When they returned to Hokkaido a few years ago, Higashinohara and Nishimaru Miri took a passenger plane chartered by their homeroom teacher, Asuka-sensei Taitogawa, and when they returned to Tokyo now, they took a railway train.

They need to take a limited express train to Hakodate in Hokkaido, and then transfer from Hakodate to the Shinkansen train back to the train station in Tokyo, which takes about nine hours.

Perhaps part of the change in the means of transportation is due to the fact that no one is reimbursing fares these days.

But then again, strictly speaking, Nishimaru Miri is also a "little rich woman", and you don't have to worry too much about money if you really want to buy a plane ticket.

It's just that Tokugawa Kurita gave him a knife before the attack in Hokkaido, intending to let him take care of Nishimaru Miri on his behalf, and people always have to pass the conscience pass in life, and now that people have just been killed, Higashinohara began to spend Nishimaru Miri's money to buy tickets, which always made him feel a little uneasy.

Nishimaru Miri is also very sensible, this seven-year-old girl is now almost all decided by Higashinohara except for completing cultural classes every day and quantitatively training her abilities, compared with the same age girl Higashino Yukino who is idle and can make a little moth from time to time when she is idle, it is simply well-behaved and a little distressing.

The sleeper in Wano Country is also known as the bed train, which is also divided into a Chase bunk without a partition and a slightly partitioned bunk bed, and Higashinohara grabbed the last two special tickets are bunk beds with partitions between each other, which is equivalent to a soft sleeper box in the previous life.

After putting away his luggage, Higashinohara looked left and right at the soft and comfortable sleeping car.

He is still quite satisfied with his choice of extravagant once in a while today, and the most important thing is that the package ticket sold by the ticketing software is also a sleeper with the ticket after the transfer in the second half of the journey.

When he looked back, Higashinohara found that Nishimaru Miri was staring at the TV news playing on the wall of the sleeper compartment in a daze, and his originally simple and delicate little face suddenly turned a little pale.

The voice on the TV sounded a little noisy, and the news was about an anonymous whistleblower letter that had been published on the front page of the Asahi Shimbun in recent days:

An anonymous group of people, who did not want to be named, made a shocking revelation about the shadows behind the accident that occurred in the waters north of the Nemuro Strait in Hokkaido on the first day of the 1122nd New Year in the Tengen calendar.

The letter detailed the direct connection between a cabinet minister and the attack, the behind-the-scenes dealings with the Shayash Dawn Revolutionary Army, and the benefits they expected.

Although the Asahi Shimbun published the specific name of a cabinet minister in the report, anyone in Wano who is in their right mind and has the ability to think independently quickly discovers that almost every sentence in the report letter is directed at Cabinet Foreign Minister Taku Amuro.

At this time, the Asahi Shimbun picture everything.

I saw a group of brightly dressed politicians walking out of the parliament building in Chiyoda Ward, and after passing through the green space next to the fountain in front of the building, they were surrounded by a group of media reporters, and countless microphones like long guns and short guns were forced in front of the middle-aged man with a fat face.

"Amuro-sama, we and the public would like to know what you would like to say about the anonymous report letter published by the Asahi Shimbun?"

"May I ask if we really have a behind-the-scenes deal with the Dawn Revolutionary Army of the Grand Duchy of Shayash? Is there another hidden story behind the attack on the Tokugawa team leader? ”

"I heard that the Cabinet has set up a special investigation team to investigate the attack on the Tokugawa team leader, can you share with us the specific progress of the investigation?"

"We all know that the appearance of Captain Dragonfly or the Discipline Inspector of New Tokyo in Beihai means that he has intervened in the Tokugawa Team Leader's incident with the principle of 'interest leads to justice', do you think he may find you because of this?"

“.”

Under the lens of countless media reporters, a dead winter leaf fell with the wind on the top of his head, and in the face of questions from reporters from major television stations, Foreign Minister Takura Amuro's face was surprisingly calm.

He stopped, and said into the many microphones with a sad face, "The death of Tokugawa Team Leader is a painful fact for our entire Wano country, and I think the contribution he made to Wano Country in this life is obvious to everyone, and I don't need to repeat it." ”

Speaking of this, Foreign Minister Takuro Amuro paused, his tone full of endless helplessness and sorrow, "But now! There are people with unknown intentions who are trying to manipulate us and divide the country through public opinion! to interfere and stop us from pursuing the truth behind it! ”

"Here, I want to rest assured that if I am really guilty, then I will personally go to the prison, and even if I don't go into the prison, there will be the 'Captain Dragonfly' you said to judge me!"

