Cute Kunoichis:Volume2

Illustrations

• 

  Cover

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Prologue

Avoid the Tomb at all costs.

Life in Abashiri’s special prison is bad enough as it is, but being sent there is a death sentence.

“Hey, you still alive? Looks like they won’t have to amputate your feet to save you, but what are you trying to accomplish? Is a guy like you hoping to be a tragic heroine or something?”

When Sugiyado Souha smelled disinfectant alcohol, he realized he must be in the medical building.

He still could not feel anything below his ankles.

He used just his arms to grab at the metal pipe railing and sit up in the bed, eliciting an exasperated sigh from the old man seated next to the bed.

He recognized that prisoner.

That fellow prisoner.

“Boy, you were only just released from the medical building, yet here you are again. This is Abashiri. I thought I warned you to avoid the Tomb.”

“It’s not like I had a choice in the matter.”

“My point was to not get on the bad side of the guards.”

The Tomb was a solitary confinement cell used to punish prisoners who broke the rules. All heating was shut off in that inescapable room, but they apparently built a pathway for the icy air from outside to pass directly below the floor, so the walls and floor were so cold your skin would stick to them. If you carelessly tried to lie down, you would either get frostbite or freeze to death. The point was to keep the prisoner from getting any sleep by preventing them from lying on the floor or leaning against the walls.

But the old man did not make that big a deal out of it.

“Why would you intentionally antagonize the guards? With your skill, sneaking up to the person you want should be second nature to you.”

“…”

“Do you refuse to use those skills for personal reasons? That’s an impressive ideal, but it’s only required for people on active duty. It means nothing to us retried folks who had everything stripped from us before we were thrown in a cell here.”

Sugiyado sighed.

He wore a bright orange jumpsuit. His special fiber ninja outfit and tank-destroying air pressure kunais were a thing of the past.

“The doc said you have light frostbite. You got a long stay in the medical building when you arrived here with your legs broken, but that’s not happening this time. You’re here for a few days at most.”

“I am aware of that.”

“You need to make up your mind before you’re released again. No one’s going to praise you if you choose to accept needless punishment and no one’s going to blame you if take the easy way out. You weren’t given a death sentence, so enjoy your life here the best you can. If you don’t, you’ll lose your life for no good reason.”

The old man in an identical jumpsuit stood up from his chair and left the medical room.

(…)

Sugiyado sank into thought now that he was alone.

Kuhou Ouka.

Hanasawa Bara.

Nantou Hoozuki.

Shizukuma Asagao.

Those four kunoichis were his students.

As was Sagami Oniyuri.

He had needed to covertly end the incident that began with them stealing a modular nuclear reactor. He had just barely avoided the worst-case scenario, but that had required acting on his own in ways that qualified as betraying the Shogunate. He was not going to be pardoned. He had simply been paying the price needed to save those girls, so he was not at all unsatisfied with his current circumstances.

However.

(If I do eventually leave this place.)

He had been running with all his might.

But now that he had time to stop and reflect on things…

(Is there anything I want to do then? I’m honestly afraid that absolute freedom would feel like too much pressure.)

The silence of this place seemed to squeeze at his very soul. The emptiness sapped the heat from his core even more than the Tomb had.

He heard a gentle knock on the door and the master of this room walked in. During the previous incident, he had failed a makeshift parachute descent while carrying Oniyuri and ended up shattering both his legs. This middle-aged female doctor had been looking after him since then.

“Are you alone?”

“I had someone with me a moment ago.”

“That’s fine with me as long as they aren’t an uninvited guest. Now, let’s see how your legs are doing.”

He sat up and she circled toward his legs.

She pulled back the thin blanket that would have raised eyebrows in an ordinary home but was a luxury in Abashiri.

And Sugiyado Souha made an announcement without even looking her way.

“Bara, I know it’s you.”

He heard a sweet and bewitching breath of laughter.

“Oh, what a shame. I was hoping you were kind enough to go along with this farce of a honeymoon despite noticing.”

There was no noticeable transition.

“The next thing he knew” was the only way he could describe it.

The middle-aged woman with somewhat loose skin standing in front of him was now an 18-year-old girl with her long red hair worn in gorgeous ringlet curls and with her bright and curvy body adorned by an Oiran-style shoulder-baring kimono. She accentuated her large chest to a gratuitous extent, but she did not stop there. She retained an unnatural innocence at the center of that top-tier seduction, so she seemed second to none in the field of kunoichi sex appeal.

She was Hanasawa Bara.

A set of high-power coilguns known as Serpent Monster was woven into her hair and she excelled at disguises and diversions.

She held the position of Elite Ninja, the highest of the Shogunate’s officially acknowledged ranks.

And.

She was one of the students Sugiyado Souha had once trained over the internet.

“Why are you here?”

“Make no mistake here, Sensei. I did not come rushing in here because you had collapsed. We have been here from the beginning. That means Ouka and Hoozuki too.”

The bed springs creaked.

Bara had climbed up onto the bed on her arms and legs with a feline litheness. She was now straddling his legs while he sat up.

She rubbed against his chest and whispered to him.

“You look so lonely in here, so if there is anything at all you would like, just ask. It must be so boring in here with nothing but other men. Just say the word and I will show you the kunoichi techniques you had me trained in. I won’t hold anything back.”

He did not bat an eye as he responded.

“Do you really think that’s enough to distract me from the question of the real doctor’s wellbeing?”

“Now there’s a scary thought. But to give away the trick, it’s actually a shockingly peaceful way to take someone’s place.”

She looked like someone who had set up a major prank only for it to fail. The pouting lips were childish, but she was still up on the bed practically lying on top of her teacher.

Some beads of sweat must have soaked into her hair because a sweet aroma rose from those ringlet curls and her large chest.

“Sensei, when will you be coming back?”

“When my sentence is complete.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about. If you want, we could easily get you out of this boring place.”

“Bara.”

“So what method would you like? A complete set of documents with official Shogunate approval? Or do you just want to vanish from your cell in the middle of the night? We won’t force you to do anything. You allowed this power to blossom within us, so think of this as using what you left in our care. You only need to tell us the method you prefer.”

“Bara.”

He repeated her name but more forcefully this time.

The usual mixture of bewitching and mischievous child vanished from her face and she instead had the look of a girl fearing rejection.

“It is true I gave you the skills you need to get through life. I gave you what you need to take on the world’s cruelties and use them to your own benefit, but that wasn’t so I could use you as tools down the line.”

“…”

“You’ll do anything for me? Do I really need to repeat myself, Bara? I’m imprisoned here because of what I did to save you four after you let someone trick you into doing their bidding.”

“But…”

“You said you’re not the only one in here, right? Then pass my message onto them.”

He had to be clear about this one point.

He had left it more up in the air in the past and that had led to problems.

It might sound coldhearted.

It might trample on the feelings she was offering him.

But he could not compromise on this.

No matter what.

“This is my life, so please stop trying to take control for your own benefit.”

The frostbite was not that bad, so feeling returned to his feet after they were warmed. Once he could walk on his own again, he returned to the general prison.

That critical old man greeted him.

“You really are a dumbass, aren’t you? You were granted a stay in that ‘hotel’, so you should’ve thrown a fit until they let you at least stay the night.”

The walls were made of cold, heavy stone and the metal bars increased the oppressive atmosphere further. Abashiri’s special prison had a square cloister design with a central atrium up to the third floor. The cells on the outside walls had small (but bar-covered) windows, but the inner cells did not even have that. It was said a lot of prisoners had their psyche destroyed by the oppressive isolation more than the biting cold.

The Tomb that Sugiyado had been thrown into did not exist on the officially-released layout of the prison.

He could not be certain since he had been blindfolded and earplugged, but he was pretty sure it was located even further in than the inner cells.

“Your cell is just the way you left it. If they thought you would die from that, the other prisoners would have rushed in to pilfer your stuff.”

“I didn’t bring anything much with me.”

“You moron, a struggle over a single wire can lead to a death here. Even though no one actually has the guts to try a serious jailbreak or to attack a guard.”

The old man in the standardized jumpsuit was pushing a mop along the floor, but he usually stayed in the medical building. He was part of the privileged class who were cut off from this miniature version of the criminal underworld and were actually given comfortable rooms and nutritious food. In exchange, they were supposedly isolated in a padded room and not allowed to use the exercise area or pool, but that did not seem to be the case with him. He freely moved between the prison and the medical building, getting the best of both worlds.

Simply put, he was a model prisoner.

He did not cause the guards any trouble and he did not influence the power balance among the prisoners. He was not just well behaved. He would have been chewed up and spat out if that were the case. People seemed to ignore him like the weeds on the side of the road, but he had actually discovered a safe zone where no one ever actually trod.

And despite being a model prisoner, he never received any visitors.

He had the same scent as Sugiyado.

He was hiding some kind of skill. Instead of lying in wait for the perfect moment to strike, it felt like hiding his skill was simply second nature to him. Sugiyado had no intention of asking about the man’s identity, but the man had the dampness of a shady area that never saw the light of the sun. And this was the professional kind of dampness that silently ruined the enemy army’s powder.

“What’s your plan?” asked the old man while using the mop to prop himself up.

“For what?”

“You aren’t going to antagonize the guards and get yourself thrown into the Tomb twice in one day again, are you? Like I said in the medical building, you have a good enough eye to easily curry the favor of the VIPs without drawing the attention of the fine gentlemen with back tattoos.”

“…”

“You wouldn’t have given up the comfort of the medical building if you weren’t planning to reach a compromise with this building’s rules, right? Then think about how you should behave. There are only two ways to survive in here: rely on the guards who love wielding power over the rest of us, or find a place for yourself in the marble pattern of underworld territories the prisoners have created. My guess is you’re innocent yourself, boy. Although you also don’t seem the type to abandon all your techniques for someone who has done something wrong.”

The old man was right.

To survive here, you had to learn the rules and make sure you never stepped out of line.

Sugiyado had failed to do that because he had no vision for his future.

He did not know what kind of life he wanted to live.

“You don’t need to bottle it up inside.” The old man sounded carefree. “Save that restraint and patience for when you’re on a job. Now that you’re behind bars, you’ve been freed from that burden. You’re free here, so you don’t have to stubbornly carry all of that baggage with you.”

“…”

“Enjoy your sentence. You might have fallen into the filth at the depths of the earth, but it’s your life to live.”

The general cells were shared by two to four prisoners each. The solitary confinement cells might sound more comfortable since you had it to yourself, but that kind of isolation for days on end was enough to break even the bodyguards who served criminal organizations. The size of the rooms was identical, but these cells were very different from a student apartment where manga and your phone were within arm’s reach.

Sugiyado was lying on the thin mattress sitting on the floor of a solitary confinement cell.

And then…

“Sensei.”

“…”

“I know you heard that. Answer me.”

He slowly sighed.

There did not appear to be any gaps at all between the bricks of the thick walls, but one of the blocks was pulled out from the other side.

“You too, Asagao? The four of you are the Shogunate’s trump cards, so what are you doing here?”

Would anyone have believed him if he said an 11-year-old girl had broken into his cell?

Abashiri was the Shogunate’s maximum security prison, so if she had worked out a viable jailbreak route and reported it to the Shogunate, she would have been immediately recruited to some important position. Yet if Sugiyado went to the guards and said there was a girl in his cell’s wall, they would assume he had completely lost it and finally send him to the medical building for good.

“At our level, we’re allowed some selfish actions. Although I feel like they had some greater purpose for sending us Elite Ninjas to this northern land. Moving us here as game pieces has put someone in check.”

“…”

“Sensei, if you keep ignoring me, I’ll have to take drastic measures. For example, I brought you some Happy Churn, but I might just eat it all myself while you can only helplessly watch on.”

That one shook his resolve pretty bad, but he was her instructor. He could not set a bad example for his student.

“Crunch, crunch. Hm, I should have brought a drink.”

“Wait, no, Asagao! Please stop! That sound…that smell…”

“These things are a real pain to eat. Your fingers get all sticky no matter where you touch them. Wipe, wipe. How are you supposed to eat them, Sensei?”

“Don’t just wipe off your fingers! Licking off that tasty powder is one of the best parts!!”

Most likely, the Shogunate had not sent Asagao and the others to the Hokkaido Area because they were needed there. Instead, they must have known those four would be going there anyway, so they decided to find a way to make it useful.

“Hey, Sensei,” said Asagao through the wall. “Don’t you want to hear about the new order in Edo?”

“It’s none of my concern. I’m just a prisoner.”

“Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch.”

“Nhhhhhh!!!!!!”

“Here, you like licking off the powder, right? Well, it’s all over my fingers, so have at it. Nee hee hee. Don’t you want some of that Happy Churn flavor?”

The girl’s small hand poked out from the hole in the wall and tempted the ninja like a sea anemone.

It was time for Sugiyado Souha to be a man by biting his lip and resisting.

Asagao must not have understood just how psychologically painful this torture was, but he was starting to hallucinate Happy Churns floating around his cell.

“Well, I’m not going to force anything onto you like Bara and Ouka want to. You can do things your way and I’ll just come pay you a visit whenever I’m feeling lonely.”

“That isn’t how this works.”

“Hey, I’m showing restraint here. The others are being far less reasonable.” He saw her round eye wink through the dark hole in the wall. “More importantly, Sensei, you’ve found a pretty impressive friend in here, haven’t you? The way that old man carries himself is weird.”

“He’s probably from the same world as us. There are plenty of paths to being a ninja. Some are bandits or pirates given government approval, some are miners hired for their tunnel digging skills, some are swordsmen who were kicked out of their school for breaking the rules, some are firework makers who know how to handle explosives, and some are special forces specifically trained by the Inner Palace or the Shogunate. He’s probably one of the varieties we’re less familiar with.”

“What’s your guess?”

“Song.”

It was not clear what he meant from that word alone, but Asagao responded with the tone of someone trying to decide on a skirt color in the fitting room.

“Hmm, I know what you mean, but I don’t think that’s quite it. He seems more like me.”

11-year-old Asagao was not suited for direct combat and she was never meant to battle the armored samurai who had become absurd collections of weapons with mechanized armor irreversibly fused to their bodies. She had learned to make use of other skills instead: infiltration, disturbance tactics, morale reduction, forensics, and even cyber attacks. You could say she had mastered every form of information warfare.

That little monster whispered quietly from the hole in the bricks.

“Don’t let him affect you too much, Sensei. In some ways, a lonely old man inspires protective instincts even more so than a lost child or abandoned kitten. I use my position as a child as a weapon and he’s clearly butting in on my territory. We know he isn’t just an ordinary old man, so who knows what he’ll inject you with if you let your guard down. It won’t hurt to remain cautious at all times.”

“Asagao.”

“No, you’re the one that needs a lecture right now. Do not forget that the top of the Shogunate, for whatever reason, allowed us to visit Abashiri. That’s four Elite Ninjas. Not ordinary foot soldiers and not their armored samurai; the best of their ninjas who specialize in solving problems that cannot come to light. There must be something more going on here. Something serious enough to grant us our selfish request if it would place some of their strongest pieces on the board to keep an eye on things.”

“…”

“And the most important thing to remember here is that I, our expert in all things information warfare, have come all the way here yet I still haven’t discovered what that something is. We’re talking about expert level camouflage here, so isn’t it reasonable to keep an eye on every fellow ninja you’ve seen here, Sensei?”

Prisons were home to many different plans and interests.

Godfathers who ran a giant organization from behind bars, gold-egg-laying geese who had placed themselves behind bars for their own safety, ‘hotel workers’ who made sure they could work from the inside to create a comfortable place for any of their organization’s people who ended up behind bars – and who would make sure those people did not spill the beans about anything important – and more.

If those were like shining suns, then there were also plenty of planets revolving around them because they either wanted to help those suns escape from the prison or who wanted to kill them.

A prison was a clockwork device made from a complex arrangement of countless gears. Everything had a large or a small role in someone’s plans and anyone who failed to pick up on that when they arrived would be cast out of the giant device as a faulty part. Everything had a role because everything that did not was removed to trim the fat.

Prisons were meant to rehabilitate people so they could return to society, but the exact opposite tended to happen. Even an amateur pickpocket would become immersed in the rules of the criminal underworld after spending just a month there. Because there was no escape and they could not survive otherwise.

“I hear you got thrown in the Tomb again. That’s supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime sorta punishment, but you’ve made yourself into a damn regular.”

In the cafeteria, the model prisoner of an old man spoke to Sugiyado in obvious exasperation.

The food was hard bread and bean soup. It was only meant to provide the bare minimum of sustenance needed to stay alive. The bread was too hard to bite through unless it was soaked in the soup first.

Sugiyado ate his meal in silence, so the old man sighed across from him.

“The guards are actually starting to panic, you know? They’ve used the Tomb so often this month your absence on the paperwork is looking pretty noticeable. If they get hit with a surprise inspection from Central right now, a whole buncha illegal practices might come to light and they don’t want that.”

“See, I’m helping.”

“Good grief. You really are a ninja through and through, boy. This prison is a public institution managed by the Shogunate. Did your love of justice and public service get the better of you when you saw how corrupt the government workers here are?”

Sugiyado did not give a clear answer.

He simply let the bland bean soup soak into a piece of bread he tore off.

“You’re not doing a great job of keeping a low profile either, old man. Hanging around me is only going to cost you points.”

“Probably so, but to hell with it. No one ever comes to visit me, so I’m bored out of my mind. Life is nothing without a little excitement.”

“…”

“Sorry if you don’t like it, but every kid your age reminds me of my grandson. I thought I did a decent job of looking after him once my son and his wife disappeared, but that little bastard hasn’t come to see me even once after I was cuffed.”

A prison was a giant clockwork device made from a complex arrangement of countless gears, but that also meant driving a single wedge into a choice location could bring the entire thing to a halt. They had tried their best to remove any obstacles like that, but Sugiyado Souha was different. The risk he posed could not be measured based on how hard he was, so he could not be destroyed just by blindly applying force from the outside.

A wild rampage was not the only way to take action.

Intentionally taking an inferior position could sometimes work to express yourself in a way that shook an institution to the very foundation.

The old man seemed to understand that.

“But be careful. Even the scum they hire as guards have families. When they’re in a bind, they’ll all of a sudden remember what it means to be righteous. People like that will escalate things endlessly if it will protect something they care about and don’t forget that you are the one who is threatening that something. So be careful. If they panic, who knows how far they’ll go to cover up what they’ve done.”

“Sugiyado,” called a deep voice.

Sugiyado looked back from his chair and saw two large guards walking across the cafeteria toward him.

“#1090, Sugiyado Souha! We need to discuss your lifestyle. Come with us!!”

That was the least specific topic of discussion Sugiyado had ever heard. They could try to detain a Martian using that one. The old man quietly moved away from the boy while leaving some advice in his ear.

“What did I tell you? They’re here to silence you. Sending you to the comfortable medical building was meant to placate you. Since that failed, they’re going to try threats and violence. Tread very carefully.”

They tugged on his arm to force him up from the chair. They did not care in the slightest that he still had more than half his paltry meal left. Then they shoved on his back to get him moving toward the cafeteria’s exit.

A moment later, a loud explosion and shockwave shook the room.

Since one of the walls had crumbled, dust filled the cafeteria much like a cumulonimbus cloud. The shockwave slammed into Sugiyado’s back, so he was thrown to the floor along with the two guards.

(An explosion!?)

It had not been aimed at him.

It had come from behind. Someone, either from the outside or inside, had broken through the cafeteria wall. He could hear a lot of yelling and shouting over the loud ringing in his ears. Order had entirely collapsed. No one was following the rules set up by the jailed godfathers and the prisoners.

“Ow.”

He heard an almost childish voice from right next to him.

The guard had collapsed onto his side and was curled up on the floor.

There was also something wrong with his silhouette, especially at the arm.

“Ahhh, it hurts.”

“A table leg flew over and hit you, didn’t it? Let me see your coat and baton. I’ll use those for a makeshift splint, so don’t move. You won’t die of shock as long as you don’t move the broken bone around too much, so you can still survive this. This is all I can do for you.”

“No, wait. Don’t leave me behind. I’ll do anything…anything.”

Sugiyado did not have time for anything more.

He heard something whoosh through the air.

“Kh.”

The dust kept him from seeing anything at all, but he still moved. He swung his head to the side to dodge the glint of a blade and then pulled the plastic radio from the collapsed guard’s hip. He aimed the bottom of that at the assassin and slammed it into their hipbone, which was the most difficult spot to dodge.

“Gyah!?”

Bone and nerve pain were unique, so training was not enough to build up a resistance. The person hopped up like they had been hit by a stun gun and Sugiyado used that opening to sweep their feet out from under them, sending their back slamming into the hard floor. He doubted a pro would be acting alone, so he stole the weapon form the dazed masked assassin’s hand, instantly assessed its heft, reach, and balance, and then swung it horizontally. Another enemy stepped forward to help their fallen friend, so the blow caught them more on the side of the neck than the face, knocking over their entire body.

Once both had been taken out, Sugiyado looked down at the weapon he held.

It was neither a sword nor a gun.

(A collapsible shovel?)

“Sensei!”

He gave another horizontal swing of the shovel, but stopped partway through.

The next person to appear through the thick cloud of dust was a middle-school-aged girl with her long chestnut hair worn in twintails. She made no attempt to hide her cutting-edge ninja outfit or her vertically-stacked double-barrel hunting gun called Midnight Tempest.

“Ouka? Just to be sure, you aren’t here on a Shogunate mission, are you?”

“Well, um, no. I’m not.”

This was Abashiri’s special prison which boasted the Shogunate’s best security, but it turned out his students and some other group of ninjas had infiltrated the place.

“Understood. Don’t worry about me. I can handle myself. Your gun would leave signs of your presence too easily, so you stay put and-”

“No, that’s not my point. Sensei, uh, over there.”

She did not seem quite sure what to say, like a scolded child desperately trying to calm their parent’s anger.

Then Sugiyado noticed it too.

The initial explosion had occurred behind the boy while he was leaving the cafeteria and it had not been targeting him. The later attack on him must have been a chance encounter in order to eliminate the unexpected pro who happened to be in the combat area.

So.

Who had been the true target of these people who had gone as far as using explosives to force their way into the Shogunate’s max security special prison?

“Old man.”

Asagao had said he was not just an ordinary old man.

Sugiyado himself had thought the man was from a different branch of ninjas.

“Old man!!”

He parted the dust to search for the old man and found a figure collapsed on the floor along with the splintered table and chairs. The old man in a prison jumpsuit was lying face up and a well-forged piece of steel glittered where it was buried deep into his chest and gut.

“A cross shuriken? And it’s been given a rough-skinned surface.”

Just like how racing swimsuits eliminated resistance in the water, the texture of a projectile’s surface could greatly alter its speed and trajectory.

However…

“Ha…ha ha. Killed by a ninja weapon I created myself. Oh, the irony.”

The old man apparently lacked the strength to even hold a hand to his wound.

Ouka crouched down to inspect him and then looked back at Sugiyado with a complicated look on her face. She apparently had enough tact to not actually shake her head right in front of the dying old man.

“But that’s not so big a deal. The inventors of deadly tools for torture or execution are often killed by their own creations, so that I can bear. But it’s more than that.”

“…”

“Curse that brat. This explains why he hasn’t even sent me a letter. He must have gotten himself caught up in some kinda trouble. …I made this shuriken for my grandson, you see.”

Ouka gasped.

If she thought this meant he had been killed by his own blood relative, she still had some learning to do.

A ninja never left any evidence behind. Throwing a shuriken and leaving it was an absolute last resort much like scattering caltrops, so it was only done when you were losing. In this one-sided surprise attack using explosives, the attacker had held an overwhelming advantage, so it was hard to imagine they would rely on this kind of “last resort” from the get-go. There were ninjas like Hoozuki that favored shurikens, but he made sure she always kept track of how many she had launched and where she had launched them. That was of course so she could collect them later on. It was unthinkable to just leave one conspicuously stabbed into your primary target like this.

Which left only one possibility.

“Old man, do you have any idea who would have left this ‘business card’? That is, who would want to frame your grandson for killing you!? He’ll be in serious trouble at this rate!!”

“Don’t get involved.”

However.

The old man found the words even as his breathing grew shallow.

“Boy, your life is yours to live. Use your skill for yourself. Don’t worry. My grandson’s a ninja too. He only ran away because the boring work of an underworld craftsman wasn’t for him. He lives in this world of constant deception as much you or me, so no matter what might happen, this isn’t any of your business.”

“I owe you for all the help you gave me here. I can’t leave that debt unpaid.”

“…”

“Don’t you want to do something for your grandson? You clearly care about him enough to use your specialized skills to make a weapon for him even after he abandoned the family business, so tell me what I can do! Tell me!!”

“Sapporo. New Sapporo Domain.”

He could barely get the words out.

In the very end, this was all Sugiyado managed to get out of him.

“Take care of that kid.”

Those were his final words.

But his death was not met by silence.

Several more explosions occurred elsewhere and fires were blazing. The attackers were likely spreading the damage across the prison so it was harder to tell who they had been after. That meant this violence was entirely meaningless.

Sugiyado could hear the roar of flames consuming oxygen drawing closer.

First he saw black smoke, then the firefly-like embers, and finally heat and flames bursting in through the exit.

“Sensei!!”

All of this would be blamed on the old man’s grandson.

The tool so carefully crafted to protect that boy’s life would be used as evidence to frame him.

It was like spitting in the face of the already dead man.

“We need to get out of here. Stay here and you can’t save anyone!!”

“Ouka, I can’t do that. I was given a guilty verdict, so I will leave this information with you four. I’ll search out any connections I can find from within the prison. Yes, I can see if anyone was surreptitiously taken to an unnatural safe zone just before the explosions.”

“During a natural disaster, all the cells are unlocked and the prisoners are temporarily freed to keep them alive. So!!”

His student took drastic measures.

She spread her arms in front of him as if preparing to raise them in a cheer, but then she climbed on top of him.

He did not have time to feel the girly warmth and softness of her skin.

His spine felt funny at 5kg and exploded with pain at 10kg.

“Gah!!!???”

“Sorry, Sensei, but we’re going!!”

To make up for an old injury, he had bolts in his spine and springs to replace the ligaments in his legs, so he now felt excruciating pain and had trouble breathing whenever he was burdened with too great a weight.

While he convulsed on the floor like he had been hit in the back with a stun gun, the Elite Ninja kunoichi lifted him up over her shoulder and easily parted the black smoke to reach the exit.

A panicked scene opened up before their eyes, but Ouka used the veil of smoke to hide her conspicuous appearance and left the thick concrete building without anyone spotting her.

No.

She did more than that.

“Pant, pant.”

When the twintailed girl finally lowered her instructor in exhaustion, they were not even in the outdoor exercise area.

They were outside the tall wall surrounding the entire prison grounds.

“Ouka.”

“Every day since you were imprisoned, it’s felt wrong to me that someone like you is trapped in there.”

She wiped the sweat from her brow and gave him a mischievous smile.

Annoyingly enough, she had not planned this and had simply taken advantage of the situation. Anyone who did not know better might have suspected she caused the explosions herself.

She really was a ninja.

And Sugiyado Souha had no one to blame but himself since he had trained her to be like this.

“But now you’re a free man, Sensei. They have a hard enough time confirming identities at the scenes of ordinary fires and Abashiri holds a ridiculous number of people since it’s the country’s largest special prison. It’ll take the guards a while to notice you’re missing.”

“Is that so?”

“Asagao can make you a new ID, so you can go wherever you want.”

He let out a gentle sigh.

The time had come to switch his train of thought as a ninja.

“If I’m free, then I’m free to do whatever I want. Even if that means getting to the bottom of this incident and taking revenge on that old man’s behalf.”

“Um, uh.”

Ouka sounded hesitant. She must have only now realized that life in that prison had not been pure misery for Sugiyado. She had only made up her mind after the explosion, but she had still taken advantage of it. With four Elite Ninjas there, couldn’t they have detected the attack in advance? Couldn’t they have stopped it if they had not been so focused on their own desires? She was probably afraid he would get after her for that reason.

But she was wrong.

In the end, it was Sugiyado’s fault the old man had died. He had been by his side all that time and the old man had helped him out in so many ways. He had spoken with the man so often, so if he had only asked, he may have been able to learn more about the old man’s situation. Even if that meant using his ninja conversational and negotiation skills to tear down the man’s mental barriers. Then he could have been ready for the attack when it came.

But he had not wanted to apply such cold logic and quantification to someone he considered a friend. That was the only reason he had not done that.

In the end, it had all been Sugiyado Souha’s decision.

He had the skills necessary, but he had chosen not to use them.

“Old man.”

The old man had told him not to get involved.

It was Sugiyado who had convinced him to make that final request concerning his grandson, so he could not pretend he had not heard it.

So.

Sugiyado Souha shut his eyes and called up his memory of the old man’s corpse left behind at the scene of the fire. Specifically, he recalled the nametag on the man’s prison jumpsuit.

Murakami Shouzou.

That strongest of ninjas, who had surpassed even the rank of Elite Ninja, opened his eyes with renewed resolve.

“A Hidden One is on the case, so you can rest in peace.”

Chapter 1

1: New Sapporo Domain

White snow was falling, but the sky above was blue and the sun was shining bright.

“…”

Sugiyado Souha pushed up his scarf a bit in the back seat of the off-road motorcycle called Countless Calamities. This slow-melting artificial snow was a type of environmental defensive policy. Its chill felt more like a mist shower than air conditioning when it hit his skin.

He wore a thin short-sleeved dress shirt over a black long-sleeved shirt plus baggy pants. And more to remain inconspicuous than to fight the cold, he wore a scarf around his neck and a soft down jacket.

Dressing heavily and carrying ample equipment was not always a plus for a ninja.

Especially in Sugiyado’s case since he had springs to replace the ligaments in his legs and bolts in his spine.

At 5kg, his back would feel funny. At 10kg, it would explode with pain.

That meant a single jacket could be a serious drain on his life. Carrying a lifeline or a first-aid kit would mean not carrying some other piece of equipment.

“The northernmost Wakkanai Domain has officially announced their intention to reinforce the Karafuto Route as a new Dejima. They hope to expand their role as a friendly economic contact point with the Cyrillic Empire and…”

“The Insightful Databank Thinktank has used their official social media account to indicate a problem with New Sapporo Domain’s power consumption, so Princess Karin, the Domain’s substitute ruler, has announced their intentions to spend more on renewable energy so that…”

“Hakodate Domain, the Hokkaido Area’s main contact point with Honshu, is concerned about a recent increase in petty crime by motorcycle travelers and they are considering increasing the lodging tax to drive down the number of tourists who…”

“Hoozuki.”

“Oh, sorry. If there’s a channel you want to watch, just say so, Sensei.”

Silver ponytail Hoozuki glanced into the back seat through the mirror while holding the off-road motorcycle’s handlebars and also lowering the volume of the 1seg TV app on the phone attached to the holder. Her ninja outfit was composed of a one-piece swimsuit, a number of synthetic belts, and wide-legged pants, so it looked a lot like a riding suit. The back was left wide open, so it was kind of embarrassing having to hold onto her from behind. Even though her entire body was covered by a thin, flesh-colored elastic material much like a figure skater.

“It would take less than an hour to get from one side of the Hokkaido Area to the other if we could only use their underground linear motor train.”

“That doesn’t do us any good when the entire train line was decommissioned in the name of defense. And don’t drive so fast, Hoozuki. We aren’t in that much of a hurry.”

The Hokkaido Area was currently divided into six domains.

The most urban of those was New Sapporo Domain. Unlike New Yokohama Domain where Sugiyado Souha had lived previously, it was surrounded by flat land in all directions and the primary roads were laid out on a grid by thorough urban planning. It had a population of 4.5 million. The central commerce and industry district covered a square of about 15km and farms too large to seem possible in Japan stretched out from there. Seeing it in person made it clear why this was the only place in the country to use airplanes to sow their crops’ seeds.

All of the Four Occupations could be found here: samurai, farmers, artisans, and merchants.

And even if they did get a lot of snow here, it was not the worst part of Japan in that regard, so it was not enough to bury a home. Thus, they were slower to invest in snow melting pipes and food supply shelters when compared to the Sea of Japan side of Honshu.

That was also why they could afford to use that unnatural artificial snow.

While not on the level of barbed wire or trenches, deep snow functioned as an obstacle to the feet of soldiers and the wheels of trucks. By intentionally creating areas of sludge, they could slow an enemy’s advance without pouring much effort into it themselves.

On the news, they often discussed meeting with other countries over a meal or establishing appeasement policies, but the truth was that outside forces were constantly trying to get at this locked-down country’s cutting-edge technology.

Due to the presence of the Karafuto Route and the Nakhodka Route, New Sapporo Domain functioned as a fortress defending Honshu from an invasion by the Empire. It was thought the battle would be fought in the Hokkaido Area since it was one of the archipelago’s vastest areas of land, so a lot of large weapons had been deployed outside the capital, including the armored samurai who were an inseparable fusion of human and machine.

The underground linear motor train mentioned before had been decommissioned because it was thought a network of tunnels connecting different points on the island would defeat the purpose of a defensive line on the surface. The tunnels had been reported filled with concrete.

Conflict with the Empire that ruled the Cyrillic region of the world was in a lull, but there was still a possibility of clashing with Eastern Europe just like they were at odds with Western Europe, North America, and South America. Two massive “metal bridges” extended diagonally up from the center of the giant farm, pointing outwards, in order to protect the Chitose Defense Airport which functioned as an airbase and a civilian airport. Needless to say, those “bridges” were in fact strategic antiaircraft lasers that were thought capable of intercepting ballistic missiles.

Some would find them reassuring, others would lament the fact that they were necessary to sleep at night.

“Hm, hm, hm, hm, hm, hmm.”

The girl with her long silver hair in a ponytail hummed to herself while climbing down from the off-road motorcycle she had parked on the curb. One’s skintight ninja outfit was generally meant to be hidden, but hers looked so much like a riding suit that she blended in without wearing much of anything over it.

The down jacket boy gave her a curious look as he set foot on the ground behind her.

“What has you in such a good mood, Hoozuki?”

“Nothing really. It’s just been too long since we’ve done this. …You could call this a secret date we can’t afford to let anyone find out about, couldn’t you? That’s my idea of a fun time. It’s what the kunoichi life is all about!”

“?”

“Hm, hm, hmm☆”

At any rate, they had made it into Sapporo.

Sugiyado was playing this by ear. He had to solve whatever problems Murakami Shouzou had been facing and save the grandson that old man had been so worried about as he died.

Sugiyado patted his down jacket to confirm the presence of the special ninja tools he had hidden in the sleeves and back of his short-sleeved dress shirt. Those tools were air-pressure kunais that used nitrogen gas and the same concept as the tools that forced open crushed car doors. When the blade was opened up like a U-shaped tuning fork, they could even pry open a tank’s hatch. His equipment had been provided by his students.

“Sensei.”

Ouka and Asagao must have used a domestic flight because they had arrived earlier and were waving to the two new arrivals. Ouka was of course not wearing her cutting-edge ninja outfit in this crowd.

She was smiling over at him with chestnut twintails, a fluffy sweater, and a miniskirt (which she considered to be her killer outfit!!).

“We have prepared some hideouts and a full set of equipment in each. We set up four bases in total, so use whichever one is most convenient at any given time.”

“Four,” groaned Sugiyado, eliciting a laugh from Asagao, the bob cut girl in a white military uniform with baggy sleeves and a short skirt. (She apparently did not care that she was wearing her ninja outfit in public.)

“Don’t worry about which one you choose, Sensei. But if you never use one of the bases, the girl who set it up might just go cry in secret.”

That was not what he wanted to hear.

He recalled that standard practice with kunoichis was to always meet with them one-on-one when receiving a report on their spying duties. Because the possibility of jealousy-fueled conflict between the kunoichis was too high otherwise.

Ouka and Asagao began whispering to each other.

“(This is what I call paradise. A teacher and his student on a secret date in a romantic northern city? How can I not get excited about that? I hope we end up working together like this forever!)”

“(I know, Ouka. And his obligations here are entirely tied to that old man from the prison. Once he’s done with that, we’re free to start on our new harem life. With four of the Shogunate’s strongest kunoichis working at it, we’re bound to trap him in a sea of sex appeal this time.)”

He called out to those two to cut that extremely dangerous conversation short.

“Let’s review.”

He had gone to the effort of dismounting Hoozuki’s motorcycle. They already knew their destination, but it was important to share all basic information first. Think of it like syncing everyone’s clocks before a mission. It could not hurt to repeat yourself.

“Murakami Shouzou was probably a ninja who worked as a weapon craftsman within New Sapporo Domain. And someone wanted to eliminate him badly enough to attack Abashiri, the most secure prison in the country. They even used his own grandson’s shuriken to frame that relative for the crime.”

“We still haven’t managed to work out the identity of the ninjas you defeated, Sensei.” Ouka lightly waved her phone with a troubled look on her face. She must have had some kind of video saved on there. “They probably aren’t officially registered like we are. Calling them non-primary personnel sounds nice and all, but it looks more like local thugs were given government equipment and made to fight. That couldn’t have been meant to last long, so they were effectively made to be disposable.”

“Tch. And I bet the recruited soldiers had their fear stripped from them by showering them with praise about being the chosen few or the ultra elite or something,” spat out the black bob cut girl in a white military uniform.

That said, Abashiri was a max security special prison.

The average thug off the street could not break in without considerable help. Someone else must have led them in the attack. Everyone else had really just been meant as a smokescreen in case of a counterattack. Human lives had been spent like the chaff or flares used to divert missiles.

“What school?” asked Sugiyado.

“The Hole.”

Sugiyado had made the same judgment based on the collapsible shovel held by one of the assassins who attacked the old man.

Ouka gave a blunt response.

“Based on their equipment and muscle tone, they appear to be a school derived from miners. They excel at constructing infiltration routes by digging tunnels, using special ninja tools based off of shovels and pickaxes, and extreme close-quarters combat in closed and dark locations. They are probably also explosives specialists.”

That might sound reasonable enough when hearing it all rattled off at once like that, but “closed spaces” and “explosives” did not go together. Normally, combining the two would also kill the user with the blast, shockwave, and rapid pressure change. Forcibly making it work suggested these people preferred fairly acrobatic strategies.

They must have dug a tunnel to secretly enter the Abashiri special prison. That too was not something you could accomplish simply by handing the necessary tools to some thugs.

So he knew what they had to do next.

“We need to figure out who was leading them,” he said. “They must be near the top of the Shogunate hierarchy. They have to be at least on the level of a High Ninja, so they should be registered as such.”

Ninjas were intelligence agents and spies for the Shogunate, so they were public servants. Any ninja living in this city would have their information on the classified server of the castle at the center of New Sapporo Domain.

But…

“I couldn’t find anything. And I doubt any further searching will do much better. Ta ha ha.”

“…”

Ouka let out some bitter laughter, but she did continue.

Success and failure were simply things that had happened. Hesitating to report something or trying to lie about it to save face would break the thread of trust binding them.

“Instead of the data we want not existing on the classified server, it was more like the server we were accessing wasn’t really the one at the center of New Sapporo Castle.”

Asagao, their computer whiz, began hopping up and down as she provided further information.

“From what I could see through the screen, it did look just like New Sapporo Castle’s official databank, but it probably wasn’t. All the communication lines heading toward the center of the castle were diverted to the side along the way. The server sends and receives 10s of millions of requests every single day, but I doubt a single person is actually accessing the real one.”

In other words…

Silver ponytail Hoozuki stated their conclusion in an exasperated sort of way.

“The castle at the center of New Sapporo Domain has either been entirely isolated or occupied and it may have already been destroyed on the inside. And in a way that leaves no one the wiser in an age when countless cameras are constantly providing content for online videos and social media articles. This is a highly unusual situation.”

“Bara is off using her own methods to pursue the identity of whoever they had leading that attack, but the more sources we have, the better. And I’m also curious who our enemy is and what’s going on inside that castle.”

Sugiyado and the girls would normally have viewed these unknown ninjas as the force working to protect New Sapporo Domain. To reiterate, ninjas were a special sort of public servant. To claim that title, they had to be serving someone in that region. But that was also why they would not have needed to create a special route in if they were planning an armed uprising.

They would only have to turn 180 degrees around and aim their blade or gun toward the person they were meant to protect.

“Now, then.”

They had reviewed the basic information.

They all had an accurate understanding of it all. There were no discrepancies there.

Sugiyado Souha, the modern ninja who hid his silhouette with a down jacket and his lower face with a scarf, came to a stop and let out a gentle breath while looking up at a towering building.

“Let’s go see for ourselves what’s going on inside the actual castle.”

2: The Princess’s Castle

New Sapporo Domain was divided into a grid of districts like a Go board and one public facility took up four full blocks.

That facility was New Sapporo Castle.

“(Wow, check this out, Ouka. That’s the famous date spot they mention in all the guidebooks and tourism sites!)”

“(I know. They say any couple that has their first date there is guaranteed a long life of happiness together!)”

Asagao and Ouka were doing a poor job of hiding their excitement, but Sugiyado decided not to say anything since it made them look more like ordinary tourists.

They were on the walking path surrounding the castle outside its moat.

Everything in New Sapporo Domain was divided into those blocky districts, but this impregnable castle alone formed a perfect circle surrounded by a circular moat. The castle’s stone walls and tower had a Japanese design, but it also had some stone barracks extending flatly out from it, giving it a mixed Japanese and Western look.

The castle was located in the middle of a populous metropolis, yet four artillery emplacements had been built on the inside of the moat to aim outwards. All four were equipped with a large-caliber swiveling railgun.

The only ways to access the castle were the one bridge across the moat and the three piers. All four of those access points had a cannon keeping an eye on things.

With a population of 4.5 million, New Sapporo Domain was the largest metropolis of the Hokkaido Area, but it was also a giant military base and constant battlefield due to the over 25 years since it declared a quasi-war with the Cyrillic Empire and other nations. It was hard to imagine when seeing the colorful lights and the happy couples, but the slow-melting artificial snow that would continue accumulating even at average temperatures was a type of environmental defense policy. If a suspicious person or vehicle were approaching, the domain’s ruler would fire those cannons without even considering what would happen to the connecting bridge or the city on the other side of the moat. Sugiyado glanced over at the water past the railing.

“A moat, huh?”

“Normally, we could pay them an official visit as Elite Ninjas or, if they weren’t willing to receive us, use fake IDs to disguise ourselves as tourists or government officials.”

That sighing response to their teacher’s comment came from 11-year-old Asagao.

White snow was still falling around them, but it was all artificial snow meant to construct an environmental barrier against an attack. The actual temperature was warm enough for short sleeves and the moat was at no risk of freezing into a giant skating rink.

They slowly walked around the moat and passed by some other groups of cheerful tourists. While remaining cautious of those tourists’ phone cameras, of course.

“Since we don’t know what’s going on inside, we can’t know what changes have been made to their security,” said Hoozuki to keep the conversation going. “Crossing the moat on the bridge or by boat would be too risky. If we’re found out, we’d be torn to pieces by a 900mm rapid-fire railgun, Sensei.”

“The railguns are how you really know you’re in the Hokkaido Area. On Honshu, they use ship’s guns. They would never use stationary weapons in a big city.”

“Bara wasn’t happy about this. Her Serpent Monster uses solenoid coils that she simplified for portability, so they count as technologically-inferior coilguns.”

As a gadget lover herself, the silver ponytail girl must have understood the feeling she was describing.

At any rate, they had to get across that moat.

A moat was an ancient and very basic defense, but that was also why it was so effective. Physically cutting off all routes in in all 360 degrees made it very difficult to sneak in.

Extremely small Asagao gave a cruel laugh in her white military uniform with baggy sleeves and a short skirt.

“Keh keh keh. How about we put on some mizugumo to glide right on over? Or we could dive underwater with a bamboo tube in our mouths to swim over on our backs like otters.”

“That moat is bound to be filled with a liquid sensor using electrolytes. Simply put, if you so much as stick your fingertip in the water, they can sense something is amiss due to the change in electric potential. The bottom of the moat has to be covered in a ton of electrodes. The turtles and koi that live in the water will be ignored, but anything deemed to be hostile will get zapped by 5 million volts. And that’s 5 million volts while in the water.”

Even the famously deadly electric eel only provided a voltage of around 600 volts. However, the three students did not look at all surprised to hear their instructor’s lecture. This moat was used to protect a castle, so of course it would have defenses like that.

Ouka asked a question with a tone that suggested she was testing the older boy.

“So we can’t use the bridge, we can’t use a boat, and we can’t use the water. How are we supposed to get across, Sensei?”

The instructor did not hesitate to answer.

There was only one real answer.

“We walk across.”

3: The Moat

A low rumbling passed by overhead.

“…”

Sugiyado Souha looked up to see a thick ceiling of reinforced concrete. But he was not indoors.

The deadly moat was located about 20m below him.

In other words, he was below the one bridge across the moat.

Whether it was a large building, warehouse, or bridge, any structure that needed to support a large space with minimal materials would use trusses, rigid frames, honeycombs, and jungle gym structures made out of steel beams. A close-to-home example could be found by looking up at the ceiling of a gym.

Sugiyado did not care how many checkpoints and security cameras they had on the top of the bridge. He only had to plant his feet on the jungle gym structure laid out below the bridge and make his way to the impregnable castle that way. If no one saw him, he could not be found. That was the foundation of ninja movement.

At this point, there was no need for disguises or camouflage.

Hoozuki had already been wearing her ninja outfit as a riding suit, but Ouka had changed into her cutting-edge ninja outfit as well. It looked like a sleeveless kimono with a sideless skirt. It provided excellent defense against bullets, it strengthened her athletic abilities, and it showed off her soft body in a provocative way that would create an opening in those who saw it. Her outfit was a deadly system that used her as a component.

Asagao had not changed either. She was still wearing her white military uniform with baggy sleeves and a short skirt, but that was not meant for use in direct combat.

Hoozuki followed behind Sugiyado and spoke in an excited way with her silver ponytail falling on her seemingly bare back. It took a close inspection to notice that was a flesh-colored elastic material and not her bare skin.

“Sensei, I notice you aren’t leaping from beam to beam or anything like that. You just find these really clever routes that go against everything the designer expected.”

“Shh.”

He had them all come to a stop just before a castle patrol boat produced white waves in the water directly below. It had a 12.7mm Gatling gun and a 40mm automatic grenade launcher attached to its front armor. If that spotted them, not much would be left of them. Their bulletproof outfits would not do much against weapons of that size. And the boat would have a drive recorder installed, so it would not overlook them just because the pilot happened to be inattentive.

However.

“Incredible,” said extremely small Asagao in an exasperated way. “We just slipped right past its optimized anti-personnel auto-search.”

“We have the camera angles to thank for that. They’re only focused on the water’s surface and under the water.” Sugiyado sighed while leaning against one of the bridge’s beams. “They could have tens of thousands of cameras installed, but it was still humans who installed them and those humans will only point those cameras in the directions they expect a threat to arrive from. After all, installing and maintaining the cameras takes time and money, so they stop after covering ‘every’ route in. If it turns out there was a route they didn’t consider, well, that just makes avoiding the cameras a walk in the park.”

“The moat guards appear to be ordinary bodyguards.”

“Ouka, keep in mind that tourists cross the bridge to visit the castle,” said Hoozuki. “I doubt we’ll see anything out of the ordinary in the areas open to the public.”

Sugiyado listened to them while toying with the scarf over his mouth.

“If the ordinary workers are being manipulated without their knowledge, this likely goes all the way to the top of the command structure. I wonder what’s going on in the black box of the castle tower.”

There were cameras below the bridge, but those were all meant to check the water level during periods of heavy rain and they were not very thorough. By paying careful attention to where they stood on the complex jungle gym, they could easily slip behind the cameras.

When using an elevated route, it was always crucial to keep in mind where your shadow would be cast on the ground, but that was not an issue here since the bridge itself cast a giant shadow that covered up their own.

Ouka moved right up next to him and whispered to him.

She sounded like she was enjoying herself.

“I can see the other side of the moat below us, Sensei. We’re as good as inside the castle now.”

Once past the moat and on the castle grounds, they no longer had to fear the railguns that were fixed in place and could only swivel so far. After reaching the end of the complex arrangement of metal beams below the bridge, Sugiyado finally set his feet on solid ground again and spoke through his scarf.

“We’ve reached the southern railgun emplacement.”

“That’s equivalent to the sannomaru in a traditional castle, right?”

Arriving on the castle grounds was not the end of their journey. The grounds were divided up by several castle walls, they would find labyrinthine paths inside those walls, guards could throw stones or launch arrows at them from atop the castle walls, and armored samurai would be waiting to open fire on them in the open areas of the ninomaru and the honmaru. Attempting to navigate the labyrinth the castle designers had put in place was not a winning strategy.

Sugiyado sighed in his unzipped down jacket.

“The New Sapporo Domain has to constantly provide its four railgun emplacements with a massive amount of power and metal shells and I doubt they do that in a way that’s visible from the outside. There must be unofficial hidden passageways connecting the central castle to the four railgun emplacements.”

“And we can use that?” asked Ouka.

The boy nodded.

“We can arrive directly below the central castle. From there, we only have to climb up toward the surface.”

4: The Kunoichi Back Home

Now, what was Hanasawa Bara doing during all this?

“Hm, hm, hmm.”

The splashing of warm water echoed through the bath.

It was an indoor bath, but it was a natural hot spring. Bara usually preferred to pour in some Western aroma oil for a more relaxing experience, but a hot spring was not bad every now and then. The cypress bathtub gave the cloudy bathwater a unique and indescribable aroma.

