"Where is Lord Yomogawa?"
"We want to see Lord Yomogawa!"
"Why are we being forced to leave Aragane Station? My family has lived here since my great-great-great-grandfather!"
At this moment, inside the steam train station of Aragane, a group of elderly people dressed in various attire surrounded the samurai of the Yomogawa family, loudly protesting.
Behind this group of elders, six men dressed in different styles stood with cold smiles on their faces.
Among them were a rogue, a merchant, a monk, and a gentleman, seemingly representing all walks of life except the samurai.
"I have no idea what that fool Yomogawa Yomogawa is thinking. Instead of staying as the lord of Aragane Station, he went to attack Yokosuka," said the rogue with disdain.
"Well, you can't say that. If it weren't for him, how would we have the chance to control all of Aragane Station?" the merchant said with a sly grin.
"Lord Yomogawa made a foolish move this time. Such blatant treason and rebellion, how could the Shogun tolerate it? He will surely order the entire nation to hunt him down!" said the monk, whose face lacked the compassion one would expect from a follower of Buddha, instead radiating an aura of bloodlust.
"With the Yomogawa family gone, Aragane Station will need a new lord. I'll be counting on you all then," said the gentleman, smiling with narrowed eyes.
"Don't worry. Just as we agreed, with us industry leaders backing you, you have a high chance of becoming the new lord. Once you do, you can return the favor by helping us, and together we'll control Aragane Station!" the merchant said with a greedy smile.
He didn't notice the fleeting contempt in the gentleman's eyes.
The six schemers exchanged smiles as if Aragane Station was already theirs.
But just then, the sky was suddenly filled with the sound of compressed air exploding.
A figure then landed with a crash right before their eyes.
When the dust settled, Ryou's figure appeared before everyone.
"Lord Yomogawa!"
The samurai of the Yomogawa family, recognizing the person who had arrived, shouted in relief, their expressions showing a clear sense of relief and admiration.
These samurai, chosen to assist in the relocation of Aragane Station, were the elite who were loyal to the Yomogawa family.
After Ryou displayed his extraordinary power, their loyalty skyrocketed.
On the other side, the elderly troublemakers, who had been watching his entrance from a distance, now showed fear on their faces.
They looked at each other, clearly wanting someone else to make the first move.
But before they could decide, Ryou coldly addressed them.
"If you don't want to leave, that's fine. You can stay in Aragane Station."
Then he turned to a samurai beside him and instructed, "Record the names of those who refuse to go to Yokosuka. They will be permanently banned from entering any territory under my control."
"Yes, Lord Yomogawa!"
The samurai responded loudly, clearly fed up with these old troublemakers.
"And as for the rest of you, why are you standing around? You must finish moving within three days!"
Ryou then loudly commanded the other samurai.
It was as if he no longer acknowledged the existence of these old troublemakers.
"Yes!"
Under his orders, the samurai quickly took action, loading up the train with ammunition, food, and other essential supplies.
The troublemakers were left standing awkwardly on the side, unsure whether to leave or stay.
The six behind-the-scenes instigators, hiding nearby and watching the commotion, couldn't sit still anymore. They stepped out from their hiding spot.
"Lord Yomogawa, what you're doing is rather inappropriate!"
The gentleman, looking unhappy, was the first to speak, his tone carrying a hint of reproach.
"That's right! Lord Yomogawa, you've taken away all of Aragane Station's grain reserves—what will we eat? And with all the steam guns taken, how will we protect ourselves? Don't you all agree?"
The merchant raised his arm, rallying the elders.
Encouraged by his words, the previously hesitant elders quickly joined in, shouting.
"That's right! Without food, what will we eat?"
"The steam guns and ammunition must be left behind!"
"Lord Yomogawa, you can't just abandon us!"
"Enough!"
Ryou shouted coldly, grabbing a steam gun from a nearby samurai and firing a shot into the ground in front of the troublemakers.
Bang!
Dirt and stones flew, and the commotion abruptly quieted down.
he turned and coldly stared at the merchant.