"But as you can see, I have a clear conscience! That's why I'm still standing here today! ”

"I don't want it at this time! Because my personal public opinion occupies too much public resources, I will not answer such questions in the future, thank you. ”

In the cold wind under the leaves of the winter sunset, Foreign Minister Taku Amuro bowed deeply to the camera.

This is the end of the news footage on the television, and TV Asahi cuts back to the studio, and the host begins to broadcast other news content.

In the soft sleeper compartment of the train.

"He's lying!"

Nishimaru Miri, who was sitting not far from Higashinohara, suddenly raised his little finger and said crisply on the TV screen, that delicate and white little face was rarely full of a stubborn stubbornness.

After saying this, Nishimaru Miri seemed a little uneasy, and looked up at Higashinohara timidly.

After all, the tone of the minister on TV is too confident, the one who is too clear is self-clear, and the posture is too sincere, and the ordinary people who eat melons are easy to suspect after watching it.

Could it be that the whistleblower letter was really fake?

Are we really being taken advantage of?

What's more, the words of the little girl Nishimaru Weili are more like idealistic accusations, lacking any strong evidence to support them, I'm afraid that another person will be stunned when they hear it.

However, after hearing Nishimaru's words, Higashinohara's face was still very calm, and he nodded to Nishimaru Miri without thinking.

"I know."

This time it was Nishimaru Miri's turn to be surprised.

However, thinking of the incredible strength of the eldest brother, and the "little secret" that the whole world only exists between the two of them, Nishimaru Miri is not so surprised.

She twitched her small nose, recalled the content of the report letter just now, and looked up at Higashinohara seriously, "Big brother, is Dad's matter really related to that minister?" ”

Higashinohara remembered what he had seen in the other party's [Character Image Profile] after killing Syller, the commander of the Northern Army of the Dawn Revolutionary Army, that day, and he didn't want Nishimaru Miri to get involved in too much of the dirty dealings behind these shameless politicians.

Before the accident, Tokugawa Kurita had entrusted himself to take good care of Nishimaru Miri in the noodle restaurant, and Higashinohara naturally didn't want Nishimaru Miri to live in the shadow of revenge at such a young age.

But now I don't know who reported Amuro Taku through that anonymous letter, and Higashinohara didn't want to deceive the little girl, so he nodded after a little groaning and said, "There is some relationship, but he is not alone, I will investigate and deal with the rest of the matter." ”

Nishimaru Miri knew Higashinohara's other identity, and knew how great his big brother was, of course he wouldn't suspect anything, so he nodded his head without speaking.

It's just that she has made up her mind in her little heart.

Be sure to grow up fast!

In this way, even if something happens in the future, she doesn't always have to rely on her big brother, and now she is unaccompanied, she actually relies on Higashinohara in her heart, but she doesn't want to live as a burden.

The train started at a quarter past nine.

With the pleasant sound of the female announcer in the ear, the people and things on both sides of the platform outside the window began to gradually accelerate and retreat.

Nishimaru sat cross-legged on the bed in the lower bunk of the box, the slightly curly ends of the pale blonde hair on her head swaying as the train moved, and the morning sun refracted from the window shone on her delicate little face, and her long eyelashes could be vaguely seen trembling slightly.

She is not Higashinohara, so naturally she can't do any "intracranial sword training".

In fact, what Nishimaru Miri is doing is the meditation training of the innate ability [Wang Yu] of the Nian Power System, which is also a more common training method for those with the ability to read the power system.

In the past, she worked step by step in the Takehara South Private School Park, and the improvement speed was many times faster than other classmates who were older than her, but Nishimaru Miri was not so eager for strength, so she took her time according to the school's teaching progress.

Now, after the accident of Tokugawa Chestnut Tiger, the little girl realized that she was lucky, and she put her to death and had such an excellent double talent in the future.

Coupled with the hard training of Higashinohara on weekdays, I can't help but think that even a person as powerful as my big brother works so hard, and now I don't want to relax for a moment.