But she could not relax in here forever.

A timer emitted a crude electronic tone.

“Hm? I suppose it is about time.”

The cloudy bathwater parted and she walked to the dressing room in the nude.

It was easy to assume she did everything in the most luxurious way possible, but she actually preferred a standard towel fabric to a fancy silk one. That texture was one of the few joys she had encountered after the fall of her family. It may have been similar to Sugiyado Souha’s love of Happy Churn.

The sexy girl gently grabbed a towel and dried off in front of a large mirror that reflected her full body. She always used two towels to dry off. The first she used on her face, her large chest, and her hips. Then she grabbed a new towel to dry off her arms, legs, and back.

She did it all in front of the mirror for much the same reason as a pro dancer.

The way she moved her body and shifted her weight had a large influence on her sex appeal. She liked to practice various actions and judge herself on them on a daily basis so she was always cognizant of how she looked doing different things.

After thoroughly drying herself off, she donned a special flesh-colored material that clung to her skin, much like the skintight material that figure skaters wore to stay warm. It was a cutting-edge piece of equipment that used a spider web structure to defend against bullets and blades and that used a combination of electric-potential-elastic belt cylinders and chemical winches made from a high-polymer water-absorbing gel. She put on ordinary underwear over that. There was actually no real reason she had to wear that, but humans were easily influenced by their imagination. Obvious underwear worked better at distracting the enemy than something that blended in with her flesh.

A normal kunoichi would normally finish it off by putting on the outer portion of her ninja outfit, but Bara was not your normal kunoichi. She needed another step in between.

She had something to attach to her lower back.

A mass of synthetic fabric larger than a pouch and smaller than a backpack more or less sat atop her large butt. Needless to say, that was the battery pack for the Serpent Monster coilguns hidden in her hair. Over that, she put on an oiran-style kimono that left her shoulders bare. Leaving the front of the kimono open helped hide the fact that the kimono and the knot of its sash were being used to hide the lump on her lower back. Finally, she stuck her phone into her cleavage. For a ninja, information was more important a weapon than blades or bullets.

Her hair was still a little damp and she did not have time to use a hairdryer, but it was not enough for her lovely ringlet curls to be squashed flat.

Her red hair doubled as the barrels for her coilguns. She had a wire-like framework installed through her hair to provide the optimal distribution for the solenoid coils.

“Hm, hm, hm, hm.”

She hummed as she left the dressing room. She sniffed at her kimono and hair to enjoy the lingering scent of the hot spring. Her bare feet slapped against the floor as she walked through a large indoor space with (her ultra-thin ninja outfit making it look like) her skin was flushed pink even along the line of her nape. She made her way to a room detached from the main building. It was a metal box larger than a one-room apartment.

“How are you feeling?”

She opened the metal double doors and asked a mocking question.

The space was shaped like a long rectangle and a closer examination would have shown it was a large cargo container. There was also someone imprisoned within, but no one could tell that from the outside.

A professional would not be so terrified of leaving behind any hairs or fingerprints that they used a powerful stain remover to get rid of all bloodstains on the walls and floor after every single job. Once their objective was complete, they would crush the entire container and toss it in a blast furnace to eliminate all the evidence. It was simple, easy, and thorough. A ninja’s tools of the trade had to be 100% reliable.

A single chair sat in that space surrounded by metal walls, but it was not for Bara.

The chair was bolted directly to the floor and it was equipped with a few belts that were strapping a man to the chair like he was just another component of the chair.

The man’s head had slumped to the side.

Bara roughly grabbed his hair and shook his head side to side, but he did not react in any way. Much like a houseplant someone had forgotten to water.

Again, there was no chair in here for Bara.

If she only needed to kill some time, she could do so outside the container.

She was not the type to spend much time on this sort of thing and she did not act any more cruelly than necessary. All she did was mechanically extract all of the information they needed. No more and no less. Although that made her feared for a different reason.

She let go of the man’s filthy hair, circled to the front of the chair, bent her knees, and shined a penlight into his eyes. His breathing was normal, but his eyes did not dilate like they were supposed to. That kind of physiological reaction could not be suppressed even with self-hypnosis.

This was the polar opposite of the pleasant towel texture.

The man had ended up like this because of the perfectly ordinary white cloth tape attached to his neck and chest.

(This itch tape is based on the hairy caterpillars that gather on rose hedges, but it worked even better than I expected. But it affects different people so wildly differently that you need to run an “allergy test” first. Expose them to it for too long and it might destroy their psyche.)

Since this topic was so risky, Sugiyado had not taught it through online video lessons like he had with everything else. Sleep deprivation, overwork, weights, ice, smoke, needles, blunt impacts, joint pressure, water buckets, electricity, drugs, and more. Bara had experienced and overcome a wide variety of torture methods at the hands of her instructor in the name “anti-torture training”, but all she had learned was that humans were not built to endure these specialized techniques – a simple fact that your average kid off the street already knew. With unlimited time to work with, anyone would reveal everything they knew sooner or later, or they would die before doing so. According to her instructor, Bara’s face had been a mess of tears and snot while she trembled and begged for her life despite knowing it was only training. Why did she only know this secondhand when it was about her? Because during all the trembling and convulsing, she had passed out more times than she remembered and she could not seem to coherently piece together what fragmentary memories still remained with her. …She thought her face would burst into flames from embarrassment when she thought about the fact that he must have cleaned her up after she made such a mess of herself in that closed room.

Thus, torture countermeasures were less about whether you could endure what was being done to you and more about how you could get the torturer to stop. Taking control of whoever was in charge was the top priority. You could make a plea to their emotions to get them to break with their side, you could set a fire or cause a power outage to let your companions know where you were, you could amplify the guilt so the torturer could not maintain their mental stability, or you could intentionally let yourself be badly wounded to destabilize your vitals. There were countless methods.

So.

Bloodless torture methods were a lot safer and more beneficial for the people hoping to get information out of someone. Even professional soldiers could come down with PTSD, so capturing someone and unilaterally harming them was not necessarily “safe”. But if things were managed in a digital, numerical, and emotionless way, you did not have to worry about being shaken yourself. Of course, Bara was the type to be shaken here if this man claimed to have a sick sister or a is girlfriend who was taken hostage.

She crossed her arms and lifted up her large chest while asking a question much like an overbearing doctor.

This was one of the people who attacked the Abashiri special prison.

“I have a question. What is your name?”

“Sarutobi Ryugo.”

“What is your real name?”

“Tanaka Haruo.”

Just like when you did not get the answer you wanted from a search engine or AI speaker, she repeated her question slower and more clearly and got the information she was after as easily as pulling it from a drawer.

This was all ninjas were.

The exciting legends and genealogies of famous ninja families were all camouflage meant to hide the truth. There was no actual ninja family of Sarutobi. The word “ninja” was widely known, but no one knew what they really were or what they really did and no one tried to dig too deeply into those questions. The general public image of ninjas derived from entertainment was all a bluff that did not come close to showing what real ninjas were like and existed to give real ninjas an easier time of doing their jobs. There were ninjas who specialized in infiltrating acting troupes and film studios to influence how ninjas were portrayed. It was an official duty of theirs, but one they had to keep hidden.

Hanasawa Bara’s real name was not Hanasawa Bara.

She had abandoned her old name with the fall of her family.

“I would like to know about your organization. Who are they?”

“Mountain.”

“More specifically.”

“The Nobushi.”

She got an answer, but she still clicked her tongue. The time lag before he answered had been off. Despite the many stimulations tormenting him, there should have been some hesitation.

(Is this a detour? Am I being directed into an intentional labyrinth?)

“Again, who do you belong to?”

“Sea.”

“I said to be specific.”

“The Pirate Gunners.”

As expected, he gave a different answer this time. And she doubted either of them was accurate. He had been given a few “insurance” stories that were false but would be convincing enough to satisfy the questioner enough that they stopped the torment.

This man was a disposable pawn recruited on site.

Getting any useful information out of him had been unlikely from the beginning, but she had not expected it to be this hopeless.

(On the other hand.)

She looked away from the man’s face and toward the phone she pulled from her cleavage. It was gathering a variety of data – brainwaves, heartrate, perspiration, body temperature, eyeball movement, facial muscles, etc. – but all of it said this man felt confident. Whatever he had been told in advance, once he was captured by the enemy and separated from his organization, he should have been filled with distrust and beginning to wonder if he should really continue to obey them.

(I doubt this is just him being a particularly tough guy. Someone must have filled him with this abnormal confidence. But how could they do it so well so quickly and who would specialize in that method?)

Bara sensed someone else’s control at work here. Would an amateur taken in for a single job really trust the parent organization so strongly? She might find a hint to the enemy’s identity there.

5: A Brain at 15 Below

Japanese castles were all about height.

A mound of dirt was built up and stone walls were built around that to create the foundation, barracks and an armory were built atop that, and the very top was built into a castle tower that would provide the solid defense the castle’s owner needed during wartime. Tall castles acted as a status symbol, but it was all based on the exceedingly simple logic that blades and bows had a harder time attacking you when you were high up in a tower.

On the other hand, Western castles were all about width.

Height was only needed for soldiers to launch arrows and throw rocks from atop the walls and for the towers that were used as lookout posts and holding cells. The castle’s owner would be seated behind several castle walls in the main tower’s hall facing the garden, but that was not necessarily the tallest point of the castle.

Some said this was due to the earlier inclusion of cannons in Western warfare, meaning the castle had to be surrounded by a fortress loaded up with cannons. Others said it was due to the greater available land in the West giving them more space on which to build their castles.

“(Okay, we’re about at the point where there’s no getting out of this if we’re caught! Minor thrills and tension are the perfect spice for a dangerous love!! Ahh, if only I could let Sensei feel the pounding of my heart right now!!)”

“(Ouka isn’t going to intentionally get us caught for a thrill, is she?)”

Ouka and Hoozuki’s comments were best ignored.

New Sapporo Castle had used some Western castle design, but its overall scale was very Japanese. The additional facilities like the barracks and food storage were spread out to the sides in a very Western way, but the main central castle itself was built upwards in the Japanese way. The current isolationist policies may have placed some restrictions on the castle designs.

“No point in just staring up at it,” said Sugiyado Souha while hiding his mouth below his scarf which included some special anti-facial-recognition designs.

To reiterate, the 900mm rapid fire-railguns required a massive amount of power and they could not allow that line to be cut off, so they would not use open power lines.

If they could find the entrance leading underground, they would have a direct route to the central castle.

“Sensei, where should we go first?”

“The server room.” He did not even need to think about it. “I’m curious about the tower at the top, but we need to start by checking the data on that classified server we can’t access from the outside. If the enemy is keeping us from it, there must be something there they don’t want us to see.”

No one asked how they would find that without a map of the place. Large computers like that needed to be kept cool to avoid overheating. Not many locations in a building could bear the weight of the computers and the cooling equipment while also providing enough power to run it all. Just like a library, they would avoid placing it on a higher floor.

That meant it might be inside the stone walls.

They had defeated a few of the attackers at Abashiri, but those had only been disposable pawns recruited on site and were unlikely to provide much information. The “real ninjas” that had led them were apparently found in the New Sapporo Domain and the classified server used by government workers was redirecting all requests so not even Elite Ninjas like Ouka could get in.

Who had killed that old man?

The castle’s server room would be the best way to find the answer. Even if the hardware had been destroyed, there had to still be some kind of hint left there.

They had left that conspicuous cross shuriken at the scene in an attempt to frame the old man’s grandson. In the same way, different ninja schools had different ways to overcoming the same problems.

“…”

Sugiyado gently stuck the tip of his air-pressure kunai out through the metal grating to use it like a mirror and check around outside. Only then did he gently push up the cover located above his head.

That was enough for him to feel the bomb he carried in his spine.

At 5kg, his back felt funny. At 10kg, it exploded with pain.

Even now, he could feel the gentle touch of the grim reaper’s invisible fingers on his back.

He found himself in a large, windowless room.

It was located within a stone wall, so the lack of windows was no surprise.

Computers the size of industrial refrigerators were lined up across the room like a library’s bookcases or an apartment complex’s buildings.

Ouka released a white breath from her small mouth and then spoke to him.

“None of it looks like it was destroyed, Sensei.”

“The chips or data inside might be a different story.”

Asagao’s short-skirt military uniform must not have been warm enough for this chilly room because a shiver ran through her body and she pressed against Sugiyado’s hip for warmth. Sugiyado, who had a down jacket for warmth, toyed with the scarf covering his mouth as he decided on a plan of action.

“We’ll have to start with this. If it has data on the ninjas, then we have what we wanted. If it doesn’t, we can guess at their identity based on how it was erased. But be on the lookout for decoy data. They’ve already planted false evidence once.”

That said, deception was a standard ninja tool, so there was no point in discussing whether it was right or wrong. Although anyone who broke a taboo would have to be prepared to accept their punishment if they were caught.

It was unknown how the outside requests were being redirected to a fake server, but that method would not work if they were directly accessing the hardware from within the castle. He checked the syncing device that connected the multiple computers and then he checked for a connection port. He hooked his phone up to that with a cable.

“Found it.”

“What does it say, Sensei?”

Asagao stood on her tippy-toes to look at the small screen and he tilted his phone so she could see.

“The Hole.”

“So we were right,” said Ouka with the sound of someone who had found confirmation of something unpleasant.

Modern ninjas were not divided into schools based on actual families like Iga or Koga. The schools had names like Harlot, Bandit, Assassin, Informer, etc. They were all people who had been left with no choice but to become ninjas to make a living for themselves or to fight. Ouka, Bara, Hoozuki, Asagao, and even Sugiyado Souha were no exception. If you wanted a respected family name you could be proud of, you were better off becoming a samurai.

The Hole was shorthand for the type of ninja that had started out as miners and other expert hole-diggers. They all had their own unique history, though. With some, their ancestor had lent their abilities to a daimyo or other important figure. With others, they had caused some sort of scandal and needed to go into hiding.

“Specifically, the Stonewalls. While they did work with dirt, their main job was constructing castles. But instead of the carpenters who work on the actual building, they would handle the preliminary phase that involved digging a moat, filling it with water, and building the stone walls needed for the foundation.”

“What weapons do you expect them to use?” asked Hoozuki.

“Probably something you would use to dig a tunnel,” he replied. “So mostly construction tools like pickaxes, shovels, and hammers. For projectiles, they might throw stones. And as a hidden surprise, we should expect some explosives. That shouldn’t work in a closed environment, but the technique to safely set off explosives inside a tunnel would give them even more precise control of explosions than a fireworks maker.”

Instead of modifying weapons like swords or spears into “a weapon customized from a weapon”, they would have started with cooking tools and the tools of their trade. After all, ninjas were not samurai. Their status was officially protected by the government now, but they had been unofficial saboteurs back in the day. They would have grabbed a kitchen knife, a saw, or whatever else was handy and customized it for easier use. Ninja tools like the kaginawa and kusarigama might look pretty out there by people who did not understand where they came from, but most of them actually had their origin in everyday items.

For example, the shuriken is the best known ninja tool, but before the standard stick shuriken and cross shuriken had been developed, ninjas had started with any number of other objects: kanzashi, tatami needles, star decorations, square clasps, gears, long nails, scissors, chisels, sword guards, etc. And since the original kunoichis had been sex workers, they would not be the ones wielding carpentry tools like nails or chisels. Shurikens were a last resort and leaving them behind would provide evidence that might just reveal what kind of ninja you were. It was possible to build a profile of an enemy and work out their identity based on the ninja tools they used.

The enemy here were hole-digging experts. Their techniques for infiltration, sabotage, disruption, and all other tasks would all start from there.

“Then they would probably be the perfect people to bring down a castle, Sensei,” said Ouka with a troubled look. “They can dig a tunnel into the castle grounds, pull out the foundation to bring down the castle walls, and even guide a bunch of polluted water into the moat for a biological attack. All they have to do is abuse the techniques they already have.”

Asagao asked a question as a follow-on to the twintail girl’s comment.

“But, Sensei, they were stationed here to protect the castle, weren’t they? They haven’t built up a bunch of labyrinthine defenses, so what actually happened here in the castle?”

“This isn’t limited to New Sapporo Castle. The Stonewalls are vulnerability advisors. They take a look at castles and fortresses from a tunnel-digging perspective and play the enemy in some training to give advice on how to improve the place’s defenses. You could call them inspectors that find their allies’ vulnerabilities and provide a report so security can be improved.”

Silver ponytail Hoozuki loudly clicked her tongue at that.

“That isn’t good, Sensei. It means the Stonewalls might have complete plans of New Sapporo Castle. In fact, they might as well have master keys to all the Shogunate’s crucial facilities across the archipelago.”

Their job was to determine the weaknesses in the country’s most important bases and help fill in those security holes, but what if they failed to report on all the holes they discovered? They would have free access to any missile base or underground shelter they wanted.

That explained how they had so easily accessed the Shogunate’s max security prison in Abashiri to safely take that old man’s life. They would have measured out for themselves exactly where they needed to dig a tunnel to get in.

“Any actual names or numbers?” cautiously asked Hoozuki the cool beauty. “And what about the grandson of that old man…Murakami Shouzou, was it? We still don’t know his name.”

“I found it all here, but it’s been blotted out so I can’t read it. There’s some separate security system in place.”

“Sensei, you can leave that to me. I’ll have that rude mosaic gone in no time.”

With a barbaric smile, Asagao held her phone out above Sugiyado’s phone. She must have accessed his with short-range wireless because it filled in the missing parts of the documents like some kind of AR. The randomized redaction signal was removed and the hidden text was revealed.

Just then, they heard a low rumbling.

This was different from when they had entered. The heavy main door to the room was opening.

“(Asagao, the data is on your phone, right? Then let’s withdraw for now.)”

“(Don’t be silly, Ouka. I couldn’t possibly copy over all the data from this entire server room. It’s larger than a library. The data is organized by an index, but it’s scattered all over these systems. Grabbing the data from just one of them won’t give us anything readable!)”

“(In other words, we have to stay here while the decryption completes? What should we do, Sensei?)”

Hoozuki the cool beauty pressed him to make a decision.

They could already hear approaching footsteps.

They had no idea who this was. This large space had more computers than a library had bookcases, so the odds were low whoever-this-was was headed to the exact machine they were plugged into. But the fact remained they had nowhere to hide. Simply walking down the central aisle would let you see if anyone was hiding behind the machines lined up like bookcases.

What would they do?

Would they run?

Would they stay?

Or would they eliminate this person?

“…”

Sugiyado Souha grabbed his down jacket and swung it out like a crescent moon.

And.

And.

And.

6: Find a Reason for Your Choice

“…?”

Someone seemed to gasp in slight puzzlement.

There seemed to be more than one person here.

One person casually peered down the row Sugiyado’s group was hiding in and someone else spoke to them.

“Is something wrong, Princess?”

“No.”

Just like with a library’s bookcases, there was nothing for Sugiyado and the other three to hide behind.

And yet that was the response from the kimono-wearing beauty of around 20 who had been addressed as “princess”.

She had black hair that fell all the way to her ankles and she wore an old-fashioned junihitoe.

Was that the official uniform of the castle’s princess?

“Nothing is wrong. Now, Murakami, what did you want to tell me that required coming all the way down here? Couldn’t we have discussed this in the tower?”

Needless to say, she had not lied to protect some unknown intruders she saw. She had no reason to do so.

Then why had the princess said that?

The answer was very simple. When she had looked down that row while walking down the central aisle, she truly had not seen anyone there.

It was all thanks to that down jacket.

Sugiyado had frozen his removed jacket and used it as a shield while backing against the wall with the girls.

It was one of the oldest tricks in the book.

That ninja technique was so primitive it was more often used in comedies, but the human eye was notoriously bad at seeing things under certain conditions and in certain environments. For example, it was well known that your sense of perspective failed to work on a pure white snowfield or salt flat.

It was all in how you used it.

This large space was kept as cold as a refrigerated warehouse to keep the large computers from overheating, so freezing his removed down jacket and covering its surface with white frost was enough to create the perfect camouflage. If someone saw it from a distance while taking a general look at the scene, they would fail to notice anything. And since it was frozen, it would also fool thermo sensors. Both due to the white frost and the down jacket’s layer of air used for insulation.

There was, however, one problem.

“(Wait, wait, wait. I’m going to stick out. Closer! Move in closer!)”

“(I can’t move any further than this, Asagao!)”

“(Ouka, you just want to stay as close to Sensei as you can get, don’t you? Just so you know, I’ve heard coming on too strong on the first date can scare guys away!)”

It was a makeshift shield, so Sugiyado and the other three had to squeeze in really tight to fit behind it.

But the boy ignored that close proximity as he focused all his concentration on his ears to listen in on the conversation happening outside the barrier.

He had already noticed a few things of interest in the initial short exchange.

Princess.

And Murakami, the same family name as the old man.

“…”

Sugiyado shoved his face into the chest of the closest undeveloped girl. Right now, he needed any kind of unusual memory he could find.

(Something other than a ninja would have been best, but I can’t be picky right now.)

For the most part, long-term memories were not so much forgotten as they were fused with other memories until they lost all meaning. But if you intentionally placed the memory in the wrong category to separate it from similar experiences, the information would last longer.

“(Eek!? S-Sensei! As one of your fully-trained kunoichis, I’m not going to get flustered over something like this, but I’d still prefer you didn’t breathe in the air from my chest! Could you please explain what this is about? O-or at least don’t bite too hard?)”

Despite what she said, Ouka seemed plenty flustered, but that was not what he wanted to remember. The distant conversation was his top priority.

The conversation was held between a young man and woman a little older than Sugiyado.

But after walking another row along the central aisle, they moved out of view.

“I must earnestly ask you to reconsider everything that is happening here.”

“How many times must I repeat myself here? I have no choice in the matter. Murakami, you cannot become a hero. That has already been determined, so accept your lot in life. An individual’s power is not enough to change history.”

“Princess.”

“These dangerous ideas of yours will only put New Sapporo Domain in danger, so I cannot allow any of them to bear fruit. Ask me about this once more and I will be forced to imprison you. Even if you are my most trusted ninja.”

They both must have been restless because they returned to this aisle.

Sugiyado could not let his guard down.

If they appeared in the corner of those two’s vision for even a split second and their presence here was detected, alarms would go off across this entire area of the city.

Asagao whispered a question while pressed against his back.

“(So is that Princess Karin? I heard she has temporarily taken over the domain for her bedridden father.)”

If the old man’s grandson was her “most trusted ninja”, he must have worked his way very deeply into the castle. And even if this was an unofficial discussion, it was unusual for the princess temporarily ruling in her father’s stead to leave the castle tower during her official duties. These two must have had a fairly strong bond between them.

“Princess, I know you are aware what circumstances the New Sapporo Domain…no, the entire Hokkaido Area finds itself in.”

“Yes, the underground linear motor trains have long since been stopped and the problems only worsen. But that is exactly why I intend to do what I consider best. And unfortunately, that differs with the path you prefer. Return to the path I have prepared for you, Murakami. The path you want will only bring bloodshed to this northern land and its innocent people.”

“…”

“Do you defy me, Murakami?”

“I will suppress my own desires and do what is necessary. Even if it means burning the castle down.”

“And that is why you called me down here, isn’t it?”

“Prepare yourself.”

Something glinted in the young man’s hand.

His ninja tool was a silver-colored musical instrument resembling a long flute or baton. That iron flute was a versatile weapon that could be used to bludgeon, launch poisoned darts, slash or jab with the claw on the side, and even swing around on a chain to break armor.

But Princess Karin actually seemed to respond with a snort of laughter.

She brushed her long hair from her shoulder with one hand and spoke down to the young man.

“What do you hope to accomplish after capturing me? I do hope the answer isn’t ‘kill me’.”

“…”

“Whether or not this rebellion succeeds, you will no longer have a place in this castle. Murakami, you have heard about the ‘trouble’ outside, haven’t you? You have nowhere to run. Not anymore.”

“Princess, are you saying-!?”

“Hee hee. I have merely received reports as the local political ruler and keeper of the peace. No more and no less.”

The junihitoe beauty remained entirely calm even as she made a sort of confession by revealing information that only the culprit could know.

She placed a hand over her mouth to hide her teeth even as she smiled.

“Won’t you please do as I say, Murakami? Do you not find the words of your substitute ruler to be trustworthy?”

He could never say he was doubting the person he had sworn loyalty to. That alone could be deemed intent to rebel.

So the isolated young man had to force out his words.

“I am simply following the path I believe to be right. Even if it means crossing blades with you.”

But was this the truth behind the attack on Abashiri and the killing of that old man? To rob this disobedient ninja of anyone else to rely on and leave him trapped in her castle? Had it all happened for no more reason than that?

This was an isolationist military nation.

It was ruled by the Shogunate who had maintained the principle of Kirisute Gomen in the modern era, so the Shogun’s family and the Daimyos were given preferential treatment in all things. The crime of rebelling against them was punished by execution of the culprit’s entire family. And that applied even if the rebellion was discovered and stopped in advance.

In that sense, Princess Karin’s preemptive strike may not have violated the Shogunate’s laws.

“…”

But silver ponytail Hoozuki frantically grabbed Sugiyado’s shoulder.

“(What do we do, Sensei? At this rate, the princess will be killed!? That ninja’s relative was killed just in case, so he has no reason to stop now!)”

“(But, Sensei, if we intervene to rescue her, the entire New Sapporo Domain will know we’re here.)”

Asagao was not wrong either. The ninja world was not the same as the samurai one. They were sometimes faced with a decision that had no right answers.

There was no time.

Sugiyado Souha replayed everything he had seen and heard in his mind.

The old man in Abashiri had seemed to know something, but he had been killed by the Stonewalls and his grandson had been framed for the crime.

The data on the Stonewalls had been hidden so not even Elite Ninjas like Ouka’s group could access it.

New Sapporo Castle had likely been taken over by the Stonewalls without anyone outside the wiser.

The way those two spoke to each other suggested that young man had a fair amount of authority within the castle and that remained even after it was secretly hijacked.

Princess Karin was working to protect New Sapporo Domain and this Murakami ninja was trying to stop her.

Even if it meant drawing his blade and harming her.

“(What do we do, Sensei?)” whispered Ouka as if making a final check.

He knew there was no time.

“…”

So he gathered his resolve.

7: The Clash

The wind whipped up.

80% of a ninja battle happened during the advance preparations. After all, they were primarily saboteurs. They would be easily crushed if it came to a head-on battle, so they always needed to do a thorough investigation before fighting. They would blend into the local area, construct false connections to gather information, locate enemy weaknesses and seams in their relationships that could be secretly widened into greater rifts, procure necessary materials, determine the optimum time and place, and then, after all that had been done, sneak in and make a surprise attack from the shadows.

So once things began, a ninja always moved swiftly.

In that moment, Sugiyado Souha swept aside his camouflage – the frozen down jacket – and rushed out with the force of a crossbow bolt. He had mastered the use of his body in the fields engineering and perception.

First of all, his movements were fast.

He suddenly sprang up from a curled-up position to reach his top speed almost instantly. If a normal person tried that, they could easily tear a ligament or muscle.

Also, his movements slipped outside of people’s perception.

After initially charging top speed toward his opponent to instill instinctual fear and caution in them, he began to jump irregularly around, kicking off the side of a large computer and then landing on top of it.

Those 3m obstacles could be cleared with sport techniques.

They were laid out like the bookshelves in a library.

That meant there was plenty of space between the top of the computers and the ceiling. But people naturally assumed other people would stay on the floor and use the aisles, so their eyeballs would refuse to move in the right direction at first. Meanwhile, he filled the nearly 20m distance between them.

After running to the end of the row of large computers, he pulled two air-pressure kunais from the back of his short-sleeved dress shirt. Once he spread those deadly wings, he only had to take flight.

He attacked from directly above.

On one side was the young man dressed in a pitch-black ninja outfit.

On the other side was the Japanese beauty in a junihitoe and with ankle-length black hair.

Sugiyado knew exactly which one to aim at.

His target was Princess Karin, who was temporarily ruling this domain.

The unpleasant clang of well-forged steel on steel reverberated through the room.

He had planned for a counterattack from Murakami – hence the two kunais. But who had deflected the second one?

Yes.

Airborne Sugiyado Souha pushed back against the Murakami youth’s attack, but he had also set things up so his other blade would tear into Princess Karin’s vitals.

There was only one possible person who could have deflected that air-pressure kunai.

“I see.” Sugiyado kicked off the wall to shift the timing of his fall just enough that they could not target him as he landed. “Princess Karin, it would seem you aren’t just a sheltered girl who was put in charge simply for being her father’s daughter.”

“…”

She had pulled something from her sleeve at the last second, but it was not a dagger like you expect of a powerful family’s daughter.

It was a handheld hammer.

The one-handed hammer was entirely made of metal, even the handle. It could be used to simply hit things, or the string wrapped around its handle could be unwound to swing it around more erratically. Also, the handle was hollow. Why was that? It was the same as the disguised knives the Cyrillic Empire specialized in. By loading a matchlock gun bullet, it could be fired from outside the hammer’s range for a surprise attack.

She used a mining tool combined with an explosive.

And she was skilled enough to deflect an attack from a former Hidden One like Sugiyado Souha.

She was definitely with the Hole.

She showed all the distinctive signs of the Stonewalls who specialized in digging tunnels.

Yes.

There was a lot of confusing information here, but only a few key pieces mattered at the moment.

A trap had been laid for Murakami and his blood-related grandfather had been killed.

He fought with an elegant iron flute. He was a ninja, but a very different type from the muddy hole-diggers.

If Murakami was a Song ninja a step removed from the Stonewalls, then Sugiyado was much more curious about what Princess Karin had said here.

“It’s all for New Sapporo Domain and the north as a whole, huh?”

He could make a pretty good guess what this was about.

“But I haven’t heard what exactly you’re doing. Anyone can claim to have justice on their side, but what that means differs a lot between different people. Now, I just hope this isn’t anything as dangerous as a destructive coup d’etat or joining forces with the Cyrillic Empire.”

“Insolent boy.”

“Whatever’s going on in this domain, I am praying that you are the real Princess Karin. If a body double attacked her ruler and took her place to take control of the domain, there isn’t much hope left for you.”

Make no mistake here.

Sugiyado Souha was no longer a ninja serving the Shogunate. He was no more than a prisoner. Wielding a blade and even being outside the prison at all only added to his list of crimes. He was not fighting on the Shogunate’s command or to bring about world peace.

An old man had died with regret in his heart.

In his final moments, he had worried his fate would put his grandson in danger.

That lonely old man had taught Sugiyado so much while he was in prison.

So.

White steam erupted across the entire area. Sugiyado had jabbed an air-pressure kunai into a nearby pipe and the chemical coolant for the computers had rapidly vaporized.

He spun around.

He did not care about Princess Karin’s conspiracy right now.

“Hey!!”

Murakami tried to shout something within the obscuring steam, but Sugiyado was already on the move. He flipped the air-pressure kunai around in his hand and slammed the bottom of the grip against the side of the young man’s neck to knock him out like a switch had been thrown.

“Sensei,” whispered a voice in his ear.

“Take care of it, Ouka.”

He hated to admit it, but Sugiyado Souha had a weight limit. At 5kg, his back felt funny. At 10kg, it exploded with pain. He had no hope of carrying an unconscious person around on his own.

Then Asagao, the youngest girl who specialized in information warfare, spoke to him.

“(I’ve managed to piece together all the data on the Stonewalls. I’ve recombined all the necessary parts on my mobile device, so we can leave this place now, Sensei.)”

Then leave they would.

If Princess Karin was acting like this, taking a peek inside the castle tower would not be a good idea.

They needed to leave New Sapporo Castle.

“––––––”

Sugiyado heard a whispering beyond the white steam.

Either due to the ankle-length hair or the multilayered junihitoe, she appeared to have the silhouette of an inhuman serpent.

And that monster threw resentment his way in human language.

“You have sealed your fate here, insolent boy.”

Curses were common in this field.

But Sugiyado had yet to see one that actually accomplished anything.

Chapter 2

1: The Stonewall Girls

It was already dusk.

However, the quiet of the late hour was obliterated by deafening sirens and the tremor of army boots marching in perfect unison.

The commotion had spread beyond just the castle. Trucks and large transport helicopters loaded with fully-equipped armored samurai had been deployed to set up two or even three layers of blockades.

The moat was always lit up once the sun set and the tourists outside of that aimed their phone cameras toward the vehicles and samurai, but they all tilted their heads once they did. Their screens were covered by secret preservation AR, special markers that said “Recording Not Allowed”. Mobile devices these days did not even come with a paper user’s manual, so most of them probably had no idea their phones did that.

Meanwhile…

“So you only managed to drag some filthy guy out of there? Really? That was honestly all you managed to accomplish???”

Hanasawa Bara spoke in a disinterested way from the driver’s seat of a food truck designed to cook crepes, just like you could find at any tourist destination in any part of the world. Needless to say, that was the mobile base she was using to pick up Sugiyado Souha and the others after they left the castle.

She had changed into her casual clothing to blend into her surrounding, but with her, that still meant a fancy red dress. She almost looked like a princess, but that worked well when combined with the mistaken assumption that she was a tourist destination vendor. In fact, with her sexy body and red ringlet curls, she would have looked more conspicuous in a plain track suit or jumpsuit.

She even shared that benefit with Shizukuma Asagao who wore her baggy-sleeved and short-skirt white military uniform in the passenger seat. When the two of them sat side by side, their clothing seemed to match.

The black bob cut girl let out an exasperated sigh.

“Stop lashing out because we all got to enjoy a secret date while you were stuck back at the base. That was an important job.”

“Hmph.”

When the younger girl in the passenger seat out-argued her, Bara could only puff her cheeks out like a child.

However, they remained within the blockade.

They were only just outside the illuminated moat, leaving them in the tourist area that was like a walking path and viewing platform in one. Lines of New Sapporo Domain armored trucks were roughly driving past just a few meters away even now. The castle’s soldiers and bodyguards were shouting angrily at the people that photography was banned. The enemy never expected their quarry to be right under their nose, but certain preparations were still needed when making a surprise attack like this.

When blessed with the opportunity to work in a group, you always needed to keep one of your people “outside” if at all possible.

Sugiyado Souha had driven that rule into their heads because he wanted to raise them into ninjas who could return from missions alive, not just act as artillery shells that only made one-way trips. But being stuck with that job was never fun. Just when you thought you could go on a mission with your beloved teacher and enjoy a secret date that would end the instant you were found, you had to stay behind. Having to wait all on your own until sunset felt like having part of your one and only adolescence sold off against your will. Bara really wanted to curse her own rock-paper-scissors luck.

“Anyway, drive slow and safe.”

“I know that.”

Speeding out of there would give them away immediately. Bara even kept the headlights on the gentle low beams for the benefit of the oncoming traffic. She drove the crepe food truck calmly and slowly away from the park in front of the moat.

“You got that data out from the depths of New Sapporo Castle, didn’t you? Did you get any details on those Stonewalls?”

Bara had performed her own interrogation while they were gone, but she had not found anything more than the group’s name.

“I was planning to reveal this once Sensei rejoined us, but whatever.”

Asagao attached her phone (which she had so thoroughly modified on the inside that it was close to being a cyber war weapon) to the food truck’s navigation system.

“The Stonewalls have around 300 combat members, but these are the main four. And Princess Karin is of course at the very top.”

“…”

Kairou Amamo.

Age: 16. Female.

An expert at terrain-effect attacks made using pure excavation techniques. Brings confusion to the entire battlefield with almost any type of terrain changes, including quicksand, marshes, pitfalls, falling rocks, landslides, and even volcanic activity and water vapor explosions. One of the few survivors of her attacks said “a dragon is hidden in the earth”.

Taganuma Yukizasa.

Age: 13. Female.

An expert at combat in enclosed and dark places. Shows the true value of her short height and limbs while fighting in complex indoor environments filled with countless obstacles. The way she persistently sticks with her target has earned her the nickname of Enemy Stalker.

Horisato Oume.

Age: 18. Female.

An expert at chemical reactions, including explosions. That includes the obvious like guns and explosives, but also includes the use of incomplete combustion to create smokescreens or poison gas. Her skills also give her a specialty in medicines and treating wounds.

And.

Shirahama Karin.

Age: 20. Female.

The princess of a domain who chose to master the “etiquette” of a ninja in order to survive in the Machiavellian world of politics. Has mastered every technique of the Stonewall school, but also possesses the strategic mindset needed to view the big picture of the outside world. A next-generation leader who can freely use the light and dark – the clean and the unclean.

(Not that we can trust the ages and photos given here.)

As an expert in disguises and flirtation, Hanasawa Bara told herself to not accept this data at face value.

Were all the others girls because that was more comfortable for Princess Karin at the top? No, she had apparently convinced that young Murakami man to join her forces, so maybe it was her subordinates who had decided to surround her with girls.

Bara was normally one of the ninjas who worked to preserve the public order, so she knew what conditions would be used to choose checkpoint locations at times like this. She accurately drove the crepe food truck around while making an exasperated comment.

“Quite the distinguished group.”

“Right?”

“I can’t believe that’s what you spent your secret date on. Sensei has to learn not to talk about other girls all the time.”

“Right!? Ouka is sulking pretty hard, so be on your guard around her.”

With the talk of terrain and explosives, that group sounded even more flashy than Bara’s group. This northern land was one of the few places in the country that was flat all the way to the horizon. Those skills were likely what they had honed to push back any large armies the Cyrillic Empire sent in. And in addition to the largescale attacks and high firepower, they had the assassin types who could use the confusion to pinpoint strike the enemy commander or armory. The knights would be preparing to tear into the enemy formation while the rooks and bishops were making a mess of the board, so you could not let your guard down.

Asagao gave a fearless smile in her white military uniform.

“The documents call them High Ninjas, but it’s possible they intentionally held back during their advancement exams so they wouldn’t stand out.”

“They seem to fight under completely different rules and on a completely different scale from us.”

“That just means we can’t let our guard down no matter what.”

And.

As we change focuses, the vehicle shook slightly.

There was no way to tell the time of day in the enclosed back of the truck. Sugiyado Souha and the Murakami youth were confronting each other in there. However, the young man had his iron flute and other weapons taken from him and he was tied to a chair.

Sugiyado’s eyes fell on a different weapon than the main iron flute.

It was a cross shuriken given a sharkskin surface.

(Old man.)

But letting his feelings show would accomplish nothing as a ninja. He hardened his heart so he could get down to business before the young man noticed.

Just to be safe, he had Ouka and Hoozuki with him here.

“(Boo. Why’d he have to invite another guy onto our secret date?)”

“(Don’t complain, Ouka. If you refuse to wait, you’ll never get your reward.)”

At 5kg, his back felt funny. At 10kg, it exploded with pain.

No matter how much of an advantage he seemed to have, he could not forget that. In shogi terms, Sugiyado Souha was like the lance. He might seem specialized for this field, but that illusion vanished as soon as his weakness was discovered. And he had no way of fighting back even if he noticed it had been discovered.

So if he had help, it was safest to accept it.

“If there’s something you want to talk about, then go ahead and talk.”

Sugiyado pulled a chair across from the young man and sat in it. Ouka and Hoozuki changed positions to lean on the back of that chair.

“But we have nothing we really want to talk about. To be honest, I’m not interested in some large conspiracy. I achieve my goal as long as you’re removed from all that danger. The simplest solution there would be to knock you out with an anesthetic and then dump you in some remote village no one’s ever heard of. If you don’t do anything, that’s what will happen. Are you sure that’s what you want?”

“Who are you? And those two aren’t your average girls.”

Ouka looked miffed the young man had singled out her and Hoozuki. It was true they were Elite Ninjas, but she must have felt like Sugiyado deserved that sort of praise too.

At any rate, the young man’s confusion was understandable. Everyone knew a captured ninja was not going to have a good time, so he must not have expected them to have a little chat like this.

The scarf boy relaxed his shoulders and spoke a certain name.

But not the young man’s.

“Murakami Shouzou.”

“Kh.”

“Do you see how I got involved in this now? Princess Karin wasn’t bluffing. She really did do it.”

For a while, the young man said nothing.

Sugiyado simply waited.

He could have told the young man that a professional ninja needed to suppress his emotions and remain coldly logical to survive, but he chose not to.

“I see.” The young man who had inherited the Murakami name eventually got some words out. “I see.”

“Let’s set aside our positions as professionals for a moment.” Sugiyado started again with his voice low. “I’m not working myself to the bone for the state or the Shogunate here. I’m a prisoner from Abashiri, just like that blunt but caring old man, so don’t think I’m some stickler for the rules. Let’s keep this short. If you waste my time, I’ll go with the ‘anesthetize you and dump you on the side of the road’ option.”

“…”

“Ouka, prepare the halothane tank and calculate out the right amount for a standard body weight of 68kg. And really, if we’re going to recommend retiring from this dangerous line of work and living a leisurely second life, we should probably gift him with some mild lasting effects.”

“Understood, Sensei. I’ll add 10 to the normal number. That should give him some chronic tingling in the limbs.”

“O-okay, okay!”

The young man must have thought there was nothing he could do while bound to the chair. And with enough of a lasting effect to take him out of the fight, he would forever lose his chance to rush in and solve the problem here in New Sapporo Domain. Or the problem related to his grandfather’s death. But his pride still had him sounding reluctant as he opened his mouth.

“I am Murakami Michihiko. I was sent from Edo as an external observer for the entire Hokkaido Area!”

“Observer?”

“Hokkaido isn’t the only place with one. Ever since the Doshusei Reform split the archipelago into 8 Areas, observers are occasionally sent in from the central government to keep an eye on things. The idea is to make sure none of the regional governments try to rebel using the very autonomy granted them by the Shogun.”

Hoozuki waved something in her hand. It looked like a silver flute, but it was actually the ninja weapon that young man trusted with his life.

That old man had said he created ninja weapons for his grandson and they were from the Song school, so that iron flute may have contained something of the old man in its design.

Sugiyado Souha made sure not to let his emotions show on his face as he spoke.

“So you are a step removed from the Stonewall hole-digging experts with deep roots in the Hokkaido Area.”

“You’d be wrong there,” said Murakami Michihiko with self-deprecation in his voice. “The Stonewalls were the contact point for my observer duties in the Hokkaido Area. They acted as an intermediary, so we did interact.”

His job was to arrive from outside and determine any deficiencies in the local system. That meant detecting this oddity in New Sapporo Domain was a major success for him, but the conversation in the castle’s server room suggested they had not been enemies to begin with.

He had likely planned to use Princess Karin’s support as a foothold while he began to investigate the rest of the Hokkaido Area. He never would have imagined that the safe zone he had discovered was in fact rotten to the core.

No.

Maybe it was more like he had stumbled across a truth he would have much rather remained ignorant of.

“It’s all about sharing,” said Michihiko while still bound to the chair. “All sorts of technology were introduced to fight back against the Cyrillic Empire, including the slow-melting artificial snow, the two strategic anti-air laser beam cannons, and the four large-caliber railguns at the princess’s New Sapporo Castle, but this land is simply too vast. That method of protecting the island costs too much. The Empire doesn’t even have to cross the ocean now. They can just sit back and wait for New Sapporo Domain to economically collapse and for the rest of the Hokkaido Area’s domains to follow suit.”

“…”

The truck must have made a turn at an intersection because they felt a powerful force from the right.

They were using this food truck because New Sapporo Domain and the rest of the Hokkaido Area were now “car cities”. Why was that? Because the underground linear motor train meant to connect the six domains had been shut down for defense reasons.

Or so it was said, but was that really true? Linear motor trains used electromagnets to move at speeds greater than 500km/h, so they of course required a massive amount of power. That lower-priority guzzler of power had been eliminated in a way that would not concern the people too much.

“Everything requires power, but there is only so much they can produce themselves and Honshu still refuses to allow the installation of an undersea power cable. Maybe they don’t want even more of the country’s nuclear power to be focused on Tsugaru Domain, but the prevailing rumor within the castle is that Honshu fears giving the north enough power to isolate themselves.”

So had opinions differed on how to secure the power they needed?

“That left only one option. Or so Domain Lord Hatsunaga believed,” said Michihiko. “The importation of core infrastructure. It isn’t that uncommon on the continent. It’s the same as having a neighboring country dispose of your trash or having two countries share water and sewer services when a major river runs through them both.”

“Are you suggesting what I think you are?”

“Yes.” Michihiko’s ropes strained. “The Karafuto Route. You heard talk about the northern Wakkanai Domain expanding into a Dejima, right? The idea was to lay out an undersea power cable from there to gain the needed power.”

Instead of Sugiyado, it was twintailed Ouka who was leaning on the boy’s chair from behind who frowned at that. But Sugiyado was the one in charge of this interrogation, so she seemed reluctant to interrupt.

The young man let out a self-deprecating sigh.

“Yeah, it’s completely backwards, isn’t it? They would be relying on the Empire to power the equipment they need to protect themselves from the Empire. They would be helpless as soon as the Empire shut off the power, so they would essentially be presenting their Achilles’ heel to the enemy.”

“…”

Sugiyado thought for a bit.

This was all about deciding who to sell themselves off to: the Shogunate, the Cyrillic Empire, a corporation such as a power company, or an academic institution like a university. Whoever they asked to supply the power they needed would then hold the lifeline to the entire Hokkaido Area. That was a big enough deal to bring down the balance between the Four Occupations.

The Shogunate had refused, so who was their next best bet?

Had they arrived at that choice through the process of elimination, or had they intentionally steered toward the Shogunate’s enemy out of simple spite.

“But you said that was the Domain Lord’s idea, right? Do you mean the Princess ruling in his place sees things differently?”

“I imagine she poisoned him. I just hope she still has enough of a heart left that it was something nonfatal.”

Poisoning your own father even nonfatally did not sound like the act of someone “with a heart”.

They had not seen inside New Sapporo Castle’s tower, but had people’s sensibilities really grown so warped in there?

Murakami Michihiko continued with a bitter look on his face.

“I don’t know where she intends to get it, but Princess Karin apparently plans to acquire a massive amount of power from a different route. But energy is energy – it can be used for good or evil. We’re talking about a power source large enough to run the defense system covering the entire Hokkaido Area, so is there any way it can’t be used for the wrong things? As seen with nuclear power, energy can as easily bring peace as it can bring destruction.”

Ouka and Hoozuki’s eyes wandered a bit at the mention of nuclear power.

The incident they had once caused had begun with the theft of an ultra-small modular nuclear reactor being carried by a freight train.

But Sugiyado did not touch on their past wounds.

“That isn’t the crux of the issue, is it?”

“No. There is a hurdle beyond how the power is used. Even if this power source is perfectly safe and peaceful, they still have to prove that somehow. What if people mistakenly believe it could explode when used incorrectly? If people start to think they’re hiding a massive bomb, it could lead to war between the Hokkaido Area and the Empire, or even a civil war between the Hokkaido Area and Honshu.”

“I see,” said Sugiyado.

Princess Karin, leader of the Stonewalls, was also a risk here.

People were never free of their own minds.

The greatest risk of a revolution or uprising was when the thread of tension went slack. As soon as they were freed from having to figure out some way to fix their power problem, she might just reach for a fearsome switch.

She might not just use that power for defense.

What if she decided they could win if they went on the offensive and launched a needless attack on the Cyrillic Empire? Once the Empire had a justification for retaliation, they would be more than happy to attack. That could lead to a long, drawn-out war fought with overwhelming numbers.

And…

“Okay, I can see the flaw in the Lord and the Princess’s plans, but how were you planning to safely escape this situation?”

“I think the supposed threat of the Empire is overblown. Whenever he ran into trouble with the ordinary finances, Domain Lord Hatsunaga would work up some extra funding in the name of military expansion. He started talking up the threat of the Empire as no more than a way to get the funding he needed, but that eventually grew into an actual concrete fear that is now draining money from the entire Hokkaido Area.”

“…”

“I have no intention of supporting the Empire or taking them lightly. I am a Shogunate ninja tasked with protecting this nation, after all. But if we can accurately assess the threat, we should be able to better defend ourselves with less waste.”

Sugiyado doubted the young man was lying.

At the very least, the ninja named Murakami Michihiko believed that to be true and was willing to bet his life on it.

The young man said more while Sugiyado pondered the matter.

“I must stop Princess Karin’s project no matter what. I am willing to offer up my own life to do so! I won’t ask you to help me, but at least drop me off somewhere in New Sapporo Domain. I won’t cause you any trouble, so let me clean up this problem!!”

“Is that so?” said Sugiyado.

Silence fell for a while.

But the former Hidden One appeared to have already made up his mind.

The crepe food truck’s brakes squealed as it came to a stop. They must have been at some sort of destination.

Sugiyado rapped on the thin metal door and called outside.

“You heard him, Ekaterina. The rest is in your Imperial hands.”

Michihiko stared blankly at the boy.

He probably honestly had no idea what those words meant. But this was all very real. The metal door was roughly thrown open from the outside and fully-equipped soldiers with identities hidden by masks, helmets, and goggles stormed onto the truck.

The words they exchanged were not even in Japanese.

This entire place had suddenly started to feel awfully Cyrillic.

“What? Eh!? What’s going on here!?”

Sugiyado waved a hand dismissively and said one thing more.

“You can take him away if you want, but leave the chair and rope.”

Murakami Michihiko’s mouth was covered now and he was helplessly carried outside.

To reiterate, Sugiyado Souha’s objective was to fulfill his promise with that dead old man: take care of that kid. So why would he ever give “that kid” any freedom to act if he was only going to recklessly run into danger?

