Just after the New Year in the second year of Eiroku (1559), Oda Nobunaga suddenly took Hosokawa Nobumoto and a dozen other people to Luo, and the family did not inform anyone, and the disappearance of the governor naturally caused a lot of commotion.

In the end, Nohime came forward to inform the retainers of the whereabouts of the lord of Oda, and he was able to calm down, after all, Oda Nobunaga's self-styled character, and the retainers were already accustomed to it. However, in order to show his concern for the lord, he sent Niwa Nagahide, who had followed Oda Nobunaga since childhood, as a messenger and set off to Kyoto to urge the lord to return early.

On this day, Niwa Nagahide was on the Omi Shina ferry when he saw an unusual samurai crossing the river with more than 30 people in the same boat as him.

The rough samurai was also looking back and forth, and Niwa Nagahide, who was very well-dressed, approached Niwa Nagahide and asked, "This adult is so good-looking, I don't know where the adult is from?" ”

Niwa Nagahide said without changing his face: "Oh, I'm from Mikawa, passing by Owari, I don't know where this adult is from?" Looking at the great popularity Yu Xuanang, there are so many subordinates, it must not be an ordinary character. ”

"Oh, uh. Ah, I'm just a local businessman, just a small business. After saying that, the group looked down and fell silent.

[Running business?] Who believes it, the leader's outfit is obviously a samurai, and he has a single knife under his hand, saying that it is a running merchant is more like going to kill people. And what about your goods? It's not going to sell the Notai knife you carry with you, is it? Niwa Nagahide also turned his head, silently thinking, and was already secretly vigilant, and began to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Really, why is there always trouble there? It's so bad that we have to go so far. After a while, the group began to whisper.

"It's not a personality problem with the general manager...... "One of them just said this, as if he sensed something wrong, and immediately stopped talking.

[Huh?] On the general introduction? They are talking about the lord, who is this group of people? I'm going to follow them and see what they're up to. Niwa Nagahide, who closed his eyes and pretended to be resting, heard their conversation without saying a word.

After getting off the boat, Niwa Nagahide followed the group from a distance, and found that the accommodation of the group of people along the way had been arranged, and there were special services.

Niwa Nagahide sensed the aura of conspiracy, so he asked the children in the dormitory about their origins, "My lord, we are boiling water for the bathhouse. At first, Niwa Nagahide thought they were coming from Mikawa, but he didn't expect the child's words to startle him into a cold sweat, "Oh, my lord, you ask those people, they are Mino people, and they received an order to hunt down Oda Kamisuke." ”

That night, in order to confirm the correctness of the information, Niwa Nagahide secretly lurked outside the door to eavesdrop, but the voice was too quiet, and occasionally he could only hear about "In the Gongkata Palace... It is very inconvenient to use iron artillery in the vicinity of the residence...".

[Where is the Gongfang Palace?] Iron cannon attack? It should be impossible to attack the Gongkata Palace] Returning to his residence, Niwa Nagahide, who was lying on the bed, pondered the available information [Gongkata Palace's residence? From Mino? Talked about the lord during the day? Raid? Assassination! Really! Niwa Nagahide clenched his fists, and everything was already clear.

[There are about thirty people on the other side, and I can't kill them on my own, so it's better to follow them all the time and see what they have planned.] Niwa Nagahide didn't sleep all night, and he was afraid that the other party would leave late at night.

In this way, they followed all the way, and finally arrived in Kyoto at night, and the group lived directly in a dormitory of Nijo Yakushi (place name). Niwa Nagahide observed for a while, and when he sensed that he had settled down, he slipped to the door of the dormitory, carved a mark on the pillar, and began to search for his lord's residence.

Since it was already night, there were no more people on the street, and even the shops on the street were closed, so Niwa Nagahide could only look for them from house to house.

From Shimokyo Muromachi all the way to Kamikyo Muromachi, he couldn't find a place where Oda Nobunaga stayed, and seeing that the night was already deep and there was no one on the street, Niwa Nagahide was already anxious.

In the end, he searched all the accommodations and did not find Oda Nobunaga, Niwa Nagahide was dumbfounded, and he didn't know what to do, so he wandered aimlessly on the street.

"Niwa-sama!" With a soft cry, Niwa Nagahide pulled out the sword at his waist and stood on guard. "Who?"

I saw a person come out of a dark corner, this person was tall, dressed in a black night suit, with a bulging waist, and his facial features were wrapped in a black masked scarf, revealing only a pair of cold eyes.

"Huh? Ninja! Niwa Nagahide became even more vigilant. Ninja, who roams the darkness of the night, specializes in stealth and assassination. [Could it be that I was exposed?] Send a ninja to assassinate me? ]

The masked ninja stood three meters away from Niwa Nagahide, half-raised his hands, signaled that he had no weapons, and said to Niwa Nagahide: "Niwa-sama, below is the Hosokawa family's hidden mist head Hattori Hanzo, and it has been several streets following the adult below, so what's the urgency to look at the adult's expression?" ”

"Ah, it turned out to be Rokuro's person, great, I have something important to find the lord, take me to see Hosokawa-sama, I want to meet the lord." Niwa Nagahide breathed a deep sigh, Hattori Hanzo he hadn't heard of, he thought he was the hidden ninja of the Hosokawa family, but if he could find Hosokawa Nobumoto, he would be able to find his own lord.

"I'll take Niwa-sama with me next." After speaking, Hattori Hanzo turned around and led Niwa Nagahide through the streets.

[Huh?] Next? Is this ninja a samurai? There is even a samurai as a ninja, and it seems that Hosokawa-sama is really an unconventional person. What did he say just now? I think it should be the leader of the ninjas of the Hosokawa family. Niwa Nagahide followed Hattori Hanzo, and while he was thinking, he was interrupted by Hattori Hanzo's birth, "Niwa-sama, here, the lord and the main hall are inside." ”

"Oh, good. Hey? Niwa Nagahide looked up and saw that it was a merchant house, and the lantern on the door read "Tea House". "This...?" Niwa Nagahide hesitated and didn't go in.

"Oh, this is one of the lord's properties, and the person in charge is Nakajima-sama, the Kyoto director of the family, and oh to the outside world, it is claimed that Chaya Shiro Saemon Akinobu is an ordinary merchant." Hattori Hanzo explained, raised his leg and entered the gate, looking back at Niwa Nagahide who was still motionless, knowing that this Niwa-sama was extremely cautious, he smiled and shouted, "Kanamori-sama! Beehouse-sama! Niwa-sama came from Owari. ”

Kicking and kicking, Kanamori Nagajin and Beehouse Yoritaka appeared at the door, Niwa Nagahide saw it, and his hanging heart finally let go.