Higashinohara didn't say much about it.

In this world,

The harder you work, the luckier you are, it's not just an empty phrase.

Although Nishimaru Miri's efforts were a little early, he lost the childhood that a normal child should have.

But since fate has already made arrangements for her, if she doesn't work hard to reverse fate to grab something, it will inevitably be a bit too much to live a loss.

Higashinohara was thinking about whether to also carry out "intracranial sword training", and brushed his little Taidao Erdao stream to [Grandmaster Level] earlier - now his progress is stuck at 77/100, but the progress below has become extremely slow, and Higashinohara is still trying to figure out what went wrong.

At this moment, there was a sound of heavy footsteps in the corridor outside the sleeper box, and four white-skinned men with blue eyes, sunken eye sockets, and a tall nose passed by their box.

The four of them looked inside vigilantly, and when they saw that it was a half-grown boy and a little girl the age of a high school student, they were obviously relieved, but their eyes stayed on the little girl's pale blonde hair for a second, and then quickly looked away.

Higashinohara, who was sitting on the lower bunk, didn't open his eyes, but now that he [Nine Eyes and Six Paths] had opened his second eye, he was aware of the wind and grass around him, but the other party seemed to be just passing by, although he was a little vigilant, he didn't care too much.

These people should have come from the Grand Duchy of Shayash in the north, which recently collapsed, and several forces within the country have launched a fierce struggle to regain power in that cold land that has been frozen in ice and snow all year round.

Throughout history, it has been the ordinary people who have suffered the most when this kind of thing happens in any country.

Therefore, there have been a lot of people from the Grand Duchy of Shayash who have been smuggled in Hokkaido legally or illegally recently, and as for the few people just now, whether they belong to the former or the latter, is not within the scope of Higashinohara's concern

However, the four men seemed to be followed by a woman wearing a hat, the brim of which was lowered to cover her eyebrows, her face curved very soft, and the most striking thing was the pale blonde hair, like the sparkling sea in the sun.

Xiao Weili's hair may be like this when she grows up.

Higashinohara had such an idea in his mind for some reason.

By the time he came to his senses, the group of five had already passed by their box, came to the innermost box in the corridor, opened the door and walked in.

In the sleeper box, the blonde woman with the brim of her hat lowered sat on the inside, and the four men sat on the outside, guarding the door like a door god.

Inside, a slightly older man sat down with difficulty, covered his red abdomen, took a deep breath, and said:

"Madame, don't worry, we should have gotten rid of those hyenas of the Storm Revolutionary Army, as long as we arrive in the capital of Wano Country, someone will soon pick us up, and the birthday of the Emperor of Wano Country will be this month, and someone will arrange for us to enter the Sakurada Gate at that time."

Hearing his words, the woman's voice spoke softly, "Then everything will be in trouble for you." ”

"It's my honor to do my best for my wife." The man said in a sincere tone.

The words fell, and the soft sleeper box fell silent again.

Because they know very well in their hearts:

Even if he really escaped the pursuit of the Storm Revolutionary Army,

But after the contemporary Grand Duchy of Shayash was tragically poisoned by the Northern Army of the Dawn Revolutionary Army, he still wanted to rely on the bloodline of the previous generation of Grand Dukes to plead with the world government to re-intervene in the territory of the Grand Duchy of Shayash and realize the restoration of the Grand Duchy's bloodline, which was also full of thorns and bumps.

One carelessly.

Maybe you'll have to make a wedding dress for someone else.

However, now it has come to this point under the pursuit of the three largest revolutionary forces in the country, the Storm Revolutionary Army.

From now on, they have only the way forward,

There is no body behind him.

I don't know how long it took.

In a soft sleeper box.

Higashinohara recovered from the state of [Intracranial Sword Training], the tip of his nose twitched slightly, his brows frowned slightly, and he inexplicably smelled a faint smell of blood.

He immediately glanced at Nishimaru Miri next to him, who was still in meditation training, and his heart suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, and then he looked out the car window and quickly swept the scene, but his eyes couldn't help but squint slightly.

The faint smell of blood seemed to come from the inside of the aisle of the carriage, and Higashinohara's mind subconsciously appeared with the people from the Grand Duchy of Shayash who had just passed by when he first got on the train.

Is something wrong?