He would not let the young man die.

Even if the young man resented him for it.

“…”

The crepe food truck was empty now, but it creaked as someone new stepped inside.

She wore an imbalanced outfit of a thick coat worn over a sheer camisole. Her skin was far too white to be Asian and her ankle-length hair was a very light platinum blonde. She had a slim outline all the way to the tips of her fingers and toes, so she would have fit right in as a ballerina or figure skater. She seemed something like a rose scattering excessive sex appeal through the simple act of walking, but she was more mechanical and precise than that.

“(I can’t believe this is happening on our date.)”

“(Hold your tongue, Ouka. You’ll lose points.)”

Ouka and Hoozuki looked somewhat exasperated.

Simply walking around looking like that was a big deal given the archipelago’s current isolationist policies.

The blonde beauty giggled in a bewitching way.

“It has been too long, Comrade Souha.”

“I am aware that not even the Empire addresses people that way anymore, you know? Where did you swim in from this time? Through a snowmelt pipe? You don’t smell like a sewer, at least.”

“That intel is the Neva River Nymphs’ lifeline, so it is of course a secret. …Until you take a liking to the title of comrade, anyway.”

Simply put, Ekaterina’s Neva River Nymphs were a group of frogmen. Their actions in New Sapporo Domain went undetected because they wore highly-insulated suits and used caustic soda breath purification devices that would function for a maximum of 48 hours straight. That allowed them to move freely around large cities by hiding below the surface of a river or another body of water, including water pipes, sewers, snowmelt pipes, agricultural and industrial waterways, hot spring pipes, and more. They even claimed they could relax more in a rooftop water tank than in a café heated by a fireplace.

“We haven’t spoken directly since the sunken submarine incident, have we? I am glad we can finally repay you for what you did back then, comrade.”

“You didn’t owe me anything. International law says you should work to assist a sunken or beached ship even if it belongs to another country or group.”

“Everyone might know they should do that, but you were the only person the world who did do it.”

She giggled.

The lady had the sweet atmosphere of the female proprietor of a secret salon, but she did not carelessly invade the boy’s personal space. She was like a bouquet of flowers meant to match one’s outfit. She was intentionally dimming her light to avoid clashing with the sex appeal of the less mature kunoichis behind the boy.

Then again, she was also showing off how much she was holding back.

“That was a delicate region of ocean. Our HQ could not let it get out that we were transporting a treaty-violating weapon through that region, so they pretended not to pick up on our SOS and even jammed our signal while disguising it as interference from thunderclouds. If you hadn’t shown up, 103 Neva members would have perished in that chilly, cramped space. Including me, of course.”

Sugiyado softly sighed.

Murakami Michihiko had said New Sapporo Domain was suffering from the tensions they themselves had created out of fear brought on by the country’s isolationist policies. And to rid themselves of that unease, they were growing into “external threat junkies” who endlessly expanded their military. Sugiyado was pretty sure that was accurate.

At the same time, it was looking like the outside world was full of even more conspiracies and misdeeds than the people in the archipelago imagined.

But for now…

“Babysit him for us.”

“Understood. I won’t even ask what this about.”

“And if you can, I would like to learn what the Empire is doing right now. How pressing do they see the situation with Japan?”

“Why even ask me when you know any answer I give will be designed to benefit the Empire? Just so you know, I am a descendant of the maids who served the very nobles who feared for the country’s future and chose to serve Rasputin cakes laced with cyanide.” She sounded exasperated and shrugged. “There is nothing I can tell you, so you can make your own guesses based on the circumstantial evidence.”

(Well, if they really were preparing for a war on the level of lava bursting up from the earth, Ekaterina’s team wouldn’t still be here in New Sapporo Domain.)

He had guessed that much from the moment she responded to his message.

That meant the question at hand was what to do about Princess Karin, New Sapporo Domain, and the Stonewalls who were getting worked up over nothing.

“What are your immediate plans, Comrade Souha?” Ekaterina giggled in a way that slightly strengthened her sweet aura. “I take it things in the castle are not going well. But the Shogunate as a whole does not appear to be making a move to crush them, so do you maybe need someone to work behind the scenes here?”

“Ekaterina, I will decide what needs to be done here.”

“And I am offering you materiel or personnel if you need them. The Stonewalls have deep roots in New Sapporo Castle, which makes them problem, does it not? If you know what needs doing, then why not go ahead and do it?”

She had just said she would not ask what this was about, and now this.

Never underestimate the intelligence-gathering ability of spies who could hide in any body of water.

“I am not working for the Empire’s benefit here. And another thing, Ekaterina. When trying to get closer to someone, it’s best to let yourself appear more vulnerable.”

“Oh? So you aren’t the type to drown in motherly displays of acceptance?”

Whatever form it took, New Sapporo Domain had indeed managed to maintain a dangerous balance for this long. And just like every other country and group out there, the Cyrillic Empire was not the big bad wolf from a children’s book, but they were also not selfless saints. They would snatch up every opportunity that came along. Even if they did not use their trump card right away, you had to assume it was still there in their deck.

A severe power shortage could cause a blackout in the entire defense system.

If that led to revolution or uprising, another country could possibly use the chaos to attack, but that was an amateurish idea. The Empire was more likely to play the role of cooperative ally from beginning to end and then ask for something equivalent in exchange after the fact. And with a friendly smile on their face all the while.

In her combination of a thick coat and a form-fitting camisole, Ekaterina did not push the issue any further. That lady was an experienced negotiator, so she chose to take a step back here.

“When you have decided what to do, make sure to call the Neva River Nymphs. Whisper the magic word and we will surface from any body of water.”

“I might not be doing anything. Murakami Michihiko is safe now, so I might just decide to leave.”

“No, you will choose to act once you learn what is happening here. This is no different from that submarine. You are not one to weigh the pros and cons before acting, Comrade Souha. That selfless spirit of service is a lovely thing. You would fit in very well with us.”

“…”

“Also.” Just before leaving the crepe food truck, the bewitching woman spoke as if to a child left behind at an amusement park. “I really do want to repay you for your help. As does everyone up on the surface who heard our SOS signal from the submarine but were only allowed to bite their lips and jam it. I won’t deny we have our own plans at play here, but do not forget how I feel.”

That was all.

Once Ekaterina was gone, Sugiyado sighed.

He knew there would be no sign of those river nymphs no matter where you looked on the surface. They had dived underwater.

(Didn’t take her long to incorporate my advice about vulnerability. She always has been quick to follow people’s advice. Although that cute side of her is probably another act meant to draw people in.)

And.

That encounter seemed to have lowered the temperature within the food truck.

Specifically for Ouka and Hoozuki.

“Sensei.”

“First the Kingdom’s queen and now the Empire’s river nymph? You don’t have mistresses in every country around the world, do you?”

They could not hide their exasperation. It was often said you needed to watch out for jealousy and envy when kunoichis gathered, but since ninjas were supposed to use Machiavellianism as a weapon, they really needed to stop letting their own suspicions get the better of them.

The best medicine here would be to firmly deny it.

He had to put them at ease by showing he was confident in his denial. It was a basic but crucial tactic.

“Don’t be dumb, you two. I don’t have a single person you could call a mistress.”

But…

“So you’re saying you do have women all around the world; it’s just that you keep them just distant enough that you can’t call them mistresses?”

“Sensei, there’s such a thing as being too passionate about your work.”

Evidently, he had phrased his denial poorly.

Even on a pirate ship full of outlaws, it was supposedly best to avoid a mixed-gender crew if you wanted to avoid unnecessary trouble.

2: Kunoichi Nest

“Heh heh. I knew you would go with mine, Sensei. Welcome to Hanasawa Bara’s love nest!!”

The crepe food truck finally arrived at a proper residence. Sapporo was set up like a go board and Bara had secured a location in the especially messy-looking shopping district of Susukino. That had always been the Hokkaido Area’s leading location for bars and the sex industry, but it had become even more nightless after a major IR move – specifically, establishing a connection with a publicly-run casino. But that was hardly surprising when it was essentially receiving the domain’s seal of approval.

“Eh heh heh, heh heh heh heh heh heh. I missed out on the secret date, but I’m the one who gets to take him home and share his bed!!”

The place had a living room, a VR-equipped home theater system, a simple training room, two indoor baths, and an open-air bath on the balcony that drew water in from a natural hot spring. It also had three bedrooms, a kitchen, and a bar counter.

Ouka awkwardly looked around a room large enough to play tennis in.

“What is this place? A hotel? A luxury apartment???”

“It’s an extended stay residential hotel. Maybe those differences are too much for the commonfolk to understand. Just think of it as a villa with a rental contract.”

It was best not to ask how exactly she had managed to get a room like this while keeping her identity secret. Sugiyado only hoped it was something as simple as solving a problem (of her creation) to earn the gratitude of the place’s manager.

Silver ponytail Hoozuki put a hand on her hip and breathed a gentle sigh.

“I guess we can give Bara the bed tonight since we did have her stay behind during our secret date.”

“Sensei, how about a bath? You aren’t in prison anymore, so you can stretch your legs and relax. It isn’t often you can enjoy a natural hot spring as nice as this in a big city.”

He looked over to confirm there were actually two dressing rooms – one for the men’s bath and one for the women’s bath.

“I’ll take you up on that offer.” He sighed. “We can discuss our next move after that.”

“Got it, Sensei.”

A change of clothes was already waiting for him in the dressing room. A full set of his usual clothes plus a bathrobe were neatly folded.

He stripped off his clothes, grabbed a towel, and opened the door to the bath. He found himself on the balcony, so this was apparently an open-air bath. There was not much of a view since it was surrounded by a fence made from bamboo tied together with rope, but it still felt weird to hear the hustle and bustle of the shopping district down below.

He heard some noise from beyond the partition dividing the men’s and women’s baths.

Hoozuki’s voice called over to him.

“I have to know, Sensei. What are you going to do now?”

He washed his sweat away before soaking up to the shoulders in the somewhat whitish bathwater.

He doubted this would do anything for the bolts in his spine or the springs replacing the ligaments in his legs, but he could still feel his body relaxing.

Then he answered Hoozuki’s question.

“To put it simply, I’m going to fulfill my promise to that old man.”

Take care of that kid.

That was all he had promised to Murakami Shouzou, the old man who had saved his life. Michihiko, the man’s grandson, might not want this, but there would be no threat to his life as long as he was in the care of Ekaterina and the others from the Empire. The young man would be free to choose a new life somewhere on Honshu after being given a falsified identity or to leave the country entirely and make a name for himself on the continent.

In that sense, Sugiyado could consider his objective complete at this point.

However…

“Ouka, can you tell me how the Shogunate as a whole will respond to this incident in New Sapporo Domain?”

“Yes, Sensei.”

Ouka’s voice sounded very well-mannered even through the bamboo partition, so she clearly still saw herself as his student.

She also sounded somewhat excited.

“They will probably choose to wait and see how this plays out. It would be concerning if Domain Lord Hatsunaga really has been poisoned by his daughter Princess Karin so she can take his authority for herself, but there is no hard evidence of that at this point. It also is not clear what exactly Princess Karin has done to solve the Hokkaido Area’s power woes. Edo probably considers it too soon to send in a special inspector and freeze New Sapporo Domain’s authority.”

“…”

“And I must remind you that once a ninja, always a ninja. Even if Murakami Michihiko can be perfectly hidden with a new identity created by the Empire, I expect he will be back in New Sapporo Domain sooner or later if the problem here is not resolved. I do not know what connection you have with the Empire, but are they really prepared to continue protecting him indefinitely? Looking after someone long-term costs far more than just saving them the one time.”

A sigh could be heard in the steamy air.

But not from Ouka. It came from Sugiyado as he listened to her.

“Which means I can’t just leave. Not until it wouldn’t leave a bad taste in my mouth.”

That opinion had already been lurking in a corner of his mind.

The Shogunate did not seem aware how serious this was, but Princess Karin now had authority over New Sapporo Domain and might have solved the energy problem, strengthening their previously unstable defensive line. What if the tension about her position went slack? Whether it led her to burn out or act rashly, it would still shake her. What if she got it in her head that she could attack and win instead of just defending? The coming conflict might not remain in the north. There was a chance this could lead to the Cyrillic Empire pushing in toward the entire archipelago. Of course, it could also lead to the Shogunate needlessly invading Karafuto or Vladivostok after the blood rushed to their head.

And.

More than any of that.

Even without Murakami Michihiko’s involvement, if Sugiyado were to back out now, the ones ordered to investigate and resolve the problems in New Sapporo Domain would be Ouka, Bara, Hoozuki, and Asagao. If he called it quits and that led to his students losing their lives, the regret and self-loathing would probably lead him to commit seppuku.

He could not back down now.

He had to prepare himself to deal with this.

“Fine. I guess I’ll see this through to the end.”

“Heh heh heh.”

That ticklish laughter seemed to come from Asagao.

“?”

“I knew you would say that, Sensei. Wah ha ha ha ha ha!!”

Things were taking a disconcerting turn.

Most notably, something suddenly parted down the middle like the curtains over a window or the doors to a giant airport storehouse.

What did?

What else but the bamboo partition separating the men’s and women’s baths?

(Are you kidding me!?)

“What are you doing!?”

He immediately backed away in the whitish water, but there was nothing he could do at this point.

“My, my,” said Bara who had set up this stage herself. “This is a ninja hideout, Sensei. And what kind of ninja mansion doesn’t have trap doors and secret contraptions?”

(Stop trying to pass this off as normal!)

However, a true ninja would not lose his cool at a time like this.

The time had come for Sugiyado Souha to maintain a blank expression no matter what.

“You were the one that taught us that a ninja should throw out all assumptions while in enemy territory, so why would you assume that curtains saying ‘men’s bath’ and ‘women’s bath’ meant the actual bath was divided in two?”

Ouka sounded like she was bragging, but she was also ducking down so far into the bath that it covered not just her shoulders but her chin as well. The red of her nose suggested this had turned out to be a lot more embarrassing than in her imagination.

Simply put, this had originally been just the one bath, but they had forcibly split it in two to catch him off guard. All so they could wait until he had moved far enough into the bath for them to surround him.

Four girls in only towels splashed toward him. They were not even wearing the flesh-colored skintight suits of their ninja outfits.

Asagao happily got to the point at hand.

“All we did was confirm that you never do change, Sensei. Heh heh heh. Yes, I knew you would never abandon the people here. And now it’s time to reward you for that!!”

He was only more confused now, but the other girls seemed to understand. Ouka and Bara refused to look him in the eye, but in a bashful way.

At any rate.

If they were going to do this, they could not hold back. They were a former Hidden One and four Elite Ninja kunoichis, but the Stonewalls led by Princess Karin had at least taken control of this entire domain. They could mobilize an army to eliminate just five people, so they could not let their guard down.

They had no time to spare.

A former Hidden One would not be flustered just from his students surrounding him in nothing but towels. He asked a question while keeping as cool an expression as possible.

“Asagao, I want your opinion since you’re the expert.”

“Why aren’t you blushing!? L-look, I just removed my towel below the water. There’s nothing covering me up anymore!!”

“What is the power situation in New Sapporo Domain…no, across the entire Hokkaido Area?”

“Do I need to dive underwater?”

Asagao was soaking up to her shoulders and she made a fearsome threat to the area between his legs before finally giving in and answering him.

“Boo. Looking back at the records for the past 5 years, they’ve had a lot of spontaneous power outages. They all have reasonable explanations like an accident at a transformer substation, a lightning strike, or whatever, but I think there’s a different reason. Especially since the outages are especially frequent during midsummer and midwinter. Based on the number of ordinary households with air conditioning, they seem to be short around 7 million kilowatts.”

Her mental estimation made sexy Bara frown and cross her arms. Some of the whitish water gathered in the cleavage of her large chest.

“That number doesn’t mean much to me.”

“They’re short about what three pressurized water reactor power plants would provide. To be clear, that’s the number of power plants, not the number of reactors.”

The words rattled off by the youngest girl caused Ouka, who was well on her way to mastering the ninja art of water escape, exchanged a look with Cool Beauty Hoozuki.

That meant more than 10 nuclear reactors.

If Princess Karin had appropriated all of that power for herself, what in the world was she using it for? And since handling that much power incorrectly could lead to a major explosion, couldn’t it be weaponized?

That was a level of “debt” that could not be made up just by covering a large field with solar panels or windmills.

“Commercial nuclear reactors require large quantities of coolant water at all times,” continued Asagao, “Assuming they aren’t being used in outer space, the normal method is to desalinate seawater and use that, so nuclear power plants aren’t well suited for large spaces of land like the Hokkaido Area. And sure enough, the area uses a lot of less-efficient thermal power generation. They’re trying to improve that with MHD generators, but it isn’t anywhere near enough. I can see why they’re short on power.”

Whatever the case, they would figure it out in due time.

While soaking in the whitish water, Sugiyado Souha decided they had to start by investigating how Princess Karin was making up for the insufficient power and what danger that method posed. After all, this was the equivalent of three nuclear power plants all at once. It was best not to speculate, but even if whatever-it-was had been built for peaceful purposes, he was pretty sure someone would be able to abuse it.

“…”

He would figure this out.

Before Princess Karin relaxed and carelessly made a devastating choice.

3: Target

The following morning arrived.

You might think of ninjas as working in the shadows of the night, but they would operate in the light of day as well. They would act whenever necessary, they would get enough rest to ensure their top performance, and they would always make sure to remain inconspicuous.

However…

“What the hell? Who is this?”

Sugiyado lightly slapped his hand at something soft near his face.

“Ahn, that’s my butt, Sensei.”

“…”

“By the way, if you turn the other way, you’ll be burying your face in Hoozuki’s chest. Who, I might add, is currently borrowing one of your shirts.”

“Bara? And Hoozuki too?”

“There’s no real time limit for dealing with that old man’s case, is there? So why not take a bit of a detour for some pink and milky-white fun with us?”

“I trusted you to not be like this, but maybe I should rethink relying on you here.”

Four figures scrambled from his bed as quickly as they could manage. They all sat down in a row on the wooden flooring. Those students knew how to tell when Sugiyado Souha was willing to put up with some joking and when he was not.

Bara wore a negligee, Ouka wore pastel pajamas, and they all gave each other cautious looks.

“You disgusted him with the horribly cliché choice to use your chest.” (Bara)

“Using your butt seems worse to me. I mean, that’s your lower body.” (Hoozuki)

“The worst one was Ouka. She climbed headfirst under the covers and fell asleep with her face between his legs. And that was very much intentional on her part.” (Asagao)

“Hey, don’t act all pure yourself, Asagao. We all know why you’re wearing those over-the-top panda costume PJs.” (Ouka)

Nothing he said seemed to get through to them.

Technically speaking, they were his former students and were now independent Elite Ninjas. Responding to this oddity in New Sapporo Domain was the expected response for spies who served the Shogunate, so there was no real reason for them to do so under his command. In fact, they could earn a lot of points if they bound him and threw him back into Abashiri’s special prison (even if they were the ones who had broken him out in the first place).

He could not forget that this was not the expected situation. It only worked thanks to so much kindness on their part.

“Now, then.”

Letting that show would only make the kunoichis more self-conscious, so he casually kept it hidden while he too left the bed. He wanted to check on something before he took a shower.

A Fount of Knowledge, a complex device hooked up to various communication devices, sat on the living room’s glass table.

“Let’s see how much this has gathered.”

“Wait, Sensei! Let me use the Fount!”

Asagao hopped to her feet and followed after him. That seemed to restore the flow of time for the other girls because they began to move as well.

Staying focused at all times during an important mission would only lead to burnout. They needed to get a set amount of rest at set times, but anyone who had been up all night worrying about something would know that was much easier said than done. People tended to fall out of their usual rhythm and routine on important days or when not allowed a single mistake. And the effect was greatest when their own life or someone close to them’s life was on the line.

But it was also true that shutting your eyes and falling asleep would cause time to pass.

It was a waste to not use that time to accomplish something.

That was why Sugiyado had altered his phone’s settings to have the device automatically gather information while he was resting. It did not take all that much intelligence to use a crawler to gather data like you were pulling a drain plug in the vast ocean of the internet.

Extremely small Asagao licked her lips as she checked on the device.

“Mechanical data harvesting is fairly indiscriminate, so you end up with a lot. There’s a bit of a trick to filtering the results, so just leave that to me.”

“You make it sound complicated, but isn’t it similar to knowing the best search terms to narrow down the results on a search engine?” asked an exasperated Ouka, but Asagao did not seem remotely bothered.

They were most interested in the core of Princess Karin’s electrical infrastructure, but they were not going to find a specifications document just sitting out there on the open internet.

Still, there were other hints to be found.

The Stonewalls.

The central members of Amamo, Yukizasa, and Oume.

New Sapporo Domain’s classified server had been tampered with to hide those terms, so they held great meaning.

“Here we go.” Asagao seemed to be enjoying herself. “They’re doing a lot to hide their names, but they’ve transported a few cargo containers to different locations. This says they contain…electronic garbage like computers and phones.”

“So pure gold in another form?”

“If you know a little ‘alchemy’, you can get a fair bit from the circuit boards and semiconductors. Since they aren’t crossing the ocean, there’s no need to make payments over fiberoptic where the deal might be discovered.”

“Where are they sending the gold bars in trash form?”

Sugiyado reached over to touch the screen. Asagao twisted her body to complain, but he ignored that.

“The Teine Workshop District in New Sapporo Domain.”

“None of this is concrete.”

Bara was right.

And you could not take their skill in this field lightly. Places like this contained technology even more advanced than global corporations. Modern ninjas like them were pros at preventing the theft of technology by foreign states. They could not exactly do their job without knowing where that technology was found.

In fact, their ninja noses were telling them something here.

Had this been intentionally organized as a collection of small workshops instead of a single major corporation or laboratory so it would not stand out in the paperwork?

It would not be unusual for each individual workshop to be smaller than a convenience store or gas station, but they would cover a 5km square of land when all brought together. If they were all working together as a single large entity instead of competing for survival, then that would be a productive facility with incredible power.

“Is it like taking a skyscraper, cutting apart each division, and spreading those out along the ground, Sensei?”

They used slow-melting artificial snow as an environmental defense policy, two strategic antiaircraft lasers towered up on the outskirts, four 900mm rapid-fire railguns and a moat full of electrolyte liquid sensors protected the castle, and a since-abandoned linear motor train network could be found underground.

This frigid land had large areas of empty space, so the Shogunate’s usual defensive theories did not apply. But who had done R&D on all the equipment used to defend this northern land?

In the modern age, civilian satellite services could be used to search through even the most remote areas of the world, so building a secret base deep in the mountains was meaningless.

However…

“It’s all white, Sensei.”

As Ouka leaned up against him to peer at (Asagao’s) phone, he viewed the satellite and analyzed what he saw.

“That’s probably the artificial snow, but there sure is a lot of it even for the area around New Sapporo Domain. That much seems like it would be a strain on the building rooftops.”

The slow-melting artificial snow was used as an environmental defense.

The idea was for it to slow the advance of an Imperial army arriving from overseas, but that was all hypothetical. Hindering the people’s lives for that would entirely defeat the purpose. And yet there it all was. The thick layer of snow did more than color the image white. It also appeared to obstruct measurements made with infrared and microwave.

Sugiyado chose his words with careful attention to where he was steering the conversation.

“If they’re deploying so much of that ‘defense’, is that some kind of crucial location?”

It only looked like a working class area of plain workshops, but it was actually the same as a company town that controlled the finances of an entire giant automobile factory or semiconductor manufacturer.

“Whether she goes to the Shogunate, the Empire, a company, or a university, Princess Karin thinks relying on someone else for her power means handing them her Achilles heel. That means she will have her own technology division to keep that Achilles heel in her grasp.”

“Is that what this is?” asked Bara.

“It might not look it, but I bet that place has the strictest security. Probably about as difficult as sneaking into an international corporations’ HQ.”

A new electrical system was being set up to recover their defensive infrastructure.

It had to be the equivalent of more than 10 nuclear reactors.

The system used might or might not be dangerous, but Princess Karin and the Stonewalls had at the very least killed one person at Abashiri’s special prison, poisoned the domain lord, and stolen New Sapporo Domain’s authority. Things would not have progressed this far if their reasons were something anyone would accept if they simply explained them.

It would be well worth investigating this (giant strategic military research institute disguised as a) workshop district. Whatever Princess Karin was ultimately thinking, nipping this new electrical system in the bud would mean grasping the Achilles heel of the Stonewalls who had taken over New Sapporo Domain and held great influence over the entire Hokkaido Area.

“Let’s work out a concrete plan,” said Sugiyado. “We don’t have much time.”

“Checking back in time, there are a few facial recognition readings.” Asagao snatched back her phone. “The Stonewalls are hiding their faces to an extent, but they aren’t perfect. Now, I think they’re skilled enough to do a better job, but they get lazy because they know Princess Karin can cover for them.”

“Does that mean one of the other three are defending the shopping district?”

“They appear to be working on a rotation, Sensei. I can’t tell if there’s a schedule or if it’s randomized, but using the most straightforward pattern, I know who will probably be next.”

Perhaps because Asagao herself used her youth as a weapon, she did not hold back the cruel smile as she revealed this information.

“Taganuma Yukizasa. As the youngest, she uses her light weight and short limbs to specialize in combat in closed and dark spaces.”

4: Strategic Military Research Institute

The ground and roofs were covered by more than meter of white snow.

This was supposedly out-of-season artificial snow, but the artificial had taken over the natural environment here. It must have had an effect similar to a mist shower because the area felt as cold as the inside of a giant refrigerated warehouse.

This was the Teine Workshop District of northern New Sapporo Domain.

Everything in the city of Sapporo was arranged like a go board, but this one area felt a lot more cluttered and complex. The inconvenience for transportation meant most ordinary traffic avoided the area, so the layout was in fact an intentional way of creating a deserted atmosphere. The place looked like a collection of mid and small-sized city workshops left behind by the times. Without any obvious landmarks like the clock tower, TV station, and New Sapporo Castle, few tourists ever visited. It felt like a place with a closed cycle of locals and only locals.

But all of that was camouflage.

This area buried in white snow had in fact been chosen by Princess Karin as a cutting-edge strategic military research institute that influenced the entire Hokkaido Area’s defensive plans.

Setting up obvious anti-personnel and anti-tank mines or coils of barbed wire would only rouse suspicions, but there were still a variety of traps in evidence. Broken bottles could be seen on the snow as makeshift caltrops, a peek into the back alleys showed kerosene tanks and propane tanks hooked up to wires and switches, and sheets covered in a thick layer of snow would send you tumbling to the ground if you took even a light step onto the rooftops.

It was all very effective without seeming conspicuous if an ordinary person happened to get injured by one.

By using everyday items, the presence of ninjas would not come to light even if the traps were discovered.

It was all very carefully set up that way, showing this was professional work.

That white land was currently being defending by…

(Taganuma Yukizasa.)

At 12, she was the youngest of the four kunoichis at the center of the Stonewalls. She was supposedly an expert at combat in cramped or dark areas thanks to her short height and short limbs.

Her ninja outfit was composed of full-body carbon nanotube chainmail with one piece of cloth around her chest and another around her hips.

Yes.

The girl with semi-long hair used a combination of logical combat and techniques that used her undeveloped body to create an opening.

Her ninja weapon was known as a Beak.

Synthetic rope was wrapped around the butt end of a mountain climbing ice axe to create something similar to a kusarigama. She could move in close and swing it down at her enemy or she could use the rope to swing the weapon around in an irregular fashion, catching at a target’s clothing and keeping them from escaping.

(And she could have it poisoned.)

Altering the type and concentration of poison, she could cause paralysis, pain, delirium, fainting, and even death. It was an exceedingly dangerous weapon that could strike like a scorpion or a spider.

But wait.

If Yukizasa was a kunoichi hidden in the shadows of history, how did Sugiyado know exactly what she looked like? They might have gotten a photo of her face from New Sapporo Castle’s server room, but that would not have told him that the young ninja with semi-long hair used a Beak or wore a chainmail ninja outfit.

The answer was simple.

“There, that’s a good girl. Just go limp and let the darkness take you.”

He snuck up on her from behind.

Sugiyado Souha placed the back of his elbow around the young girl’s slender neck and dragged her into a back alley before using his legs to restrain her torso and arms like a stag beetle’s mandibles.

His down jacket made a sound from the movement.

The girl’s butt had already fallen onto the unmelting snow and she was not recovering anytime soon. She might as well have fallen backwards while carrying a backpack heavier than she was.

He had used a stranglehold that applied pressure to her carotid artery rather than her windpipe.

That would knock someone out in a dozen seconds or so no matter how much they trained or what their lung capacity was.

“––––––”

There was no scream.

She could not escape the pressure, like she was being strangled by the shoulder strap of her own backpack.

She tried to reach a small hand toward a tripwire nearby – perhaps hoping the blast-resistance of her ninja outfit would save her – but she could not attempt a recovery with the explosive trap because his legs were pinning her arms in place.

She clenched her teeth in a desperate attempt to avoid foaming at the mouth and she finally went limp once her adorable eyes rolled back in her head. There was no dignity there. The irregular twitching of the 12-year-old’s young body was no more than convulsions, not conscious actions.

Silver ponytail Hoozuki approached with feet crunching through the white snow and she put an exasperated hand on her hip.

“Sensei, you’re a little too good at this. You’re looking an awful lot like a teacher who loves using corporal punishment.”

“Victory is a physical phenomenon, so don’t let your emotions influence it, Hoozuki. Besides, I would have been in trouble if I tried to attack her head on. I have to throw my air pressure kunais, so we fight best at completely different ranges.”

“Please don’t ruin our secret date by lecturing me.”

He removed his arm and legs from Yukizasa’s neck and torso and let her small body fall unceremoniously to the snow. After running his hands across the minimal curves of her body to check for her possessions, he pulled an ID card, communicator, and other usable items from her pocket and tossed them to Ouka.

Then he lined up her Stonewall ninja tools on the snow: a collapsible shovel, a powerful light used to dazzle an enemy’s eyes instead of as a light source, and the Beak made from an ice axe.

“…”

“Sensei?”

Ouka tilted her head in her ninja outfit while showing no concern for the tripwire nearby.

“There’s more,” he said with a sigh.

He was not done yet. The ninja instructor looked down at his defeated foe and stuck his index finger into her mouth while she lay limp but trembling on the snow.

He ran his finger along the inside of her cheeks, scratched at her back teeth with his nail, and finally tore away and pulled out a filling.

He smiled a little.

It was the look of a soldier after successfully defusing a mine.

“Capsaicin, huh?”

“That’s what’s in chili peppers, so it’s a fairly moral choice as far as ninja drugs go.”

Bara was keeping an eye on their surroundings with her projectiles at the ready and she was familiar with poisons because she would apply various chemicals to the needles of hardened candy she fired from her coilguns.

“It’s usually used to blind an opponent, but it can also be used to help rouse you. If you want to see if it’s taken effect, you can open one of her eyelids and shine a light in her eye.”

“Thanks.”

“Heh heh hehhh. You can always count on me to spice up a secret date☆ All that’s missing now is a romantic aphrodisiac.”

Simply put, the capsaicin filling was a means of forcibly rousing the girl after half a minute or so even if she was caught by surprise and knocked unconscious.

Once her opponent relaxed, assuming she had been neutralized, she could stab them in the back before the giddiness of victory had even worn off. Ninjas did not aim for an undefeated record. They would turn themselves into zombies if it would give them the win in the end.

“Neat, so is it like the Cicada Spray?” said theory-loving Asagao. “I’d heard other schools have something similar.”

“Huh? Cicada?” asked practical Hoozuki who could bring down an armored truck or attack helicopter using her Countless Calamities off-road motorcycle that she could transform into a shuriken launcher or wield as a giant axe similar to a circular saw.

The difference in knowledge there may have come from their difference in individual combat skill. In other words, Asagao was always searching for information because she lacked confidence.

In that case, Hoozuki was the one in trouble. A ninja obviously needed to know their enemy’s weaknesses, but they also needed to know their enemy’s strengths so they could use those to create an opening. Feeling doubt to the point of paranoia was a problem, but the opposite end of the spectrum was arrogance. They needed to strike a balance. Sugiyado made a mental note to give them a refresher on that topic once he had a chance.

Assuming you were, and would always be, the strongest was toxic.

Sugiyado himself had broken his legs and back and been forced to retire after repeatedly pushing himself more and more because he thought he could go “just a little further”.

At any rate, Asagao let out some visible breaths as she laughed in a way too wicked for someone of her age.

“At least it’s only similar. With the real one, if you have a few seconds before passing out, you relax all of your muscles to let everything out. Ammonia is an ingredient in smelling salts, you see.”

That explained the Cicada Spray name.

“I notice you didn’t specify what you’re letting out of where.” Sugiyado sounded impressed. “You’ve matured since I last saw you, Lady Asagao.”

“Sensei, teasing me by drawing attention to it doesn’t seem very nice.”

That was because she had gotten sidetracked on that bizarre topic for no good reason. Bara knew a lot about chemicals and she had only placed a hand on her cheek and sighed. A true lady would know the answer but refrain from giving it. Asagao tearfully scowled at him, so she needed to study up on etiquette a bit more.

Restraining the unconscious kunoichi was simple enough.

Most kunoichis wore ninja outfits made from thin but sturdy materials to help them against bigger or more numerous opponents, so no special ropes or handcuffs were necessary. Pinching the cloth together and tying it like that would “connect” their limbs, torso, and other movable parts, transforming their outfits into inescapable straightjackets.

“I have a question for you four. Is Yukizasa the seduction type?”

“Sensei, don’t you think her body needs to develop a lot more before she can do that?”

Bara crossed her arms to intentionally lift up her large chest inside her oiran-style ninja outfit. That provoked a reaction out of baggy-sleeved Asagao.

“I can charm you just as well as Bara, Sensei! Boobs aren’t anything. Mh, you don’t believe me, do you? I’ll be visiting you tonight, so I hope you’re ready!!”

“What do you think, Sensei?” asked Ouka.

“Probably not,” he replied.

He had only asked them to help him work through his unorganized thoughts.

He continued while making sure to avoid stepping on a handmade bear trap made by breaking apart a commercial lawnmower to expose the thick blades and then burying it in the artificial snow.

“She probably does use her exposed figure to distract her opponent’s thoughts in combat, but no more than that. A ninja who uses full-on seduction would change her tune once she was at a disadvantage, but she showed no sign of that even as she passed out.”

A ninja outfit designed for sex appeal would sometimes be given an intentional weakness to heat or a specific chemical so it could provide defense but also break away on command, but Yukizasa’s was made of purely defensive chainmail. That was probably meant to make up for her small size as the youngest of her group, but she could not escape it once it was used to bind her. And Sugiyado was not against using the methods available to him.

He had knocked her out in an alley entrance, but he chose an even more private location for the rest.

But thanks to his damaged spine, he could not drag even a small 12-year-old around. He got Bara and Hoozuki’s help to hide the small body behind a wooden box in the narrow alley and then placed a blue tarp over her. While making sure to avoid the tripwire connected to a kerosene tank, of course.

The snow was artificial, but the unconscious girl could still freeze to death left lying in it. And waking up would not help her there since she was bound with her own ninja outfit. But her ninja outfit was designed for use in this frigid northern land. As thin as it was, it would still have an insulated design that reflected IR back at herself to preserve her body heat. She would probably be fine left here. Twintails Ouka tilted her head.

“Huh? Shouldn’t you hide her better than that?”

“She wasn’t some guard on the outskirts – she was the center of their security system. Once she stops reporting in, their alert level will go up no matter what we do, so they’ll start a search of the entire area. North New Sapporo Domain’s Teine Workshop District is their backyard, so they’ll find her no matter where we hide her, unless we chop up her corpse and bury the pieces.”

“…”

Ouka gave him an extremely harsh look that said “there are four of us and we could have that done in no time if you gave the order”, but her instructor had something else to say.

“Our presence here will be noticed no matter what, so the question is what we do then. We have everything we need: her ID card, communicator, and a set of Stonewall ninja tools. So let’s get going, Ouka. The rest of you too.”

5: Stroll Through the Weapons Plant

The center of New Sapporo Domain was methodically laid out like a shogi board, but this workshop area was an intricate arrangement of narrow roads with lots of one-way and no-entry signs. Not to mention the snow. Not only did it cause visitors to get lost, but certain locations could be cut off from their surroundings by several lesser-used roads.

At first glance, it was not obvious what route to take. Without the use of a satellite service, they would have stood out from their surroundings.

“Continue as planned,” whispered Sugiyado.

In their ninja outfits that perfected a combination of sex appeal and practicality, Ouka, Bara, and Hoozuki vanished upwards in the blink of an eye. They had jumped up to the single-story rooftops with some help from the layer of snow thicker than a meter below their feet. With their physical abilities boosted by the special flexible material of their ninja outfits, a jump like that was nothing. And they were not dumb enough to step on a rooftop trap and tumble back down to the ground along with a thick layer of snow.

Black-haired and white-uniformed Asagao remained on the ground, but…

“W-wait, Sensei, what am I supposed to do? I can’t fight or jump up onto the roofs even with the same equipment as them.”

“…”

“That kind look! I’m the one left behind while the rest enjoy a secret date today, aren’t I!?”

He ignored her protests. When fortunate enough to be working in a group, it was best to leave one person behind so they could respond in case of emergency.

From here on, moving swiftly was more important than blending into the crowd, so he removed his down jacket and tossed it over Asagao’s head while she puffed out her cheeks.

“You wait here. And hold onto that for me.”

“Pwah. I’m not a kitten you can leave at the pet hotel while on vacation! You can’t…you can’t placate me with…ahh, I can feel your warmth. No, I won’t let this work!”

Bara’s manic voice reached them over the radio.

“Oh ho ho! I’m going to be extra demanding today after being left out yesterday, Sensei!!”

He could have called Ekaterina or Murakami Michihiko in for support, but he did not know either of them well enough. He wanted someone he knew would be able to respond immediately.

So he trudged off through the snow on his own.

The entire area was a 5km square, but each individual workshop was smaller than a convenience store. They were all packed in tight, so there was simply not enough time to sneak into each of them to check them out. He wanted to pinpoint target the right one, but they did not know which one was the center.

“Asagao, how’s the data look?”

“Why am I stuck with a no-touching-allowed long-distance internet relationship? Boo. …Anyway, this is tricky. Data security here might be even stricter than at New Sapporo Castle.”

“Because unlike the castle, there’s no defined honmaru or server room.”

It was best to use the process of elimination at times like this.

The warehouse district had no obvious symbols of authority. There was no tenshukaku, president’s office, or other seat of power, but there was also no supercomputer, server room, or centralized manufacturing equipment. All of that had been made as parallel and distributed as possible to avoid having an obvious “giant core”.

But.

What had to be kept all in one place no matter how much they tried to distribute everything?

This northern land’s defense system had been expanded to the point that it required as much power as 10 nuclear reactors to run. No matter what system they used, that would make for one hell of a toy.

Sugiyado sensed a stir up ahead.

The roads here were narrow and labyrinthine, but he still hid himself in an alley off to the side. An old wooden board with several long nails sticking out of it was left on the ground nearby, presumably to act like a beartrap.

“…”

The combined electricity/gas/water meter on the wall nearby was displaying a warning color on its small LCD screen.

Something was wrong.

But this was not just an electrical or gas leak.

There were no sirens sounding, but that may have been borrowing the logic of submarines. Everyone in the area had been swiftly and silently notified to not give away their presence. Most likely, every worker and guard in the 5km area had received an emergency email on their mobile devices.

A few roars of engines he guessed belonged to snowmobiles passed by on the road he had just vacated. They had the light but violent roar of a chainsaw.

(That’s fine. I figured we would be detected eventually.)

This was effectively a defense weapon development base maintained by the Stonewalls, so they would have a failsafe in place. If an enemy attack was detected, they would have to go through a few steps.

For example:

1. Lock down all the major entrances and exits so no one else could get in or not.

2. Use overwhelming numbers to search out and restrain the intruders.

3. Report any human or material damage or theft and run a search for any bombs or traps that might have been set up.

And they were using as much energy as 10 nuclear reactors, so…

4. Temporarily shut down any dangerous experiments underway behind the thick walls.

No one would want to be killed by their own invention blowing up.

People’s actions were a reflection of their heart.

Blindly making waves would never end well, but if you put together a careful plan, knew where to look, and made careful observations, you could learn something from it.

That said, ninja strategies lacked a decisive blow. Ninjas sought two kinds of power: the power to put together a detailed plan and the power to adlib their way through problems.

So they generally played things by ear.

He chose to follow this route to the center since their presence had been noticed, but if their opponent had behaved differently, he would have taken a different route to his goal.

“Now, then.”

Once he heard some dogs released nearby, he climbed onto a nearby rooftop and abandoned the surface route.

Nowhere here was safe.

It never was in enemy territory.

The rooftops were also covered in a thick layer of snow. Step in the wrong spot and you would fall to the ground along with a slipping sheet and the snow on top of it. In some areas, the snow melt cables had been intentionally shorted to leave a high-voltage current for someone to unwittingly stumble across. He had to assume the traps were more dangerous in the places ordinary people would never tread.

“…”

When he took a careful look from above, he saw some guards equipped with cross-country skis that could be folded up and stored in the shin of their boots. They gave some instructions to a large dog and then moved elsewhere. They were also equipped with submachineguns that had a grip and a ski pole built in, so they were presumably meant to be fired from the hip while aiming with a laser pointer. All this equipment confirmed his suspicions that these were Stonewall ninjas.

(They may have sealed the place off, but it’s a big area. Some footprints in the snow isn’t enough to put them on alert.)

Then there was the dog. His back felt funny at 5kg and it exploded with pain at 10kg, so he would be trapped if he was pinned by a dog of that size. He needed to be careful.

They photographed his footprints.

If he wanted to avoid being caught that way, he needed to change the soles of his shoes. Plus, how he carried his weight could be used to identify him. His own legs felt weird with every step he took thanks to the extra sole and insole he was using.

That was a pain, but he looked way from his feet.

There were a surprising number of people around. Some of those were of course pursuing the intruder that had entered the strategic military research institute known as the Teine Workshop District and that had taken out On-Site Commander Taganuma Yukizasa, but there was something else going on as well.

It felt like he was seeing a scattered minority trying to escape while the majority were on the attack.

For example, he saw a teenage girl who did not look like the fighting type and he saw an old lady wearing a workshop jumpsuit. The trick to being a courier was not to be strong and tough. It was to be nondescript enough to never stand out in a crowd. In that sense, they were perfect.

Because they were not acting.

No one acted more naturally than an actual amateur. That was why careless travelers might end up with a strange plastic bag shoved in their travel bag at the airport while they were not paying attention. In the same way, these people may not have been told what it was they were carrying.

“…”

He found that much more interesting, so he spoke into the small mic hidden below his scarf.

“Ouka, Bara. I’ve marked some runners who look like amateurs to me. Cut off their escape and restrict their available routes. Hoozuki, you provide backup.”

“Will do, Sensei.”

Ouka sounded excited.

He had only climbed onto the roof to prevent the dog from following his scent and there was no completely safe place here, so he hopped down from the roof at a convenient place and then moved below the eaves. He made sure not to step on any of the makeshift caltrops made with broken bottles while he waited for a surveillance drone to pass by overhead.

“Coordinate DD32. Using ID card in 3, 2, 1…”

As Ouka made her countdown, the drone unnaturally turned back the way it had come. Just as he heard the quiet roar of a snowmobile engine on another street, several bullet-shaped objects flew from one roof to another.

“…”

Word of Yukizasa’s defeat would have reached them by now, so what would happen when Ouka used the stolen ID card? But that could be extremely useful when you wanted to put the hornet’s nest in a frenzy.

While security was focused in that direction, Sugiyado stealthily pursued the amateur girl and old woman.

(Okay.)

The more intense the defense team, the more the escape team stood out by moving in the opposite direction.

They might as well have been dunked in glow-in-the-dark paint.

They also cautiously (or fearfully) avoided the area where Ouka had used the ID card knowing it would be detected. As amateurs, they were not going to take the long way to check for anyone tailing them and they did not know how to use diversions or distractions.

But even though he could defeat amateurs like this with ease, Sugiyado did not immediately go in for the attack. He observed them from a reasonable distance to figure out where they were headed.

The answer surprised him.

“Asagao, I’d like some analysis. What is this?”

“So you can’t forget how sweet my presence is even when we’re apart? Grin, grin. Anyway, that’s officially designated as a park, but it’s effectively an empty lot since they removed all the playground equipment and banned playing there with a ball or whatever because it’s too dangerous.”

“So it’s really nothing? Not what I expected.”

The rectangular space was about half the size of a soccer field and covered in more than a meter of white snow.

The escape team had gotten here ahead of him, so where had they gone?

He had retired from active duty, but he still had the skills he had built up.

He was not about to lose sight of an amateur.

The footprints in the snow just stopped all of a sudden and there was no sign of a car or snowmobile having driven through.

They could not have been picked up by helicopter either. He would not have overlooked a hot-air balloon, flying car, or any other vehicle flying through the wide-open sky.

They must have used some other method.

This area had none of the traps made with everyday items…but that did not mean it was unimportant. They might have chosen not to lay any traps here because a normal person stepping on one could end up drawing attention to the place.

He looked down at where the footprints completely vanished.

“Wait, could it be?”

“Sensei?”

He put off answering Ouka’s question over the radio.

“Asagao, you must have already checked on the map. I want to know how deep the snow is here.”

“Since it’s artificial, you can’t use the weather maps for that. But if we can trust the laser measurement data, it’s 103cm in that area.”

“Is it really?” He had no proof of this, so he naturally grew more cautious in his wording. “Laser measurements are taken by sending IR down from a satellite, measuring the reflection, and comparing the result to the actual terrain. But that tells you more than just the altitude. You can combine the results to give yourself an accurate 3D diagram, similar to lining up gourd slices.”

“What’s your point, Sensei?” asked Asagao.

“But that only works when no one messes with the process. If someone sets up shiny mirrors or black carbon pigments that absorb any wavelength, the results will come back wrong. Then what about this place? The entire place is covered with unnatural artificial snow.”

“Oh.”

“The Stonewalls have been raising the land little by little while changing the reflectivity of the artificial snow so the satellite’s laser measurements won’t notice. The environmental defense policy lets them keep this snow out here year round, so no one would even notice if the ground below the hardened snow had been lifted, even by more than a meter. Or if the space below had been dug out to create a giant igloo or cave.”

“So is that park itself a giant lab?” gasped Bara over the radio.

“B-but wait a second, Sensei,” cut in Ouka. “We don’t know the scope of their experiment, but aren’t they ultimately trying to build a medium that can produce more energy than 10 nuclear reactors? You’re only talking about snow and ice. I doubt that could physically shield against an emergency!”

She had a point.

Or she would have if this snow had fallen from the sky and the ice had frozen on a lake.

“They used a special plastic,” he bluntly stated. “Something like polystyrene. It’s harder than metal and extremely light, so I bet they hid it below the snow.”

“You’re kidding, right? We’re talking about a lab that manages more energy than 10 nuclear reactors. I don’t know how much they built up the area using the snow, but you would need dozens of meters of that special plastic to create a physical barrier capable of preventing disaster!”

“What if it could change shape to redirect impacts, just like your ninja outfits do?”

That idea overturned the idea of heavy armor or a solid fortress.

But it was not a crazy idea.

They could do it here.

“They use an emulsion. Water and oil tend not to mix, but with a surfactant, they will appear to behave like a single mixed liquid. That was used to create the polystyrene plastics.”

“But doesn’t that end once it hardens?” asked Bara. “I doubt that would provide the muscle-like flexibility you’re talking about.”

“It hasn’t hardened.”

“Then how is it any different from a gooey adhesive?” asked Asagao.

He smiled a little at that.

Preconceptions were hard to shake.

“With an emulsion, Particle A and Particle B might appear to mix together, but they never actually combine and become a different substance. It’s more like B slips into the gaps between A. But if you mess with the water molecules filling that space, A and B will behave very differently. Did you forget, Bara? And Asagao too? New Sapporo Domain has the perfect toy for this.”

“Oh,” he heard Asagao say over the radio.

He nodded.

“The slow-melting artificial snow, which you can see all around you. That snow has clearly been altered in some way since it doesn’t melt at ordinary temperatures. If they combined that with the high-polymer water-absorbing gel used in your ninja outfits, then it’s doable. By controlling the water molecules that act as the solidifying core, they can create a new plastic that freely switches between rigid and flexible.”

The usual assumptions of construction did not apply here.

What should harden, did not. And what had supposedly hardened would ignore the usual rules by growing soft once more.

Ninja outfits were so thin they had more or less become a part of the wearer’s skin, yet they could hold back the force of a bullet. In the same way, a decently thick layer of this plastic could be placed over the lab to eliminate the risks presented by an accident.

Because…

“…”

A heavy rumbling reached him.

He slowly turned around to see a gray giant had partially crushed the roof of a small workshop across the road.

They already had it working at a military level.

This cutting-edge fighter was made by strengthening a slender girl’s body, with a focus on the arms and legs, and simply giving her thicker armor. A smooth mass of fine-tuned plastic stood over three meters tall.

It produced a sound like a pressure cooker or locomotive, so it may have used steam power.

Destroying the building’s roof seemed to have set off a few traps using tripwires or electrodes. Explosions and sparks from high-voltage lines scattered around, but the giant did not seem to care. Nor had she taken any noticeable damage.

