Chapter 224: The So-Called Blacksmith
Hearing the villager's account, everyone suddenly understood that Shirou was a blacksmith, which made everything clearer.
"I see. Master did mention that he forged that sword himself," said Young Yukino.
"Hoo. Is Lord Shirou also a famous swordsmith, then?" Sasaki Kojiro, who was usually taciturn, now showed a look of interest. He was a so-called "sword fanatic"; he would be moved when meeting a formidable swordsman, and naturally, he would also be moved if he could see a precious sword worthy of a hero.
"Don't misunderstand. I'm just a ronin who is slightly skilled at forging iron. Because I visited many famous teachers of various schools to learn, and was favored by a few grandmasters, I have some connections in this circle, that's all," Shirou took the shuriken from Inshun and placed it into his pack.
However, because the package had been punctured when he blocked the incoming kunai earlier, he had to set it down, open it completely, and repack it.
The opened package revealed a pile of sharp, small tools glistening with a cold, silvery light.
Silver throwing knives; various styles of shuriken, including slender senbon for shooting and multi-pointed shuriken for spinning throws; 'makibishi' (caltrops) to scatter on the ground to pierce feet and stop horses and pursuers; smoke bombs that create white smoke when dropped for escape, and so on...
"These are...?" everyone asked in surprise.
"These armaments can be of great use at crucial moments on the battlefield," Shirou repacked all the armaments, put the bag on his back, and smiled kindly at everyone.
"Shirou, don't flash that kind of smile while holding these hidden weapons. It's frightening, even if it's for the sake of upholding justice..." Souji said, trembling slightly.
"Master... to be able to use all these tools is truly amazing! It's like trying your best to defeat the bandits using all sorts of methods!" Young Yukino's eyes were twinkling with adoration.
"Ah, this child looks very smart, but it turns out she's an idiot too," Nobu remarked sarcastically from the side.
"I feel like it would be terrifying to be enemies with the Boss. But as a comrade, he's incredibly reliable," Tawara Touta said with a laugh.
"Haha, that's certainly true," Hōzōin Inshun also laughed heartily.
"Well, compared to my swordsmanship, I'm not considered very strong, so I have to find ways to make up for it in other areas, and try my best," Shirou said sincerely.
"No, no! You're already strong enough! Besides, Shirou, you defeated that ninja! A ninja! How did you do it?" Souji asked, shuddering.
In this world where magic cannot be used for protection or healing, and everyone fights with a fragile, mortal body, Shirou, who was proficient in various hidden weapons—even surpassing professional ninjas—seemed like a precise and terrifying killing machine.
Shirou, having received Muramasa's memories, replied, "Well, actually, as long as I study a weapon while holding it, I can pretty much figure out how to use it. If you can make it, naturally you can use it, right? It's the same principle as cooking. A person who is good at cooking is naturally good at tasting."
"That's not how it works! I've never seen a swordsmith whose swordsmanship is as good as his forging!" Souji retorted.
"Also, besides forging and archery, I think I'm quite suited to be a ninja. At least I'm very good with shuriken. For example, having excellent eyesight, learning other people's special moves just by watching once, using the Kusanagi Sword (Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi), releasing fire, summoning Susanoo, shooting arrows that flash with lightning, and so on..." Shirou said, holding up a finger to give examples.
"...???" Everyone had expressions of being bewildered but still impressed.
"Hmm, you don't understand? Well, it's natural that you wouldn't know. Let's get going," Shirou said with a smile.
"Oh, yes." Everyone nodded. They felt that if they looked too closely, they would be hit hard, so they decided against it.
Only the little girl standing in the grass seemed to be holding back the urge to retort, but then she looked up, her eyes shining with admiration and yearning. She ran up to Shirou and said sweetly, "...Master is too amazing! Please, please teach me!"
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In the other world, in a hotel room, Yukinoshita Yukino frowned, her hands making a gesture of resisting and pushing, as if she was dreaming of being pushed aside.
In the mental landscape, Yukinoshita couldn't help but inwardly complain, 'Although that's a world-famous work, one of the three great shonen manga, which spanned two centuries, ran for 15 years, and influenced several generations, people here couldn't possibly know about it.'
Unfortunately, Young Yukino was now taken over by the original girl's self. It seemed her feeling of adoration was too strong, pushing the soul that possessed her aside.
Now, Yukinoshita could only hide within the girl's body, silently watching everything unfold, no longer able to influence anything, like a real dream. However, she was now certain that this master was definitely the Shirou she knew.
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Young Yukino, now completely a curious and innocent little girl, hugged Shirou's shoulder and pleaded.
"No, no, Yukino, calm down. That was just a joke, a joke. You should just continue to hone your martial arts," Shirou said.
"By the way, are you going to take this rabbit with you? What do you plan to do with it?" Souji looked at Nobu and asked.
"Stew it and eat it?" Nobu suggested, blinking.
"No, that rabbit was clearly drugged, which is why it stayed under the tree even with all that commotion without running away. A beast like that is either a monster, or... it shouldn't be eaten," Shirou advised.
"Nawww... is that so? Then I'll hold it and play with it for a while, and then throw it away," Nobu said regretfully. The rabbit, held in her arms, seemed completely indifferent to its future fate, quietly chewing on the green grass fed to its mouth, seemingly satisfied as long as it had something to eat now.
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After passing through the winding mountain path, they finally saw the village on the mountain before dusk. Looking from afar, the village was built on a flat area halfway down the mountain, divided into left and right sides by a stream about 3 meters wide flowing down from the mountain, connected by a wooden bridge.
In the village, farmer's thatched houses were built from high to low. At the lowest part were continuous fields. The rice was almost ripe now, shining golden under the afternoon sun, like a wild field of gold. Small fish and shrimp swam in the small irrigation ditches beside the fields, sparkling in the light.
