[Hokage] Terukawa

It took three days to figure out the situation, and one day to get the city.

When I followed Yoichi into the castle tower, my whole body was still numb - was this a success?

The facilities along the way are all gorgeous, and the decorations that catch the eye are all exquisite. Apart from being a bit old-fashioned, they are completely aristocratic.The guarding warriors all turned into corpses scattered on the ground. There were not many of them. It would be no more difficult for Yoichi and others to deal with them than to deal with a few ferocious beasts.

It would be false to say that I am not curious about the specific situation, but there are indeed more important things to deal with at the moment.

"Follow me." Yang Yi waved to me.

Facing such high-rise buildings, ninjas have always been impatient to step on the stairs step by step, so this view and subsequent behavior were denounced by many nobles as "rude", "lack of education" and "boars cannot eat fine chaff".

The not-so-elegant me and the not-so-elegant Yang Yi flew all the way over the walls, with the wind blowing under our feet. After a few ups and downs, we climbed to the top of the watchtower.

Yang Yi opened a paper door and explained to me in a low voice: "This is the place where the original city lord discussed politics. It is connected to the dojo on the east side. There are some blood stains there... The guess is correct. Before we broke in, someone had already left the city. misfortune."

He keeps talking, but his steps never stop.The space in front of me is wide and bright. Yang Yi's two companions, Jing Yi and Yang Er - yes, I can tell them apart - are standing in front of a young man whose clothes are obviously different from those of ordinary people.

They have long lost the ability to speak, so they have found another way of "speaking".

I could see at a glance that this was a routine where Yang Er played the red face and Jing Yi played the bad side, and I began to have some concerns about the identity of the young man half lying on the ground.

Yang Yi nodded slightly and said, "This is the only one who didn't resist. Some of the others were killed or sent to the dungeon." Then he turned to Jing Yi, "Did he write anything down?"

Jing nodded and presented an album.

"Come and see." Yang glanced at it and handed it directly to my hand.

I took the thing, but did not open it to read immediately. Instead, I fixed my gaze on the young man in aristocratic clothing - as expected, he who had been keeping his head down and trying to minimize his presence was hearing When Yang Yi asked me to flip through the pages of the album, I finally couldn't hold my breath anymore.

He tilted his head slightly, thinking he was casting a hidden glance at me - and then he met my teasing eyes.

"Swish".

The sudden movement of lowering his head was so large that the gorgeous fabrics made a sound.

I looked coldly at these small actions that were difficult to distinguish between true and false. I felt that this person was somewhat interesting, but not that interesting.

Judging from his behavior, he is probably not a stupid person, but these little actions... what are they trying to do?

I thought for a moment: "...Is he the original one or a later one?"

"He said that he was from the original city lord," Yang Yi replied, "so I asked him to explain clearly the ins and outs of the changes in the city, so as to avoid unnecessary pain."

Oh, I really didn't think much about it.Since he was the former city lord, he must have come from a serious aristocratic official school.

He received a complete aristocratic education in the official school, and survived to this day in the castle tower that had long since changed... How could he be a real fool?

The fact that we captured the city so easily was probably due to the contribution of people like him.

Maybe it's useful.

"Create a quiet dungeon for me, with a table and two chairs." I turned the pages of the album and let it make a soft "squeaking" sound in my palm. "I want to invite our noble lord... to do it together." A beautiful review.

"I thought you wouldn't embarrass me... too much."

----

It's hard not to worry about the mental state of the nobles of the River Country... No, please allow me to be a little more radical - are these people mentally perverted?

Facing the various designs on the two walls, I expressed my unabashed emotion: "I thought the ones I had seen were enough to keep me calm and unfazed, but I didn't expect that there are more functions and models here. Everything, even the styling is very... wonderful."

"Nobles love to torture people for fun. I thought you knew this better than me."

Yang Yi outside the cell sneered.

"I still have things to do, how about just leaving Jingyi here? He has a steady personality and is the most reliable -"

"No, no, no, just leave it to me."

But I waved my hand as if to see him off, and directly cut off his words.

"Please, I'm super reliable, okay? This kind of trivial matter is a piece of cake. Moreover, Jing Yi has just 'examined' this master. If it has caused any psychological shadow, he dare not say it in front of Jing Yi. To tell the truth, it’s very unattractive.”

I was answered by a few seconds of unnerving silence.

I completely ignored the young man's probing eyes and calmly sat down on the wooden chair opposite him.

After a few seconds.

"Let's go." Of course, this could only be Yang Yi's voice, and the footsteps that followed gradually faded away.

About two breaths later, there were two more footsteps, one of which was a little hurried—perhaps he was running a few steps in order to keep up with the person in front.

Yang Er.Mirror one.

I knocked on the table, and the beautiful smile on my face to appease the noble lord remained unchanged: "Although I have opened my eyes here, please don't worry, I will not use any of these things on you - as long as you Obedient enough.

