KATANAGATARI 2

■　■

Who knows─but if, in the words of Togame, Hakuhei Sabi was a man who had been born in the wrong era, then Nanami Yasuri was a woman who should never have been born.

She had done nothing to reach the top.

Skills that other martial artists acquired only after coughing up their share of blood1 were hers from the beginning, through no toil whatsoever.

Her strength broke the mold.

Her strength broke the rules.

Surpassing2─what we know as strength.

Which is why the gods punished her.

For being far too superior─

■　■

All things considered, he had the option to do otherwise─most people, arriving in these circumstances, would certainly have opted to retreat.

He never had expected the sister of the Kyotoryu to be so powerful─“Kamakiri the Head-Hunter” and “Flying Butter Chocho” had met their end one after the other. Mitsubachi may have been a Boss, but he was far less of a ninja than either of the two. He would have done well to back down.

Frankly, Mitsubachi would have, if he could have─after all, their plan to snatch up the sister of the Kyotoryu was in shambles. If they’d known she would be this strong, they’d have chosen a different strategy─and perhaps never come here in the first place.

Hence it would have been perfectly rational to back away for now, and reassess his course of action.

But here is where the fact that they had sailed out to Haphazard Island with no boat backfired3─with Chocho perished, Mitsubachi had no way of returning to the mainland on his own. On an island so densely forested, he could have chopped down trees and built himself a raft, but work like that takes time.

And she already knew that he was here.

Ideally, Nanami assumed that Chocho and Kamakiri were the only two ninjas on the island, and that Chocho was the last of them─but no such luck. If there were two of them, there could be three. He could not allow Nanami to attack him from behind while he was laboring to build his raft.

It seems that his way out had disappeared.

The option of retreating snatched away.

Whether he liked it or not, he was fighting.

And if he was fighting, he had to act fast. The battle between Chocho and Nanami─or to call a spade a spade,4 Chocho Maniwa’s defeat─had been awful to behold, but in the fashion of a true Maniwa Boss, he had not gone out without a fight.

Allowing Mitsubachi, who had been watching from a distance, to glean some useful information.

When it was over─Nanami knelt down, almost collapsing. Whereupon she started coughing and retching aggressively.

Chocho had failed to do her any harm.

Even that final lunge, where he burned through his remaining energy, had been easy enough for her to dodge─in which case, this was more about her constitution.

Nanami Yasuri had no stamina.5

And to boot─her body was in awful shape.

You could say she was in tatters─

So pale and fragile, it had been a sight to see her unveil such a fury, but although she had not let Chocho hit her even once, this level of exhaustion─did not befit a martial artist.

The fact is─even if Togame the Schemer had been privy to Nanami being so much stronger than her brother, she would likely have not chosen her to join her on her quest. Nanami could not sustain her strength, which made her poorly suited for the journey.

Nanami’s infirmity6 was fatal.

Even if she won─she could not win forever.

And Mitsubachi Maniwa knew as much.

In which case, he only had to keep it coming.

After fighting Kamakiri and Chocho, she had no chance to shake off her fatigue─by now it had to be consuming her feeble body. To ensure the sacrifice his comrades made was not for nothing, he needed to make haste.

It was just like Chocho had said.

Bug Unit forever. Even in death, their bond would not be severed.

Yet what a shame─thought Mitsubachi.

If only three, or even two more Bosses had come along, surely they could have carried her away, strong as hell as she may be. But five or six of the infamous Bosses of the Maniwa Clan setting off to kidnap a single woman was unthinkable. Unacceptable. Even three was pushing it.

And so, as the last remaining member of the Bug Unit, Mitsubachi had no choice but to battle Nanami Yasuri, imprudent as it may be.

This wasn’t supposed to be a battle to the death. It wasn’t…

He’d assumed it was part of the groundwork,7 the prep work8 for seizing the Mutant Blades from Shichika Yasuri and Togame the Schemer.

Assumed.

“…”

All the same, Mitsubachi was not so foolhardy as to confront his foe triumphantly; he could not beat an enemy who both Kamakiri and Chocho had failed to beat, not when she had assimilated9 their ninpo.

Kamakiri’s Mantis Talons.

Chocho’s Harlequin Butterfly.

Mitsubachi had seen her use both, and perfectly, when she dominated Chocho─it was unbelievable, but judging from what he had heard them say, this woman could adopt10 the moves of her opponents.

He could understand her learning the Harlequin Butterfly─that much was understandable. It was a question of how you walked. Mitsubachi might not be able to cross an ocean, but he could keep it going for a few steps. The Mantis Talons, however, were another story. They demanded conditioning of the physiology.11 How could she make it look so easy, like it was nothing?

What a nightmare.

Komori Maniwa, another of the Twelve Bosses of the Maniwa Clan, had mastered a move called the Body Melt. It let him morph his flesh to mimic others. But while it allowed him to copy their appearance, their physique, and their abilities, it stopped short of acquiring their moves.

