KATANAGATARI 2

But the fated Ganryu Island─this was not.

Not on any map, and only ten miles around, this island had no formal name. Even speaking of it in the same breath as Ganryu Island─which like Seiryoin Gokenji Temple, home of the Katana Buddha, on Mt. Sayabashiri in Tosa, was extolled as a holy site by swordsmen─was a grave mistake.

To but a handful of people, this nameless place was called Haphazard Island.

■　■

But why would the ninjas of Maniwa Village want to hunt for the Twelve Possessed, the masterworks of Kiki Shikizaki?

Remember, these were ninjas, not swordsmen. The venom of the Shikizaki blades had far less of an effect on them─and just because Komori ran off with the Leveler did not mean that all the people of Maniwa Village were ready to betray the bakufu. This is why the Maniwa Clan had so many Bosses─to prevent a dictatorial15 situation, where the entire village was subject to the whims of an individual.

And so the reason.

One of the Twelve Possessed would fetch the same price as a country─if they were able to obtain all twelve, they stood to win themselves an astronomical16 sum of money. Equivalent to obtaining access to a mountain rife with gold.

That would be enough─although, practically speaking, even three or four of the Twelve Possessed was plenty─enough to save Maniwa Village.

The village needed saving.

It was no longer the Age of Warring States.

The Owari Bakufu, administered by the Yanari Shogunate, had already lasted over one hundred and fifty years. This was a world of peace and order, and overall tranquility. In all of history, including up until the present day, never has a land ever stank less of blood, it is told. The last war you could even call a war had been the late Rebellion, twenty years before.

Peace and order. Tranquility.

These things are usually desirable─but favorable climates never fail to have a dark side.

Some can only thrive in wartime.

Some are bred for war and nothing more.

Warriors and samurai are obvious examples─but coverts17 like the Maniwa, the Iga, the Koga, and lest we forget the Fuma,18 who in the Age of Warring States were inextricable from the daimyo, typify the breed.

Following the ascent of the Owari Bakufu, the Maniwa, as Kamakiri said, struggled to remain relevant up through the late Rebellion─and in its wake, were only assigned sporadic work, tasks you could get away with calling chores.

Your average ninja adapts to the times for the sake of survival─but the ninjas of Maniwa Village were absolute outliers, who solely undertook assassinations, as experts in the field.

How can such grotesque specialists survive in times of peace?

How to make an honest living, when all you know is war and bloodshed?

The fact is─Maniwa Village was in dire straits.

Even the ninja tradition was under threat─just think how much invaluable ninpo had been lost in that hundred some odd years.

And ninpo was not the only thing they lost─in the preceding year, some villagers had even starved to death.

Just as a disused blade─can only rust.

Degrade, and disintegrate.

Their ninpo was no song and dance.19

Say what you will about the Maniwa being money-grubbers, it was far superior to being buried in the sod, among the grubs.20 They were far beyond the point where they could get by simply taking orders from the bakufu─if Maniwa Village resigned itself to being a dog on a chain, before long every last one of its residents would find themselves out in the cold.

Which is what brought them to the idea of a Sword Hunt.

This was their last chance─to undertake a task of such proportions.

As far as Kamakiri reckoned, Komori had accepted the invitation from Togame fully intending to stab her in the back─he was the ninja she had dealt with most, which must have given him plenty to be sore about.

Now that Komori was dead, he had no way of knowing.

But Kamakiri understood his feelings.

That woman─was up to no good.

He couldn’t say for sure, but he knew she was no good.

Even if Komori had never double-crossed her, and even if they let the opportunity posed by the Sword Hunt pass them by, the Maniwa and the Schemer were destined to break up. Which made this as good an opportunity as any.

Regardless.

For the Maniwa, this was a last hurrah.

Their last chance─for a last hurrah.

Gears were already in motion─not like they had any regrets, but if for no other reason, they had to follow through in order to avenge their fallen comrades.

Zetto the Leveler.

Zanto the Razor.

Sento the Legion.

Hakuto the Whisper.

Zokuto the Armor.

Soto the Twin.

Akuto the Eel.

Bito the Sundial.

Oto the Cured.

Seito the Garland.

Dokuto the Basilisk.

Ento the Bead.

