A foreigner's journey

"I only heard about his name from my father. He was a famous swordsman in the Warring States Period. He was the opposite of the Kyūdō style. It is said that he has a lot of connections with the originator of the Kyūdō style." Nanami recalled for a while and then said.

Shichika was confused, apparently turning a deaf ear to words that were more difficult than a certain level. The name "Shikizaki Kiki" was considered a difficult one for him.

"The Warring States Period was the most active era of swordsmen and swordsmen in this country's history. The protagonists on the battlefield were neither daimyo nor commanders, but them."

Jiuer spoke as if telling a story:

"The originator of Kyūto-ryu [鑢一一] is one of the best. However, if the swordsman is an actor, then the swordsman is the director. Of course, you can't swing a sword without a sword, except for Kyūto-ryu."

Shichika crossed his arms. Although even his understanding of this level of topic was enough to catch up, he already felt it was very troublesome. It would be nice if the topic could end there, but that's unrealistic.

Jiuer continued: "Shikizaki Chronicles does not belong to any school. The aloof swordsman stands at the top of all swordsmen and dominates the Warring States Period."

Qishi tilted his head: "What you mean by dominating the Warring States Period is..."

"Literal meaning. Unlike the Kyūto-ryu, which is the exclusive swordsman of one of the six great names of the Warring States Period, Shikizaki Kiki does not belong to any one country, but spreads the swords he forged all over the country without any restraint, paying homage to A total of twenty-five countries released a thousand knives.”

"A thousand, that's a lot."

"A thousand, that's a lot."

Nanami and Qihua had different opinions, and the siblings exchanged glances.

"...Then, that's a lot." Qihua bowed her head and gave in. There was really a clear superior-subordinate relationship.

Jiu'er said: "The advantage of the twenty-five countries lies in how many Shikisaki Kiki's swords they have. The more Shikisaki Kiki's swords they have, the more they can control the war situation. What else can it be if it doesn't dominate the Warring States Period?"

"Is that the opposite?" Nanami said hesitantly: "Because the country is strong enough to control the war situation, we can collect more Shikizaki Kiki's swords."

"Let's put it this way. Before the current Owari Shogunate was established, at the end of the Warring States Period, there was a figure who unified the world in a very short period of time. Where did he come from... Oh, yes, Tosa of Shikoku. Together with Awa and Zan Qi and Iyo formed an alliance and tried to dominate the country from the four countries. What do you call the old general?"

None of the three people present could remember the name of that figure, so they could only call him "Old General".

"When the world was unified, the number of Shikisaki Kiki's swords owned by the old general was 507, more than half. Then, he issued a decree that is extremely important to us, no, to the world."

Jiuer deliberately lowered his voice as if telling a ghost story:

"[Sword Hunting Order]!"

Seeing that his brother was still confused, Nanichi explained in a cold voice: "The Tokaku Order is one of the stupidest evil laws in Japanese history, and it is also one of the reasons why the old shogun's world ended after only one generation. "

"Oh, I remembered it! It was said to be a decree that forced the people of the country to surrender all swords for use in the construction of the Great Buddha Statue, right?" Shichika really remembered that his father Rokuge had indeed told him about this. thing.

Nanami shook his head and patiently corrected Qihua: "That's just a superficial reason. In fact, the old general wanted to hunt swordsmen and eradicate swordsmen and samurai. Of course, the superficial reasons are not fake. The Imperial Buddha "Sword Daibutsu" built from the collected swords now stands in the Shoujoin Gokenji Temple in Tosa. There is a saying that it is called "paying homage to Seiryoin". Today's Shouzai Mountain is a symbol to swordsmen. This shrine-like place is already a famous tourist attraction.”

Before coming to this island, Rong Qishi was eight years old and remembered these things very clearly.

Jiu'er coughed and was about to speak when Qi Shi's cold voice sounded again:

"But the reason behind it and the reason on the surface are both false. The real purpose of the sword hunt is actually to collect Shikisaki Kiki's sword, right?"

"That's right."

Jiuer tapped his leg with satisfaction, like a storyteller:

"The old shogun planned to collect all the thousand swords owned by Shikisaki Kiki from those owned by other daimyo to those held by private individuals. In order to consolidate his empire, he tried to obtain the remaining 493 swords. .In the three years from the promulgation of the sword hunting order to the suspension of execution, the old general collected more than 100,000 knives.

Although most of them were mass products piled high like a mountain, he still collected a considerable number of Shikisaki Kiki's swords. Well, most of them came from famous Warring States daimyo. "

"A considerable amount? Not all of them?" Qihua suddenly asked.

"Not all of them, a total of four hundred and eighty-one swords were collected. In other words, the total number of Shikisaki Kiki swords owned by the old general was nine hundred and eighty-eight."