Could this woman do just that?

Chocho paid for the information with his life.

He had to believe it.

He had to accept it.

Physically speaking, this fight would be one-on-one, but it felt like he was up against Kamakiri and Chocho, in addition to Nanami. Essentially, it would be three-on-one. As a Maniwa Boss, Mitsubachi had an aversion to direct confrontation, but this went beyond style. Who wouldn’t have been scared of her?

Good thing she was raised on a desert island. With eyes like that, if she’d seen the outside world…

The thought gave him the chills.

Confining her to the island was the right move.

In truth, Nanami had attained those eyes because of all those years trapped on Haphazard Island. Mitsubachi had it all wrong, confinement had fostered her abilities─but either way.

I have to make a sneak attack.

Finishing her off before she even saw him was the only way. Lucky for him, his ninpo was perfectly suited to this purpose.

Blunderbuzz.12

In this move, Mitsubachi flicked caltrops off his thumb as fast as bullets. This use of a ninja weapon ordinarily used when making an escape spoke to Mitsubachi’s ingenuity. Flicking a caltrop is not easy─but Mitsubachi boasted one-hundred-percent accuracy. Lest we forget, he was the only member of the Bug Unit brandishing a sword, but in his mind, the blade was only meant for backup.

They called him “Mitsubachi the Sharpshooter.”13

And the Blunderbuzz─a long-range attack─was his jam.

Its range approached two hundred feet.

Compared to the Mantis Talons and the Harlequin Butterfly, the Blunderbuzz was less theatrical, but in those days, anyone who could attack from a distance had an extreme advantage. And unlike any firearm,14 the Blunderbuzz neither stank of gunpowder15 nor made a sound. When Nanami approached Chocho, who could have sworn he was perfectly still, she easily noticed him once she got close enough. By extension, at any greater range…

That woman wouldn’t be able to spot me.

Here the Bug Unit’s honed senses came in handy.

Unlike Komori Maniwa’s Star Cannon, which was considered a success if even half the shuriken made contact, the Blunderbuzz was a targeted-assault16 smart missile.17 So long as he fired his caltrops from an undetectable distance, not even she could dodge them. However, you could literally never be too careful with this woman. It was entirely possible that while fighting Kamakiri and Chocho, she had acquired their honed senses. He would shoot her from behind, at the limit of his range─a full two hundred feet away.

His missiles could never miss.

He had the utmost confidence in the precision of the Blunderbuzz.

But the distance would rob the caltrops of their lethality. While they may bite her skin or pierce her flesh, they would never find organ or bone. Feeble as she may be.

Hence the poison.

He would dab the tips with poison.

Not a lethal toxin, more like a tranquilizer. It would be unfair to say it was a cheap move for a ninja, when his enemy was so exceptionally strong and got that way without putting in the effort.

He would have been happy to apply a fatal venom.

To kill her and be done with it.

She was almost too demonic to be of use to him alive. He rightly doubted whether she would be effective as a hostage.

But that would go against both Kamakiri and Chocho’s dying wishes─as the last remaining member of the Bug Unit, it was his duty, come what may, to win this battle.

Even if two of them were dead, should one of the three survive, they could claim victory.

The way life goes─for a ninja.

He would live to seize the Shikizaki blades from the Schemer and the Kyotoryu!

“Kamakiri, Chocho─I hope you’re watching this.”

Flat on the ground, like a sniper,18 he prepared his caltrops. Extending one arm long, like the barrel of a rifle19…

Setting his sights on Nanami Yasuri, slowly approaching, two hundred feet away─after her fight with Chocho, she’d left his body where it had fallen and wandered off─Mitsubachi Maniwa aimed at a spot just above the sash of her kimono.

One-hundred-percent accuracy─meant your mind had to be a steel trap.20 His certainty that he could never miss was in and of itself a kind of handicap. Wielding these poisoned caltrops, he could off himself by accident if they pricked his fingers or his palm in his excessively firm grip.

He only had one shot.

With the poison, he need not focus on her vital organs. Anywhere he hit would be sufficient. If he aimed for her torso, he would never miss─but if somehow he did, she would notice the direction the projectile had come from, and instantly close in. Sickly as she may be, she had mastered the Harlequin Butterfly. There would nary be time to ready21 the next caltrop.

Considering how adroitly she had speared her hand through Chocho’s chest, this woman had no qualms about killing. Raised here on the island, she was obviously not a veteran fighter, but her strike had been sure, as it must have been too when she slayed Kamakiri.

Thus.

One-hundred-percent accuracy was not enough.

He had to stop her─with a single shot.

But do I have what it takes?

Of course I do.

I’m a Boss─same as Kamakiri and Chocho.

“Blunderbuzz.”

Summoning the pride of the Maniwa.

