I Was a Swordsman in Ancient Japan

Today, like yesterday, is a sunny day.

Ogata, like yesterday, arrived at the venue ahead of the martial arts test.

Obviously half of the contestants had been eliminated yesterday, but the number of people gathered at the venue at this time was not much less than yesterday.

Many people who were eliminated yesterday came to watch the trial match with a learning attitude.

Some ordinary people who heard yesterday that the martial arts test of the "Imperial Trial" was quite exciting, also came to join in the fun today.

Ogata stood in an inconspicuous corner, his eyes seemed to be looking ahead, but in fact he didn't see anything.

Because he is now thinking about the question that Ding threw to him last night: when attacking Shiranui in the future, how to avoid accidentally injuring Uncle Qing, who is both affectionate and kind to Ding.

Ogata has been thinking about it since last night.

Found this problem completely unresolved.

Uncle Qing doesn't have the appearance characteristics that can make people recognize "this is him" at a glance, and Ah Ding also doesn't have the painting skills to accurately draw Uncle Qing's face.

So this question is totally unresolved.

Although there was no solution to this problem, Ogata didn't want to just give up.

Based on the relationship between Uncle Kei and Atachi, Ogata can't ignore it no matter what.

Just when Ogata was thinking about this question, when he was in a trance, a loud voice suddenly sounded from his side, interrupting Ogata's thoughts:

"Hey! Mashima!"

Without looking back, Ogata knew who was coming.

After all, he had just heard this voice yesterday.

"Kondo?"

While waving his hands at Ogata, Kondo walked quickly towards Ogata.

At this time, Kondo was walking like flying, and it was not at all obvious that he was a person who was still limping when he walked yesterday evening.

"Is your leg healed?" Ogata asked.

"Hmm! Chiba's medicine is very effective!" Kondo patted his chest, "My legs don't hurt at all now!"

Ogata: "So Chiba-kun's medical skills are so superb."

"Chiba's medical skills are very good." Kondo said in a firm tone.

"Don't look at Qianye's hairless face, but his medical skills are the most brilliant one among so many doctors I have seen in my life."

"In addition to being good at treating bone injuries, he is also especially good at treating skin trauma after being cut by a sharp weapon."

"Chiba-kun doesn't look like a doctor with good medical skills at all...Compared to a doctor, he is more like a swordsman." Chiba's bear-like strong appearance is in Ogata's mind Emerge in.

"Yeah, when I first met Qianye, I didn't expect that Qianye was a doctor who made a living by practicing medicine... But you are right to think that he looks like a swordsman."

"Chiba is both a doctor and a swordsman."

"Qianye always said that sword practice is just a small hobby of his. He said that his sword skills are average."

"When I first met him, I was deceived by him."

"I didn't realize that I was cheated until I sparred with him and was knocked down by his sword."

"Is his swordsmanship so superb?" Ogata raised his eyebrows.

"Yes. Qianye is the holder of Beichen's dream flow exemption Xu Jiechuan."

"Oh...that's amazing..." Ogata sighed softly.

"...Your reaction seems so flat." Kondo tilted his head, "When I learned that Chiba's medical and fencing skills were excellent, my jaw almost dropped from shock."

"Ah? Oh... Don't look at me like this, but I'm actually shocked inside." Ogata said something casually, and Kondo was perfunctory.

When he learned that Chiba's swordsmanship and medical skills are both excellent, Ogata was not shocked at all.

Because he knew a "Gamiya Ameng"...

Ogata: "Although you can walk normally, I think it's better for you to be quiet these few days.

"

"That can't be done." Kondo shook his head, then moved his head closer to Ogata, lowered his voice, and said in a volume that only he and Ogata could hear clearly, "I want to see more of your majestic posture, master. "

Kondo changed back to the title "Master".

"Forget it, whatever you want." Ogata smiled wryly.

"Oh! Mashima, I found you."

When Ogata and Kondo were chatting heartily, a new male voice suddenly broke in from not far away.

It was the voice of five or six.

Ogata followed the prestige, and saw Wuliu walking slowly towards him.

Wuliu at this time, like yesterday, was wearing a normal male kimono.

