Volume 5: Kyoto Summer Campaign Chapter 308: Shiranui and the Shogunate
A-Machi searched Ryutaro's body for a while and took out 7 kunai from him.
“You… bastard…” Although he was having trouble breathing and couldn’t even breathe normally, Ryutaro still managed to hold on and cursed at Atachi, “Why… do you have this kind of thing…”
"Everyone in Shiranui despises firearms, and regards my father and me as brainless people who are only interested in studying strange and cunning tricks."
"My father's firearms research and development has always been carried out in secret, and you have never paid attention to my father's firearms research. Of course, you don't know that my father successfully secretly made the two revolver short rifles, Suying and Kasumi."
At this point, Atachi's eyes towards Ryutaro were full of mockery.
"After my father passed away, in the entire Shiranui, besides me, only Uncle Qing knew about Su Ying and Kasumi Nagi."
"I have been hiding this from Su Ying and Xia Nagi, all so that one day I can - shoot your brains out like this!"
After saying that, Atachi held one of the kunai that he had just taken from Ryutaro upside down, used the kunai as a nail, and nailed Ryutaro's right palm to the ground.
“Aaaaaaah——!”
Although it was difficult to breathe, Ryutaro still screamed uncontrollably due to the severe pain.
"A-Ting, who are these people?"
At this moment, Ogata's voice sounded behind Atachi.
After hearing four gunshots outside the hut, Obaka immediately rushed out of the hut carrying the one-eyed man who had become his prisoner, and Inaba's wife and daughter and Kondo who had been successfully rescued.
As soon as he rushed out of the small building, Oba saw a man dressed in black being nailed to the ground with his right hand with a kunai.
Perhaps it was because of the one-eyed dragon's luck. Although he was hit by four bullets, none of them hit his vital parts, so he was still alive - of course, the one-eyed dragon was still alive, which was also related to the fact that the power of Suying and Kasumi was still a little weak.
A-Machi turned her head and gave Ogata a complicated look.
After staring at Ogata with this complicated look for a while, Atachi sighed softly and muttered:
"It seems that I can't hide it anymore..."
After mumbling this, Atachi said loudly to Ogata:
"These four people...ah, no, these three corpses and this guy who is only half alive, are ninjas from Shiranui."
"They are here to...hunt me down."
After hearing the word "hunt" from A-Machi's mouth, Ogata raised his eyebrows and cast a meaningful look at A-Machi.
Amaji hurriedly turned her head back and cast her gaze back to Ryuutarou beneath her.
"Tell me quickly - how many of you are here? How many Jonins? How many Chunins? Who is the leader?"
As he turned his gaze back to Ryutaro, a cold look appeared on Atachi's face and pupils.
“Hmph… Ah-Ming… don’t get so complacent… you won’t be able to escape for much longer… surrender yourself obediently… and accept our punishment… that is… your best destination now… Ahhhhh——!”
Before Ryutaro could finish his words, Atachi used another kunai to nail Ryutaro's other palm to the ground.
"Don't give me these nonsense words! Just answer my question!"
"…3, 32 people…8 jonin…24 chuunin…the leader is…Kotaro…"
After hearing the number "32" from Ryutaro's mouth, A-Machi's pupils shrank slightly.
After a long silence, Ating sneered:
"Heh... I didn't expect the leader... ah, he is no longer my leader."
"I never thought that Enma thought so highly of me that he sent 8 jonin and 24 chuunin to hunt me down."
"Don't be so self-indulgent..." Ryutaro grinned, revealing a hint of sarcasm, "The reason why the leader sent so many people to Luoyang... is not... just to hunt you down..."
"I'll tell you the truth... so you can despair for a while..."
"As early as... a year ago... the leader had been planning to cooperate with the shogunate..."
"After a year of negotiations... now... we have finally reached an agreement on cooperation with the shogunate..."
"From now on... we, Shiranui, will officially cooperate with the shogunate..."
"We fight for the shogunate... and the shogunate helps us track down the whereabouts of all the traitorous ninjas who have defected from the ninja village..."
"The reason why we knew you were fleeing to Kyoto so quickly was because of the help of the shogunate..."
