Chapter 6: Hattori Hanzo?

  The Sanninshu was established by Kira Yoshinaka, following the strategy of Oda Nobunaga, where excellent talents were promoted from among his loyal retainers. The advantages of promoting from among one's own vassals are many; they possess a loyalty not inferior to that of hereditary vassals, and being young, they lack selfish desires, while also having a strong desire to achieve meritorious deeds, making them more reliable than those hereditary vassals who are blinded by greed.

  Yoshihiro's full name was Yamakawa Yoshihiro Naonaga, and he came from the branch family of the Yamakawa clan, which was a descendant of the Kira clan. His father was Yamakawa Tsukushō no kami Korenori, and the main line of the Yamakawa clan had been extinct for decades.

  Yamagane Zenjirō was the second son of his family, and without inheritance rights, he was sent to the Kiryū household as a child servant from an early age. His ability to lead the Kiryū's attendants as the chief of the Kiryū side also had something to do with his personal performance, standing out in the fierce competition within the Kiryū household, and having some ability.

  The Sōkōin were also a semi-formal group, with the older members of the small surnames transitioning to become either Makino or ordinary vassals, while the younger ones continued to serve as small surnames. Before they truly became vassals, they used the name Sōkōin to strengthen their cohesion and loyalty. This was also one of the tricks that could be played under the nose of Yamamoto Kansuke, an old fox.

  To show that today's training was not wasted, Kirishima Mitsumaru unleashed dozens of slashes in one breath, each with about 80% strength. The momentum didn't stop, roughly meaning this. If it wasn't a life-or-death crisis, there's no need to burst out 200% power; every explosion is a consumption of heart and blood. In the art of war, explosions only occur at the moment when the killing intent is strongest, like the first slash of Ichimonji that bursts out with a fatal blow. After all, the art of war or swordsmanship is a violent art used to kill enemies; on the battlefield where life and death are at stake, there's no chance for you to play fancy tricks.

  This time's cultivation effect is far better than imagined, just simply wanting to wield the knife and chop, following a fixed breathing rhythm, every strike's rhythm is just right, this rhythm is an indescribable feeling, as if with a swing of the hand, it can accurately hit the target position with 80% strength, inhale, circulate internal energy, exert force, retract the knife, exhale, repeating in independent cycles, at this moment everything seems to be far away from him, his eyes only have that big tree.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  Just as he slowly closed his eyes to savor the short but intense experience of cultivation, a round of applause came from afar. Yamamoto Kanbei hobbled over, and on his face that rarely cracked a smile, an ugly flower-like grin bloomed as he said with a hint of relief: "Congratulations, Master! You've taken your first step onto the path of martial arts! In no time, you'll become an extraordinary martial artist! I'm truly overjoyed!"

  Kira Manshōmaru nodded with a smile, but in his heart he was maliciously speculating: "What does this mean? Is it implying that I've practiced for three years and only now am I on the true path of martial arts, which means I'm an idiot?"

  "Congratulations to the master of the mansion on his first military achievement!" Sunziro suddenly shouted and knelt down, then all of them knelt down, except for those people behind Yamamoto Kan no Suketsune who stood there awkwardly.

  It's not the time to pursue the meaning of Yamamoto Kanetsugu's words, he can only smile and raise his hands, saying: "Everyone, please get up!"

  "Master! Let's stop today's training here! I, your humble servant, have something to report!" Yamamoto Kanetsugu stepped forward and led Kira Yoshinaka towards the large room, then whispered: "I've made some progress in winning over the Western Mikawa clan, please let me report it to you!"

  "Oh? Alright! Let's go to the big room!" Kiryu Mansaburoumaru smiled at the stranger behind Yamamoto Kanetsugu, then handed over the wooden sword in his hand to Yamaoka Tesshu and walked into the big room.

  After everyone had taken their seats, Yamamoto Kanetsugu leaned forward and said in a loud voice: "This is Hattori Ishimatsu, who has long admired our house. Today, he has come to pay his respects to the master of the mansion through my introduction!"

  "Koribe?" Kiryū Mantsumaru was taken aback, thinking carefully about the name that seemed familiar, and suddenly his eyes widened in surprise as he stared at Hattori Sekishūsai Ienaga sitting across from Yamamoto Kansuke, asking: "The Hattori clan? Are you from the Hattori family of Iga?"

  "It's the Hattori clan from Iga!" Minamoto no Yoshitsune was slightly taken aback for a moment, then responded with enthusiasm: "My clan has a slight reputation in Iga, I didn't think you'd heard of it, Your Excellency!"

  "Ah, yes! Ah, yes! Iga's reputation is quite large!" Kiryū Mantsumaru dryly laughed and covered it up, but his eyes inadvertently floated to the group of people behind Hattori Yasunaga, as if searching for someone.

  Hattori Yasunaga was a man in his thirties, wearing samurai clothes that were spotlessly clean but showed signs of wear and tear at the edges, indicating that they had been worn for some years. His appearance was ordinary and unremarkable, except for the two black whiskers on his lips which gave him an air of dignity.

  As a neighboring province of Mikawa, the news that the Iga ninja clan, Sanada no Shinbei, would end up in relatively remote Mikawa Province is quite surprising. The Sanada clan had almost no reputation in Mikawa Province, and it seemed that nobody knew that the Matsudaira family had hired them, nor did anyone know why the Sanada family had come to Mikawa Province.

  "Iga's Hattori clan, Hattori Hanzo?" Kiryuu Manzoumaru asked again.

  Hattori Yasunaga's body shook, seemingly wanting to look up at him, but he endured it. The Hattori clan ninjas also exchanged glances, with unclear meaning in their eyes. Only Hattori Yasunaga lowered his head and replied: "Yes! Hattori Matahachi Yasunaga attends Lord Kira! I am indeed from Iga, and Hattori Hanzo is just a self-proclaimed name at home. How did you know my name, Lord?"

  He said that Kirishima Manzoumaru only realized he had made another mistake, Hanzo was the secret title of the head of the Hattori family, and at this time the Hattori clan was not well-known, let alone knowing their internal secrets, even those who knew the specific whereabouts of the Hattori clan were few in number, so when Hattori Yasubei first heard Kirishima Manzoumaru reveal this public secret, he couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

  "Is Hanyou a title of Ishimaru? It seems I'm ignorant, even the master of the mansion knows about it, but I didn't... This is..." Yamamoto Kan no Suketsune supported his chin with one hand and stroked his messy whiskers, his single eye bursting with an eerie gaze that swept back and forth over Kira Yoshinaka's face, making him break out in a cold sweat.

  "This is just hearsay... mere hearsay!" Kiryū Manzōmaru muttered to himself, opening the folding fan in his hand and fanning himself lightly. "It's really hot today! It was quite a chore for Ishimi-dono and the Hosokawa family members to arrive at noon!"

  Hattori Hanzo didn't dare to say more, only humbly chatting for a while, and Yamamoto Kansuke seemed to have forgotten his previous doubts, still calmly holding the teacup and taking a sip every now and then. After Kiryu Kanematsu was finally fooled, he wiped away cold sweat and thought to himself: "From now on, I must remember not to reveal my weaknesses in front of old Yamamoto, otherwise my own tail will be caught even more!"

  Just now he was excited and accidentally called out the name of Hattori Hanzo, then he was directly suspected by Yamamoto Kanbei. Looking at this old man's ambiguous eyes, he felt goosebumps all over his body, and didn't know how he got into such a bad luck, even the excitement of seeing the Hattori clan was dispelled a lot.