He kicked the corpse closest to the steps with his toes, and sneered in a low voice: "Look, this is Nagakawa Somaru, one of the ten ninjas of the Koga faction, who is famous in the area of Sakura Valley in Kyoto, and is respected as the contemporary 'King of the Koga Erdaoliu', and is the best at assassination in secret rooms. Now, he lies here, but he does not follow his master closely, and he is born and dies for his master. A long time ago, I studied that the so-called ninja is just a meat shield, not a Da Luo Jin Immortal with the body of an indestructible King Kong. I really wonder what is the motive of historians and military scientists in blindly exaggerating the combat effectiveness of the Japanese?"

I don't know the ninja, but a British journalist once made a colorful album of famous contemporary ninjas, and I vaguely have this person in front of me.

"Ninja's Twilight Tragedy. The book had this sentence printed on the cover.

I guess the reporter must have never seen a real ninjutsu master, and those who can "kill one person in ten steps and stay a thousand miles" usually don't appear in the spotlight to pay for the curiosity of the people.

The more low-key and ordinary the ninja and killer, the more they can complete the task without mistakes and flaws, come like the wind, go like the wind, and leave no trace.

"He's old and not fit in with the times. I said.

Any master of "one-knife, two-knife, and three-knife" can only live in the era of cold weapons, and in the modern era of rampant firearms, once they are on the battlefield, they will become living targets.

Within twenty paces, no amount of sword or concealed weapon can compare to the western cowboy's* or the assassin's rapid-fire pistol.

The decline of ninjas is the fault of the times, not theirs.

"My people are down there. The masked man said.

"What to do with the young master of the Tojo clan?" I asked.

This is the issue I am most concerned about, and the life and death of Tojo Owari is probably also the focus of the attention of the government and the opposition around the world.

"Did you know?" the masked man asked leisurely, "The Tojo clan is the only family that can control the mermaids in the sea, and in the past, there were ten famous political families in Kyushu, Shikoku, Kansai, Hokkaido, and other places, all of which were princes who dominated one side after the end of the shogunate period. Although the Tojo clan is among the top ten families, it has no advantages at all, and compared to the Yokooka clan in the first place and the Orochi clan in the second place, the Tojo clan has a huge gap. In 30 years and two generations, the Tojo clan was able to sweep away the remaining nine families and become the number one family in Japan. I said it so clearly, you get the idea, don't you?"

He did make it very clear, and his intentions were also very direct, that is, to control Tojo Owari, and then further control the merman, and hold the power of the merman in his hands.

The Yokooka clan and the Orochi clan are the two major families in Japanese history, and the successes and failures of these two clans, as well as their glory and disgrace, can be found in the famous Japanese anime work "Naruto".

During the shogunate period, the two clans were able to produce a large number of people, occupying the core stage of the daimyo life-and-death duel.

Today, elderly Japanese occasionally talk about the famous battle that took place at Kaede-ji Temple in Hokkaido, where Yokooka broke the road against Orochi's Senku. That battle, also known as the "Ten Days of Vomiting Blood" in the history of ninjas, finally won the Yokogang slope road, and after the defeat of the Thousand Balls, Orochi committed suicide by disembowelment, giving up all the territory of the Orochi clan in Hokkaido.

In Japan, ninjas are a perennial topic, and the age of sword fighting has always made people's blood rush.

What fell into the eyes of the people was bloody and crazy battles, but what fell into the hands of the nobility was the authority of the island nation of Japan. Therefore, ninjas will always just go down and become the watchdogs of the nobility, with a lowly status and a low life, and they are a special group distorted by money and power.

Long live the name, lonely after death. The tragedy of the martyrs that was staged in China is also played out in Japan.

Just like now, all fire attacks, water attacks, traps, and slaughters are just to satisfy the ambitions of the masked man. As for the big man and Tojo Owari's side, all the ninjas resisted stubbornly in a desperate situation, and it was only for the sake of the hegemony of the two of them.

As soon as I thought about it, I couldn't help but ask myself, "Why am I here, and why am I going to fight in the future?"

The answer is yes, and it is ready-made - to fight for the eradication of the lord of the merman, to fight for the restoration of the reputation of the Xia clan, to fight for the peace of the country and the tranquility of the people. So, deep down, what do I want?

When it comes to such a question, I can't help but be apprehensive.

I don't seek fame and fortune, nor do I ask for a group of wives and concubines, it is enough to have Tang Wan by my side. I don't want to be heard by the princes, and there is no problem in living in the old house of Qushuiting Street in the old town of Jinan.

"What do I want?" is the fundamental question I have to ask after facing my heart, just as philosophers deeply reflect on the difficult problem of human survival and development, if they cannot find the answer, then they will eventually lose the way forward.

"What do you want?" At this moment, the masked man stopped looking at the ninja corpse and turned to look straight at me.

I can't answer this question because I've thought about it for too long and can't find an answer.

"We are in a sinkhole right now, which is the place where the energy is most concentrated in the entire Asian continent. If you can't think about the puzzles here, then the ones that puzzle you are really the puzzles of the world. But I believe that the true wise man in the world will not be trapped in the labyrinth of thoughts, and there will come a time when the light will break through the haze and burst out of the shell, and ten thousand golden rays of light will pierce this dark world—" he pointed downward.

