"At first, I didn't intend to use you as a human pillar."
"After all, I don't know your exact location. How can I arrest you if I don't even know your exact location?"
"But, human luck is so wonderful."
"In fact, the launch time of the 'Spring Campaign of Osaka' and the 'Edo Campaign' was originally scheduled for the end of spring this year."
"But who would have thought that a while ago, something went wrong in Osaka - a batch of weapons and equipment transported to Koyasan via Osaka Port was accidentally discovered by the Edo Shogunate."
"According to reliable intelligence, after this incident, Matsudaira Sadanobu of the Edo Shogunate heard the news and rushed to Osaka to personally inspect the incident."
"Our plan was completely disrupted by this accident."
"I have some understanding of Matsudaira Sadanobu's style of doing things."
"I'm sure he will immediately send a large group of troops to thoroughly investigate Mount Koya."
"It is no longer possible to launch the 'Spring Campaign of Osaka' and the 'Edo Campaign' in late spring as originally planned."
"So, I simply rushed to Koyasan in advance and launched a counterattack against the Edo Shogunate in advance."
"And when I arrived at Koyasan ahead of time, I learned that you happened to be in Osaka."
"How can I miss such a rare opportunity to catch you?"
"Therefore, I immediately made some minor changes to the action plan for the 'Spring Campaign of Osaka'."
"I request that a small team be sent to capture you alive on the night of the launch of the 'Spring Campaign of Osaka'."
"You really are a... lunatic!" Lin, whose cheeks and lips had been extremely pale from the beginning, said in a trembling voice, "Are you planning to kill all the millions of people in Edo?!"
"If I could, I wouldn't want to do this..."
Toyotomi Nobuhide sighed, and a hint of shock appeared in his eyes.
He just said "I don't want to do this either", but then he changed the subject -
"But - if you want to rebuild the Toyotomi Empire, this is the most convenient way with the least sacrifice."
"I didn't decide to place a human pillar in Kandajosui simply to destroy the ruling center of the Edo Shogunate."
"Purple Eyes are not unkillable."
"Firstly, their life span is very short. At most, they will die of organ failure, just like their life span has run out in four years."
"Secondly, if you use weapons coated with the blood of someone who has successfully absorbed the 'power of immortality' to attack them, their injuries will not be healed."
"We speculate that the principle behind this is to fight poison with poison. The orthodox 'immortality power' can suppress this mutated 'immortality power'."
"Xiao Lin, think carefully about this scenario—"
The corners of Toyotomi Nobuhide's mouth slowly curled up into a sneer.
"A bunch of monsters suddenly appeared in Edo that could not be killed no matter how hard they were killed."
"Just when the people were in despair, I appeared."
"I can kill Zimu, who others can't kill - how do you think the people will view me?"
"I'm afraid they will all regard me as the savior, as a god or Buddha who has descended to earth."
"It's easy, and it greatly increases my prestige."
"Perhaps there will be a small number of people who, after seeing that only I can kill those monsters, will guess that these monsters were created by me, so I naturally know how to kill them."
"But the vast majority of people are stupid."
"What kind of judgment do you expect from someone who can't even read a few Chinese characters and has only traveled a few times in his life?"
"Besides, even if we take a step back and say that even if only half of the people believe that I am a god who came to earth to save them, it would still be an unprecedented victory for me."
The sneer on Toyotomi Nobuhide's face became more and more intense.
"In order to revive Toyotomi, I have read a lot of books and done a lot of research."
"During the six months I spent reading through the books stored in Koyasan in search of a way to defeat the Edo shogunate, my fingers became numb from flipping through the pages every day."
"After reading so many books and doing so much research, I came to a conclusion: people have always been blindly following 'God'."
"If you can make the people regard you as a 'god', then it will be much easier to do anything - including reshaping a new world!"
"So, I decided on the 'Spring Campaign of Osaka' and the 'Edo Campaign' as the 'two-step plan'."
"First, use the 'Osaka Spring Campaign' to show the Toyotomi clan's strength to the Edo shogunate and the feudal lords, and weaken the shogunate's connection and control with the western countries, so that the Edo shogunate can no longer rely on Osaka, the most important 'logistics center', to allocate material and human resources across the country."
