KATANAGATARI 3

Then.

Once he had said as much─Umigame sprang to action.

The hands he had been holding high dropped─to bare his sword.

Emonzaemon had continued coming closer, undeterred by Umigame’s speech, until the man was almost within range.

Umigame was a ninja.

Dirty deeds were how he made a living─begging for his life, however insincerely, was fine by him.

Besides, it had given him a chance to gauge the length of Emonzaemon’s longsword─and his own rapier was slightly longer! If he reached his arm out all the way─

“…nkk!”

Shaken─Emonzaemon shrank back.

With the breadth24 of his sword, he parried Umigame, who had been aiming for his heart─but that was all it took.

That was enough─to send a fracture25 through Emonzaemon’s katana.

“Heeheehee.”

Step.

Planting one foot far ahead of the other, Umigame sank into his knees─and aimed the tip of the rapier, firm in his left hand, at Emonzaemon.

Nobody was around.

Free─to his heart’s content.

But even if there were people around, he’d simply kill them off─hey now, who am I, Kuizame?

No good, no good.

I need to behave like an adult here, no matter what─

“I am Umigame Maniwa, one of the Twelve Bosses of the Maniwa─people call me the Immortal Turtle. Prepare to die.”

“You’re a swordfighter…a swordsman?” asked Emonzaemon─glancing at his longsword, which in just one clash had been turned into rubbish. “What’s more, your sword is from the Western Lands…how ironic. Here I am, in a coat and trousers, wielding a katana, while you, clad in ninja garb, come at me with a rapier─”

“Yeah─an ironic situation. Your fate included.”

“No, you’re the one whose fate the irony includes─to be honest, I hadn’t entertained the possibility that you’d be both a ninja and a swordsman. If you had managed to lay hands on one of the Twelve Possessed─you would have been a menace. With a name like ‘The Immortal Turtle,’ I assumed your ninpo let you live forever.

“So I was taking it easy, thinking,” Emonzaemon added nonchalantly, “if he’s some kind of immortal ninja, I’ve killed five of those already.”

Umigame didn’t think he was bluffing.

But that confidence─would be the death of this man.

“Hahaha. I’m probably the worst26 ninja that you’ll ever meet─most ninpo is totally beyond me. Best I can do is fling a couple shuriken. Ninpo that helps you live forever? Who needs that. If you want to live a long life, all you have to do is be the stronger one.”

“…”

“The strong prey upon the weak! Simple as that. As for immortal ninja─I’ve killed fifteen myself. Where swordplay is concerned, I’ll hold my own against the Kyotoryu or Hakuhei Sabi any day. Up against me and my rapier, no one stands a chance. Unlike you, sitting pretty in your cushy little office in the bakufu, I’ve lived through more carnage27 than you’ll ever know!”

Therein lay the reason why Chocho Maniwa and Umigame Maniwa were the only two out of the entire crew of bosses who knew about the Kyotoryu before this whole story began.

Chocho had studied the way of the fist.

Umigame studied the way of the sword.

Thus they had known of the Kyotoryu─the swordless form of swordplay.

“I’ll teach28 you─that the Sea Turtle is the strongest creature in all of Mother Ocean!”

This was not actually true.

But Umigame Maniwa was not above grandstanding.

Looking on, Emonzaemon, whose sword was still drawn, slipped it back into its sheath and dropped the sheath onto the ground beside him. There was no use lugging around the longsword as they fought, now that it had been rendered unusable.

In turn, he cast away the short sword, too, despite its good condition.

Brave man,29 thought Umigame.

Most people cling to their weapons for dear life, broken or otherwise…

“Just in case I’ve missed something, that pair of swords wasn’t Ento the Bead, was it?”

“Don’t be foolish. The Bead is on display at Mansion Negative.”

“Glad to hear it.”

“How so? When it amounts to yet another reason you must perish.”

“Hey─are you ninja?” Umigame took a verbal stab30─without breaking his form. “If I’m actually a swordsman, and you’re actually a ninja, things are topsy-turvier31 than I thought, but that has to be the case. From the way you dodged the shuriken to how you parried just now, you couldn’t be a normal32 person. You carry a familiar reek unique to ninjadom─what’s your clan? It doesn’t seem like you’re from the Onmitsu… I’ve learned a little bit about them way back when from that Schemer lady, but she didn’t mention the likes of you.”

“Incorrect,” Emonzaemon said in a stern tone.

And pointed at his mask.

At the word “Non-Ninja.”

“As you see, a ninja I am not. And haven’t been─for ages.”

