Chapter 23: Exotic Weapons

"Indeed, I am he."

Hyakusuke was not wearing his mask at the moment, and he could not fathom why Matsudaira Inomaro, a retainer to Yoake, would come to this place.

The residential area for the shinobi was isolated from the rest of the estate, guarded by shikigami to prevent unauthorized entry or the lower-ranking shinobi from leaving the quarters at will.

"Is there something you need, Lord Matsudaira?" he asked, trying to discern the man’s purpose while he pondered the situation.

"First, I must express my gratitude to you, Hyakusuke-dono." The old man bowed his head low. "As a warrior, I have served the Tsukigara clan of Kita-O for many years. The former head of the Tsukigara house was my lord, and I must thank you for saving the young master at the Spider’s Nest."

"No, I merely did what was expected of me."

"Even if it was expected, the fact remains that you saved his life." Matsudaira Inomaro smiled. "We were quite busy, and the young master was injured, so we felt it inappropriate to come and thank you sooner... However, I have recently heard that you have distinguished yourself and been promoted to a middle-rank shinobi. Truly, that is a cause for celebration."

"You are too kind, Lord Matsudaira." Hyakusuke quickly added, "If I may be so bold, how is the lord of the Tsukigara house faring?"

"He has gone to Kyoto. He will be staying there for some time." The old man smiled. "Thank you for your concern; the young master is quite well. Before he left, he instructed me to bring you a gift. It is a humble offering, hardly worth mentioning, but I hope you will accept it."

"A gift?" Hyakusuke was stunned.

Matsudaira Inomaro handed over an object wrapped in long strips of cloth. "Hyakusuke-dono, why not open it and take a look?"

Hyakusuke took it and found the gift to be surprisingly heavy. As he unwrapped the cloth, he discovered a "short spear" inside. No, that was not right. To his surprise, it was a long spear that had been folded.

"This is called a 'Seven-Section Spear.' It is exactly eight feet long when extended, and the shaft consists of seven segments. You can adjust the length as you wish, and its methods of use are myriad." Matsudaira Inomaro scratched his cheek. "I am ashamed to say that in my youth, I had a fascination with ingenious crafts and such curiosities. I had this spear commissioned by a master smith when I was younger, but as I have aged, I no longer have the energy for such things. Hearing that you are skilled in spear techniques, I had a sudden impulse to offer it to you. I hope you will not find the gift too meager."

With that, he said, "Let me demonstrate," and drew the weapon. With a flick of his wrist, the spear extended like a spirit snake coiling out of its den, locking into a single, seamless shaft.

*Is this... a weapon whose length can be controlled through spiritual power?* Hyakusuke’s brows twitched.

This could be classified as an "exotic weapon," something that would typically be impractical in actual combat or limited in its application. Yet, in this world, given the nature of spiritual power, even weapons like segmented swords or blood-dropper traps could be made fully viable for battle.

"No, this is far too precious," Hyakusuke said firmly. "I cannot accept such a valuable item."

"Please, do not refuse, Hyakusuke-dono," the old man urged. "To receive kindness and feel no gratitude, or to harbor grievances and never let them go—that is not the way of the Tsukigara clan. This is merely a token of our sincerity. If you were to decline, it would bring shame upon our house."

"This..." Hyakusuke contemplated for a moment before reluctantly taking the spear. "I understand. I am grateful for Lord Yoake’s favor, and I shall accept it with humility."

"That is good." The old man chuckled. "Perhaps there will be a time when we might trouble you again."

That was far too polite. The man’s status was much higher than his own; under normal circumstances, there would be no reason to trouble him. However, the old man was a hidden powerhouse among the main group—even in his age, he was at the level of a master swordsman. Hyakusuke had no intention of offending such a figure, so he could only accept it gracefully.

*Still, I will have to report this to the shinobi chief. Given that it is a gift from the Tsukigara clan, it should count as my personal property, right?*

...

Deep night. The Hour of the Ox.

Above the mountain forests, which seemed to be filled with ink, lay a sky of profound emptiness—a velvet carpet adorned with countless stars, pierced by the brilliant, lonely light of the moon.

A lantern’s glow suddenly emerged from the darkness. Two figures moved along the mountain path, one behind the other.

"Lady Kohagi, please follow this way." The young boy serving as her attendant was the fourth son of the Sako family, Miyata. He was handsome, leading the way with a lantern in hand. "According to intelligence from the 'Culpable Eyes,' the location we seek should be in this direction."

The eldest princess of the Kurohime-yama house wore an ibis-pink kosode, her long silver hair tied back with paper cord. In her right hand, she carried a long sword in its scabbard.

As they entered the depths of the mountain, a slight chill and dampness crept in.