The smooth surface gave off an unnatural rainbow light similar to a soap bubble or the surface of a movie disk. The unique structure was probably refracting the light. From the look of that, simple explosions would be useless and even a warship’s laser beam would only melt the surface a little while most of its power was deflected away.

This next-gen powered suit determined the behavior of an emulsion by messing with the core of water molecules that decided how hard the special plastic would be. Part of that likely used the same high-polymer water-absorbing gel found in the kunoichis’ ninja outfits.

If so, it could do more than just protect against bullets and explosions in combat. By adjusting its flexibility on command, it could also boost the wearer’s physical abilities.

Something was staring at Sugiyado from the center of the gray.

“Found you.”

It was Taganuma Yukizasa.

That youngest of the Stonewall elites used the humiliation burning inside her to get her murderous internal combustion engine running.

He had saved her life.

He had let her live when he could have killed her.

But she apparently had too much pride to view it that way.

Instead, his failure to finish her off only inspired more anger and humiliation over her defeat. The young kunoichi bit her lip and then gave a roar as if releasing all of the emotions built up inside her.

“I’ve found the intruder!!”

6: The Stonewalls in their Element

Now that their eyes had met, there was no peaceful route out of this. Mutual understanding was generally presented as a beautiful thing, but not so in the ninja world. Understanding was meant to be a one-way thing. You never sat at the same table and any location containing two ninjas of different affiliations was known as a battlefield.

But before they got started, Sugiyado made sure to say one thing using the small mic on the inside of his scarf. While making sure the scarf would keep her from reading his lips.

“Change of plans. Ouka, you infiltrate the depths of the park. You can find the entrance and do that, can’t you? Hoozuki, you support her. I’ve already been spotted by Yukizasa, so I’ll draw her away along with as many other enemy troops as I can. That should give you more room to work, but make sure you don’t get caught while I draw them away.”

“Sensei, what should I do?” asked Bara.

“I hate to ask this, but could you support me? But you haven’t been spotted yet, so use your hair coilguns. Load your heavy Tatami Needles and focus on sniping from a safe distance while staying on the move. You’re the best one for that job.”

“Yes! A personal request for a one-on-one secret date!! Joint work with Sensei☆”

“Tch. That sounds way more fun,” complained Ouka.

He heard the heavy sound of someone jumping. Heavily-equipped Yukizasa had jumped toward him, crushing a small workshop’s roof in the process. She was not just landing near him. She intended to crush him with her weight. If that was a mass of pure plastic, it would weigh 500kg, making it about the same as a light car. And if it was also bulletproof and blast-resistant, then it would probably weigh even more.

“!?”

He reflexively drew two air-pressure kunais from the bottom of his short-sleeve dress shirt, but that was not going to accomplish much. Even if he killed Yukizasa at the core, the plastic armor would still crush him. The moment she landed was his biggest opportunity, but he could only use that to roll out of the way. After that, he left the park and ran into the labyrinthine streets.

She did not seem bothered by this.

She must not have expected to actually kill him with the first move. She showed no real surprise and pursued him like nothing had changed. She approached with the intensity of construction machinery. She tripped more and more of their own wires and IR beams, stepped on lawnmower beartraps and glass shard caltrops, and triggered all sorts of explosions.

If she caught up to him, he was done for. He could not escape a rush from those massive fists.

Taganuma Yukizasa was an expert at fighting in closed and dark places.

That stance remained unchanged. If he was not confident in his ability to emerge victorious after grappling with those wrecking ball arms, he had to avoid engaging her in high-speed infighting.

Besides, defeating her was not his goal.

His goal was to investigate what was hidden in the Teine Workshop District and destroy it if necessary.

This battle was unnecessary and he would gain nothing by insisting on victory at the cost of his own life.

“But she isn’t going to let me go either.”

“Why the hell would I? I don’t know who you are, but you’re telling me everything. While I smash your body beyond recognition, one piece at a time!!”

Her killer intent hit him like a physical blow.

Blatant threats had a way of making people flinch, but that did not work against trained ninjas.

Her giant gray powered suit was made from a miraculous plastic created by messing with water molecules. It had an average range of between two and three meters. Sugiyado had to continually fall back to stay out of that range, but no matter how persistently she moved that giant body toward him, she could not reach him. Given the size of the suit, she should have been able to just reach out and grab him at this range.

“Shh!!”

He threw a Fierce Fang air pressure kunai from close enough range that it was more like stabbing with a spear than launching a projectile. The instant nitrogen foam contained in the grip converted it into a tool that harnessed a maximum of 15 tons of force to pry open even a tank’s hatch if the tip was stabbed into the crack. However…

“That ain’t gonna work!” she roared.

Her powerful arm flew through the air and caught a nearby wall along the way. The storm of rubble altered the air pressure kunai’s path.

Just then, he heard a dull thud and the 3m giant tilted to the side. It was a lot like a bat had been swung into the side of her head, but yet again…

“Wow, that thing’s solid!!”

(Not even Bara’s Tatami Needle can get through? But that’s a depleted uranium alloy!!)

A second and third shot hit Yukizasa, but they were equally ineffective.

The impacts themselves were reaching the girl.

But that suit was made from a special transformable plastic, so she may have prepared bags of resupply pellets and hidden them in the snow around here. It was no problem for her if the suit took damage.

(Which means…)

Retrieving every trace of his projectiles would have to come later. He memorized the amount and location and then fell back. His goal was to draw the enemy away and create an opening for Ouka or Hoozuki to safely and successfully sneak into the secret base, but that would all fall apart if he was taken out here. He had ordered them to infiltrate that place, so he had to assist in their escape as well.

“What the hell!? What school are you from? Tell me, cause this isn’t making any damn sense. I’m getting answers here even if I have to crush your bones and squash your flesh until you’re nothing but goop inside!!”

Yukizasa shouted angrily and violently swung her artificially long arms. That kind of yelling was not very ninja-like, but it may have been an intentional switch she threw. Anger kept people from thinking logically, but that made their actions harder to predict.

Close-quarters combat required reading your opponent with lighting speed. If you wanted to be aware of the danger you faced while also spicing things up a bit, powerful emotions could do the trick. Of course, that was a high-risk, high-return doubled-edged sword. It relied on offense being the greatest defense. The idea was to take some hits in order to defeat your opponent before they could defeat you.

“Not bad for someone so tiny.”

“Shut the hell up!”

Just as her anger burned even hotter, he heard the chainsaw-like rumbling of a light engine. It was leaving the large park(?) and returning to the labyrinthine workshop district, but it came from overhead.

It was a snowmobile.

Several of the vehicle were leaping from one snow-covered rooftop to another and they were unsurprisingly driven by the Stonewalls who protected this disguised strategic military research institute (and who Princess Karin had turned into her own private force).

“This is our backyard.”

The snowmobiles generally carried two.

One was driving and the other was wielding a firearm.

“Don’t assume you can escape after messing with us. Time is on our side. We just have to call in more and more reinforcements to cut off every avenue of escape. Just like tearing off a bugs legs one by one!!”

The snowmobiles crisscrossed overhead like they were knitting wool, but after instantly noting their equipment and locations, Sugiyado grinned boldly.

“Bara, load a Tatami Needle and attack the snowmobile carrying an anti-tank rocket.”

With a thud, one of the land vehicles rotated unnaturally as it soared through the air between rooftops. The gunner in the rear seat had been trying to fire an explosive on fleeing Sugiyado to damage him even if the shot was not perfect, but the extra rotation caused their aim to veer way off.

“Yes, Sensei,” said Bara’s cheerful voice in his earpiece. “You really know how to ask a girl for a favor☆”

The anti-tank rocket’s aim shifted from Sugiyado Souha to Taganuma Yukizasa as she pursued him.

“You dumb-!?”

The small kunoichi’s protest was cut off by the rocket hitting and detonating.

Rockets were general-use weapons, but they had originally been designed to break through a tank’s armor. Not even that gray powered suit would escape this unscathed.

Sugiyado was close enough to be blown backwards by the blast, but Yukizasa had taken the brunt of it.

This was an away game for him, but that was not reason to be shy. He had to think of it as a chance to fight in a way he could not on his home field.

If he was short on firepower, he only had to borrow some from his opponent. Ninjas usually traveled light and tended not to have much firepower, so using the confusion of the battlefield to cause friendly fire among the enemy was a standard method.

The gray powered suit fell onto its back while armor shards scattered everywhere.

It triggered a few of their own traps as it fell, so some smaller explosions followed.

“Go to…hell!”

But.

It ended about how Sugiyado had expected it to.

The breaking of the armor must have kept the destructive force from reaching the human body within because the young kunoichi got up from the snow while still wielding that giant body even as it fell apart.

This was not over.

She could still move.

“Go to hell, you intruderrrrrrs!!”

She really did seem to have supply materials hidden in the snow because the holes in the thick gray armor were filled back in as if the nearby snow and ice itself were being absorbed.

Sugiyado stayed calm and swung his right hand.

He threw a Fierce Fang, lodging the weapon inside the special plastic as it repaired itself.

It landed in the very center of her flat chest.

“Uh!?”

“Be warned: that isn’t a normal kunai.”

He would have a hard time retrieving that projectile once it was absorbed within that strange plastic device, but the air pressure kunai was a ninja tool he had developed on his own after retiring and he had never registered it with the Shogunate. Unlike active duty ninjas like Ouka or Bara, they could not reveal his identity by searching the weapon in a database. He had managed to keep that tool hidden during his unofficial trial after the previous incident.

“I’m sure your ninja outfit inside that thing is bulletproof and blast-resistant, but can it rival a tank’s armor? If not, I would recommend not testing it. Once it bursts, your broken ribs will shred your lungs.”

“…”

He heard the sounds of several people kicking off the snow.

He was now surrounded by ski troops and snowmobiles on the rooftops. The gunners in the back seats were aiming submachineguns or semi-auto sniper rifles his way, but he did not seem to mind.

“I don’t care either way.”

He twirled another Fierce Fang in his hand.

It looked like he was holding a serious negotiation, but that was an illusion. He was buying time. So he wanted to force as humiliating a choice as possible onto the kunoichi and while she was in front of so many of her subordinates. That way he could keep her from making the choice right away.

“Will you give up and let me through, or will you recklessly challenge me and lose your life? I will be walking through here either way. The question is how alive you will be when I do so. The choice is yours.”

“Sensei, I’m in.”

Ouka’s voice reached him over his earpiece, so he made an estimate of how much more time he would have to buy. She was inside, so that just left searching the interior of the facility and then escaping. Just like in a video game, these things were most difficult the first time through. Everything went much faster during a replay when you already knew where to go.

Yukizasa bit her lip in front of him.

But she was unable to repair her gray armor any further.

She glanced up at her subordinates on the roofs.

She shut her eyes, sighed, and finally made up her mind. Would she live or die? There was only one possible choice.

“Okay, I’ll-”

“You will do nothing of the sort. No Stonewall would make that choice.”

A carefree voice cut her off from overhead.

It came from even higher up than the ski troops and snowmobiles on the trap-covered rooftops.

(Oh, no!)

“Yukizasa!!”

Sugiyado Souha shouted a warning, but the girl herself was only staring up in puzzlement.

Then, with a blast of explosives, a hail of metal skewers rained down from directly above. The projectiles were so numerous they covered an entire area like a falling spiked ceiling, leaving the target nowhere to run.

There was no scream.

Only the high-pitched shattering of the thick plastic armor.

The young ninja lay collapsed on the white snow.

That had come from a large axe made from bundles of small wires. The blade was covered with tightly-packed bundles of metal like a toothbrush, so when they were detonated from within, they would transform into countless sharp projectiles.

This was one of the Stonewall elites.

Which of those kunoichis had specialized in the use of explosives from a medicinal and chemical perspective, with a specialty in mine blasting?

“Horisato Oume!?”

(But our intel said they guarded Teine one at a time on a rotation!?)

Sugiyado analyzed the situation as calmly as he could manage while Oume easily landed on the snowy road.

Did they randomize even their security system itself?

That sounded simple enough, but thoughtlessly attempting that would only create confusion among their ranks from communication failures and the like. In the worst case, the unnecessary hierarchy of information would breed distrust among their own people. If they were doing that, they must have solid enough control over their communications to eliminate those risks. That would take considerable skill.

Oume’s long black hair was tied at the end and a sweet scent came from skin so white it seemed to be born of this snowy land.

The boy narrowed his eyes a little.

She was an explosives and blasting specialist. He could not keep the same distance he had from Yukizasa who specialized in extreme close range. Her fighting style would be entirely different.

She gave off a definite sex appeal even through her loose-fitting shrine maiden outfit. The way it was close to slipping off of her altogether suggested she was a travelling shrine maiden who journeyed across the land – as opposed to one who served a particular shrine – and who had lost her faith and ended up making a living through sex work. Of course, that was all camouflage meant to hide her identity as a kunoichi. Also, those corrupted shrine maidens had not worked in the well-maintained red light districts and brothels of the big cities. They had worked in the rural areas without such facilities – such as at a mine where many brawny men labored.

Horisato Oume.

She must have had belts wrapped around her body because, when she held her own body tight, glass cylinders emerged from the slits all over her shrine maiden outfit. How large an explosion could she cause with one of those containers no larger than a relay baton?

“We are all here for the hunt. I do wish Princess Karin would wait further inside where she is better protected, but that is a lost cause since you could say she was born for the battlefield.”

“…”

It would be wrong to blame Ouka or Asagao for the faulty intel. Information warfare was standard for ninjas. When everyone was working to deceive and infiltrate each other in lieu of trading physical blows, you were never going to escape entirely unscathed.

Perhaps Sugiyado should have realized the truth himself when he saw the heavy firepower the snowmobilers and skiers were using. People who worked in the mountains did need to know how to fire a gun to protect themselves from wild animals. They had to know how to shoot and how to avoid mistaking a person for an animal. These were the faithful subordinates trained by Oume, the explosives specialist, not of Yukizasa who specialized in closed and dark spaces.

“Sen…sei.”

“Ouka? Hoozuki?”

“I found it. I actually found it,” said Ouka. “I’ve arrived in the lab that hides their new power source deep underground, but is this…is this really what we were pursuing here?”

“We can talk later, Ouka!” said Hoozuki. “They’re coming! Is that Amamo who specializes in terrain effects!? Dammit, it really is like seeing a dragon hidden in the earth!!”

An unnatural tremor shook the ground below his feet and the snow fell from the rooftops.

It sounded like he was no the only one who had run into unexpected trouble.

“Asagao, this hasn’t gone as planned. I can handle myself, so you support those two’s escape.”

“Ksh, kssshhh!!”

“Her too!? Goddammit!”

He could not tell if Asagao was being jammed or if she had been physically attacked, but something was happening to her when she was supposedly outside the battlefield. Princess Karin’s Stonewalls had a longer reach than he had expected. His group had thought they were sneaking in relatively undetected, but the tables had been turned in no time. He could not let this continue. If he just let time pass, he would only be allowing true tragedy to strike.

“What do we do, Sensei!?”

(So Bara’s fine.)

She could directly fight using her Serpent Monster hair coilguns or she could ensnare people with her sex appeal and disguises. Having her meant a lot.

There was no such thing as safety or a sure thing on a ninja battlefield. Every step of the way, you had to tap the stone bridge ahead of you to see if it remained solid. So when things did not go according to plan, you had to use your best guesses based on experience. He had to work out where the greatest risk lay and who he could save to set off a chain reaction that would ultimately get them back on their feet.

He could only make one move.

Everyone’s future would be determined by where he chose to move Bara who would be a rook or bishop in shogi terms. If he chose poorly, he could have his piece taken, leading to their utter defeat.

“…”

He had to choose now.

And Sugiyado Souha gave a clear order in front of the enemy.

“Bara, go into hiding. Don’t touch anyone.”

The silent head tilt came from sexy Oume with her shrine maiden outfit nearly falling off of her.

“My, my, my.”

She had thoroughly trained herself to speak in a way that intentionally got under the skin of anyone listening, making them lose their cool. Wielding a blade was not the only way to fight. Even the way she swayed her body like she was waiting for a customer on the side of the snowy road was a part of her “attack”.

That was enough to tell him she was a master of direct combat and sex appeal. She was similar to Bara in that way, but still different. While Bara took control with the sweet candy, Oume took control with the lash of the whip.

“Holding someone back now? True, thoughtlessly placing a hidden piece on the board only to have it immediately taken would be the height of folly, but are you really in any position to hold back? We already have you all in checkmate. You do understand that, don’t you? I refuse to believe you don’t.”

He was surrounded by ominous metallic sounds. The guards (who were actually ninja subordinates well-trained by Oume) had stepped down from their snowmobiles and aimed their assault rifles, submachineguns, semi-auto sniper rifles, and even shoulder-fired rocket launchers. Guns were equally deadly no matter how much or little ninja training given to the person pulling the trigger.

“What option do you have but to place your sacrificial pawn on the board and make a run for it?” Oume smiled seductively. “It is either that or be turned to Swiss cheese.”

“That’s what you want me to do.” Sugiyado did not hide his vicious smile. “You detected our actions and moved in ahead of us. I’m not ashamed of falling for a trap if it took all of the Stonewall elites, including Princess Karin herself. …But even after all that, you missed one. You needed to get rid of us all, but you failed. So you’re trying really hard to make up for that, but it won’t change a thing. Our shark has dived below the waves. And you can’t rest easy as long as even one of us is still free.”

“…”

Don’t let her rattle you.

Ouka and Hoozuki had only encountered a powerful foe. The battle was not over yet. Amamo’s skill was an unknown, but it was two-against-one.

He had lost contact with Asagao, but that did not mean she had been physically eliminated. It would be easy to set this up by jamming all of the radio frequencies they were using.

And Bara remained entirely outside the Stonewalls’ field of view.

This attack had left a major impact, but that was no reason to act rashly. He could not let Oume lead him astray when they were not losing yet.

The ones actually sweating bullets here were the Stonewalls after their attack with all four of them had failed to achieve the desired results.

“And you can’t shut down the entire fishing grounds, so you’re stuck. You were trying to rattle us with lies, but maybe you should have waited a while longer before purging Yukizasa.”

“My people will use their bullets to shred your body starting from the hands and feet and working inwards. Then it won’t be long before your companion disobeys your orders and comes running. Once we have drawn out your last hidden fighter, our checkmate will be complete.”

“I’d rather you didn’t do that.” Sugiyado slowly spun the air pressure kunai in his hand. “And what makes you think my plan was to run away?”

He threw something down at his feet and white powder spread out across the entire area.

“Wha-!?”

Oume’s eyes widened, but it was already too late.

Snow covered everything here and that Fierce Fang was a special ninja tool that could create 15 tons of force using an instant nitrogen foam more powerful than an airbag. By removing the foam cartridge and throwing it against the ground, he could block their view with snow.

All it did was blind them.

It was an alternate form of the dramatic smokescreen.

But…

(If they can’t see, they can’t fire their guns no matter how much I’m surrounded. Those subordinates will be too afraid of accidentally hitting their commander to do anything.)

Even the classics had their uses.

Sometimes a threat not found in the good, old days became an oddly perfect match. This workshop district was covered in countless traps made with everyday items, but he had discovered that there were almost none on the main roads. Otherwise the ordinary people passing through would get hit.

And Sugiyado Souha had hinted to Oume that he did not plan to run away.

“Shh!!”

“!?”

He took off running.

This was the exact opposite of when he was fighting Taganuma Yukizasa earlier. The safest place in this case was right up in front of the sexy traveling shrine maiden. That would prevent the guards from firing on him for fear of hitting their commander and it would prevent Oume from using her own explosives and blasting. No one would want to be blown away by their own bomb.

However.

He also could not hope for any support from the long-distance coilguns.

This was entirely reliant on his own skill now.

It was one-on-one.

He tore through the thick curtain of pure white to approach Horisato Oume. He of course held an air pressure kunai in each hand.

“Really!?”

Oume jumped back a few steps and swung a few glass cylinders the size of relay batons. But not to ignite them.

Explosives were a type of chemical.

By mixing several of them together in the right quantities, they could become a chemical with an entirely different effect.

For example, a poison gas that had already begun destroying the red blood cells flowing through your blood vessels by the time you sensed its sweet scent.

However.

Once again…

“It…didn’t work!?”

Instead of using another air pressure kunai, he swung around his long scarf. The clothing swelled out with air and captured the floating white snow.

The snowflakes mixed with the air caught the makeshift poison gas and dropped it to the ground.

Sexy Oume’s eyes widened.

“Was that a variation on the Rain Puddle!?”

“A poison spray made from toxic plants or jellyfish tentacles won’t work on a rainy or humid day.”

Once he had neutralized her thick poison gas barrier, the rest was easy. He detonated another instant nitrogen foam cartridge at his feet, slid badly-injured Yukizasa to the right side of the road, and continued toward his real enemy. He arrived dangerously close for someone who specialized in explosives and firearms.

He held an air pressure kunai in each hand and their tips rushed in toward Horisato Oume of the Stonewalls!!

“Tch!!”

Oume must not have had any other choice at this point. she beat at the air with her baggy sleeves to spread them out and twirled her entire body around.

The movement was as beautiful and light as a dance dedicated to a god.

But.

The air pressure kunais’ tips were pushed back with a sound much too violent and distorted for such a dance. Her circular motion carried the weight and edge of a guillotine. From his perspective, her shrine maiden sleeve had hardened as it grew gray and petrified. It transformed into a dull blade much like a rusty axe blade.

(Stone dust!?)

That was originally a fire extinguishing powder sprinkled around in a mine to stop a dust explosion chain reaction. Oume readily used explosives in closed spaces and indoors, so it made sense for her to carry some around for protection. And Sugiyado had heard it could harden and lose all effectiveness if it absorbed the moisture from the air.

This was not its intended use.

She had been caught in a bind when his snow smokescreen kept her subordinates from using their guns and then neutralized her poison gas with his Rain Puddle ninja technique. But she had instantly turned the tables on him with this new idea. She had the flexible thoughts and the powerful drive to take advantage of any accidents and of her enemy’s attacks. That girl in a shrine maiden outfit really was skilled.

“!!”

It was now Sugiyado’s turn to move himself out of the way.

Her large sleeves spun around with a circular motion based on the movement of her arms and torso. He responded like he was being attacked by metal balls attached to short chains. A single hit here would easily shatter human bone.

(That isn’t her only weapon. Just like a bayonet, the point is to hold back any enemies that get too close. If I keep my distance, she’ll start using the artillery and explosives she specializes in!!)

If he could stab in just the tip of his Fierce Fang, the door-opening power would force the crack open. Its 15 tons of force was enough to pry open a tank’s hatch.

But he could not use that force without first stabbing the weapon into the target.

(In that case.)

He struck with his right kunai.

He doubted his first strike would kill. He expected her petrified sleeve to deflect it, so he used that momentum to twirl around. He built up speed as if for a roundhouse kick and made a horizontal strike with his left kunai.

“It’s no use!!”

She was using an improvised weapon and she seemed to be only barely holding him back, but he was not trying to increase the kunai’s piercing power.

He struck at the air.

Several snowflakes reached the left kunai’s surface and the frictional heat melted them.

He made sure they were refreezing when he clashed with Oume.

What would happen then?

He did not need to stab the Fierce Fang into her.

Not if he used the ice like glue to attach the kunai to hit.

“Ah!?” she groaned.

His air pressure kunai sprang open and shattered Oume’s petrified sleeve from within. He did not give her time to create an additional blade. She was leaning back with her large chest jiggling, so before she could straighten back up and recover, he flipped his right kunai around and slammed the butt of the grip against her temple.

There was no obvious scream.

The traveling shrine maiden collapsed to the snow with her limbs irregular convulsing. She did not appear conscious, but it would be best to tie her up.

That was Yukizasa and Oume.

Two of the central Stonewalls had been taken out, but this was not over yet.

The snow smokescreen was a temporary thing. The armed Stonewall subordinates were still surrounding him on cross-country skis and snowmobiles.

He had to take his next action before that white cover vanished.

(Now, then.)

“Ouka, Hoozuki. I’ve cleaned things up here. Two defeated, no damage. If you’ve found anything, take it back with you. I’ll keep the guards as busy as I can to create more of an opening, so as long as you’re careful which direction you escape in-”

“Pant, pant.”

“Hoozuki?”

“I’m sorry, Sensei.”

“I need an actual report, Hoozuki. What happened!?”

He had to consciously suppress the unease rapidly filling him.

However.

“Oh? You should really be praising her for getting away at all, insolent fool.”

That was not Hoozuki’s voice.

And it came on a different channel. The transmission was not from her radio.

This was from the small radio Ouka had been using.

(Is there anything I can do right now!?)

This turn for the worse meant he could not allow things to get even worse or to fall any further behind. At 5kg, his back felt funny. At 10kg, it exploded with pain. He could not even drag Yukizasa or Oume into an alley. He instead dumped snow over them to hide them from view and then hid himself in the trap-filled alley. That was easier said than done since it required slipping past the 20-30 people surrounding him. If they noticed anything off at all, they would immediately fire on him, but his heartrate remained calm.

“Is that Princess Karin?”

The wind blew through.

The white snow was swept from the air, bringing danger back to the road.

Sugiyado observed things from the back alley while listening to the villain over the radio.

“It was Amamo who took her out, but I am willing to accept the honor myself as the Stonewall leader.”

“…”

One of his beloved students had fallen into enemy hands.

He could not change what had already happened, but he checked over what options he had available to him and considered how to best use those options. He had no time. Burning anger welled up from the pit of his stomach, but his thoughts also raced with tremendous speed.

“I have Yukizasa and Oume.”

“You have two replaceable pawns.”

“Yeah, I’d say the same thing in your position. You could comb this area and never find your precious companions. They’ve been taken from you, so you have no choice but to change your focus and say that. If you admit how much those captured girls mean to you, who knows what kind of brutal torture you’d find in the video footage sent to you. So you can never reveal how you really feel. Especially when it comes to hostages.”

“Insolent fool.”

“Only a special few can be trusted to truly watch your back, right? I understand that all too well. We’re in the same situation here, but the numbers are different. I have two. I can play the ‘kill one’ card and still have one left over, so torture and execution are both on the table for me.”

He could not physically reach her, but he still had to take the initiative.

He would use threats, persuasion, conflict, compromise, confusion, sudden outbursts, and anything else that might help. He would use every lie and truth he could to bind Princess Karin who was out of his reach. Because allowing her to move a single fingertip just one millimeter would permanently scar Ouka.

They could call him a demon if they liked.

The time had come to let his soul burn.

“…”

His surroundings were growing noisy.

Snow ninjas on skis and snowmobiles were rushing around.

From their perspective, Sugiyado, Oume, and Yukizasa had entirely disappeared from their encirclement, so of course they were as frenzied as a hornet’s nest.

But this created an opportunity for the boy who had buried the two kunoichis in the snow on the street. He would wait where he was until he had a chance to dig them up. Ideally, he would get that done before they released the dogs.

He whispered into his radio without revealing any of that.

“Let’s hold a hostage exchange.”

“Why would I want to do that? I need to know who you people are, so my first job is to squeeze as much information out of this kunoichi as I can get.”

“If you aren’t going to take this seriously, then I will play my most effective card right away. Let’s see if you change your tune after you find one of these girls dead on the side of the road. Would you prefer it be Yukizasa or Oume?”

“Do not forget that this girl is still effective as a hostage even if I cannot kill her. She might be a kunoichi, but she has her limits. I have been trained as a Stonewall, so I am aware what line I must cross to have her beg for death instead.”

Sugiyado clenched his teeth hard enough to make a noise, but he knew he could not let her know.

“Don’t destroy that radio,” he said. “I’ll contact you with further instructions later.”

“And you treat your two guests with care. Those cards you hold are quite literally your last hope.”

She ended the transmission first.

It was a small thing, but he clicked his tongue while hiding in the alley. He had successfully restricted her actions, but she had left the greater impression in the very end. The way she talked hinted at the merciless violence that women could exact on each other. He wondered if he should have similarly hinted at some of the scummy things that men could do to women.

At any rate…

“Bara, come to me. I hate leaving the heavy lifting to you, but I need you to dig up the two hostages and carry them. There are no soldiers around anymore, but get it done before their dogs can sniff us out. I’ll take the lead and clear the way.”

“Understood.”

“Hoozuki, you support her once you catch up. Don’t bother attacking. Collect my dropped kunais and Bara’s Tatami Needles at the locations we provide you.”

“Sensei, I’m sorry. This is all my fault.”

She had no reason to apologize like this.

She and Ouka were both Elite Ninjas of the Shogunate, so if they had worked together and still been defeated, it was not because they had done anything wrong. And unlike Bara, who used her coilguns to give her a way to fight outside of disguises and chemicals, Ouka specialized in direct combat. Amamo the terrain effect specialist was just absurdly powerful. As the commander of this mission, Sugiyado could only conclude he had erred in their distribution of forces.

This was his responsibility, so he would make it right.

(I just have to deal with one thing at a time.)

Step one was leaving the Teine Workshop District now that they were done here.

Based on what Princess Karin had said, only Ouka had fallen into her hands, but he still wanted to regroup with Asagao and confirm she was all right.

Then he could have Hoozuki share whatever she had discovered about the new energy source in the lab.

And…

(I need to influence Princess Karin using Yukizasa and Oume so I can get Ouka back unharmed.)

He could guess that Princess Karin was thinking the exact same thing. They essentially had a blade pressed against each other’s throat. In a way, they would understand each other even better than some friends.

He covered his mouth with his scarf and silently gathered his resolve.

(I will get her back unharmed. No matter what it takes.)

Eventually, a single ski soldier returned after searching the surrounding area and peered into the gap between the two buildings.

But he did not notice anything amiss.

Because there were no longer any footprints remaining.

Chapter 3

1: The Difference Between Revenge and a Rescue Operation is Paper Thin

By the time they were safe once more, the sun had fully set.

Night had fallen.

They were inside a short-term apartment in New Sapporo Domain. It was one of the hideouts prepared by Sugiyado’s four students: Ouka, Bara, Hoozuki, and Asagao.

A banner saying “Congrats on Getting Your Job Back!” was hanging unnaturally in the room.

Opening the refrigerator revealed a homemade-looking cake with plastic wrap over it.

Ouka must have prepared all of it.

The only thing missing was Ouka herself.

“…”

“…Sensei.”

Asagao softly called out to him while he sat there staring at the cake. As expected, she had not fallen into enemy hands and had merely been jammed.

His students had been calling their work here a secret date, but no longer.

(I can’t let it get to me right now.)

He had dragged the girls into his business and made a poor command decision. He really should have been committing seppuku, but that would not bring Ouka back.

So he would use his life in a different way.

He was willing to use up his life if it would save his student.

“Hoozuki. Tell me what happened.”

The silver-haired ponytail girl’s shoulders jumped.

Like he was digging into an open wound.

He wanted to punch himself in the face, but he had to ask this right now.

“What did you and Ouka see in that lab protected by such thick armor? What does Princess Karin hope will be her new energy source? And tell me about Amamo too. Tell me everything you know.”

“It was thermoelectric generation.” She spoke slowly, like she was fighting something within herself to get the words out. “They aren’t using large nuclear reactors or turbines. They’re using the electricity created in semiconductors. In a closed circuit created by pressing two different kinds of metal together, the heat difference creates electricity. In this northern land, that temperature is easy to come by when using the outside and inside air temperatures or room temperatures.”

Asagao, their gadget expert, frowned.

“But wait. By thermoelectric generation, you mean using the Seebeck effect, right? No one has ever created a macro-level generator for that. It’s true it doesn’t need gasoline or natural gas, but I thought it only produced small amounts of electricity. I mean, it can only create electricity on the circuit board.”

“Which means they only have to increase the scale.” Hoozuki hung her head. “And if they use something that already exists, they can skip the major construction fees that would rouse suspicions.”

Asagao was still not convinced.

“What are you-?”

Just as the youngest kunoichi was going to ask more, she came to a stop. She may have thought of something.

“The abandoned underground linear motor train network,” said Sugiyado with a grim look. “They were lying when they said they had filled it in with concrete.”

Linear motor trains used massive amounts of electricity, but the rails themselves were exceedingly long electric circuits lined with electromagnets. Only slight modifications would be needed to reuse them as the closed circuit for thermoelectric generation. The temperature difference would not be hard to set up if they used the difference between the closed tunnel and the outside air.

A motor and a generator were two sides of the same coin.

Even an elementary schooler would understand that after seeing a cheap light that connected to their bike’s front wheel, but running across the idea again here showed the possibility had completely slipped their minds.

Hoozuki nodded like a scolded child.

“That massive rail system connects all six of the Hokkaido Area’s domains. It covers more than 3600km…no, twice that with the up and down tracks. And the linear network hadn’t been privatized like the general railways have, so Princess Karin would have had no trouble requisitioning it with her temporary Domain Lord powers. Each individual unit is small, but when the entire system is used as a closed circuit generator, its output should easily surpass 10 nuclear reactors.”

Electric eels could produce enough electricity to kill a human in the water, but each of their individual generator organs did not produce that much. They gained that great output by connecting so many of them together in series.

One of the ninjas here could be particular about electricity and power sources since she used coilguns.

Bara lifted her large chest with her crossed arms and leaned back against the wall.

“That explains why they only needed that one lab made of snow in the middle of the workshop district. The individual units must be even simpler than a cheap calculator powered by a solar panel. New Sapporo Domain and the other northern domains must have hoped to overcome their lack of resources like this. They never would have been in this situation if they could have pumped tons of materials into building up a massive facility from scratch. They ended up modifying something they already had to make up for that.”

Anyway.

They doubted there were any problems with the new power system using the underground linear motor train network. They had to assume that Princess Karin had already restored her defense system that included everything from early-warning radars across the entire Hokkaido Area to strategic anti-air laser beam cannons and 900mm railguns. She had only been working so hard to hide it because she did not want anyone to know she had breathed life back into them.

Sugiyado sighed.

“That means she isn’t just holding them in reserve.”

“If she could take the initiative without actually using them, she would probably show them off. You know, to say ‘don’t mess with me cause I’ve got these cool new weapons’.”

He agreed with Asagao.

“Whatever she is actually planning,” said Bara. “If we assume she was hiding this information as they approached readiness, we have to assume the generation facility using the underground linear motor train network is just about complete. And if she does have her defense system back up, what is she trying to accomplish by hiding that fact? Hoozuki?”

The silver-haired ponytail girl weakly shook her head at that one. She had only seen the technology at the lab. There must not have been any documents explaining how or why it would be used.

With her arms still crossed and her back still against the wall, Bara used her chin to gesture over toward the bathroom door.

“How about we get this out of Taganuma Yukizasa and Horisato Oume, Sensei? By any means necessary.”

“Stop. I’m not leaving them in your care if you’re going to be emotional about it, Bara.”

Sugiyado made his point very clearly. They of course could not let the hostages know about that, but those two were crucial bargaining chips if they were to rescue Ouka. Carelessly harming those two and “using them up” would be the height of folly.

(I was hoping this conversation would give me some other bargaining chip to work with, but no such luck. Those generator units cover 3600km in both directions, so destroying them all is unrealistic. And I still can’t get a good grip on the conspiracy behind it all.)

He also had to make a decision about the hostage exchange to retrieve Ouka. The more time he gave Princess Karin, the more she would recover from her shock and the longer young Ouka would remain in enemy hands.

Humans did not always act in their own best interests.

Even if someone believed they were acting logically, their emotions could take control at any moment.

Taking a hostage was much easier said than done.

It affected the hostage and the hostage taker both.

After all, you had to invite an enemy into your territory, even if they were being threatened with a weapon and bound with rope or chains. Think of it like trying to get a good night’s sleep with a serial arsonist or serial killer tied up on the floor of your room. Even if your rational side could calculate out that they could not escape, could your emotional side really rest easy? The stress would be constantly building. And when you had the upper hand, it could be hard to even notice it.

“…”

With that in mind, Sugiyado made a decision. He still wanted some other bargaining chip. If Princess Karin was formulating her plans while entirely focused on Yukizasa and Oume, he could rattle her all the easier if he attacked from a different angle.

So…

“Time to contact the Empire.”

“Running to your Cyrillic mistress again?” grumbled Asagao, so he patted her small head.

“I’m not interested in Ekaterina here. I want to contact Murakami Michihiko who we left in her care.”

“Oh.”

“That’s right, Hoozuki. Princess Karin tried to directly cajole and persuade him in the castle, so he must be important to her – maybe for a rational reason and maybe for an emotional one. That means he’ll be even more useful than Yukizasa or Oume.”

2: Destruction

The disconcerting straining noise sounded just like a large bundle of hair being twisted and pulled taut.

It came from synthetic construction rope colored yellow and black.

“Kh,” groaned Kuhou Ouka, the girl with her long chestnut hair in twintails, as she awoke.

The solid thunk behind her came from the collapse of the tripod that had been supporting her hips from behind. Her arms were pulled over her head, her wrists were tied together, and they were dangling from the ceiling. If she was being suspended off the floor, her wrists would have been congested too badly to move or her shoulders would have dislocated, but she was kept just low enough that she could rest on her toes if she stretched down. Keeping her in that in between state was meant to slowly wear down all her body’s muscles over the course of hours.

(Can I slip the rope? No.)

There were a few stage magic tricks to that end, but they generally required some setup before being tied up. She was helpless since she had been bound by an expert while she was unconscious.

Also, a shiver ran down her skinny back.

She did not have any sort of equipment. Her stacked-barrel hunting gun called Midnight Tempest and the rest of her ninja tools had been confiscated, but she also felt no response from the strength boost her ninja outfit was supposed to provide using its electric potential elasticity and high-polymer water-absorbing gel. That was equipped with several batteries smaller than a stick of gum, but they must have all been removed.

She had not been stripped bare while unconscious, but not as a kindness to her.

That was a defensive measure to prevent the Stonewalls from feeling unnecessary guilt while she was imprisoned here.

When one side had an advantage over the other, the psychological effects were not a one-way deal. Sometimes, the imprisoners would be influenced by a pressure of their own creation. Ouka had her direct strength, but kunoichis were also taught to make a weapon of their weaknesses like that. Of course the enemy was being cautious.

She could not escape right away, so she had to alter her focus.

“…”

Unable to protect herself, she observed her surroundings while standing on her toes.

(Where am I? The enemy base? If I can find any intel I can get back to Sensei and the others, then my capture won’t be entirely meaningless.)

She was in a small square room measuring 10m on each side. The walls, floor, and ceiling were made of thick steel and, when she twisted her hips to look behind her, she saw a large door of the same material. Ducts and pipes ran along the ceiling. She was dangling down from one of those pipes and she could sense a faint vibration through the rope when she focused her senses.

(Is it a steampipe?)

The room had no windows and the fluorescent lights on the ceiling had been removed. The only light came from the large lamp in one corner. Instead of a desk lamp, this was a floor lamp standing taller than she was. Ones like that would normally be used in studios and nighttime construction sites.

(This reminds me of a current or former construction site.)

She could only guess without seeing things outside. It was even possible this was a photography studio in a skyscraper decorated to look like a construction site.

That said, it was unusual to hear absolutely nothing through the walls when she remained entirely silent. Absolute soundproofing was hard to set up and not many people could do it. That had to be a clue to where this was.

Just then, the metal door behind her opened without so much as a knock.

“Hello, miss. How are you feeling?”

She twisted around to look back at the door and focused on the view through the door before on the person who had stepped in.

However…

“There’s another door behind this one. We’re not letting you see outside this room.”

“…”

The woman of around 20 who circled in front of Ouka had long black hair swaying at her sides and dragged a gorgeous junihitoe behind her.

She was Princess Karin.

Her skin was flushed a faint pink and her black hair was glossy and shiny even while dry. A faint herbal aroma hung over her.

(Was she bathing or receiving beauty care? I guess it isn’t unusual these days to use the heat of a garbage incinerator for a spa.)

She made some guesses, but she had no way of getting any of this to Sugiyado and the others. It was frustrating.

Meanwhile, the situation was underway.

Princess Karin leaned in close to peer into the eyes of the kunoichi standing on her toes with her bound hands dangling from a rope. She was looking up from right in front of Ouka’s growing chest. That was intentional. She was trying apply pressure through the violation of personal space, just like how oppressive it felt on a packed train.

“We checked over your equipment.”

“Oh? Way to ruin the wonderful hospitality you were offering me here.”

“Act tough if you like, but we checked over all of it. Including in here.”

Princess Karin’s slender finger ran down Ouka from her flat chest and past her navel, rubbing her skin through the ninja outfit that no longer functioned but still gave off sex appeal.

“You must be a real worrier to install seven batteries in this thing.”

“Kh.”

“You hid them well, so it took a lot of ‘feeling around’ to find them all.”

That was how it must have happened.

Ouka had known that, but trained as she was, it still took a lot of effort for her to keep her teenage side from showing through.

“Now, was that search done by a woman, or by a man? Who do you think I gave the order to?”

“…”

Ouka’s expression remained unchanged.

A raging storm of embarrassed heat roiled in the core of her body, but letting that show would only invite more attacks in the same vein. The standard anti-torture strategy began with feigning indifference no matter what they did.

Princess Karin was trained in the Stonewall ninja school, so she would be familiar with the womanly techniques. She made a purr in her throat, covered her mouth with her large sleeve, and laughed in an overly elegant fashion.

“Do not worry. There are vanishingly few men who are worth inviting into a group of kunoichis who hone their sex appeal as a weapon. Most men are no more than imbeciles who end up forgetting their mission and running wild while inventing some strange story about it being ‘elopement’ or ‘challenging the world for their love’. I was so close to finally securing a useful one back at the castle when you had to intervene. The scan for hidden weapons, transmitters, and suicide pills was done by Amamo.”

It was said even the lawless pirates had avoided putting a mixed-gender crew on a single ship when possible. When working with multiple ships, they would always divide their personnel along gender lines. Needless to say, that was to avoid having the entire crew break apart from unnecessary trouble. Ouka’s group had been blessed with an extreme exception in Sugiyado Souha, but the young man named Murakami Michihiko may have been that for Princess Karin and the Stonewalls.

“But anyway.” Princess Karin looked up at the suspended girl and breathed an exasperated sigh. She was close enough for the air pressure to tickle Ouka’s flat chest. “I did not expect your tools and outfit to be so official. What are Elite Ninjas from the Shogunate doing this far north?”

“I think you know exactly why, Princess Karin.”

“Well, you can’t kill yourself like this. Despite what fiction would have you believe, humans do not die just from biting their own tongue. Are you trying to anger me into carelessly killing you?”

Princess Karin knew how the game was played. She reached into her junihitoe’s sleeve and pulled out a hairspray-sized can. Then she attached a clear plastic cup to it.

“What are you having me inhale?”

“You should really ask me to let you inhale it. While saying please, of course.”

It could simply be a gas, but it could also be bacteria or mold spores. Ouka tried to feign calm, but her eyes still wavered.

Princess Karin looked amused as she shook the metal can equipped with inhaler cup and she lightly slapped it against Ouka’s soft cheek.

“Don’t worry. It’s only oxygen. And the idea isn’t to have you inhale so much you hyperventilate.”

“Then what are you doing?”

“If I’m going to negotiate with a guy who can bring multiple Shogunate Elite Ninjas together, I need some tricks up my sleeve. I want to get Oume and Yukizasa back, but that will be no easy task. I just know he’s working up some kind of plan, so I want to lay a trap of my own. …A trap using your body and mind.” That demon in female form smiled like this was none of her concern. “Simply put, I will remake you into a puppet who can never say no. I’m sure you have done your research into New Sapporo Domain and the Stonewalls, so you might even know our identities and abilities. I doubt we could win back Yukizasa and Oume entirely unharmed now that they have been captured, but what if I had a new fighter they knew nothing about? That is exactly what I will have once you betray your companions. Those Shogunate ninjas will be satisfied once they get all of Yukizasa and Oume’s insider information, but this will catch them off guard.”

That was a horrifying thought.

She was being asked to personally kill her beloved teacher. Her body and mind would be remade until that was a real possibility. As if unseen components of her being would be removed one by one and replaced with something else entirely. She would prefer to be tortured to death in the cruelest way imaginable.

This demon understood that, but she said all this anyway.

She stood a step removed from standard morals and etiquette. She knew this was a line that must not be crossed even by a kunoichi who actively made use of taboos, but she whispered sweetly all the same.

“Yes, I can pretend to lose the negotiation and send you to him. Then, when you strike, I can use the resulting chaos to take back my companions. Now, I’ve revealed my plan to you, but you have no way of letting him know. It’s killing you inside, isn’t it!? Anyway, I would appreciate your cooperation in this. When I am done remaking you, I hope you will kill as many of your companions as possible.”

“I’ll never do that!!”

“Yes, you will. Your own intentions are irrelevant here. After all…”

Princess Karin stretched up and touched the steampipe Ouka was suspended from. Specifically, she grabbed the emergency release valve. With a loud “pshhhh!!”, something formless erupted out. It did not directly hit Ouka, but it instantly filled the sealed room. The stench of rotten eggs reached Ouka’s nose, reminding her of a hot spring.

“Hydrogen sulfide!?”

“Maybe it is and maybe that distinctive smell is being used to hide something else. Use all of your knowledge to fuel your paranoia. Now, miss, if you would like this oxygen tank, you need only ask. If you’re lucky, it won’t be too late by the time the mask is in place, but I would recommend making up your mind sooner rather than later.”

Princess Karin grinned and placed the clear cup over her own mouth and nose.

“I will be back to ask again in half an hour. I’m not interested in sitting around testing your patience.”

“…!”

“And this will continue for hours if need be. Or days. It is all up to you, so this could be the first of many half hours to come. Personally, I think I will go enjoy the rest of my massage in a room with an air purifier. Listen, I will only ask you once each visit. Enjoy feeling the toxins entering your bloodstream through your lungs.”

The first half hour was a battle with her own struggling.

She held her breath and strained her bound hands, but nothing she did improved her situation. Not breathing had never been an option. With no power left, her ninja outfit would not protect her. She felt like the unseen source of the stench was entering her through her nose, her hair, her skin, and even within her underwear.

Was this really the sulfuric chemical found at hot springs?

Could it also contain an even more brutal delirium gas or knockout gas?

Once her body could no longer resist, her mind raced and gathered up every bit of knowledge she had. It was like having her life flash before her eyes. This was her instincts trying to find any clue to breaking free of this, but her ninja training had left her with an extensive knowledge of toxins and drugs, which only made this worse. She could not have feared the possibility of certain gases and bacteria if she did not know they existed.

“How are you doing? Changed your mind yet?”

After precisely half an hour, Princess Karin reentered the room with a transparent cup over her nose and mouth.

She must have been worried that the smell would get on her junihitoe or her hair because she grimaced and closed the steampipe’s valve even though she could not have actually smelled it.

“You are a sight to behold, let me tell you. Is all that sweat just from tension? I’m sure that flesh-colored skintight suit would have maintained an interior environment between it and your skin if it still had its batteries, but you look like you just ran a marathon. Sweat is seeping from the cracks in the suit and…I kindly left your underwear intact, but it might as well not be there anymore.”

She took a deep and performative breath of fresh oxygen and the sound of gas leaving the metal cannister wore on Ouka’s nerves.

“Just say the word and you will be immediately freed from this physical exhaustion and mental fear.”

“I will never do that.”

“Another half hour it is.”

The next half hour was a battle with flashbacks.

As all the “what ifs”, maybes, and hypotheticals swirled through her mind over and over, her knowledge ended up running in an unusual direction. It may have been similar to getting lost reading manga or a magazine found while rearranging your room. Or maybe her instincts concluded there was no point in continuing the vain search through the direct genres of toxins and drugs, so they ended up reaching for a different genre of technique and memories.

Her senses dulled.

Was that because her mind was focused inwards, or simply because of the colorless gas(?) causing the stench?

She heard a whispering deep in her ears.

It was not coming from outside.

She could not pin it down to any specific direction.

The more she focused, the less she could make it out, but it refused to leave no matter how much she tried to make it go away. The indistinct voice was a lot like a mosquito buzzing around near your ear on a sweltering summer night.

She had been looking at this wrong from the beginning.

Her resistance was fairly irrelevant. Princess Karin had not set a time limit; she had simply said it would continue until Ouka broke and became her puppet. If she could not escape on her own, then she only had two options.

The options were not obey or disobey.

They were to be successfully remade or broken beyond repair.

This may have been similar to a surgical procedure.

“How are you doing?”

After a while, Princess Karin returned.

Ouka could no longer tell if it really was half an hour later or if hours and hours had passed.

“Still supporting yourself on your toes? A normal person’s legs or back would have cramped up by now, so well done there.”

“Shut…up. I…”

“Acting tough is pointless when I can see how swollen your eyelids are. Your body is reaching its limit. That just leaves your mind. Which way are the scales tipping? Will it be next time? Or maybe the time after that? Not that this will end even if it’s the time after the time after the time after the time after that. Whenever it happens, I look forward to hearing you say the word.”

“…”

“Death is the end of all possibilities. No matter how far you fall, you still have a chance of being reunited with those familiar faces as long as you remain alive. That is the logical thinking befitting a kunoichi. Okay, see you again in half an hour.”

During the next half hour, her life ceased flashing before her eyes.

Her breaths caught.

Something was wrong with her throat, so she was wheezing. Princess Karin mad mentioned her eyelids swelling, so maybe her throat was too. Her trachea could be swelling closed. She could no longer support herself on her toes, so a lot more force was placed on her wrists. If that continued long enough, her hands could be permanently damaged, but she doubted she could bring strength back to her legs as they weakly convulsed below her.

