KATANAGATARI 2
■ ■
This was clearly an abnormal trio.
Even calling them a trio feels a little off, since apart from being three men in similar dress, they were absolutely different from one another.
A little man with cropped1 hair.
A big man, hair hanging long.
And a middling man, whose hair was short.2
They all had different eyes and faces, each giving off his own impression─alike only in their masculinity, and their ninja garb.
This was no ordinary ninja garb. Cutoff sleeves, chains strung around their bodies─an ostentatious choice for ninjas, especially since these ones wore no masks.
However─it was all too obvious that they were ninjas.
The trio cruised ahead, nonstop. Even the way they traveled was abnormal.
The little man, the smallest of the three─
Walked with the other two perched on his shoulders─hard enough to do with children, and all the more with men who dwarf you by comparison, but his face showed no sign of strain.
Cruising ahead.
They were on the move.
On its own, this could be chalked up to superhuman strength─but the way the cropped-haired ninja moved defied pat3 explanation.
They were not traveling over land─
But over water─on the move.
Cruising ahead.
Cruising─with no sign of strain.
Disregarding the waves and spray.
Treading the surface without aid─the cropped-haired ninja walked with his comrades riding on his shoulders.
He trod the ocean surface, stepping with his left foot, just before his right foot sank─like in the famous piece of juvenile sophistry,4 which claims that this is all a person needs to do to walk on water─but the scene was too abnormal for even such crude sophistry to explain. This trio was clearly abnormal.
How could men the likes of these be ninjas?
“…”
“…”
“…”
Ninja garb with cutoff sleeves.
Protective chains strung round their bodies.
No masks.
A crew who needs no introduction─these were Bosses of the Maniwa.
■ ■
In describing the Maniwa Clan, that band of expert assassins, Togame the Schemer once said something to the effect of: “The Maniwa stay out of each other’s way─those guys work better alone.” This was not her personal opinion, as Grand Commander of Arms of the Yanari Shogunate Military Directorate, and sometime employer of the Maniwa, but a decidedly factual observation.
They worked better alone. Without a doubt, that much was true.
Nevertheless, as the Maniwa Clan was an organization, its members could only be expected to branch off into factions and segregate responsibilities. Why else would they need twelve Bosses? It simply took that many leadership positions to federate5 the various oddball ninjas who called Maniwa Village home.
Thus, the Maniwa Clan divided ultimately into twelve parts─but the Twelve Bosses grouped together into sets of three. Whereby, the Maniwa Clan was subdivided into four factions─or units.
Namely:
Bird Unit Maniwa.
Beast Unit Maniwa.
Fish Unit Maniwa.
Bug Unit Maniwa.
In this regard, Komori Maniwa, the first enemy Shichika fought, belonged to the Beast Unit, while Shirasagi Maniwa, cut down by Ginkaku Uneri, belonged to the Bird Unit, and Kuizame Maniwa, slain by Meisai Tsuruga, belonged to the Fish Unit.
To be sure, they worked better alone, but these groupings were not nearly as strict as they sound, and were mostly nominal. For example, while belonging to the Beast Unit, Komori Maniwa maintained friendly relations with the Bird Unit─yet the firm bond of the Bug Unit was famous throughout Maniwa Village. If only she had known better, Togame would perhaps not have described the Maniwa in such a way.
At any rate.
Chocho6 Maniwa.
Mitsubachi7 Maniwa.
Kamakiri8 Maniwa.
Such were the names of the three men.
Bug Unit Maniwa─of the Maniwa Clan.
“…I can’t wrap my head around it.”
This opener came from Kamakiri Maniwa─the middling man with the short hair.
“We’ve only been dealing with the Twelve Possessed, the swords forged by swordsmith Kiki Shikizaki, for a matter of months…but in that short time, three of us Bosses have lost their lives─I gotta admit, I find it hard to believe.”
“But we know the news is true.”
Mitsubachi, the big man with the long hair, riding on the other shoulder, thus countered Kamakiri. Among the trio, Mitsubachi was the only ninja carrying a sword. And not a ninja sword─but a grand longsword.9
“We’ve seen Kuizame, Shirasagi, and Komori killed one by one over the past three months─more precisely, they each failed in their scramble to obtain the swords. Those are the facts. If I could turn it all around, trust me, I would do so in a heartbeat… I wonder how the other six are faring. Far be it from me to speculate─”
“I can see how it might happen to Komori.”