"Then the first question," I took out a pen and spread out the pages of the album. Although my tone was gentle, I really didn't bother to say more nonsense. "According to you - when did the false city lord replace the real city lord?"

The expression on the person opposite him changed - well, after all, it was the first time for... a cooperative review, so it is understandable that you are not proficient in business.Give him a chance.

I waited patiently, watching his expression change several times, and finally settled on "Hope", and then spoke——

"...Young Master, you and them are not of the same mind, right?"

I raised my head, and upon seeing this, the young man immediately became very excited.He repeated firmly: "You and them are not of the same mind." After saying that, he looked at me with bright eyes, as if expecting a positive answer.

Looking at each other for a few seconds, I finally couldn't help it and smiled warmly: "You are too impatient."

"what?"

Maybe the voice was too soft, maybe the answer was unexpected - the young man didn't hear clearly, and I gave him too little restraint, so he actually leaned over to try to hear what I said clearly.

"I say……"

I smiled until my eyes became gentle.

“Who taught you to answer questions with questions?”

The last syllable fell, and layers of coldness returned to the surface along the cracks in the ground where the syllable had penetrated.A brazier for lighting and burning iron was placed aside. I burned the fire very brightly, but I still saw the noble man's fingers shrinking.

"Master, do you feel hot?" I asked.

"No...not hot."

"Are you feeling cold?"

"It's not...cold either."

"There was a long pause. It seemed that he felt cold, but he didn't say anything because he was not good at words."

I nodded.

"Don't worry, your fingers won't be cold anymore. I'm good at keeping things safe for others."

Lifting my chin, I directed him to look at the corner of the table on my left hand side - a severed finger.

A broken finger with even bones and flesh, and neatly trimmed nails.

It was also a fresh, severed finger from a young noble man.

I got up to add firewood to the brazier. Amidst the crackling sounds of sparks, I could clearly hear my breathing that suddenly became heavy and rapid. A scream began to poke out from the young throat, and was suppressed by force, leaving only one A weak and miserable whimper.

I blew on the newly lit charcoal and saw that the burning part became more and more red, so I placed it firmly into the "firewood mountain" in the brazier, turned around and returned to my seat.

"Sorry, I didn't think well."

I apologized politely.

"Are you satisfied with the current temperature?"

Now the young gentleman will no longer answer questions with questions.He bent over and pinched the roots of his fingers with all his strength, staring with splitting eyes at the exposed red flesh and white tendons and broken bones at the cross section, his whole body trembling and almost twitching - unfortunately, even if he left the rest Even if the bit of glare is gone, not a drop of blood will flow out from this terrible wound.

Micromanaging has always been my strength.

Seeing that the person was about to lose his grace, I had to knock my knuckles on the table and remind him: "Please stay calm, you will have to rate my hosting service later."

Then the trembling body barely stopped shaking, and the scarlet eyes temporarily faded away from the scarlet color.

After breathing heavily, the young nobleman finally took a deep breath and completely lost the arrogance and contempt that grew in his eyes like a stubborn disease.

"...I cooperate with you," he said word by word, gritting his teeth against the blood, "I, cooperate, cooperate with you."

"Thank you for your cooperation, then——"

I tilted my head, my brows and eyes forming the gentlest smile that could appear on my face.

"According to Sir - when did the false city lord replace the real city lord?"

……

…………

"So everything becomes clear."

I rewind the album from the last page to the first page, and review the changes and comments I left section by section.

"Mr. Watanabe Heiraemon, this -" I shook the album, "is this the whole story of the incident in the city?"

Watanabe Heiraemon - The young aristocratic man nodded dejectedly, and all the strength and courage of hatred in his body seemed to drain away bit by bit as he told the truth.

"It seems that the version you originally gave was nearly half less than the current version," I sighed gently, "and in the only half of the content, you blurred the information in thirteen places, 'accidentally making mistakes. 'Nine places."

After the words fell, I stared into his eyes quietly.

Eye contact for a brief moment.

He remained silent and looked away.

The brazier became noisy.

I also lowered my eyes and filled the time between us with the soft sound of the pages turning.

"You, you just said..." After an unknown amount of time, the young nobleman finally lost his composure and looked in the direction of his severed finger and spoke proactively.

Suddenly, I intercepted his words very simply: "On the day when the false city lord killed the entire family of the original civil servants and hung many heads under the eaves, what color were the orchids placed on the windowsill?"

"Yes...it's light green! There are more than 30 hanging human heads across the window." Watanabe Heiraemon's cold and stern tone shocked me, and the answer was almost without thinking, "I... I will never forget that scene in my life!”

"Light green Northern Orchid. According to the "List of Plant Species of the Land of Ancient Rain" compiled and published more than 50 years ago, Northern Orchid is a special species of orchid that is only produced in the northern part of the Land of Present Rain and the Land of Present Rivers. It is available in summer and autumn. It blooms in two seasons, and the flowering period lasts for 4 to 5 months. The characteristic is that the color of the petals will change with the extension of the flowering period, ranging from white, light green, goose yellow, orange, and very few can turn into rouge color.