“Okay, you’re a former ninja─but all of us in the Maniwa are not so different today─and? What clan were you a part of? We ninjas have our code of conduct.33 Depending on your clan─I mean, your former clan, we may be able to settle this without a fight… I’m not begging for dear life, you understand, I’m saying this for your sake. I know we’d betrayed the Schemer girl, but now we’ve entered an alliance, which in a sense links us to Princess Negative.”

“…The Aioi34 Clan,” Emonzaemon─saw fit to respond.

To the question dropped by Umigame Maniwa.

The former ninja could not have been interested in a pact with Umigame─who, in turn, must have simply been curious, since he had the upper hand now, his foe having lost his weapon─

“Aye, oi? The Aye-Oi Clan…”

Umigame scanned his memory but came up short.

He had never heard this name in all his life.

“Who the hell are they? I haven’t a clue. I figured any ninja fit to work for Princess Negative would belong to one of the famous villages.”

“Ah. You haven’t a clue.”

The temperature dropped by a few degrees around Emonzaemon.

Or perhaps─it rose.

At any rate, he had a different air about him.

“I’ll tell you, then. The Aioi Clan─”

Emptyhanded.

Taking no pains to rearm himself─Emonzaemon Soda started to close the distance between himself and Umigame.

“─were wiped out by the Maniwa! One hundred and seventy years ago!”

■　■

Long before even the Age of Warring States─there was a ninja village that had been founded around the same time as the Maniwa.

The Aioi Ninja Clan.

The Maniwa and the Aioi were enemies.

Mortal enemies─who had been embroiled in conflict for centuries.

Which surely served to hone their skills and bolster their ninjutsu─but at the conclusion of the Age of Warring States, around the time today’s Owari Bakufu took shape, the two clans had a fatal showdown.

The Maniwa were victorious.

You could say their victory came thanks to strategy─as this was when the Maniwa established their cooperative, governed not by a single boss but twelve. At first, it was believed the change would cause the structure of authority to collapse, turning their clan into a wild mob─but the result was anything but chaos.

This was when the Maniwa were liberated─from the core belief that ninjas must operate in concert.

The first iteration of the Twelve Bosses.

Boss Komori the First. Boss Kawauso the First. Boss Kyoken the First.

Boss Shirasagi the First. Boss Oshidori the First. Boss Hohoh the First.

Boss Kuizame the First. Boss Pengin the First. Boss Umigame the First.

Boss Mitsubachi the First. Boss Chocho the First. Boss Kamakiri the First.

Among them, only Kyoken Maniwa had persisted35 up until the present day─but one hundred and seventy years later, the others remained the standard, as the strongest crew of ninjas to call the village home.

And those Twelve Bosses─bore through Aioi Village.

Thus─the village met its ruin.

Although their clan was not without survivors.

At first, they were a hundred strong.

But before long, they were only fifty.

Times changed with the generations.

And yet their ranks diminished without hope.

From fifty down to twenty-five.

From twenty-five to thirteen.

From thirteen to seven.

From seven to four.

Then four to two.

Until finally─the two had been reduced to one.

Only one of them remained.

It took a hundred and seventy years─but all of them was dead but one.

It took a hundred and seventy years─but all of them was gone, save one.

The Maniwa had forged ahead through history, until so much time36 had passed their former peers had been entirely forgotten─

Only one remained. And that one─was Emonzaemon Soda.

“M-Maniwa Kenpo!”

That moment.

Umigame lunged.

Moving not only with his arms, but his whole body, legs and all, thrusting that rapier relentlessly─at Emonzaemon’s heart.

There were things he could have learned.

And yet─he had decided that there wasn’t time for that.

Umigame was now certain─he had touched upon something untouchable.

This was the first he heard about the Aioi Ninjas─but Umigame’s intuition was far keener than the average person.

Indeed─it was ironic.

How Umigame could have such keen intuition, and saunter into a situation stickier than anyone!

Before any of the Twelve Bosses.

And before Togame the Schemer.

He had stepped into this steaming pile of taboo37─

“…Huh?”

His fulsome38 thrust─cut through the air.

Emonzaemon Soda had vanished before his eyes.

“I know your kind,” a voice said, from behind. “The ninjas of your clan know more than ninpo, dabbling in swordsmanship and the martial arts─but you are not alone. The ninjas of the Aioi Clan practiced their fair share of both kinds of kenpo.”

“─Khh!”

Umigame spun around─but Emonzaemon Soda was not there.

He heard the voice, behind him once again.

“Here’s a taste of Aioi Kenpo─Shadow Fist.”39

“Urrrr─you, you─”

He spun around, but nobody was there.