Shichika crossed her arms and nodded: "I see, maybe a few of them were broken or lost during the war."

"No, you're wrong. In the end, it was the old general who gave up."

"Give up?" Even Qishi felt strange that a person who has won the world would give up what he was determined to get?

Jiu'er picked up the cup and took a sip of boiled water: "The Sword Hunting Order is indeed an evil order, but an evil order is also legal. The old general accurately investigated the location of all one thousand Shikizaki Kiki swords. Well, it's just the location. place."

After looking at the expressions of the two siblings, Jiuer put down the cup and said:

"You may think that since the general who dominated the world at that time knew the location of the sword, wouldn't he be able to capture it? It's not that easy. The sword made by Shikisaki Kiki is different from other swords. To be honest, I don't know what it is. Can it still be regarded as a Japanese sword? A thousand knives made based on the idea that "people do not use swords, but swords shape people", some people call them "transformed swords"."

"A heresy among heretics?"

"Yes, it is said that the last twelve remaining swords are all undisputed beauties. According to the current understanding, the nine hundred and eighty-eight swords collected by the old general were all made for Shikisaki Kiki. Those are just twelve knives."

Saying that, Jiu'er took out a piece of paper from his arms and wrote twelve names on the paper with red ink——

【Jue Dao·Zhen】

[Chopping knife·blunt]

[Thousand Swords·Thousands of Swords]

【Thin Knife·Needle】

【Thief Knife·Armor】

【Double Sword·Hammer】

【Evil Sword·鐚】

【Micro Knife · Hairpin】

【King Dao·Saw】

【Cheng Dao Quan】

【Poison Knife·Plating】

【Flame Knife·Guns】

Qishi tilted his head: "These inscriptions are a bit unconventional. Are each of them famous?"

"Famous? It should be nameless. But its ferocity far exceeds those famous swords and demon swords. For example, this fifth one——"

Jiuer pointed to the name on the paper:

"The first thing the old general found after he issued the sword hunting order was this [thief sword and armor]. The person holding this sword at that time was the pirate leader who dominated the Seto Inland Sea. Of course, the negotiations failed and the other party was unwilling to obey the sword hunting Order. So the old general immediately promulgated another decree - the "Pirate Outlaw Order", and used his righteous name to raise troops to attack the pirates. Then, he failed. The old general's powerful army that could conquer the world was defeated by a mere a knife."

"Lost?"

"The entire army was wiped out. Of course, this kind of thing has never been written in the historical chronology. This kind of thing happened twelve times in a row in three years."

The two siblings looked at each other and felt that what Jiu'er said was so... ridiculous.

"Now it seems that the main reason why the old general lost the world in just one generation is that he was defeated in twelve consecutive battles that will never be mentioned by the world. The military and national power were rapidly depleted, and the final national power should be less than 50,000 shi. Ha, compared to There is a huge difference between what is announced to the public. In the final analysis, the historical chronology is just the diary of the winner, and unpleasant things do not need to be recorded in the diary."

Jiu'er straightened up her appearance and looked at Shichika solemnly: "Now let me tell you the purpose of my visit to this island - the master of the virtual sword style, Toshichika, I want to order you to collect the last of the legendary swordsmith Shikisaki Kiki. Twelve knives.”

Qihua was stunned for a moment and looked at her sister for help.

Qi Shi refilled Jiu'er's glass of water, and then asked coldly: "...Miss Jiu'er, are you from the shogunate?"

The corners of Jiu'er's eyes narrowed slightly: "I'm sorry, I really can't hide it from you. Let me introduce myself again. I am the General Superintendent of the Military Institute directly under the direct jurisdiction of General Iemaki Owari Shogun, Jiu'er, the special strategist."

Qishi was not moved by Jiu'er's prominent status at all: "My father used to use the Void Sword Style under the banner of the Prefecture. Is it because of this fate that you came to this 'Bucheng Island' to seek my father's help?"

"My major is mental work. Because I can't use a knife, I can...forget it, it's meaningless to say this now. That guy is right, you must keep a straight line when talking to you."

Jiuer put his fist in front of his lips and coughed:

"Although one hundred and fifty years have passed, it is an indisputable fact that the twelve mutant swords have not been recovered and are still living in the world. To put it simply, the shogunate is afraid of another [rebellion], so it hopes to bring these twelve Recover the mutated knife. For this reason, I, the Qi Strategist, took action." Jiu'er said majestically.

Qishi hesitated for a moment: "Well, I originally wanted to wait for the right time to ask you again. What is a strategist? Is it a new shogunate position that has appeared in the past twenty years or..."

"No, this is just what I call myself." Jiu'er said without any shyness.