"Then, I will use the 'Edo Battle' to strike at the ruling center of the Edo Shogunate, and as I just said, I will show the people that only I can kill these monsters and establish the image of 'God descending to earth' and 'savior' in front of the people."
"By then... no matter what I do, whether it's mobilizing the people to overthrow the Edo Shogunate or rebuilding the world led by the Toyotomi clan, it will be much easier."
"After these two battles, reviving Toyotomi will still be difficult, but this sentence will no longer be just a fantasy!"
"In order to ensure the success of the Edo War, I have prepared a few backup human pillars."
"Not long ago, several people with the same surname were arrested."
"Since they have been captured, I simply thought of using them as backup human pillars for the Edo Battle. This is also the best use of their resources."
"But I didn't expect that we could not successfully lead them out of Koyasan."
"But it doesn't matter. Anyway, we have as many spare human pillars as we need."
…
…
"It's just...crazy..."
Ogata raised his hands and pressed his temples on both sides.
He could clearly feel the blood vessels in his temples throbbing.
He never imagined that he would one day meet someone even more unreasonable than Matsudaira Gennai...
Compared with Toyotomi Nobuhide...Matsudaira Gennai actually seems relatively normal...
After learning about Toyotomi Nobuhide's plan and madness from Genzheng, no one's face was not grim.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you."
Xuan Zheng's voice once again reached everyone's ears.
"If you can successfully reach the dock before the Hikari Maru and the Hulu Maru set sail, you will most likely face Nobuhide head-on."
"If you run into Nobuhide, be careful."
"Among all the types of Henrakugan that we have developed, the C-type pill is far superior to the A-type pill and the B-type pill in suppressing the 'power of immortality'. However, this also brings a consequence - the people who rely on the C-type pill to suppress the 'power of immortality' will eventually absorb far less 'power of immortality' than those who take the A-type pill or the B-type pill."
“Isn’t this easy to understand?”
"The essence of the Henwakamaru is to suppress and weaken the 'power of immortality' so that the human body has the opportunity to absorb this power that it cannot absorb otherwise."
"The more you suppress it, the less 'immortal power' you will be able to absorb in the end."
"Nobuhide always dared to do things that ordinary people dared not do. Some of his bold actions make me gasp in amazement when I think back on them now."
"In order to revive Toyotomi, he has always wanted to make himself as powerful as possible."
"So, when trying to give himself the 'power of immortality', he did not choose the relatively safer C-Hold Pill."
"Instead, he chose the No. 1 pill, which had never been successful before..."
As soon as Xuanzheng said this, Yuanyi beside him said calmly:
"We already know that Nobuhide has acquired the 'power of immortality' far more powerful than Yoshihisa and others thanks to the Koga Maru. You don't need to explain it to us in detail."
"Oh... you already know about this, so that's easy to deal with. Anyway - when you meet Nobuhide, be careful. He relies on the Ko-maru to obtain the 'power of immortality'... He is not that easy to deal with."
Xuan Zheng chuckled a few times at this time.
"The reason why I respond to all your requests and answer all your questions is that I hope you can try to cause trouble for Nobuhide as much as possible in the future."
"If you were to lose immediately to Nobuhide due to a lack of information... I would be very troubled."
"Although Nobuhide relied on the Ko-maru to obtain a powerful 'immortality', in the final analysis, what he possessed was still a weakened 'immortality'."
"Compared to Yoshihisa and the others, the only difference is that Nobuhide's 'immortality' is a little stronger."
"It's not like the eight hundred bhikkhunis recorded in that ancient book, who could not be killed no matter how hard they tried."
Xuan Zheng raised his hand and pointed at his head.
"As long as his head is chopped off, or if he suffers excessive damage in a short period of time, he will still die."
After saying that, Xuan Zheng spread his hands, then leaned back and leaned against the wall of the carriage behind him.
"Okay, if you have anything else to ask, feel free to ask."
"As long as it can help you deal with Nobuhide, I am willing to tell you everything I know."
As soon as Xuan Zheng said this, Ating beside him immediately asked anxiously like a cat smelling blood:
"Let me ask you - have you ever had any similar cases like Ayi's? Will there be any sequelae in the future if Ayi is in this condition now?"
