KATANAGATARI 3

“But that’s not all. It seems Nanami Yasuri killed every member of our brethren in the Bug Unit─I say this like it’s news to you, when you’re the one who found it out. Honestly, Pengin, sometimes I marvel at your powers of reconnaissance. Well done.”

“It-It-It’s…nothing, really.”

Shaking.

Pengin hung his head. Not so much shying from the praise, but trembling all over, terrified.

“Nanami Yasuri─was once the strongest in Japan.” Apparently accustomed to this sort of thing from Pengin─unshaken, Hohoh trudged on through the greenwood. “Still,” he said. “We’re talking about someone in another league from even Hakuhei Sabi. Assuming all of your intelligence is true, I gotta say, our hands are tied.”

“I hate to break it to you…but every word of it─is true.” Though his voice trembled, Pengin spoke with conviction. “I suppose by now─she’s brought Gokenji Temple to its knees.”

“What better person to roll into the holy land of swordsmen─no, not a person─she’s a monster. Well now, what to do about the Schemer. Any warrior worth their salt knows that no plot25 or scheme gets past an actual genius.”

“B-But the Schemer─is no warrior. She might come up with something good… She better, or we’re screwed… Out of the four remaining bosses, not one of us would stand a chance26 against her…including you, Sir Hohoh.”

“Thanks for clarifying,” said Hohoh, smirking at this unvarnished observation. “But you’re absolutely right─if that mad dog Kyoken was still with us, it would be a different story…but maybe even Kyoken would have had her paws full.”27

Komori Maniwa─a.k.a. Komori the Hell-Made.

Shirasagi Maniwa─a.k.a. Backwords Shirasagi.

Kuizame Maniwa─a.k.a. Kuizame the Sand Trap.

Chocho Maniwa─a.k.a. Flying Butter Chocho.

Mitsubachi Maniwa─a.k.a. Mitsubachi the Sharpshooter.

Kamakiri Maniwa─a.k.a. Kamakiri the Head Hunter.

Kyoken Maniwa─a.k.a. Kyoken the Dogged Scourge.

Kawauso Maniwa─a.k.a. Kawauso the Nosey Otter.

“Of the Twelve Bosses of the Maniwa,” proclaimed Hohoh, “there are only four survivors. We cannot spare another loss─which means we have to let the Schemer eliminate the monster for us.”

“Shichika Yasuri may be strong…but up against a genius─he’s bound to suffer.”

“This is a family feud28…but if things don’t work out in our favor, and that monster winds up siding with the Schemer─the Maniwa have no hopes for the future.”

Pengin gave this a moment’s thought.

“That strikes me…as unlikely,” he opined. “I would imagine that the Schemer and Nanami─would have an awful hard time getting along.”

“Yes─you have a point. That’s right, you’ve met the Schemer, haven’t you? Hmm. Let’s not forget, we also have to worry about Princess Negative. Either way, we only have so many options. I’m sure that Umigame and Oshidori have been fighting the good fight29 since we split up. So long as this alliance with the Schemer is in play, we’ll have to keep on questing for the swords─whoa.”

Hohoh stopped midstride.

Before a wind cave at the foot of Mt. Fuji.

“I think we’re here.”

“Y-Yes…”

“Leave it to Pengin the Breeder─every last one of your leads has legs.”

“On the contrary…we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for your left arm. Or wait─” Pengin shook his head. “I guess technically─Kawauso’s arm.”

“Yeah.” Hohoh swung his left arm in a circle, as if to confirm its existence. “He wasn’t called the Nosey Otter for nothing. I was worried about the accuracy since it was attached only recently─but it looks like there’s no need.”

Kawauso Maniwa─one of the Twelve Bosses of the Maniwa Ninja Clan.

The ninja who had met his end the month before, on Mt. Odori in Ezo.

Whose ninpo, dubbed the Infovac, enabled him to glean the history of objects.

And now his ninpo─was in the hands of Hohoh Maniwa.

Since his left arm─was Kawauso Maniwa’s left arm!

“Life Line.30 Man, that pirate’s was garbage31… Makes me appreciate just how marvelous this new arm really is.”