"By performing a 'memory probe' on the brain tissue of the late Kousaburo—though the brain was already dead, we managed to extract information from his lingering spirit—we have successfully located one of the 'Eight Blessings Society' strongholds in Mutsu Province," Miyata explained to the princess he served. "Considering the danger posed by those heretics, I deemed it inappropriate for the lower-ranking shinobi to show their faces, so I took the liberty of deploying the Sako family’s private soldiers."

"Is that so?" Kohagi glanced at her attendant.

"Furthermore, members of the factions supporting you have also volunteered to assist in our operation," Miyata said with a tone of immense pride.

He did not notice the icy coldness in Kohagi’s gaze. The eldest princess of the Kurohime-yama house was deeply displeased. She had no idea where he found the audacity to issue orders on her behalf.

Of course, there was no point in getting angry now. She understood full well how deeply invested the people in her faction were in this matter. They were desperate for success, eager to perform a feat they could use to curry favor with the Imperial Court, all so they could legitimately claim their place in the succession.

The reason for their impatience lay in the fact that her mother, the current head of the Kurohime-yama house, had given birth to a boy seven years ago. In truth, Kohagi did not even know how many "siblings" she had, as her mother had likely been involved with many men outside the house. Aside from Katsura, there were likely many others.

However, publicly, there were five successors to the Kurohime-yama clan: herself, Katsura, and the third and fourth sisters, Nadeshiko and Obana, who were twins. Being only ten years old and lacking a faction to support them, the twins could not participate in the race for succession.

Kohagi did not view the twins as rivals; she knew clearly that to become the head of the house, she only had two enemies: Katsura and her own mother.

After the miracle birth of the boy seven years ago, her mother had shown an abnormal level of doting affection toward the child, named Fujibakama. In fact, such doting was uncharacteristic of a Kurohime-yama woman. Even Kohagi could not understand why a woman who was bloodless and tearless, who had poisoned the father she once loved simply because he was in the way, would dote so excessively on that boy.

Kohagi had seen the child. Due to the over-pampering, though he was already seven, his mental age seemed no more than four or five, and he would still cry and demand to be nursed by his mother. Yet, her mother, the head of the Kurohime-yama, not only indulged his every whim but also harbored the clear intention of having this boy succeed her.

Of course, this was difficult for the internal factions of the Kurohime-yama to accept. The family was accustomed to being led by women, with the house dominated by powerful matriarchs; if a man were suddenly installed as the new head, the status quo would surely shift. Kohagi naturally would not let that happen, and both she and Katsura were secretly opposing their mother.

Ordinarily, even with the support of their respective factions, this would be hard to pull off. But because the youngest brother was a "boy," that identity alone was enough to make the conservative factions—those loyal to the matriarch—hesitate when faced with the question of who should lead next.

"While recruiting so many people has strengthened my faction, it has also brought in a fair share of incompetents. That is a nuisance," she thought.

As she walked along the mountain path, illuminated by the lonely glow of the moon above, the two arrived at a small shrine. The shrine was situated at the summit, reached by a winding stone staircase.

"It should be here..." Miyata held the lantern high, stepped onto the stone stairs, and hurried toward the torii gate at the shrine’s entrance.

The moment he passed through the gate, however, he let out a shriek.

"...W-what happened?"

The small shrine in the mountains had been turned into a tragic ruin. The crude wooden buildings had collapsed as if blown apart by a gale, and the air was thick with the metallic scent of blood.

Kohagi stepped onto the grounds in her wooden sandals, finding a sea of gore formed by several corpses. She noticed that these men had been hacked to pieces, their bodies mangled, with some lying amidst their own viscera and blood.

*The cuts are so clean. What kind of weapon could do this?*

At that moment, Miyata threw himself at one of the corpses, sobbing. "Senior Katsutaro, how did you end up like this?"

"Enough." Kohagi cut off his wailing. "Miyata, you said you came here beforehand... what happened then?"

"No, there were no problems earlier," Miyata wiped his tears. "Senior Katsutaro was keeping watch outside. But half an hour ago, they discovered someone approaching the shrine and said they had caught them. They sent a message telling me to bring you here as well."

"I see." Kohagi sighed. "It seems this was a trap."

"A-a trap?" Miyata’s lips twitched slightly. He asked in confusion, "Are you saying we walked into a trap set by the enemy?"

"More or less." Kohagi asked coldly, "Miyata, did you have any contact with Katsutaro and the others?"

"Wh-what?" Miyata froze.

"Never mind." Kohagi sighed softly and drew her sword from its scabbard.

A flash of steel.

In an instant, her right hand left a swaying afterimage. Before the boy could understand what had happened, his head flew off. No one could have seen how her blade had severed his neck.