
"Although I failed to find those people, it was a pleasant surprise to meet you, Master Itosai."
"Those people were at the izakaya in Echizen and asked about your whereabouts."
"So... I suspect that the remnants of Iga may be looking for you for some purpose."
"In this way, if I follow you, my chances of running into the remnants of the Iga clan will increase significantly."
"That's why I said I wanted to travel with Master Ogata."
At this point, Ogata and A-machi finally understood why A-tsuku wanted to travel with them.
A-machi's face was full of doubt from the beginning. She looked at Ogata beside her with a look that was mixed with doubt and a little uneasiness.
Without asking any questions, Ogata knew that Atachi was confused and worried about something - if those people were really the remnants of Iga-no-Sato, why looking for Ogata?
The only connection they had with Iga Village was that during the decisive battle with Shiranui, an Iga ninja came to Shiranui's aid - but Ogata never met those Iga ninjas throughout the whole process.
Ogata's face was not filled with confusion like Atachi's.
He looked solemn.
After hearing that the suspected Iga remnants were looking for him, he couldn't help but recall the words he heard from Miyabe during the day that concerned him:
[My Lord…sent so many people to look for you…but I never expected that I would run into you in a place like this…it’s really…what a trick of fate…]
While Ogata and Atsumi were silent with various emotions, Azuki suddenly put his hands on the ground, and then used Dogeza on Ogata again with the momentum of a tiger descending from the mountain.
"So - Lord Ittosai! Now that you know my purpose and difficulties, please let me travel with you! I want to find my parents and my sister no matter what!"
"I promise I will never hold you back or cause you any trouble!"
Atachi wanted to subconsciously say "No matter what, we can't take you with us. It's very dangerous if you follow us."
But Ogata, who was standing beside her, spoke first:
"Give us a moment. I need to discuss this with my wife."
A-machi and A-zuki both looked at Ogata with surprise.
"My wife has been with me through thick and thin for a long time. She is almost like half of my body." Ogata smiled at Azuki, "I need to listen to her opinions on any major issue."
"In short - please wait here for a moment and give us some time to discuss."
…
…
Ogata and Atachi came to a deserted corridor of the hotel.
The two of them even checked the ceiling above their heads. After confirming that there was no one around, Ogata lowered his voice and went straight to the point with Atachi:
"I plan to let Azhu come with us."
As soon as Ogata finished speaking, Atachi looked puzzled and surprised at first, but his expression quickly returned to normal.
This was not the first time she had met Ogata. When she heard Ogata say this, she immediately subconsciously thought that Ogata must have made such a decision for some reason.
Before Ating could ask back, Oobian started talking.
He told Atachi everything that happened on the pirate ship today.
After dealing with that gang of pirates, Ogata couldn't find a suitable time to tell Atachi in detail about the strange things he saw and heard on the pirate ship today.
Atachi's expression changed several times as Ogata recounted his experiences today.
After confessing everything that happened on the pirate ship today, Ogata concluded:
"That guy wearing a handsome human skin mask dropped Xuan Zheng and his disciples' unique poison... Xuan Zhi has long since left this faction, and Xuan Zheng is very likely still in that faction. So you should know what all this means, right?"
"...The guy wearing the handsome human skin mask and his subordinates are most likely members of the force researching immortality." Ating replied in a deep voice.
Ogata nodded. "The forces researching immortality are looking for me. And the remnants of Iga are also looking for me... If you say this is a coincidence, it's too much of a coincidence."
"So I suspect that the forces researching immortality are in league with the remnants of Iga."
"The leader of the immortality research group was looking for me for some reason, so he sent the remnants of Iga to look for me. This is consistent with what the guy wearing the human skin mask said before he committed suicide by taking poison..."
"Honestly, I wonder why they're looking for me."
"Moreover - if the force that studies immortality can take the initiative to come to me, it can save me a lot of time and energy, and I can confront them directly."
Ogata subconsciously raised his hand and gently stroked his left neck.
"So I want to take the child Azhu with me."
"Although the kid's method of selling the 'Yun Jin' training book everywhere is a bit stupid, it is actually very effective. There is a high probability that it can attract the remnants of Iga."
"As long as we can find the remnants of Iga, we can follow the clues to find out whether they have any connection with the forces researching immortality."
"So I plan to let Azhu follow us. What we have to do now remains unchanged. We will continue to head to Owari and ask our friends at Huluya to help find a powerful swordsmith who can repair Daishakuten and Daijizai."
"On the way to Owari, let Azuki continue to sell her 'Yun Jin' training book, trying to print out the remnants of Iga."
"It won't delay us from finding someone to repair the sword, nor will it delay us from finding out why the Iga remnants are looking for us, and whether the Iga remnants have any connection with the forces researching immortality."
"A-Ting, what do you think?"
Ogata told his plan in one breath.
After listening quietly, Ating pondered for a while, and then asked a question:
"If we want that child to follow us... should we tell her that you have the power of immortality and are looking for a way to avoid sudden death?"
"We don't need to talk about this for now," Ogata replied.
After the two asked and answered each other, Ating fell silent again.
After a while, Atachi looked Ogata up and down with a strange look.
Then he gave Ogata a "warm smile".
"...You are not planning to let that child follow us just to have a cute female kunoichi by your side, right?"
"How is that possible..." Ogata couldn't help but let out a few awkward laughs. "I planned to let the child go with us purely for the sake of profit. There is absolutely no personal feelings involved."
Ogata's words were righteous and well-meaning.
But his words did not dispel the strange look in Ating's eyes or the "warm smile" on her face.
A-Ming was still looking at him with a strange gaze.
After a while, Ating put away the strange look in his eyes and the "smile" on his face, sighed softly, and then said softly -