As Atachi asked this, he pulled Ogata over to him.
In fact, from the beginning, Ating looked like she wanted to say something to Xuanzheng but was hesitant and wanted to ask Xuanzheng a question.
At this moment, after finally waiting for the best time to ask the question, A-Ming immediately and without hesitation asked Xuanzheng the question that had been in his mind for a long time.
"Hmm?" Xuanzheng cast a puzzled look at Ogata, "Precedent?"
Ogata naturally knew that Atachi was worried about his health, so he asked Genzheng this question.
He also understood Ah Ting's worry. Although he had told Ah Ting "don't worry" last night, this kind of worry could not be eliminated by just saying "don't worry" a few times.
If you put yourself in his shoes - it was Ating who absorbed the "immortal power" from Zimu, then Ogata felt that he would be even more nervous than Ating was right now, and he would want to find everyone who knew a little about the "immortal power" and ask them whether Ating's body would show any bad symptoms in the future.
Therefore, in order to take care of Atachi's feelings, Ogata also cooperated very well - after Xuanzheng cast a puzzled look at him, he drew out the Da Zi Zai from his waist and cut a cut on the palm of his right hand.
Then, he stretched out his right palm in front of Xuan Zheng's eyes, allowing Xuan Zheng to clearly see... how the wound on his right palm "grew" red flesh threads, and how it recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Xuan Zheng's pupils first shrank to the size of a pinhole, and then his chin slowly "dropped" as if it had lost the pull of its muscles.
This was the first time that Ogata saw such a drastic change in expression on Xuanzheng's face since he met him.
"This, this, this..." Xuan Zheng stuttered, "Why... do you have the 'power of immortality'...?"
"I am now like this... It's all thanks to you."
Ogata tried to briefly outline the general reasons and process for why he became what he is today.
And Genzheng, who was listening carefully to Ogata's story...his reaction can be described in one sentence - shocked at first, then drunk, and finally crazy.
"The 'power of immortality' obtained from Zimu... is incredible, incredible!"
Xuan Zheng grinned, his pupils and cheeks filled with intoxication and ecstasy.
"This is truly an incredible discovery... A second person has appeared who has successfully survived the A-Maru, and who has also absorbed the 'power of immortality' from Zimu...! This is truly an incredible discovery!"
"The second person...who successfully survived the A-Maru?" Ogata narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Yes!" Xuanzheng nodded vigorously, "You are the second person after Xinxiu who successfully absorbed the 'power of immortality' with the Jiahao Maru!"
"When Xuan and I went to Die Island to conduct experiments, we took some of the A-pills with us to use in our spare time to study the Hennapills."
"No wonder we found a few missing pills when we counted the stock of No. 1 pills before leaving Butterfly Island... It turned out that Xuan Zhi secretly took them away to give away..."
"The 'power of immortality' in Zimu's body can also be absorbed... This may become a new breakthrough point for future research on immortality..."
A-Machi was not interested in Xuanzheng's "academic research" at all.
She only wondered what would happen after Ogata's body.
Seeing Xuanzheng excitedly talking about things that he didn't care about at all, Ah-Ming couldn't help but interrupt Xuanzheng and asked the question he had just asked Xuanzheng again:
"Have you ever had a precedent similar to Ayi? Or have you done any related experiments? After absorbing the 'immortal power' from Zimu, will there be any sequelae in the future?"
As soon as Ating finished speaking, Xuanzheng shook his head bluntly:
"We have never had a precedent of absorbing the 'immortal power' from Zimu before."
"Nobuhide and the others' 'power of immortality' comes from Yaobikuni."
"And Ogata Ittosai's 'power of immortality' comes from the purple eyes."
"This is the first time I've seen a situation like Ogata Ittosai's."
"I don't know if Ogata Ittosai will have any sequelae in the future."
"Anyway, Nobuhide and the others have never experienced any adverse symptoms since they absorbed the 'power of immortality', but I don't know if Nobuhide and the others' situation can be applied to Ogata Ittosai."
Xuanzheng's words made Ating visibly depressed.
