"Ogata Esei......" Matsudaira Genuchi said softly, "What?" Nanahara: Do you know this person? ”

"Nope." Nanahara shook his head, "I don't know this person, I've just heard of this person's name." ”

"It is said that he is currently the highest in swordsmanship among the disciples of the Sakakihara Sword Hall."

"A few days ago, I also got a waiver from Sakakiwara."

"Don't let it all be passed on...... Then this Ogata Yisei's swordsmanship seems to be a bit level......"

As soon as Matsudaira Genuchi's words fell, Nanahara sneered.

"My lord, you have misunderstood."

"Whether the swordsmanship is superb or not, whether the strength is strong or not, does not depend on whether there is permission or not."

"As long as you get the approval of the master, you can get the title of exemption from all the passes."

"Such rules breed too many flies and dogs."

"I have seen a lot of people who curry favor with their own masters, or bribe their own masters, get a certificate from their masters that are not allowed to be passed on, and then use them to deceive."

"This Ogata Yisei may also rely on the fawning of his master to have the title of free inheritance."

Matsudaira Gennai was already lacking in swordsmanship.

After hearing Nanahara's introduction, he just whispered an "oh", and then turned his head and continued to enjoy the hell scene in front of him.

After looking at nearly a stick of incense, Matsudaira Gennai breathed a sigh of relief as if he was satisfied, and then stood up.

"It's so good. Let's go back to the city. ”

"My lord." Nanahara asked, "What to do with these corpses?" ”

"Just leave it here, didn't you say that there was a disciple of the Sakakiwara Kenkan named Ogata who wasn't there? He's always going to come to the Sword Pavilion this time, so let him clean up here slowly. ”

"What about these people?" Nanahara snorted at a corpse at his feet.

This corpse is the corpse of one of the guards in Matsudaira Gen.

Matsudaira Gennai glanced at the corpse with slanted eyes.

"Leave it here, too. Let's let that Ogata help clean it up, he can clean it up if he likes it, and it doesn't matter if he doesn't. ”

"Yes!" After a respectful response, the guards who were still alive shouted from the Qiyuan Dynasty, "Why don't you quickly pave a road for the lord to walk!" ”

With Nanahara's order, the guards who were still alive hurriedly lay down on the ground covered with corpses and pools of blood.

With his own flesh and blood, he paved a "road" that led directly to the gate of the Sword Pavilion, and paved a "road" that would not stain the cloth socks in Matsudaira Gen......

Matsudaira Gennai stepped on the bodies of his own guards and swaggered out of the bloody dojo.

……

……

Hirose Domain, Kuranaga's Mansion, Gate-

"Ogata-kun." Kuranaga said to Ogata, who was ready to leave, "I'll give you a ride." ”

"My lord, I don't have to." Ogata smiled politely at Kuranaga, "I'll do it all by myself." ”

"Nope." Kuranaga shook his head, "I half-forced you to come to my mansion tonight, and I am obligated to give you a ride." Ogata-kun, you don't have to say more. ”

Seeing that he couldn't say anything about Kurayong, Ogata could only reluctantly agree to Kuraga and let Kuraga and the flying ape give him a ride.

Ogata and Kuranaga walked side by side, while the flying ape walked in front of them, carrying lanterns for their illumination.

The soft glow emanating from the lantern dispelled the darkness in front of the three of them.

Looking at the darkness in front of him, which was constantly dispelled by the light, Ogata said coldly to Kuranaga beside him:

"My lord, I didn't expect you to really want me to go back and think about it for a few days......"

Just now, in that room, Kuranaga bluntly threw the question to Ogata: would he like to help him assassinate Matsudaira Gennai.

As for Kuranaga's question, Ogata's answer is "can you let me go back and think about it for a few days?"

Ogata had expected Kuranaga to refuse his request.

Unexpectedly, Kuranaga agreed very happily.

After hearing Ogata's words, a faint smile appeared on Kuranaga's face.

"Ogata-kun, I'll be honest with you—I was actually relieved to hear you say that you were going to go back and think about it for a few days."

"Why?" Ogata wondered.

"Assassinating the lord - this kind of thing must be done by someone who has already made senses."

"I am most annoyed by the fact that I am hot-headed and full of promises of difficult tasks, only to retreat at a critical juncture."

"So I hope that the people who decide to help me are the ones who have thought about the gains and losses, and who have made all the preparations and realizations."

"It's not a reckless man who is enthusiastic and agrees to my invitation with a momentum."

"The old man." Ogata smiled, "Aren't you afraid that I'll leak your shocking plan when I go back?" ”

Kuranaga's smile was filled with a touch of meaning at this time.

"Ogata-kun, if I was worried that you would leak my plans, I wouldn't have invited you into the mansion tonight."

Speaking of this, Cang Yong paused.

After a moment of silence, he whispered:

"Ogata-kun...... Now that I'm going to have a chance to confess something to you. ”

"More than a month ago, the reason why I wanted to hold the god sacrifice competition in advance, and agreed that you and that distant mountain to use the real sword, was actually to test your strength as soon as possible."

"Let's see if your strength is worth my wooing."

Ogata was stunned.

“…… I see. Ogata smiled bitterly, "My lord, many problems have been solved by what you said...... Let me guess - for more than a month, no one from the Ishikawa Sword Pavilion has come to me to seek revenge, did you also send someone to protect me in secret? ”

Kuranaga did not answer.

He just nodded silently.

"And the reason why you sent Dr. Xuan'an to give me free treatment is also to prevent anything from happening to such a precious combat force as me. Right? ”

Kuranaga continued to nod.

“…… Ogata, I'm sorry......" Kuranaga sighed lightly, "Please forgive me for my wayward ......"

"My lord, you don't have to apologize to me." Okai shrugged helplessly, "I didn't blame you. ”

"Anyway, whether you get in the way or not, there will be a death match between me and Yuanshan where only one person can survive, it's just a matter of sooner or later."

"In a way, I want to thank the elder of the family."

"Thanks to your decision to advance the god sacrifice competition, the grievances between me and the distant mountains have come to an end in advance."

"My lord, I promise you - I will make a decision as soon as possible, and then give you my answer."

"And, I promise you - I won't leak your plans."

"Hmm." Kuranaga's smile softened, "Ogata-kun, I trust you. But - I want you to assure me one more thing. ”

"I want you to assure me that if you promise to live and die with me, you will be enlightened."

Speaking of which, Kuranaga changed to a half-joking tone.

"Don't wait until it's time to start acting, suddenly regret it, and then run away."