After glancing at Wuliu's clothes, Ogata said in a half-joking tone:

"You're wearing men's clothes today, too."

"I'm tired of the previous outfit." Wuliu responded in the same half-joking tone, "Whenever I get tired of the current outfit, I might change back to the women's outfit. "

Kondo, who couldn't understand the conversation between Ogata and Wuliu at all, looked at Ogata, then at Wuliu, with a bewildered expression.

"Who is this?" Wuliu turned his puzzled eyes to Kondo.

"This is..." Before Ogata had time to make an introduction, Kondo said in a mid-spirited voice one step ahead:

Follow the vx official account and read books and get cash!

"I'm Mashima Goro-kun's very good friend - Kondo Uchisuke! Please give me your advice!"

"My name is Wuliu, please give me more advice."

"I'm currently working in a shop called 'North Wind House'!"

"Our shop specializes in selling Ezo products. You are welcome to come and play with me when you are free, or come to us to buy some Ezo products!"

"By the way, some of the mink furs of our 'Northern Wind House' are undergoing a price reduction. If you are interested, please be sure to take a look!"

After all, Kondo quickly reported the address of "North Wind House".

Ogata knew that Kondo was an acquaintance.

But he didn't expect Kondo to be so familiar with himself...

Wu Liu, who met for the first time, not only introduced himself very acquainted with his family, but also very naturally promoted the products of the place where he was working now.

Ogata felt that if he met Kondo's boss in the future, he must persuade Kondo's boss to give this conscientious employee a raise.

"Thank you." The smile on Wuliu's face showed a hint of helplessness, "Is it Ezo goods... I have never seen what are the local specialties of Ezo, if I have time, I will pay a visit .”

After finishing speaking, Wuliu turned his gaze back to Ogata.

"Mashima-kun, I didn't expect your popularity to be so good."

"There was a big guy and a little guy with you yesterday."

"Now there's a new one coming."

"Where's the big guy and the little guy from yesterday?"

The big man and the small man in the five or six mouths naturally refer to Makimura and Shimada.

"The two of them have other business today." Ogata said.

...

...

At this very moment—

Edo, somewhere in the suburbs——

"Is the base of Shiranui in there?"

Lin crossed her arms, her eyes fixed on the big mountain in the distance.

Except for Mamiya and Genichi who were not convenient to show up, Makimura, Asai, and Shimada all came.

The three of them stood around Lin at this time, while protecting Lin, they looked at the distant mountain that was far away, but they could still hear the chirping of birds from time to time.

"That's right, this mountain is called 'Tianfang Mountain'. Shiranui is located near the top of the 'Tianfang Mountain'." Dawu Dongcheng stood beside Lin with his hands behind his back.

Like Lin, who was protected by three people from Mucun, Dongcheng Dawu was also protected by others.

Behind Tojo Daigo stood 12 subordinates.

These 12 subordinates lined up in two neat rows, standing behind Dongcheng Dawu without turning a glance, looking extremely imposing.

The wind that blows from time to time blows away the collars and sleeves of their kimonos, revealing the colorful tattoos inside.

Early this morning, "Dongcheng House" sent someone to find Lin and told Lin the news she had been waiting for for a long time: they found the base in Shiranui.

Lin and the others had waited too long for this news.

When she first came to Edo, Lin approached the most powerful Yakuza group in Kanto: "Tojoya", and asked their leader, Tojo Daigo, to help them find the exact location of the base in Shiranui.

After waiting for so many days, the result finally came out. After receiving the news, Lin led the three people from Mucun non-stop to find Dongcheng Daigo, and then led by Dongcheng Daigo to the northern suburbs of Edo.

After arriving in the northern outskirts of Edo, Tojo Daigo pointed to a high mountain in the distance and said, "Where is Shiranui's base."

"Are you really sure?" Lin cast a suspicious look at Dongcheng Dawu, "I don't want to aggressively attack Tianfang Mountain, only to find that there is nothing on it except birds and bird droppings."

"I promise you with the head on my neck." Dongcheng Dawu patted himself on the neck, with a frivolous tone, "If Shiranui's base is not there, I will give you my head."