There was no sound of fighting below, only gusts of yin wind, rushing straight up.

"Capture the Tojo clan and control the mermaids, is that what you want?" I asked.

The masked man nodded: "Obviously, that's what I want." ”

"And then?" I asked.

"Untie all the knots in life, sway freely, express your heart, be the most proud man in heaven and earth, and create a new era of the world. Just like Qin Shi Huang, the ancestor of all emperors, he opened the world and started to create the world. The masked man replied without hesitation.

Although that answer is heroic, it can't get rid of the word "fame and fortune".

Qin Shi Huang completed the "great unification" of the Warring States, but did not pass on his mantle smoothly, resulting in the death of the second emperor, and the "first emperor" became a big joke.

If the masked man standing in front of me really captures the Tojo clan, there is still a long way to go from the "starting point creation" he said, and his lifelong pursuit may not be successful.

With a chirp, a crow pounced from mid-air.

The masked man stretched out his right arm, and the crow landed on the crook of his elbow.

The crows had thick legs with a brass sleeve tied to them. Inside one of the cylinders was a white roll of paper.

The masked man pulled out the paper roll, glanced at it, smiled coldly, and with a flick of his arms, the crow took off into the air and flew into the sky.

"Tojo Owari begs to surrender. The masked man said coldly.

I remember the little monk's worried look, although he is the young master of the Tojo clan, he may not be able to inherit the kingly spirit of his ancestors, and he may not have the courage and responsibility to dominate the world. In this case, if he is pushed to the position of young master, he will become a dou who can't be supported.

Begging is very consistent with the behavior characteristics of the little monk. In the midst of the chaos, he was probably frightened.

"Let's go, go and see the ugliness of the Tojo clan kneeling on the ground and begging for mercy. The masked man said.

I took one last look at the corpse of the ninja in the cave and sighed deeply: "Good birds choose trees to perch, and good ministers choose their masters." You followed the wrong master, and you ended up where you are now. Also, you were born in the wrong era, and you shouldn't stick to the tricks of Japanese ninjas in the age of rapid technological change. You are dead, and the day of peace on the Asian continent is approaching. ”

In many Asian film and television works, the force and role of ninjas are exaggerated too much, so that the martial arts circles of various countries have reached the point of "talking about ninja color change".

This is completely abnormal, just like now, ninja corpses are strewn all over the place, and there is not even a place to bury their bones. Seeing this situation, who would dare to say the phrase "ninja invincible"?

A hundred steps down, there were more and more ninja corpses, most of which were killed by sharp blades.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of bubbling water, as if hundreds of springs were spewing water out.

The masked man looked up to the sky and roared, and there was the same whistling echo in all directions, high and low, endlessly.

Soon, a group of men came up from below, and we met on a rectangular platform. Torches were planted on all sides of the platform, and the light was as bright as day.

I saw the little monk again, that is, the legendary Tojo Owari, the young master of the Tojo clan.

His eyes were full of fear, trembling all over, and there was no trace of fighting spirit.

There were fourteen people escorting the little monk, ten of whom were servants and four of whom were leaders.

For some reason, when I saw those four hideous-looking and muscular men, I immediately thought of the mythical and legendary "Yaksha".

The masked man waved, "Stand down." ”

The four of them whistled and retreated into the darkness with ten people.

Tojo Owari looked up, a helpless gaze passing over my face. In my opinion, he is a man who has lost his fighting spirit and at the same time his soul. The Tojo clan has been passed down to his generation, and it has come to the time when the ice will disintegrate. To support a sect, the most important trait is courage. Unfortunately, Tojo-Owari lacks this. Looking at his appearance, he can only be a white-collar obedient citizen in today's Japanese society, or just a little monk who cultivates on Mount Fuji, an ancient Buddha with green lights, a long companion of scriptures, far away from the rivers and lakes, and does not ask about the world.

"What can you bring me if you want to surrender?" asked the mask in a cold voice.

"What I have, all for you, only to save my life, so as not to let the Tojo clan break the dynasty. Tojo Owari replied honestly.

"What do you have?" asked the masked man.

"What do you want?" asked Tojo Owari rhetorically.

"I want to control the secret of the mermaids, and I want this group of centaurs to serve me for the rest of my life, and I will be at my disposal. The masked man replied.

Tojo Owari nodded: "Okay, the Tojo clan can control the mermaids, this is a well-known secret. I am honored to have inherited this thaumaturgy from my family. If you want it, I'll tell you, but you first have to make a poisonous oath - I tell the secret, you let me live, if I regret it, the blade will be cut and the head will fall to the ground. ”

It was a poisonous oath, but the way of death of "cutting knives and falling heads" was very strange, and it was difficult to encounter this situation in real combat.

The masked man did not hesitate, and immediately swore: "The sky is above, the earth is below, the young master of the Tojo clan tells me the secret of controlling the merman, I will let him go away and fly high, without worrying about his life." If I regret it, I am willing to suffer the misfortune of cutting the blade and falling to the ground. ”