The depressed Ating formed a sharp contrast with Xuanzheng, who was now full of excitement.
Xuan Zheng looked at Ogata from head to toe with shining eyes, as if he was looking at some precious food or rare animal.
Ogata ignored Xuanzheng's passionate gaze and asked him in a deep voice:
"...Are you sure that the Henrakugan I ate was the A-Hitachi-maru?"
"Yes, I am sure of this." Xuan Zheng nodded, "At that time, Pills C and D had not yet been successfully developed."
"The Yihao Pill was created not long ago, and has not yet been refined on a large scale. I can't use it in large quantities for research."
"Therefore, I only brought A-Maru to Chou Island."
"...Heh." Ogata laughed at himself. "Toyotomi Nobuhide and I both used the A-Maru, which has the weakest suppression power against the 'Power of Immortality'... So theoretically speaking, does that mean that we both now possess extremely powerful 'Power of Immortality'?"
"In theory—that's right."
"but……"
Xuan Zheng changed the subject.
"Although you and Nobuhide consumed the same kind of Henwakamaru, it's hard for me to say who is stronger in terms of 'immortality', you or Nobuhide."
"After all, the sources of your two 'immortal powers' are different."
Xuanzheng laughed, “hoho.”
"Perhaps only after you two fight each other, can we know who has the stronger 'immortal power'."
After laughing, Xuan Zheng turned his head and looked out the window.
"Next we'll come to a fork in the road!"
After checking the scenery outside the window, Xuanzheng turned his head and shouted to Asai who was driving:
"When you reach that three-way intersection, just go straight along the middle intersection."
"The road ahead is quite bumpy and not easy to drive on, so you have to concentrate on driving."
"How far are we from that dock now?" Now knowing how dangerous Lin's situation was, Asai, who was in a very bad mood, asked Xuanzheng in a tone that sounded like a growl.
"Hmm..." Xuan Zheng glanced out the window again, "It's about 5 miles to go."
[Note: 5 li in that era ≈ 20 kilometers today]
"Tsk..." Asai tightened his grip on the reins, "Is it still that far...!"
"I think it's better to worry more about the weather than the journey." Xuan Zheng leaned his head out of the window and looked up at the dark sky above. "It's going to rain heavily... If the roads are turned into 'mud roads' by the heavy rain, it will be troublesome..."
…
…
"Oh, I seem to have stayed here too long and told you too much." Toyotomi Nobuhide scratched his hair apologetically, "It's been a long time since I talked to others like this... All along, I have been alone, carrying a heavy burden."
Toyotomi Nobuhide closed his eyes, raised his head and sighed.
"Has the long-awaited reunion with my family made me want to talk?"
Toyotomi Nobuhide covered and locked the brocade box containing the heads of the eight hundred nuns, and then put it back into the cabinet next to it.
"I've been with you for a little too long. It's almost time for me to leave and do some work."
Toyotomi Nobuhide put Yaobikuni's head back to its original place, turned around and smiled gently at Lin.
"I'll come to see you again when I'm free."
"You can't escape, so remember to behave yourself."
"I don't want to be violent towards my sister right after we reunited."
"Oh, by the way—the boat is going to sail in a little while."
"It might be very shaky then, so be prepared in advance."
After saying this, Toyotomi Nobuhide put his hands behind his back and strode towards the door of the room.
Just as he was about to push open the door and leave the room——
"...Can I ask you a question?"
Lin, who had been keeping her head down and silent since a while ago, suddenly spoke.
Toyotomi Nobuhide raised his eyebrows and then withdrew his hand that was already on the door handle.
"You ask."
" How did you know that I was in Osaka recently?" Lin suddenly raised her head and stared at Toyotomi Nobuhide.
"Also - how did you know my exact location last night?"
If gazes could materialize, then Lin's gaze at this moment would have turned into a sharp awl and pierced Toyotomi Nobuhide's head.
"Hmm... well..." Toyotomi Nobuhide smiled playfully, as if he had expected Lin to ask him this. "The truth may be a little too cruel for you."
"I really want to tell you the truth."
"But I don't have much time to chat with you now."
"When I have time and opportunity, I will come and discuss this with you in detail."