"I not only helped you find the location of the Shiranui base, but also helped you draw a map."

After all, Dongcheng Dawu put his hand into his arms, took out a neatly folded piece of paper from his arms, and handed it to Lin.

Lin took the paper from Dawu Dongcheng, unfolded it, and glanced roughly.

"Is this the map of Mount Tianfang?"

"That's right. The red dot drawn above is the location of Shiranui, and those thick black lines are the climbing routes. How about it? Draw it very carefully."

"That's right." Lin refolded the map in her hand, "Thanks for your hard work, Dawu. Thanks to you for finding the exact location of Shiranui, you are indeed the man with the title of 'the most powerful person in the world of Renxia in East Japan'." .”

"I was able to find Shiranui so quickly, thanks to the information provided by you, Ms. Lin." Dongcheng Dawu said, "If you hadn't told me the approximate location of Shiranui, I would not have been able to find out the base of Shiranui so quickly. s position."

In exchange for cooperation with Hasegawa, Hasegawa informed Ogata and the others of the approximate location of Shiranui he knew.

After learning the approximate location of Shiranui from Hasegawa, Lin quickly passed the information to Dongcheng Dawu.

"But it's also thanks to Shiranui being hated by many people in the shogunate." Dongcheng Dawu sneered, "Shiranui has been trying his best to conceal the exact location of their base."

"But no matter how much they hide it, it is impossible to hide it from the senior officials of the shogunate."

"I had a few meals with some bureaucrats, drank a few times, and found out the location of Shiranui bit by bit."

Having said that, Dongcheng Dawu turned to look at Lin beside him.

"Miss Lin, in order to help you find out the location of Shiranui, our Dongchengya has paid a lot."

"Let's not talk about mobilizing the subordinates to investigate."

"Just myself, I was forced to eat and drink with some officials I didn't like very much."

"We paid so much, so you see..."

Before Dawu Dongcheng finished speaking, Lin interrupted one step ahead:

"Needless to say, I understand everything. As for the money, you can just report the number to me later."

Hearing Lin's words, Dawu Dongcheng grinned happily.

"Miss Lin, I feel more and more that it is not unreasonable for you to earn huge wealth! Businessmen should be as honest and forthright as you are, so that more and more people will come to do business with you."

"This kind of flattery will be avoided." Lin said lightly.

"Okay, now that I've shown you where the Shiranui base is, let's go and see something else."

"Other things?" Doubt appeared in Lin's eyes.

"Miss Lin, I have already bought the things you entrusted me to buy for you earlier."

"Oh?" The doubt in Lin's eyes dissipated, replaced by a touch of excitement.

"Let's go, Miss Lin, I'll take you to have a look."

Dongcheng Dawu and Lin walked in front side by side.

The three Mucun people and Dongcheng Dawu's subordinates followed closely behind.

Dawu Dongcheng led Lin into a tea house not far away.

On the surface, this tea house looks like an ordinary tea house that entertains passers-by.

In fact, it is one of the hidden strongholds of "East City House".

In order to facilitate the collection of various information and increase income, in addition to casinos and tours, Yakuzas' favorite shops are tea houses and izakayas where many people come and go every day.

This ordinary tea house is actually something different.

Dongcheng Dawu led Lin and others into the room located deep in the tea house, lifted the tatami mat in the center of the room, and revealed a staircase leading to the basement.

The air in the basement is relatively dry, and it can be seen at a glance that it is the kind of basement specially used to store items.

After following Dongcheng Dawu into the basement, Lin and the others saw big boxes one after another.

"Miss Lin, what you want is here."

Dongcheng Dawu walked quickly to the four stacked large boxes, and then patted them hard.

"Hey, open it." Dongcheng Dawu said to the subordinates beside him.

"yes!"

The two subordinates standing beside Dawu Dongcheng put down the big box on the top, then took out their swords, cut the thick rope that tied it tightly, and opened the box.

"Miss Lin, let's inspect the goods."

Lin walked slowly towards the open alley.

After glancing at the items contained in a box, he let out a low, joyful exclamation:

"Oh...it's really beautiful, it looks like it's all new."

"Even if it's me, it's hard to get this thing." Dongcheng Dawu smiled helplessly, "I can only get so much for you."

