A person in Japan, a sword that soars to immortality.

Two days later, in front of the residence of Matsudaira Aoki, the daimyo.

After a brief conversation with Matsudaira Aoki and saying goodbye, Taichi and Sakichi prepared to leave Edo.

He didn't say much, but a few messages caught his attention.

"So I wasn't the only one providing support after all."

Walking along the road, recalling the conversation in the house earlier, after learning that Shuken and others had also been sent to Himeji Domain, Taiichi vaguely guessed that this was probably Mizuno Tadakuni's doing again.

And he found it amusing to see Matsudaira Aoki's constipated expression whenever this was mentioned.

It's like someone mimicking your speech; they say whatever you say, do whatever you do—it's incredibly annoying.

"What are you thinking about?" Zuoqie, supporting his sword, walked side by side with Taiyi. When he noticed that Taiyi was stunned and did not answer immediately, he continued indifferently, "Are you afraid that Shujian and the others will steal your thunder as the world's number one, or are you worried about that exhibitionist?"

"Bloody...you mean Ah Xia?"

Taiichi looked at Sōkiri's glaring eyes and displeased expression, and was at a loss for words, both amused and exasperated.

But her words also puzzled him.

"Speaking of A-Xia, I originally wanted to bring her out this time to see what that Nezu ninja is like, but she went on a mission too."

Thinking about this, Taiyi couldn't help but feel depressed.

When asked what kind of mission Aya had given him, the old man gave him a mysterious answer that he couldn't explain.

"Ah Xia's outfit isn't exactly revealing, is it?"

"what?"

"Um... if you've ever seen a 'bar' before, you'd think that A-Xia is a conservative."

Taiyi said with a sigh.

Zoccher smirked and rolled his eyes.

"The one who overturns the master's pole is no ordinary ninja."

"Hey, isn't this one of the 'sinners' you're looking for?"

"Yes, that's her."

While they were talking, Taiichi pictured a line in his mind.

She wore an ordinary purple bodysuit, but the bizarre pants with a high slit that went all the way up to her navel and a slit that went from her knees all the way to her waist were quite unusual.

Taiichi felt that the clothes worn by the female ninja, the one that seemed to be worn, were actually quite revealing.

"Speaking of cherry blossoms, it seems that women only started wearing underwear in the early 20th century, so..."

Tsk tsk, no wonder Senta was so infatuated with Yuzuriha. In the original story, he even used his body to shield Yuzuriha from a fatal blow.

Just look at that outfit of his; one glance and you can see the holy light emanating from it. If it were a chubby otaku like Senta, he couldn't stand it.

"If I had known I was going to Himeji Domain, I would have just stopped by Harima when I was passing through Okayama."

The thought of having to travel from Kanto to Kansai again, going back the same route, made him feel like he was wasting his time.

"Taiichi-nii, I don't think you really like the Daimyo, so why did you take on this mission?"

"Zocer asked, puzzled."

Considering his past actions and the fact that Taiyi has now been crowned the number one martial artist in the world, he can completely disregard the lives and deaths of those daimyo, even if it is the general's order.

“So, you see,” Taiichi suddenly pressed down on Saki’s head, patted her head, and seeing her blush and shrug again, he couldn’t help but laugh and say, “There must be a reason why you have to go.”

Although he wore a smile, his heart was as calm as a still lake.

The main force that launched this rebellion and attacked Himeji Castle was the Nezu ninja.

Although in the original Hell Music story, Koji once said that he was a ninja from Kai, he was actually lying to Hakumaru, and was exposed on the spot.

If Kojimaru really is a ninja from Nezumi, then her ninja village is no weaker than Ishigakure, where Hakumaru is from, and may even be much stronger.

Because at the beginning, Huameiwan did not know about the existence of "qi".

Before landing on the island, only Shujian, Shiyuan, and Shihe knew about the concept of Qi, but they did not know how to use it skillfully.

Only the ninja tradition, with its complete description and application of ki, is truly remarkable.

In the original work, when Sakiri, Yoko, Senta, and others fought against Botan, Yoko demonstrated his application of ki.

Furthermore, Peony also pointed out that she could see qi.

What caught Taiichi's attention even more was that after Gang and Huameimaru defeated Bodhi Emperor Lan in the end, Gang was on the verge of death due to his severe injuries.

As a result, after using a set of nine mantras, the bar miraculously came back to life!

“Lin Bing Dou Zhe, Jie Zhen Lie Qian Xing.”

"If Gang survived by using the Nine Syllable Mantra, which is a hand seal, then he must have used the 'Bing' character seal or the 'Zhe' character seal."

"In Taoism, the character '兵' (soldier) is called the Great Void Treasure Seal, and in Buddhism, it is called the Great Vajra Wheel Seal, representing vitality."

"The 'Zhe' character seal is called the 'inward-pointing-eight' seal in Taoism and the 'inward-pointing-lion' seal in Buddhism. It symbolizes restoration and the control of energy."

"But no matter what, if the Nezu ninjas really have this kind of heritage, then once I learn it, it will be a huge improvement!"

The Nine Syllable Mantra Seal—if this thing truly exists, it all depends on how the user utilizes it; it's something close to supernatural power.

Every mantra and every hand gesture represents a fundamental principle, which can be described as both incredibly fierce in attack and capable of stacking buffs in defense.

Therefore, Taiichi must go to Himeji Castle, and he must also seize the opportunity to seize the female ninja who betrayed the lord!

"I guess our journey shouldn't be too difficult. But if we encounter any danger, will you protect me? My greatest samurai in the land~"

Suddenly, Zoche jumped in front of Taiichi, put his hands behind his back, stretched out his neck, and said with a smile, his eyes curving into crescents.

"Danger?"

Taiyi smiled, but suddenly remembered the giant he had killed before the World Sacrifice.

Asura transformation... like water?

They already possessed the ability to control ki, and now they've gained the power of the Sakura Dragon of the Fountainhead Palace. If we're talking about how difficult they are to deal with, the fighting prowess displayed by these skilled Nezu ninjas shouldn't be any less than that of an Upper Moon demon.

The fact that Nezu ninjas can manipulate ki means they could potentially use spells similar to Blood Demon Arts.

Furthermore, they know hand seals. As long as they don't pull off some kind of powerful fire extinction or wind-style breakthrough after forming hand seals during battle, I can fight them!

"Huh? No way, you're actually hesitating? You're not scared, are you?"

Soraki's eyes widened, surprised that Taiichi didn't answer her immediately.

"afraid?"

Taiyi grinned, revealing a set of pearly white teeth, his eyes gleaming with a gaze that seemed capable of severing everything in its path, and he laughed heartily:

"I'm afraid they're not fierce enough!"

"Those guys who think they're invincible just because they drank some dragon urine and call themselves Asuras..."

"I will use the sword in my hand to show them what a demon is when struck by a single blow!"