“I’m sure that Kawauso…would be proud. Even in death, he has become a part of you, and taken on new life─”

“Let’s hope you’re right.”

Hohoh sounded concerned.

Long story short, the two of them had made it this far─through a synthesis32 of Pengin’s information network and the late Kawauso’s Infovac.

Last month, to make up for Kyoken running amok, Hohoh renewed his stake in the alliance by felling his own brother, Kawauso, but it was not a total loss.

Although Kawauso was dead.

Hohoh had taken on his ninpo─thus.

That former ninja Emonzaemon had been eerily correct in his prediction─the Maniwa were alive and kicking.

Ever a menace to the Sword Hunt of the bakufu─

“Come on. I think it’s here, inside this wind cave.”

“Yes,” Pengin nodded. He sounded quite sure─and went in first.

Hohoh crossed his arms and followed close behind.

“Still…I don’t get it.”

Even once they had both slipped into the cave, the two of them had pep in their step.

Not worried about their footing or where the cave was taking them, as if it was their backyard─they carried on at normal speed.

“D-Don’t get…what?”

“Well, Nanami Yasuri─from what you’ve gathered, she’s a genius, and has immaculate eyes, right?”

“Y-Yes… Watch and Learn, they call it… There is no move or form that she can’t figure if she sees it once, and master if she sees it twice─she sees it all. As much33 for swordplay as for ninpo… Most likely she knows every trick in the Bug Unit book by now.”

“Hmm. I bet you’re right. But hold on, Pengin─something’s fishy.”

“Fishy?”34

“The ninpo that I used to make Kawauso’s mine, the Life Line, may take a different route, but it has lots in common with Nanami Yasuri’s Watch and Learn. Same goes for Kyoken Maniwa’s Foaming Mouth─it usurps another’s form and memories. Not to mention Komori Maniwa’s Body Melt, which let him morph his body in the shape of whomsoever he pleased.”

“Okay?”

Pengin looked perplexed, not getting what Hohoh wanted to say.

Life Line.

Foaming Mouth.

Body Melt.

And─Watch and Learn.

Indeed, these moves had something in common.

“Of course, the finer points show just how different they are─my Life Line, for instance, starts with killing off your counterpart, whereas the Foaming Mouth presumes its user is dead. Meanwhile, the Body Melt can only imitate the vessel.35 None of them approaches Watch and Learn.”

“…Nope.”

The technique was extraordinary.36

Nanami Yasuri─Watch and Learn.

“But here’s my issue, as somebody whose ninpo has a thing or two in common. Does Nanami Yasuri…really need to watch or learn?”

“…”

Totally lost, Pengin failed to even summon a response.

“Like─isn’t Nanami Yasuri phenomenal already, without all these extra moves?”

“A-Ah.”

Pengin finally understood what Hohoh had been driving at.

“Th-That’s what you mean…”

“Yeah. ’Course─her Watch and Learn does let her size up her opponent and identify their weaknesses, I guess. But matching the enemy in terms of strength is what it’s supposed to be for. It started when she was a girl. Her father wouldn’t teach her anything, so she had to watch and learn for herself─with those eyes of hers. But now, no one as strong as her needs them. Tricks only make sense when they make up for a weakness. The strongest─have no use for them.”

“And yet, she’s gone to lots of trouble…amassing all these different abilities. The monstrous strength of the Itezoras, for instance…”

“Like I said─I don’t get it. I latch onto the lives of others because I am weak. Kyoken took over other people’s bodies because she wanted to be stronger. And Komori changed his body because it was convenient to do so─dirty deeds are how a ninja makes a living. I sap power from others to make up for what I lack, my ninpo has its roots in inability.37 But this applies to all ninpo, across the board. Take my other move, Decapitation Cycle, or your own fearsome ninjutsu, Pengin─at the end of the day, it’s all about making up for weakness. The Schemer might say that ninjutsu is merely a way for the strong to torment the weak; in reality, it has a lot in common with her schemes. It’s just a matter of whether you make up for weaknesses or let your weakness stand. But Pengin, what the hell is Nanami Yasuri doing learning other people’s moves, if she’s already as strong as she can get?”

The eyes of Nanami Yasuri.

Did they really change the score?