"The reason why the leader sent so many people to Luoyang this time... hunting you down is only a secondary reason..."
"The main reason... is... because... we have taken on the first major mission since we started cooperating with the shogunate... to serve as the guard of the Nijo Palace..."
"In order to ensure that this first major mission is foolproof... the leader sent so many people to Luo..."
"The leader and the shogunate have agreed... to send at least 28 ninjas to defend the Nijo Palace..."
"Because only 28 people are left in Nijo Palace... Lord Kotaro sent four of us to hunt you down first..."
"And Lord Kotaro... will lead the others... to continue guarding the Nijo Palace..."
"Due to the mission of protecting Nijo Palace... Lord Kotaro and the rest of his companions cannot leave Nijo Palace for the time being..."
"But... the mission to protect the Nijo Palace... will only last until tonight..."
"After the banquet tonight at the Ninomaru Garden of Nijo Palace... ends... our mission to protect Nijo Palace... will be over... Lord Kotaro and the others... will be able to move freely..."
"So... after the banquet held at Nijo Palace tonight is over... Lord Kotaro and the others will lead the rest of the people to hunt you down without stopping..."
"Can you defeat 28 ninjas led by Kotaro-sama with just your short gun...?"
A-Machi had been listening quietly as Ryutaro told her everything he knew.
As Ryutaro continued to tell the story, A-Machi's face became paler and paler...
"Finally... let me tell you one more thing..."
The smile on Ryutaro's face became more ferocious.
"The leader... in order to boost our morale... has specially allowed us... to do everything to you... except killing you... after we capture you..."
"Amaji, you...are a kunoichi who specializes in combat...you should be a virgin until now, right...?"
"What a pity... I ended up dying in your hands... and never got to taste... the sweetness of a virgin..."
"A-Ming...you've already...lost..."
"Even if I run away now... it's no use..."
"We have already started cooperating with the shogunate... Even if you escape to the ends of the earth... we can still catch you...!"
“Hahahahahaha…!”
Even though he almost didn't have the strength to speak, Ryutaro still used all his strength to laugh wildly.
A-machi stared silently at Ryutaro who was laughing.
When Ryutaro finally stopped laughing, Atachi pulled the corners of his mouth and revealed a faint smile :
"Have I already lost?"
A-machi asked again what Ryutaro had just said to her.
"So what?"
"From childhood to adulthood, whether it's stealth or assassination, except for jutsu and the use and research of firearms, I have never been better than other people of my age in the village."
"But I lost all the way like this, and I held on all the way with gritted teeth."
After saying that, Atachi waved the kunai in his hand and stabbed Ryutaro who had come all the way to chase him, ending his life completely.
"…Your questioning is over. Now it's my turn." After saying that, Ogata dragged the one-eyed man who was tied up at his feet to his front.
…
…
It is obvious at first glance that this one-eyed man is not the kind of person who would dare to commit suicide.
Ogata didn't ask any questions, and the one-eyed man just told him everything he knew.
One-Eyes claimed that he was just a pawn, so he didn't know much.
He was originally a ronin who did things for money and was hired by a young man named "Ryunosuke".
The task Ryunosuke gave him was simple - to watch over the mother and daughter together with others.
As for who the mother and daughter were and what Ryunosuke was going to do, the one-eyed dragon had no idea.
"…Is this all you know?" Ogata cast an impatient look at the one-eyed man.
"Wait, wait! Let me think about it... imagine it... ah! That's right! Ryunosuke-sama is working with a group of mysterious people!"
"That mysterious group of people seems to be responsible for providing weapons to Lord Ryunosuke!"
"I don't know where that mysterious group of people came from, but I have seen their leader before. He was an old man!"
"And Ryunosuke-sama has been calling the leader of that mysterious group 'Tsurugen-sama'!"
"And...and...and, I don't know what else! This is all I know!"
"Do you really know nothing?" Ogata asked.
"I really don't know anything!"
Just as Ogata was about to say something else, Atachi beside him suddenly raised his hand and said:
"Ayi, let me do it."
"Will you help me torture him?"