Quite the coincidence that the Twelve Bosses of the Maniwa Clan were hunting down twelve swords─if each of them managed to collect one, the Twelve Possessed would soon be theirs. No individual ninja had come up with the idea for a fraternal competition between Bosses. It took that shape organically.

When they were through, they would divvy up the spoils based on how many swords each ninja had obtained.

You see, each ninja’s motivation to hunt down the most swords stemmed from a desire to provide for those under their command. It came from a place of human kindness─or at least ninja kindness.21 The challenge stimulated camaraderie and rivalry simultaneously. It was a splendid angle of attack.

(Of course, even those Bosses unable to land a single sword would not see their squads wind up with nothing.)

That said, this plan of action had a gaping hole─Kamakiri noticed it in hindsight, and anyone deserving of the rank of Boss had surely also noticed it by now. Their strategy could only reach its maximum potential if no other competition were involved.

But Komori yielded the Leveler to Togame.

Shirasagi, soon after his defeat, lost the Razor to Togame.

And from what they heard─Kuizame was forced to fight Meisai Tsuruga, then owner of the Legion, and the Kyotoryu at the same time.

Their plan was full of holes.

But there was nothing they could do.

How could they have known the Schemer had this ace up her sleeve? They never would have thought today’s happy-go-lucky, peace-loving bakufu ready to deploy a menace who could hold his own against the Maniwa─the worst they had expected was the likes of the Onmitsu─but they had been careless in their estimation.

She was a most annoying little Schemer.

What the hell were these schemes anyway─thought Kamakiri.

She better quit screwing around.

In light of the intelligence Chocho had gathered, Hakuhei Sabi─the Strongest Swordsman in Japan─was on a Sword Hunt of his own, operating wholly separate from the bakufu, and evidently things were not going so well for him─but the thought of what Sabi might accomplish if he got his act together chilled Kamakiri to the bone, despite being the veteran that he was.

So long as the ninjas were competing, they were vulnerable.

Especially now that three among their ranks had perished.

At present, the threat was not so much Hakuhei Sabi─the Strongest Swordsman in Japan posed no imminent risk to the Maniwa.

No, their concern at present was Togame the Schemer─and Shichika Yasuri.

Togame, who had fathomed the intentions of Maniwa Village, and Shichika, who boasted the power necessary to take down one of their Bosses─their powers combined, the two were a menace.

Each on their own would have been manageable.

But teamed up, as a duo, they were horrifying.

That horror had to be nipped in the bud.

Which is why Kamakiri had convened the Bug Unit.

Proposing that they hold off on the competition, to join forces and take this horror down.

Chocho and Mitsubachi instantly agreed.

Any of the other Bosses would have taken their time deciding─but the bond among the members of the Bug Unit was firm. Chocho and Mitsubachi had the utmost confidence in Kamakiri. If he thought a plan was workable,22 they were not about to doubt him.

By now, Togame owned three of the Twelve Possessed.

The agreement was that they would each receive a sword, regardless of their contribution─thus they joined forces and got things going.

But this did not mean going after Togame and Shichika, who had seized the Legion at Triad Shrine and were traveling ever westward─the trio let them go, and set off in the opposite direction─heading for the place that Shichika called home.23

In other words, Haphazard Island.

Togame the Schemer had no family, no intimate relation left alive. She may have won the rank of Grand Commander of Arms at a young age, but her origins remained shrouded in mystery. Komori had exhibited a keen interest in the Schemer and done some research─but before he had the chance to present his results, the Hell-Made was slain.

At any rate.

She was alone.

She had no confidant within the bakufu. No one around her with whom she maintained close relations. No one she could rightfully call a mentor, and no one below her she was watching out for.

Absolutely alone.

But conversely─unencumbered.

It was clear she took great pains to live that way.

Intentionally crafting a life without a human soft spot.

The average person could never pull this off, but she could.

Shichika, however, was another story.

Embroiled in his father’s fate, he had been stranded on that island and raised in apparent isolation from the world─he seemed, just like Togame, to have no intimate relation left alive, but no─

Shichika Yasuri had an older sister named Nanami.

More specifically: his father, Mutsue Yasuri, Hero of the Rebellion, who had lived with them on that island for nineteen years, had died about a year ago─which is why Togame had enlisted his son, Shichika, to accompany her on her sword quest─but his sister Nanami was alive and well.

