Agni followed the little cuckoo and ran until he finally came to the slums on the outskirts of the royal capital.

The little cuckoo landed in front of a bare white tree, and the fire stopped.

Dilapidated huts made of stone slabs and thatch, muddy roads, the stench of corruption, this is the most intuitive image of the slum. It's a small world that can't even get into the bottom of society, and can only rot in the corners.

In this small world, an out of place man stands in the middle of it.

The man is ordinary-looking but has upright facial features, tall but not stout, long black hair tied into a ponytail at the back of his head, a wide navy blue kimono with burgundy haori draped over the kimono, three swords hanging from his waist, his back against a bare white tree, and a small cuckoo in his hand. The casual posture gives people a knife-sharp deterrent.

Agni looked at the man, his face sank again, and he quietly grasped the dagger hidden in his sleeve.

"Why are you here, Jubei. ”

The man's name was Kenjubei, and Agni had seen it once at the home of his teacher, Naruto Kashijiro, who was said to be of the same clan as the sensei, and belonged to the same genre as the teacher. But none of this is important, the important thing is that the teacher turned against the school in his early years, and even left his hometown because of this, and came to Khiva thousands of miles away, and as a representative of the school, it was never good for Kenjubei to come to Khiva.

"Long time no see, Agni. It's been five years, or ten years? The last time I saw you, you were a little kid, and you've grown so big in the blink of an eye. ”

As if he didn't feel the tension of the fire at all, he greeted him like an old friend he hadn't seen for a long time.

"Shut up and answer the question, say what you mean, Shibei, or don't blame my men for being ruthless. ”

"Don't be so cold, you used to be a very cute little girl, and when we first met, you said you wanted to be my wife. ”

The oncoming dagger interrupted Jubei's nonsense.

"It's really getting bigger and less cute. ”

Looking sideways at the dagger nailed to the tree, even though the blade was only a centimeter away from his cheek, the Ten Guards just shook their heads unhurriedly.

"Well, since you're shy, skip this paragraph. ”

The Ten Guards pulled the dagger from the tree and threw it back to the flames.

"Teacher Jinkuro should have told you about Narujinryu, right?"

Agni stuck the dagger back into his sleeve and nodded.

When Jinkuro was taking Agni as a disciple, he told Agni about the genre he belonged to, "Narujin-ryu".

According to Jinkuro, Narujinryu is the largest and strongest school of swordsmanship among the small people known as Wa, which uses a weapon called Taito, and the members of the school are not only powerful swordsmen but also first-class swordsmen.

"That's easy, I'm here to take back one of the "Five Spirit Swords" in the hands of the "Narakami Five Spirit Blades" in the hands of the Jinjiu Lang Teacher, this is my "Sword Collector". ”

Narukami's swordsmiths put their best into each one, and each knife is as careful as nurturing their own children, so it can be said that the knife is a companion to the members of Narukami, and once each knife loses its owner or breaks, it must also be returned. The sword officer, simply put, is the position of the narukami ryu who is responsible for recovering the knife.

"No way!"

Agni immediately became angry, the sword named Mikazuki Sect was indeed in Jinkuro's hand, Jinkuro said that it was his honor as a master of Narugami swordsmanship, so he always carried it with him, not only Agni, but even Sophia had seen it more than once. Jinkuro once said that he wanted to pass the knife to Agni, but in the end he didn't do it, because there are spirit knives in the genre that must be handed over to the next master after the death of the previous master, and Jinkuro is a strict person, even if he is against the genre, he still abides by the rules of the genre.

"The spirit knife can only be handed over if it loses its owner, this is the rule of Naruto Divine Flow, do you want to break your own rules!"

The brilliance in the eyes of the ten guards dimmed, but it immediately returned to its original state, so fast that no one could see the change.

"Of course I know Narujin's iron rules. ”

With that, the guard took one of the three knives from his waist.

Agni stared at the ordinary-looking sword, the decoration on the knife was very familiar to her, and there was no doubt that it was the Three Days Moon Sect held by Jinkuro.