It was simply that he sensed something behind him.

An uninhibited and powerful─fury.40

“Okay, Umigame. Perhaps I’ve seen less carnage than you─but hear this,” said Emonzaemon.

Again from behind.

“The carnages that we have seen─are too different in kind to bear comparison.”

He spoke like he was dispensing an obvious truth.

Essentially, talking down to him.

“C-Come on─who the hell do you think you’re talking to? I-I’m one of the Twelve Bosses of the Maniwa!”

“What of it? You think that title makes you any stronger?”

Umigame could spin around in circles─but would never spot Emonzaemon. He was a sight alright, like watching a puppy chasing his own tail. It felt like somebody was breathing down his neck─but he was unable to catch41 it.

He could spin and spin all day.

Around and around─and never find his adversary.

Aioi Ninpo, Shadow Fist.

The principle was simple.

It’s hard to attack somebody behind you─and Umigame’s rapier was perhaps one of the worst weapons on the planet for attacking someone coming from the rear.

Regardless of how deftly Umigame thrust a sword─or whether he was tough enough to hold his own against the Kyotoryu or Hakuhei Sabi, he would have no chance to demonstrate his abilities.

Thanks to this kenpo─Shadow Fist.

His enemy would always be behind him.

And though he could not see his adversary─he was staring squarely back at him.

A terror if there ever was one.

“Thrust all you want, but no one is in front of you,” Emonzaemon remarked frigidly. “But with the Shadow Fist─I always have the enemy in front of me.”

“Shit…I’d never even heard…about the Aioi! Much less about a move like this. You call it kenpo, but a move like that clearly draws on ninjutsu!”

“Our moves were different in the Age of Warring States─the Maniwa today can’t hold a candle…except for maybe Hohoh,” Emonzaemon noted suggestively.

Did this guy─know Hohoh?

“I may be the last42 of the ninja village that your brethren swept off of the map─but I’m not acting on a grudge. I lost my cool earlier, but at least on that account you were spot on. It’s all for the best.”

“Th-The best?”

“The best in my opinion, anyway. Oh, since you mentioned begging for your life, this is a good a time as any─”

“Nghh…”

It may have been his turn to speak─but Umigame was all out of words.

No use trying to buy time.

This ninja─was a cut above. He was too good.

It made no sense to huff and puff or put up a front with him.

If his enemy was just a swordsman or a warrior, Umigame could have possibly outwitted him─but as one ninja to another, or at least against a “NON-NINJA,” such trickery43 would get him nowhere fast.

Which left him wrestling44 with the question of how he wound up in this predicament. Where had he gone wrong? If he had acted more adeptly─the Maniwa could be in the lead now on the Sword Hunt.

I was closer to the truth.

Than anyone.

Which is why─

“Suit yourself. You are a Maniwa ninja, after all. You’ve tasted our kenpo, but let me now give you a proper demonstration of Aioi Ninpo. Although if you can’t see me, what good is a demonstration…and besides, this next move, like the first, is too bizarre to be called ninpo─”

That voice.

Speaking behind him.

Umigame Maniwa did not try to escape.

He thought only of his remaining comrades─

Hohoh Maniwa, Pengin Maniwa, Oshidori Maniwa.

How might he warn them of this situation?

Even in the end.

Umigame─fought for his village.

“NON-NINPO─Endlessly Unsparing.”45

Despite its name─

The move was indeed not sparing─but ended the enemy.

The Immortal Turtle─died young after all.

■　■

Princess Negative was standing stiffly, biding her time in the middle of her room, when she heard a voice above her.

“I have returned. All has gone as planned─I left Togame the Schemer and the Kyotoryu at Lake Fuyo, then put an end to Umigame Maniwa─Captain of the Fish Unit, the boss who had his sights set on Ento the Bead.”

“Late again.”

Although he had accomplished quite a lot in a short while, Princess Negative was set on negging Emonzaemon─declining to voice her thanks.

“But like you said, we must not underestimate the Maniwa─I reject myself for what I said a month ago. I sorely underestimated them…but you caught him before things got out of hand… You must feel better, no? Paying off the grudge borne by your ancestors.”

“A one-hundred-and-seventy-year-old grudge cannot be paid off by the descendants of its perpetrators, one hundred and seventy years later. As I told Umigame Maniwa. I wasn’t acting on a personal grudge. I would never follow out an order from Your Highness bearing such ulterior46 motives.”

“Lieutenant, quit being so painfully formal. It aggravates me … Though yes, I agree, it makes no sense to hunt down age-old47 enemies. Well? What about that nasty woman?”

