Edo, somewhere——

Under the guidance of the "Horn-Eyed Warrior", Kamino stepped on the dusty stairs and walked step by step into the dark underground.

At the bottom of the stairs is a cellar room full of history.

The cellar, which was originally supposed to be used as a warehouse and was filled with a large number of items, was now empty. Apart from the dust, there were only some insect corpses on the ground.

Such a cellar, as dead as a cemetery, miraculously has the breath of life.

Whirring whirring……

Although it was very subtle, a faint sound of breathing could indeed be heard coming from the depths of the cellar.

Follow the sound of breathing... and you can see two girls sitting on the ground with their feet flat, their hands twisted behind their backs, and they are tied tightly to a pillar in the corner of the cellar with hemp ropes.

superior.

These two girls are none other than Sanako and Natsume Yue, who are currently being anxiously searched for by Aonto and the others.

The girls, shoulder to shoulder, were still unconscious with their heads drooped, and their mouths were tied with cloth strips to prevent them from screaming when they woke up.

"...You guys really brought us into big trouble."

Facing Sanako, who had not yet regained consciousness, Kamino said this quietly. His tone was neither sad nor happy, making it difficult for outsiders to judge his current mood from his tone.

"I'm very sorry..." The "Hankaku-eyed Samurai" standing next to him lowered his head in shame, "According to the information collected, Natsume Yue always likes to go to that teahouse alone to eat Japanese sweets."

"However, by coincidence, just today, Natsume Yue actually brought someone here...and the person she brought happened to be the 'Chiba Ghost Town'."

"Because I heard that Chiba Sadayoshi of the Little Chiba Sword Hall was very kind to you, Mr. Kamino, so we don't know what to do with this Chiba Sanako."

"So, we can only tie her up first."

"...Forget it." Kamino sighed heavily, "It's not your fault. No one could have expected such an accident."

After saying that, Kamino paused for a moment, and then softly repeated the name of the person mentioned by "Diaojiaoyan Samurai".

"Chiba Nobuyoshi..."

A flash of reminiscence flashed in Kamino's eyes.

"Oh, what a nostalgic name."

The "Diaojiaoyan Samurai" glanced at Kamino who had a look of reminiscence on his face, hesitated for a while, and then asked:

"Mr. Kamino, does Chiba Nobuyoshi really have a great kindness to you?"

Kamino glanced at the "Horn-Eyed Samurai" in return, then nodded uncertainly:

"Chiba Sadaikichi of Chiba Sword Hall is indeed very kind to me."

"The first swordsmanship I learned was not Kashin Akechi-ryu, but Beichen One-sword style. I felt that Beichen One-sword style was not suitable for me, so I switched to Kashin Akechi-ryu midway."

"The first sword hall I entered in my life was the Little Chiba Sword Hall."

"If you think about it carefully, this happened more than ten years ago... At that time, my name had not been changed to the current 'Kamino Tatsugoro'."

"Mr. Chiba Sadayoshi is a truly famous teacher who can teach others and solve their doubts. He gave me a lot of help and guidance when I was just starting out in the art of swordsmanship."

"Without the guidance Mr. Chiba Sadayoshi gave me... my swordsmanship would definitely not be what it is today."

"...Then Mr. Kamino, how should we deal with Chiba Nobuyoshi's daughter?"

After quietly listening to Kamino briefly describe his past with Chiba Nobuyoshi, the "Corner-Eyed Samurai" turned his attention back to Sanako, who was still sleeping, with a complicated expression.

Kamino's brows slowly frowned... Judging from his expression, it was not difficult to tell that he also had a headache now about how to deal with his mentor's daughter.

No one needs to remind him, Kamino also knows: Sanako Chiba is missing, and the Chiba family, with its terrifying connections, will not let it go.

Tomorrow morning... no, maybe tonight there will be a large group of people looking for the missing Chiba Sanako.

This will undoubtedly bring great trouble to their anti-barbarian group.

But Chiba Sanako couldn't just let it go.

They still can't let the outside world know that Natsume Sohachiro's daughter is missing.

As for killing Chiba Sanako, it is even more impossible.

Kamino has always regarded himself as a "real samurai".

Because he considers himself a "real samurai", he has always strictly required himself according to bushido, and will never do anything that damages the image of a samurai, such as yawning in public.

Because he considered himself a "real warrior", he did not hesitate to sacrifice his life and blood in order to protect the country from the barbarians and expel all the barbarians from the country.

