I was a swordsman in ancient Japan

"Toyotomi is long gone."

"We Iga no longer serve Tokugawa either."

"How about turning over these old things and not mentioning them?"

Balrog laughed a few times.

"I didn't intend to pursue those foolish accounts from 200 years ago. It's been so long, and I don't know how to pursue them if I want to. Well, let me hear that you remnants of Iga put so much effort to find them, What's the matter."

"Lord Balrog."

Hannosuke straightened some of his clothes.

"What we're asking for is fairly simple."

"We hope Shiranui can help us."

"Help us find Kinoshita Genichi's whereabouts in Edo!"

As soon as Genichi Kinoshita spit out the name from Hannosuke, the Balrog frowned and stared.

As for Shuntaro on the side, he raised his eyebrows involuntarily after hearing the name Kinoshita Genichi.

Kinoshita Genichi is a name that Shuntaro often hears.

As far as he knew, this Kinoshita Genichi seemed to be a great swordsman who had honed his swordsmanship to the pinnacle of perfection.

At the same time, it is also one of their enemies in Shiranui.

The left eye of their leader Balrog was blinded by Genichi Kinoshita.

Ten years ago, it was also because of Genichi Kinoshita's intervention that they failed to wipe out Fuma no Sato completely in Shiranui, and suffered the shame of the base area being invaded for nothing.

"What are you looking for Kinoshita Genichi for?" Balrog said in a deep voice, "Do you also have grudges against Kinoshita Genichi?"

"It's not just a grudge!" The person who spoke this time was no longer Hannosuke, but Zennosuke, "If it wasn't for Genichi Kinoshita, 40 years ago, our Iga village wouldn't have collapsed so quickly !"

After all, Hannosuke clenched his fists, his eyes were red, and the hatred that flashed in his pupils was so intense that it was frightening.

"Didn't the demise of your Iga village be due to civil strife?" Shuntaro, who had been silent since just now, said at this time, "Could it be that it was not because of civil strife, but because of Kinoshita Genichi alone? Have you demolished your Iga village?"

"No, it's not." Zenosuke said in a deep voice, "The reason why our Iga village perished 40 years ago is very complicated."

"Among these many reasons, Genichi Kinoshita's intervention is one of the most important reasons."

"We will never forgive Genichi Kinoshita!" This time, it was Shinnosuke who spoke, "Only after the demise of Iga no Sato! The three of us have kept our names incognito for 3 years, cultivated hard, and accumulated strength!"

"All this is just for revenge on Genichi Kinoshita!"

The Balrog glanced at the 3 young men behind the three old guys: "Is this one of the powers you have accumulated to avenge the Balrog?"

"That's right!" Hannosuke said loudly, "These children are all new Iga ninjas trained by the three of us after Iga no Sato died. They are all dead warriors! Strength and courage!"

"Since you said just now that you intend to let us help you in Shiranui, look for Genichi Kinoshita in Edo." Balrog then said in a deep voice, "Could it be that you have obtained reliable information that Genichi Kinoshita is in Edo now?"

"No. We are just guessing that Genichi Kinoshita may be in Edo now." Hannosuke said, "Lord Balrog, as far as I know, you seem to have some connections with Genichi Kinoshita."

"Then you should also know how Kinoshita Genichi is a guy who likes to find trouble for nothing and how much he likes to learn from others."

Hearing Hannosuke's words, Balrog's lips tightened, and he was noncommittal to Hannosuke's words just now.

And Hannosuke went on to say:

"Before he merged with thousands of families and created the damn selfless two swords style, he traveled around and competed with masters from all walks of life."

"After he created the damn Wushou two-sword style, he became even more lawless. In just a few years, he played in countless dojos. You can find out the name of Kinoshita Genichi's fierce battle madness just by asking."

"As long as there is an opportunity to fight with people, Kinoshita Genichi will definitely go up and join in the fun."

"Even if you can't participate in the battle, you will definitely go to observe and observe."

