Kyoto, the home of Fuma——
Inside the living room, Ogata and the other two sat opposite Fuma.
In the middle of the two sides, there was the tea that Fuma had just served and the Kyoto confectionery that Ogata had just bought as a gift.
Azuki, who was sitting on Ogata's right, was a little nervous because it was his first meeting with Fuma, and his body seemed to have shrunk as he knelt on the ground.
"It's been a while since I last saw you two." Feng Mo let out a long sigh and said with emotion, "After not seeing you for more than half a year, you two seem to have matured a lot."
"I feel like I've become a lot more 'rough'." Ogata raised his hand and pointed at his right shoulder, saying in a joking tone.
The haori that Ogata is wearing now was the one he wore before he went to Ezo.
The clothing manufacturing technology of this era cannot be compared with the clothes made by modern operations today.
This haori has been worn for so long and has accompanied Ogata through so many things that it has already become "fragile".
Finally - on the way from Owari to Kyoto, when Ogata raised his hand to take something, he heard a "crack" and a small hole was torn on the right shoulder of the haori.
Fortunately, this small hole is not too conspicuous.
Apart from this haori, Ogata had no other haori to change into, so she could only wear this one with a hole in it and continue to make do with it.
"There's a new face I haven't seen before." Fengma looked at Azhu with curiosity, "Who is this?"
"This is the new friend that A-Machi and I have met." Ogata introduced first, then looked at A-Tsukushi and signaled with his eyes that A-Tsukushi should introduce himself.
Azhu turned his head and looked at Ogata beside him, then looked at Fuma with hesitation on his face.
"This person is trustworthy - I can assure you of that." Ogata said softly, "After all, you see - even a shogunate's most wanted criminal like me can show up in front of him openly."
"So in front of him, you don't have to worry about your identity being exposed. You can boldly tell him your name and true identity."
After hearing what Ogata said, the hesitation on Azhu's face slowly faded away.
After straightening his back, Azhu introduced himself loudly:
"Nice to meet you! My name is Azuki! I'm an Iga kunoichi !"
"A female ninja from Iga?" Fuma raised his eyebrows in surprise.
However, he was only stunned for a few moments before he quickly came to his senses and bowed to Azhu in return.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Fuutarou. As you can see, I'm just an ordinary old man from Kyoto."
As Ogata had expected, Fuma chose to conceal his true identity.
"An ordinary... old man from Kyoto..." At this time, Azhu looked up and down at Fengma with a strange look, "But... I just saw you knock a grown man to the ground with a chain..."
"Huh? Isn't this normal?" Fengmo put on an innocent expression.
“This can’t be normal?!” Azhu’s complaint was timely and on point.
“All the elderly people in Kyoto are like this.”
"Are all the old men in Kyoto able to throw out chains and knock people down easily?"Σ（っ°Д°;）っ
"I mean that the old people in Kyoto are very fond of practicing martial arts." Feng Mo said seriously, "Kyoto has a history of a thousand years. This place has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times, and countless forces have fought for it."
"Over time, in order to protect themselves, the people of Kyoto gradually became extremely martial."
"In Kyoto, even the elderly are particularly fond of practicing martial arts."
"When I was young, I learned some sword skills and iron chain skills from a master. Even at this age, I have never slacked off in my training, so I still think that I am better than ordinary people in terms of skills."
"Is that so?!" The little country bumpkin, who knew nothing about Kyoto, widened his eyes, "So people in Kyoto are so powerful..."
"That's right." Fuma nodded seriously, "That's it. People in Kyoto are all like this."
Ogata and Atachi were listening to Fuma's serious nonsense from beginning to end.
The two of them had a hard time holding back their laughter...
But they also cannot point out the character of "an ordinary old man in Kyoto" that Fuma has worked so hard to create. After all, as he is already a recluse, it is impossible for him to directly announce his identity as "the seventeenth generation Fuma Kotaro".
In order to stop himself from laughing, Ogata decided to find something to do.
After the conversation between Fuma and Azhu ended, Ogata turned to look at the young man who was tied up not far away and asked Fuma:
"Master Feng." Ogata addressed him using the pseudonym of Fengma. "Who is this person?"
The young man who was tied up was the one who seemed to want to open the door and escape, but was knocked down by Fengmo.
"Oh, this guy is just a petty thief." Feng Mo said calmly, "He probably saw that I was the only old man living in this house, so he sneaked into the room and planned to steal something valuable, and then I caught him."
"In order to prevent him from escaping, I took out my chain and prepared to restrain him with my chain."
"You will know what happens next."
"He won't wake up for a while. I'll take him to the magistrate's office later."
"So he's a petty thief..." Ating said to Na, who was still unconscious, "This guy is so shameless that he actually came to steal from an old man's house..."
"That's right." Feng Mo nodded. "And if you want to steal things, you are too ignorant. I can see there is nothing to steal in my house."
--really……
While Ogata agreed in his heart, he raised his head and looked around, a helpless expression on his face.
"Master Feng...how come your house has become dirty again..."
Ogata vaguely remembered that when he first came to Fuma's house more than half a year ago, Fuma's house was like a haunted house with no one living in it...