"The last notice was signed on June 6 last year."

Listening to my sudden burst of incomprehensible words, Watanabe Heiraemon looked confused at first, and then gradually realized. By the time he fully understood my intention, his face had become complicated and pale.

"You didn't 'accidentally remember wrongly' again, sir," I straightened the spine of the album, looked up and showed my first real smile today, "Our review was very successful... Or maybe you would prefer not to Disgusting statement——

"Interrogation session, over?"

Watanabe Heiraemon stared at me, and I looked back at him with a smile, until he overcame his fear again and spoke actively: "Then, what's the next step...?"

"you guess?"

"you--"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Now that the interrogation is over, I shouldn't torment you anymore."

Seeing that the person was going to be furious, I immediately restrained my sudden bad taste.

“As you wish—as it should be.”

The green light was soft and bright, and the breath of life like the spring breeze dispersed the coldness lingering on the wound section. The broken bones were restored, the blood rushed, and the skin that was already approaching purple gradually returned to white. Ten seconds later, The warmth of body temperature and the softness of flesh and blood favored the noble's fingers again.

Watanabe Heiraemon stared at his fingers. After several tentative movements of rotating and grasping, his eyes became like staring at a miracle: "Little... no, you ninjas are all like this. Does it exist?"

"No, but it could be."

I looked at him with a half-smile, leaned back on the chair, and put the corrected album aside.

"Mr. Watanabe, do you have any other questions? Instead of thinking about it, why don't you tell me directly. I will answer some of the answers so that you can put your mind back in peace."

Some things can be left vague without being made explicit, but once they are brought to light, they will immediately be on guard: "What is your purpose? If you are just killing people and silencing them, why should you treat me gently or even answer my questions?"

"Let me think about how to answer these two questions concisely and understandably."

My fingertips tapped a few points on the table.

"In summary, although the war on the surface is over - I assume you know this - the war in the dark is far from over. There are our companions outside the city. In order to prevent them from being isolated and helpless, we So we had to go to the city to set up a supply base. If we want to stay here, we can't know anything about the official. Three days ago, I went to the city to investigate, but unexpectedly, something unexpected happened..." I spread my hands, " After a few defensive counterattacks, things became what they are now.

"You are an unexpected surprise, and you should be treated well. We are here to establish a stronghold, not to massacre the city and exterminate the clan. At the moment, my companions are unable to spare their efforts, so they have to arrange for me to come and talk to you."

Watanabe Heiraemon laughed "haha" twice, but he didn't know how much he believed it.I don't care at all, because even I don't believe it at all - don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you.

But what if he doesn't believe it?The fake city lord and his subordinates were either imprisoned or dead. He was about to be placed under house arrest without any evidence, so I simply blurred the purpose of entering the city.After all, the real purpose of Yang Yi and others is to find a place to stay and live peacefully, not to become the lord of a city and somehow control the power of life and death.

Therefore, it is good to have Watanabe Heiraemon alive.

The only problem is that no noble can tolerate ninjas occupying the castle tower of their city. If things go on like this, there will be endless troubles - so I replaced "seize" with "stay".

As for how long the so-called "stay" is...

"...Then how long do you plan to stay here?"

"No one can say for sure about the secret war. If you are lucky, it will be weeks or months. If you are not lucky, it will be several years. But you can relax, the battlefield is outside the city, not inside the city, and the ninjas are also interested in it. Your affairs are not of interest. If the situation is urgent, we can even consider cooperation."

Watanabe Heiraemon's face looked a little ugly for a moment, but as the flames danced and the light and shadow changed, I saw that his face softened slightly, and only his lips seemed to move unintentionally as he muttered: "... …If we have any emergency, it will only be you…”

See, not every question requires an exact answer.When the answer is "impossible" to be accurate, the fervent emotion called "hope" is enough to fill the void in the heart of the questioner.This blankness is the intention to die in despair, and the intention to kill in anger.

I cleared my throat, and patiently explained to him who was frightened by the vivid performance: "The situation will change soon. In addition..." I pointed to my ears and said in a tactful tone, "Ninjas have very good hearing. And I have a very good character and patience, so you can ask me directly - of course, provided we are not interrogating."

"...Okay, okay, I completely understand." Watanabe Hiraemon showed an awkward but polite smile.

"I hope so?" I made another "please" gesture.

Watanabe Heiraemon rubbed the corner of his clothes - it can be seen that he is extremely entangled at the moment, but if my guess is correct, he will not let go of the only opportunity.

"...Young Master, you and them are not of the same mind, right?"

"..." I looked at him with interest and raised my eyebrows, "How do you say this?"

"because……"

really.

Listening to Mr. Watanabe's list one by one, I held my chin and squinted my eyes and smiled, but my mind started to wander at an inappropriate time.

Sure enough...compared to governing the city and enriching the people, finding opportunities and sowing discord is more like the "nobility" flowing in the blood of the nobles.

Unfortunately, this bit of "nobility" played into Yoichi and I's hands.