"It's okay, enough." Lin nodded.

"Miss Lin, I don't need to tell you, you should also know that these things are very expensive. So..."

"Just report the number to me later."

"Miss Lin, you are really the most comfortable partner I have ever seen." Dongcheng Dawu grinned again, showing a happy smile.

Lin raised her hand, touched the things in the box, and said in a low voice that only she could hear clearly:

"When it comes to a showdown with Shiranui... it's up to you."

...

...

Although the number of participants in the "Imperial Trial" martial arts test has been reduced to half of what it was yesterday, the format of today's competition remains unchanged.

It is still divided into "A field" and "B field", and one contestant after another is eliminated at a very fast pace.

Because Wuliu and Kondo were by his side chatting nonsense with him, Ogata didn't find it boring.

It felt like after a while, I heard the name "Mashima Goro" yelled by the official at "Jiaba".

"Finally it's my turn..."

Ogata tightened the cuffs on his upper body, and then walked slowly towards the "A field".

"Mashima! I wish you good luck!" Kondo cheered Ogata behind with his characteristic loud voice.

In this era, there is no such thing as "refueling". When cheering for others, it is generally said "I wish you good fortune".

With the help of the officials, after putting on the armor and holding the wooden knife, Ogata set foot on the "armor field".

—Is the opponent this time a spearman...

Standing opposite Ogata was a young man who should be younger than Ogata, holding a wooden spear.

Therefore, wooden guns in this era will wrap a cloth ball on the head of the gun to reduce destructive power.

However, the reduction in destructive power is actually very limited.

If the throat, lower body and other places are pierced, it is still possible to die-this is the same as a wooden knife.

As soon as Ogata stood still in front of this young man, the young man said to Ogata with a gloomy face:

"Mashima Goro, we meet again."

The young man's words immediately confused Ogata.

"'Meet again'? Excuse me... May I ask where we met before?"

Ogata stared carefully at the young man's face.

It seems a little familiar.

But I can't remember where I saw this face before.

"It seems that you don't remember at all." The young man said in a deep voice, "Then let me help you recall!"

"Do you still remember the descendant of the Treasure Institute's Spear Art who was defeated by you in Yoshiwara - Ishida Hirotoshi?"

"I am his disciple - Hongzhi."

Xu Fang was stunned.

The memories that had been dusty in the depths of my mind emerged one by one.

"I remembered..." Ogata said softly, "It's you... Did you also participate in the 'Imperial Trial'?"

After his reminder, Ogata remembered who he was.

On the first day he came to work in Yoshihara, Ogata met a pair of master and apprentice who made trouble.

The master of this pair of masters and apprentices is the heir of Baozangyuan's spear technique.

Although the big gun danced with great momentum, it was still given a second by Ogata.

The sullen Hongzhi slowly lowered his center of gravity, and raised the wooden spear:

"Even the master is not your opponent, then I will definitely not be able to beat you."

"But don't be too careless."

"Even if it's not your opponent, I will stab you hard!"

Ogata silently raised his left hand, holding the wooden knife with both hands.

"I see... are you planning to avenge your master?"

"No." Hongzhi's face was still gloomy, "I'm doing it for other things... No matter what, I won't let you go!"

"Other things?" Ogata raised an eyebrow.

To be honest - Ogata thought Koji's face looked a little scary.

It's like having a deep hatred with him...

In Ogata's impression, he just defeated his master, and he didn't even cause any injuries to his master. As for putting on such bitterness and hatred, it's like killing his parents expression?

"Treasure Institute's Spear Technique! Koji Takayanagi! Come on!"

Seeing that Hong Zhi reported to his house, Ogata clenched the wooden knife in his hand a little bit, and got rid of the redundant thoughts in his mind.

"Gumu Yidaoyu, Mashima Goro, join me."

Pasha!

The sound of sand being kicked off sounded.

Ogata and Koji slipped under their feet, and the ground creaked.

Almost at the same time, the two moved at the same time, rushing towards each other.

Hongzhi uses a long spear, and the attack distance is much wider than that of Ogata, so Ogata is also the first to be within Hongzhi's attack range.

call!

