KATANAGATARI 3

■　■

As if waiting for something.

But just then, a voice issued from the ceiling─

“Your Highness,” the voice said. “I’ve returned─it is I, Emonzaemon Soda.”

Hearing the voice overhead, the woman said, “You’re late,” negging1 him from the get-go.

Princess Negative.

Inspector General of the Yanari Shogunate─

Nobody knew her actual name.

“Every single time. Do you realize how long you’ve kept me waiting? Fool.”

“…I’m terribly sorry.”

“And? What happened in Shikoku?”

Princess Negative cut to the chase.2

Waiting might have been her job, but it would seem that she had finished for the day.

“That silly rumor that’s been going around about Mt. Shirei─how much of it did you bring to light?”

“As it so happens─all of it.”

“All of it? So the entire thing’s─a lie?”

“The entire thing─is true.”

Thus spoke the voice in the ceiling─Emonzaemon.

“This goes beyond the incident at Mt. Shirei. As much as it dismays me to convey this information─Nanami Yasuri, the sister of the Kyotoryu…is an absolute monster.”

Thus Emonzaemon apprised his superior, Princess Negative, of every single thing he witnessed3 in Shikoku─on Mt. Sayabashiri in Tosa, at Seiryoin Gokenji Temple, the holy land of swordsmen.

At first the Princess grinned at the absurdity of the tale─but by the time that it was finished there was no trace of a smile on her face.

Princess Negative was weary.

“You and I have been together quite some time. Among the many things I’m proud of is the startling fact that I have never once gone easy on you… But now, I cannot help but sympathize4 with you─I’m sorry that you had to come here with that crazy story.”

“Your Highness, I am not worthy of your sympathy,” Emonzaemon said ceremoniously.

Princess Negative rubbed her forehead5 with her finger.

“Did you say─she wiped out the Itezoras?” she asked. “How on earth did she manage that? Am I correct this was before the sister acquired Akuto the Eel?”

“Indeed─which only goes to show it’s not the Mutant Blade that makes her such a monster. As I mentioned, she has also mastered many of the ninpo stylings of the Maniwa─”

“In which case, we can assume that she has taken on the tactics of the Sacred Guardians of Mt. Shirei, and the swordplay of the warrior monks of Gokenji Temple… Fighting only makes her stronger. She doesn’t even need to lift a finger─with those eyes.”

“Quite right, Your Highness,” Emonzaemon assented meekly. “It would seem─that we’re in a bit of a fix.”

“A bit of a fix? I’m more than glad to see the best-made plans of our little Schemer go awry, but I will not tolerate us being dragged into the mess she’s made. How could we let this happen? Those schemes of hers keep throwing us for a loop. Whether they get her anywhere or not aside─I mean, it’s a good thing that she’s dragged the Kyotoryu to the surface, but I’m afraid she’s dredged up a monster in the process.”

“Your Highness─Nanami Yasuri is also of the Kyotoryu.”

“But what about that Mutant Blade of hers?” the Princess probed. “I would think the Eel disqualifies her from the Kyotoryu.”

“…”

“Anyway, how did it go? This duel between Shichika Yasuri and Nanami Yasuri─you say they’ve scheduled a rematch, but does Shichika have any chance of winning?”

“None,” Emonzaemon answered succinctly, betraying no uncertainty whatsoever. “This isn’t just about Shichika Yasuri. That woman─cannot be stopped.”

“Not even─by Hakuhei Sabi, for instance?”

“No. While Sabi truly was a genius─he was nowhere near as genius as Nanami Yasuri. If…it pains me even to imagine this, but even if a swordsman who surpassed her genius were to challenge her─those eyes of hers would make his every strength her own, post-haste.”

“Watch and Learn…”

Seeing.

Seeing everything.6

Seeing through things.7

Seeing into things.8

Seeing beyond things.9

Seeing to the end of things.10

Seeing made them hers.11

“Fighting is all about compatibility12─strength and weakness being two sides of the same coin, even the strongest enemy can be beaten, if they meet their match… But I’m afraid this maxim does not hold for Nanami Yasuri. Were she to ever meet her match, her enemy would automatically meet theirs.”

