For hundreds or even millennia, only the most diligent hunters or herb pickers would come to the depths of Yunoda's Luming Mountain, where mosquitoes infested and carved a trail through the dense trees.

But now, a group of men, who were clearly not skinny and small, were trudging through the temperate woods that did not see the light of day.

"Hey, Ishihara-kun, don't go so fast."

A dark-skinned man shouted. He had several dull yellow bandages on his shoulders, and blood was still oozing out.

The man called Ishihara turned his head, looked at the man holding his shoulder, and scolded, "Stupid Sasuke, you are as fragile as a rat in a ravine!" Don't lose face in your family! ”

Sasuke shrunk his neck in Ishihara's scolding, but he still retorted stiffly: "We've been walking for a few hours, and we've been walking since the sun hasn't risen, so it's not too much to take a break now!" ”

Ishihara stopped and looked around at the people around him. Seeing that they were all silent and did not speak, it was obvious that they acquiesced in the request for rest.

Ishihara sighed and had no choice but to say, "Okay then, rest on the spot for a while, and eat quickly." Iwai! You take a few people to the trees to watch the wind, and call me if there is a situation! ”

A short young man in the crowd agreed, patted the shoulders of several people around him, and first untied the rifle he was carrying, hanging only a bamboo bow.

He ran a few paces, stomped on a tree, his strong hands clinging to the trunk like the pincers of a crab, and with a few kicks on the bark, he climbed up like a gecko swimming against a wall, drowning in the tender green leaves.

The same goes for the man who was patted on the shoulder by the young man, who quickly climbed a few thick trees and carefully observed the woods.

Ishihara arranged for a few more people to go to a few dozen steps away to stand guard. When everything was arranged, he released the tiredness of his bones and sat down on a rock.

"Ishihara-kun, try my rice balls." Sasuke, who had just been reprimanded, walked over with a shy face, sat down next to Ishihara, and took out a package from his arms, "This is the plum rice ball made by my sister, which is made with rice, not sweet potatoes." ”

Ishihara looked at the yellowed rice balls touched by Sasuke's dirty hands and wanted to refuse, but his physical hunger overcame his pursuit of hygiene.

"It smells so good." Ishihara swallowed a rice ball in two bites, his tongue swept vigorously in his mouth, trying to savor the wonderful taste of sweet and sour plums mixed with long-lost rice and poured vinegar.

"How long has it been since you've eaten plum rice balls?" Ishihara suddenly thought.

Seem... It's been a long time... The last time I ate it, it seems to be half a month ago. At that time, the Tokugawa family had not yet launched a rebel army to attack Saga, and although the situation at the front was already tense, there was no food control.

In the past half a month, no merchant ships have arrived at the port to replenish supplies, and the soldiers of the Nabeshima family have eaten worse and worse. At first, you can eat potato and rice cakes, but gradually they become potato and sweet potato meatballs. Until now, even the low-ranking samurai directly under the Nabeshima family can only eat sweet potato vermicelli that was only eaten by untouchables in the past, not to mention that he Ishihara is just a ronin with only his surname left.

The question of where Sasuke got the rice had already reached his lips, and he was swallowed by Ishihara again: "How's your injury, Sasuke?" ”

Sasuke looked at Ishihara and grinned with yellow teeth: "It's not in the way, it's just that he was shot with a bow and arrow, and he didn't hurt his bones, so it's good to raise it for half a month." ”

Ishihara nodded, didn't speak again, just leaned against the rough trunk of the tree, looking at the sky obscured by the leaves in a daze.

"Ishihara-kun, how long are we going to go?"

After eating the rice balls, Sasuke couldn't help but ask.

Ishihara turned his head sideways and glanced at Sasuke, and asked lightly, "Can't you stand it, Sasuke-kun?" You're the eldest son of Lord Naoki Fanqimoto, who has two hundred koku of Yuroku, so you can't bear the hardships? ”

Sasuke Naoki's eyes widened and he shouted, "Platoon Lord, how can you smear people's innocence like this?" I'm though..."

There was a soft sound beside him, and Jiro Iwai in the tree landed lightly on the grass and whispered to Ishihara: "Your Excellency Platoon Commander, the Shogunate Army is approaching. ”

Ishihara bounced up like a spring that was tense all the time. He waved his hand to signal his subordinates to end their rest immediately, and asked, "In which direction?" How many people are there? ”

Iwai paused for a moment and quickly reported: "From the northwest direction, it's about two hundred meters away, but that's just what I saw, I don't know if there is an outpost." ”

Ishihara nodded, his right hand gripping the handle of the firearm strapped to his thigh. The grip that was smooth to the touch of a rough hand gave him some confidence.

After calming down a little, Ishihara ordered: "Retreat to the south immediately, and you can be rescued after another hour's walk." ”

The team, which had just rested for a few minutes, entered the difficult trek again.

According to past experience, in such a luxuriant temperate forest, even if it is only two hundred meters, it is often possible to get rid of the pursuit of the tail. But Iwai, who was in charge of covering at the back of the team, had always had a sense of foreboding, as if there was a Nagasakihara spearhead pit spitting letters behind him, ready to strike a fatal blow.