Ating stepped on it with her bare foot, and when she lifted it up, there was a complete little footprint on the ground, and the soles of Ating's feet looked like they were painted with ink.
At that time, he and A-Machi worked together to give Fuma's house a thorough cleaning, making Fuma's house look brand new.
However, only half a year has passed, and Fengma's home seems to be returning to its former state...
"Haha..." Feng Mo laughed awkwardly a few times, "I'm getting old, and I don't have the motivation to clean my house anymore..."
After saying that, in order to hide his embarrassment, Fengmo coughed softly a few times, and then changed the subject very abruptly.
"Okay, let's change the subject."
"Brother Ogata, you have been amazing in the past six months since we last met. I've heard about how you defeated the shogunate's 10,000-man army in Ezo."
"Even you know about this..." Ogata raised his hand and touched the back of his neck.
"Your feat of defeating the shogunate's army has now spread throughout almost half of Kyoto." Feng Mo exclaimed in amazement, "We have only been separated for half a year, but in just half a year, you have achieved such a remarkable achievement."
"Can you tell me what you have been doing for the past six months? I'm quite interested."
"By the way, tell me how you found this lovely Iga kunoichi."
Fuma turned his head and looked at Azhu.
There was an imperceptible, meaningful light in his eyes.
"As far as I know... the legendary Iga Village has long disappeared..."
"My story over the past six months is very long and complicated." Ogata smiled, "It would take at least an hour or two to finish telling it."
"Then let's buy some wine and food." Feng Mo clapped his hands and smiled, "It's almost time for dinner now. I'll go make some food and buy a few bottles of wine. We can eat and talk at the same time."
After saying that, Fengmo stood up.
"You three sit here for a while. I'll go outside and buy some wine."
As soon as Fuma stood up, Atachi stood up as well.
"Master Feng, please stay here. Let me buy the wine and other things."
Out of respect for Fuma, Ating subconsciously stood up and took on the troublesome and tiring task of going out.
Letting an old man like Fengmo go out to buy wine while a few young people sit here is inappropriate behavior no matter how you look at it.
"Oh? You want to buy me some wine? Do you know where I can buy some?"
"Oh, Master Feng. Have you forgotten?" Ating said with a smile, "I lived in Kyoto for a period of time before."
"Oh." Feng Mo patted his bald forehead, "Oh, I almost forgot..."
Fuma suddenly remembered that Atachi had indeed lived in Kyoto for a period of time. Before that, when Ogata was recuperating at Fuma's home after the Battle of Nijo Castle, Atachi also lived at Fuma's home for quite a while in order to take care of Ogata.
"Then Komachi, I'll leave the wine matter to you." Fuma sat back down without any pretense, "Hey... just buy four bottles of sake and bring them back."
Feng Mo reached into his arms, as if to take out money.
Seeing this, Ah-Ming raised his hand to stop him: "Alright, it's just a few bottles of wine, I'll pay for it."
After saying that, Ah-Ming walked quickly towards the door: "I'll be back soon."
"Be careful on the road." Ogata shouted at Atachi's quickly departing back.
…
…
"Nothing much has changed..." A-Machi looked around as she walked in the direction of the liquor store she remembered.
The surrounding scenery is exactly the same as it was half a year ago.
But the lack of major changes is, in a way, a good thing - it means that the city has not encountered any major changes.
At this moment, Ating was standing in a busy commercial street. Looking at the bustling crowd in front of him, the corners of his mouth could not help but curl up slightly and a smile appeared on his face.
Some were selling goods enthusiastically, some were strolling around idly, and from time to time there were sounds of fierce bargaining - it was hard to imagine that this city was almost destroyed by a gang of lunatics more than half a year ago.
Atachi has a special feeling for the city of Kyoto - last summer, she met Ogata again in this city.
Therefore, A-Ming felt an inexplicable sense of relief at this ordinary and peaceful scene before him.
Atachi quickly found a liquor store and bought four bottles of sake as ordered by Fuma.
When she was carrying the four bottles of sake and preparing to return to Fuma's home, Atachi suddenly heard a shout not far away that made her stop.
"Dear guests! Come and have a look! Beautiful clothes! Now they are on sale! Look! Such beautiful clothes! Only 200 coins!"
"If you buy these clothes now, we can also embroider your family crest for free! It only takes half a day to embroider your family crest!"
Ah Ting looked in the direction of the voice and saw a middle-aged woman standing in a clothing store, shouting and selling her clothes with all her might.
The old lady was holding a haori in her hand. Although Atachi was not someone who knew much about clothes, she could tell at a glance that the quality of the haori in the old lady's hand was indeed good.
Looking at the haori in the aunt's hand, Atachi's eyes gradually brightened.
…
…
At this moment——
In Kyoto, in the town magistrate's office, in a room -
“Snoring…Snoring…Snoring…Snoring…Snoring…”
In this medium-sized room, a middle-aged man sat behind a desk, his head supported by one hand, dozing off.
The thunderous snoring filled every corner of the room.