When Shichika set off from Haphazard Island, he left his sister on her own.

So careless─thought Kamakiri.

So much for a life without a human soft spot.

He had gone and left behind the perfect hostage─a family member, and his closest one at that, as if begging for them to have their way with her.

Komori, the first ninja to venture to this island, had told Togame, “Dirty deeds are how we make a living”─and he was absolutely right.

The three ninjas of the Bug Unit were not so naive24 as to seek out direct confrontation with a combo as horrific as the Schemer and the Kyotoryu, who together had drubbed out all three of their enemies thus far, starting with Komori. But come what may, the Maniwa would not be going down without a fight. Especially if this was their last hurrah.

Kamakiri Maniwa. Mitsubachi Maniwa. Chocho Maniwa.

The three ninjas had arrived in Tango and cruised over the sea stretching from the Cliffs of Shinso, all the way out to Haphazard Island─to abduct Nanami Yasuri, and hold her hostage against Shichika.

“……”

And now Kamakiri Maniwa was alone─walking through the montane forests that blanketed Haphazard Island. Silent footsteps, not so much as a rustle in the early morning air.

The other two, Chocho and Mitsubachi, were hiding out among the cliffs where they had climbed ashore. If the Bug Unit had used a boat, someone would have noticed, and word would have spread to the bakufu─and Togame, which would have ruined everything. Without the element of surprise, a hostage scenario was hopeless. Which is why they had relied on Chocho’s ninpo, and walked over the sea, as far as Haphazard Island─where their maneuvers25 ended. Each Maniwa Boss possessed totally unique powers; if forced to fight in the same battle, they’d inevitably get into each other’s way─in short, “those guys work better alone.” Firm as the bond of the Bug Unit may be, they were no exception to this rule.

“Which one of you will be in charge of kidnapping the girl? Mitsubachi? Kamakiri?”

The tone with which Chocho addressed them made it plenty clear that he was wiped out from the journey over and could not be asked to go himself.

But when Mitsubachi timidly raised a hesitant hand─“I suppose that I could go…”

“No, I’ll go,” Kamakiri volunteered himself.

“Huh? You want to do it, Kamakiri? Aren’t you the go-getter, putting yourself out there.26 Not to belabor the point, but you better let Mitsubachi to do it─”

“How could a sister of the Kyotoryu not know the Kyotoryu herself? At the very least, I’m sure that she is capable of the same form of swordless swordplay. We simply cannot be too careful. I should go, since I’m the one of us whose ninpo is best suited for the battlefield. As per common practice.”

“I suppose, as Captain of the Bug Unit, the choice is yours─all I know is I’m too pooped to go myself. Mitsubachi, are you okay with this?”

“How could I say no to getting a piece of the pie for nothing?”

“Could you be any less ambitious,” asked Chocho, “or should I say, less motivated? It’s a miracle you made it as far as Boss.”

“I’ll leave my Blood Crystal27 behind─if things should go awry, the rest is up to you.”

“Go awry? Last thing I’d expect you to say, Kamakiri! Hahaha.”

As the conclusion of this conference, held just after they climbed ashore, Kamakiri left the other two behind and headed off alone. Already, he had noticed hints around the island and grasped the general whereabouts of the Kyotoryu’s big sister─Nanami Yasuri. Hyperdeveloped use of the five senses was a core goal in the education of any ninja, but the senses of the Bug Unit were exceptionally sharp.

Being unclear on what Nanami looked or acted like, he could not say for sure if it was her whom he was trailing, but assuming no one else was on Haphazard Island, he could not be mistaken. To ensure he went unnoticed, he moved carefully and cautiously, sometimes intentionally taking detours, and after about fifteen minutes28─

Kamakiri Maniwa found her.

Dressed in a white kimono, as if prepared to take her own life.29 A bamboo basket on the ground beside her. The girl─Nanami Yasuri─was foraging for wild greens.

He swallowed─his breath.

At the sight of Nanami.

Months earlier, when Komori came to the island, he had heard her speak but never actually seen her─which made this the first time a member of the Maniwa Clan set eyes on Nanami.

To Kamakiri.

She looked like─a corpse.

No, more like─a cadaver. A thing.

No longer human.

Neither like she was alive, nor like she ever was alive.

Her beauty, seemingly a fabrication, somehow both attracted─and kept one at bay.