“It’s been a few days now. At this point─they must have found Skytron. Or maybe─things have already been settled.”

“Think they’ve figured out that Skytron is Bito the Sundial?”

“Easily. The Kyotoryu can feel the Mutant Blades’ lifeforce.”

“Can we be sure?”

Princess Negative─glanced toward the alcove.

At the pair of lumpy metal things on display.

“He didn’t seem to pick up on those two over there─it would seem his sixth sense isn’t so reliable. Just think how funny it would be if Shichika destroyed Skytron without realizing what it was─if he broke a sword, the whole Sword Hunt would be a wash.48 That nasty woman would end up with her head cut off, unless she cut her stomach first.”

“You sure play cat-and-mouse.”49

“It’s fine. It’s been a little slow around here. I had to have some fun with them.”

The Princess laughed hysterically.

Emonzaemon had nothing to say.

For the record.

While Emonzaemon apprised the Princess, at her mansion in Owari, of his detour in Shinano on the return trip from Edo─things had been settled indeed at Lake Fuyo.

Shichika versus Skytron.

And the victor─

1 徘徊 HAIKAI prowl

2 化身 KESHIN incarnate

3 異名 IMYŌ nickname

4 傀儡 KAIRAI dummy

5 自動 JIDŌ automated

6 のんびり NONBIRI (onomatopoeic) unhurried

7 刺突剣 SHITOTSUKEN “pierce-thrust sword”

8 頓珍漢 TONCHINKAN off-base; a fool cacophony of a smith’s apprentice striking off-rhythm

9 二つ名 FUTATSUNA “second name”

10 偽名 GIMEI fake name

11 渋い SHIBUI bitter can be used as a compliment for quiet elegance, mature taste

12 挨拶代わり AISATSU GAWARI by way of greeting

13 恨みを買う URAMI WO KAU “buy a grudge”

14 変貌 HENBŌ “change face” metamorphose

15 畳み掛ける TATAMI KAKERU pile/press on 畳む TATAMU fold multiple times 畳 TATAMI tatami mat

16 炎刀『銃』 ENTŌ JŪ “The Flame Sword: Gun”

17 剣呑 KEN’NON “sword swallowing” hazardous

18 鬼女 KIJO “demon woman”

19 意趣返し ISHUGAESHI “returning the malice” 意趣 ISHU intention, grudge

20 仕返し SHIKAESHI “returning the deed” 仕返す SHIKAESU can also mean “do over”

21 虎穴 KOKETSU tiger’s den

22 生意気 NAMA’IKI “raw spirited” smart-alecky

23 若作り WAKAZUKURI making oneself look young through makeup, clothing, etc.

24 腹 HARA “belly” the curved middle of the blade of a katana

25 亀裂 KIRETSU “turtle tears” from an old Chinese custom known as plastromancy, where turtle shells were baked to augur the future based on how the cracks formed

26 落ちこぼれ OCHIKOBORE “fall behind” dropout

27 修羅場 SHURABA scene reminiscent of the battle between Asura and Indra

28 教育 KYŌIKU educate 教える OSHIERU teach 育てる SODATERU nurture, raise

29 いい判断 II HANDAN good judgment

30 言葉で切り込んだ KOTOBA DE KIRIKONDA cut into (charged in, struck) with words

31 あべこべ ABE KOBE originally written as 彼辺此辺 “that side (becoming) this side”

32 表の OMOTE NO of the surface/front vs. the underworld

33 義理道理 GIRI DŌRI duties/obligations & reasons/rationales

34 相生 AI’OI area in present-day Hyogo not known for ninja historically

35 共通している KYŌTSŪ SHITE IRU to be in common, the same

36 月日 TSUKIHI “months and days”

37 禁忌 KINKI “forbidden odiousness”

38 渾身の KONSHIN NO using the whole body; with all one’s might

39 背弄拳 HAIRŌKEN “fist playing tricks from the back”

40 殺気 SAKKI “murderous ki”

41 視認 SHININ “visually recognize” identify

42 末裔 MATSU’EI sole descendant

43 小細工 KOZAIKU “small artifice” cheap moves

44 抱く IDAKU hug, embrace; harbor

45 不生不殺 IKASAZU KOROSAZU “neither keeping alive nor killing” the usual reading would be FUSHŌ FUSATSU, but the author’s phonetic gloss makes it sound more colloquial

46 私情 SHIJŌ personal feelings

47 大昔の ŌMUKASHI NO of the distant past

48 台無し DAINASHI totally wasted

49 意地の悪い仕掛け IJI NO WARUI SHIKAKE mean-spirited trick