He recognized who they were—those same scoundrels who, in the original story, tried to seize control of the Koutetsujous by pressuring Ayame, his child.
Calling them The Six Chiefs was giving them too much credit. They were merely industry leaders in Aragane Station, like the heads of trade guilds.
In the original story, these fools thought Ayame was soft-spoken and gentle, and since she was new to her position, they incited others to pressure her into handing over the Koutetsujou's master keys.
Today, it seemed they intended to pressure him instead.
Ryou smirked inwardly. Unlike Ayame, he had killed more people than he could count, and yet they dared to bargain with him.
They truly didn't know what the word death meant.
Ryou, without hesitation, coldly asked, "Do you want food and weapons?"
"Yes…"
The merchant managed to say only one word before Ryou pointed at him.
In the air, a character resembling an "F" flashed briefly, and then a head-sized fireball shot from his finger, instantly engulfing the merchant.
"Ahhhh!!!"
The merchant screamed in agony, burning to a crisp in less than ten seconds.
"Who else wants food and weapons? I'll gladly oblige," Ryou said coldly, looking down at the crowd.
His gaze swept across the gathered people.
Everyone who made eye contact with him, including the remaining five chiefs, quickly lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze again.
And just like that, the farce came to an end.
The troublemakers, along with the five surviving ringleaders, slunk away in disgrace.
Ryou, as if no one else existed, walked to a secluded alley.
"Natsume," Ryou suddenly called out softly.
"My lord."
A surprising scene unfolded—a small figure slowly appeared out of thin air in the empty alley, kneeling on one knee behind him.
The signature shuriken hairpin on her head identified her as Sarutobi Natsume, who had been captured by Jeanne and eventually transferred to serve the Yomogawa family.
After a series of twists and turns, she now looked at him with eyes full of fervor, like a devout believer.
"Go, kill those five chiefs stirring up trouble behind the scenes."
Ryou gave the order coldly, not even turning around.
"At once, My lord!"
The small figure vanished into thin air without a sound.
...
The six chiefs were now down to five.
The five men grumbled and cursed back to their residence.
"That madman Yomogawa! He did kill him!"
"Exactly! Just wait until the Shogun's army arrives; he'll get what's coming to him!"
"Doesn't he have a daughter? We should plead with the Shogun to sell her to a brothel! I'll be sure to take care of her business! Hahaha!"
"Her name is Ayame, right? She's only seven this year, you sick bastard! How can you even think about a child that young?"
The five originally vented their anger towards Kenshou Yomogawa, but somehow their conversation gradually drifted into obscene topics, spewing filth like a sewer.
Swish!
At that moment, a faint sound was heard, and a kunai embedded itself in the forehead of the man dressed as a monk, piercing his brain. Before he even hit the ground, he was already dead. He was the one who had earlier suggested selling Ayame to the brothel.
"Who's there?"
The remaining four were immediately terrified, quickly drawing the daggers at their waists and looking around in panic.
Suddenly, a blinding white light burst before their eyes.
"Ah! I'm blind!"
"I can't see!"
"Help!"
Slash!
Several sounds of flesh being cut echoed.
As the brightness faded, only two of the four were left standing. The other two had been decapitated, their bodies lying in pools of blood.
The survivors were a gentleman and a thug.
Before the flash, they had instinctively closed their eyes and wildly swung their daggers, narrowly escaping death. But this only bought them a few extra seconds.
"A child?"
They were horrified to see a small figure, dressed in tight-fitting ninja attire with a black veil covering her face. Judging by her size, she couldn't be older than 14.
"Damn it! Die!"
Seeing the short blade in her hand still dripping with blood, the thug-looking guy's desperation turned into fury. He raised his dagger and slashed at her with all his might.
"Don't!"
The gentleman, standing back-to-back with the thug, noticed his movement and shouted.
But the thug, his eyes bloodshot with rage, ignored the warning and lunged forward.
Natsume's eyes flickered as a blue light flashed around her waist. The next second, her small body shot forward like an arrow, crashing into the thug's chest. Before he could react, her poisoned short blade plunged into his heart.
She tossed the thug's corpse aside and coldly turned her gaze to her final target.
