The main house.

Jiurou was having a good conversation with two old men with extraordinary bearings.

He didn't expect that he would meet two serious people in his own home.

Among them, the gray-haired but full-cheeked old man, named Masayoshi Matsukata, served as prime minister twice and controlled the country's finances for more than 20 years.

And the person next to him who is thin and pedantic is Inoue Xin, who has made indelible contributions to the development of Japan's industry, and had the opportunity to succeed Ito Hirobumi as prime minister, but chose to give up.

It can be said that Japan was able to stand side by side with the great powers because of these two people who provided economic security in the rear.

But in addition to being in a high position, the two old men have one thing in common -

They are all "veterans" (the prototype of the five old stars of "One Piece").

Under the Emperor's edict, the elders enjoyed the "Patriarchal Privileges" and were tasked with the duties of "Kusuke Daisho", and they were above the imperial politics, and they were the emperor's advisors who were not written in the constitution, and they were also the true rulers of the country.

It can be said that all important decisions in this country can only be implemented after they have made a decision.

At present, the emperor canonized a total of eight senators (later nine), all of whom were from the Choshu and Satsuma domains.

So, why did these two old men who stood at the pinnacle of Japan's power appear in the Hirata Mansion?

Kuro was puzzled, and the first moment he learned the names of the two, he contacted them from a distance through his brother's blood, a way similar to the voice calls in later generations.

However, Genichiro's response was: "Don't panic, cooperate with the acting for a while." ”

"If they try to trick you, reply to them with the sources they made up before."

The "fabricated origin" he refers to naturally refers to the fact that Wei Ming sealed the country with a fog "to avoid warring state chaos", and when he was reborn, he found that the world had changed greatly.

Sure enough, the two old men chatted with Jiulang for a short time, and finally lived up to their expectations.

And the answer they got was bizarre, but quite reasonable.

At least the style and sense of the times of this house are not an existence that can be imitated by today's people.

Moreover, the Nogami father and son, who had the head of the moon and wore a blue and white samurai costume, were sitting in the corner of the room at this time with their eyes closed, but the qi was tightly locked here, which also gave the two of them the illusion of dreaming back to the Warring States.

In the end, it was the ninja who unbelievably appeared in their mansion and took them captive, which was also the standard for the nations of the Warring States Period.

It can be said that except for the name Ashina, which has never been seen in the history books, everything else is quite reasonable.

Besides, there can be ghosts in this world, and there is nothing strange about such a closed country.

The two old men glanced at each other and nodded imperceptibly.

The only thing I can't figure out now is what the other party is doing when they brought the two of them here?

What's the point of the other party letting them see the smart child in front of them?

In this way, the two old and the young at the table chatted for more than half an hour, and finally heard the footsteps outside.

In Kuro's surprised gaze, a strange young man dressed in low-key luxury walked in without squinting.

The man was handsome, looking a little indistinguishable, his golden-green eyes shone with pride, and his dignified gait without squinting seemed to have been rehearsed countless times.

But for some reason, Jiurou always felt that this person was a little familiar.

When the two fathers saw this scene, their eyes were stunned. Judging from the temperament of the people who came, they had no doubt that this was the real principal of Ashina, and all the mysteries would be revealed.

And the "waiter" who followed the young man did not attract their attention.

But Kuro recognized it, and the plainly dressed boy was not the elder brother of Ichiro, but he just lowered his hair and covered his eyes.

"By the way, in the eyes of outsiders, Brother Koichiro is 'dead'......"

Kuro suddenly realized and figured out where the joints were.

"So he can't show up for what he is."

"In this way, this stranger should be the 'puppet' he manipulated."

Thinking of this, he immediately withdrew his gaze from observing Genichiro, and did not reveal a single flaw.

But what he didn't expect was that when the young man he had never met saw him, he touched his head very familiarly, like an owner who had not returned home for a long time to comfort his dog.

Jiulang was stunned.

"What are you doing?"

Stringichiro's reproachful voice sounded in Akihime's head, "If it's exposed, you'll never come out again." ”

The handsome young man who had changed into a fallen hime frowned, and instantly withdrew his hand, as if there was something dirty in Kuro's hair.

"It's been a long time since I've seen him!"

Fallen Ji silently said in her heart, "It's not okay to touch it?" ”

"Stop making assumptions, do what I say."

Ichiro sat at the edge of the room with a humble expression, and no one could tell that he was the master of the place.

"One last warning to you."

With all that said, the fallen queen naturally didn't dare to mess around anymore, and hurriedly bowed slightly to the two guests as a sign of etiquette.

"I'm very sorry to invite the two of you in this way, but the situation forced me to make this decision."

Fallen Hime said loudly in a slightly rich tone, "I am the guardian of Kuro-sama, and until Kuro-sama comes of age, I will manage all the affairs of Ashina. ”

After saying that, she sat down majestically, waiting for the two of them to respond.

Matsukata Masayoshi, who was born as a samurai, frowned: "I don't know why Your Excellency used this method to bring the two of us here?" ”

Not to mention him, even Jiulang was a little puzzled.