To be disrespectful to the children of your mentor...this is not what a samurai would do.

After Kamino pondered for a moment with a troubled expression, he sighed heavily.

"...Let's tie Chiba Sanako and Natsume Yue here together for the time being."

"Right now, it's a critical moment when the 'big operation' that our anti-barbarian team has been preparing for a long time is about to begin... I don't want to waste my precious energy and time elsewhere."

"Let's wait until all the important things are done, and then slowly think about how to deal with Chiba Sanako."

"Yes!" "Horn-Eyed Warrior" responded loudly.

"Yaguchi, the task of keeping an eye on Chiba Sanako and Natsume Yue will be left to you."

"Keep an eye on the others strictly and don't let them do anything inappropriate towards Sanako Chiba and Natsume Yue."

"Our anti-barbarian group is not a gang."

"We have been fighting to expel the barbarians and protect this country!"

Having said this, Kamino half-closed his eyes and raised his head slightly, showing an intoxicated expression like a devout believer.

"We must never do anything that has nothing to do with 'driving out the barbarians.'"

"So, Yaguchi, if anyone dares to violate this prohibition of mine and does something to Chiba Sanako and Natsume Yue... there is no need to report to me, just cut off his head."

"Yes." "Diaojiaoyan Samurai" nodded solemnly and forcefully.

"Also, Yaguchi, let your wife come over and take care of Sanako Chiba and Natsume Yue. I don't want some people to take advantage of every opportunity to do something that violates the discipline of our anti-insurgency team."

"yes."

After emphasizing certain matters with the "Diaojiaoyan Samurai", Kamino turned around and strode out of the cellar with the "Diaojiaoyan Samurai" one after the other.

As soon as he returned to the ground with fresh air, Kamino saw a short, dark-skinned samurai running towards him with a windy walk.

"Mr. Kamino, something happened with Funahachi and his friends."

"Funapachi?" Kamino's eyes suddenly became sharp.

The swarthy dwarf nodded solemnly, and then briefly and comprehensively summarized the events that happened at the residence today.

After hearing what had happened, Kamino's face became extremely ugly at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"It's Tachibana Aoden again...!"

Kamino gritted his teeth and his eyes seemed ready to spit out flames at any moment.

"Why does this national thief always ruin our affairs!"

Kamino punched the wall next to him bitterly, and the wall that was hit screamed as if it was about to break.

"What's the damage?"

"Seven people died on the spot, two were seriously injured, and three people from the racecourse who were responsible for cutting off everyone's backs were missing... Although the two seriously injured people were successfully carried back, their injuries were very serious and they should not be able to survive..."

Racecourse - the surname of the "middle-aged man with a beard" captured by Qingdeng today.

Missing... this is not a good word, it means that the racecourse and the others have most likely become prisoners of Qingdeng.

"Mr. Kamino, and -" the dark dwarf continued to report, "I have received the exact news: Hanada Shichiro was also arrested by Tachibana Aoden..."

"..." Kamino did not express any thoughts.

He just punched the wall next to him hard.

After a moment of murderous silence, Kamino took a deep breath.

"...That's fine. It's just a harmless little accident."

"Neither Hanada Shichiro nor Baba and the others have any important core information."

"I basically got all the topographic maps of the residence and the list of residents from Hanada Shichiro."

"Have the base of Funaba and his friends been moved?"

"All important things have been moved or destroyed." The swarthy dwarf replied, "After escaping from Tachibana Aoden's sword, Funahachi and the others immediately moved their supplies."

"...I will inform the following later: Let everyone be calm. This little accident is harmless and will not affect our next actions."

"Let everyone act step by step according to the original plan."

"Also - let everyone not casually engage the enemy when you encounter that national thief Tachibana Aoden in the streets or other places!"

"If Funahachi and the others had avoided a head-on battle with Tachibana Aoden today, they wouldn't have had to die so many people!"

"Although I don't want to admit it, that national traitor is indeed not a fuel-efficient lamp!"

Kamino's tone turned cold.

"I don't want today's tragedy to happen again in the future!"

"We will kill that national traitor Ju Qingdeng sooner or later...but not now!"

"Things have to be done one by one."

"When I free up my time and energy in the future, it won't be easy to kill Tachibana Aoden."

"He can hit 18 by himself, but can he hit 50 or 60 by himself?"
To be continued...