“Quit joking,” Princess Negative laughed.

At this point, what else was there to do?

“I have to ask you, then, for my own erudition. If it was you─how would you take on Nanami Yasuri?”

“Not fighting,” Emonzaemon said, brushing off this unkind question from the Princess. “I am not foolish enough to take on a foe I have no chance of beating─I would much rather put my effort into avoiding confrontation altogether.”

“Just the sort of answer I’d expect from an ex-ninja. But what would you do if you found a conflict unavoidable?”

“I would buy myself some time,” replied Emonzaemon. “Enough time─to make sure that you had a chance to flee.”

“Gold Star,”13 said Princess Negative─before delving into thought.

You could see it in her face.

“Of course, I’d just as soon avoid a conflict─but if Nanami Yasuri has Akuto the Eel, we cannot simply look the other way… A dagger that revitalizes and replenishes─I’d heard of this before, but that makes it no less of a threat. Wielded properly, it can be used to raise an undead, undefeatable14 army. But I thought that no single human being could exercise its full potential. I’m quite impressed that Nanami Yasuri could pick up Akuto the Eel with zero guidance… I suppose we have her eyes to thank for this as well?”

“I’m afraid so,” Emonzaemon admitted. “But be that as it may─how can the Eel revitalize its owner? Saying it is one thing─”

“Hello! This is a Mutant Blade of Kiki Shikizaki. At this point, do you really need an explanation? If I had to say, I suppose it works a lot like acupuncture.”15

“Aku─puncture?”

“Hence the name,”16 said Princess Negative. “Anyway, atop Mt. Shirei, they kept the Eel inside a shrine that it might fill the mountain with vitality, although it wasn’t actually thrust into the earth… Apparently not even the Sacred Guardians knew how to wield the Eel correctly. It took true genius to realize this was necessary. Still─even locked up in the shrine, it worked its wonders. But without Akuto the Eel─its source of life─Mt. Shirei will fall apart.”

“Mt. Shirei─a Level One Disaster Area?”

“Just as she massacred the Itezoras of Mt. Odori… We can only hope she has her way with Lake Fuyo in Edo as well.”

“How mischievous of you.”

“Mischievous? I suppose─but I’m not so sure we’ll have the last laugh. Now that this monster has armed herself with such a menacing weapon─left unchecked,17 she could overthrow the bakufu. Weren’t the Yasuris banished to that island? Who needs a better reason to resent the government?”

“It would seem the Schemer─plans to stop her.”

“I wouldn’t count on her for anything─that woman never thinks of anyone but herself. She let on like the Sword Hunt was the best thing for the nation, but the only thing it benefits is her career. By the way, how is Togame? That old busted18 girl.”

“She’s fine. In fact, a bit too fine─along the way to Gokenji Temple, she kept on kicking me and claiming that it was an accident.”

“She has a childish way about her...”

“She got depressed after the battle in the dojo…but if there’s one thing you can say about Togame, it’s that she always bounces back.”

“And hatches another one of her schemes,” said Princess Negative. “Well, I’m glad to hear she’s in good health. Otherwise our rivalry would be no fun. But the way things stand─it’s like our hands are tied. I can’t imagine where we’d go from here…”

“For the time being, why not start by figuring out what Nanami Yasuri meant by the weakness of the Last Fatal Orchid?”

“The weakness of… Oh, you mean Shichika Hachiretsu? That’s easy. I figured it out just by listening to you. She must have seen it instantly.”

“Y-You mean you see it too?”

Emonzaemon was blown away.

“I can’t be absolutely sure,” demurred the Princess, “but considering the details of your report─it seems to me that any effort to offset or overcome this weakness is in vain. Faced with the overwhelming strength of Nanami Yasuri.”

“Indeed… I personally can’t think of what this weakness might entail, but if Shichika Yasuri wants to beat his sister─he needs to fundamentally revise his strategy.”