The spear holding the cloth ball cut through the air like a poisonous snake coming out of its hole and stabbed at Ogata.

Although Hongzhi's spear danced well, it was still far behind his master.

Ogata's footsteps didn't even stop.

While continuing to maintain a forward posture, he retracted his body like a spring, and after simply accumulating strength, he bent and stretched his upper body, and slashed the knife from bottom to top.

Go upstairs!

Ogata used the sword technique of Sakakibara Issou-style that he seldom used usually - ascending the tower.

The wooden knife hits the object very well.

Hongzhi's strength is far inferior to Ogata.

Because his spear was directly blocked by Ogata in this way.

In this way, Ogata smoothly approached Hongzhi with the middle door wide open.

It is about 4 steps away from Hongzhi.

This is already the distance that Ogata's sword can easily cut to the opponent.

Against Hong Zhi, 4 steps away, Ogata's sword is fast.

Within 4 steps, Ogata's knife was accurate and fast.

Ogata's movements were too fast, and Hongzhi couldn't even retract the spear in his hand to defend back at this time.

Boom!

The sufficient feeling of hitting the object came down Ogata's palm again.

Ogata pointed at Hongzhi's waist and directly hit the dragon's tail.

Because Hongzhi was wearing armor, Ogata could have relaxed his hands and feet to chop.

Hongzhi, who had been hit by the dragon's tail firmly on the side, staggered a few steps before finally stabilizing his body.

After Ogata hit Hongzhi, he quickly jumped back a few steps to distance himself from Hongzhi.

A look of unwillingness appeared on Hongzhi's face.

Hongzhi wanted to raise his spear and fight Ogata again.

But it was stopped by the referee on the field.

Anyone who is not blind can see that Hongzhi is completely defeated.

If Hongzhi takes action against Ogata again, it will be a violation of the rules.

Around the venue, quite a few shogunate soldiers were deployed.

The shogunate soldiers deployed around were responsible for maintaining law and order at the venue and punishing those who caused trouble.

Hongzhi didn't want to be an enemy of the shogunate soldiers around him.

So after giving Ogata a hard look, he quickly walked to the edge of the field and took off his armor with the help of the official.

And Ogata also looked at Hongzhi who was leaving quickly with a strange look on his face.

——Didn’t it just defeat your master who made trouble in Yoshihara... As for looking at me like I killed your whole family...

...

...

As soon as Ogata stepped off the "Koba", Kondo immediately greeted him.

"Mashima, that knife is really beautiful!" Kondo's tone was full of excitement, "That spear stabs so fast, how did you manage to hit it so accurately?"

"Nothing special." Ogata said, "Look at the position of the spear head, and then split it open with one knife before its spear head stabs you—it's as simple as that."

Ogata's use of a knife to break a gun just now actually didn't have any complicated skills in it.

It's just breaking through directly with the tyrannical physical fitness.

With the blessing of the system, Ogata's physical fitness has long been far superior to ordinary people.

Whether it is unarmed combat or armed combat, the side with better physical fitness will take advantage.

Bounce the gun away with brute force - this is one of the combat experiences accumulated by Ogata. This trick has been tried and tested.

Ogata also used this trick when he defeated Koji's master, Ishida Hironoshi, in Yoshihara last time.

"It's amazing." Wuliu who was on the side also said with a smile at this time, "Thanks to someone like Mashima-kun, this 'Imperial Trial Match' will not be too boring."

After finishing speaking, Wuliu turned his gaze back to the "A field" and "B field" in front of him.

"Although the people who participated in the 'Imperial Trial' are frighteningly weak, I still really want to participate..."

"Oh?" Kondo said, "Do you also want the 100 tael bonus?"

"That's not true." Wuliu shrugged, "I'm not really short of money."

"I just want to compete with all kinds of people and hone my skills."

A happy smile appeared on Wuliu's face.

"Only by constantly exercising and strengthening my own strength can I feel that I am alive."

"Since you are also very interested in the 'Imperial Trial Match', why didn't you sign up before?" Ogata asked.

"It's useless for me to sign up." Wuliu's face showed a little helplessness, "I can't even write Chinese characters very well, so I can't pass the initial writing test."