At this time, Nishimaru Miri also seemed to notice that something was wrong, she opened her eyes, and looked at Higashinohara with some uneasiness on her small face, "What's wrong with big brother."

Hush!

Higashinohara suddenly raised his index finger, and Nishimaru Miri immediately stopped talking, and then he also sensed that something was wrong, and there was a sound of footsteps on the other side of the corridor.

Click!

It seems that someone has come up.

The next moment, the footsteps suddenly stopped.

Higashinohara squinted slightly.

He realized that the owner of the footsteps must have stopped in the sleeper box next to them.

The next moment, there was the sound of the curtain being pulled.

Quiet and silent.

Higashinohara quietly took out his knife from his backpack - the two small knives he himself bought from the second-hand market, and gently placed them on the inside of his thigh.

After a few moments, the curtain was gently lowered.

"I'm sorry."

A voice rang out.

No response.

Immediately after, footsteps rang out again, this time towards the sleeper box they were in.

Nishimaru Miri glanced at Higashinohara a little nervously, and Higashinohara shook his head lightly and smiled at the little girl, indicating that it was okay.

After a few moments, the footsteps stopped in front of their soft sleeper door.

A hand opened the curtain from the outside, revealing a tall man, also with sunken eyes and a high nose bridge, and the top of his head almost touched the top of the carriage above, at least one meter nine up.

Those blue eyes were a little indifferent, and their bodies were full of a murderous aura, and they had a huge sense of oppression for ordinary people.

Higashinohara and his gaze intertwined in the air.

He had thought that with the smell of blood, the [Sin Handbook] in his mind would trigger something.

But strangely this time, there was no response at all.

The moment the other party lifted the curtain of the door, his eyes swept quickly in the narrow soft sleeper box, quickly retracted his gaze, lowered the curtain and turned around and continued to move forward.

Listening to the footsteps away, although the two sides didn't say anything at that moment, Higashinohara read a message:

The other party is obviously looking for someone.

Who are you looking for?

He didn't know about it.

At this moment, the nervous whispers of two girls came from the sleeper next to them.

Sleeper box next door.

A chestnut-haired girl with a double ponytail swallowed nervously, and her face was full of wanting to open the door curtain to see outside, but she was afraid that the person would not go far and dare not lift it.

She said to the female companion next to her who had fresh black hair and short hair that covered her ears lightly, and her pretty face inexplicably gave people a sense of tranquility and ease, "Kotomi, that guy killed someone just now, right?" ”

Yonezu Kotomi shook her head slightly when she heard this, her clear and beautiful face didn't show too much nervousness, and her eyes flashed with a slight glow and said, "He doesn't smell of blood." ”

She is 18 years old this year, graduated from Tenmei Private Gakuen, one of the four major capable schools in New Tokyo, and is now a student in the special recruitment class of the New Tokyo University, which can be described as the leader of the young generation in New Tokyo.

This time, I accompanied my high school and college classmate, the lovelorn Yuko Miyamura, to Hokkaido for a vacation and relaxation.

Yuko Miyamura was stunned for a moment, quickly realized something, and said a little nervously, "That means, he may still have a comrade, Kotomi, what should we do now?" Those guys aren't going to kill themselves, are they? That's right! You're the best person in our class, so that person shouldn't be your opponent just now, right? ”

Yonezukoto shook her head with beautiful eyes.

As an outstanding graduate of the New Tokyo Four University Parks, Yonezu Kotomi's talent has not been hidden after entering the talented University of Tokyo, but when facing that man, she feels an unprecedented sense of oppression.

If it is not necessary,

She really didn't want to fight that man.

At that moment, there was a knock at the end of the other side of the corridor.

Knock knock!

Knock knock!

Not in a hurry, very rhythmic.

He was knocking on the door of the carriage bathroom.

Yuko Miyamura was stunned for a moment, quickly realized something, and suddenly exclaimed, "It's that woman, I just saw her go to the bathroom." ”

A sleeper compartment separated by a wall.

Higashinohara was somewhat helplessly forced to listen to the "whispering" next door - no way, the sound insulation only seen in the box on the sleeping train is really poor.

However, at this time, the undue knock on the door of the train bathroom seemed to have attracted the attention of several companions of the man on the other end of the corridor.

Soon, there was a sound of neat and powerful footsteps.

(End of chapter)