The middle-aged man's head swayed back and forth rhythmically with the snoring.
At this moment, the middle-aged man's head accidentally slipped from his raised arms, and then he woke up instantly.
"Hmm... I fell asleep..." The middle-aged man looked around with sleepy eyes, then rubbed his eyes vigorously with both hands, "I'm really getting old... I don't have as much energy as before."
"Okay." The middle-aged man patted his cheeks vigorously with both hands, "Continue working!"
The middle-aged man picked up the pen on the pen stand next to him and was about to continue writing something on the desk when -
"Hasegawa-sama! Hasegawa-sama!"
There was a noisy sound outside the room.
" Come in ." The frowning middle-aged man...or rather Hasegawa put down the pen in his hand.
After obtaining permission from Lord Hasegawa to enter, a young man hurriedly opened the door.
The young man's name is Sojiro Yamauchi, and he is a newcomer who just joined the Fire Thieves Kai recently. Since Hasegawa thinks he is a good rough diamond, he brought him to his side and prepared to train him personally.
"How is it?" Hasegawa said calmly, "Do you have the latest information about the Blood Mist Clan?"
Blood Mist Clan - A bandit gang that suddenly appeared in Kanto about 2 months ago.
The total number of members in this bandit gang is about 20 people, all of whom are ronin.
Their actions were extremely cruel and abominable. They would kill lone people everywhere and then steal money from their corpses.
They are also very cunning. They will never stay in one place for too long. After they have robbed enough money in one place, they will move to other places.
As soon as this vicious bandit gang appeared, it immediately attracted the attention of the government.
Because their actions were so evil and their strength should not be underestimated, after concluding that this gang of thieves was not something that the local officials could handle, the government immediately handed the case over to the Fire Thieves for handling.
The Fire Thief Kai had dealt with countless similar cases. After receiving this transferred case, he quickly tracked down the whereabouts of the Blood Mist Group. After learning that this group of people was very likely to escape to Kyoto, Hasegawa immediately led people to pursue them.
These days, Hasegawa has been staying in the Kyoto Bugyoshi Office, collecting and analyzing information from various channels to confirm the current hiding place of the Blood Mist Clan.
Hasegawa originally thought that Yamauchi, who looked anxious, was here to deliver the latest information about the Blood Mist Clan.
But who would have known—Yamauchi actually shook his head.
“No, no.” Yamauchi stammered, “Just now, just now…”
"Straighten your tongue!" Hasegawa said unhappily, "You are a police officer who was replaced by a fire thief! Look at the way you are now! You are in a hurry and stuttering, what a mess!"
After being scolded by Hasegawa, Yamauchi's face turned red with embarrassment.
After taking a few deep breaths and calming himself down a bit, Yamauchi spoke much more fluently:
"It's not information related to the Blood Mist Clan."
"But a big shot just came to the magistrate's office and he said he wanted to see you."
"Big shot?" Hasegawa frowned again.
Yamauchi looked around and made sure that there were no outsiders around. He then quickly walked to Hasegawa's side and whispered a few words in Hasegawa's ear.
As soon as he finished speaking, Hasegawa's expression suddenly changed.
"……I see."
After leaving these words, Hasegawa quickly stood up, left the room, and ran straight to somewhere in the magistrate's office.
While speeding along, Hasegawa used his hands to adjust his clothes and hair, and checked whether there was any eye dirt on his face as he had just woken up.
The magistrate's office in Kyoto was not very big, and soon Hasegawa arrived at the door of an ordinary-looking room.
Standing in front of the door, Hasegawa took a few deep breaths, looked as if he was going to the execution ground, and then resolutely opened the door.
Sitting at the side was Hasegawa's old friend, Kyoto Town Magistrate: Kamiyama Koshinosuke.
The new Kyoto Shoshidai, Ota Sukeai, who has just taken office.
Sitting at the first seat in the room was a middle-aged man whom Hasegawa was quite familiar with, but whom he would like to never meet again in his entire life if possible.
Looking at the middle-aged man, Hasegawa immediately walked into the room in two steps as if by reflex, closed the door, then knelt in front of the middle-aged man and saluted respectfully.
"Master Lao Zhong, it's been a long time since we last met!"
The middle-aged man sitting at the head seat in the room was none other than Matsudaira Sadanobu, who had just returned from Ezo.
"Yeah." Matsudaira Sadanobu nodded slightly with a smile on his face. "It's been a long time since we last met. Raise your head, Hasegawa. Let me take a good look at your face."
"Yes!" Hasegawa straightened his body.
"...There are a lot more red bloodshot eyes." Matsudaira Sadanobu said slowly, "After leaving Ezo, I went back to Edo for a short time."
"I have just returned to Edo and have heard a lot about your deeds. During the time I was away from Edo, your work results were quite amazing, and many people in the shogunate praised you."
"I don't deserve it!" Hasegawa said respectfully, "I just did what I should do as the leader of the Fire Thief Kai."
Although Hasegawa looked respectful, he was actually smiling on the outside but cursing on the inside.
——Damn, you are really good at pretending! I am working so hard because you grabbed my dick and balls!