"In short, it's all about ghosts."

Akihime paused so that Ichiro could observe the faces of the two.

But the two old men only looked at each other in a little surprise, and then regained their composure.

"Looking at the appearance of the two of you, you should know something about what happened last night."

"We only learned about the existence of such a thing in the world early this morning."

Inoue Shin has a weak appearance, and looks much less angular than Masayoshi Matsukata.

"I wonder what you want to talk about, what does it have to do with us?"

Hearing him describe the ghost as a "thing", Fallen Ji instinctively felt a little displeased, and the breath belonging to the predator unconsciously swooped towards the two of them.

Obviously, they are all old politicians who have experienced the ups and downs of the Fall Era, but they are still frightened enough by this momentum, which is the instinctive reaction of the body to face the beast.

Especially Inoue Xin, who was frail and sickly, suddenly turned pale several shades.

If it weren't for Ichiro Kenichiro's timely reminder of the fallen hime, I'm afraid this old man would have fallen ill and died.

However, it was the anger of the fallen queen that made the two elders realize the seriousness of the matter.

"As the de facto rulers of this country, do you really know nothing about this paranormal existence?"

Fallen Ji asked coldly.

"Or is it just about 18,000 people who die every year, not as many people who die in floods and earthquakes every year? In addition, the ghost has never done anything to you high-ranking officials in the past, so you have reached some kind of tacit understanding? ”

"After all," Fallen Ji said with a mocking look, "the death is just an insignificant minority, and it doesn't affect the overall situation. ”

"Compared to the total population of 50 or 60 million, it is really not worth mentioning."

When the two patriarchs heard this, cold sweat flowed from their foreheads.

This is a very obvious accusation, almost pointing at the nose and scolding them for being careless of human life.

If it hadn't been for what had just happened, the two would definitely deny it.

But the other party is a force that raises ninjas, and who knows if something has already been discovered, or even what evidence has been obtained.

Coupled with the obvious anger just now, if you deny it, it is likely to invite misfortune.

So the two fell silent in understanding.

Jiulang, who originally had respect for the two big shots, suddenly felt a chill to the bone when he saw this scene. Their reaction is no different from their acquiescence. Sure enough, they knew everything from the beginning.

"Do you think that if you don't speak, you will have nothing? It seems that you are not aware of the seriousness of the matter. ”

Akihime's tone was gloomy, "Just last night, the heir of our Ashina Province, Ashina Genichiro-sama, that is, the elder brother of Kuro-sama, unfortunately died at the hands of the demons. ”

When the two patriarchs heard this, they raised their heads in unison, their eyes full of horror.

This happened!

The power that could raise such a powerful ninja has lost its heir......

It's definitely not something that can be easily settled.

"Now, up and down in the country of Wey, we don't want to find the murderer."

"However, the traces of ghosts are difficult to find, but for the ghost killing team, you who have been shielding those ghosts are very easy to find!" ”

Bang dang.

This is the sound of Inoue accidentally knocking over a teacup.

Despite this, he couldn't even dodge the tea spreading and dripping on him, because the veins had been gradually frozen.

"Targeting the Ghost Slayer is a directive of this Cabinet......"

Masayoshi Matsukata still wanted to resist, but when he said this, he suddenly felt that if he continued to quibble, he might encounter misfortune.

Not only him, but probably his nineteen children, as well as the entire center of power in the empire.

"Can't go on, can you?"

A sneer curled into the corners of her mouth.

"Without the acquiescence of you old men, how dare a temple Zhengyi go to trouble the ghost killing team under the attack of so many nobles of the clan."

"Now I want to know a clear answer."

"If your answer doesn't satisfy me......"

"Then wait and see your life's work come to naught."

These two people are actually not afraid of death, but they are afraid that this group of vengeful Warring States ancients will be desperate to launch revenge.

Hearing the threat of the fallen hime, the ominous premonition in their hearts almost reached their throats.

"For the sake of revenge, we will not hesitate to destroy this country! It's a big deal, let's go back to the mountains and continue to live in the fog for hundreds of years. ”

Sure enough, their suspicions were confirmed.

With that elusive ninja, it's entirely possible for this group of reed celebrities to do just that, turning Japan into an unsupervised, chaotic country.

"We will answer truthfully."

Inoue sighed, "Please just ask." ”

Masayoshi Matsukata also nodded.

Some of the scandals that have brought shame to the empire are nothing compared to the life and death of the country.

Fallen Hime's eyes stared at the two of them, her gaze piercing into the depths of their hearts like a searchlight.

In fact, Akihime is opening up to their perception and judging from their pulse and heartbeat whether they will lie next.

"The reason why you have been acquiescing to the existence of ghosts, and even targeting the ghost killing team, is that you have reached some kind of agreement with Onimai Tsuji Mumi?"

The two looked at each other, then shook their heads together.

"And why are you doing this?"

Matsukata was silent for a moment, and then he came up with a word that didn't surprise Genichiro.

"Pranayama."