Toyotomi Nobuhide laughed loudly, pushed open the door, and walked away, ignoring the angry look Lin gave him.
Outside the room, there were six musketeers guarding the door.
"Everyone, cheer up." After leaving the room that was both his own residence and Lin's imprisonment, Toyotomi Nobuhide ordered the six musketeers outside in a serious tone, "Pay close attention to the movements in the room."
"If there are any strange noises coming from the room, go in and check immediately."
"If the person in the room does anything strange... I allow you to use some rougher methods on her to make her calm down."
"Yes!"*6
The six musketeers shouted in unison.
After giving these instructions, Toyotomi Nobuhide put his hands behind his back and strode onto the deck.
As soon as he stepped onto the deck of the Hikari Maru, a strong smell of salty sea tide hit Toyotomi Nobuhide in the face.
The Hikari Maru and the Hulu Maru were docked in a canyon with a terrain similar to that of a "line of sky".
The waves hit the hulls of the two ships at a very rhythmic frequency.
The deck of the second ship is now as busy as a busy street in a downtown area.
Sailors shuttled back and forth, making final preparations for sailing.
"Lord Toyotomi!"
A loud shout suddenly came from behind Toyotomi Nobuhide.
"Kasuho, what's wrong?" Toyotomi Nobuhide looked at the person who had called him with a smile.
Kasugabe - the "Fleet Governor" promoted by Toyotomi Nobuhide.
He was originally the son of an ordinary fisherman in Ryukyu.
By chance, he joined Toyotomi's army and demonstrated outstanding command ability.
Toyotomi Nobuhide, who admired Kasugabe's talent and character, focused on training him. He not only promoted him all the way to the "fleet governor" commanding the two ships, Hikari Maru and Kuramaru, but also gave him a special title: Kasugabe.
The name comes from a capable general under his ancestor Toyotomi Hideyoshi two hundred years ago: Hosuka Masakatsu.
When Hideyoshi was still an unknown person, Hosuka served Hideyoshi and could be said to be the most senior minister under Hideyoshi.
Hideyoshi also gave extremely high preferential treatment to this old minister who had been loyal to him and made great contributions to him when Hideyoshi was still unknown.
After Hideyoshi became rich, he appointed Hachisuka as his chief retainer, allowing Hachisuka to share the glory and wealth with him.
Toyotomi Nobuhide gave this name to the young "Governor of the Fleet" - this shows how much Nobuhide valued this man.
Kasuho quickly ran to Toyotomi Nobuhide and reported loudly:
"Lord Toyotomi! I finally found you. The ship's preparations for sailing... are complete!"
"Oh?" Toyotomi Nobuhide raised his eyebrows and showed a happy look on his face. "Have you completed the preparations for the ship's departure? The time spent is much less than I expected. Kasuho, you did a great job."
Raising his hand, he patted Kasugabe's shoulders, and after briefly praising him, Toyotomi Nobuhide looked up and checked the sky above his head.
"In a little while... it will probably rain heavily. The rain won't affect our sailing, right?"
"No problem!" He Xufeng patted his chest vigorously, "Lord Toyotomi, do you still need to doubt my ability to read the weather?"
Kasugabee raised his head and glanced at the sky above his head.
"Don't worry! Dark clouds of this level won't cause any trouble for our voyage!"
"That's good." Toyotomi Nobuhide smiled and nodded again, "I feel relieved with your words."
"In that case... Kasu Bee! Help me pass the message to the entire ship!"
After saying this, Toyotomi Nobuhide waved his hand with high spirits, like a conductor directing a concert:
"Notice to all ships - hoist the sails! Set sail!"
…
…
Asai, who was concentrating on driving, suddenly felt a chill on the tip of his nose.
I lowered my eyes and looked towards the tip of my nose - it turned out that a drop of water had fallen on the tip of my nose.
Before Asai could raise his hand to wipe it, he felt another drop of rain falling on his nose.
Crash...crash...! Crash!
Drops of rain seemed to have broken free from their restraints and fell from the sky impatiently.
It started with a drizzle, then in a flash it turned into moderate rain, and then into heavy rain and rainstorm.
