Shrine maiden?
An felt that this shrine maiden must have some connection to the demon they were looking for.
Did the Tsukuyomi family also discover the demon, so they needed to find the shrine maiden's corpse to find a way to seal the demon?
Or did they take the side of the demon and need the shrine maiden's corpse to bring the demon back to the mortal world?
These two possibilities represented two different positions, and An felt a headache coming on. Thinking about these things was indeed troublesome.
In the room, An sat on a chair, Heigoro knelt beside the lying Maitabe, and the three of them didn't speak, as if they were all thinking about something.
At this moment, An spoke up. She stood up and said softly, "I'm going back to the Capital of Flowers."
?!
Both Heigoro and Maitabe were surprised, and An continued, "We probably won't find anything here anymore. I'm going to the Tsukuyomi family in the Capital of Flowers."
Indeed, what Hibi could find out should be the same as what Maitabe mentioned. Unlike Heigoro, who came to avoid disaster, An came to investigate things. At most, she was waiting for the situation in Wano to change.
So she couldn't stay hidden here all the time. The intelligence here was basically obtained, and other places should be similar, so only the most important Capital of Flowers was left.
So ultimately, she had to return to that place.
But what surprised her was that Heigoro also stood up. He said, "We're leaving too."
Seeing An's surprised expression, he explained, "This place is about to be discovered. We need to relocate."
An suddenly realized, it was for this reason.
Indeed, they had been here for some time, and there had been several searches that had even come very close to their location. It was indeed time to relocate.
"Then let's meet again if fate allows."
An nodded. She had been taken care of by Heigoro a lot during this time, and he was indeed someone she could get along with.
This time she was going to the Capital of Flowers, and Heigoro would definitely not go there. After they parted, it was very likely that they would not meet again.
I wonder...
How will the situation in this country change?
"Well, this time we don't have a fixed location. I plan to observe the situation in this country on the way." Heigoro glanced at Maitabe again and said, "We'll leave when he's feeling a bit better."
"If you need help, you can come to the Capital of Flowers to find me," An said.
Heigoro also nodded. He also knew An's capabilities and didn't need to be coy.
In the underworld, loyalty was paramount, and helping each other when friends were in trouble was a given. He considered himself and An as friends now.
An left. After descending from the mountain, she began to head south towards the Capital of Flowers.
She retraced her steps back, but in just two months, everything had changed drastically.
Originally, Hibi was already a desolate place, but now it was even more desolate. Along the way, she couldn't even see a single passerby. In the villages along the way, she could even see some blood, which was shocking.
Even the most prosperous Capital of Flowers had become desolate on the outskirts. Occasionally, the people she saw were filled with sadness and despair. It was hard to imagine that it had only been two months.
Was it worth it to turn a country into this state just to find Himura Kenshin?
What she didn't know was that during these two months, Mitsurugi Otada was becoming stronger and stronger...
And also becoming more and more evil.
Capital of Flowers
Mitsurugi Otada was meditating. He found that ever since he fought with Himura Kenshin, he would rapidly become stronger whenever he entered this somewhat empty state, and the power in his body would increase rapidly.
Now, he was very confident that he could defeat Himura Kenshin.
Even his mysterious master was no longer in his eyes.
At this moment, there was a sound at the door.
Mitsurugi Otada opened his eyes. At this moment, his eyes had completely turned black, making people feel a bit terrified.
"Come in."
As Mitsurugi's voice fell, the door was pushed open, and his subordinate, Jin'eimon, pushed open the door.
"My lord, Lord Sukiyaki is almost at his limit." Jin'eimon was also a little scared after coming in. He had also noticed the changes in Mitsurugi Otada's body during this time. Although he was also angry that his lord had almost been killed, he was more afraid of the changes in his lord.
However, his loyal belief still supported him to do things under Mitsurugi Otada's command.
Hearing his words, Mitsurugi Otada's eyes showed a trace of displeasure.
Didn't he just want to catch the murderer who almost killed him? Didn't he just want to catch Heigoro, who had betrayed him?
Despite always calling him Boss Heigoro, he actually colluded with outsiders to kill him. After doing such things, what was wrong with catching them?
Why did that old man keep stopping him?!
At first, his capture went smoothly, but not long ago, Mitsurugi Sukiyaki had come to him several times. The implication in his words was to stop the extensive pursuit in Wano.
Of course, Mitsurugi Otada wouldn't allow it, but Mitsurugi Sukiyaki was the Shogun, and the daimyos would only listen to him.
It seems that this time, Mitsurugi Sukiyaki's tolerance has reached its limit.
If he doesn't do anything, that old man will definitely issue an order to forcibly interrupt the search.
He would never allow such a thing to happen!
Mitsurugi looked at Jin'eimon, and after seeing Jin'eimon's expression, he couldn't help but playfully.
"Jin'eimon..."
He called out Jin'eimon's name, and Jin'eimon subconsciously looked up at Mitsurugi.
Without waiting for him to speak, Mitsurugi said, "You seem... very afraid of me?"
Jin'eimon's forehead heated up, and he suddenly felt a chill from his feet to his head. He trembled all over, for some reason, Mitsurugi's words seemed to echo in his ears incessantly.
"The majesty of the lord is rarely seen in the world, so... so I feel fear." Jin'eimon said nervously.
"Hahaha..." Mitsurugi couldn't help but laugh happily. "Well said. In that case, call the others over."
The others?
Mitsurugi suddenly understood that he was referring to his companions from Kuramae. He originally wanted to ask what they were going to do. If it were before, he could ask in a relaxed manner, but now Mitsurugi made him feel puzzled and frightened, so he just said softly,
"Yes, my lord."
No matter what happened, he was still Mitsurugi Otada, who had undergone hardships. He was just mentally stimulated a little, and his heroic nature would not change.
Moreover, they had already sworn allegiance to Mitsurugi Otada!
Trembling, Jin'eimon left the house and ran towards his friends' location.
Then, they would all meet Mitsurugi Otada together.