"Lord Balrog, for such a guy who loves to compete with others, how does he feel after learning that Edo is currently holding a large-scale trial match where many masters from different schools will compete with each other?"

"I understand what you mean." The Balrog smiled a few times, "You think that Kinoshita Genichi will be attracted to Edo by the Imperial Trial, right?"

"That's right." Hannosuke nodded vigorously.

"Then you may be disappointed." The Balrog said, "I don't know if you know that the literary test for the imperial test has already been released."

"There is no Kinoshita Genichi's name on it, and Kinoshita Genichi did not participate in the imperial trial."

"At the same time, as far as I know, there are no gray-haired old men participating in the imperial trial, and the oldest one is only in his fifties."

"Lord Balrog." What Balrog said just now did not shake Hannosuke's face and expression, "I just said that even if Kinoshita Genichi didn't participate in the battle, he would definitely go to observe Observe."

"Even if he didn't participate in the imperial trial, it is very likely that he will come forward to observe in the subsequent imperial trial and martial arts."

"In short, as long as there is a slight possibility that Kinoshita Genichi is in Edo, we will not let it go!"

"I see." The Balrog sneered, "I never thought that Kinoshita Genichi not only had a grudge against our Shiranui, but also your Iga no Sato."

"Sir Yanmo." The stern expression on Hannosuke's face eased a little, "We have also heard about the entanglement between you Shiranui and Kinoshita Genichi before."

"So for us, this is a cooperation that is beneficial to both parties."

"Let's work together to find Kinoshita Genichi in Edo, and then"

Before Hannosuke finished speaking, Balrog interrupted:

"Master Hannosuke, as you said, we have a grudge against Kinoshita Genichi."

"We'd be happy to assist you, too."

"but"

The Balrog stretched his tone.

"We are not in a hurry to kill Genichi Kinoshita."

"So if we want us to help you in Shiranui, it is far from enough to rely on the fluffy words that we all have a grudge against Genichi Kinoshita."

After saying this, the Balrog stopped abruptly and did not continue talking.

But that's enough.

What Balrog said just now has explained many things to Hannosuke and the others.

After being stunned for a while, Hannosuke said with a wry smile:

"As expected of a ninja, I can't get your help without paying a price."

"You give money, we give people." Balrog said lightly, "This is a rule that has been established for hundreds of years. You are the ninjas of Iga, so you should understand this set of rules. We ninjas never do things for nothing."

Assistant Hanzhi straightened his upper body clothes: "I understand. After all, we are also ninjas. Before I came to you Shiranui, I already guessed that it is impossible to get your assistance without paying any price."

"We've been preparing for it for a long time."

"Master Yanmo, as long as you are willing to help us find Kinoshita Genichi in Edo, we are willing to pay you: 200 taels. We will pay a deposit of 100 taels first."

As soon as the number 200 was spit out from Hannosuke's mouth, Shuntaro couldn't help but let out a low exclamation.

After hearing the words "200 taels of gold", the Balrog couldn't help showing his astonishment, and said:

"You Iga remnants are quite rich after all."

"In order to avenge Kinoshita Genichi, we have been saving funds for the past 40 years." Hannosuke said indifferently, "It's just some dirty money. I hope you don't mind, Lord Balrog."

"I'm a person who doesn't care about money. I don't care if I don't do it cleanly. As long as it's money." Balrog grinned, "Since you can give me a reward, it's easy to talk about."

Hannosuke: "Then we've made a deal like this?"

"Of course!" Balrog raised his hand and touched the scar on his left eye, "Let us Shiranui and you Iga no Sato have a good cooperation."

Chapter 406 Ogata VS Takigawa 【8200 words】

Someone will beat me someday, but it won't be today, and it won't be you.

Five days after the literary test was released, the military test began.

On the list with the names of those who passed the essay test, there were only 408 names in total.

Ogata did not know exactly how many people participated in the "Imperial Trial".

But according to the gossip he heard from various sources, the total number of people who participated in the "Imperial Trial" was around [-] people.

In other words, a single essay test directly screened out over a hundred people, and nearly one-fifth of the participants were eliminated.