Thus spoke Chocho Maniwa─the little man with cropped hair, who walked over the choppy surface of the sea, bearing the two others on his shoulders.
“Komori was an exceptionally talented ninja, but his ninpo was only suited for a handful of situations─depending on the circumstances, his powers could be more than halved.”
“He had a weakness for entertaining,” Mitsubachi said, as if the failing were his own. “He was the kind of guy who would lose on purpose, just to show his enemy a good time. Whosoever his foe may be, he always strived to leave them with a smile on their face. In the end, I suppose his playful nature got the better of him.”
“Komori is dead,” said Kamakiri, “but the repossession of the Leveler is what really stung the Maniwa.”
“Still,” continued Mitsubachi, apparently ignoring his comrade’s remark, “the murders of Bird Unit Shirasagi and Fish Unit Kuizame in quick succession make for a frightening series of events─don’t you agree, Chocho? No sooner did ‘Backwords Shirasagi’ and ‘Kuizame the Sand Trap’ set off to snatch the swords of Kiki Shikizaki than─”
“You mean no sooner than the Kyotoryu stopped minding his own business,” corrected Chocho. “Ever since that cheeky little Schemer hired the Kyotoryu to pick up where we left off, it seems like we’ve had nothing but bad luck.”
“…Cold feet?”10 asked Kamakiri. “You want us all to kowtow11 to Owari, and live life by their rules?”
“No way,” said Chocho.
“No regrets,” said Mitsubachi.
They answered almost simultaneously.
Three of their comrades had been wasted, but their tone was resolute.
“Still,” Mitsubachi added, “any more of these embarrassments, and our reputation will be spoiled─can’t you hear the Schemer laughing as we speak? At how the Maniwa have done no good since leaving her?”
“With three of the Twelve Bosses slain, who would see us any other way? We’re in a truly wretched state. But before long, we’ll knock her off her high horse.”
“Make no mistake, friends. The Schemer has nothing to do with us─she poses no real threat. Our concern should be the Kyotoryu. Putting aside the Leveler he grappled from Komori, since it had already been in Togame’s hands earlier─he had the strength to seize the Razor and the Legion, feats deserving of the highest praise.”
“The Kyotoryu─I’ve heard that name. Hero of the Rebellion, right? Back then, our parents’ generation had free reign over the world, though I’m not so sure that anyone would call them heroes.”
“Ninjas are never the heroes, in any generation,” said Mitsubachi. “But hear this, Chocho. Our enemy is not the Hero of the Rebellion, but his son.”
“And youth makes him more of a menace. It makes you fearless.”
“Come on. I’m nothing of the sort─I came along this time to watch, that I might learn from your example.”
“You sound so sweet. Maybe even saccharine,”12 Kamakiri snorted. “In that case, I guess we can break up your share? If we take down the Kyotoryu, we’ll soon be the proud owners of three more of the Twelve Possessed─exactly enough for each member of the Bug Unit, but if you insist─”
“That’s an entirely separate matter.”
Mitsubachi’s panicky correction met easy laughter─
Just then.
As they cruised over the waves, they saw an island in the distance.
A tiny island.
But this island─was their destination.
“Hey. We’re almost there, Chocho─they don’t call you ‘Flying Butter’13 for nothing. Even with two grown men on your shoulders, this trip across the sea was no more than a stride.”
“No matter how many times we do this, I never get used to the feeling─”
“Honestly, I’m tuckered out.” Chocho was openly complaining. “Lot farther than it looked. If I don’t take myself a fifteen-minute break once we make land, I’ll be in rough shape.”
Chocho finished strong, picking up the pace─the island looming ever closer. Amidst the final stretch, they slipped around to the eastern side, avoiding the sandy beaches, to keep themselves from being spotted by anyone onshore, and climbed from the sea up a sheer cliff.
“Onward!” said Kamakiri. “Let’s fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee, and prey14 like a mantis. Bug Unit Maniwa─it is not for us to slink shyly forth.”