"How...... Possible....... ”

"Jinkuro died before I could go to get the knife, and I carefully sneaked into the mansion and found only the coffin containing Jinkuro's body and the knife next to the coffin. ”

Agni didn't doubt Kenjubei's words, this man had a lot of bad things but never lied, and the recent investigation of Agni and Sophia had similar signs, so he was mentally prepared accordingly.

But even with mental preparation, it is not so simple to accept.

"Teacher...... Teacher, he ....... ”

Agni was an orphan, and it was Ming Shangzhen Jiurou who picked up Agni and brought it home, gave it to Agni's family, gave Agni a name, raised Agni, and taught Agni swordsmanship and martial arts. For Agni, Narukami Kuro is not only a teacher, but also a grandfather, even if he is strict, he is the only relative who cannot be replaced.

The guard hung his sword back at his waist, his gaze avoiding the eyes of the fire.

"My mission is complete, it's time to return to Narujin. This time I came to see you just to say hello to an old friend. ”

"Wait. ”

Despite the sadness, Agni gritted his teeth and swallowed his tears, now is not the time to immerse himself in feelings, Jinkuro is dead, but his best friend Sophia is still alive, even for Sophia, she must overcome her grief. Never exposing one's weakness to the outside world at any time is what Jinkuro is teaching, and it is also the creed that Agni has always had.

"Again, the question, why are you here, answer me seriously, Jubei. ”

There was still a bit of crying in his voice, and Agni tried his best to calm his mood.

"I was more than three months away from Khiva, and the last time I saw my teacher was a month ago, don't tell me that you predicted the teacher's death at that time. ”

Agni aimed his dagger at the Ten Guards, and this ready-to-attack posture was also Agni's determination to do it.

"I heard that the Five Spirit Swords contain extraordinary power, and you have to collect all the Five Spirit Swords even if you destroy the iron, why?"

"Oh yes, I really grew into a sharp woman when I didn't know it, and that cute bastard will never come again. ”

The Ten Guards smiled wryly and shook their heads.

"What would you do if I said I couldn't tell you?"

"The country is in a crisis that not even the slightest element of uneasiness allows. ”

The muscles in Agni's body tensed, and her gesture of preparation expressed her attitude more firmly than words.

"yes, then it can't be helped. ”

The expression of the ten guards disappeared from his face, and the sharp temperament on his body became more and more obvious, it was a cold killing intent, like the knife that was originally contained in the sheath showed its edge.

"Then let you feel the level of the holder of the Five Spirit Sword. ”

Agni felt the killing intent, and even his skin hallucinated like a stinging pain. She had never underestimated the Keshi Guard, the last time they met, the Kazuki Shibei was still a teenager, but he had already obtained one of the five spirit knives like Jinkuro, and at that time Agni knew that this man who was only a few years older than himself was a genius, and he could use his talents to transcend experience, the accumulation of time, and the gap in the flesh.

"Come on, let me see the Narugami Kirin who can be named after the teacher. ”

There is no fear, there is no will to fight, force has never been a pursuit for Agni, it is only a means to an end, and what is needed now is only to use means to achieve victory.

"Naruto Shenliu, the boy Che Angang - Jian Shibingwei, participate. ”

Ten Guards pulled out one of the three knives from his waist, Agni had never seen the knife, but he had heard the story of the knife. It is said that the spirit knife forged specifically for slaying demons, the boy Che Angang.

"Singing the gods, roaring on the fire. ”

The moment the words fell, the magic patterns on Agni's body suddenly lit up.

"!"

The sound was still in place, and the figure of the fire had already crossed a distance of more than ten meters, and came to the front of the ten guards, and the daggers in their hands stabbed at the throat and heart of the ten guards respectively.

Bang!

Two different sounds rang out, and the ten guards used the blade of the knife to flick away the dagger that stabbed the throat, and used the hilt to block the dagger that stabbed the heart, and with one movement of the weapon, the two attacks of the fire were dissolved.

"Speed alone won't hurt me, so reveal all your skills, Agni. ”