"Why do you have to design such a rule that you must pass the literary test before you can take the military test...it's really troublesome."

"If there is no such troublesome literary test, I will participate in the 'Imperial Test'."

"Unexpectedly, you are also a person obsessed with self-improvement." Ogata sighed softly.

Wuliu: "For me, nothing makes me happier than improving my skills."

"Wu Liu, you are the same as me!" Kondo shouted excitedly from the side, "I also decided to travel around and keep swinging my sword in order to make myself stronger!"

"Oh? You are doing martial arts training? Not bad." Wuliu smiled, "In this era when abacus is more useful than knives, there are not many people like you who still practice martial arts."

"It's a pity that I'm still far behind." With a bitter face, Kondo raised his hand and patted Ogata's shoulder next to him, "I don't know how long I have to practice before I can be as strong as the master."

...

...

As soon as Hongzhi, with a gloomy face and lowered head, got off the "A field", he felt the light dim in front of him—someone stood in front of him.

Because of the lowered head, Hongzhi could see a pair of big feet with no socks but only a pair of straw sandals.

Before Hongzhi could raise his head to see who the person in front of him was, there was an angry scolding, like a thunderbolt falling from the sky, hitting Hongzhi from the front.

"You bastard! What did you want to do just now!"

Hongzhi slowly raised his head that was drooping.

The line of sight gradually slid up from the big feet without socks, from the shabby clothes all the way to a face full of anger.

This is the face of his master, Hirotoshi Ishida.

"You come with me!"

Ishida pulled Hongzhi's arm and pulled Hongzhi to a place far away from the venue where there were no other people around.

"What's the matter with the way you wanted to stab Mashima-kun to death just now?" After pulling his disciple to a place where no one was around, Ishida scolded Hongzhi, "You want to kill Mashima-kun ?"

"I don't want to kill Mashima Goro, I just want to give him a hard shot, and I don't feel well if I don't hit him hard."

"Couldn't you be more broad-minded?!" Ishida looked as if he hated iron.

"Impossible!" Hongzhi shouted without thinking, his cheeks turned a strange flush due to excitement, "He took away my master, how can you make me broad-minded?"

"Didn't I say it all?!" Ishida's emotions became agitated, "My feelings for Mashima-kun will never compare to my feelings for you, why do you still hold grudges?!"

"Stop talking nonsense! You've been peeking at that Mashima Goro since yesterday!"

"This may be the last time I can see Mashima-kun, so what if I sneak a look at him?!" Ishida put his hands on Hongzhi's shoulders.

"Get your hands off!" Hong Zhi shook his shoulders vigorously, trying to shake off Ishida's hands.

"Listen to me! Hongzhi! You can always stay with me like this!"

"As for Mashima-kun and I, there will never be a result!"

"Maybe I will never see Mashima-kun after the 'Gozen Trial' is over!"

"So there is absolutely no need for you to hold grudges against Mashima-kun, or bury me!"

"Understand?"

Seeing that he had no way to shake off Ishida's hands, Hongzhi gradually calmed down.

Seeing that Hongzhi gradually regained his composure, Ishida's tone gradually calmed down.

"Hongzhi, I've never asked you to do anything before."

"Can I be selfish for a while this time?"

"Until I never have the chance to see Mashima-kun again, can you let me just quietly look at Mashima-kun like yesterday?"

Hiroshi fell silent.

After being silent for an unknown amount of time, Hong Zhi finally nodded slightly as if he had given up struggling.

"...Don't get close to that Mashima Goro, and don't talk to Mashima Goro."

Seeing that Hongzhi finally made a concession, Ishida smiled happily.

Ishida and Hongzhi returned to the noisy venue one after the other.

But they did not squeeze into the motley crowd.

Instead, he stood on the periphery and looked at Ogata in the crowd from a distance.

Looking at Ogata who was standing between Kondo and Wuliu, Ishida's eyes gradually softened.

But there was a bit of resentment in the softened eyes.

——Mashima-kun is so popular...

——There are so many men around me all the time.

— A tall man and a short man were with you yesterday.

——Now there is another person beside me whom I have never seen before...