The voice was back.

The directionless voice continued to whisper to her like a bug buzzing around by her ear.

(If necrosis sets in…)

This was the only thought on her mind as she trembled with her tongue hanging limply from between her lips.

This was likely the last coherent thought remaining inside her.

(I could…die here.)

“You’re persistent, I’ll give you that.” Princess Karin returned and briefly shut off the valve. “But you should have started to notice it by now. To be honest, the gas doesn’t really matter. It’s the steampipe. The faint vibrations pass through the rope and rattle all the bones in your body. Have you been hearing a voice? Did you think you were hallucinating? The necessary instructions have already been inserted into your mind. How long until they take effect differs from person to person, but all that remains is to wait until then.”

“…”

Was this a variation of the technique named Out of the Blue?

A kunoichi made a weapon out of her own feminine beauty and allure, so she could not rely only on pure muscular strength to defeat her enemies. A kunoichi was meant to have a slim and delicate body that made an enemy careless, so they were often forced to fight at a disadvantage. They had done considerable research into how to cause the maximum amount of pain with the minimum amount of force.

When an enemy was prepared for the blow, they could grit their teeth and charge onward even as their skin and flesh were torn by a blade, but if the attack came from an unexpected direction with unexpected timing, then even the prick of a single needle could cause a large man to jump and lose consciousness.

Think of it like a test of courage where someone shoved konjac in your face on the end of a fishing rod. You would only laugh if that happened right in front of you in broad daylight, but your heart would leap out of your mouth if it caught you by surprise in the dark.

“I will remind you that when this ends is up to you. This would already be over if you would pass out and raise the white flag, but your stubbornly strong mind is only making you suffer longer. But I will wait. Wait until the light fades from your eyes.”

She could resist.

Or she could not.

…The result would be the same.

Ouka felt a miniscule but unmistakable crack form in the center of her heart.

Why was she forcing herself to continue suffering suspended from that pipe? What was the point of this? If she could prevent even one tiny part of Princess Karin’s plan, there would be a reason to let years be taken off her life here. But this was wasted effort. Nothing would come of it. The longer she resisted, the closer she would come to being the mindless puppet Princess Karin wanted.

It hit her.

What did it matter if she said the word?

What would her struggles accomplish?

“You set up your shield in the wrong direction. If you had focused on the vocal data reaching you from the steampipe via bone conduction, it never would have set in so easily.”

Oh, no, thought Ouka.

Yet she could not rid herself of the doubt that continued to grow within her. In fact, the doubt began to weigh heavy on her soul.

If her struggles were meaningless, why not just give in? She could leave the rest in Sugiyado Souha’s hands and let him save her.

She knew that was only wishful thinking. If they failed to notice she had been remade, then she might attack and kill her teacher in his sleep.

But what other choice did she have? A pounding headache grew while all of her thoughts, ideas, and inspiration focused in on that one point.

(Bad idea…planted in my head.)

Her mind grew hazy.

She could no longer make sense of the words there.

Darkness closed in on her vision and her ears heard only Princess Karin’s sweet whispers.

“The choice is yours: will you resist and suffer, or will you give up and be freed from it all. The voice finished its job during the first hour and it is too late to struggle after reaching a lethal dose.”

(Sens-…)

Another half hour passed.

Another half hour passed.

Another half hour passed.

And.

There was no half hour after that.

3: The Nymph and the Ninja

“Oh? You look much more determined now, Comrade Souha. Welcome back to the battlefield.”

The Neva River Nymphs were a spy agency for the Cyrillic Empire.

Ekaterina had invited Sugiyado to a parking garage just like so many others in New Sapporo Domain. However, every last vehicle on the third floor were being used by the Empire under false names and they had troops at every exit to ensure their safety.

But the Nymphs were frogmen, so all of their exists were aquatic in nature, like a manhole or a water storage tank.

Sugiyado did not do things their way, but the parking garage still allowed escape in any direction, making it the perfect “hidden village” for those who lived in the darkness. Needless to say, it was not a permanent hideout. The temporary village had been created by gathering mobile homes in the half hour or so since he had contacted them.

The Nymphs’ home ground was always under the water.

“Ugh, they speak an entirely different language here. Everything’s covered in Cyrillic.”

“Asagao,” he chided.

Bara and Hoozuki were not here. They were keeping an eye on Yukizasa and Oume back in the short-term apartment. Splitting up their forces had been necessary, but it still wore on his nerves so soon after Ouka was taken. He knew he was being overprotective, but he still hated being unable to stick together.

“You need our help, do you?” Ekaterina was leaning against the side of a large truck container. “I can mobilize the sub we have out at sea if necessary.”

“I have some good news for you. Both of the strategic anti-air laser beam cannons on the outskirts of the city are back up and running. Some rusty ballistic missiles aren’t going to cut it. Nor would an orbital bombing system that circles the planet waiting for the command to strike, or the latest ballistic systems that break away at ultra-high altitude to attack their target at Mach 5 or greater.”

Ekaterina choked in shock, but he did not care about that right now.

“How is Murakami Michihiko doing?”

“Cough, ugh…h-he is in here.”

She circled behind the container she had been leaning against. She unlocked and opened the double doors to reveal a living space more comfortable than a studio apartment. If you ignored the lack of an internet connection and the fact that the doors could not be opened from within.

What made for a comfortable shut-in life when chosen for yourself turned into hellish solitary confinement when forced upon you. The difference between happiness and unhappiness was often paper thin like that.

A young man sat on the sofa inside wearing the same things he had when they handed him over. He glared at Sugiyado and clearly wanted to give him a piece of his mind, but Sugiyado did not have the time or patience to deal with the young man’s grudge right now. He got straight to the point to hold the initiative.

“Your lifeline was the thermoelectric generation using a giant closed circuit made from the underground linear motor train network.”

“!”

Michihiko’s shoulders jumped.

Whether he agreed with Princess Karin’s plan or not, that was not what he had wanted to hear while in the Cyrillic Empire’s territory. But Sugiyado did not care.

He climbed into the container.

“Help us stop Princess Karin.”

“That is an urgent matter.” The young man weakly shook his head. Horizontally. “But I’m not getting the Empire’s help. That would be like blowing up a dam to put out a fire.”

“Then you can wait here until it’s all over. Just sit here in your air conditioned room on your comfy couch and wait for the result to be read off to you in the flat voice of a news anchor. It won’t be long before you learn after the fact what happened to New Sapporo Domain and the people who murdered your grandfather while he worried for you.”

“…”

“Don’t forget: my debt is to him, not you. Your personal connection with Princess Karin doesn’t really matter. To me, you’re no more than a single component. If that component isn’t working, I can look elsewhere. So quit whining and give me an answer. Will you or will you not help us stop Princess Karin and the Stonewalls?”

First, there was a tongue click.

The young man knew he had no real choice here, which may have shown he still had his pride as a ninja. Even though flopping down in the sofa and going to sleep would have given him a safe route out of here.

From here on, he would be seen as a ninja. Sugiyado Souha had to update his opinion of the young man.

“So what’s the plan?” asked Murakami Michihiko.

“We’ve captured two of the Stonewalls’ core members and have them in our room: Taganuma Yukizasa and Horisato Oume.”

That was enough for Michihiko to freeze. He must have trusted in their skill even as their enemy.

“But I can’t say it was easy. One of ours, Ouka, was taken. We’ve arranged a hostage exchange. We will face Princess Karin directly while you lie in wait and attack from the side. That will be most effective strike.”

“…”

“Whether she lives or dies is up to the strength of that strike. I have no reason to hold back. In fact, I’d prefer to kill her a hundred times over or more since she captured Ouka. 'Which is why I’m leaving the finishing blow to you. You decide how hard you need to hit her.”

Murakami Michihiko had come here as an inspector from Edo, but Sugiyado could guess he had a closer relationship with Princess Karin. When carrying out such a largescale plan, she had attempted to bring him onto her side instead of silencing him. That suggested they had something of an alliance.

Now they would use that against her.

Even if she had killed his grandfather, this was like rubbing salt in the wound according to ordinary bushido. But ninjas lived in a different world from the samurai. Sugiyado was afraid he might carelessly shred her to pieces, so he was giving the young man a chance to show more restraint than that.

And Michihiko was not dumb enough to overlook what this meant.

He had already rejected learning what happened after the fact on TV. He had wanted to play a role in how it ended, so now he lowered his head.

“You have my thanks.”

“Let’s get down to the specifics. Asagao, the map.”

“Here you go.”

Asagao pulled out her phone and an accessory instead of a paper map. A satellite map was displayed on the wall by a simple projector that used a special wavelength of light that showed up even with the lights on.

Sugiyado pointed his chin toward the map on the wall.

“New Sapporo Domain as a whole is Princess Karin’s backyard. I doubt even Ekaterina’s intel collected from the water could fill that gap. So I want your help since you protected the city using the same system she uses. …What are the best locations in the city for holding negotiations? Where should we start to get ahead of Princess Karin here?”

4: The Negotiations Begin

Finally, Sugiyado left the mobile home and Asagao followed after him with her cheeks puffed out and her baggy sleeves behind her head.

“Are you sure about this? I doubt he would fully turn on us, but they know each other. He might stop the attack at the last second after seeing Princess Karin in person. Ouka’s life is on the line here, so I don’t like including an uncertain factor like him. Wouldn’t it be better to have you stab her through the heart?”

“Going with the obvious choice won’t work here, Asagao. Princess Karin has the home-field advantage. We can’t escape the city’s ruler if do everything by the book, so we need to introduce a wild card to the mix. We can no longer enjoy this as an away game. We have to throw out the rulebook.”

“But…”

“Also, Princess Karin isn’t our objective here. Taking back Ouka is our top priority, so let’s focus on that while we let him handle the opening act.”

That was when he heard some static in his ear.

He reached a hand to his ear and Asagao began monitoring it with her phone.

“Hello, insolent fool. I wish to discuss this proposed hostage exchange.”

“The gas turbine power plant on the east side.”

“Then I will decide on the time. Tonight at 7. If you do not show then, negotiations are off. Choose your actions carefully if you wish to see Kuhou Ouka again.”

Kuhou Ouka.

Princess Karin had learned her name. He doubted Ouka would have voluntarily given that, so something was happening over there. And with that in mind, he spoke with a voice colder than ice.

“Fine by me, but would you really throw out your only card for a simple penalty like that? Need I remind you I have more than one hostage? That gives me more than one chance, unlike you.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I have something much crueler prepared.”

“Do you? I look forward to finding out what. One wrong move and I will kill Yukizasa and Oume with methods you’ve never even imagined. I will use every skill I’ve built up over my career as a professional ninja to invent a method that will be spoken of for a century to come.”

“That should be fun. But with both of us hoping to reclaim someone we care for, I doubt this will play out as a straight exchange. I look forward to seeing how much of a fight you criminals put up.”

The transmission ended.

Asagao shook her head.

But not to say she had failed to trace the signal.

“It came straight from New Sapporo Castle’s classified server. I can’t tell you if she’s in the castle or relaying the signal through there, though.”

They could not easily attack the castle even if they did know she was there. Princess Karin was the ruler of the entire domain, so she could use the city’s systems to their fullest.

Sugiyado clicked his tongue.

“I’m seriously starting to think we might have to kill her.”

5: Yukizasa and Oume

They had agreed on 7 PM, but this was not the same as meeting your friends in front of the train station. Arriving right on time was like asking to be killed. The trick to winning and surviving was visiting the surrounding area and setting everything up before 7 PM.

Sugiyado Souha entered their makeshift jail cell with Murakami Michihiko.

“Yukizasa, Oume. We need to talk.”

The short-term apartment’s prefab bathroom was the exact opposite of a tourist destination’s hot spring. The cramped space was surrounded by artificial walls and had no windows, making it feel like a cell. Yukizasa was handcuffed to the bath’s accessibility railing and Oume to the toilet’s pipes, putting them too far apart to reach each other.

Their reactions were very different when he opened the door. Small Yukizasa showed him the raw hostility of a wild beast and sexy Oume cowered down in apparent fear.

“That’s some real basic emotional manipulation.” Murakami sounded exasperated. “Both sadism and a protective desire are based on reliance and possessiveness. If one of them isn’t to your liking, is the other one supposed to draw you in?”

“…”

An appraising silence followed.

But they had to already know that Murakami Michihiko was one of the questioners. That meant he was not on Princess Karin’s side and would not cover for those two.

(Then again, I wouldn’t put it past a ninja to pretend to cooperate with me to help the kunoichis escape.)

Those two were both pros.

No amount of soothing or coaxing from Sugiyado was going to shake them. The most effective move was not violence or kind words. The thick shield held out in front of them would not break. If you wanted them to speak, it was best to confuse them about who was on whose side, leaving them uncertain which way to hold their shield.

“We know everything,” said Sugiyado as if continuing for the young man. “Do you have a secondary and tertiary trap on top of the emotional manipulation? If not, you’ve failed. Give up now.”

That earned him a blatant tongue click.

But not from rough Yukizasa. This came from Oume who expertly used her sweet sex appeal.

She knew her techniques would not work on an instructor of kunoichis. She had probably only hoped her poor attempt would make him feel sorry for her.

Yukizasa and Oume’s top priority would be to determine what Murakami Michiko’s angle was.

But once they moved their shields in that direction, Sugiyado would stab for their exposed sides.

“What do you want?” asked Yukizasa while seated in the bathtub and not even looking his way. She had to know several ways to drag information out of trained ninjas using just the running water in here. And without leaving a single mark on their skin.

But Sugiyado only sighed.

He did not even step inside the bathroom, like he was respecting it as their territory.

Glancing over at Murakami Michihiko before talking would rattle and disconcert those kunoichis far more than any violence or threats.

“?”

Michihiko himself did not know how to respond and caused an unnatural silence, but it was still enough to affect Yukizasa and Oume since they were willing to read several layers too much into anything after being imprisoned like this.

After warming them up like that, Sugiyado got down to business.

Now that they were sufficiently rattled, he got right to the point.

“To be blunt, I don’t see much use in the two of you. We could see pretty much your entire hand from the moment we figured out your trick was using thermoelectric generation with the underground linear motor train network.”

“!”

This was working.

Sexy Oume glared over at small Yukizasa, telling her to mask her reactions better.

“That just leaves what exactly you plan to do with it, but we can figure that out by cornering Princess Karin and getting her to talk. Besides, she might not have even given you two the real reason. Better to get it from a trustworthy source than leave open the possibility of misinformation.”

Oume smiled in a self-deprecating way while bound to the toilet.

She may have decided to speak before Yukizasa could say too much.

“Then why are you even meeting with us? Hoping to distract yourself from your companion’s capture?”

“If it would get her back, I would dismember you in that tub and stuff you in bags. Should I send the bags to New Sapporo Castle? Is Princess Karin emotional enough to cover her face while watching the carnage on a monitor? I kind of doubt it.”

It all came so smoothly.

He was not trying to convince them of anything and he was not displaying any obvious anger or killer intent. He sounded so relaxed it might have passed in one ear and out the other if they were not paying attention. But that was what made it so bone-chilling.

He would do it if necessary.

As easily as he might chop a radish in two on the cutting board.

If he did not radiate that energy and make them hyperventilate, then this was entirely meaningless.

Someone’s life was riding on this.

Kuhou Ouka was a student left in his care. She had gone along with this plan even though she had nothing to gain from it. She was not here, but each of his words and each second that passed could influence whether she lived or died.

“Again, I don’t need anything from you. If I can return you, that’s one less thing I have to worry about.”

His tone remained unchanged.

Even a police officer aiming a gun at a criminal would have shown more emotion while explaining their right to remain silent.

“If I asked you to do something, you wouldn’t do it for me, would you? But keep that within reason, if you don’t mind.”

“…”

“Listen, if I can’t use you for anything, then I won’t. I have no reason to go out of my way to kill you, but I also have no reason to insist on your survival. If things go wrong at the exchange, I will kill you on the spot. The rails have been laid out, so now you either follow them or you intentionally derail. The choice is yours.”

What happened next would be the same either way. Whether they would obey or not, they would still want to know how things were supposed to go down.

“Creating the illusion of choice while guiding us toward the card you want?” Oume kept her voice low while handcuffed to the toilet pipes. “Is this supposed to be a form of mind control?”

“Interpret it however you like, but I’m not lying. You can choose to do what I say or not and that will determine what happens to you.”

“…”

Oume looked over at Murakami Michihiko with the look of a chained-up puppy, but he only sighed.

Sugiyado and Michihiko had not planned any of this out in advance, but that was why a single adlibbed comment could cause such a disturbance.

“I was tricked by the Stonewalls once already, so isn’t it a bit selfish to expect me to be honest with you now?”

“I should have ignored the princess and killed you sooner. An inspector who isn’t in our pocket only brings trouble.”

The traveling shrine maiden talked tough, but a real ninja did not make a show of their killer intent. If you were planning to kill, it was best to look like you would never hurt a fly.

The kunoichis had no ground to stand on here, so they may have hoped to draw out their own hostility this way.

To intentionally disillusion themselves.

To help give up on someone they had thought was on their side.

(How naïve. I won’t say it’s wrong to feel that way, but the more you care about something, the more carefully you have to protect it to avoid being hurt.)

“Now, then.” Sugiyado paused for a beat. “Those are some strong words, but which is it? Yes, or no. This isn’t a choice you can put off. I just hope you choose the card I think you will.”

With that said, he pulled out two stick-shaped digital voice recorders and threw them within arms’ reach of the two girls.

“Everything you need to know is on those. You can replay it as many times as you like. Whatever your intentions, you’re starved for information, right? I left out any maps or photos that require a visual, so do your best to memorize it all from the audio alone.”

6: Official Trap Preparations

“Deliveries 2 and 3 are complete. The next one will be the last.”

“Very good.”

Princess Karin nodded calmly at her subordinate’s report while walking through the facility with the hem of her junihitoe dragging behind her. With Taganuma Yukizasa and Horisato Oume captured, half her central team was missing and she had to visit this mass of steel and concrete herself for a direct report.

(To think an organization could be too big.)

But that did not mean she was willing to throw all that away and attempt it with a minimal number of elites.

A metallic thud sounded.

An armored truck’s electronically-controlled suspension had easily lowered a Swift Foot Type-2 Mount. Just a few years ago, the category of 2-wheel armored vehicles had not even existed, but these were essentially a dual-wheeled unit that an armored samurai replaced their lower body with.

They had of course had their origins in large motorcycles, but given their size and weight, they were more like a slimmed-down steamroller.

They were armed with a projectile weapon that resembled a Western bow-and-arrow after combining a rapid-vibration spear with an ultra-flexible bow made from the same special stainless steel used in the springs for skyscraper earthquake countermeasures. Those high-mobility anti-composite-armor weapons had been developed to open a hole in the tanks and 6-legged mobile fortresses that made up the Cyrillic Empire’s primary fighting force. Not only did they function as a weapon at close and long range, but most people would not even want to imagine what became of someone if they were run over by a “slimmed-down steamroller”.

No matter where the enemy was hiding in the gas turbine power plant, these could break right through the wall to reach them. There were plenty of sensors capable of detecting a target right through thick obstacles, such as terahertz waves and magnetic resonance.

She had just one concern.

(The power plant is crucial to the city’s infrastructure. We need to calculate out the acceptable amount of damage and share a map of what areas can be destroyed. If this comes down to a game of deception, we might not have a datalink up at all times.)

They could always reroute all the power from the underground linear motor train network to the city, but that would mean more or less be going public with their secret power source. She wanted to avoid anything so conspicuous.

“The final transport unit is here. Delivery 4 has arrived.”

“Good.”

They were not up against paper targets here.

She had this much at her disposal, but the Shogunate ninja would be working to outwit her in order to survive…and to save the hostage. But what might look like a clever choice could also be narrowing your options through unnecessary assumptions. It was just like a game of shogi. She had her standard heavy firepower, but she also had the secret arts of the ninja. While her opponent was hiding from the obvious threat of the rook or bishop, she would attack with the trickier knight or lance. In other words, she just had to hunt them down with her ninjas.

That meant Princess Karin herself and Amamo.

Then the junihitoe princess opened the trailer of the armored truck that had just arrived and viewed the weapon that had been hardest to procure.

She gave a command to her ultimate weapon that gave off a faint floral scent.

“How are you feeling, my cute kunoichi?”

7: To Battle

The gas turbine power plant was located on the east side of the city.

New Sapporo Domain was landlocked and thus could not acquire large quantities of coolant water from the ocean, so thermal power generation was a crucial part of its infrastructure. That said, the old-fashioned coal method pumped out toxic smoke, which was incompatible with preserving a livable environment in the big city. That naturally limited them to using the same city gas as ordinary homes.

That may have been enough to support the people’s lives, but it was insufficient to power the many defense weapons deployed to every corner of the vast northern land. In fact, they could not have the power generation facility openly visible by satellite. If the Cyrillic Empire launched a missile strike on or sabotaged it, all the military systems would go down.

The dull gray building stood out from the surrounding city even with a thin layer of artificial snow.

“It’s generally exactly as Murakami said.”

The sun was setting.

Asagao was using a tablet to view the footage sent by an aerial drone resembling a giant top supported by coaxial rotors.

“The many pipes even cover up the roads running through there. That probably helps prevent satellites from seeing the steam from the pressure release valves and the smoke from the smokestacks, but I can’t get the drone any closer due to all the EM scattered by the turbines. The control interference would be too great if I had it descend any more and who knows when communications will be lost too.”

“Oh? So they don’t stop the power plant even during emergencies?”

“C’mon, Bara. Don’t you know it takes days to inspect and restart the turbines once they stop? Besides, Princess Karin is trying to protect the people. Even if her methods are a little insane.”

Asagao was right. The large reactors found in power plants and ironworks were more efficient when kept running at all times instead of switching them on and off for every little thing.

Princess Karin controlled the local government, so she had use of the official surveillance network, from the security cameras to the satellites, and she could even send in a large military force. Sugiyado’s team was fighting an away game, so they needed a reliable withdrawal point more than a giant weapon. In that sense, the gas turbine power plant was like a jungle of steel and concrete. They could use their ninja techniques to their hearts’ content there.

Hoozuki checked the same screen.

“But, Sensei, she’ll know how to use the place like that too, won’t she? We should assume the security is a lot stricter from normal. They’ll have filled in all the holes and used every advantage it gives them.”

“I know that.”

He had designated the location and Princess Karin had designated the time. She would have chosen a time that gave her enough time to make the preparations she needed. No one would insist on a condition that hurt their position.

And with that in mind…

(That honestly doesn’t matter.)

Sugiyado Souha did not lament his disadvantages.

If you could not ally yourself with your disadvantages, you could never overturn the board from behind the scenes.

(Ninjas are meant to perform the sabotage that a largescale army can’t do. Being at a disadvantage makes it easier to follow our training. Princess Karin, the more you fortify your position with military might, the more thick fat you surround yourself with and the harder you will find it to move.)

When an enemy had 100 large weapons, the more flammable objects you had to trigger explosions with and the more chances to trick the enemy into hitting each other.

When an enemy had 1000 guards, the more opportunities you had to defeat one, steal their uniform, and sneak in and the easier it was to pick up on dissatisfaction within the ranks to start some infighting or find an information leak.

These would be Princess Karin’s chosen troops, but she would not have gathered them all personally. Receiving the same training and education did not mean they all shared the same values and sense of the threat. Gather enough people and holes and misunderstandings were unavoidable. Not even the production lines for cutting-edge weapons had entirely perfected the advance detection of faulty parts.

A ninja knew how to view things in that light. They were like a contrarian that could back up their arguments with real action.

“We don’t actually know where Amamo or Princess Karin are, though. Or Ouka for that matter.”

They had an hour until the promised time of 7.

“It’s time.” Sugiyado teased the scarf over his mouth. “Asagao, switch the drone to programmed flight. We need to leave.”

“Hey, Sensei. I know arriving early to lie in wait is the standard play, but we know the Stonewalls will be there before us. If we arrive too soon, won’t it lead to a skirmish before the hostage exchange?”

Hoozuki was being more timid than usual, but that may have been due to losing Ouka before her eyes. Even Sugiyado had a hard time caring for his wounded heart and fully conquering the fear in such a short time.

And his answer was simple.

“7 was the given time, but we don’t actually have to wait until then. They’ll see it the same way, so I bet this will begin sooner.”

Sugiyado had three cards in his deck: Yukizasa, Oume, and – as a dark horse – Murakami Michihiko. As fighters, he had Bara and Hoozuki. Asagao was his information support. He did not count Ekaterina or the others from the Cyrillic Empire.

Once they had everything they needed, they took different trucks to reach the gas turbine power plant from three different directions.

Hoozuki took Yukizasa.

Bara took Ouma.

And Sugiyado Souha took Murakami Michihiko.

The young man spoke with a bitter look on his face.

He mostly seemed to be speaking to himself.

“The princess must be putting the happiness of New Sapporo Domain and the entire Hokkaido Area first and foremost. I’m certain of it. It’s just that she chose too extreme a method.”

“…”

His loyalty was impressive after having his grandfather killed and being framed for the crime.

Not to mention that he was not a part of the Stonewalls themselves.

“But you can still fight back without hesitation?”

“I am a ninja. I was trained to do so and I trained all my men to do so.”

He must have been taught how to suppress his emotions so he could control himself and survive even when under too much confusion to properly process what was happening. But that was no guarantee the process was working perfectly.

Sugiyado did not teach that method.

He taught his students how to use their emotions to fuel their progress, but he would not teach them how to stifle what they felt. That would be antithetical to teaching them how to live their lives.

“What happened between you and the old man?”

“Nothing,” spat out Michihiko while looking aside. He apparently felt some guilt. “A family member turned out to be a criminal. Enough of one to be sent to max-security Abashiri. Is it that odd that we became estranged after that? And remember that I’m a Shogunate ninja. I can never be open about it, but I am a civil servant.”

“Are you sure that’s all?”

If so, why had he been unable to throw out the ninja tool the old man made?

Sugiyado hid that question in his tone.

Michihiko sighed.

“He took the blame for a government official’s crime to protect the Shogunate. No matter how much I wanted to tell the truth, I would only have been ensuring he did it all for nothing. How am I supposed to stay in touch with someone during all that? I couldn’t manage it. My personal sense of justice was shaken by it.”

That did sound like that old man.

Sugiyado thought on it while holding the steering wheel. That explained why the old man had felt so different from the other prisoners. He had gotten by so easily within the complex power balance of the special prison, so it had seemed unlikely he would have been unable to avoid trouble in the outside world and committed a crime without covering his tracks properly.

“I’m not even going to try to change how you feel about Princess Karin.”

“Wha-?”

“I said I’m not even going to try, so I don’t need any arguments from you. I have no guarantee I could do anything about it on such short notice even if I wanted to.” Sugiyado sounded exasperated. “But you were so intent on stopping her plan that you turned a blade on her in the castle. She isn’t someone we can outdo while negotiating through the proper channels. Ouka is a complete stranger to you, but you will never have a better shot at defeating Princess Karin and the Stonewalls. Screw this up and there is no stopping New Sapporo Domain and the Hokkaido Area. Keep that in mind.”

“…”

For Murakami Michihiko, he was avenging his grandfather’s death.

He would be aware of that and also aware the he still could not bring himself to abandon Princess Karin.

He was in a bind, but the clock was still ticking.

“If this fails, this will no longer be a job for ninjas. The Shogunate might send in an army. Or the Empire might. Princess Karin would be shot to death beyond your reach or she would kill herself inside her blazing castle. If you want to avoid that, then do what you deem best now.”

They did not even consider entering through the main gate.

Sugiyado parked in an empty lot a short distance away.

“Follow the plan.”

“You too. You’re hiding something, aren’t you?”

“Ninjas always have their secrets.”

“…”

“So I will tell you what I can assure you is true: I respect your grandfather and I will do whatever it takes to rescue Ouka. We’re on equal footing here. You use me toward your ends and I’ll do the same with you. Now, let’s go.”

Alone, Sugiyado hopped atop the wall surrounding the empty lot dusted with artificial snow and then jumped to the roof of a nearby building. He noted a quiet beeping and held a hand to his ear while continuing his three-dimensional movement.

“I have a reading from the sensor. Murakami Michihiko has begun to move. Let him move freely from now on.”

“Got it, Sensei. We have Yukizasa and Oume on standby.”

“Murakami was present when you interrogated those two, so keep in mind that his name will spread quickly, Sensei.”

Hoozuki was right. But Murakami Michihiko was not meant as an unseen assassin. Hints of his presence were meant to rattle Princess Karin, so perfectly hiding him would be counterproductive.

People had a tendency to see ghosts in the dark because they feared incomplete information more than anything. That was when their imagination kicked in.

“Release Oume.”

Now.

The other side would have everything set up for the confrontation here, but what would they least expect when hoping to retrieve hostages?

To find one of the supposed hostages wandering around before the negotiations began. That alone could would fill them with tension and cause their preparations to crumble.

They could no longer just ready their shields and tense their bodies. Accepting in their ally would require opening a gap in their shields.

(If we’re lucky, Oume will mention Murakami Michihiko. Just as the Stonewalls think they can escape the tension by focusing on Oume, the ground will open up below their feet. Just like someone who makes one final burst of speed to finish a marathon, only to learn they’re at the halfway point.)

“Hold onto Yukizasa,” he said while jumping from rooftop to rooftop.

“Hey, Sensei. Shouldn’t we have waited until we had confirmed Ouka’s presence here? If they don’t respond, we’ll have wasted one of our cards.”

“I know you’re worried, Hoozuki, but stay focused. It would take us all night to track down where in that labyrinthine power plant Ouka and Princess Karin are. Remember that we still have Yukizasa if this doesn’t work out.”

Needless to say, Princess Karin’s side had to be much more careful since they only had Ouka. If things did not go according to plan, they would either fortify their defenses or withdraw. Either option would stand out. Sugiyado’s side still had to be on the lookout for a bluff, but if they had a way to pinpoint locate Ouka or Princess Karin, it was worth using.

“Transmissions intercepted,” reported Asagao. “It’ll take me a while longer to break the encryption, but I can see where the most traffic is. There is a lot going from Area D2 to E5. That’s where Oume is wandering around blindfolded and handcuffed.”

“So they’re freaking out.”

The other side had to be simulating a number of scenarios. If they went to save her, would they get sniped? If they focused their forces there, would they be leaving another area too thinly guarded? What they did know was that Sugiyado’s side was not going to negotiate in the normal way and that they could not carelessly execute Ouka in retaliation since he still had Yukizasa. He had sent Oume back alive to spread hope through the other side. By not sending back a corpse, he proved that that they could get their people back alive if they played their cards right. That would make them want Yukizasa back as well. They could no longer dryly tell themselves those two were a lost cause.

As a result, they would want to keep Ouka alive no matter what.

“The Stonewalls have contacted and collected Oume. What now?”

“Leave them be. Don’t snipe anyone who approaches. They’ll panic even more because they won’t know if this was done as a sign of good will or as part of a dangerous scheme. The danger here isn’t whether or not their guess is right. If they can find an explanation they accept, they can recover from their confusion.”

“Sensei, vehicles are gathering in A2, diagonally across the grounds from E5,” reported Asagao. “That’s near the rear entrance. Now that they have Oume, their formation is collapsing. They probably want to retrieve Ouka before they take any major damage and then try this all again. They hope repeating the process will get them Yukizasa back as well.”

They were quick to react.

At this rate, they would be gone before Oume could say Murakami Michihiko was their enemy.

Now was the time to act.

This was just like the theater of a scam artist.

To keep the negotiations running smoothly, he could not let the Stonewalls regain their cool.

“Understood, Asagao. I’ll deal with it.”

“Princess Karin isn’t the only one there. Just like we have Murakami as a trump card, they have the still-unseen Amamo. Not to mention all their ordinary forces. Be careful, Sensei!”

“Didn’t I teach you times like this are the best opportunities, Asagao?”

He jumped between rooftops and ran down a catwalk-like pathway suspended in the air. He made sure to avoid casting a shadow on the ground below to avoid the troops patrolling there.

Another figure jumped over him on the next level up.

(Is that Murakami Michihiko?)

Sugiyado thought about the young man while their shadows intersected. Murakami was cooperating because he had his own plans, but they had yet to see what those plans were. Why was he still willing to support Princess Karin after she killed his blood relative? There was a missing piece to this puzzle.

(I hope that doesn’t come back to bite us, but I need to focus on Ouka right now.)

He wanted to ignite the city gas and blow every one of them to smithereens for capturing his adorable student, but that was not the ninja way. Combat and killing should be avoided when at all possible.

He traveled along various pipes and pathways to reach the area he wanted.

Area A2 was the safe exit the other side had created.

(This is my chance.)

The enemy had a large force, so if they wanted to leave while protecting their precious hostage, they would have to use several heavy bulletproof cars. And to leave the grounds, they would have to pass through a gate that acted as a bottleneck.

At present, they had 5 bulletproof cars lined up one behind the other with a two-wheeled Swift Foot at the very front and back. Even a tank or attack helicopter would get its ass kicked in a head-on shootout.

But that did not matter here.

Sugiyado silently pulled a Fierce Fang from the back of his short-sleeved dress shirt.

A moment later, he launched it down like a bolt of lightning at the two-wheeled armored vehicle in the lead as it passed through the gate. The mass of composite armor was a cross between giant armor and a large motorcycle – creating something like a slimmed-down steamroller – but it was no more than scrap metal when enough nitrogen gas to pry open a crushed car door stripped the processing unit from its back.

The defeat came so suddenly that the vehicles behind it crashed into it and each other from behind. The gate kept them from driving around, so shifting to reverse was their only option. However…

(One more.)

The mount in the rear was aiming its enormous castle-busting bow around and scanning for the enemy, but it too ceased moving after a dull rumble of destruction.

Now the armored vehicles were blocked in the front and back.

“Sh!!”

Sugiyado Souha pulled out another air pressure kunai, jumped down from a height of about three stories, and made a swift attack.

He flipped down toward the vehicles.

He felt light as a feather for the few seconds before landing and he used that time to throw several air pressure kunais toward the trapped bulletproof cars.

It was like piercing a piece of cloth with a sewing machine’s needle.

The blades stabbed into the thick hoods and the power of the nitrogen gas forced those wounds wider, sending sinister sparks flying from the engine compartments. However, the engines were not his aim – he was trying to cut the power cables from the batteries. The doors and windows were thick and bulletproof, so motors were used to help with their great weight when opening or closing them. He did not even need to defeat the lower-ranked ninjas. By cutting the power, he could trap them inside those bug cages.

After lightly landing in the snow, Hoozuki and Bara’s voices finally reached him.

“Sensei, we can’t provide covering fire if you do that!!”

“You’re being too reckless. I get wanting to rescue Ouka as soon as possible, but still.”

“What are you talking about?” he replied.

The ninja did not bat an eye after destroying seven 2-wheel armored vehicles and bulletproof cars in quick succession. He seemed to be saying he would take out twice that many if need be.

He turned back the way he had come and peeked in the windows of the vehicles as he passed by. The passengers belatedly aimed their blades and guns his way, but they could not attack him through the thick bulletproof glass even from the inside. He calmly walked by those people who could only sit idly by and watch and he found what he wanted in the third from the front.

Kuhou Ouka.

The twintails girl sat in the back seat in between two people dressed all in black. Her head was drooping weakly and her eyes seemed to radiate exhaustion, but she had no obvious exterior injuries.

Their side had just the one hostage.

Without a spare, they could not afford to let her die. Even Princess Karin must have felt a need to treat her with care.

But what did that matter?

Sugiyado had to consciously regulate his breathing to suppress the anger flaring up within him.

The Stonewall troops seated on the other side of the thick bulletproof glass looked tense but also somewhat relaxed. The bulletproof door could not be opened from either side, so if they waited around, the heavy firepower of the samurai mounts or a kunoichi like Amamo or Princess Karin would arrive. Their boss could not abandon them when they were looking after the precious hostage. Sugiyado gave them an exasperated look as he pulled a hair spray can and a lighter from his pocket.

He ignited the spray for a simple flamethrower that he first used to roast the glass from the outside. Then he opened a hole in the bottom of the can with the tip of a kunai, releasing the gas that had been stored inside as a compressed liquid at less than -30 degrees. That produced a disconcerting cracking sound.

Bulletproof glass was made to stop a bullet, but it was still glass. It could not survive rapid temperature changes. Even the clear film between the layers had been melted by the heat.

“Eek!”

A 10cm diameter hole was enough.

The Stonewall on the right was too shocked to move and the one on the left could not decide whether to aim their gun at Sugiyado or Ouka. Both were soon knocked out by the air pressure kunai that flew in from outside to hit them on the head or chest.

The nitrogen gas was not needed here.

Although he would have “pried open” their flesh and blood had they actually aimed a gun at Ouka.

“Ouka.”

He called into the car while sticking his hand in through the broken glass to unlock the door. He could not open the heavy door with his arm strength alone, so he stuck an air pressure kunai in the crack and forced it open.

“Well done enduring long enough to give us this chance, Ouka. It’ll all be okay now.”

“…”

She did not respond.

When he saw how she only sluggishly turned her head, he wrapped his arms around her. They must have done something to her while she was captured. Sealing off her emotions and locking down her mind may have been the only way to protect her psyche when she had no way to escape.

He had taught her how to do that.

The only other solution was suicide. He wanted to praise her for not going with that option.

“Let’s get out of here.” He held her head to his chest. “We’ll get you somewhere safe. We can think about crushing the Stonewalls after that.”

Sensing a stirring in the driver’s seat, he threw a kunai without even thinking. He did not even look in that direction.

He thought through his options while collecting the kunais lying within the car.

The troops trapped inside their own bulletproof cars could not move, but they would be communicating via radio. Reinforcements would be arriving soon. The 2-wheeled samurai mounts, the ordinary infantry, Amamo, and Princess Karin were all present at the gas turbine power plant, so he could not just hang around forever.

At 5kg, his back felt funny. At 10kg, it exploded with pain.

He cursed himself for being too useless to even carry his own student to safety and he spoke into the mic hidden within his scarf.

“I’ve retrieved Ouka. Hoozuki, you help me carry her out of here. Bara, you look out for enemies and provide covering fire from a distance. I repeat, I have retrieved her. You can reduce Yukizasa’s priority level. Leave her in the vehicle tied up and gagged. Just silence anyone who gets in the way of Hoozuki and Ouka’s escape. But don’t pursue them too far. Only hold them back while keeping yourself safe. I don’t want them taking another hostage.”

“Got it, Sensei.”

“Someone is already headed your way! There are too many flammable objects to get a clear line of fire!!”

He heard a loud metallic clang from overhead. Ninjas usually moved silently, so this was an intentional declaration of war.

“…”

Ouka could walk on her own with some guidance, so he wrapped an arm around her and left the bulletproof car. Propping her up was light enough. He was not actually carrying her, so his spine’s restrictions did not matter.

The noise had come from around two stories up, atop the complex arrangement of pipes.

The bright colors of a heavy junihitoe danced in the buffeting wind atop a horizontal steel cylinder thicker than a child was tall.

“Princess Karin.”

“You’re a surprisingly earnest person. But you were a little early, insolent fool.”

He detected a sweet aroma through his scarf.

Kunoichis often used poisons and using your nose was not always safe, but he saw through it right away. This was not a poison. It was the oil used in beauty care.

Silently, he let his anger build in his brow.

Princess Karin held a one-handed hammer made entirely out of metal. The blunt weapon allowed even a slender woman to smash through a helmet or bulletproof jacket, so it was more convenient even than a more threatening-looking blade. Plus, this was a ninja weapon with a hollow grip that could be used as a gun.

(Where’s Murakami Michihiko?)

The boy was not foolish enough to look around for him. The young man would likely rattle Princess Karin more than anything, but there was no sign of him rushing out right away.

Princess Karin spun the sinister and heavy ninja weapon like a baton.

“Now, how to interpret this situation? We have already retrieved Oume. I thought for sure she would be wrapped in bombs or something, but no.”

“I’m not going to say I’m done with you. I will crush you – thoroughly – even if you are doing all this for a good cause. I’m through fighting to repay a debt of gratitude. Do not underestimate the power of vengeance, little girl.”

“Oh, how scary.” She hid her mouth behind her sleeve and laughed in a way as elegant as it was sinister. “But we need Yukizasa back too, so I must insist that the negotiations continue.”

“Ouka was your only card. What else can you offer?”

“I have not miscounted. I just need her to work a little longer for me. Do it, Ouka.”

She gave an arrogant command.

The twintails girl was closer to him than anyone as he held his arm around her slender waist.

And a moment later, a dull thud rang out as the Fierce Fang in Sugiyado Souha’s hand slammed mercilessly into the center of his student’s chest.

The trap had failed.

He had defused it in an instant.

Even Princess Karin was taken aback by the speed with which he acted. Not the physical speed, the speed of his decision.

“Oh? That seemed to catch you by surprise, yet you still made up your mind so quickly?”

All emotion had vanished from the instructor’s face.

He would act when it was necessary.

Even if that meant attacking one of his precious students.

Because he knew holding back would only put both their lives at greater risk.

He had attacked over the skintight, bulletproof, and blade-resistant ninja outfit. That had stopped the tip of the blade, but the impact had still reached her, instantly knocking her unconscious. He could not support her limp weight, so he let go of her hips and let her collapse to the thin layer of artificial snow.

A trap.

A surprise attack.

His guard was too strict for that to work. He had taken the optimal action like a machine.

“Now you’ve done it.”

Yet he shed tears of blood.

Literally. Keeping the emotion from his face worked his facial muscles so hard that the corners of his eyes tore, sending red drops down his cheeks.

The ordinary ninja rules had collapsed.

He did not reject the emotions themselves.

Killer intent erupted from his entire body like a great invisible mass.

“You made me turn a blade on one of my students again, little girl.”

No longer would he limit himself to the optimal level of violence.

Or maybe he never had.

“Hoozuki.”

The silver ponytail girl slid up on Countless Calamities, a motorcycle kept silent by the overuse of soundproofing materials.

He did not even look her way.

“Take care of Ouka. Check her inside and out for transmitters and bugs, tie her up and gag her, and then carry her back to Asagao. …Asagao, you heard that, right? Sleep deprivation and exhaustion wouldn’t work in such a short time. Stimulation of light or sound must have been used to rapidly wear her down and steal away her free will. Prepare to break the hypnotism, restore her nutrient levels, and recover her autonomic nerves. Break all of her bonds.”

“What about you, Sensei?” asked his silver-haired student while gently lifting up Ouka.

He had let his emotions show, which was not at all like a ninja or an instructor.

Yes.

He had pulled a Fierce Fang from his shirt while he glared up at Princess Karin.

“I will destroy everything she’s built up: her castle, her fortune, her dream – everything.”

He had allowed all of this to happen, so he had to end it himself.

8: A Dogfight Sans Aircraft

Sugiyado Souha had taught those four girls everything there was to know about being a ninja.

But he had never neglected their emotions in the process. He had not taught them to throw out those feelings. He had not let them become unfeeling murder machines.

So.

The boy who valued emotions to that extent would of course feel something here.

“You’re dead.”

“Oh, how fun.”

He jumped from the bulletproof car he had destroyed to reach the top of a 2-wheeled samurai mount, and jumped from there to the second-story pipes where Princess Karin waited. He was not supported by the high-polymer water-absorbing gel chemical winches or electric potential elastic belt cylinders found in Bara or Hoozuki’s ninja outfits. He pulled it off with pure martial arts taken to their extreme.

Princess Karin took a step back on a thick pipe running parallel to his and swung her hammer with a side throwing motion.

The tungsten steel nail hidden in the grip burst from within.

The hammer’s weight and centrifugal force flung it with more power than a simple swing of her arm could have managed.

And she had aimed for the moment he landed, making it impossible to dodge.

“!!”

The ninja boy swung his air pressure kunai to deflect the projectile, but she chose that moment to rush in. All ten of her fingers raced along the hammer’s grip. The movement was as subtle as a stage magician’s trick, but Sugiyado did not overlook it. She had loaded the hollow grip with a powder wrapped in thin paper.

(A blinding powder made from dried jellyfish tentacle!?)

Stingers like that did not fully lose their toxicity when dehydrated, so this was one possible use for them. If she swung her hammer from a few meters away, creating a cloud of toxic stingers too small to see, he would have no way to dodge or defend against it. A powdered attack was not something he could bring down with a swing of a kunai and losing his sight even for a second would mean death at the moment.

He had only one way of preventing her move.

(Make my own move!!)

He stepped forward to reach her before she could swing her arm. She made a last-minute alteration to her hammer’s path to block the kunai aimed for the side of her head.

The two metal weapons crashed together.

“Kh.”

“…!!”

The kunai and hammer pushed against each other while they glared at each other from point black range.

A samurai would use a single sword for attack and defense, but ninjas were different. Locking weapons was not enough to stop the flow of time.

Princess Karin’s foot aimed for Sugiyado’s shin, so he pulled that leg back out of the way, releasing their locked weapons. The hammer finally swung enough to scatter the dried jellyfish stingers contained in its hollow grip

But Sugiyado was not about to sit around waiting for that.

He ruptured the thumb-sized pack of nitrogen rapid-foaming agent used by the air pressure kunai to disturb the air in front of him. The dried stingers were no threat if they could not harm the mucous membranes of his eyes, nose, and mouth.

In fact, Princess Karin now had to do something about the stingers being pushed back her way. One always had to pay careful attention to the wind direction when using a toxic cloud.

“Tch!!”

With a wave of her heavy junihitoe’s large sleeve, she whipped up enough wind to protect her face. It was well done given how little time she had to react, but she had still given Sugiyado more time to move. Instead of forcing himself to run through the toxic cloud of jellyfish stingers, he threw a Fierce Fang toward her center line from a few meters away. He pictured it like jabbing her with a spear.

Sparks flew.

She had knocked the kunai from the air with her hammer and took a few steps back to put distance between them while she swung her blunt weapon like a baton.

“Hm, not bad. I had assumed you were no more than a pimp who ordered his favorite kittens around, but it seems you can do some things yourself.”

He did not dignify that with a response.

He wasn’t interested in listening to her until he had knocked out those pretty front teeth of hers and her bloody mouth was begging for her life, so he wordlessly readied a Fierce Fang in his right hand.

Nothing signaled the battle resuming.

Without hesitation, they both jumped sideways from the parallel pipes. In other words, into the air. They jumped from foothold to foothold – sometimes to a narrow elevated pathway much like a catwalk, sometimes a concrete roof, and sometimes a bit sticking out from the side of a vertical smokestack. They remained parallel to each other, judging the best timing to target each other.

Sugiyado Souha used his air pressure kunai.

Princess Karin used her hammer equipped with a gun barrel.

Both ninja weapons could be used at close and long range. A moment’s inattention would mean a hit to their vitals, but focusing entirely on that would mean missing their next footing and falling from a great height. It was like a dogfight with death. Their midair interplay of offense and defense was pulled off so smoothly it actually felt odd they had no wings.

And Princess Karin was not Sugiyado’s only enemy.

Her lips produced a bewitching whisper as she spun her hammer like a baton, waiting for the right moment to fire.

“Swift Foot, shoot down the intruder.”

A fearsome attack was launched up from a 2-wheel armored vehicle that looked like a cross between a slimmed-down steamroller and an armored warrior. The weapon resembled a modern bow, but it was actually a cross between a rapid-vibration spear with an ultra-flexible bow made from the same special stainless steel used in the springs for skyscraper earthquake countermeasures. The heavy weapon was capable of tearing through a tank or a 6-legged mobile fortress. Sugiyado performed a flip at the last second and saw the thick crane he had been using for footing partially torn away.

“…!!”

The destructive power rivaled a ship-mounted railgun.

Buffeted by the resultant winds, he veered away from his intended landing point, so Princess Karin directed the sinister hollow grip of her hammer his way from her own footing.

When had she even reloaded it?

The lit fuse gave off a pale orange light reminiscent of a lit cigarette. There was no trigger, so she only had to shove it into the hole on the side of the grip to light the gunpowder within.

(Here it comes!!)

He had no bulletproof equipment, so a direct hit from a ship’s artillery or an ordinary bullet would leave him just as dead. Still spinning through the air, he spread his legs to shift his center of gravity and take more unpredictable evasive action.

“Swift Foot, fire a second round.”

More firepower was launched from the snowy ground, but not to destroy Sugiyado or his next footing.

(The air. Will that change the bullet’s path!?)

The light gunshot was nearly drowned out by the larger blast from the ground. The metal grip had been hollowed out to act as a matchlock gun barrel. The bullet was tiny, but that allowed the wind to more easily alter its path and it pursued Sugiyado with a serpentine movement. Mechanical rifling would have given it too stable a trajectory. This trick could not be replicated with a cutting-edge assault rifle or anti-materiel rifle.

Still hanging in the air, the ninja swung his kunai.

Sparks flew.

He just barely managed to deflect the deadly bullet, but he was the one to frown when he landed on some metal reinforced by the pieces surrounding it like a jungle gym. This was exactly what Princess Karin had wanted. He had let her speed influence him. Even though he knew he could not keep up with cutting-edge equipment once he got used to the old-fashioned matchlock.

She said something while jumping to her next footing. Based on the movement of her lips, she said, “That’s one.”

At this rate, she would gradually throw off his senses until she could finally bring him down.

He needed to eliminate the teamwork between ground and air.