After walking more than a hundred meters, Iwai finally couldn't bear the depression in his heart. He said to his companion, removed the rifle from his shoulder, and sped up to the front of the group.

Ishihara was walking at the front of the line, and his heart was faintly dull, as if something big was going to happen.

He is a very traditional Japanese who has always believed in the legend of gods, demons and monsters, so he naturally suspects that this is a hint from the mountain god to himself.

Therefore, after hearing Iwai's low-pitched shout behind him, Ishihara immediately turned around and walked back, meeting Iwai in the middle of the group.

"What's wrong, Iwai-kun?" Ishihara barely managed to squeeze out a smile. The short, stout ronin in front of him is not only a good scout, but also a well-known sensitizer, who is said to be able to sense all dangers.

Seeing this somewhat legendary ronin walking with a calm face, Ishihara couldn't help but have a bad premonition rolling in his heart.

"Platoon Commander, we..."

As soon as Iwai spoke, a look of extreme panic suddenly appeared on his face, as if he had seen a tiger pounce out of the grass.

He stooped down and lunged to his side. Almost at the same time, Ishihara heard a faint sound of breaking through the air.

"What is this?" Ishihara thought to himself. He looked down at the well that had been buried in the grass and noticed some red spots on his chest.

"Iwai-kun, are you hurt?" He asked. As soon as he said that, he felt a warm liquid flow on his chin, a little itchy.

Ishihara was stunned for a moment, and his ears heard screams coming from around him, as well as the sound of continuous shooting. He struggled to lower his head, only to realize that he had a large wound on his waist.

"Oh, so I was hurt."

Thinking of this, the pain that had been inexplicably ignored before suddenly came, and the body that had lost its strength slowly fell, and the blood gushing out stained the grass in front of him.

After dodging the first shot from his pursuers, Iwai rolled around a few times without stopping, dodging the shots that followed him closely.

He wiped away the dirt and blades of grass that had been splashed by the bullets, and raised his rifle to reveal the swaying bushes.

"Bang"!

As the gunshots rang out, the bushes, which had not been at all human, shook quickly, and a man covered in green fell out, and the wound on his chest was still spurting scarlet blood.

Before Iwai could confirm the results, his instincts, which had worked countless times before, gave him feedback, forcing him to turn into a rolling gourd again, avoiding a few buckshot bullets under the cover of the bushes.

But others weren't so lucky. The sudden attack caught them by surprise, and almost no one realized that they would be caught up by the shogunate army, who was "supposed to be two hundred meters away" - the lack of psychological preparation and battlefield vigilance led to the first round of attacks by the pursuers to a very good effect, and more than a dozen people were hit at the first time and fell in the vibrant mountain forest of spring.

Iwai soon learns the identities of these unconscionable pursuers. The black circles in a circle are so distinctive that even if Iwai had only seen them once in Master Song's training class, he would still be able to recognize them at the first time.

He gritted his teeth and watched the Iga-ryu ninja hidden in the bushes, carefully crawling down the ravine of the hillside.

He didn't know if he was being targeted by the ninjas of the Tokugawa family, and he only wished that he could quietly escape the battlefield and escape from these terrible killing machines.

The screams from behind him and the sound of resisting gunfire became weaker and weaker, and Iwai's eyes were already red, but he did not dare to turn around and go into battle. There is only hope if you survive.

Eventually, all the sounds were gone, except for the burlap coat rubbing against the weeds with a rustling sound.

Iwai did his best to keep his figure down so that he wouldn't be noticed by the ninjas behind him. Now he lies on the ground, using his hands and feet together, like a caterpillar, away from the battlefield with the help of lush bushes and grass.

Small voices began to sound, which meant that the perfectly hidden Iga ninjas had lifted their disguises and began to inspect the battlefield.

Iwai curled up motionless. In this tense moment, any small move has the potential to reveal where you are.

He turned his head sideways and looked coldly at the ninjas more than a dozen meters away. The green-clad Assassins were searching the bodies with knives, mending the fallen ones one by one to prevent any of them from slipping through the net.

It's a very cautious approach, and while it's cumbersome, it's useful.

Like now.

A ninja who was shaking the blood from his knife suddenly screamed, and his body slammed to the side. Almost at the same time, a gunshot caused Iwai's eyes to shrink, and the strong sense of crisis made goosebumps shiver all over his body.

A figure who fell to the ground dropped the fired handcuffs, screaming and fluttering to his feet, grabbing the ground and running wildly.

All the ninjas were shocked. Although they have always been accustomed to mending the enemy's sword, it is only to prevent the injured and fallen enemies from surviving, and to end the suffering for the wounded, where did they think that this time they would force out a bad seed who pretended to be dead and fell to the ground?

Is there any samurai honor left here?!

Annoyed, the ninjas immediately threw the hidden weapons in their pockets. In an instant, more than a dozen darts and shurikens were spun and thrown, stabbing into the back of the pretending dead.