Ishida turned his resentful eyes on Kondo.

——I'm so envious... This guy seems to have a good relationship with Mashima-kun. He has been chatting with Mashima-kun very intimately, and even patted Mashima-kun on the shoulder...

After Yoshihara was defeated by a move by Ogata, for some reason, Ogata... no, it should be said that he was wearing Ogata's face with a human skin mask, and it kept appearing in Ishida's mind, lingering.

Ishida came to Edo this time mainly to let his disciples experience the "imperial test" and hone their skills.

After accompanying Hongzhi to the martial arts test venue yesterday, Ishida immediately discovered Ogata who had been haunting him during this period of time.

But Ishida didn't dare to approach Ogata to talk to him.

Only dare to look at Ogata from a distance like now.

Even if there is no need to make a promise with Koji, Ishida will not take the initiative to talk to Ogata, and then have any relationship with Ogata.

Because Ishida could tell at a glance that Ogata was not a person of all Taoism.

And Ogata will never have a result.

So entanglement with Ogata will only increase troubles in vain.

Not only will it bring troubles to myself, but it will also bring troubles to Ogata.

In order not to let each other suffer, Ishida chose to stay away from Ogata silently.

Although Hongzhi beside him had already started to look at Ishida with resentful eyes, but Ishida's eyes still did not move away from Ogata's body.

——Ahh...that dark blue haori on Mashima-kun looks so warm...

Ishida silently clenched his naturally drooping hands.

The upper teeth clenched the lower lip.

——I want to do something for Mashima Goro-kun.

That was the only thought lingering in Ishida's mind right now.

...

...

Edo, Shiranui, the interrogation room——

"Ho... ho... ho... ho..."

Akang, who was hung on the beam and covered in blood, kept making hoarse moans of "ho ho ho ho" that seemed to be broken at any moment.

Ever since he was arrested in this interrogation room last night, Akang has suffered a series of horrific tortures.

The punishment of lamp oil, the punishment of crushing stones, the whipping...

From last night to now, Akang has almost lost his human appearance, his whole body is covered in blood, and there is hardly a piece of good flesh in his body.

"Speak quickly." The ninja standing in front of Akang said in a cold tone, "As long as you tell everything you know, you won't have to suffer like this anymore."

Although Akang is no longer a human being, his appearance still fails to make the ninjas in charge of interrogating him feel compassion.

Unlike last night's firm face, Akang's eyes at this time already showed pain, confusion, and unwillingness.

The complex emotions of pain, confusion, and unwillingness are pulled back and forth fiercely with the emotion called "firmness".

"It seems that you still don't want to say it. Hey, give him some medicine, don't let him die like this. After giving him the medicine, there will be another 'torture of lamp oil'."

The ninja's words were like the last straw that broke the camel's back. The "firmness" in Akang's eyes and pupils completely collapsed, and he lost to "pain", "confusion", and "unreconciled".

"Wouldn't it be over if you said it earlier? Tell me, tell me everything you know."

"But I'll put my ugly words first."

"If we find out later that what you said was false information, we will make you suffer a hundred times more than now."

...

...

Edo, a remote place——

This is the "underdeveloped area" of Edo.

The houses are generally low, and there are not many people walking around here.

But at this moment, a group of uninvited guests came to this remote area.

"Finally found it..."

Shintaro stands in a room on the top floor of a 3-story teahouse, looking at a low, unremarkable house in the distance.

The roof and surroundings of this house are covered with dust, and it seems that no one has lived in it for a long time.

But Shintaro's eyes were fixed on this seemingly deserted house.

"I thought it would take three days at the earliest to find you, but I didn't expect to catch you so soon."

The reason why Shintaro opened a room on the highest floor of this teahouse was not to have a quiet room for himself to drink tea and rest.

It's because staying in this room can keep an eye on the humble low house in the distance.

After mumbling in such a low voice that only he could hear clearly, Shintaro turned his head and looked at a subordinate who was kneeling beside him.

"Go, go back to Shiranui, and tell Lord Balrog: We have found the hiding place of the Renegade. I will continue to monitor the place where he is currently living and ask for further instructions."

"yes!"