As he jumped around to rise from the third story to the fourth story, he subtly altered what kind of footing he chose. This gas turbine power plant was very obviously an away game flooded with enemies for him, but they could not afford to destroy a piece of their home infrastructure. He used the spacious power plant’s most dangerous flammable objects as a shield.

Also…

(I can choose areas where the path of the pipes would guide the secondary explosions toward her. She’s their temporary master and only princess. That should weigh heavier on the scales than just the facility.)

“Swift Foot, fire a third round.”

“!?”

“What, you think I would fear for my own life after setting foot on the battlefield? Frankly, I am offended you thought me a mere observer here to enjoy the show. Fire.”

He did not even have time to respond to her.

Cylindrical containers larger than school classrooms were lined up in a row. Those suction vessels took in air and mixed that with the city gas pumped in through pipes in order to produce the optimal flammability for use in industrial power generation. If they ruptured, they would spew toxic gas and a single spark of static would cause an immediate-

Kaboooooooooom!!!???

Sugiyado had leaped into the air just beforehand, so the blast slammed into him and unnaturally extended his jump. The incredible heat prickled at his skin like needles and the noise left his ears numb.

At a fourth story height, he tucked his arms in and extended his legs to spin like a figure skater. He used the spin to stabilize his balance like a gyroscope.

“Tch!!”

“You should take this as a compliment, insolent fool.”

Meanwhile, Princess Karin remained on the same footing and spun her metal hammer like a baton. She did not try to pursue him. Was she going to throw the tungsten steel? Whatever she had planned, she was sticking to long-range attacks to cooperate with the gunner on the ground to hit him with the crossfire.

In other words…

“Because I have deemed the damage to this critical infrastructure a price worth paying for your defeat.”

She was not going to let this continue.

Now that she had guided him where she wanted, she would finish him off. The execution phase had begun.

But Sugiyado had never planned to let this last all that long either.

This was an away game for him.

(So!!)

He rapidly spun himself to secure the centrifugal force to throw a kunai like the hammer throw. Instead of aiming for Princess Karin at the same height as him, he targeted the deadly 2-wheeled Swift Foot mount on the ground. The kunai hit the armored arm at the shoulder joint.

It stabbed in.

The blade was forced open by the nitrogen, tearing the arm apart from within using 15 tons of force.

The weapon still had its bow at the ready, so what happened if its aim was thrown off and its finger slipped from the bowstring?

“Do it.”

“Ha ha!! Won’t be taken out so easily, will you!?”

The weapon’s shifted aim moved toward Princess Karin. Her junihitoe fluttered around as she swung her hammer to the side and moved to a different piece of footing. She demonstrated the impressive skill needed to dodge the all-destroying ultra-heavy metal arrow while also accurately sending out a tungsten steel nail, but Sugiyado had altered his spin when he reached out his arm to throw the kunai. The thick nail shot right past his face and then his sense of speed returned to normal.

Princess Karin was about four stories up after landing on the metal latticework resembling a jungle gym that surrounded and reinforced a round smokestack.

Sugiyado landed one step down on the end of a steel beam twisted by the Swift Foot’s attack.

They had both made irregular landings, so they were off balance. There would be no better chance to end this.

“!!”

“!?”

They were past trading words.

No more tricks either.

Sugiyado Souha’s Fierce Fang left his hand at about the time the flintlock bullet was fired from Princess Karin’s hammer.

The two intersected along the straight line path between the two of them.

However…

“Gah!?”

Scorching pain filled Sugiyado’s right shoulder and he nearly fell from his temporary footing.

Princess Karin grinned.

And.

Still smiling, she wobbled to the side from the hit to the center of her chest.

(…?)

She had subtly shifted her position at the last second. He had aimed for her solar plexus to knock her unconscious, yet she had taken it to her chest, which was even more risky. Had she wanted to take the blow where she had the greatest bulletproofing?

The jungle gym of a reinforcing lattice proved to be a poor choice. She was unable to recover her balance and fell limply out into empty air.

“…”

Sugiyado thought for just a moment and then threw another kunai. This time, he targeted the excess fabric of her heavy junihitoe. The blade pierced through and stabbed into the metal wall to pin her in the air, averting the plummet to her death.

“This is over.”

“Gh…”

He had been hit in the right shoulder, but the bullet had only grazed the surface. The bone and nerves were undamaged, so he could still fight.

“Now, it’s time to beg for your life. Take too long and your own precious clothing will strangle you. Struggle too much and you’ll dislodge the kunai and fall.”

But he did not actually have a good reason to care so much about defeating her. His promise with the old man had been about Murakami Michihiko who was alive and he had retrieved Ouka.

Why was he doing this?

Because if he kept the rest of the enemies focused on her, Ouka and the others could escape safely.

The soldiers and 2-wheeled mounts on the ground were locked onto him but could not fire. She had ordered her people to fire with no regard for what would happen to the gas turbine power plant, but they could not actually fire on their own master without direct instructions from her. She was a princess and that status meant something. Killing her could get their entire family slaughtered as punishment.

She was plotting something in this northern land, but he did not need to know the details. He had revealed the secret of the new power source using the underground linear motor train network. He could wait for Ouka to recover and then destroy their Achilles heel. They already knew how to defeat Yukizasa, Oume, and Princess Karin. They had the advantage.

Or so he thought.

But…

(Where’s Murakami Michihiko?)

This looked like illogical revenge.

He could not blame anyone for seeing it that way. And there had to be some kind of deep bond between Murakami Michihiko and Princess Karin. Enough to overcome their differences in ninja school and in position – one an inspector from Edo and the other leader of the Stonewalls. Sugiyado had never expected the young man to follow his instructions. Or more accurately, to only follow his instructions. No matter what he said, he would have second thoughts once he saw Princess Karin’s stronghold about to fall. He might not outright betray Sugiyado, but he would make some irregular action that trip Sugiyado up. And Sugiyado had expected that display of humanity would distract and rattle Princess Karin by stirring up some feelings inside her.

“…”

But after all this, nothing had happened.

Why wasn’t Murakami Michihiko panicking?

He should have been ready to protect her with his own life at this point.

And.

He had defeated and restrained their boss, so why wasn’t Amamo doing anything? That kunoichi was powerful enough to defeat Ouka, but she had yet to make an appearance. Holding something in reserve should have been meaningless when their big boss was about to be defeated. If it was true Princess Karin had poisoned her father to steal his authority as domain lord, then the collapse of her plan would get them all judged as traitors even if they surrendered. That would mean death for their entire family. He doubted Amamo would sit idly by and let that happen.

What could this mean?

“It can’t be…”

Just then, something slammed hard into his back.

A bullet had been fired into the very center of his back by a matchlock weapon with its power intentionally kept low. But this shot had not come from the surface. It had clearly arrived horizontally from the same height.

(Matchlock.)

He could not breathe.

His spine was damaged enough already and it cried in protest over something other than the weight limit.

(Fired from a hammer just like Princess Karin’s!?)

This had caught him completely by surprise.

He had failed to respond in time.

So.

His survival was nothing he had done intentionally; it was pure coincidence. The kunais hidden in the back of his short-sleeved dress shirt had just so happened to function as metal armor.

He was knocked off balance, but before his feet fully slipped from under him, he kicked off the bent and twisted steel beam to jump.

He heard the metallic clang of a strike from the hammer itself. His assailant had pounded hard on the footing he had just vacated. Had he been a moment slower, the assassin’s meteoric leap would have split his head open.

He brought his feet together to land atop a lightning rod and easily turned around.

That hammer was the same ninja weapon used by Princess Karin.

And the final kunoichi had never made an appearance before this.

There was only one conclusion.

There was another.

He saw a kunoichi in a junihitoe who looked identical to Princess Karin!

He did not know how deep the masquerade went. It could have been special makeup, or it could have been plastic surgery. Either way, the photo found on New Sapporo Castle’s classified server must have been replaced with someone else’s for security purposes.

At any rate, he made a split-second decision.

He adjusted his grip on his kunai.

“Was that a body double and you’re the real Princess Karin!?”

“Does it really matter?”

She twirled the hammer like a baton. Every little mannerism was the same, making it all very confusing.

“I have mastered Amamo’s techniques and Amamo has learned how to rule in my place, so either one of us can achieve the same results. Which one of us is Princess Karin and which one is Amamo is a mere triviality to us.”

That was when Sugiyado threw his air pressure kunai.

The 20-year-old in a junihitoe prepared to knock it from the air with her hammer, but then something unexpected happened.

Sparks flew further out in front of her.

A young man had moved between them in midair and knocked the kunai down with a long, silver-shining wind instrument.

This may have been the first time Sugiyado saw true surprise on the junihitoe woman’s face.

“Murakami, you dumbass!”

“What’s this, Princess Karin? I thought you always spoke like a proper lady in front of him.”

Sugiyado smiled a little. His attack had been blocked, but things were working out in his favor. The unverified information from Oume must have reached her, but actually seeing the young man was much more of a shock.

And in contrast…

“Sorry.”

The young man had a bitter look on his face.

He squeezed the words out toward Sugiyado like he was squeezing out his own blood.

“I’m sorry!!”

And.

However Sugiyado felt on the inside, his strategy required him to sneer at the young man here.

“How sweet. With bonds like that, I’m certain this is the real Princess Karin.”

Murakami Michihiko was not fully taking her side. He had saved her without thinking when he saw a blade headed her way, but he also knew what she had done.

(We each had a trick up our sleeve, but Murakami and Amamo canceled each other out.)

He could have ended up in a situation where he did not know which was the real one. Or they could have worked together like identical twins. They would have had several troublesome options available, so he was glad he had avoided them.

Who was an enemy and who was an ally?

The direction blades were pointed on the surface was a trivial matter in the ninja world. Sugiyado Souha had some feelings he kept on the inside here.

(This worked out well for me. You did a good job, Michihiko. I can see why that old man cared so much for you.)

A hesitant blade was a weak blade.

There had always been a chance that metal flute would be aimed at Sugiyado by the time this was over, but he had nothing to fear if he knew it was possible. He could give up on that young man’s help as long as he kept in mind the risk of an attack from an unexpected angle. Sugiyado already expected nothing from him while Princess Karin held onto some hope there, so they viewed the board and the pieces differently. She would never reach victory if she continued to fear a nonexistent ghost piece.

In other words…

(This is my chance!!)

Sugiyado had worked through a lot in his head, but very little actual time had passed.

He was only resting his feet atop a lightning rod, so he could not stay for long.

He aimed for the slight opening created in Princess Karin by the surprise appearance of Murakami Michihiko. He pictured it like hitting the baseball between two defensive players. Either one could catch it by reaching out their hand, but it passed through a psychological midpoint where they were both unsure if they should go for it or let the other go for it, ultimately just watching it fly by.

Also, Murakami Michihiko was in midair without any footing. He could not stay there for long and blocking that heavy attack had knocked him off balance.

So…

“Ohhh!!” roared Sugiyado.

“Move, Murakami!!” shouted Princess Karin.

The boy spread his arms like wings with a kunai in each hand, but instead of throwing them, he made a powerful leap. He aimed for Murakami Michihiko who had his hands full with the one attack. He was imbalanced in midair and Sugiyado Souha mercilessly placed his foot on his gut.

It was temporary.

It would not last.

But he was close enough to attack Princess Karin and with no one to get in the way this time. He would defeat her and end this conflict in New Sapporo Domain!!

“Kh.”

However, Princess Karin had to be equally aware how crucial this moment was. It did not matter if they were the home team or away team or if they were a group or an individual. At this moment, only their skill as ninjas would determine their fate and it would all fall apart if Princess Karin fell. Amamo had already been defeated, so that body double could not rule in her place afterwards.

Which meant she would use everything she had available to her.

“Activate, Tsuchigumo!!”

She held the hammer up to her mouth like a microphone and used the muzzle to vibrate her own voice at a set frequency.

More than an explosive boom, the air screamed with a shockwave. Then the entire world was twisted around. No, the entire gas turbine power plant was struck from below and all the structures within – the smokestacks, the turbine building, etc. – began to collapse one after another.

The earth swelled up like it was a living creature.

Was this the “terrain effect” that Amamo specialized in and Princess Karin had learned from her?

(This isn’t just an artificial earthquake caused by stressing the crust with explosives.)

This was their secret technique which had been described as a dragon hidden in the earth. This was the ninja technique that had defeated Elite Ninjas Ouka and Hoozuki.

“The single…”

He heard a voice.

It belonged to Murakami Michihiko who had said he was going to defeat Princess Karin, ended up protecting her at the last second, and then became a path for his ally to step on in order to cut her down.

But.

None of that meant he was without courage.

Someone without that would never hesitate and struggle like he had.

“The visible single-molecule magnets are only the ignition! They’re actually used to move enough of the bedrock to compress the underground water!!”

He had worried, hesitated, agonized, and struggled, but he had finally gotten the words out.

He might as well have been telling Sugiyado to survive and stop the princess.

Sugiyado would have to take on that task. The consistency of the samurai spirit was found nowhere in the ninja world. Sugiyado Souha was familiar with a much messier form of sincerity, but that messiness was what made it so genuine.

(I see. So it’s the same as a diesel engine. The immense pressure on the underground water causes it to rapidly heat and the steam pushes up at the ground!!)

Dirt swelled up from the ground like a tower or great serpent more than 10m tall, but the very tip had latched onto one of the 2-wheeled mounts.

The rapid-vibration spear attached to the great bow was brought to the same height as Sugiyado.

“Tch!!”

He was stepping on Murakami Michihiko in midair to bring himself in striking range of Princess Karin. Jumping back after all that would be the height of folly. For one thing, the mount’s weapon was a projectile, so more distance would mean nothing in midair with no cover to hide behind.

So…

“Go!! Stop the princess!!”

“That’s…the plan!!”

He took another step.

He kicked off of Murakami Michihiko’s stomach to leap toward Princess Karin who was also in midair. He pictured it like slamming his shoulder at the lower stomach to lift her up. He was already too close even for a kunai.

But at this point, he doubted he could stop the Swift Foot from attacking even if he used Princess Karin as a shield.

He had just one aim.

“Gah!!”

His shoulder hit.

He slammed into the arms she had crossed to protect her internal organs.

Even she groaned from that and they were both flung out into the air. The momentum of his tackle caused him to spin vertically, altering the vector of his curving path.

Then the mass of tungsten steel was launched from the special stainless steel ultra-flexible bow. A direct hit from that could pierce the armor of the Empire’s six-legged mobile fortresses, but was nothing to fear if the targeting could not keep up. And bows all shared a certain trait: once they were used, it took some time to ready the next shot. They could not pull off machinegun-style rapid fire.

The shockwave pushed tumbling Sugiyado and Princess Karin’s paths apart.

But for ninjas who used projectiles, being too close meant greater risk. The great tension of a Western duel ruled the area.

“This isn’t over!!”

Princess Karin had been thrown out into the air at three or four stories up, but she had not lost the will to fight. Her junihitoe flew as she used the muzzle of her hammer like a microphone to convert her voice into ultrasonic waves.

That action gave a special command.

“Lock onto the designated target and attack, Tsuchigumo!!”

But they were up in the air.

Even if she could control the earth like a living creature, there would be a time lag before it reached them here.

That gave him time.

“New Sapporo Domain Substitute Lord Princess Karin.”

Sugiyado Souha had been oriented upside down, but he lightly stepped on some footing.

He used the side of a tall smokestack that had been collapsed when the ground swelled up.

He gathered strength in his knees using the springs that took the place of his ligaments and he readied a Fierce Fang once more.

And he spoke.

“Prepare yourself.”

He launched himself like an artillery shell and crashed into Princess Karin for a midair tackle.

While striking her with the bottom of his kunai’s grip.

9: Another

Princess Karin had been fully equipped as a kunoichi. And even if she was on the front line, she was still the domain’s princess. Below the thick junihitoe, she had to be wearing carbon nanotube bulletproof tights just in case. But the impact still reached her even if she did not bleed.

Amamo truly had learned the exact same techniques as Princess Karin to act as her body double.

At the last moment, Amamo had moved to protect her stomach.

The same happened here.

Princess Karin had moved to protect her internal organs, so Sugiyado had instead aimed for the side of her neck. Because even with full-body bulletproof tights, the neck was still hard to defend.

“Kah!?”

As well-trained as she was, she had preserved the slenderness of a sheltered young maiden so she could wield martial arts and sex appeal simultaneously. The muscles in her neck were not enough to fully brace against the impact.

Then they fell.

The two of them crashed into a few pipes along the way, but they finally hit the thin layer of artificial snow covering the surface.

The impact knocked Sugiyado’s breath from his lungs.

The gas turbine power plant appeared to reach its limit at the same time. The broken pipes and turbine building exploded one after another and the entire place was soon wrapped in smoke and flame. He was not immediately shredded by the Swift Foots scanning the area because those obstacles obstructed their cameras and sensors. The heat and metal powder would be damaging the permeation sensors as well.

His spine protested.

He tried to get up, but his body refused to move, like a gear was jammed.

(I may have pushed myself too hard.)

He had known this was how the ninja world worked, but he had done it anyway the instant he saw what had happened to Ouka. He still could not get used to seeing his allies hurt. He could no longer get after those four for what they did last time. He was starting to think his own powerful emotions had infected them without him noticing.

“Heh…heh heh.”

He heard some weak laughter from nearby.

Princess Karin had been caught on a waterproof sheet where she swayed in midair, but the impact still would have been considerable. She lacked his spine handicap, but it would still be a bit before she could get up.

“Is that all you’ve got? Well, it was decently entertaining at least, insolent fool.”

“Glad to hear it.”

“But you misread the big picture. We win this one.”

“What were you even trying to do in this northern land? You secured largescale power generation with the underground linear motor train network and you used that to bring the Hokkaido Area’s defense system back online…but that’s a means, not an end.”

She did not answer him.

She knew her death was close and she knew she had no future, but she still kept her secrets. She had not only learned just enough to fill the role. She was a true ninja leader of the Stonewalls.

Just like former Hidden One Sugiyado Souha who led his four students.

(Is it finally over?)

Sugiyado sighed while collapsed on the power plant’s snowy road.

Even with the many explosions erupting from the gas turbine power plant itself, he would be found by the troops or Swift Foots if he stayed here. And even if they left him there, the flames and smoke would reach him. At this point, there no miracle that would allow him to escape unscathed.

Kuhou Ouka.

Hanasawa Bara.

Nantou Hoozuki.

Shizukuma Asagao.

He was glad they were safe. That much he was proud of. His own life had hit a dead end, but he had left his mark on the world. He could let his students handle the rest.

Hearing someone stepping on the shallow snow, he looked over from the ground.

“Murakami Michihiko.”

“…”

He did not interpret this as help having arrived.

In fact…

“If you want Princess Karin, then take her with you. That’s what you came here to do, isn’t it?”

“Are you sure?”

“I had two objectives: repay that old man and rescue Ouka. Whatever Princess Karin’s plan was, I ended it here. If you two disappear now, it should make some waves inside the castle, but it won’t bring any more chaos to New Sapporo Domain and the Hokkaido Area.”

Silence followed.

That man’s priorities never changed, but he could not help but hesitate. Sugiyado had to smile. That was dangerous thing for a ninja, but it made him a good person. It reminded him of the old man who had looked after him in the special prison despite having no logical reason to do so.

“Go.”

“I’m sorry.”

Murakami Michihiko gently picked up the junihitoe princess while she swayed in the waterproof sheet like a hammock and then he bowed.

Without a sound, the ninja turned away from Sugiyado and vanished.

Before long, Sugiyado heard a heavy mechanical clanking through the smoke. A Swift Foot’s cameras or sensors must have detected him. There was nothing at all he could do.

(Did that repay you in some small way, old man?)

He started to shut his eyes on the snowy ground.

But he stopped when he heard a piercing roar of destruction. He knew that was the result of the giant Swift Foot’s composite armor being sliced through and its slimmed-down steamroller body being chopped apart, but he still nearly lost himself in the beauty of the music it created.

Someone had dropped from above and sliced vertically through the machine.

The two halves of the silhouette shifted out of place before fully collapsing.

(That was a military sword that uses an arc discharge to pierce composite armor.)

That was an unusual weapon for a ninja.

It was not even Shogunate technology. It had been given a Japanese design to match the kunoichi outfit – or maybe it had the kind of “Western” design that only existed in this country, like a visual version of wasei-eigo – but that “move in close and hit them with a powerful heat source” style of military technology was the specialty of the Kingdom.

“Oh? Giving up already, instructor? Yet you insist on saving others and keeping them in this world whether they like it or not.”

He recognized the voice.

It did not belong to Ouka, Bara, Hoozuki, or Asagao.

This was another kunoichi who had possessed extraordinary power.

Her ninja outfit resembled a sleeveless kimono, but the sides were left wide open, making it look something like a surgical gown. Her long black hair had two distinctive bits tied to on either side of her head. She had a body as curvy as Bara’s, but her sex appeal was so decadent it seemed to be rotting.

In other words…

“Oniyuri?”

Chapter 4

1: Gathering Truth

It was 7:30 in the evening.

Night was already falling outside the burning gas turbine power plant.

Sugiyado honestly had no idea where or how he had escaped the fire with the kunoichi’s help. The next thing he knew, he was in the safe parking lot.

But…

“Instructor, you hate losing people unnecessarily on the battlefield, don’t you? I do believe I injured your back over it once.”

“…”

“If you can’t stand something, then you shouldn’t force it on others. Survive this. At least for the sake of the lives you have saved.”

She was the Shogunate’s first psychic kunoichi.

But he had left her with the Kingdom across the sea, where she was meant to have the 88 electric modules surgically removed from her body and have safe mockups implanted to fill the empty space. The electromagnetic absorber inside her head had also been removed.

So what was this?

What had Sagami Oniyuri been doing all this time?

He had so much he wanted to ask her, but he could not move and was slowing her down. If he was any more of a burden, the assassins would catch up. The Stonewalls still had their 2-wheeled Swift Foot mounts.

She destroyed the door of a large canopied buggy parked nearby, hotwired the ignition with practiced hand, and shoved him into the passenger seat.

Once she was seated in the driver’s seat, she grabbed the GPS system, phone, and any other trackable electronics and chucked them out the window.

“We can talk later. For now, let’s get you back together with your precious students, instructor. If they believe you died here, they might just start a war with the entire Hokkaido Area.”

He was not quite sure if she had meant it as a joke or not, but it was no laughing matter either way.

They left the power plant in the stolen buggy.

“Oh, there’s a surprise. I assumed the power would be out since the power plant was destroyed.”

“It was probably a close call. They can’t contact Princess Karin and I doubt they would use their precious underground linear motor train network for civilian use without their boss’s permission.”

They would still have Amamo, who could pretend to be Princess Karin and take command, but they could not make that kind of decision so quickly. In the unlikely even the real Princess Karin protested over a video site, it would quickly lead to chaos.

Oniyuri laughed while driving. She always surrounded herself with a bewitching aura, so it could be hard to know what her laughter meant.

“Are you sure they can’t contact her?”

“What?”

“You’ll understand soon enough.”

She abandoned the large canopied buggy in a shopping district back alley. A large train station connected to multiple lines and a bus terminal with plenty of late-night options were both nearby, but those were bluffs.

“You could call this a secret date, couldn’t you?”

“What?”

“Oh, nothing. I tease, but there’s nothing there. Unlike those girls, I’m not complicit with your breakout. I’ve committed crimes all my own. Which is what makes us equals.”

Still carrying him, Oniyuri chose a route that let them travel unnoticed to a luxury residential area. The base she had set up would be there.

Just like him, she had earned the title of Hidden One, which was higher even than Elite Ninja. He had no reason to doubt her, yet…

“A standalone house? Even if it’s vacant, our presence will be noticed.”

“The map apps might call this a luxury residential district, but it’s actually full of summer homes for government officials from Edo, Kyoto, and Nagasaki. These places are only occupied two or three times a year at best.”

Places like this were valued for their tranquil scenery, yet some kind of metal towers were noticeably sticking up through the veil of the night.

“They’re apparently shelters in case of flooding, but they’re entirely useless. You can’t get to them if the flooding has already started and you can escape to the mountains if you get moving beforehand.” Oniyuri sounded somehow exasperated. “They’ve turned disaster relief into a brand name. Around here, they’ll dig into their yard and build a nuclear shelter as casually as you might start a home garden. Do they want to starve to death in that dark dungeon?”

At any rate, unmanned security was not much of a threat if you knew what you were doing, so they slipped through the gate of a Japanese-style house much too large to think of as an undercover hideout.

The large garden had a pond with a small bridge over it. One corner had a tall fence around it, so that may have been an open-air hot spring. The boxy garage could not have looked more out of place.

“Interested in the bath? You’re hornier than I remember, instructor.”

“I’m not the one so pent-up she starts having dirty fantasies as soon as someone mentions a bath.”

“Do you want me to drop you?”

Meanwhile, they arrived at the front door. The grounds were large enough that took some doing.

She slid the door open.

Still carried over her shoulder, he took a look at the shoes in the entranceway.

“…”

“Hee hee. Noticed, did you?”

If he could move, he might have gone to check the garage.

One of his students was already waiting for him in the large living room.

“Let me down, Oniyuri. I’m fine now.”

“No. If I’m not getting my secret date, I’m at least going to enjoy that troubled look on your face.”

Oniyuri would not stop laughing, but Bara spoke up in an unusually meek way for her.

“Sensei, a-are you okay?”

“Sorry I’m in such bad shape. You’re all okay, I take it? I want to speak with Asagao. How is Ouka?”

Oniyuri smiled like a child while carrying him over her shoulder. She seemed amused by the difference between his appearance and his words.

She must have had no interest in Bara who was unsure what to do now that the initiative had been stolen from her, so she adjusted his position on her shoulder and left the living room.

“Hey, what about Asagao?”

“That’s who I’m taking you to see. I doubt she’s left that girl’s side.”

Unexpectedly, she took him to bath’s dressing room.

She cut across the cypress wood space without a second thought.

She approached the frosted glass door and opened it without even knocking, revealing a full-on open-air hot spring. Ouka was soaking limply in the cloudy water. No one would have mistaken her for enjoying a bath.

A lot of waterproof medical equipment was lined up on the stones around the bath and electrodes were attached to Ouka’s smooth skin as she floated in the water.

“Let me down.”

“My, my.”

“Please, Oniyuri. This is serious.”

“Yes, yes, I know. But try to remember which of you is more badly injured, instructor.”

Once his feet were down on the wet ground, he wobbled. Even he could tell he was not holding his shoulders at the same height. But he didn’t care about himself right now. Ouka came first.

Asagao had mastered the noncombat skills, so she was looking after the medical equipment. That would be why Oniyuri had said she would still be by Ouka’s side.

“She appears to have inhaled a fair bit of a gas, but it isn’t toxic.” The youngest kunoichi shrugged. “The real problem was the soundwave code using bone conduction. We were lucky this place had a hot spring. It raises her body temperature and its minerals can soak in through her skin. That has let me eliminate most of the unnecessary noise. Her mind has recovered and she was awake and talking earlier. Base on how she answered my questions, I don’t think this caused any lasting trauma.”

“I see.”

“Anyway, I need to do a quick examination of your body! You’re in even worse shape than she was!”

She tearfully clung to him, so he patted her head to calm her down before he crouched on the edge of the whitish hot spring surrounded by waterproof medical equipment.

All the noise must have roused the girl soaking up to the shoulders in the cloudy water because her eyelids lifted a little.

“Sen…sei?”

“Yeah, it’s me. I’m back.”

“God, how embarrassing. And I can’t even move…”

She gave a weak bitter smile.

He now realized just how wrong he had been to give up on his life back at the burning power plant.

How could he have considered dying before he said this?

“I’m so sorry for getting you into this mess, Ouka. All of this is my responsibility.”

“Don’t be ridiculous… It was my inexperience that made me lose to Amamo. That wasn’t your fault.”

“He defeated them,” cut in Oniyuri while looking down at the soaking girl. “He eliminated both Amamo and Princess Karin in one fell swoop. He even let his raw emotions out for once and was willing to die to pull it off. Would you call that his pride as an instructor?”

“…”

Ouka smiled gently in the water when she heard that.

He had not intended to say much about how it had ended, but Oniyuri was right. All of this was his responsibility, but he had ended it himself. That was all there was to it.

And with that said…

“Get your rest, Ouka. This is over now, so it’s okay.”

“No, Sensei. You don’t have to lie.”

“Ouka.”

“You never compromise in these things. If all of the problems really had been solved, you wouldn’t still be wearing your equipment, would you?”

“…”

“The garden is right on the other side of the bath’s wall. I could hear the footsteps of everyone who came here, so I know you aren’t the only visitor.”

“I had a feeling.” He sighed. “Okay, Ouka. Can you leave the bath?”

“I took less damage than you did.”

There was a simple reason why his students had not all been in the open-air bath. They could not leave their “visitors” unsupervised.

He hated that he could not help support the injured at times like this.

He slowly stood up from his crouch.

“I’ll head out first. Join the rest of us once you’re dried off and dressed.”

“Oh, what a shame. I was hoping you might help me there.”

He had Asagao help Ouka.

“Sensei.” Asagao looked up at him. “We still have Yukizasa and Princess Karin has ‘gone missing’, but New Sapporo Domain still has Oume and Amamo, right?”

“It’s the same whether they’re captured or not. Even if Amamo pretends to be the real Princess Karin and takes command, we already know what those two can do. We’ll find a way to defeat them eventually, so they won’t stand a chance next time we clash.”

At Oniyuri’s prompting, he left the hot spring, walked across the dressing room, and stepped out into the hallway. Ouka could have changed into pajamas, but she instead put on her full ninja outfit. She must not have spent long enough with the dryer because her hair was still damp as they continued on to the room with their “visitors”.

That room was the attic.

It was a large house, so without the divisions between rooms, the attic was enormous.

Had they chosen that because they could escape from anywhere at a moment’s notice?

“You came here, Princess Karin?”

“It was Murakami who brought me here.”

Something about her voice sounded awkward.

She had originally tried to play the pretty princess role for that young man. She had revealed her true nature to him since, but she was still unsure how to present herself when talking to an enemy in his presence.

She and Murakami Michihiko had been supporting each other much like Sugiyado and Ouka had. The young man lowered his head.

“Sorry…”

“Then explain. We never managed to figure everything out. I was only interested in repaying that old man and saving Ouka…but there’s more to this, isn’t there?”

That earned a tilt of the head from Oniyuri who had climbed unsteadily into the attic after him. She had secured this hideout, so no one could kick her out.

“Hey,” she said to Princess Karin, not Sugiyado. “Do you really have time for this? With their substitute lord gone, New Sapporo Domain should be headed straight off a cliff.”

“…”

The look in Princess Karin’s eyes changed.

It was like the low growl of a chained-up dog.

“Insolent fool. You would interfere when you already know what this means?”

“It doesn’t matter to me since I’m with the Kingdom. Part of the big ABC.”

Princess Karin’s eyes widened at that. She had gathered up what little strength she had to put on the threatening mood of a fierce dog, but that was shattered in an instant.

Oniyuri barely seemed to notice.

“It doesn’t matter to me what you’re doing sneaking around making deals with the Cyrillic Empire. Or should I say, setting up a point of contact at the urging of the entire Shogunate.”

The Shogunate and the Empire.

And now someone outside of that.

For Princess Karin, was this the first actual outsider – and thus the first person with nothing at stake? Childlike hope filled the princess’s eyes. This was different again from how she had approached Murakami Michihiko who she could trust but was still from the Shogunate.

Sugiyado turned toward Oniyuri.

She did not seem to care that Princess Karin was watching. She leaned back against a pillar located just outside the circle of conversation and she shrugged.

“It goes back to Abashiri’s special prison.”

“What?”

“That’s where it all began. Instructor, did you really think there was nothing lurking below the surface there? Did you never wonder why it was attacked and why one of its strictly guarded prisoners was killed?”

He gestured toward Princess Karin with his chin.

The substitute lord kept her eyes on him while propping herself up on the young man’s shoulder, but anyone who knew what to look for would have noticed a slight tensing of her neck muscles. It was taking a conscious effort for her to not look away.

Meanwhile, Oniyuri was sounding listless already.

“Are you suggesting it was to make Murakami Michihiko a wanted man who could only survive in the confines of the castle? Of course not. You two are already mutually dependent. I bet the possessive woman just used the situation to trap him with her.”

“Are you saying someone else attacked Abashiri?” asked damp-haired Ouka.

“Princess Karin has complete authority over New Sapporo Domain after taking over as its substitute lord.” Oniyuri raised a finger. “But who removed the original lord from power?”

“…”

“You can’t answer that question. No one here can. Not you, instructor. Not any of your students. And not even Princess Karin herself. The real issue was staring you in the face this entire time. …Some uncontrollable group has been working to increase the power of New Sapporo Domain and the entire Hokkaido Area, but Princess Karin has failed to stop them or even track down who they are.”

“B-but, Sensei… We accessed the castle’s server and Bara even directly interrogated one of the people who attacked the prison. Those bottom-level people were disposable, but she managed to drag out the name ‘Stonewalls’ at the very end. I doubt anyone could pull the wool over Bara’s eyes in that kind of work.”

“Silly girl. Why would a ninja reveal who they really are when hiring someone? If your disposable pawns don’t know the lies are lies, the polygraph won’t react when they pass on your misinformation.”

“Ugh…”

“Or are you trying to say that anything a criminal tells you must be true? If so, I’ll write Iga on my forehead in permanent marker and go rob a bank. That would make it true, right?”

Ouka had nothing more to say.

Ouka, Bara, Hoozuki, and Asagao had all been manipulated by Oniyuri during the previous incident, so they were no match for her in Machiavellianism.

At any rate, this was what they about the mystery group:

• They had snuck into the New Sapporo Castle and poisoned the domain’s lord, making it look like an illness.

• They had used high firepower to destroy the wall of a max security special prison and easily killed a model prisoner within.

• They continued to live free and could kill whoever they wanted at any time.

Was that why Princess Karin had constructed a largescale power system out of the underground linear motor train network to bring back the giant defense system? She would have also wanted to bring back the surveillance and security network that could track down the unseen enemy with its millions of cameras and sensors.

“It was the special construction workers.”

“?”

“The guards and prisoners are not the only people in the prison. Everyday tasks like cooking and laundry are given to the model prisoners, but that doesn’t work with some jobs for security reasons. Like repairing the wall, security camera wiring inspections, and boiler maintenance.”

“I see. And I can’t imagine the ordinary guards were doing those jobs. You need special qualifications for that kind of thing.”

Originally, the Stonewalls had developed from an engineering group that built the foundations for castles.

A prison’s walls could not have a single crack, yet hiring ordinary workers for the inspections and repairs introduced the risk of information leaking out. It did make sense for the government to have people for those tasks. From an information security standpoint, it would all be for nothing if those workers were abducted, so they were likely hidden by having giving them some other task, like disaster response personnel for the fire department or combat engineers who built trenches and bases for the samurai.

They would not appear on any of the official paperwork, so they would also be easily replaceable.

“Outsiders enter prisons all the time, despite how locked-down they look.”

Sugiyado was considering how possible this sounded, but Princess Karin refused to accept it.

Because…

“You’re saying they were behind this? Then where did they get the skills? They did more than just enter the prison. They also snuck into the castle where I live!”

“Instructor.”

Oniyuri did not even look Princess Karin’s way.

She had never been the type to respond to someone who interrupted her.

She instead gave her old acquaintance a sidelong glance.

“You lived within those walls for a while, so what do you think? Did the guards seem qualified for a prison holding so many brutal criminals?”

“…”

“'Whatever the truth may have been, you were officially imprisoned as the mastermind behind that incident that began with the theft of a modular nuclear reactor from New Yokohama Domain. Did they seem trained well enough to deal with someone like that?”

He thought back to the explosion when a guard had cried out in pain and asked for help after his arm was broken.

That was the ordinary response for a human, but it indeed felt too ordinary for a special prison containing criminals whose misdeeds would go down in history.

And when Sugiyado had used his ninja techniques to defeat the attacker, the guard had seemed too distracted by his own pain to even be surprised.

“The guards are not enough.” Oniyuri gave a bewitching laugh. “So Abashiri used a second monitoring system to fill in that gap. One that includes methods off limits to officially-registered government workers.”

“You’re saying the special construction workers were professional ninjas? But wouldn’t they have been under Princess Karin’s jurisdiction since she controls the Stonewalls?”

“Oh, dear. Who ever said they were New Sapporo Domain ninjas? They were all ninjas brought in from elsewhere. Lord Hatsunaga had provided the location to hold infamous criminals from across the country, so he insisted that everyone should carry the burden.”

Sugiyado and Murakami Michihiko looked to Princess Karin.

The bewilderment on her face said she had not known about this. Not knowing about something happening right under your nose was not fun for a ruler or a ninja.

“So skilled ninjas from all over the country were gathered at Abashiri?”

“But why would they attack New Sapporo Domain…and the Hokkaido Area as a whole?”

Oniyuri shrugged at the princess and young man’s questions.

“Ninjas infiltrate and destroy for a living, but that doesn’t mean they always enjoy it. Abashiri is the worst place in the country. I’m sure they settled into various roles there to blend in, but do that long term and they really would start to forget who they are. At first, I imagine the ninjas would have set up a short-term rotation to ensure they had time to recover. And Lord Hatsunaga ignored the damage to those ninjas. If he acknowledged the problem, he knew he would be pressured to send in Hokkaido Area ninjas to help, removing some of his pawns from his grasp.”

Had he wanted to preserve his Stonewall elites that badly? Or had he wanted to eliminate the chance of their leader – his daughter – being chosen.

“By gathering ninjas from around the country for the special construction worker duty, he had created a treasure trove of ninja techniques. Gather up all of those techniques and he could strengthen his own ninjas. If it was thought his domain’s ninjas could do the task themselves, he would lose that resource.”

“…”

It sounded like he had more than just sentimental reasons for his actions.

Sugiyado remained silent, so Oniyuri continued.

“As the ninjas were worn down, they continued their daily mission while training themselves in secret to remind themselves they were ninjas. But that was not a fundamental solution. At some point, they snapped. They failed to report at the designated times and they began working on unasked-for jobs. It started small, but it was gradually growing worse.”

Abashiri’s special prison held the country’s most brutal criminals.

The elites there had carried out their work perfectly.

Some slight fluctuations would not have been too much of a problem, but how many lives would their blades take once they completely lost it?

“The ninjas disguising themselves as special construction workers were no longer bound by the prison. No one knew when they would emerge into the outside world. The Shogunate shoved responsibility onto the Hokkaido Area, saying the area did not know how to treat its guests appropriately. They could not be allowed to emerge now that they had come together as a single group. As a last resort, Princess Karin’s father contacted the Cyrillic Empire in secret.”

“And he failed there too,” finished Princess Karin with a self-deprecating smile. “The Empire must have only seen it as an opportunity. They would have an international incident on their hands if they acted directly, but their hands would remain clean if they let the local pros do the dirty work. And once the Hokkaido Area was worn down by the coordinated attack, they could use ‘international aid’ as a pretext to send in troops and break through the Shogunate’s isolationist policies.”

That was not limited to the Empire in East Europe. Whether it was West Europe, North America, South America, China, or the South Seas, every major nation was plotting to break a hole in this country’s isolationism and steal its technology if they had half a chance. The counterintelligence agency meant to prevent that were the Shogunate’s spies, aka the ninjas.

“But that attempt did not get very far,” continued Oniyuri. “The Empire’s fighters entered the crumbling special prison as negotiators. I’m willing to bet that was actually used to help them infiltrate the city. The domain gave them access to money, goods, personal information on important guards and prisoners, and data such as the layout of the prison, but their apparent plan was to use all that to brainwash the ninjas into gradually working more and more in their favor. Instead, they had all their equipment stripped from them and are currently buried in the prison courtyard. All that remain are a few noncombatant information gatherers and explosive saboteurs. I almost feel bad for those Neva River Nymphs. Being isolated in enemy territory can’t be fun. They don’t have the resources left to escape the country, so all they can do is bluff.”

“…”

Ekaterina’s face flashed through Sugiyado’s mind.

Had that confidence been a type of armor she had perfected as a professional? She had been pushed into such a corner that peeling back that thin layer of skin would have revealed only bone. Sugiyado’s group could still fight, so he could see why she had wanted his cooperation while needing to prevent him from learning how dire her situation was.

“They are the Brown Bear.” Oniyuri seemed to gently place the term in the air. “Because those wild animals broke free of the cage people had created for them. They are a disaster in human form that possesses great strength and the cunning needed to slip out of people’s nets.”

That was how a stray group of ninjas had formed without New Sapporo Domain or the Cyrillic Empire able to control them. They were just like a wild bear: no one knew where they were lurking, they would silence any witnesses, and they would descend upon human civilization and attack based on their own rules.

“What is their motive?” Sugiyado chose his words carefully. “They do still seem to be working toward the benefit of New Sapporo Domain and the Hokkaido Area.”

“The question is how much we agree with them on what counts as a ‘benefit’. They were already breaking down when the Empire approached them, leading them further astray. It’s impossible to tell what ideas have become lodged in the Brown Bears’ heads. Which is what makes them so frightening. There’s no way to predict what they will do next. The princess there does not seem too happy about how her political rivals kept driving off of cliffs in apparent accidents at the exact time written on her birthday card.” Oniyuri glanced over at Princess Karin who was propped up on the young man’s shoulder. “And not all the targets were her enemy. The poisoning of her father must have come as a surprise and the death of the old ninja indirectly but deeply connected to her must have looked like a regrettable and unrepairable mistake to her. So after receiving news of the attack on Abashiri, she appears to have decided to play the villain in a desperate attempt to keep the young man in the castle. …But what do you think would have happened if she had come clean and explained everything to him? ‘They are fighting for me, but I can’t control them.’ ‘There was no good reason for the attacks on my father and your grandfather.’ ‘There is nothing I can do to prevent it from happening again.’ ‘I’m sorry.’ Don’t you think that would have disappointed those around her far more than if she stuck with the villain act? She would have had her authority stripped from her, lost her faithful servant, and been thrown into a Machiavellian world while powerless and alone.”

That was a world of deception different from the ninja one.

If your authority and subordinates were taken from you, you were in serious trouble. It was said the beautiful die young and it indeed could work against you at times. Ninja techniques were useless in that world.

She had been doing everything she could to protect herself.

But.

“Every time Princess Karin bluffed and claimed she was responsible…”

“Yes, the Brown Bears knew the truth, so they would pressure her and try to bring her under their control. She was not allowed to step down from the stage, so her back was pushed further and further against the wall.”

Had that been based in personal desire, or had they thought controlling the princess would also benefit New Sapporo Domain and the Hokkaido Area? Either way, it showed just how twisted they had become. What if all that pressure had left Princess Karin unable to deceive herself and others and she crashed and burned? Sugiyado could easily imagine how the Brown Bears had strayed, but that left nowhere to run. They were a group and they could easily infiltrate the domain’s most secure castle or special prison.

Sugiyado brushed up his bangs.

The air felt electrified.

“Are you saying the people who killed that man are still out there?”

“Do you have any reason to stay involved in this, insolent fool?”

“I do. I made a promise with that man. If Michihiko has decided to take this dangerous path with you, then I need to eliminate the risk there. No matter what it takes.”

Princess Karin and Murakami Michihiko were taken aback by how easily he said it.

If he wanted to, he could tour the world or even escape overseas permanently, but he did not. But if he stayed here and got captured, he would lose any chance at a future.

“That means I have to eliminate all the darkness surrounding that prison and lurking within the Hokkaido Area. Princess Karin, if what Oniyuri says is true, that will involve you.”

“I was always prepared for this!”

“Do you think the Brown Bears will continue to support a princess who let herself be defeated and captured by the enemy? Are you so certain they aren’t feeling disillusioned with you right about now?”

“…”

“They’ll probably give up on you, set up Amamo in your place, and skip the annoying rescue mission. The simplest solution for them is to slaughter all of us and all of you.”

Seeing the tension in Princess Karin’s cheek, Sugiyado winked her way.

“But if they’re going to come to us, that saves us the trouble of tracking them down. We must all prepare for combat. They spent so much trouble remaining unseen, but now they’re coming to us? They really are just animals. Let’s end this once and for all.”

2: The Puppy

They had finally revealed their true enemy: the Brown Bears.

Those ninjas had assassinated Murakami Shouzou, the old man who had helped Sugiyado in the special prison, and they had plotted to take control of New Sapporo Domain and the Hokkaido Area from the shadows. If he defeated them and brought peace back to this northern land, he knew that old man would be able to rest in peace.

“You are a strange person, you know that?”

Sugiyado was using the large house’s tea room to perform maintenance on his Fierce Fang air pressure kunais when someone spoke to him.

It was Murakami Michihiko, the old man’s grandson.

Sugiyado responded without stopping his work.

“Shouldn’t you be preparing? We won’t have any spare time once this starts.”

“My metal flute has a gimmick to it, but its basic structure is simple enough. It doesn’t need any maintenance.” The young man smiled a little. “And there’s another kind of preparation I need to get done. If you’re going to be risking your life alongside me, I thought I should tell you everything.”

“About what?”

“About Princess Karin.” Murakami Michihiko slowly inhaled. “I didn’t know anything about the Brown Bears, but I can make some pretty good guesses about what happened. They poisoned her father, Domain Lord Hatsunaga, to put her in power. That might look logical, but doesn’t it seem like a bit much? If they only wanted to support the domain, they would only need to directly support the current lord.”

Sugiyado finally looked up from his work.

This conversation was now higher priority than the kunais he entrusted with his life.

“Continue.”

“There was some trouble between Lord Hatsunaga and his daughter. The Brown Bears took her side, so they were forced to remove her father from the equation…by force.”

Was this about the failed linear motor train project? Or maybe the Hokkaido Area’s defense system? Sugiyado came up with a few theories in his head, but the young man said something else entirely.

“It was over a puppy.”

“?”

“One day, Princess Karin took in a puppy. She hid it below the stomach of her clothing so no one would notice it. If her father had accepted it, she could have continued to take care of it. But Lord Hatsunaga refused and demanded she got rid of it.”

“This happened because of a-”

Sugiyado’s cheeks stiffened when he realized what this was really about.

He had scored a few clean hits at the gas turbine power plant, but Princess Karin had always shifted her position just beforehand. She had even seemed to leave her vitals exposed so she could use her hands to protect her stomach.

For that matter, her junihitoe was an unusually old-fashioned choice even for a domain lord’s daughter. Why had she always worn that clothing that hid the shape of her body?

What if the beauty treatment oils he could smell on her were actually for the small life hidden in her belly?

Princess Karin had stepped in to protect her body double Amamo, but that was partially because letting it be known which one was the body double increased the risk of being hit in the future. Both for her and for that small life. Had she decided it was safer to take some immediate risk by saving Amamo since it would bring greater long-term safety?

“If her father had accepted it, she wouldn’t have had to give up.” Murakami Michihiko gave a faint smile. “Or if she could take control of the castle after he told her to get rid of it.”

“Did the Brown Bears pick up on how she felt?”

This explained why the young man had continued to defend Princess Karin after everything that had happened and why he had taken up his sword to protect her when it came to it. It also explained how he could simultaneously want to stop her.

Even if it meant turning his blade on her.

Even if he learned of his own grandfather’s death.

He had set aside his own grief and chosen instead to ensure his beloved and that still-unseen life would not meet the same fate.

Sugiyado Souha wanted to protect his precious students, but this was a different emotion. Murakami Michihiko stood in a place the boy had yet to reach.

“You’re a hell of a guy.” The ninja laughed. “You’re sent in as an inspector to uncover anything improper going on and you end up causing a scandal with the domain lord’s daughter?”

“…Sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing? Do you think you did anything wrong?”

The young man appeared caught off guard by that question.

“Everyone has a secret or two in the ninja world,” continued Sugiyado. “I’m supposed to be in prison, but here I am. You just have to make it all work out. For me, that means ending all this to keep my promise with the old man. What does it mean for you?”

“…”

“If you say it means giving up on that small life, then I’ll kick your ass right here. There are a number of ways to solve this, so make sure you choose wisely. Don’t let the scope of the problem distract you from what really matters. Everything you do has to be for the people you want to protect.”

“Yeah…”

He seemed to be reflecting on that thought.

That did not mean he had not been thinking about it before. He had been agonizing over it this entire time.

But when climbing a mountain, you couldn’t afford to trip on the last leg of the ascent.

There was only one summit, so if you refused to give up, struggled, agonized, and continued working toward it, you would get there.

“I know that,” said Murakami Michihiko. “Using my metal flute to battle ninjas isn’t the only way to fight. There’s something else that only I can do.”

“…”

“But I need you to get me there. So please. I can’t afford to lose the princess or the other one. Not after all this.”

“Exactly what I wanted to hear.”

Sugiyado could repay the old man this way.

Now that he had rescued Ouka, that was the entirety of his motivation. Vengeance for the dead was a powerful motivator, but it was ultimately fruitless. You gained nothing from it.

But this could lead to something more.

From parent to child and from child to grandchild. That old man was dead. Sugiyado had failed to save him. But his grandson Murakami Michihiko was attempting to protect the next generation. That was a small piece of something the old man had left in this world.

So why would he hesitate?

Doing what the young man wanted would repay the old man too. But the method used here was crucial. It was only meaningful if he was wielding that power to keep someone alive, not to kill someone.

What did the Brown Bears matter?

Why should he care about New Sapporo Domain Lord Hatsunaga?

The boy and the young man bumped fists as two ninjas.