“Not his strategy,” the Princess sneered. “His scheme. Togame calls herself the Schemer─because scheming is the only thing she knows. Last time around, she kept her mouth shut, watching quietly from the sidelines, perhaps to keep her sword from losing face…but next time, you can trust things will be different. I am certain she will try some kind of scheme─and act like it was all part of the plan.19 There’s just one thing I can’t quite understand. This sister of the Kyotoryu─Nanami Yasuri. What’s her agenda? What is she trying to do? What makes entrenching20 herself in Gokenji Temple absolutely necessary? I know that other countries fight over their holy lands, but that rarely ever happens here. I simply can’t figure it out─but I fear that it spells trouble.”

“Shall I head back?” Emonzaemon asked the Princess. “If the Schemer’s scheme allows them to take down Nanami Yasuri─I should like to have a front-row seat.”

“Perhaps… No, let’s hold off. That woman hates you and me to death─we don’t want her to lose her focus. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t be so generous, but this time we have no choice… I know their odds of winning are one in a million, but that Schemer always seems to find the one way out.”

“Speaking of losing focus,” said Emonzaemon, as if he just remembered something.

Nay.

This former ninja─could not possibly have forgotten.

“We would do well─to consider what her nemeses, the Maniwa, are doing. The Schemer tells me they’ve made some kind of an alliance, or an armistice─”

“Ah yes…the Maniwa. But haven’t they already lost over half the bosses? Let’s see… Nanami Yasuri wiped out the entire Bug Unit, taking out three more─she sure does like cracking skulls─then last month, at Mt. Odori in Ezo, a couple more…which leaves them with, what─four? Those guys are a lost cause. Forget about them.”

“I’m afraid that would be premature─not if Hohoh Maniwa’s still with us,” Emonzaemon answered Princess Negative’s dismissive21 jab in a grave tone. “That ninja is running the show─if all the bosses perished, but for him, the Maniwa would still give you a run for your money.”

“I see. Coming from you, that’s quite the warning─but as long as the alliance stands, she should be in the clear. At the very least, I don’t expect they’ll show up in Shikoku─if they aren’t acting up, we’ll look the other way. Now, I trust you told that nasty woman to hurry back home to Owari as soon as she can manage?”

“I did. I’m sure Owari is their next stop─once they’ve dealt with Nanami Yasuri and Akuto the Eel.”

That being said.

The odds of this were pitifully22 low.

Could they actually deal with Nanami Yasuri─and Akuto the Eel?

“Yes,” said Princess Negative, as if she had detected her lieutenant’s mute apprehension. “In that case─I will wait.”

■　■

Greenwood.

Just as the word suggests─it was a world of green.

In contrast to your average forest─this was a place where plants, not animals, held sway.

Through the churlish heat and moisture of this vegetative realm─two men walked without breaking a sweat.

The first was young.

Tall and slender, long black hair cascading down his back. Expressionless, and yet his eyes possessed a glint of violence.

The second, a squat fellow, looked even younger, to the point he could have passed for a mere boy. Noticeably cautious, he plodded after the expressionless man ahead of him.

Though it would seem that they had not a thing in common─their outfits were the same.

Sleeveless ninja garb.

Chains wrapped around their bodies─both of them.

Yes.

The man walking ahead was one of the Twelve Bosses of the Maniwa─Hohoh Maniwa.

And the man behind him was another of the Twelve Bosses─Pengin Maniwa.

The Divine Phoenix─and Pengin the Breeder─walked together through the greenwood at the base of Mt. Fuji.

“I wonder─how things are going?” asked Hohoh out of nowhere.

Though startled, Pengin managed to respond.

“Wh-Wh-Wh-What do you mean?”

“You know, down in Shikoku. I’m sure by now the Schemer and the Kyotoryu have made it to Gokenji Temple─”

“You mean the family showdown…” Pengin said. “Not once did I suspect this…that the monster who destroyed Mt. Shirei was the sister of the Kyotoryu…”

“It wasn’t just Mt. Shirei. Mt. Odori also met its ruin─when the sister of the Kyotoryu, Nanami Yasuri, came to town. That is, according to the intel that you gathered in the aftermath.”

“Y-Yes…”