Kamisato Estate, on that same cliff.
Kamisato Ayato was half-reclined on a pre-prepared wooden chair, his face etched with weakness.
Gazing distantly at Inazuma City and the Tenshukaku across the strait, he felt that even lifting a hand was an extravagant hope.
"Kobayashi, my Haran Geppaku Futsu seems to have fallen in the grass."
His voice sounded extremely weak. Just that one sentence seemed to have used up all his strength.
"Lord Kamisato, please rest well for now. I will go and find it for you. Tomorrow... no, I will go and invite Lady Yae of the Grand Narukami Shrine afterward. She will surely be able to heal you."
The face of the Shuumatsuban ninja named Kobayashi was filled with regret.
To the Shuumatsuban, the head of the clan was everything.
When the clan head had decided to try that substance, he should have stopped him, even if it meant death!
"It's alright, there's no need to trouble the Guuji for such a small matter. Is there any news about that child, Sayu?"
Compared to these things, Kamisato Ayato was actually more concerned about Sayu.
That child was the last successor of the Yoohoo Art. If something happened to her...
"Reporting to the clan head, regarding that child Sayu, we have already found her trail and have confirmed that she is still alive. It's just..."
Kobayashi looked at the weakened Kamisato Ayato, unsure whether he should tell his master this piece of news.
He was afraid the clan head wouldn't be able to bear it.
"Speak."
How could Kamisato Ayato not see through his thoughts? As the youngest head of the Kamisato Clan, he still had that much resilience.
"Yes! After we realized that the child Sayu might have been kidnapped, we focused our efforts on the resistance army's camp, because the most likely culprits were the resistance. So we infiltrated it."
The so-called "infiltration" was a true infiltration of the enemy camp using ninjutsu. Due to the matter of the moles, the resistance's screening of new members had recently become much stricter than usual. Wanting to infiltrate in a short period of time was undoubtedly extremely difficult.
"And in the resistance army's camp, we found Sayu's figure. At that time... she was standing with a red-clothed man wearing a mask. That person's attire was very similar to the legendary Battousai."
"..."
After hearing his subordinate's report, Kamisato Ayato fell silent.
The Battousai?
He had personally witnessed the rise of that man, who was known to the world as the Battousai.
He had even been struck by his sword.
If not for the timely rescue by the Guuji, he might have been separated from his sister by death.
That strike was truly ruthless!
But if Sayu was with him, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
At least, in Kamisato Ayato's impression, this fellow called the Battousai, apart from injuring Her Excellency the Shogun with a single strike, had not committed any other heinous crimes.
Judging from his act of saving that boy from the Kaedehara Clan, he might even be a righteous hero.
As for why he appeared in the resistance army, Kamisato Ayato did not find it strange.
After offending Her Excellency the Shogun, he had almost no place to go in Inazuma except for the resistance army.
And the resistance army would definitely welcome a powerful expert like him.
"My lord, do we need to rescue the child Sayu from the hands of the Battousai?"
Kobayashi asked tentatively.
In a direct confrontation, the Shuumatsuban might not be a match for that Battousai.
But when it came to assassination and intelligence gathering... apart from that Instructor in the Fatui, the Shuumatsuban had never feared anyone!
"No, try not to disturb him as much as possible. For Sayu, staying by his side might be the safest. Leave two people to keep an eye on their movements. As for the others... gather as much information as you can about the situation on Yashiori Island. I will submit it later."
From his subordinate's description, Sayu should have been getting along well with that Battousai during this period. Perhaps this was also an opportunity for their Yashiro Commission to get close to that Battousai.
"But will the Tenryou Commission really allow this information to reach Her Excellency the Shogun? They have a history of this."
Kobayashi raised his concerns about his master's plan.
If he were a member of the Tenryou Commission, he would absolutely not let Her Excellency the Shogun see this information.
"Who said I was going to send it to Her Excellency the Shogun? Lady Yae Miko's Yae Publishing House has been a bit lacking in material lately. Is it not permissible for me to send the Guuji some material for a novel?"
Kamisato Ayato still sat weakly in his chair, but his calm smile and the confidence at the corner of his lips made him look exceptionally charming.
This was the charm of the "big brother-in-law."
"Oh, right, about that special milk tea... send a portion to Thoma as well. Consider it a reward for him. After all, working day and night in Ritou is quite hard."
"Ah? Yes, I understand!"
...
What is deep sleep?
Sayu had always thought she slept well, but after last night's events, she finally realized what true deep sleep was.
It was very magical.
After waking up, she only remembered that Bai Luo wanted her to listen to some song. As for the content of the song, she couldn't remember it at all.
She just felt that she had closed her eyes, opened them, and a whole night had passed.
And now she was refreshed and clear-headed. Even the mood that had been affected by the Tatarigami after staying on Yashiori Island for a long time had recovered quite a bit.
Was the song that good?
It should be... right?
Having forgotten the entire process, she didn't know how to describe it.
She just didn't understand why, when she thought about whether to listen to Bai Luo play it again, her body instinctively stopped her from saying it.
Strange...
After passing Nazuchi Beach, Bai Luo switched back to his "Kuro" persona. Because on the Shogunate's side, the identity of "Kuro" was obviously more suitable, and it was also a return to his original identity.
As for Sayu, she was once again carried by Bai Luo, dozing off just like that. From time to time, the sound of her smacking her lips could be heard.
Bai Luo had actually noticed that he was being followed long ago, but after noticing their Shuumatsuban attire, he had ignored them.
These people were likely only here because of the little tanuki in his hands.
However, Bai Luo did not switch to his "Kuro" persona in front of them, but rather did so after shaking them off.
After switching personas, Bai Luo directly carried the little tanuki and entered an invisible state. He only dispelled the invisibility after completely losing the pursuit of those ninjas.
But the moment his figure appeared, a terrified cat's meow sounded beside him.
Was it Sayu?
No, she was indeed a little tanuki, but she couldn't make that sound.
Bai Luo looked down and saw a snow-white cat crouching at his feet, all its fur standing on end.
In its sapphire-like eyes, besides surprise and fear, there was also a hint of... grievance?
"Hmm? Could it be you?"
Seeing it, a figure that had been buried in his mind for a long time slowly resurfaced.
Ah, the cat I forgot at the training grounds... Holy crap! It's still alive?!
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