“Let’s give ‘em hell, partner.”

“Let’s give ‘em hell, partner.”

3: Contacting the Brown Bears

The moon was beautiful that night.

The impossible artificial snow provided a nice accent to the circle of the moon. White powder scattered into the clear night sky, seeming to reflect a gentle light. This was supposed to be near the center of New Sapporo Domain, but even owners of the nicest homes here only visited a few times a year and the place was far from bustling with life. A deafening silence ruled this space.

It was like another world cut off from the everyday world.

“Sensei, someone is approaching the back gate. Be careful.”

“Understood, Bara. Don’t lean too far out. You won’t make for much of an ambush if you get sniped first. Asagao, continue scanning the entire area. But don’t focus too much on the most noticeable people.”

“I know, I know. The Brown Bears are a group, so they’re bound to make a multi-front attack and in waves rather than all at once. Need I remind you I’m the only one who has gotten through this entire affair unscathed, including you, Sensei!? Even Bara had her interrogation used against her!! I don’t know what this secret date business is about, but don’t forget that I’m winning!!”

“Hoozuki, work with Bara to eliminate your blind spots. You’re both long-range attackers, so your positioning will determine how this plays out. Don’t get too focused in the wrong direction.”

“I know, Sensei. I need to finally actually do something here.”

“Oh? No orders for me, Instructor?”

“We’re the same rank and you’re an active-duty Hidden One, Oniyuri. Besides, I know removing your psychic powers isn’t enough to make you obedient. Still, I want you to support Ouka and handle any other requests I give. This is something I can only ask you with your superior skill and experience.”

“Hee hee. You can count on me.”

That just left…

“Murakami, Yukizasa, and Princess Karin. You’re the Brown Bears’ top targets. I want you to lead them around and lure them into good attack positions for us. We’ll handle all the attacking, so don’t get caught too easily.”

“Are you kidding me, insolent fool? This is our issue. Do not forget who brought who into this.”

“Princess.”

“Don’t tell me he’s gotten to you too, Murakami!? Don’t give me that gentle understanding look! Whose side are you on!?”

The boy had decided to let Murakami Michihiko look after that unruly princess. Not even Sugiyado was an expert on the maternity blues.

“Don’t wowwy, pwincess. I swear I will pwotect you no matter what.”

“?”

A new character suddenly appeared on the radio.

Sugiyado wondered who this childish voice could belong to, but it was apparently Taganuma Yukizasa, youngest of the Stonewalls. When that expert at combat in dark, closed places donned her gray powered suit, she became an embodiment of violence who would swing her powerful arms down at you even if it meant trampling on the traps she had set up herself, but apparently she spoke like that with her Princess Karin. She sounded a lot like an inept maid.

(Is that another kunoichi deception?)

Given what had happened with Princess Karin, should he assume that Stonewall’s juvenile speech was not to be trusted?

And finally, Sugiyado called a certain girl’s name.

“Ouka.”

“Yes, Sensei?”

“I won’t tell you not to push yourself too hard. Do this however you want. Vindicate yourself in this northern land. We’ll all support you.”

“Understood. Let’s make this a night to remember, Sensei.”

Meanwhile, the enemy didn’t even try to hide. They stepped in the thin layer of artificial snow, leaving footprints on the ordinary roadside and they walked in the moonlight and streetlights on their way to the mansion’s back entrance.

There were more and more of them.

Finally, Sugiyado focused on the small radio hidden below his scarf.

“Bara, Hoozuki. Fire simultaneously from different directions.”

Roaring wind tore through the night sky overhead.

One shot was a shuriken launched from between two rollers and the other was a coilgun hidden in the hair. Sugiyado didn’t expect the first shots to kill, but the enemy would still have to take some kind of action to defend or dodge. Meanwhile, he raced precariously atop the wall surrounding the mansion’s grounds, taking enough of a running start to leap directly above a Brown Bear.

He performed a midair flip while aiming the point of his air pressure kunai at the enemy’s head. And while he fell behind the enemy, he threw another kunai as if stabbing them with the tip of a sword.

(Impressive!)

Sugiyado was the one surprised as he absorbed the impact by rolling on the snow and then hopping back to his feet in one smooth motion.

Two high-pitched metallic clangs sounded after the fact.

The enemy had been knocked off balance by sniper shots from multiple directions and then attacked from her blind spots overhead and behind, but she still hadn’t shed a single drop of blood.

The result was enough to rattle Bara and Hoozuki.

“All that and we still failed!?”

“Argh, she must be working out the origin point of the shots. And she’s preventing me from taking another shot by keeping Sensei in the line of fire!”

The young girl slowly turned around while waving the two air pressure kunais she held between her fingers.

She even had a smile on her face.

“Surprised?”

(So she’s a nekote user.)

While the group as a whole was known as the Brown Bears, this girl seemed more catlike. The triangular decorations atop her shoulder length blonde hair had to be movable sound collectors. Instead of sending the sound to her ears, it was sent directly into her skull using vibrations. That meant she didn’t need to see her enemy. And as long as she detected them, she could accurately strike back.

“Not what you expected? Your enemy fights as a group, so you thought your first opponent would be a decoy scout that separates herself from the group and gathers intel. And you assumed she wouldn’t be much of a fighter, didn’t you?”

That was nonsense.

Ninjas were unofficial units who primarily handled reconnaissance and sabotage. They didn’t have a central group that ordered around the rest. Even with a million of them gathered, each of them could handle it all.

But more importantly…

“So you are with the Brown Bears,” said Sugiyado.

“Try thinking for yourself. Including whether we’re an organization or individuals.”

“Care to name yourself?”

“Kawai Nekoyanagi. But that’s a fake name, of course☆”

Her clothing was a lot like a jacket and bike shorts that left her midriff bare. The real surprise was the almost entire lack of armor against bullets and blades. She only had some belts wrapped around her in a spiderweb structure to protect her vitals. Was that because she wanted to prioritize her feline litheness over a solid toughness? Since she had managed to defend against a pair of air pressure kunais while taking unstable evasive action, she was clearly quite capable.

Nekote were metal claws worn on the fingers. They allowed finer control than ones attached to the back of the hand, they were an all-purpose weapon capable of everything from scaling cliffs to torture, and they could even be thrown in a pinch. And with 10 of them, losing one or two wasn’t a big deal.

A solid clacking sound came from Nekoyanagi’s hands as her claws sliced right through the air pressure kunais like they were made of wet paper.

(Those aren’t just made of a heavy metal. They must be an electrically-enhanced elemental lattice.)

The girl took her next action before gravity could even pull the pieces to the ground at her feet.

Nekoyanagi sharply kicked the jagged wreckage as it fell.

The jagged metal pieces of the air pressure kunais fanned out in front of her.

“Tch!!”

As the improvised barrage approached, Sugiyado clicked his tongue and ducked very, very low to avoid them. He had to press himself against the ground on all fours like an animal. It was an effective means of dodging, but it was far from earning a perfect 100 since it limited his next move. It was like announcing you could only play rock next turn.

The cat-eared kunoichi rotated her right arm vertically.

“How about this?”

Her fingers dropped down like she was trying to smash him with her palm. Her electrically-enhanced elemental lattice claws had torn through tungsten steel weapons like wet paper, so the slightest touch would even cut through bone. And more smoothly than slicing a cake.

However…

(She isn’t a ghost who can pass through walls. Nekoyanagi can slice through anything, but that means her claws are influenced by all matter in their path!)

“Sh!!”

Sugiyado threw one of his kunai’s instant nitrogen foam cartridges onto the snow and activated it. The explosive expansion of air slammed into the approaching nekote, creating a distorted noise.

It was just like a wind turbine’s blade shaking and ultimately breaking from slicing through the wind with its own power.

“…!!”

Sweat formed on the Brown Bear girl’s brow. She must have been suppressing pain that felt like an invisible hand grabbing and twisting her skinny fingers.

The increased resistance reduced her speed.

Just like she was crossing a rapid current.

An air pressure kunai wasn’t enough to block those nekote. And he couldn’t even get his head out of the way while down on the ground. But he had given himself more time by slowing the attack’s speed just a bit.

He didn’t use his legs.

He used his hands to grab the backs of Nekoyanagi’s slender ankles and pulled her feet out from under her.

“Wah!?”

“Bara!!” roared Sugiyado just as the target was flipped onto her back.

The Tatami Needles depleted uranium alloy coilgun flew in at supersonic speed and mercilessly burst at the center of the girl’s chest.

Nekoyanagi had prioritized litheness, but her bulletproof armor would be enough to protect her there of all places. Or maybe she had managed a last-second decision to shift her position so she was hit there.

“Kah…ah!?”

“Do not underestimate Sensei’s trump card, you naughty kitten☆”

That attack was powerful enough to blast right through a lightly-armored attack helicopter or armored truck, but Nekoyanagi only had the breath knocked out of her. Her armor was definitely not your average gear.

That said, she wouldn’t be able to run and jump around anytime soon. She was sprawled out in the snow with her limbs twitching disconcertingly, but she still put on a tough face by smiling thinly.

“Your plan isn’t going so great, is it? If the first one took you this long, what happens when things get a little more chaotic around here?”

“Is that all you wanted to say?”

“You’re only going to lose things here. You must know that. Set aside what any individual accomplishes and look at the big picture. You’re going to lose more than you gain here. And Princess Karin isn’t worth protecting. Her or her womb.”

“Bara, another shot.”

After the slightest of pauses, a shockwave erupted and the cat-ears kunoichi was rendered fully unconscious. But the thinly-smiling girl hadn’t succumbed to delusions of grandeur.

(It took Bara, Hoozuki, and me to take out Nekoyanagi alone. She’s right that it wasn’t easy.)

That had honestly been too much for the very first enemy. The time it had taken to defeat her had them falling behind schedule. If that kept up, the entire plan would fall apart and he and his students would be wiped out.

“Asagao, adjust the enemy’s strength by -3. Rework the timetable.”

“Three already!? That’s going to more or less break the timetable!!”

“We can’t make progress without accepting this harsh reality.”

None of them could figure out the Brown Bears’ logic, but they clearly thought they were doing this for New Sapporo Domain and the Hokkaido Area even if they were completely wrong about that. That meant their primary target would be Princess Karin who they saw as vulnerable and incapable of ruling, but they would also lock onto Sugiyado, Ouka, and the others as enemies who were disturbing the peace. Anyone could be targeted at this point.

The only option was to defeat as many of them as possible and extract as much information as possible from the defeated enemies. So it was time to turn the tables and make an attack on the Brown Bears’ hideout.

(Nekoyanagi was a scout sent out to do recon and provide a diversion. So where will the Brown Bears come from?)

“Oh, no. Oh, no, Sensei! Our secret date is about to be ruined by inclement weather!!”

“What do you mean, Asagao.”

“Up in the sky!! They’re sending out stealth air transports!!”

4: The Battle Begins

“Nekoyanagi has been lost. Which tells us a ninja capable of defeating her is out there.”

“They’ll have noticed us by now. That princess has already repaired their defense system and taken control of it.”

“What should we do?”

“Everyone, prepare to descend. Jump off before we’re shot down by the strategic antiair laser beam cannons.”

It didn’t matter this was a residential area. Fortunately, these were only the second homes of government officials who only visited a few times a year.

Maybe it used the air’s temperature difference and maybe it used the unnatural snow, but beams of light curved overhead like red rainbows and obliterated the boomerang-shaped flying wing transports filling the night sky.

Those were the laser beams fired from the city outskirts.

Wreckage and jet fuel rained down, but that wasn’t what worried Sugiyado.

“Everyone on alert. This isn’t stopping the Brown Bears’ main force!! They’re still coming!!”

Modern ninjas weaved between the wreckage, some pieces larger than cars, while they held their legs together and their arms against their sides to drop nearly straight down. There were more than 300 of them. They of course weren’t equipped with parachutes. Bara and Hoozuki began some antiair fire, but they couldn’t hit the Brown Bears who moved their arms and legs to adjust their air resistance and complexly weave through the sky.

Hoozuki’s voice came over the radio, sounding like her eyes were opened wide as could be.

“How the hell do they plan to land like this!? They aren’t going to crash into us like a meteor shower, are they!?”

“Instructor.”

Hidden One Oniyuri cut in, sounding somewhat exasperated.

Yes.

Now wasn’t the time to get bogged down in shallow issues of technique.

If they couldn’t shoot down the falling enemy, then this area would soon be flooded with 300 ninjas. And each of them would be Brown Bear class, making them at least on par with Nekoyanagi. It had taken three including Sugiyado to handle just Nekoyanagi herself. They would be hopelessly outnumbered at this rate.

If they played fair, anyway.

Sugiyado Souha was responsible for the lives of everyone here. And he instantly made a ninja’s decision.

“Princess Karin! Draw their attention! You’re their top priority!!”

“Hey, I told you about her condition, didn’t I!?”

“No, Murakami. He is correct in this case. It is risky, but none of us are escaping this if we are routed. Insolent fool, the most open space is the front garden. Will that be acceptable?”

“Take care of that. Oh, and you don’t have to try and be nice just because your husband is here. It conflicts with that nickname for me, for one.”

“Another thing, Murakami. Did you tell him about that without asking me first!? What about my right to privacy, you dumbass!?”

It sounded like Princess Karin was through with acting nice. It hadn’t suited her to begin with, but now it sounded like she wanted to ensure Murakami knew who was boss.

Sugiyado thought while quickly climbing back over the wall surrounding the grounds.

Pieces of the air transports fell from the sky like jagged guillotines. A lot of them had turned into fireballs when some jet fuel ignited. They stabbed into the roof, split the tiles, and spread fire everywhere. They were like fire arrows bringing down a castle.

Meanwhile, there they were.

Those reckless ninjas were diving straight down into the fiery hell they had created themselves. They didn’t use parachutes and they didn’t leave themselves vulnerable by decelerating on the way down. They were like a meteor shower or a cluster bomb. They carried extraordinary destructive power and they fell randomly across the designated area.

Just before they hit the ground, they made a sound like a spread bedsheet hitting the air.

(The Bugfall? And with such accuracy!?)

As a ninja and as an instructor, Sugiyado was astonished by their skill.

Whether it was an earthworm or a grasshopper, bugs were much smaller than humans, yet they could fall from a height of several meters without being crushed and killed. Doesn’t that seem strange when you think about it? Those soft bugs were easily squished between your fingers, so how could they survive an unassisted fall from a height that was equivalent to a fall from a skyscraper roof for a human?

(This technique borrows that process.)

They suppressed and eliminated the impact.

Of course, they would be killed instantly if their balance was even slightly off. The Brown Bears were dropping from the night sky at max speed, spreading out their limbs at only a few meters above the ground, using foam gauntlets and gaiters to increase the density and sturdiness of their human silhouette, and ultimately eliminating the impact just before it hit them. It was a lot like being caught by an invisible balance ball made of air.

If their timing was off in the slightest, if their body wasn’t fully horizontal, or if their fear won out and they failed to fully extend their limbs, they would crash face first into the ground and die instantly. Given the same equipment, Sugiyado could do the same from a height of over 10m with little difficulty.

He heard a sound much like grass rustling in the wind.

It was the Brown Bears.

After landing gently from a drop of more than 500m, the ninjas had an abnormal light in their eyes. They began to move toward their old leader Princess Karin based on the idea that this would improve things for New Sapporo Domain and the Hokkaido Area as a whole. Even with each of them moving as silently as possible, their disturbing presence was impossible to miss when there were 300 of them.

At this rate, Princess Karin would be surrounded out in the garden and torn to pieces by the Brown Bears rushing her from all directions.

However…

“Ouka, Hoozuki. It only has to provide some cover. Fire toward the garden!”

An artificial tornado guided by the pressure differences created with cold and hot chemical reactions and countless shurikens launched from between giant wheels roared out from the burning roof and attacked the open ground. This didn’t have to take out any of the Brown Bears. As soon as this scattered their attention, Sugiyado silently closed in on the tail end of the human wave.

He held a pair of Fierce Fang air pressure kunais.

“Gh!?”

“Gah!!”

Each time he swung the ninja tools, he reaped another one. It was hard to believe they had just had so much difficulty with Nekoyanagi. This was no comparison. He would strike the back of their head or their back to swiftly knock them out and then kick them away before they could even fall, knocking over more of them.

For one, it was always easier to defeat someone when their back was turned.

And…

(There are 300 of them. That’s as much as an entire school. Numbers only do the talking in the samurai world. In our ninja world, numbers aren’t always a good thing.)

Yes.

That was it.

300 Brown Bears were closing in on just one Princess Karin. As large as the garden for this government official’s second house was, it was too packed full of people. No matter how polished each individual’s skills were, they had difficulty moving their arms and legs in a crowd like the store during a good sale. Sugiyado only had to attack from outside of the commotion and they began falling like dominoes.

Sugiyado Souha and Murakami Michihiko stood back to back to keep an eye on their surroundings.

Princess Karin was safely positioned between their backs.

Her and one other life.

One used air pressure kunais and the other a metal flute to threaten the ninjas still attempting to surround them.

“Looks like 30-40% of them are down,” said Sugiyado.

“What now? They don’t seem bothered by climbing over their fallen comrades to reach us,” said the young man.

“We focus our attacks on their Achilles heel.”

He made it sound so easy even Princess Karin, who had her one-handed hammer at the ready, gasped.

Sugiyado kept his air pressure kunais raised and didn’t look back as he continued.

Yes.

This ninja hadn’t just been fighting. He had been grading the Brown Bears as he crossed blades with them. All so he could work out the details of their organizational structure as quickly as possible.

“Princess Karin. The Brown Bears have made it clear how powerful they are, but they all see you as in the way – no, they fear your very existence. But why is that? They’ve been guiding things in secret all this time, so why are they so scared now?”

“They came from the sky.”

The princess in the junihitoe was also the top-rate kunoichi who led the Stonewalls.

Sugiyado gave a small nod.

“Right. Preparing all those big stealth air transports couldn’t have been easy for the Brown Bears. And what about the repairs and maintenance? Since they disappear from radar and ground control won’t see them, they could collide with an ordinary passenger plane at any time. Stealth is a lot riskier than it sounds.”

“And there’s the reason I took the position of domain lord from my father. That is, why I poisoned him.”

“Let’s leave your hidden ‘puppy’ out of this.” Sugiyado smiled without looking back. “What do you and your father have in common? Yes, the answer was right in front of us the whole time. The mysterious Brown Bears didn’t want anyone to mess with the sky.”

“The defense system,” muttered Murakami Michihiko.

Sugiyado continued while back to back with that young man.

“Yes. They would have been fine with the defense system for New Sapporo Domain – no, for the entire Hokkaido Area – to exist in name only due to its chronic lack of power, but the domain lord – and then you in his place – were smart enough to figure out a solution. So they had no choice but to silence you and replace you with a more incompetent ruler who’s so busy thinking about the ground they forget to consider the sky and can’t solve the power problem.”

Meaning…

Meaning…

Meaning…

“Princess Karin, search for a reading on radar or sonar. You can negate their stealth by using concave parabolic antennas located in multiple directions. That can detect the reading even if the signal is scattered. There should be a distortion at one point in the night sky. Fire one of your giant antiair laser beam cannons there!!”

A roar split the air and a beam split the night sky in an arch like a red rainbow. The optical weapon’s path was curved either by the temperature difference or the artificial snow.

It did not fly all the way to space.

The thick clouds were scattered, revealing something beyond.

“Wha-?”

Even Princess Karin groaned in surprise.

The previous boomerang-like stealth air transports were nothing compared to this. This was so big it threw off their sense of distance and scale.

Thinking back, where had those air transports launched from? Even if the Brown Bears could get their hands on the transports, Princess Karin would have heard if they were using an airport in the area. But such large and unstable aircraft couldn’t take off from an airfield made by clearing out a grassy plain. Not even an aircraft carrier floating in the ocean could manage it.

This was the answer.

A flying fortress.

It was more than 5km long and it had 8 wings. That massive thing was the elusive Brown Bears’ safe zone.

Once it took off, it had to continue flying forever.

“Where and how did they launch something that big?” muttered a dazed Murakami Michihiko.

At the very least, it could never take off from an ordinary airport. But even if this northern land had a lot of space, building a runway big enough for that would have been discovered.

“It would also be noticed in flight. Was it hiding in the thick clouds? But everyone knows modern radar isn’t that easily fooled.”

“You and Amamo used single-molecule magnets to control the crust itself.” Sugiyado turned toward the junihitoe woman while protecting her back to back with Murakami Michihiko. “The principle is the same. They’ve covered the surface of that with tiny magnets to control its tiny grooves like the surface of a disk. It looks like they use those grooves to distort the high-altitude air currents surrounding it to precisely manipulate the surrounding temperature and thus distort all electromagnetic waves, including light.”

If you were familiar with mirages, it shouldn’t surprise you that light can be bent under the right circumstances. And visible light was one type of electromagnetic wave. There were differences in transparency and visibility, but the basic traits remained the same from very lower frequency waves to x-rays. And in fact, the previous laser weapon had been bent to an extent. Its surface had been scorched by the radiant heat.

Electromagnetic waves could be bent.

If they could only travel in a straight line, then TV and radar signals would be limited by the horizon, but that was not the case. Those were reflected off the upper atmosphere so they essentially bounced back down and beyond the horizon.

Asagao gave her own concerns over the radio.

“There are no radio transmissions about scrambling fighters on Honshu. No laser targeting from orbital weapons either. This is weird, Sensei. Something that huge has appeared, but the Shogunate is showing no sign of acting. But if they sent a nondescript gray stealth fighter from New Sendai Domain, it could be here in less than 10 minutes!”

“If what you see on the surface makes no sense, it means something is happening below the surface. The Brown Bears are ninjas, even if they’ve lost their way. They should know all about using threats as a type of negotiation. In fact, it wouldn’t be very ninjalike of them to not use any trickery at all.”

Sugiyado wasn’t going to let that scare him at this point. For one, the Brown Bears weren’t just a failure on the Hokkaido Area’s part – they were a failure of the Shogunate as a whole. There was a risk of the Shogunate intervening and suppressing the evidence – which would mean slaughtering everyone involved – so it was safer if Sugiyado’s group settled things on their own.

And from the surrounding ninjas…

“So you found it.”

It sounded like a curse.

Yet there was also some joy mixed in. The Brown Bears’ tone of voice was unusual.

“You found our castle.”

They sounded like a serial killer approaching the detective who had figured out the meaning behind the gruesome murders. They all readied their blades and approached on an emotional level.

An ordinary person may have been manipulated and helpless to respond.

But Sugiyado spoke calmly.

“Oniyuri, handle this.”

It didn’t matter that the delicate machinery embedded in 88 parts across her body had been removed.

It didn’t matter that she had chosen to abandon her position as a psychic.

That kunoichi was still an expert with the title of Hidden One, which was higher than Elite Ninja and placed her on the same level as Sugiyado Souha in his prime.

She was the most reliable of allies and the last person you wanted as an enemy.

That had not changed.

The threat she presented was the entirety of her reputation.

So.

“Understood, Instructor.”

Her response didn’t even come via radio.

It reached him directly.

How was it even possible for her to whisper sweetly in Sugiyado’s ear when he stood back-to-back with Princess Karin while surrounded by the Brown Bears?

However she had done it, that kunoichi had slipped past both the internal and external nets and now she snapped her fingers.

Instantly, Sugiyado’s senses were obliterated by a dazzling flash of light, a deafening explosion, and a wall of heat that felt like needles shallowly piercing the skin all across his body.

“What did you do!?”

“My, my. And after you asked me to take care of it… New Sapporo Domain uses city gas, remember? Extract the liquid from the underground LNG pipes and a steam explosion isn’t hard to trigger. When transported as a liquid, that fuel is kept at around 50 below zero. Combine that with a 40-degree hot spring and you have a massive explosion on your hands. Well, you do need a spark of static electricity to ignite it.”

Underground and fire.

Oniyuri was still Oniyuri even without her psychic powers. This blazing disaster swept away or engulfed everything in its path, just like lava.

“Fire ninjutsu is all about chemistry. Violence should be an intellectual pursuit, you animals.”

With that casual comment, Oniyuri helped Sugiyado Souha and Murakami Michihiko guide Princess Karin through the fire and smoke. They were surrounded by the Brown Bears, but Oniyuri led them to a manhole designed to not disturb the view of the garden. Unlike a cramped rabbit hutch, this luxurious residence covered enough land that it was hardly surprising it had a manhole on its grounds.

But the idea made Princess Karin demonstrate how foul-mouthed a proper princess could be.

“We have to go in there?”

“That junihitoe is a disguise and you’re well-protected underneath it, right? You’re not as sheltered as you try to pretend, so you can do this. As long as you watch your breathing, it won’t harm the ‘puppy’ you’re carrying either. So hurry!”

Oniyuri created a makeshift opener out of a combination of blades and descended first to ensure things were safe belowground. The Brown Bears had attacked from the sky, but they had also sent out ground-based scouts like Nekoyanagi.

“If their main force is in that flying fortress, then the 300 in those air transports should only be an advance force,” said Oniyuri in her ninja outfit that resembled sleeveless Japanese clothing or a surgical gown with both sides open. “The construction workers who were watching over Abashiri can’t account for all of this.”

“They started out as civilians who were given compressed training, so you can’t rely on the initial numbers.”

“Can you really ensure quality like that?” asked Murakami Michihiko.

“I did the same thing,” answered Sugiyado. “As an instructor, I mean. I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but I took four ordinary people and trained them over the internet. And now they serve as Elite Ninjas for the Shogunate.”

And Sugiyado’s method was to take his time to gradually acclimate them to this new life. Because he didn’t want to damage his students’ minds or bodies. If you didn’t care how many of the total number died, you could do a lot more over a shorter time. That was a forbidden technique for a teacher, but there would always be fools who chose to use the forbidden techniques.

Yes.

That was obvious enough from Oniyuri who was artificially given a paranormal power by embedding delicate machinery in 88 parts of her body.

Sugiyado’s insistence on handing her over to the Kingdom at the end of the previous incident had largely been because he hadn’t wanted anyone to create another Oniyuri. He had wanted to avoid the creation of a ninja training method that ignored the wellbeing of its students.

Sugiyado came to a stop and looked straight up.

“This spot should do.”

“Why? We’ll reach the river if we keep going.”

“We would leave Ouka and the others behind if we did that. We only need to emerge behind the Brown Bears.”

“Oh? Instructor, you’re really into this teacher thing, huh?”

They climbed the ladder and emerged from the round manhole. Sugiyado spoke into a small device hidden behind his scarf.

“Roll call. You’re still alive, I hope?”

“Only just barely this time! Sensei, you do know I’m supposed to be a noncombatant, don’t you!? This is not my idea of a fun date!! These Brown Bears are all at least High Ninja level!!”

“I’m relieved to find you’re doing well enough to complain so much, Asagao. And, Bara, can you still use your hair coilguns? I’d like to collect your spare unit and use it for something else. Where do you have it hidden?”

“There’s a full set in the transformer outside the garden and another in the firehose box along the road. But what do you need it for?”

“You must be exhausted from all this fighting. I feel bad having you handle it all yourselves for so long, so I’m going to draw all of the Brown Bears’ attention. I want you to escape as soon as their encirclement breaks down.”

“That’s the most worrying response you could have given, Sensei! Tell us what you’re going to do!!” said Ouka, her voice practically a scream.

But he didn’t have time to explain it all to them. He also couldn’t push his students any further. He opened the red metal firehose box Bara had mentioned and found the spare parts for the coilgun: a solenoid coil, a battery unit, an amplifier, etc.

His back would feel funny with 5kg and explode with pain at 10kg.

“Kh.”

“I’ll take that, Instructor,” said Oniyuri, sounding like she was soothing a small child.

It was condescending, but she also provided just the help he needed. She easily lifted the heavy metal unit.

Princess Karin frowned.

“What are you doing, insolent fool?”

“Exactly what I said. I’m sick of lying to my students. …Oniyuri, you know how the induction coil works and how to wrap it, right? Head to one of the metal towers set up around here. The decorative flood shelters you told me about.”

Murakami Michihiko frowned while supporting the princess just subtly enough to not wound her pride.

“The towers?”

“That’s right.”

Bara hid coilguns in her red ringlets. They were powerful enough to blow away a tank if used right.

Which meant…

“With an even larger solenoid coil, we can reach that sky fortress. We’ll have a mass driver capable of launching a person.”

The tower was as tall as a 5-story building, so running up it was child’s play. Even if they were also wrapping a coilgun’s cable unit around the entire tower as they did so.

Princess Karin sighed while moving up the tower with precise movements.

“Will this handmade thing really work?”

“As long as we only need it to launch something. Princess Karin, it’s the same idea as the linear motors you’re so familiar with. The principle itself is simple, so as long as they have the power, even a child could build a working cannon. Increasing the size increases the speed, so expanding the specs is a simple matter.”

It took less than five minutes before Sugiyado, Murakami, Oniyuri, and Princess Karin were standing at the top of the tower. But that was five more minutes his students had to continue fighting a triple digit number of Brown Bears.

He had to relieve them of that burden.

If an assassin was sent to the Brown Bears’ main stronghold, not even the ones on the ground would be able to ignore it. They would be too busy pursuing that assassin to send any more Brown Bears down either.

He would draw all of their attention.

It was the best way of rescuing Ouka and the others.

“Will you be coming with me or watching me go?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. This is our domain.”

Princess Karin’s response put a thin smile on Sugiyado’s face.

“Then have it your way.”

He collapsed backwards like he was falling back into bed.

The four ninjas dove from the top of the metal tower into the jungle gym interior.

And eventually…

A mass driver with more than 15 times the carrying power of a tank gun activated with enough force to launch a human to the moon.

5: Source of the Threat

The most important factor for all forms of transportation was not acceleration – it was safely coming to a stop. In other words, braking. This was true on land, on the water, in the air, and even in the deep sea or outer space. With linear motor trains and ballistic spacecraft, simply launching the vehicle wasn’t all that difficult.

The sky fortress blotted out even the moon.

But that meant missing it would have been the bigger challenge.

“Sh!!”

Sugiyado swung his arms and legs in midair to manipulate his air resistance and spin himself around. He turned his straight-line motion into an endless rotation. He spun like a gyroscope or a figure skater to drain the magnitude of his vector while maintaining his attitude.

He only had to gently place his feet down.

Smoke burst from the toes of his boots as he easily landed on the upper armor of the sky fortress.

Oniyuri exhaled a white sigh next to him. She was so close they nearly collided.

“It’s cold up here.”

“We are more than 3000m up. That’s about the same as Mount Fuji.”

“Well, at least this feels more like a snowy date. I can blow my warm breath into my hands and hold onto the gentleman’s arm for warmth.”

“Let me guess, Oniyuri, the radio is still connected. Please stop provoking my students for fun. It affects their performance.”

Sugiyado sounded exasperated.

“Princess Karin, focus on your breathing and calculate how much oxygen you’re taking in. We can’t have you succumbing to altitude sickness.”

“Who – huff – do you think – puff – I am?”

“Murakami, you monitor her vitals. If things get too bad, kick her off the edge. If you don’t want him doing that, look after yourself. Now, let’s go.”

That sounded harsh, but Princess Karin had more than her own life to think about. She couldn’t push herself too hard.

The young man released a visible breath while gently supporting Princess Karin.

“Sorry,” he said.

“Stop apologizing for every little thing. The look in Princess Karin’s eyes gets harsher each time you do.”

They had arrived on the sky fortress.

Was it based on an aircraft carrier?

It had a unique silhouette, shaped like a 5km metal ship with four giant wings on each side. Needless to say, it did not flap those wings to fly. They looked like wings, but they were actually flight decks equipped with a linear catapult.

Princess Karin frowned when she saw the name painted large at their feet.

“Raging Gale?”

“You can use that as a tentative name in your head, but don’t rely on it too much. This isn’t a racecar. Its name and serial number won’t be written on it for all to see.”

Most likely, there was a similar project with that name and this was meant to misdirect people in that direction. It might even have been the model name for a project run by New Sapporo Domain.

“It sure is big,” complained Oniyuri.

“It has to be to look after stealth air transports and bombers. It’s little different from a ground-based runway. Each catapult is probably 2000m long.”

“Sensei, did you know an amusement park is a bad choice for a date because there is too much to see? Eh heh heh heh heh.”

Ouka’s voice over the radio had taken a disturbing turn.

She may have been upset about being left behind.

“2000. That’s 10 times the size of a standard nuclear aircraft carrier. And this has eight of them?”

Murakami Michiko’s skepticism was understandable. The defense system for the New Sapporo Domain and Hokkaido Area had run into a bottleneck over power, after all.

“I’m worried about how this Raging Gale powers itself. How does it keep something so large airborne?”

The wings seemed to primarily handle the aircraft. Meanwhile, the formidable number of ship guns and missile launchers appeared to be concentrated on the central “ship”.

Sugiyado’s group was on the 2nd starboard flight deck

The catapult was about 2000m long, which put Sugiyado’s group that far away from the central ship. Which meant…

“Hey, Raging Gale’s guns are turning this way, insolent fool.”

“Understandable given how far away we still are. This is a safe distance for them. None of the shell fragments will hit their main ship.”

Sugiyado’s casual response was immediately followed by a deafening “boom!!”

They never would have reacted in time if they had been responding to that noise.

It was like lightning.

The flash arrived first, then horizontal destruction swept through, and the noise arrived last. Given that it was cold enough to see their breaths, the speed of sound had to be about 330m/s, so it took sound a few seconds to reach the end of the 2000m flight deck.

It normally wasn’t possible to escape when targeted by microwaves or a laser.

But…

“Princess Karin.”

“Do not give me commands, insolent fool.”

“My, how naughty, Instructor. Inviting a pregnant wife on a secret date? And right in front of her husband?”

Sugiyado had acted before the gun was fired.

He had taken a few of the instant nitrogen foam cartridges used in his air pressure kunais and thrown them toward the main ship, intentionally placing them in the line of fire targeting his group.

There were two explosive booms and tremors.

The first created an invisible wall from the sort powerful foam used in airbags, bending the EM or infrared locking onto them. The second was a strategic antiair laser beam cannon firing on Princess Karin’s command and rattling the Raging Gale sky fortress.

With the targeting and the gun itself thrown off, not even the sky fortress could recover.

After surviving a barrage of attacks, each of which could blast a battleship in two, Sugiyado’s group kept low while running across the flight deck.

Princess Karin whispered while running alongside Murakami.

“That won’t work again.”

“Then get the ground personnel evacuated already. No matter how big those cannons are, they’re stationary. The Raging Gale is going to bomb them soon.”

“…”

“You ordered the antiair laser beam cannon on the outskirts to fire because you wanted to distract the Brown Bears from New Sapporo Domain directly below them, right? The weapon was meant to protect your people. It’s done that.”

That was when they heard a gritty sound.

It came from air ninjas equipped with a device that looked like a hang glider powered by a jet engine the size of a large drink bottle. Some came from the main ship, some came from other flight decks, and some came from patrolling the surrounding airspace.

Like vultures swarming an animal carcass, the Brown Bears in black quickly covered the 2nd starboard flight deck. The sky was their territory.

Firepower and armor weren’t what mattered.

Only a ninja could kill a ninja.

Noticing that the Brown Bears had finally recalled that truth, Oniyuri laughed and asked a question.

“What now, Instructor?”

“We aren’t honorable samurai,” replied Sugiyado.

Immediately, his entire group jumped from the edge of the vast flight deck.

Without proper preparations, an altitude of 3000m was a fatal part of the sky where even the basics of “falling” broke down. But these real ninjas didn’t even hesitate.

It wasn’t a perfectly smooth surface. There were bumps and indentations they could grasp with their fingers or nails. By grabbing on like that in stages, they could reduce their speed while dropping down along the “wall” to their destination.

Their destination was the bottom.

The flight deck was now a large roof. Countless pipes and small metal walkways dangled down from it. The Raging Gale’s stealth bent the radar waves using an uneven arrangement of artificial single-molecule magnets, so the ship itself did not have an origami-like design. From below, the flight deck looked like the catwalk at the ceiling of a theatre stage.

Each “wing” was 2000m long, so they were going to be more than just the enormous flight deck. This thing carried countless fighters, bombers, and whatever else, so they needed enough space to store them. The Raging Gale’s main ship didn’t seem big enough for that. The area below the flight deck “roof” functioned as the hangar and maintenance bay.

Sugiyado’s group landed on the pipes and metal walkways running below the giant roof and ran across them as light as the wind. It didn’t matter how powerful the people on the roof were when they were out of reach.

But there was still a threat.

“Here they come, insolent fool!”

“Deal with them yourself.”

Sugiyado gave his exasperated response while continuing to run and throwing Fierce Fang air pressure kunais into empty air. The ninjas who had been in the air before landing on the flight deck could circle below using those flight units resembling hang gliders. Sugiyado threw his air pressure kunais to destroy their wings or jet engines and send them plummeting toward the ground.

Needless to say, the Brown Bears were a formidable foe.

Each and every one of them was skilled enough to fight on or above the level of a former Hidden One like Sugiyado.

But.

That’s why he did this.

He had them gather together as a single group so their individual talents didn’t have a chance to shine. Not even the faster sprinter in the world could move in a train packed to 300% capacity. By sowing discord in the enemy force and making them trip each other up, he could easily draw out a far greater result than the firepower he employed. This was exactly what ninjas excelled at.

“That’s incredible,” commented Murakami Michihiko, earning him a glare from Princess Karin.

“Are they too reliant on their equipment?” Oniyuri sounded almost disappointed. “Even the most convenient toy won’t do you any good in circumstances it wasn’t designed for.”

“Still, where did they build all this behind my back?”

Princess Karin couldn’t find an answer, so Sugiyado supplied some theories.

“The Raging Gale may have been built outside the Hokkaido Area. Maybe outside the country altogether.”

“…”

“The Brown Bears are an abnormal group that sprouted up from the workers hired to provide a second layer of security at Abashiri’s special prison, but plenty of outsiders would benefit if they caused enough trouble. That’s generally how it works with these irregular conflicts. Very few criminal groups truly act alone. People who don’t want to get their hands dirty are always sending them money and weapons in secret.”

2000m was nothing for a trained ninja. They were nearly at the base of the flight deck.

But before they reached the main ship, Oniyuri’s nose twitched and she looked up.

“I smell explosives.”

“I had a feeling they would purge it. Murakami, Princess Karin!!”

Sugiyado got his warning out just before something exploded.

This was not an ordinary explosion that spread out in all directions from a central point. Orange sparks raced across the surface of the flight deck like an invisible blade was cutting through the thick metal.

It was sliced through at the very base.

To cut away the entire 2000m wing.

It was a form of autotomy.

It was the same as a captured crab or spider breaking away its own leg to escape the threat.

Anyone still on the wing would crash down to the surface and be killed on impact.

At this point, not even Sugiyado’s group needed any tricks. There was only one way to survive. Before gravity could find its grip on the tilting flight deck and pull it down, they had to jump to the Raging Gale’s stable main ship.

“Ohhhh!!!” roared Sugiyado as he ran along the lurching catwalk and leaped from the severed edge which was still glowing orange from the force of the explosives.

No matter how much he schemed and turned the tables on the enemy, it was his daily training that mattered in the end. And this wasn’t true for Sugiyado alone.

The four ninjas soared through the air at an altitude of 3000m. Sugiyado Souha tumbled into the Raging Gale sky fortress’s main ship before the thick emergency shutter could close off the opening left by purging the wing.

“Phew,” he sighed, but he of course didn’t relax yet. In battle, it was easiest to lose your life in the moment following a success. Your personal circumstances had no effect on what happened in the world as a whole. Or to put it another way, the enemy wasn’t going to wait.

“Oniyuri, Murakami, Princess Karin.”

“You worry too much, Instructor. You need to relax and think of this as a double date,” said Oniyuri, her white cloth ninja outfit swaying elegantly around her.

“I’m fine too,” said Murakami Michihiko.

“Why am I part of your roll call? You aren’t planning to put a collar on me too, are you?”

He was relieved to find none of them were foolish enough to miss boarding the train.

Princess Karin’s irritation was about more than just how unreliable Murakami Michihiko was being. That entire flight deck had fallen toward New Sapporo Domain from this high up. The area below was a deserted luxury residential region. If not for that, the result would have been a tragedy greater than a passenger plane crash.

(Ouka. And the others.)

Sugiyado was worried, but letting it show wouldn’t help. In the ninja world, soft emotions were targeted as a vulnerability.

You couldn’t forget your human emotions, but you couldn’t let anyone notice them. He had to remember that this was the very center of enemy territory. It was best to assume every last wall had very dangerous ears.

(We’re essentially down the Brown Bear’s gullet now. The more trouble we cause in its heart, the less it can focus its claws and fangs on Ouka and the others on the surface.)

“Now, then.”

The Raging Gale’s main ship was also enormous, but it appeared to be structured a lot like a human’s innards. In other words, everything necessary was packed in tight. The passageway was narrow and winding and all the necessary equipment for the flying aircraft carrier was packed in like a folded accordion.

Oniyuri looked around with interest.

She generally gave off a sweetly rotten allure, but she occasionally displayed a childlike innocence. But thinking she was safe to be around at those times would be a terrible mistake. Oniyuri’s devilish charm had more than one way of leading people astray.

“The ceilings are low thanks to the pipes and lights and these narrow corridors make frequent right-angle turns. It’s the same idea as a samurai’s mansion. It’s designed to keep any intruders from wielding long weapons.”

“So if the Brown Bears rush us in here…”

“That won’t happen, sheltered princess. If they tried it, we would only need to knock back the lead group and they would all fall like dominoes.”

“Whore. You dare point at me and call me sheltered?”

“Having a side job must be nice. You can switch titles whenever one becomes inconvenient.”

“(Hey, um, hey?)”

“Don’t look at me. She’s your wife. You restrain her.”

Sugiyado Souha casually sidestepped one of the most difficult problems in the world.

Camping out at a corner and either spraying gunfire or filling the corridor with poison gas would be a lot more “surefire” than wielding a sword or spear, but Sugiyado could think of two or three different ways of getting around that. Nothing in the world was truly “surefire”. If you calmly analyzed the pros and cons of each option, an exit would present itself.

But as they continued on, they found no ninja ambushes. Nor were they observed with security cameras or drones. Sugiyado guessed the Brown Bears had chosen the silent route. They would wait for the eerie silence to fill Sugiyado’s group with doubts that grew into paranoia. Once that destroyed their teamwork, the Brown Bears would make their surprise attack. It was the same idea as a haunted house sending people down a long, straight path with no scares in order to scare the guests all the more at the next corner. The easiest target for that kind of psychological warfare was probably Princess Karin. Of the four, she had the greatest tendency to start arguing with the others.

“Princess Karin.”

“I’m not a child. I know the risks.”

They held that exchange while continuing onward.

However.

They were speaking aloud and making other noises in enemy territory, but there was still no response. Sugiyado knew suspecting tricks within tricks within tricks would get you nowhere in the ninja world, but something still felt off even if this was a trap. This went beyond an artificial “creepy silence”.

“Is there…really nothing here?” asked Murakami Michihiko, cautiously holding his metal flute weapon at the ready.

It felt like they had nervously walked down the long straightaway in a haunted house only to find they had somehow arrived at the staff only door.

“…?”

“Instructor.”

“I know. Always keep multiple escape routes in mind, Oniyuri. This is no coincidence. It feels intentional. They may be luring us in so they can surround us and cut off our escape.”

Sugiyado still hadn’t answered his question as they walked carefully around a few corners.

And eventually…

“There’s something here,” said Sugiyado.

“Well, this looks like trouble,” complained Princess Karin.

He couldn’t blame her.

There was a room.

A door led to a great hall.

The rectangular exit in the thick wall looked like a tiny tunnel by comparison. And there were two layers of doors to keep any air from escaping. It was a lot like a cleanroom in a semiconductor factory. That suggested something very important was stored inside, but they would be trapped like rats if they carelessly entered. If the door locked behind them, they couldn’t get back out. If the air was removed, they would be killed.

But that didn’t mean they could just avoid that room.

They were badly outnumbered here. The Brown Bears were impressive in terms of quantity and quality, so Sugiyado’s group had no intention of directly facing thousands of them. Anything would be a risk in the center of enemy territory. They had chosen to enter the Raging Gale because finding and attacking the heart of the sky fortress was their only way of overcoming that disadvantage.

They were here for some sabotage.

If they always chose the safer route, they would be traveling down the path of slow but unavoidable suicide. They would be trapped.

“…”

After some thought, the boy pulled out an air pressure kunai. He cut only the cable for the sensor related to the opening and closing of the thick metal door and then he jammed the kunai into the gap between the open door and the wall on the hinge side.

“Oniyuri, you wait outside. Secure us a way out.”

“Leaving me behind on our secret date is next level.”

“Oniyuri.”

“Yes, yes, I know. But if they can tear through that tungsten steel wedge to close the door, it’s going to be a wild rescue operation.”

It was just like her to imply she was perfectly capable of it. Even without her psychic powers, she was still a fire and explosives specialist.

“Princess Karin, will you stay or go? The risk will of course be greater inside.”

“Do not underestimate me, insolent fool. Destroying the Brown Bears is the only way to restore order in New Sapporo Domain, which I am ruling in my ill father’s stead. I will not leave that in the hands of an outsider.”

“Murakami.”

“Don’t worry. I will protect the princess.”

“Have it your way.”

Sugiyado and the other two stepped into the airlock with Oniyuri staying behind.

Of course, Sugiyado had a few different possibilities in mind. For example, this fortress was carrying weapons of mass destruction like the air-launched ballistic missiles and it was carrying a power source strong enough to keep the fortress airborne – likely a largescale nuclear reactor. And this was all directly above New Sapporo Domain. Whether the plan was to destroy those things or make use of them, they would have to be very careful.

However…

“What?”

In that moment, Sugiyado Souha realized he had been careless. In the ninja world, speed of movement and flexibility of thought mattered most, but he had allowed his mind to go blank and all his muscles to tense.

He was shocked.

He was a Hidden One, removed from the usual hierarchy of ranks, but what he saw here managed to shatter his pride.

6: The Two Teachers

Sugiyado found a large, vast space.

But more than that, it was a bizarre space kept so clean not even a speck of dust or single germ was allowed inside.

This was a location that could never exist in the natural world.

Perhaps that was why the master of this tiny world was also something one would never find in the natural world.

Was it a metronome?

The machine was less than 30cm in all. Its color was peeling away and its corners had chipped off. But it had to be more than a metronome. It had a few buttons and an LCD screen.

“Is that…?”

Princess Karin looked puzzled.

But not because she didn’t know what this was.

She had more to say.

“Lignum Vitae? The AI speaker used to manage training materials?”

“Who does it belong to?” plainly asked Sugiyado.

The name she had used was Latin, but he was pretty sure it referred to a wood known for being heavy and hard. It was heavy enough to sink in water and it was industrially used to make the bearings for ship propeller shafts.

He himself had instructed Ouka and the others over the internet. He was used to using electronics as a teaching tool.

“I don’t know,” groaned Princess Karin. “It is a Stonewalls device, but some of the details look different.”

“That suggests it was supplied by or borrowed from New Sapporo Domain,” said Sugiyado.

If Princess Karin didn’t know, the decision must have been made by a more powerful domain lord. Oniyuri had said the Abashiri ninjas who had built the foundation of the Brown Bears had continued to train themselves so they did not lose sight of who they were while living in disguise for so long. They ultimately hadn’t sent any personnel, but they may have provided some equipment as support.

“So is this the teacher supporting the Brown Bears’ training?” asked Murakami Michihiko.

He was a ninja, but he was also an inspector sent from Edo. He had been taught elsewhere, so he would have no connection to this.

It was only a metronome.

But it was the only thing that had listened to those ninjas when they found themselves in a dead end.

No.

It was a charismatic leader in the shape of an object.

That was Lignum Vitae.

For security guards and truckers who worked alone late into the night, an ordinary radio could be the greatest friend that helped them feel less lonely.

This did answer one question. For whom or what had this massive sky fortress been created? It was too over-the-top to simply hide the ninjas.

“Hey, insolent fool. Does this mean someone was using this Lignum Vitae to instruct the Brown Bears over the internet?”

“If this was functioning, it would be a possibility to consider. But its sensors are too worn down. It must have reached the end of its lifespan.”

“Then…?” asked the young man.

Sugiyado had only one answer to give him.

This was beyond logic.

“There’s nothing more to it. This is the end of the line. The Brown Bears are reliant on the broken machine itself.”

As soon as Sugiyado said that…

Clack, clack.

The metronome’s pendulum began to move even though no one had touched it.

It was like a cheap attempt at hypnotism.

“We were waiting for you, Atropos. You are the grim reaper who will cut down the fools who refuse to obey the path indicated by the thread.”

Lignum Vitae.

The voice sounded a lot like a young woman.

It spoke in an old-fashioned way, but had it been programed that way or had it decided for itself what the Brown Bears most wanted in a trainer?

And Sugiyado’s group could not forget they had been invited here. Someone wanted to show them something here for some reason. They could not simply accept all of the information presented to them here.

“Are you the boss here?”

“I am.” The faceless metronome answered Sugiyado’s short question with the same slow rhythm as before. “If, by that, you mean the top of the command structure built into the group known as the Brown Bears. However, that does not mean I have any real influence. As you can plainly see, my physical terminal is no longer fully functioning. I can no longer stop them with my words.”

Students who adored their teacher and a partially broken instructor.

That sounded unpleasantly familiar.