Not like this question had a chance of being answered. Pengin didn’t even try, and Hohoh had nothing else to say─thereafter, they walked on in silence.

Wordless, through the wind cave in Mt. Fuji.

Eventually, they made it.

At the dead end, embedded in the wall─they found a lacquer scabbard holding a sword.

Sword.

It was a Mutant Blade─one of the masterworks of Kiki Shikizaki!

“It’s so beautiful it’s almost terrifying,” said Hohoh, giving his…that is, Kawauso’s left arm another spin. “When the cat’s away, the mice will play,38 am I right? No sooner do we renew our alliance with the Schemer than we hit the jackpot. Is it me, or is that woman the goddess of fortune?”

“I guess this means─we have one sword.”

“Yep,” said Hohoh, reaching out to grasp the katana embedded in the wall. “But this is only the beginning. When we’re through, the Maniwa will hold all of the Twelve Possessed of Kiki Shikizaki─with no sword left behind.”

Hohoh gripped the hilt.

With his left hand─obviously.

Unclaimed by any owner, the sword was waiting for them, in the back wall of a wind cave at the foot of Mt. Fuji.

But which of the swords was it?

Bito the Sundial? Oto the Cured?

Seito the Garland? Dokuto the Basilisk?

We will soon find out.

While Togame the Schemer and Shichika Yasuri, Seventh Master of the Kyotoryu, dealt with their surprise challenge in Shikoku─the Sword Tale was marching on.

1 否定的なことを言う HITEITEKI NA KOTO WO IU say something negative, i.e. put down

2 本題に入る HONDAI NI HAIRU bring up the main topic

3 見聞き MIKIKI “see and hear”

4 同情 DŌJŌ “same feeling”

5 眉間 MIKEN “space between eyebrows”

6 見切り MIKIRI figure out 切る KIRU slice

7 見抜き MINUKI unmask 抜く NUKU remove

8 見定め MISADAME determine 定める SADAMERU decide

9 見通し MITŌSHI prognosticate 通す TŌSU push through

10 見極め MIKIWAME ascertain 極める KIWAMERU master

11 見取る MITORU “look take” perceive puns on 看取る MITORU attend to a dying person

12 相性 AISHŌ affinity

13 花丸 HANAMARU a circular floral design used to mark a student’s job well done

14 不死不滅 FUSHI FUMETSU “not dying, not perishing”

15 針治療 HARI CHIRYŌ “needle therapy”

16 薄刀『針』 HAKUTŌ HARI “The Thin Sword: Needle” (the original puns on an earlier Mutant Blade)

17 最悪 SAI’AKU worst (case)

18 不愉快 FUYUKAI unpleasant

19 仕上げをごろうじろ SHIAGE WO GORŌJIRO “behold the finish” shortened from a longer expression, the gist of which is: “the proof is in the pudding”

20 立てこもる TATEKOMORU hole up

21 おざなり OZANARI slapdash

22 著しく ICHIJIRUSHIKU manifestly

23 樹海 JUKAI “sea of trees”

24 裾野 SUSONO “skirting fields” gentle slope at the base of a mountain

25 秘策 HISAKU “secret plan”

26 太刀打ち TACHI UCHI “(exchange) broadsword strikes” compete, match the mettle

27 無理だった MURI DATTA “found it impossible” [a canine joke seemed a permissible liberty]

28 骨肉の争い KOTSUNIKU NO ARASOI “fight of flesh and bone” warring between blood relatives

29 頑張って GANBATTE hanging in there; hustling also the most generic of exhortations

30 忍法命結び NINPŌ INOCHI MUSUBI 命 INOCHI life 結ぶ MUSUBU to tie (a knot), connect

31 役立たず YAKU TATAZU useless

32 合わせ技 AWASEWAZA combination of two different moves

33 等価 TŌKA equivalent

34 不自然 FUSHIZEN unnatural 不 FU non- 自然 SHIZEN nature

35 器 UTSUWA container

36 並外れた NAMIHAZURETA exceptional 並み NAMI average 外れる HAZURERU be removed from

37 非力 HIRIKI powerless

38 鬼のいぬ間に洗濯 ONI NO INU MA NI SENTAKU “doing laundry while the ogre is gone”