The raging gale brought in water vapor that seemed to suck up the entire ocean, and at the same time also swept away countless plants and branches.
Boom! Boom!
After the rain fell, the thunder and lightning finally couldn't wait to show its ferocious claws.
Lightning flashed across the dark sky, carving all kinds of hideous and bizarre patterns in the clouds that seemed to be stained with ink.
Ogata leaned his head towards the window to check the rain outside.
Looking around, there is thick rain curtain everywhere.
Looking up, the sky is dark.
Take a deep breath, and what flows into your lungs is abundant moisture and coolness.
Asai and Shimada, who were sitting in the driver's seat and exposed outside the car, became two drowned rats in a flash.
"Hey!" Because of the interference of thunder and rain, Asai had to shout at the back, "Haven't we reached the dock yet?!"
"Hmm... we're almost there." Xuan Zheng glanced at the view outside the window. "If we keep going along the current path, we'll reach the coast."
"Once you reach the coast, walk west and you'll enter the canyon where the dock is."
"You should be able to smell the sea more or less now, right?"
Xuanzheng's words just now undoubtedly encouraged Asai and Shimada.
The two of them gritted their teeth, endured the oncoming rain, and drove the carriage through the layers of rain.
Ogata and others frequently stuck their heads out of the car window, looking for the coast.
Finally, as Asai and Shimada galloped along without caring about the life of the wheels and horses, Ogata and others finally saw a faint coastline appearing on the horizon ahead.
Finally they saw the sea - this should have made Ogata and the others look a little happy.
And in fact, this was indeed the case. After finally seeing the sea, everyone looked happy.
However - the joy just appeared on their faces, and then they froze.
Just because they saw... two... shadows of ships floating on the coastline.
No way—this thought emerged in everyone’s mind.
Asai gritted his teeth and swung the reins in his hand again, squeezing out the last bit of energy from the horse.
The two carriages were rapidly closing the distance to the coast.
After reaching the coast, everyone jumped off the carriage and stood on the shore, looking at the two huge warships as big as small mountains that were slowly sailing away in the distance...
“Are we a step too late…” Shimada fell to his knees as if his legs had lost strength, then he raised his right hand, clenched it into a fist, and pounded the ground with an unwilling look on his face, “Why is this happening…”
They rushed to the dock desperately, but were still a step late - such a result was naturally difficult for everyone to accept.
Almost everyone’s expression... is now extremely ugly - including Xuan Zheng.
"Tsk... all this work was in vain..."
Xuan Zheng looked at the warships gradually moving away on the sea , and then looked at Ogata and his group in front of him.
The reason why he helped Ogata and the others so much, including showing them the way and answering their questions, was because he hoped that Ogata and the others could make trouble for Toyotomi Nobuhide and help him vent his anger.
After working for most of the day, he got nothing in the end - such a result made Xuan Zheng look extremely ugly.
Xuan Zheng, who thought he had worked in vain, cursed inwardly.
Shimada, who had very little life experience, fell to his knees with a look of pain on his face, pounding the ground.
Hatsumitsu and Shibata, who were eager to kill Yoshihisa and destroy Iga, had complicated expressions.
A-Ming and A-Zhu, who are more sentimental in nature , are now biting their lower lips with unwilling expressions.
This unacceptable scene made everyone have various expressions.
However… not everyone had a grim expression after seeing the second ship set sail.
For example - Ogata, Genichi, Mamiya, and Makimura.
After seeing the two ships on the sea, the expressions of the four of them changed in sync.
Their expressions first darkened, and then... they shifted their gazes and looked around, as if they were looking for something.
Glancing at the four people around him, their eyes finally fixed on the same object - the carriage they had just ridden in.
"...Mamiya." Ogata, who was staring at the carriage behind him with Genichi, Mamiya, and Makimura with meaningful eyes, suddenly called out Mamiya's name.
"Um?"
"I remember... you told me that you had learned how to steer a boat somewhere before?"
Hearing Ogata's sudden question, Mamiya smiled:
"Yeah, yeah."
"I once learned the methods and techniques of rowing a canoe in the Satsuma region."
"By the way, I once studied carpentry in the Yamato area."
“Very good at taking apart wooden objects.”