Sugiyado worded his next question more carefully.

“What is the Brown Bears’ objective?”

“I am no more than an item lent to them from New Sapporo Domain. Once I was returned, I was to be disposed of due to wear-and-tear and to make way for an updated version. They refused to allow that, so they chose to protect me. And to exact vengeance upon New Sapporo Domain for their decision, they are retaliating against the entire Hokkaido Area.”

“They want revenge for a machine?” Princess Karin sounded skeptical. “You mean all of this happened because of some old piece of junk!? Do you have any idea how much blood was spilled reaching this point!?”

“Princess.”

Sugiyado himself had lost a friend back in the Abashiri special prison. He was here now to fulfill his promise with that old man.

But.

Did Princess Karin really not understand what this was about? She had learned all of her ninja techniques within the Stonewalls organization and now she ran that organization while passing down those skills, but the master-apprentice relationship did not come in just one form.

Sugiyado understood.

But unlike the Brown Bears looking up from below, he knew it from the position of the adored. He knew what it was like to have your own students enraged by their master’s unfair treatment and to have that light the fuse.

Ouka, Bara, Hoozuki, and Asagao. They each had a high aptitude for being a kunoichi, but when something had stirred up their sense of justice, they had strayed from the kunoichi path. And that had led to the series of incidents starting with the theft of the modular nuclear reactor. That incident was one of his worst memories.

It didn’t matter what form it took.

But after being worn down by the role forced upon them at the country’s largest special prison, the monsters known as the Brown Bears had found something to rely on. That something hadn’t been human. It lacked a face or body heat. But it had still supported their training.

It was something they could call their teacher.

An armed uprising.

Poisoning the domain lord.

The sky fortress.

Sugiyado didn’t think the scale would have grown to this extent if they had been acting logically. A standard negotiating tactic was to demand something beyond reason and then back down to a more realistic demand. No one was going to agree to this unreasonable situation. Even if the responders hoped to find a compromise.

This place was clearly decorative.

This was something beyond going through the logical process and clearing the hurdle as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Sugiyado sighed gently.

“Is that also why your base took the form of a sky fortress. The Raging Gale, was it?”

“That is only one of its throwaway names, but yes. I believe the Brown Bears intended it to leave their options open. This allows them to remain in the Hokkaido Area and make their influence known, but if that doesn’t work, they can swiftly defect elsewhere.”

“They seem pretty intent on one of those two options.”

“My students appear to have chosen a path after you discovered and entered the Raging Gale. They have chosen to flee. I assume they plan to depart as soon as you have been eliminated from the ship.”

He didn’t ask how she(?) could be so sure.

It would have been the Lignum Vitae herself who taught them that way. She would know exactly how the Brown Bears thought.

Which meant the full might of the Brown Bears would be moving to eliminate Sugiyado’s group.

Now that they had lost interest in taking indirect control of the Hokkaido Area and New Sapporo Domain, they would have also lost their interest in the life of Princess Karin as the temporary domain lord. And if they didn’t need the princess, they wouldn’t need to keep her around. Their Lignum Vitae teacher was their top priority. If there was any risk at all of her being destroyed, they would not hesitate to rush in and kill Princess Karin once she was discovered inside the ship.

However.

In a way, that was exactly what the boy wanted. Because this more or less ensured the safety of Ouka and the others on the surface.

“Now that they have determined there is no place for me in the Hokkaido Area, they will leave for their top defection candidate: the New Nagasaki Domain Dejima Float Trade District in the Kyushu Area. Or if that will not work, they plan to head to the continent.”

“That seems optimistic of them.”

“Yes. But exaggerating your chances is an effective means of commanding a large group. If you are too honest about the risks in the planning phase, it reminds them of the realistic problems they face and their morale withers. If anything, they have shown restraint in not making plans to escape to the moon.”

Meanwhile.

When comparing the broken metronome to Sugiyado himself, an unignorable problem arose.

Yes, what had he been thinking when he worked to resolve that incident started by Ouka and the others?

At the very least, he didn’t think they had wholeheartedly welcomed it.

“In that case…” he said.

“I am glad you understand,” said Lignum Vitae.

“I didn’t say I would grant your wish.”

“I do not want my Brown Bear children to die needlessly. But I cannot physically stop them with this body. I was very careful in who I chose for this task. Sending an army of inadequate fighters would only add to those children’s crimes as they create an even greater mountain of corpses.”

“Hey, hold on. Insolent fools, don’t leave me, the temporary domain lord, out of whatever it is you are discussing.”

“I invited you here.”

The metronome’s words never faltered, always keeping the same rhythm.

Was that because she was a mechanical program?

Or…

“I intentionally opened a hole in the Brown Bears’ defenses such that they would fail to notice it. All so those capable of destroying me could be guided here. They will prioritize my protection above all else. Thus, if they are freed from the burden of my existence, they will lose all purpose behind these needless actions and they will stop.”

“You have to be kidding, you piece of junk! Do you expect us to let those criminals go free if they stop now!?” shouted Princess Karin. “Not even Abashiri’s special prison is enough to hold them, which means they could escape any other prison with ease!! Killing them is the only way to protect the peace of our nation!!”

“I mean no disrespect, temporary domain lord, but I have constantly monitored their vital signs and mental state. The harsh environment of Abashiri and communication with those brutal criminals wore them down more than the documented numbers show. But it was the Domain Lords and the other rulers of the Hokkaido Area who demanded the ninjas be deployed just because the location had been lent to them. That is our sin. If we are to draw a clear line between victim and offender, I have no means of protecting you.”

“…!!”

“I am unwilling to compromise on this issue. Just like you have a life you must protect before all others.”

Princess Karin was speechless, but Sugiyado brought a hand to his forehead.

“So you want to stop the students by killing the teacher?”

“Correct.”

“Are you sure that will work? Let’s say a brother works through the night every single night to support his sick sister. Do you think the brother will thank you if you free him from that burden by killing his defenseless sister?”

“Wouldn’t he?”

Now he held his head in both hands.

The metronome’s pendulum was moving the same as ever.

Was this what you got with a processor that thought in terms of simple addition and subtraction? Lignum Vitae apparently would never consider the possibility of a single addition or subtraction leading to the destruction of the world. Was she also unaware there were things in the world which could not be added or subtracted?

But.

In that case.

“What do we do now?”

Murakami Michihiko’s question proved useful.

Sugiyado had needed that simple question to help sort his thoughts.

He slowly raised his head.

“My objective is to fulfill a promise with a friend. The Brown Bears are no more than a problem that cropped up in the middle of that. With that in mind, I have a question for you.”

“Ask,” said Lignum Vitae.

He breathed in and out.

If there was one thing that set this all in motion…

“Why did you attack that old man?”

“The attack on Abashiri’s special prison was part of an assault plan meant to retrieve me before I was disposed of and place me safely aboard this sky fortress. I am a target of adoration for the Brown Bears and the Murakami old man was the most skilled ninja in the prison when it came to the construction and maintenance of tools. He noticed what was happening before anyone else and he intended to destroy me to stop it all in advance. I speculate he made a show of being a model prisoner both to create a more comfortable living environment for himself and to contact me in the area the ordinary prisoners were not allowed. My calculations suggest he also knew how to destroy devices such that they are irreparable. If he had not hesitated for emotional reasons, none of this would have happened.”

“…”

“He was the greatest threat to their plan. That is likely the reason the Brown Bears took his life. The entire group feared that one old man more than New Sapporo Domain or the strategic antiair laser beam cannons. He made them tremble in terror.”

Did those words carry any real meaning?

That fear was nothing but a nuisance for the old man now that he was already dead. It did nothing to change what had happened.

But.

However.

(I see…)

That man had been something special.

His name would never go down in history and he hadn’t left behind any actual knowledge or skills. He had ultimately failed to prevent all of this.

But Sugiyado Souha reached a quiet understanding that none of the others noticed.

(I see.)

“Princess Karin.”

“What now, insolent fool?”

“I have mostly achieved my objective, but there is one thing left: completing the job that old man left undone. I can do that by ending this Brown Bears incident and preventing any further victims.”

“I don’t need you telling me what to do. You mean we need to destroy this piece of junk that makes people lose their minds, correct?”

“Princess,” cautioned Murakami Michihiko while Sugiyado sighed in exasperation.

“I know you want to punish them somehow, but if the Brown Bears lose Lignum Vitae now, there will be no stopping their indiscriminate rampage. I can tell because I was once in the center of a similar incident. Students will never compromise when something like that happens. I don’t know what power source keeps the Raging Gale airborne, but how much damage do you think they could do if they dropped the entire sky fortress on the city center?”

“This central ship is equipped with a total of 30 sealed contactless antihydrogen collision reactors,” explained Lignum Vitae. “The reactors harness the power of antimatter reactions and they are built to spacecraft standards.”

“…”

Princess Karin would have shaken on her feet if not for the young man gently supporting her shoulder from the side.

If something like that crashed, it wouldn’t just destroy the city below – most of the Hokkaido Area could be blown away.

“There you have it,” said Sugiyado. “And in an all-out conflict, it won’t end with that one attack. If you’re willing to set the entire Hokkaido Area ablaze to end this, fine. But if not, you need to find another way. Our goal isn’t to annihilate of the Brown Bears – it’s to eliminate them as a threat. Using ninjalike underhanded methods.”

“You expect me to slice off a portion of the land my father left with me and grant them extraterritoriality? Or just sit here and watch them escape overseas? Unacceptable! If word got out, every criminal and terrorist in the world see my domain as the perfect target and attack!! Because they would know they could get as much ransom money out of me as they wanted!!”

“I’m not asking you to do that.” Sugiyado turned toward the Lignum Vitae metronome which continued to keep perfect rhythm. “I will grant your wish, but I’m not saying it won’t hurt. There will be a hefty price. To show everyone, both here and elsewhere, that the ending wasn’t worth the cost.”

“That is fine. My primary objective is to stop the Brown Bears who have left my control and to eliminate the direct risk to the Hokkaido Area. This is all for naughtif the lingering influence of this incident normalizes terrorist attacks involving the bombing and abduction of the area’s citizens.”

“What are you planning?” asked Murakami Michihiko.

There were two sides to the Brown Bears.

First, as victims. They had been sent to Abashiri for the Shogunate’s convenience and forced to carry out harsh missions that crossed the boundaries of legality. Princess Karin had no way of defending herself there. They had a right to their freedom.

But.

Stopping there ignored their other side. As offenders. What happened at the special prison was a tragedy, but it did not excuse all of their actions. If their victim side was to be dealt with, their offender side had to be dealt with as well.

Meaning…

“There was always only one option here. The Brown Bears must be taught a lesson. A painful enough lesson that death would be preferable. One that shows everyone else that following in their footsteps would be suicide. It will be a lesson to them and anyone watching. It will only work if it makes every last Brown Bear regret what they have done until the day they die.”

7: Silently Creeping

“Little Crow 1, nothing to report.”

“Understood. Thank you for your scheduled check in.”

“Little Crow 2, nothing to report.”

“Understood. Thank you for your scheduled check in.”

“Little Crow 3, nothing to report.”

“Understood. Thank you for your scheduled check in.”

For the ninjas patrolling the main ship, the scheduled check ins were basic but important routine work. These days, even the police performed their duties with a camera in their breast pocket (although that was actually meant to prevent corruption on the job), but relying on machines like that created unique loopholes and vulnerabilities. Reliability increased considerably if there was at least one layer of old-fashioned analog security in the mix. This was an important job separate from the ninjas searching the ship.

…But no method was perfect.

No one was going to notice that this one guard was being forced to make his check in with Sugiyado Souha standing behind and holding a blade against his throat.

“Thanks for the scheduled check in, Little Crow 3.”

“Damn…you.”

The Brown Bears man, Little Crow 3, groaned a curse, but Sugiyado paid it no heed. He kicked the back of the man’s right knee to make him kneel and then Murakami Michihiko hit him in the back of the head with his metal flute.

“I’m only going to ask once.”

Bara would use a variety of tricks to trap a prisoner and convince them to talk, but there were plenty of more effective methods when you needed the truth in a shorter timeframe.

“Where is a Brown Bear stronger than you? You can just give their name if that’s all you know.”

For example, a blow to the brainstem.

A truth serum might sound like a type of advanced technology, but it was really just a way of using drugs to muddle the mind until they lost all discernment. Everyone has said something they wouldn’t normally when sleepy or intoxicated. The degree was different, but the basic principle was the same.

A similar effect could be triggered by forcing someone to go long periods without sleep, grabbing and shaking the head, or driving them to the verge of unconsciousness with a blow to the heart or back of the head. There were any number of methods. Of course, the slightest error could lead to death or permanent brain damage, so these were techniques only the best of the best could pull off.

However.

Once the effect was in place…

“Rh…bh”

Whether people were for or against something, they would picture the target in their mind before labeling them. Only then would they decide whether to say it or not or whether to be honest or not. But if that labeling process was broken, they would simply say what came to mind.

“O-Oomurasaki. Little Crow 4.”

“Murakami.”

The young man struck the Brown Bear’s head again to actually knock him out this time.

Oniyuri laughed with her ninja outfit swaying around her.

“My, my. That has to be as bad for the body as an actual truth serum. He might never regain his sense of equilibrium, you know?”

“Hmph. We should just kill him.”

“What did I say, Princess Karin?”

Sugiyado had let Murakami Michihiko do it as a way of blowing off some steam and this was how Princess Karin thanked him? He knew he couldn’t let her do it.

“We are ninjas. If we want to terrify our fellow ninjas, we can’t just kill them. A top rate ninja isn’t going to fear an armored samurai and they’re nothing but destructive power.”

“…”

“Do you get it now? If we want to overwhelm the rest of the ninja world, we need to stand out in every part of our field. The results are what matters. Slaughtering them all like mincemeat is about the worst way of doing that. Anyone can do that with a big enough gun.”

With that said, Sugiyado snatched the boxy radio from the Brown Bear’s jacket.

“Little Crow 4 is next.”

“Have you noticed the metal badge embedded in the shoulder of their clothing? You can’t see it, but I think it provides their unit and rank when hit by an ultrasound echo,” quietly pointed out Oniyuri.

Princess Karin, who was listening in, looked more puzzled than Sugiyado.

Thanks to her “puppy”, she was more familiar with ultrasound than he was.

“Then how did you detect it? You would need special goggles to visualize the sound, wouldn’t you?”

“My hair. If you pass light and sound through a regular lattice structure, it can be broken down enough for human senses to detect. You should learn how to do it.”

Oniyuri lightly touched her hands to the black hair worn up on either side of her head. It looked a lot like she was adjusting a pair of headphones.

Inaudible ultrasound and shockwaves could still wear people down. Since she specialized in flames and explosions, the high and low frequency waves capable of hindering a target’s focus were like familiar toys to her.

“Murakami, Princess Karin, Oniyuri. From here on, we’re gathering intel and operating covertly. Do not give us away.”

The Raging Gale sky fortress was extraordinarily large, but that didn’t mean it had space to waste. The labyrinthine narrow passageways were built to fill the gaps between the necessary equipment and the structural beams and pillars.

Ordinarily, it wouldn’t have been possible to slip unnoticed past the ninjas on patrol.

But…

“Hmph.”

Sugiyado heard a rustling sound.

Princess Karin flipped around her junihitoe and swapped it around to bring a different design to the outermost layer. That was a form of variable camouflage. She was wearing so many layers that her clothing functioned as a portable closet. She could instantly select the optimal design for the current situation. Here, she became a large camouflage screen capable of covering Sugiyado and Oniyuri as well. They stayed by the wall of the narrow corridor as the patrolling Brown Bear turned the corner and walked past.

“(Oh, my. A hug from a pregnant woman is a rare experience. Do you think I could get some milk if I sucked these things in front of me?)”

“(Oniyuri, be quiet.)”

This was all meaningless if they simply slaughtered everyone.

They had to sneak around like shadows and swiftly defeat only the designated people without anyone noticing.

When Sugiyado spotted the back of who seemed to be their next target, he checked a few things from behind cover.

“She carries herself better than Little Crow 3.”

“The badge on her shoulder has a higher rank too.”

“That must be her. That’s Oomurasaki.”

From there, they simply repeated the process.

“Ugh!?”

“I’m only going to ask once. Who is a ninja stronger than you?”

They would get the name of an even better ninja, slip past all the security, and attack their next target.

Sugiyado Souha and Murakami Michihiko hurried out ahead.

There had to be thousands of Brown Bears in all, but only one of them stood at the top.

They would identify and eliminate that one.

Then they would vanish like they had never even been there. Because that was the ninja way. The message was simple: no matter how strong you are and no matter where you hide, we can take off your head at any time. We can lock onto anyone else who attempts this. If they didn’t take this that far, there would be no end to the conflict with the Brown Bears who wanted a place for their broken Lignum Vitae.

Ninjas were expert saboteurs.

If this battle was drawn out long enough, New Sapporo Domain and the entirety of Hokkaido Area would be worn down by it. So the Brown Bears needed to leave. And in a way that prevented any copycats.

“Sabotage is a means for a smaller force to defeat a larger one. It operates on fear and confusion. But that means a ninja’s illusions lose their power once their methods have been revealed and countermeasures have been developed. We will slay the Brown Bears here. By creating a poison that affects the entire organization.”

“Hey, Instructor,” gently interrupted Hidden One Oniyuri. “These surprise attacks are going to stop working soon.”

“True. Princess Karin, I want you to draw our target’s attention.”

It was Murakami Michihiko who gasped.

Princess Karin herself was simultaneously irritated and pleased with his overprotectiveness.

Sugiyado silenced the young man before he could say a word.

“I know, Murakami. You support her anyway you want. Or do you want to be the decoy while she supports you?”

“No. A support role is beyond her abilities. She doesn’t have the restraint. She would decide it would be faster if she did the main job herself and she would move out front.”

“How dare you, Murakami.”

“Oniyuri, you isolate the area so no sound escapes. You can use walls of air and temperature differences to prevent the soundwaves from propagating, or whatever method you like.”

And…

“That just grazed my neck, insolent fool! And after I deigned to act as a decoy at the request of a commoner like you. Do not forget that I am a princess carrying the blood of New Sapporo Domain’s lord!”

“Instructor, you need to do a better job of escorting the girls in your care. Just look at that cute dog-ear girl wagging her tail waiting for you. Are you really going to betray her expectations?”

“How dare you.”

“Our next target is Housenka. Mole 7.”

And…

And…

“Oh, dear. I may have overdone that one.”

“You damn monster woman. How is that Brown Bear even still alive after you hit her with that much firepower? I almost feel sorry for her. It would have been kinder to just kill her.”

“That’s enough, you two. Murakami, you need to break your bad habit of pretending you don’t exist when you would rather not be noticed. Our next target is Mermaid 1, Gekka Bijin. Be careful. We’re moving up a rank again.”

And…

And…

And…

“Are you the top of the Brown Bears, Kiritsuma Ootsumekusa?”

For the first time, they didn’t even attempt a surprise attack.

Partially because there was only so far they could get hiding their presence and sneaking up behind her, but this was also meant to be a benchmark. They needed to draw out the full power of this strongest kunoichi and break her fangs with no room for complaint. They needed to smash the Brown Bears’ morale by showing that not even their strongest member could win.

She stood at the highest point of the Raging Gale’s main ship. At the top of the tower containing all the many antennas, which was analogous to the bridge of a warship.

“Her?” Murakami Michihiko gulped with his metal flute at the ready. “That’s her?”

Ootsumekusa was around 16 or 17, making her about the same age as Sugiyado. Her long black hair was worn in a single long braid.

A solid mask with a dust filter covered the bottom half of her face, but it was not meant to hide her identity. She was a kunoichi – a ninja who used her beautiful face as a weapon. A standard ninja technique called the Sheltered Maiden hid a portion of the kunoichi’s face – the eyes, the mouth, etc. – to inspire the viewer’s imagination.

She wore a sleeveless Japanese-style shirt and skinny pants that showed off the curves of her butt and legs. That might look poorly suited for carrying hidden weapons and ninja tools, but that was only an optical illusion and there were plenty of hiding places, like below the collar or in her hair.

A metallic clinking sound came from her.

The ninja world demanded speed and silence above all else, so no one was going to wear metal armor. The sound came from her legs. Silver-shining jointed shafts surrounded her legs to support them.

The method was different from the springs implanted in Sugiyado’s legs in place of his ligaments, but the idea was the same. Those were meant to assist patients who could not walk on their own.

Why would she be wearing something like that?

What gap had she been trying to fill by adding those unnecessary artificial parts to her body? What had she been trying to accomplish?

“You went to a lot of trouble reaching me.”

The kunoichi named Kiritsuma Ootsumekusa slowly turned her head toward them and spoke with her voice slightly muffled by the mask. The mask may have been why her voice sounded huskier than her appearance would suggest.

“Our teacher can be selfish. But I’m sorry – I want to do whatever I can to assist her. Isn’t that what it means to adore someone?”

Her intense gaze wasn’t quite like Oniyuri’s when she had been controlled by her own psychic powers. This wasn’t someone enjoying the present because she had no future. This was someone who truly believed she could reach a twisted future. Ootsumekusa and the rest of the Brown Bears may have all been looking at the same thing but seeing something different.

Ootsumekusa had referred to her teacher as a “her”.

How did she view that broken metronome?

The instructor boy kept his eyes carefully on the enemy.

“It seems you’ve decided to defect.”

“As soon as you arrived on the Raging Gale. Our teacher’s safety comes first for us. And you have violated her sanctuary.”

The Brown Bears may have been able to protect the broken Lignum Vitae by remaining in the Hokkaido Area and establishing an indirect rule there. They could have captured Amamo, who looked just like the temporary Domain Lord, used her as a puppet, and killed the real Princess Karin.

The Brown Bears had been waiting to make that decision.

But Sugiyado’s group had tilted the scales too far in the other direction.

It was no longer viable for them to protect their beloved “teacher” by establishing an indirect rule of the Hokkaido Area.

So they had chosen to destroy everything and escape elsewhere.

To somewhere safe.

Sugiyado Souha let out a slow breath.

“Even if Lignum Vitae wishes to be destroyed?”

An odd scraping noise and orange sparks burst near Sugiyado Souha’s feet.

He didn’t even need to look down and check. He knew the composite armor meant to protect the especially important brains of the Raging Gale sky fortress had been split open.

It didn’t matter that they were more than 10m apart. She carried something capable of slicing right through Sugiyado’s group.

The sweet heat Kiritsuma Ootsumekusa gave off was joined by icy killer intent – creating a marbled mixture.

“I’m sorry. Our teacher is bad at making jokes. Please do not take her too seriously.”

A ninja’s ability to produce results greater than their physical body should allow did not come from mystical spells or carrying the blood of a monster in their veins.

They used the mood.

Thus, no one who lived in that world would be restrained by anything as simple as passion or malice.

Sugiyado sighed.

“I’m not interested in your beliefs. I’m here to keep a promise I made with a dead old man. This place is the last thing allowing you to continue harming New Sapporo Domain and the Hokkaido Area as a whole. Once I’m done here, I don’t care what you do.”

Princess Karin didn’t seem happy with that, but no one paid her any heed. And she wasn’t foolish enough to destroy the people and land her sick father left with her just to soothe her own emotions and pride. And the way he put that seemed to draw Ootsumekusa’s attention, just a little. Ninjas loved roundabout methods. It wasn’t a path suited for people who only read the surface text of an agreement and obeyed it as written.

Ootsumekusa considered it before responding.

“What are you asking me to do?”

“That’s simple,” immediately replied Sugiyado Souha. “Kiritsuma Ootsumekusa, leader of the Brown Bears, I am asking you to die. That will solve everything.”

8: Peak of Death

Their solid footsteps may have been their version of a starting gun. Because ordinarily, a ninja would silence their footsteps first and foremost.

That was a region of death.

They were aboard a sky fortress at an altitude of 3000m. One step over the edge would mean their death. But more than that, they were atop the bridge at the very top of the Raging Gale and that bridge was covered with enough skinny antennas to look like a bamboo thicket.

They used the antennas themselves as footing.

Sugiyado Souha and Kiritsuma Ootsumekusa.

Merely being there was reckless enough, but they also wielded deadly ninja tools.

Sugiyado Souha of course had his Fierce Fang air pressure kunais. They were installed with instant nitrogen foam cartridges that far surpassed the specs of a car’s airbag. When those forcibly opened the tungsten steel blades, they produced a maximum of 15 tons of force to pierce into and destroy their target from within. They were powerful enough to pry open a tank’s hatch.

Then there was Ootsumekusa, whose black braid swayed as she moved.

With a sound of distorting air, several metal antennas tilted diagonally after being sliced through below Sugiyado. The orange sparks blossomed only after a short delay. Ootsumekusa had no reason to provide a demonstration. Sugiyado had only managed to avoid the attack by pulling in an arm to intentionally shift his axis and give himself a spin as he leaped from one antenna to the next.

But what was slicing through those metal rods thicker than his spine?

“A sports kite!?”

“Soaring Bird. An ancient technique, right? Our teacher loves things like this.”

The sound like a broken flute had to be either carbon nanotube or cellulose nanofiber. Whatever it was, it had to be a special fiber made from carbon, not a simple metal. The ultra-thin wire was drawn taut and sliced through the air. She manipulated a highly optimized kite at this high altitude to send the wire wherever she wanted in order to sever Sugiyado’s head.

This was different again from a kusarigama or a whip. Nor did it wrap around his neck or catch on his legs from behind like a wire weapon normally would. Even severing wires normally had to catch on something like a tree branch or road sign, but this Soaring Bird didn’t need even that. The sports kite acted as the other end and it was flying wildly in the wind, so the wire was in constant motion.

The backs of Ootsumekusa’s hands were covered by metal tools.

The bending portions of the constantly-moving kite string all acted as solid blades. It would slice through anything it tangled around. That meant the Soaring Bird was a lot like an invisible sword dozens of meters long. In a group battle, it held the possibility of slicing horizontally through the entire enemy army.

Of course, ninjas could make anything into their weapon or tool. That was why a lot of ninja tools were things easily acquired on site, like grass sickles and kitchen knives.

Sugiyado was familiar with kites being used as ninja tools, but never as a weapon. As a practical ninja tool, they could be sent up as a signal when smoke signals couldn’t be used because fire wasn’t available. Or a camera and cable could be attached to one to use it as an air surveillance drone when you couldn’t afford to send out any wireless signals.

(Things have been evolving without me noticing. Nothing ever stays the same in the ninja world!)

“Sh!!”

“Your breath is escaping. You’re past your prime. I was hoping to show off my skill to please our teacher, so give me more to work with here.”

He was pursued by the husky voice muffled by the dust mask.

They used the blowing wind to change directions in midair.

Sugiyado and Ootsumekusa both soared through the frigid sky, taking unnatural courses a simple thrown ball could never emulate.

But in that short exchange, she had predicted his issue and pointed it out with as little action as possible. It was possible she had noticed the springs in his legs and bolts in his spine.

She sliced through all of the antennas standing in her way. The cuts were sharp and Sugiyado concluded it was best not to land on them. When a weight of 5kg felt funny and 10kg caused an explosion of pain, it was safest if he did not include metal armor in the soles of his shoes.

Thus, he took a different approach while soaring through the air.

He landed on one of the few parabolic antennas sticking up like a morning glory flower with its support pillar seemingly tangled in vines and he leaped from there. He performed a flip to avoid the attacking wire and flew toward a rodlike antenna sticking out horizontally.

He heard the parabolic antenna and its tangled pillar sliced through behind him.

Ootsumekusa hadn’t been slow to react there. The support pillar thicker than a telephone pole tilted toward him, scattering lots of high voltage sparks as it went.

The unpredictable wire was now joined by dazzling sparks. Sugiyado had thought he was analyzing the situation and escaping, but this told him he was being led around.

A dull clang interrupted.

That was Murakami Michihiko, but not his metal flute. He had more or less tackled the falling remnants of the parabolic antenna to knock them out of the way. The bright sparks were hidden and Sugiyado’s vision returned.

“You aren’t going to complain if we make this two against one, are you?”

“You are a ninja. I doubt you are giving me the accurate number.”

From Sugiyado’s position on the horizontal antenna, he could see Oniyuri and Princess Karin running parallel to them, jumping between different spherical doppler radars and convex transmission parabolic antennas.

A ship this size had a few antenna towers alongside the central bridge and steel ropes thicker than Sugiyado’s arm ran between them. Plenty of sensors and radars were attached to those. A lot like the flags strung up at a school athletics festival.

Ootsumekusa was aware of all that, but she still spoke through her dust mask.

“And that is fine with me. I have no reason to use only my physical body to fight.”

The sports kite’s ultra-thin wire sliced unnaturally through the air to approach. But that wasn’t the true threat of the Soaring Bird.

“Murakami!!” shouted Sugiyado before even jumping from the horizontal antenna rod to some other footing.

It was too late.

With a dull thud, the young man’s curled-up body wobbled in midair like he had been tackled. There were more than 3000m up, so a careless misstep would mean death.

“Drones,” announced Kiritsuma Ootsumekusa with a smile.

There was a silhouette much like a model plane more than halfway crushed by its own weight and speed. It was scattering lightweight materials, like aluminum or polycarbonate, but it had to be fairly sturdy. Think of it like a meter-long piece of metal flying in at 300 or 400 km/h – two or three times the speed of a professional pitcher’s fastball. Even with the protection of special ninja equipment using a spiderweb structure, you couldn’t take a hit like that too many times. Sugiyado was nearly defenseless, so even one hit would kill him.

The husky female voice spoke again with her black braid swaying.

Ootsumekusa had her feet atop an infrared jammer resembling a lighthouse.

“Soaring Bird is a based on a sports kite, but the winds will not always be favorable. But that only means I need the ability to alter the winds themselves.”

She wasn’t talking about controlling the weather over a large area. If she only needed to alter the wind direction within a radius of 100m, artificial walls would suffice. This was a phenomenon and technique seen frequently enough in building winds, windbreaks, and frost-protection coverings.

Several drones flew in circles around Ootsumekusa. She was like a queen bee. The kunoichi who covered the bottom of her face with a mask to give herself an even greater imagined beauty whispered from atop the central ship’s infrared jammer.

“Now, come for me. We have always been an army.”

This kunoichi had offered her love across the boundary between man and machine. She may have felt more comfortable with masses of metal and silicon watching her back than a flesh-and-blood ninja.

“Kh.”

Sugiyado needed to rethink his plan.

He threw an air pressure kunai from atop the horizontal antenna rod. Destroying the high-speed drone was meaningless since its wreckage would still be rushing toward Murakami Michihiko. So instead, Sugiyado hit the unbalanced young man’s right shoulder to send him spinning along a different course.

The drone just barely missed him while flying with the force of a lightning strike.

“Princess Karin, help out Murakami!!”

“Don’t expect me to thank you for that, insolent fool!!”

Princess Karin shouted back while jumping down from one steel rope of sensors to a lower one in order to collect her secret husband.

(That’s two. I need to do something later about the kunais that fell to the ground so far below.)

Sugiyado didn’t have time to watch what happened with the young man and woman.

He jumped from the horizontal antenna rod to one of the thick steel ropes containing so many sensors.

The Brown Bear made her own move in the meantime.

She had her sports kite and the drones that looked a like model airplanes. And the long blade made from the taut wire hadn’t disappeared from the stage either.

Sugiyado had used up a beat to redirect Murakami’s body. That allowed the Soaring Bird’s deadly wire to get that much closer to Sugiyado’s torso as he stood on that suspension bridge. As sharp as that thing was, it didn’t matter if it hit his vitals or not. No matter where it hit him, it would slice right through and then this battle was over.

Sugiyado responded by throwing an air pressure kunai.

It was easily deflected and the wire blade capable of slicing through a bomber hit Sugiyado in the side of the hip.

“Gh!?”

But.

The groan did not come from the boy.

It came from Ootsumekusa who was operating the wire.

“Why didn’t it cut you!?”

“Try to figure that out yourself. Are you really going to say ‘I don’t know’ in front of your favorite teacher?”

Sugiyado leaped to the side and landed on the lightning rod attached to the support pillar for the steel ropes. While making sure to dodge out of the way of the drones trying to tackle him from a blind spot.

To Kiritsuma Ootsumekusa, the state of her trump card mattered more than the apparent state of the overall battle. She gently shook Soaring Bird’s entire wire. The slight vibration traveled along the wire like a tin can telephone, but the wire made a cracking sound at one point.

She glanced down at the spool covering the backs of her hands and then spoke from behind her dust mask.

“You froze it? You used the same method as blood or oil on a sword.”

“An altitude of more than 3000m is about the same as Mount Fuji. By placing just a bit of moisture on the tip of the kunai and hitting the wire, it isn’t hard to freeze. Also, skiing and skating don’t work so smoothly because you are on ice. You can only slide like that because of the thin layer of water created from the friction melting the surface.”

He didn’t need to freeze the entire length of Soaring Bird’s wire. And freezing just the point that was likely to contact him wasn’t difficult.

He jumped from the lightning rod back to the sensors and said more to Ootsumekusa while running along that elevated space that was too unreliable to even call a suspension bridge.

But…

“This gives me a defense against your wire. And if the same method can always stop an attack, then it isn’t worthy of being called a ninja technique.”

“Kh.”

“But what about you? Can you kill me by repeating the same thing? If you can’t, then I can close in on you and eventually find a chance to throw a kunai.”

She still swung the sports kite. But while running aft from the bridge, Sugiyado didn’t stay focused on the wire he knew how to deal with.

(If she was foolish enough to try the same thing again after that, she wouldn’t have survived this long.)

Several invisible attacks approached from multiple angles, masked by the obvious sound of the wire. That was probably air. The drones flying around the area were ninja tools capable of locally altering the direction of the wind. If used correctly, they would be able to transform ordinary air into a gust so powerful it felt like a physical blow or even a sharp vacuum blade.

“!!”

The thick steel rope carrying the sensors was suddenly sliced through. Sugiyado couldn’t afford to fall with it, so he jumped to a thin support pillar.

Something had happened.

And it wasn’t over yet.

Accurately dodging every one of these attacks wasn’t possible.

The Fierce Fang air pressure kunais couldn’t shoot down vacuum blades and rupturing the instant nitrogen foam cartridges could only do so much. Not to mention that he only knew she was making some invisible attacks here. He wasn’t confident he knew how many were left and where they were.

Ootsumekusa really was Ootsumekusa.

She was the kunoichi who stood at the top of the secretive Brown Bears. It would be one thing if he had time to think up a countermeasure, but in a one-on-one fight with no preparation time, she could repel even a former Hidden One like Sugiyado Souha.

Which was why Sugiyado didn’t hesitate to give up on that.

He shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Oniyuri, a little help!!”

“Don’t make me wait so long next time, Instructor.”

He heard sweet, bewitching laughter reminiscent of the smell of rotting fruit.

A moment later, an explosion blasted away the frozen air at an altitude of 3000m. But instead of red, it was pure white, like a blowtorch.

It occurred higher up than Sugiyado.

While rattling the high-altitude sky, Oniyuri floated with no footing below her feet like some kind of mirage.

“You’ve heard of hot-air balloons, I assume. The heat of flames has been used to alter the density of air and create lift for hundreds of years. And the latest technology can take that principle to this level. You can’t defeat me with an air hammer, vacuum blade, or any other silly trick.”

Oniyuri whispered while gently coming alongside Sugiyado without landing on anything herself.

Ootsumekusa clenched her teeth while using one hand to grab onto the dangling sensors.

“A plasma jet.”

“Yes, a mass of 6000 kelvins, more than three times the temperature of a blast furnace. Around the same as the surface of the sun, I believe. True ninja techniques do not need the assistance of natural phenomena. You need to tear down the natural environment and replace it with your own.”

Sugiyado Souha and Sagami Oniyuri.

They both landed on the narrow supporting pillar for the moment.

They were both Hidden Ones, a rank beyond even the Elite Ninjas at the top of the official rankings.

They held nothing back.

If Ootsumekusa managed to survive this, it would in fact boost the Brown Bears brand considerably. Their mechanical teacher’s plan to break their spirits and get them to surrender would fail miserably.

“Controlling the air means more than neutralizing your hammer and vacuum blades,” announced the boy.

“Oh, no.”

By the time something occurred to Ootsumekusa, it was too late.

“Oniyuri, destroy that sports kite disturbing the air. Ootsumekusa can’t wield that ultra-thin wire without it!!”

This was a high-risk, high-return situation for both Sugiyado and Ootsumekusa. If the Brown Bears’ strongest kunoichi was defeated in secret, the rest would lose their will to fight. But if Ootsumekusa emerged victorious after all this, it would encourage the Brown Bears.

Killing them would be the only way to stop them.

But Sugiyado Souha jumped to the same string of sensors as Ootsumekusa and charged toward her while she tried to keep her distance.

The battle was fought on the metal ropes and sensors strung up high in the sky.

Metal loudly clashed with metal.

The parts on the back of Ootsumekusa’s hands had looked like a spool and controller for the ultra-thin wire, but they also protected her hands like knuckledusters. They were a type of emeici or wind-and-fire wheels. She wasn’t broken yet. She could still win by smashing Sugiyado’s skull with a cross counter.

One sent out an air pressure kunai on the right and the other sent out a fist on the left.

But they had to focus on their opponent’s other weapon.

No…

“Down, Soaring Bird!!”

Atop the sensors lined up like athletic festival flags, the husky voice erupted from behind the dust mask.

A high-speed drone reinforced with aluminum or polycarbonate dropped toward Sugiyado’s head like lightning. Oniyuri was interrupting the air hammers and vacuum blades, but she could not negate the weight and speed of the drones themselves.

A dull clang rang out.

A hammer on the end of a long string swung around to gain speed and crashed into the high-speed drone.

“I can’t believe I had to go out of my way to save that insolent fool!!”

Princess Karin was shouting resentfully on some footing a level below them, but she was free. She needed full use of both hands to swing her hammer like that.

So.

Where was Murakami Michihiko who she had been assisting?

“Tch!!”

Ootsumekusa clicked her tongue. Her right fist, protected by the knuckleduster-like ninja tool, had been stopped by someone else. Specifically, by a metal flute. A weapon that looked a lot like a metal pipe had been forcibly shoved in the way.

“Weren’t you listening?” said the young man from close up. “I asked if you weren’t going to complain if we make this two against one!!”

Teeth-clenched Michihiko’s return must have been a surprise. The Brown Bears’ strongest kunoichi hadn’t meant all that much with her voice command to the mechanical drone. She had only wanted to distract Sugiyado long enough to smash him with her fist.

But she had been stopped.

And the battle advanced to the next move.

Ootsumekusa’s air hammers, vacuum blades, high-speed drone tackles, and even her two fists had been stopped.

But the same couldn’t be said for Sugiyado Souha.

His right air pressure kunai had been stopped by Ootsumekusa’s fist, but he had another. He still had the Fierce Fang in his left hand.

“Goodbye, Kiritsuma Ootsumekusa.”

“Kh.”

A certain old man had shown him the solution.

He had been framed for a government official’s crime and received unwarranted criticism, but he had used that to preserve the peace.

He may have lost his life at the hands of the Brown Bears, but even as he died, he had said nothing about that crime. He had held his tongue and taken it with him. He had only left behind hope for his grandson.

That Sugiyado could carry on.

The series of events set off by that old man’s death had to end here and like this.

“Ninjas don’t do things like those classy samurai. So get a little dirty and save everyone with your defeat!!”

In order to knock her out through her bulletproof gear, he sent the full power of his air pressure kunai into the brutal kunoichi’s chest.

“I…” A faint muffled voice came from behind the dust mask. “I only…wanted to create a meager home…for our teacher.”

The black braid girl slumped forward.

They were on an unstable array of sensors above a 3000m drop toward New Sapporo.

But Sugiyado’s back wouldn’t let him carry the defeated kunoichi.

That was a cruel but absolute rule.

The boy slowly exhaled.

And he spoke.

“Oniyuri, you carry her.”

“You’re too kind, Instructor.”

Epilogue

“The Raging Gale sky fortress made an emergency landing on the outskirts of the New Sapporo Domain. It was in an empty field, so there was no damage to the surface.”

“I see,” said Sugiyado.

The interior looked a lot like a chain café, but it was actually an ordinary convenience store’s eat-in area kept separate from the 1st floor store. There were plenty of more fashionable places in New Sapporo Domain, but there was one thing he refused to compromise on as an instructor.

That thing was an incredibly common snack food.

A convenience store was the best choice when you were in search of some Happy Churn.

Ouka sat in the counter seat by the 2nd story window. Instead of her cutting-edge ninja outfit, she wore a fluffy sweater and a miniskirt. But instead of relaxing, she sat straight up like an honor student who had just been called on in class.

“It was apparently designed so it can’t take off again under its own power once it lands. It needs special equipment like multiple single-use rockets if it’s ever going to be made airborne again. The landing has been taken as an effective surrender, so Princess Karin and the rest of New Sapporo Domain intend to deal with them.”

“How are things regarding Princess Karin?” asked Sugiyado while munching on the oval snacks.

Ouka gave him some well-made tea she got from the store’s dispenser. But she was also pouting her lips a bit, perhaps because she had been left down on the surface.

But she was professional enough to not let that get in the way of her report, which was charming.

“New Sapporo Domain Lord Hatsunaga should recover soon.”

There was no pause in Ouka’s response.

There was even a hint of hope there.

“But it was Princess Karin who commanded New Sapporo Domain all this time and resolved the Brown Bears problem. The Brown Bears were the result of a policy approved during Hatsunaga-sama’s time as lord, so this is being seen as the daughter cleaning up the mess her father made. This has proven her ability and increased her influence.”

“…”

People were taking an awfully relaxed view of this when the entire city could have been destroyed depending on where the Raging Gale had fallen.

But Sugiyado did not look down on the people for that view.

It only proved that Princess Karin and the other domain officials were doing their part to keep unease from spreading.

“The Brown Bears incident was a policy failure that threatened New Sapporo Domain and the Hokkaido Area as a whole. Princess Karin apparently intends to publicly announce what happened. I imagine Hatsunaga-sama will choose to retire and claim it is to assist his recovery.”

“This is about Abashiri’s special prison. The other Hokkaido Area domains aren’t going to approve.”

“The leaders might not, but they can’t avoid the displeasure of their people. This is too much to placate the people by reducing taxes.”

So in a way, the Brown Bears were getting what they wanted. And Princess Karin hadn’t lost the “puppy” she hid with her thick junihitoe, but it wasn’t all good news.

“The Raging Gale and all equipment aboard are being confiscated as evidence.”

“Including the Brown Bears’ teacher? Including Lignum Vitae?”

“The metronome will be treated as evidence for a while, but it will not be destroyed.”

Ouka stopped there.

An awkward air set in, like a student standing in front of the blackboard but finding she couldn’t write the answer to the problem.

“About New Sapporo Domain’s luxury residential district…the area full of second houses. The armor plating that fell there was found with evidence of certain components having been removed. And there is no sign of Ekaterina of the Cyrillic Empire or Oniyuri of the ABC’s Kingdom.”

“There’s no point in pursuing them. And it isn’t your fault. They aren’t the type to screw up bad enough to be found.”

He meant that to make her feel better, but Ouka puffed her cheeks out a bit. Their ranking as ninjas was apparently more important than he thought.

“Hmph.”

“Hey, my Happy Churn!?”

“These are off limits for now.”

She slid the snack food over from the counter seat.

He wanted to snatch them back, but Happy Churn was fragile. Fighting over them here might cause them to break apart and that was about the saddest thing he could imagine.

He did his best to feign calm as he asked another question.

“You said ‘for a while’. What happens once the trial is over?”

“The plan is to build a museum and keep the Lignum Vitae on display there. The circumstances leading to the Brown Bears’ creation will be accurately recorded and displayed to the public like something from a wax museum. That way the harmful policies of New Sapporo Domain and the Hokkaido Area as a whole will not be forgotten.”

“Will that change things at Abashiri too?”

“Princess Karin has decided to eliminate the entire behind-the-scenes system there, including the Brown Bears. Even if that means ignoring every message sent by Edo who would prefer this is settled more discreetly. It is hard to say how much of an effect this will have. If the rot has reached the very foundation of the special prison, it could mean eliminating the entire prison and distributing the prisoners around the country.”

“…I see.”

Whatever the case, the incident was over.

Edo’s Tenshukaku had only just gotten back on their feet after Oniyuri’s massacre and they were about to be shaken to their core again. But that was none of Sugiyado’s concern.

He had repaid his debt to that old man and eliminated all of his regrets. He had no real reason to remain in the newly peaceful New Sapporo Domain.

“Ouka.”

“Yes, Sensei?”

“I have one last question. Am I officially dead?”

“Um.”

The twintails girl’s shoulders tensed.

Sugiyado had been tentatively considered dead after Abashiri’s special prison was engulfed in flames, but he needed to know for sure.

Ouka bit her lip before finally confessing.

“It wasn’t possible. The fire has been extinguished and all of the bodies recovered from the burned areas have been identified. They were checking dental and genetic records, so I doubt they would overlook you.”

“Yeah, I didn’t think so,” said Sugiyado Souha without any real emotion.

Take care of that kid.

That had been his promise to the old man. If it got out a prisoner had escaped Abashiri special prison, walked around like a free man, and participated in an incident affecting the entire Hokkaido Area, it would be a major blow to Princess Karin who Michihiko was trying to support. That made this a problem he had to deal with.

“Wait, Sensei. You aren’t planning on returning to Abashiri, are you?”

She sounded like she was trying to talk him out of it, but he also sensed a dangerous mood in the air.

He detected the sort of determination that would lead her to do just about anything if it would protect her teacher.

And not just her. Bara, who was wearing a red dress and sipping coffee at another table, Hoozuki, who was working with loose leaf paper and a highlighter, and Asagao, who was on her phone, all suppressed their voices.

But.

They wouldn’t be in this position if a single act of self-sacrifice would solve everything.

“Did you really think that would be enough to fix this? My recapture wouldn’t change the fact that I had broken out. My sacrifice wouldn’t save Princess Karin from scandal.”

This wasn’t a problem that could be solved with a ninja sword or shuriken.

They needed to dig deeper and erase some records.

(Honestly. There goes any chance of serving out my term and getting a second chance at an honest life.)

He sighed.

“Fine. The Brown Bears framed Murakami Michihiko for murder, right? I want to testify at his trial and have him found not guilty. Can you prepare to have me appear in court as a witness?”

“Um, uh. I can of course, but wouldn’t that still reveal that you broke out of prison?”

“What are you talking about?”

He looked at her like she had come to school after summer break and said she had forgotten to do any of her homework.

The instructor taught her one of the most basic facts.

“Ever heard of witness protection? If an important witness in a ruthless organized crime case would be at risk for testifying, there is a system in place for hiding their identity. I testify in court, prove Murakami Michihiko’s innocence, and the Shogunate’s system erases my Sugiyado Souha identity from existence. …I hate to admit it, but this will also protect Princess Karin by avoiding the mass media and online news. And ninjas already have their identities erased from the official systems, so the job should be even easier than usual. That way I can be with you, but no one can ever find me.”

Afterword

That was Kunoichis Volume 2.

This is Kamachi Kazuma.

Volume 1 ended with Sugiyado being sent to Abashiri, so this one had to be set in the Hokkaido Area. To emphasize that snowy setting, I made sure it was snowing regardless of season and went on to include a secret date and hot spring as a bit of fanservice.

The enemies were a Shogunate vulnerability inspector and the Stonewalls ninja group in charge of defending New Sapporo Domain.

With the change of setting, I also wanted to change the balance of power and interpersonal relationships, so in addition to the basic ninja vs. ninja battles, I had the temporary domain lord princess use her political power to attack Sugiyado.

In Volume 1, Instructor Sugiyado stopped his students’ incident with brute force, but this time he was the one who broke the rules while running around the Hokkaido Area to repay Murakami Shouzou who helped him out in prison.

Whether or not that was the right thing to do, this just shows that Sugiyado Souha’s teachings were at the base of Ouka and the others’ actions. What they did in Volume 1 may have been the result of him unintentionally infecting them with his sense of justice and duty.

I made the Stonewalls into ninjas who originated as a group of diggers who made mines and tunnels. Their weapons are more about what’s cool than what’s logical. Construction and digging equipment have a unique charm, don’t you think!? So this time I made a group that specializes in that.

I also wanted something in common between Murakami Michihiko and Princess Karin, which you can see in the throwing assistance by placing their basic metal weapon in a tube or using the muzzle like a flute to send orders to the Tsuchigumo.

I came up with the Brown Bears because I wanted a different way to show the series theme of teachers and students.

If you compare Ouka and Ootsumekusa or Sugiyado and Lignum Vitae, you should see how they are similar but also completely different. I thought it would be interesting if the enemies are the same deep down but took the exact opposite path.

I give thanks to my illustrator Tajima Ryuushi-san and to my editors, Miki-san, Nakajima-san, Yamamoto-san, and Mitera-san. I expect the all-white snow scenes were a challenge. Sorry for causing you so much trouble again.

And I give thanks to the readers. Saving cute girls isn’t the only form of justice!! So what did you think of this story of a boy fighting to keep the promise he made to a dying old man? Sugiyado Souha used cutting-edge gadgets, charged onto extreme battlefields, and managed to repay a debt the old-fashioned way. I am praying you can accept his way of lie.

And I will end this here.

Hidden One Oniyuri really does steal the scene whenever she appears, doesn’t she?

-Kamachi Kazuma

Return to Volume 1

Main Page