The executioner's name may not have spread throughout Japan. People in the distant Tohoku and Kyushu regions may not have heard of this person.

But the name has long spread throughout the region.

All the samurai of all the shogunate and all the feudal domains in the region knew that the Hirose domain had a lord killer.

"In other words......" Kohata muttered, "Is 'Kihei' here to chase down 'Executioner Ichitosai'?" ”

"It should be." Sano nodded slightly.

"I don't know if 'Kihei' is good to get along with...... "Kohata muttered in a slightly uneasy tone.

"I've heard that he's a cruel man to thieves and kind to the common people." Sano smiled, "So Kohata, you can relax and get along with 'Onihei' with an attitude that is neither humble nor arrogant." ”

Just then—they heard the soft sound of horses' hooves on the horizon ahead.

"It's coming!" After hearing the gentle sound of horses' hooves, Sano raised his eyebrows, then hurriedly turned back to his subordinates behind him and shouted, "Get ready!" Hasegawa-sama: They're here. ”

Hearing Sano's shout, everyone immediately came to their senses.

They all straightened up and straightened their clothes.

The sound of horses' hooves reaching the horizon went from light to heavy at a breakneck speed.

A black dot gradually appeared on the horizon.

And this black dot also amplified with the sound of horses' hooves, and little by little emerged from the horizon.

Eventually, the black dot was completely exposed from the horizon, revealing its full appearance.

This black spot is a group of samurai riding fast horses.

The number of people is around 5 or 60.

All the players wore the iconic "black" uniforms of the Fire Pay Thieves.

The officials of the fire pay thieves came on fast horses and stepped through the snow, and then slowly reined in their horses in front of Sano, Kohata and their party, and all turned over and dismounted.

And Sano, Kohata and his party hurriedly led their subordinates forward to greet them.

Sano showed a friendly smile that was neither humble nor arrogant, "It's been a long journey so far, it's really hard for you!" ”

The officials of the fire pay thieves were separated on both sides.

Make way for a middle-aged man standing in the middle of them.

The middle-aged man with a faint gentle smile on his face followed the path made by the officials and walked slowly towards Sano and his party.

"Thank you for your welcome." The middle-aged man's voice was a little low, and his tone was unhurried, "I'm the fire pay thief and the chief - Hasegawa Heizo. ”

"I have admired the daimyo for a long time." Sano hurriedly said, "I am the elder of the Tatsuno Domain, Sano Soken. This is Yuichi Kohata......"

While introducing themselves to each other, Sano, Kohata, and the rest of their subordinates behind them are secretly looking at the famous "Onihei", who terrifies thieves all over the world.

Not too tall.

The body shape is neither fat nor thin.

Some of the swarthy faces indicate that the person has been connected to the sun for a long time.

There are quite a few symbols of age on the face - wrinkles.

Outwardly, he is about 40 years old. This is also in line with the rumors they have heard.

According to the rumors they heard from Sano, "Ghost Flatair" happens to be 45 years old this year.

Although the smile on his face is full of smiles, this smile also has a sense of distance.

Sanno is all too familiar with this kind of laughter.

Those who need to please both the top and the people below always have this smile on their faces that they can't fault anything.

"Ghost Ping"'s appearance can only be regarded as ordinary, but his eyes are very outstanding.

"Ghost Ping"'s gaze is like a treasure knife that hides its edge.

When you are swept by his gaze, you don't feel how sharp his gaze is.

But you can feel it—there's unfathomable power hidden in his not-so-sharp gaze.

After a brief introduction of themselves, Sano said:

"Hasegawa-sama! We have arranged a place for you to live and a reception. ”

"Please rest assured - I will fully cooperate with you in capturing the 'Executioner'!"

After hearing Sano's words, the smile on Hasegawa Heizo's face froze.

Then, the look on his face became strange.

It's not just Hasegawa Heizo's face that has become strange, but even the expressions on the faces of the officials behind Hasegawa Heizo have also become strange.

After noticing the strangeness of Hasegawa and the others, Sano asked with a blank face:

"Hasegawa-sama, what's wrong?"

"'Executioner's Knife'?" Hasegawa wondered.

"Huh?" Sano's brows furrowed in confusion, "Hasegawa-sama, didn't you come to my domain to pursue the 'Executioner Ichitosai'?" ”

“…… Sano-sama, it seems...... You've misunderstood us. ”

The person who spoke was a young man standing behind Hasegawa.

Through the self-introduction of both parties just now, Sano recognized the young man, and he remembered that the young man seemed to be called Imai Cheng.

After Imai's words fell, Hasegawa also continued:

"We're not here to chase the 'One Knife Zhai'." Hasegawa said in a deep voice, "We came to your domain this time to pursue the 'Buddha enemy'!" ”

……

……

2 days later.

Somewhere in the Tatsuno Domain.

Phew——!

Another gust of wind mixed with snow came towards Ogata.

"The weather has changed......"

Ogata complained with a wry smile as he tightened his clothes and the hat above his head.

It's still sunny this morning.

It was not even noon when the sky suddenly became cloudy and snowy.

Weather like this is not suitable for any further travel.

And yet - there is no shelter from the wind and snow around.

So Ogata can only brave the heavy snowstorm and go straight forward, trying his luck to see if he can find a good place to shelter from the wind and snow in front of him.

Ogata now feels like his head is heavy.

For the hat above his head was now covered with snow.

Raise your hand and pull on the hat to take a picture of a large piece of snow.

Then, not long after, the hat that had just been cleaned was filled with snow again......

So Ogata doesn't bother to bother with the snow squeezing on the hat anymore.

After feeling that the hat was too heavy, he shook his head.

With a slight shake of your head, you can shake a lot of snow off your hat.

As Ogata walked forward against the snowstorm, he suddenly noticed a very abrupt black patch in the white snow in front of him.

And judging by the size, the size of this abrupt "black" is not small.

What is this—with this in mind, Ogata slowly walked towards the "black".

It wasn't until he got closer that Ogata discovered the true face of this "black" - a man squatting on the ground.