"I am a ninja after all. Although I haven't learned much about torture techniques, I still know a few tricks of torture from what I have seen and heard."
After saying that, Ating squatted beside the one-eyed dragon and looked him up and down several times.
"None of the four bullets in your body hit your vital points. You're really lucky. No wonder you're still so energetic."
A-Ming raised her little hand and grasped the one-eyed man's right little finger.
"The fingers are connected to the heart, so when the fingers are hurt, it hurts a lot."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ah-Ming pulled the little finger of the one-eyed dragon's right hand and slowly twisted it to the right side of the one-eyed dragon...
Before Ating could break the little finger of the one-eyed dragon's right hand, the one-eyed dragon immediately begged for mercy.
"Wait! Don't break my fingers! I'll tell you everything!"
"I know one more thing!"
"About half a month ago, I accidentally overheard a conversation between Lord Ryunosuke and one of his subordinates!"
"It seems that Lord Ryunosuke has set up a base in Sanji Street in Kyoto!"
"But I don't know what that base is used for!"
"Do you know where that base is?" Ogata asked.
The one-eyed man nodded vigorously and quickly gave out a string of addresses.
After silently writing down the address, Ogata interrogated the one-eyed dragon for a long time. With the help of Atachi, who was much better at torture than Ogata, he finally confirmed that the one-eyed dragon seemed to have really told him everything he knew.
"Ryunosuke... and... Tsuruga..."
After sighing softly, Ogata held the two names he had just learned in his mouth and chewed them for a while.
"Um... Master..." At this moment, Kondo beside him suddenly said in a cautious tone, "What should we do now? What should we do with the wife and daughter of the master of the Xuanxue Pavilion? Should we send them directly back to the Xuanxue Pavilion?"
"No." Ogata said without hesitation, "We can't send Inaba's wife and daughter back to the Xuanxue Pavilion. It's too dangerous."
Ogata still remembered the information that Dieyine had told him - the disciples of the Xuanxueguan had once said strange things in the Yoshiya.
No matter how I think about it, I feel that there must be something wrong with some of the disciples in the Xuanxue Hall.
Therefore, if Inaba's wife and daughter were sent back to the Xuanxue Pavilion, it would be like "a sheep returning to the tiger's mouth."
After thinking for a moment, Ogata turned his head and looked at Atachi.
"Amaji, I want to take Izayoi away, is that okay?"
"Sure." Atachi said without hesitation, "Anyway, this Izayoi is just a random weapon I picked up. My Suzaku is much more practical than it, so if it's gone, it's gone. I won't feel bad about it."
"Then - O-machi, give me Izayoi. Ah, first, eject the bullet from Izayoi's gun."
Although he didn't know what Ogata was going to do, Atachi still did as he was told, ejected Izayoi's bullet from the gun chamber, and handed it to Ogata.
Ogata pulled off Ryuutarou's shirt at his feet and wrapped Izayoi around him.
After wrapping Izayoi, Ogata looked at Kondou and said to him seriously:
"Kondo, you want to become my disciple, right?"
"Yeah!" Kondo nodded vigorously.
"Well then - Kondo, please do me a favor. After this is done, although I cannot accept you as my apprentice, I can give you some guidance on swordsmanship. I promise you: the guidance I give you will benefit you for the rest of your life."
"Really?!" Kondo's face was filled with excitement. "Master! What is it that you need my help with? I will do my best to complete the task you have entrusted to me!"
"You and I are not a master-disciple relationship, so don't call me master."
As Ogata spoke, he stuffed the wrapped Izayoi in his hand into Kondou's arms.
"Kondo, take Inaba's wife and daughter, this one-eyed man, and this iron cannon to a teahouse."
"Tea house?" Kondo asked puzzledly.
When Makimura and others parted with Ogata, they told that in order to make it easier for Makimura to contact him, Kamiyama would stay in a teahouse until he entered Nijo Palace to attend the banquet tonight.
The person who stayed in the teahouse with Kamiyama was Hasegawa Heizo.
Makimura and others had told Ogata the address of this teahouse.
And Ogata has always remembered this address.
