A samurai who doesn't want to be a daimyo is not a good onmyoji

Chapter 129 The Big Thief
During the next journey through the Ise area, Asai Nagamasa did not take the relatively spacious and safe official road. Instead, he climbed over mountains and crossed rivers, heading straight west.

Of course he didn't do this to avoid possible pursuers behind him, but he wanted to see if there were any monsters in these dangerous areas.

Death and resentment can give birth to real monsters, and in such remote areas, more sinister things are often hidden.

Unfortunately, except for meeting a few groups of blind bandits and robbers, he did not see any monsters. It seemed that although monsters had gradually begun to appear in Nibon, they had not yet reached the point where they were everywhere.

Just when Asai Nagamasa thought that the next journey would be so smooth, the roar of some kind of large beast and the roar of humans suddenly came from ahead. He suddenly felt happy, and it seemed that he didn't have to worry about being bored. .

He couldn't help but turn his head and look at the little kunoichi next to him. She seemed much quieter today than before.

"Ning Ning, please don't participate in the battle for now. Keep an eye on our horses and food. A Xiu and I will go check on the situation first."

The little kunoichi couldn't help but blush. Of course she was not an idiot. She knew very well why she received such preferential treatment. However, she was indeed in some inconvenience today, so she blushed and accepted.

Asai Nagamasa thought for a while, and then told Guan Hu, who was standing behind him like a child along the way: "Xiaohong, please stay with Ning Ning first, and don't show any abnormality."

Although there are now traces of monsters gradually appearing in several places in Nippon, Onmyoji and Shikigami are alone for the time being, and he does not want to be exposed to strangers too early.

After pushing aside the branches blocking the road, Asai Nagamasa immediately saw the battlefield clearly.

A dozen ninjas, covered in pitch-black night clothes, with their entire faces covered tightly, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed, were jumping up and down, using their swords and random darts to fight against about four or five people. A gray wolf with an unusually tall and strong head.

There are also the corpses of about twenty equally strong gray wolves and the corpses of less than ten ninjas on the ground. It seems that the battle must have lasted for a long time.

As soon as he saw the eyes of these gray wolves that were constantly emitting green light, Asai Nagamasa knew that even if they were not monsters, they were probably infected by spiritual stones or monster energy, so they were so big. size.

They were obviously just gray wolves, but their physiques were comparable to those of sub-adult tigers. No wonder even these elite-looking ninjas were unable to withstand them.

At this time, the little kunoichi, who had obviously promised not to participate in the battle, followed quietly and whispered behind Asai Nagamasa: "It smells like an Iga ninja. That strong man is their leading chuunin, and the others are genin." .”

Asai Nagamasa glanced twice. Except for the slight difference in body shape, he still couldn't find any special marks on these ninjas. He couldn't even tell the gender of these ninjas for the time being, and he didn't know what the little kunoichi was like. Identify the forces they belong to and their respective positions.

However, out of trust in the little kunoichi, he still took out the newly acquired tachi Bizen Yucheng and shouted loudly: "Hey, ninjas over there, I am Asai Nagamasa. I passed by here by chance. I wonder if you need it. Can I help?"

If the other party is a chuunin in Iga, he will have access to some of the secrets of their ninjas, and his name should not be completely unfamiliar to him.

After all, the Iga kunoichi disguised as the daughter of the Hirai family is still staying in Kotani Castle as his unmarried wife.

The brawny ninja, whom the little kunoichi thought was a chuunin, suddenly attacked with a few quick moves, temporarily forcing his opponent back. Then he turned back and said, "Asai Nagamasa? The young master of the Kitaomi Daimyo?"

Sure enough, he did know himself.

Asai Nagamasa nodded: "Yes, I wonder which ninja family you are from?"

The strong man laughed: "I am Iga's ninja - Ishikawa Goemon. Our boss has mentioned your name more than once."

Unlike other ninjas who tried their best to hide their true identity, the strong man revealed his true name after the first meeting.

And coincidentally, Asai Nagamasa is not completely unfamiliar with this name.

"Is it Ishikawa Goemon, a thief active in Kyoto? I didn't expect my luck to be so good."

Ishikawa Goemon, an Iga ninja, is said to be the apprentice of the Iga leader Momochi Santafu. His favorite thing in his life was to sneak into the homes of various ministers in Kyoto and steal. He probably didn't do it for money, but just as a hobby.

Because now the ministers in Kyoto are all a bunch of paupers, the kind who just eat one meal without finishing the next. It is impossible for them to have anything valuable in their homes. Even if they do have it, they have already exchanged it for food. So in fact, they There is no use in stealing it, and it can only be explained as a hobby.

However, the most important reason why this ninja is famous in the history of the parallel world is because his death method is very rare. After a failed theft, he was thrown into a cauldron and boiled to death.

The person who gave the order was not a stranger, it was Tokichiro who became much more violent and brutal after he gained power.

"Haha, the boss said that you are a very interesting warrior. Now it seems that it is indeed the case. Ordinary warriors will not appreciate a despicable thief!"

Although he said this, even without taking off his mask, Asai Nagamasa could completely feel that this strong man was actually more proud of his identity as a thief than his identity as a ninja.

Then, as if he was deliberately showing off his hand in front of Asai Nagamasa, the big thief Goemon Ishikawa sheathed his sword, put his hands in his arms, paused slightly, and then suddenly swung out a large and messy hidden weapon, the number of which was huge. There were so many that almost all the remaining gray wolves were covered at once.

Following a series of wolf howls, except for one gray wolf that survived, all the other gray wolves were blinded on the spot and had dozens of wounds of various sizes on their bodies.

The other ninjas seemed to have been prepared. They didn't waste any time and swarmed forward. They waved their weapons for a dozen times and chopped all the gray wolves into pieces in an instant.