The area was scenic, with clean air. A gentle breeze blew, filling their lungs with the scent of rice. The scene before them was beautiful pastoral scenery, full of vitality everywhere.
The farmers who were self-sufficient in the mountains could catch some small shrimp or loach in the ditches. These fish, being all-natural, free of pesticides and unnatural growth, were extremely delicious when scalded in clear water and dipped in some sauce. Loach, when simmered with some tofu and pickles to make loach soup, was an aquatic delicacy.
Combined with fragrant white rice and a bottle of sake, enjoying a meal while bathed in the breeze was a wonderful enjoyment in life.
In later generations, countless people would drive for hours and spend a large amount of money just to experience the "farm stay" lifestyle, but it would never compare to this.
It was unimaginable that if this village was left alone, in a few weeks, when the rice was harvested, it would be invaded by bandits who would steal the grain, burn everything down, and cause untold suffering.
"Everyone! We're back! We brought the Samurai-sama back!" the leading man ran into the village gate and shouted loudly.
Strangely, there was no one outside the village. Even after shouting four or five times, no one answered.
"What's going on? I told the two of them to go back first!" This was completely different from what he had expected.
"Everyone! Where did everyone go?" the villager shouted.
"Everyone! Come out quickly!" The embarrassed guide ran out and shouted loudly towards the surrounding houses.
Around them were people peeking out by lifting the wooden boards of their windows, and then quickly shutting them when they felt eyes on them.
"Hahaha." Tawara Touta, on the other hand, laughed at the villagers' reaction.
"This is truly rude! Are they going back on their word? This is a critical moment when bandits could arrive at any time!" Young Yukino said angrily. She came as a soldier of justice to help the villagers here, but instead of being welcomed, they were shunned as if they were demons entering the village.
Hōzōin Inshun put his hands together and said, "The Buddha once said that all sentient beings are ignorant. One should not show favoritism based on whether they are clever or foolish. As long as one is devoted to goodness, all sentient beings can achieve enlightenment."
"Well, mountain villagers are unworldly, and their behavior is comical. However, it seems we can't completely blame them this time," Sasaki Kojiro said, holding his long sword.
"Ah, it's probably a tactic by Nobunaga's side," Shirou nodded and said.
"What in the world is going on?" the leading villager knocked on the wooden window under the thatched roof and shouted at the villagers inside.
But the people inside just pressed their hands against the wooden board, unwilling to say anything.
"This can't be helped. The first few days after we left the village, everything was fine. But later, those who went up the mountain to chop wood heard people shouting rumors on the mountain that the bandits were changing their leader."
"This time, a seemingly formidable figure has arrived, who now calls himself the 'Bandit King,' rumored to be as powerful as a Demon King,"
The man who had returned to the village first frowned and said, "On the way back today, the two of us were stopped by bandits."
"Bandits? And a ninja, right? They've already been driven away by the Samurai-sama. What in the world did you do!" the man said angrily.
"Ninja?! We only encountered two bandits. They said the Bandit King sent them to pass on a message: 'As long as our village agrees to pay 80% of our grain harvest as tribute to them, they will spare the village.'"
The villager turned his head and said, "Today, another rumor came that after the samurai arrive, they will drink and demand women every day, warning families with young daughters to be careful. If they are discovered, it will be over. If they resist, they will surely be killed. So now everyone is hiding at home and dare not come out."
"Idiots! Do you want to pay tribute to the bandits every year?! Do you want to become their accomplices? When the government sends troops to suppress them, are you going to flee deep into the mountains with them?!" the leading man roared.
"But if we do that, we won't need to hire samurai, we won't have to worry about our unmarried daughters, and we won't have to worry about fighting! Everyone can at least survive for half a year!" the villager said, wincing.
"Who guarantees they are trustworthy! What if they go back on their word after we let them in! Is a woman's honor more important, or the lives of the whole village! Huh!" the leading man angrily grabbed his companion's collar and shouted.
"This can't be helped. Hearing those things, everyone got scared and didn't dare to leave their homes," the villager who returned first said bitterly.
"Enough!" The leading man shook off his companion, ran back, bowed to Shirou and the others, and pleaded, "Samurai-sama, please come with us to the Village Elder first."
"The Village Elder? Where is he?" Shirou asked.
"He is the oldest and most knowledgeable elder in the village, and his legs are inconvenient for travel. Please come with us this way," the villager bowed.
"I understand." Shirou nodded to his companions. The group set off, with only one dark figure observing the surroundings of the village, quietly running towards the other side by himself.
Led by the villager, Shirou and the others crossed the small bridge and arrived at a watermill house with creaking sounds. The watermill drew water, allowing the mountain spring water to flow continuously into the village's channels.
Entering the room, they found a family of four living inside. The honest man who was the husband and the woman holding a baby came forward and invited them in. Inside the room sat a grizzled, weathered elder, who was watching them with one eye open.
The elder nodded to the newcomers and said, "Please sit, everyone. Thank you for coming all this way."
"Haha, Elder, may I ask your age?" Shirou and his companions found a place to sit and asked with a smile. In a chaotic world like this, where the average lifespan might be less than thirty, meeting such an elderly person was rare.
"Haha, this old man is almost 70. It's an age where dying wouldn't be a pity. Because I heard that bandits were coming, I told the young men in the village. When I was young, I saw the fate of villages attacked by bandits several times. Each time, the sky was ablaze and the sight was horrific, but only once...
"here was a village that hired samurai, and they survived in the end. So this time, to allow the villagers to live, I told them to hire samurai.
You did very well! I didn't expect you could invite such remarkable samurai. I have never seen samurai with such good demeanor in my life, and so many of you are so outstanding. Being able to fight alongside you, I can truly die without regrets," the elder praised.
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