The venue for the martial arts test is located on a certain river beach on the outskirts of Edo.

The martial arts test officially started at five o'clock in the morning.

When Ogata and others arrived at the scene, it was almost 7 o'clock in the morning.

Although it was some time before the martial arts test started, quite a few people had already gathered at the scene.

Shimada was speechless: "There are so many people."

"The vast majority of those who will come here are those who will come to participate in the imperial trial." Mu Cun said, "There should not be many people like us who simply come to join in the fun."

The only people who accompanied Ogata to the Imperial Trial and joined in the fun were Makimura and Shimada.

Now in the early morning, at this point in time, the only people who can come to join in the excitement of the "Imperial Trial Match" are those idle people who have no job and have nothing to do on weekdays.

The venue for the martial arts test is located in a certain field on the outskirts of Edo, and it takes half an hour to leave Edo and walk to the venue.

Such a long distance is enough to daunt most idlers who want to join in the fun.

So in the end, there are very few people who will come here as spectators, and they are basically idlers who have a strong interest in the art of war.

Ogata expected that there would be very few people who would come to join in the excitement of the martial arts test, so he didn't let A-machi come along.

There are absolutely very few women who will go so far to watch a bunch of rough guys compete and compete.

If A-Machi is allowed to follow, A-Machi will definitely be very conspicuous and attract too much attention.

Although A-Ming has one of the "Four Great Asian Sorcery" makeup techniques as a cover, it is still too risky to show his face in such a conspicuous environment.

To be on the safe side, Ogata asked A-Machi to stay in the hotel and did not allow A-Machi to accompany him to the martial arts test.

And Ogata's judgment is correct. There are indeed very few women on the scene.

When Ogata looked around, he didn't see a woman, but a bunch of rough men of different ages.

Asai had no interest in the "Gozen Trial Match".

Yuan Yi was very interested, and last night he also proposed to join in the fun with him.

But Lin sternly refused.

Uncle, have you forgotten that there are many enemies of yours in Edo now?Don't go looking for trouble at this time. This is what Lin said when she refused Yuan Yi last night.

Ogata was very curious: If Lin knew that Genichi actually sneaked out every night to kill his enemies one by one, how would he feel?What expression do you have?

After being rejected by Lin's stern words, Ogata originally thought that Yuan would argue for a while.

But unexpectedly, after being rejected by Lin, Yuanyi nodded obediently in agreement, patted his chest and said: Got it, don't watch it unless you watch the imperial trial.

Mamiya is also one of the most wanted criminals of the shogunate. He should try to avoid such places where a large number of people gather and there must be officials present.

Although Lin doesn't need to hide her head and tail like Mamiya, she, like Asai, lacks interest in "Imperial Trial Match".

So in the end, the only ones who accompanied Ogata to participate in the martial arts test were Mucun and Shimada.

The breath exhaled by hundreds of people made the surrounding air cloudy and stuffy.

Not far away is a winding river nearly 3 meters wide.

The ground that Ogata and the others stepped on was the riverbank that had been washed out by the river over the years.

The terrain is flat, and the soles of the feet are covered with some hard soil or broken stones. The terrain is indeed suitable for use as a test site.

"Look." Shimada suddenly pointed in a certain direction, "What is that?"

Ogata and Makimura looked in the direction Shimada pointed.

At the end of the direction pointed by Shimada's finger, several people dressed as officials are hurriedly erecting three pieces of clean and flawless white curtains in a neat way.

These 3 pieces of erected white curtains just formed a rectangle with one side missing.

In this "rectangle with one side missing" surrounded by three pieces of white curtains, there are more than a dozen small stirrups.

At this moment, quite a few people have already sat down on these dozens of pony stools.

The people who sat on these pony stools, without exception, were wearing clothes that looked expensive at first glance, and wore sabers that looked very ordinary at the waist.

Everyone is accompanied by one or several people with small surnames.

"It should be a special seat for those dignitaries who are interested in the martial arts test to watch the test match." Ogata said.