Asai Nagamasa heard the little kunoichi snort, seeming to be quite disdainful of the other party's failure.However, the thief Ishikawa Goemon did not notice this. He just turned his head and proudly showed off to Asai Nagamasa: "How is my secret skill?"

Asai Nagamasa gently clapped his hands: "Not bad, not bad, he really lives up to his reputation as a great thief."

The little kunoichi may be disdainful, but that may be because she is more capable in this area, but Asai Nagamasa has to admit that the methods of the thief Ishikawa Goemon are indeed very powerful, even if his current physical fitness completely crushes the opponent, he himself There is absolutely no way to use the move just now.

In just a few breaths, he threw at least seventy or eighty small hidden weapons of different shapes, and successfully hit the eyes of several gray wolves. This was not just a matter of hand speed, he His skills are also very good, and he deserves the praise of Nagamasa Asai anyway.

"Haha, then I wonder how these gray wolves compare to the pig demon you killed back then?"

Asai Nagamasa suddenly laughed. It turned out that this guy was waiting for him here. But now that he knew about the monsters and seemed willing to believe the information, maybe this guy was not just as brainless as he showed.

Glancing at the gray wolf carcass on the ground again, he replied nonchalantly: "If it were a pig demon, I could probably kill at least three or four of them."

Although the pig demon has rough skin and thick flesh, and superior strength, its clumsiness is its biggest weakness. However, these gray wolves are not only extremely agile, but also good at group attacks. That's about it.

Of course, if it were the big pig demon with a spiritual stone placed in its body, maybe its record could be doubled?
The thief Ishikawa Goemon didn't get angry after hearing this, but instead said thoughtfully: "Oh, is that so?"

Then he bowed his hand to Asai Nagamasa: "The boss said that if there is a chance, he is willing to meet with you. After all, you are a truly powerful samurai. And the boss also promised that he will never accept any mission to assassinate you. .”

"Oh, by the way, the boss also said that if you are willing to go to Iga, the boss is willing to receive you with the highest treatment and become a guest nin of Iga."

According to the regulations of Iga ninja, even if they are not professional ninjas, as long as they are hermits, monks or ronin with any special abilities, they can go to Iga to serve as guest ninjas. At the same time, Iga will also eliminate the traces of guest ninjas. To protect them from pursuit and other persecution.

Generally speaking, other forces will basically pinch their noses and endure it, tacitly assuming that this grudge will be wiped out.

Although the social status of ninjas is basically at the bottom in Nippon, even worse than ordinary farmers, because they are a profession in the dark, most people are not willing to completely offend ninjas unless necessary. .

However, although there are many ninjas in Nippon, there are currently only two forces that have suffered this kind of treatment, one is the Iga ninja and the other is the Koga ninja.

This has nothing to do with anything else, purely because they are the strongest among the ninjas, and the location of their station is chosen very well. They are all in Ise.

The Ise area is home to dozens of forces, large and small, and is known as the Nippon Small Warring States. If foreign forces want to invade on a large scale, they will offend many small forces. If they do not invade on a large scale and only send a small number of elites, they will hardly be able to do so. It is possible to defeat the powerful and strategically located Iga ninjas.

Therefore, after some forces simply tried to use strong methods, but in turn suffered a bloody blow, the special guest-nin system of Iga ninja and Koga ninja was barely recognized by the outside world.

As a result, Iga has gathered many strange people who cannot survive in the outside world, which in turn has led to the continuous growth of the elite backbone of Iga ninjas.

Of course, Iga and Koga also need to make certain guarantees for this, that is, the guest nin they take in can no longer retaliate against their former enemies. This can be regarded as a mutual compromise.

But Asai Nagamasa just laughed it off. Ninja is a profession in the dark, and is considered a despicable profession by samurai. Although he ran away from the Asai family, he has not yet reached such a state of desperation. Momochi Santafu's information is somewhat Too outdated.

Let alone a mere guest nin, even for the position of leader of Iga, he is far from qualified.

Having said that, Asai Nagamasa still bowed his hand and said politely: "Thank you so much, Mrs. Third, if there is a chance, I will consider it."

He had no intention of going to Iga at all, because after that bet on the general but failed in the end, Momochi Santafu became more low-key and neutral.

If he had not inherited Abe Seimei's knowledge and power, even if he successfully succeeded him as the daimyo of the Asai family, it would be almost impossible for the other party to bet on him.

Ultimately, it all comes down to strength speaking.

The big thief Goemon Ishikawa nodded, hesitated for a moment, and finally chose to reveal some information. After all, if he followed what the boss said, they would probably be able to use each other's power in the future.

"The boss said that recently, the beasts in many places in Nippon have gradually appeared strange. They have become bigger and more ferocious. Maybe they are all related to monsters."

Asai Nagamasa sighed softly: "If they all have green eyes like these gray wolves, and even have small green horns growing on their heads, then they are indeed about to become monsters."

"If that's the case, there must be something nearby that's affecting them."

The thief Ishikawa Goemon couldn't help but subconsciously asked: "What is it?"

"They are some rough stones with a golden appearance - spirit stones. For ordinary humans, spirit stones are highly poisonous, but for beasts or monsters, spirit stones can make them stronger, at the cost of becoming He becomes more crazy, cruel, and bloodthirsty until he completely loses his true nature."

The thief Ishikawa Goemon was stunned for a moment, and then he bowed his hand to Asai Nagamasa again: "Thank you very much. Next time we meet, I will treat you to a drink."

Asai Nagamasa chuckled. If he really took this promise seriously, then he would be an out-and-out fool. But since he has revealed this information, with the methods of the Iga ninjas, he will wait until the next time he and the other party When trading, you will definitely gain a lot of money, right?
(End of this chapter)