It turned out to be self-proclaimed... The two siblings sighed in their hearts at the same time.

"So, I hope to use the power of Kyūto-ryu. Shichika, can you please help me? As a swordsman who does not use swords, you should be interested in the twelve most essential swords among Shikisaki Kiki's swords. right."

"Well, that's not to say that I'm not interested, but why is it the Void Sword style? The Void Sword style is indeed known as the strongest and invincible, but now it's just a school of exiled felons. Since you are a member of the shogunate, you can spend money to hire A better person?"

"People who are paid to do things, can't do it."

Jiu'er's face fell a little: "I also thought of this plan at the beginning. The military station hired external ninjas, [the True Court Ninja Army]."

"Ninja?"

"As famous as Iga Koga, he is a ninja with a long history. He has been entrusted with several missions in the past and has had long-standing contacts with the shogunate. However, these ninjas betrayed!"

Even Shichika was surprised. A ninja would betray?

"Because one of Shikizaki Kiki's 'Transformed Swords' is worth enough to buy a country and is a high-end work of art. People who do things with money will naturally betray because of money."

Jiu'er pointed to the piece of paper on the ground:

"[Absolute Sword 铓], after seizing it from the previous holder, the Shinwa Ninja Army immediately disappeared with the sword. Not only the ninjas who participated in the sword conquest, but also the Shinwa Ninja Village disappeared together. The entire Ninja Army They have all become runaway ninjas... Tsk, thanks to them, the credibility of ninjas in the shogunate has plummeted to the bottom, and the secretive group of people are looking at each other with blank looks, which makes them look a little pitiful."

Shichika smacked her lips: "So that's it, people who do things with money will betray because of money. Then... what about reputation? My father taught me that some swordsmen act for honor that cannot be bought with money."

"Swordsman? No way. Shikisaki Kiki's sword is too poisonous for swordsmen."

"Huh? Toxic?"

"After the ninja defected, I selected the most powerful and loyal swordsman known to the shogunate. He was known as the 'strongest in the country' - Qiang Baibing. This man was already a majestic swordsman in his early twenties. "

Qihua raised her eyebrows: "Qiang...Rust? He's in his early twenties, younger than me."

"It's understandable that you think so, but he is indeed a superb swordsman. He is an unparalleled swordsman, and he has the astonishing beauty of a woman. After communicating for a long time, he finally relented and decided to help me with my sword conquest. Now he can There were six knives whose locations and holders were identified, and it only took Qiang Baibing an astonishingly short time to obtain the [Thin Knife and Needle], which is considered the most difficult to acquire."

"Then what? He also disappeared, right?"

"..."

Jiu'er was silent for a moment, and then shouted angrily:

"Didn't I tell you! Shikisaki Kiki's sword has extremely strong [sword poison]! The swordsman acted for honor, so he couldn't get rid of the temptation of Shikisaki Kiki's sword. As a result, Qiang Baibing got the thin sword and Disappeared without a trace, leaving all my trust behind. Because the leadership of the shogunate were basically swordsmen, there was no such thing as a decline in the credibility of swordsmen - this time, the person who was in credit crisis was I."

Is not this nonsensical? He failed twice as if nothing had happened, and both times he had the knife taken away by one of his own men, which was a shame.

Nanami sighed and said: "Not a ninja who fights for money, a swordsman who fights for honor...then what about a ronin who fights for chivalry and freedom?"

At the mention of [Ronin], Jiuer's face flashed red with embarrassment. She gritted her teeth. After much thought, she still felt that she couldn't hide anything from her teammates who were about to form an alliance. She squeezed through her teeth and said:

"Ronin...of course I'm looking for him too."

Qihua asked suspiciously: "Isn't it possible that he also failed and had his sword taken away?"

"No, we didn't even start the sword hunt this time."

Jiu'er said angrily:

"Ninjas and swordsmen failed one after another, and I also thought of ronin. So I traveled around the country and found out about an outstanding ronin. It is said that although this man is one-armed, he is powerful and has never been defeated. He is not moved by money, nor does he pursue pursuits. For fame and fortune, I traveled around the world purely for the chivalry in my heart. I went through all the trouble to find him in Mutsu. At first, his attitude was very gentle, until I explained the purpose of my visit and the matter of Shikisaki Kiki's transformed sword. The ronin suddenly changed his attitude, drove me away, and humiliated me with weird words like 'you are not my type'!"

Qihua was happy: "There is still such a person? What is his name?"

"The single surname sounds very much like the name of the Great Tomorrow on the other side of the sea. People who know his deeds call him [Sekiro], and his name is——"

Jiuer slapped the ground with a bang:

"Heather!"

PS: I updated 7,000 words today, great progress!