A caltrop slathered in nerve agent soared through the air─heading for Nanami’s back.

■　■

The last of three.

This time, deep into the past.

Not one year─not even twenty years.

But further back.

Before they were marooned.

Nanami Yasuri was bedridden.22

Her body was burning, consumed with pain. But for all her suffering, she could not so much as bend her pinky finger. Noise crashing through her mind without relief, she could not even open her eyes. As if the pain of the entire world were trapped in her tiny frame.

She could die any time.

She heard the doctor say so, at her bedside.23

He must have thought Nanami was unconscious.

Any time. Still… the doctor went on.

Shaking his head, voice filled with wonder.

I don’t understand why she hasn’t died. How is the girl…alive?

Here her memory cuts off. Static, like a sandstorm, fills the screen─roaring snow, as if the thing were busted. But eventually, the picture comes together24─into focus.

Poor thing.

A voice came through the noise.

The voice of a woman.

Nanami knew immediately this was her mother─her mother was beside her. What happened to the doctor?

And her father.

And her brother─where did they go?

Where was everybody?

Everybody but her mother.

You poor thing.

She spoke like she was talking to herself.

Maybe she was talking to herself.

At this point, no one could possibly believe that Nanami was still conscious. Nanami, herself, whose entire body was beset with pain, failed to understand why she had not lost consciousness.

What a relief it would have been to lose awareness.

Or even die.

If only.

What an incredible relief.

My poor little baby.

The same thing─over and over.

Poor thing, my baby.

If only you could die, it would be over.

Poor thing.

Her memory cuts off again. Fog darkens all─but remember, her fever was so high that she could not open her eyes. Her memory lacked any visual component. Just voices. Whether her mother was even really there, she could not say. Her ears could have been hearing things,25 in the throes of her pain.

She was not even sure this was a memory.

Moreover, her mother… I wish I could forget everything about her─because of her, we wound up stranded on this island. It was her fault.

Enough reminiscing─

■　■

Tearing her kimono, its barbs26 bit into the skin of her stomach.

It was already too late to act. Mitsubachi Maniwa used a special kind of caltrop for the Blunderbuzz. Each of the arms was fashioned like a fishhook. Once in, they were not easy to remove. Unless you were extremely careful, they would snag your fingers. And while she dillydallied27 with the barbs─the poison would course through her veins.

Nanami staggered, almost falling.

She just managed to catch herself, but her gait was clearly wobbly.

“…”

And yet─she took pains to pinpoint where the caltrop came from. Her gaze was calm, not what you would expect from someone who has just been sniped.28 Since she was normally so pale, it was impossible to tell whether the poison was working, but doubtless it was spreading from her stomach through her body.

“Is someone…there?”

In answer to Nanami’s feeble cry, Mitsubachi Maniwa stepped proudly from the stand of trees.29

Brandishing another caltrop, just in case.

Poised to fire again if Nanami did anything suspicious─this caltrop of course being poisoned like the first.

“I am Mitsubachi Maniwa─one of the Twelve Bosses of the Maniwa Clan.”

“Hi. I’m Nanami Yasuri.”

Compared to Mitsubachi, Nanami was terse. Had her tongue been snared30 with poison?

“I see you’ve taken care of my two friends.”

“Yes…” Nanami spoke slowly, scanning the area around her. “I gave them a proper killing─Kamakiri and Chocho?”

“Ha ha ha.” This made Mitsubachi laugh. “You can stop looking around. I’m the last one─but in the state you’re in, one of us should do just fine.”

“Is this…poisoned?”

“Yes─poison.”

Mitsubachi was ready for action─he held himself like he had won already, but spoke with his sight31 trained squarely on Nanami.

“Don’t worry. It’s not strong enough to kill you. Just enough to make you sleepy. I suppose Kamakiri and Chocho mentioned that we’re not interested in you─we want your brother. Specifically, the Mutant Blades of Kiki Shikizaki he’s collected.”

“…”

“Trust me, part of me would love to kill you, but that would soothe my own regrets32 only, for haplessly letting my friends get murdered. To settle the score for Kamakiri and Chocho, I have to obtain those swords.”

“You…talk too much.” Unsteady as she was, Nanami backed away─and by leaning on a tree, she kept herself upright, without ever taking a knee. “So it’s when people have the upper hand that they tend to wax loquacious.33 And I suppose ninjas…are no exception.”

“…?”

Was her remark a nod to how Kamakiri had refused to speak, even when she tortured him? To Chocho’s refusal, before their battle, to convey how many more ninjas remained? To be sure, Mitsubachi had said more than strictly necessary. But what of it? At this stage, it wasn’t as if he were divulging any secret. To begin with…

“Your point─is just common sense. You made it like it’s some novel insight,34 when it’s not.”

“Please understand─over the last twenty years, I’ve met only a few people… I’m still confused by human behavior. There’s so many things I’ve never had a chance to do.”