"Wait! Money! I can give you lots of money! More than you can ever spend!"
The gentleman cried out, drenched in sweat.
Natsume didn't reply. She simply walked towards him with her bloodstained blade, her expression icy.
As she approached, the gentleman slowly backed away.
"As long as you serve me—no, as long as you spare me! The money is yours! What do you say?"
Natsume's response was a swift stab with her blade.
"Damn you!"
The gentleman raised his dagger in a final, desperate attempt, but Natsume easily deflected it, severing his arm in one swift motion.
The gentleman fell to the ground, his face pale as he begged for his life.
"Wait! You can't kill me, I'm—"
Before he could finish, Natsume's blade sliced across his throat.
Blood gushed out like a fountain, splattering onto Natsume's face, leaving a single drop beneath her eye. It looked like a crimson beauty mark, as captivating and deadly as a blooming red spider lily.
"Mission complete."
Natsume coldly uttered these words before her small body gradually blended into the air.
...
To prevent further disturbances, Ryou decided to temporarily station himself at Aragane.
With the current level of communication, any major event would be just a telegram away.
At that moment, as if sensing something, Ryou, without looking up from his documents, softly asked, "Is that you, Natsume?"
Swish!
Just as she had appeared, Natsume materialized out of thin air, kneeling before him on one knee.
"My lord, the mission is complete."
Noticing the blood on her, Ryou realized that she had come to report without even cleaning herself up.
"Well done."
Ryou praised her, reaching out to pat Natsume's head.
Her hair was smooth as if she could star in a shampoo commercial. It felt nice to touch, and he found himself enjoying the action more and more.
Natsume, who had been cold as a blade during the assassination, now squirmed uneasily under his touch, a faint blush creeping up her cheeks.
She lifted her gaze slightly, sneaking a peek at him.
"What's the matter, Natsume? Does it feel uncomfortable?"
Ryou asked knowingly.
"N-no... My lord, you're so mean~"
Natsume was about to deny it, but when she saw the playful smile on Ryou's face, she understood and blushed even more, looking slightly flustered.
At this moment, Natsume was no different from a twelve-year-old girl acting coy in front of her father, nothing like the cold-hearted ninja who had just killed five men without batting an eye.
To be honest, Ryou was surprised by Natsume's transformation.
When they first met, he thought she was just a typical loli.
Not foolish or innocent, but pure.
She was a pure ninja, someone who would obey her lord's orders and prioritize her mission above her own life.
In fact, during missions, Natsume was indeed just that—a pure ninja, despite being only a twelve-year-old girl.
Ryou, noticing the lack of an Assassin-type Servant with stealth and assassination skills among his ranks, saw great potential in Natsume.
The world of Kabaneri was a low-tier world, with the only extraordinary beings being the half-corpse, half-human Kabaneri. But Ryou had no interest in them; they offered little power for too much risk, and their growth potential was limited.
Whether it was becoming a creature like Kabaneri or activating some kind of ultimate ability like in the original story, neither path was particularly appealing to him.
So, Ryou came up with a compromise.
Having recently advanced his Primordial Runes to D-rank, which increased the number of combinations possible, he used the system to acquire materials and personally enchanted them with numerous rune combinations.
This allowed Natsume, despite being an ordinary person, to wield low tier-mystic code.
Thus, Natsume was given a palm-sized circular obsidian stone engraved with many Primordial Runes.
On it, Ryou inscribed invisibility, stealth, illusion, acceleration, and other traditional ninja techniques.
That's right—he wanted to cultivate a true ninja, not a magus masquerading as one.
Unexpectedly, after introducing Natsume to the world of mystery, he gained not only her loyalty but something more.
It was no longer just loyalty, but a complex mix of reverence, fervor, and faith.
It seemed this child had a troubled past as well.
No surprise there, considering she came from a genuine ninja clan.
In real history, ninjas were nothing like the fantasy versions; their world was much darker, filled with killing, betrayal, and bloodshed—a hellish existence.
What could be compared to it? Perhaps it was like rats struggling to survive in a sewer.