On the way to the metaphysics hall following Fuma, Ogata and Atachi were actually trembling with fear the whole time.

An old man in his seventies was running through the streets and alleys of Kyoto at a speed that would put most young people to shame - Ogata and Atachi were both afraid of Fuuma who was already so old and still running so fast.

My waist may suddenly snap or my feet may twist.

Fortunately - what Fuma told Ogata and Omachi that his legs and feet were in good condition today seemed not to be a lie.

The journey to the Metaphysics Museum went quite smoothly.

He didn't encounter any official officials or bounty hunters, and there were no problems with Feng Mo's waist, legs and feet.

The reason why Ogata and his party were able to do so smoothly was also related to the fact that Fuuma specializes in walking on trails with fewer people.

Ogata and his party were currently hiding in an alley not far from the Metaphysics Museum.

Looking at the magnificent mansion not far away, Ogata thought to himself:

——Is that the Metaphysics Museum...

After Ogata supported Dai Shiten and Dai Zizai on his waist, he said in a deep voice to Atachi and Fuuma beside him:

"Atachi, Fuma-sama, you two stay here."

"Ayi, do you want to go to the Metaphysics Hall by yourself?"

"Well, this is just a sword hall. If too many people go there, it will easily expose their whereabouts. I can just go there by myself. You two can help me guard the outside and help me check if there are any suspicious people coming in or out.

The metaphysics museum."

"...I understand." Ating nodded, "Be careful along the way."

"Don't worry." Ogata smiled, "It's just a sword hall, not a daimyo's castle."

…

…

Ogata spotted the moment when no one was passing by nearby, and took advantage of the night to slowly approach the wall outside the metaphysics hall, then quickly climbed over the wall and sneaked into the metaphysics hall.

After watching Ogata enter the metaphysics hall, Fuuma suddenly leaned on the wall beside him and slowly sat down on the ground.

"Lord Fuma?" Atachi crouched beside Fuma and exclaimed, "What's wrong with you?"

"It's nothing..." Feng Mo smiled, "I just feel a little tired... Sigh... I'm really old... I can't stand it after only two times..."

A-Machi glanced at Fuuma's legs - Fuuma's legs were trembling slightly at this time.

"...I'm sorry, Fuma-sama." Atachi said to Fuma in an apologetic tone, "We have bothered you so much..."

"It's okay, it's okay." Feng Mo waved his hand, "I came here voluntarily to help you, and this level is nothing. Just let me rest for a while."

…

…

The Shiranui-ryu stealth technique learned on Butterfly Island finally has a chance to "work again" at this moment.

Just like what Ogata said to Omachi and Fuma just now - this is just an ordinary sword hall, not a daimyo's castle.

If it were a daimyo's castle, Ogata really didn't have the confidence to successfully sneak into it.

After all, the structure of a daimyo's castle must be quite complex, and there may also be many various mechanisms to prevent ninjas from infiltrating.

But the sword hall is different.

To put it bluntly, the Sword Hall is a teaching institution that specializes in teaching swordsmanship.

How complicated can a teaching institution be? What mechanisms can it have to protect against ninjas?

After entering the metaphysics hall, Ogata easily got into the ceiling of the metaphysics hall.

——Okay... Let's go find the boss of this metaphysics hall...

When he followed Fuma to the Metaphysics Museum just now, Ogata had already learned many things related to the Metaphysics Museum from Fuma's mouth.

Ogata now knows basic information such as the name of the owner of the Metaphysics Hall, Shigemune Inaba, and the fact that the Metaphysics Hall is the most powerful among the six major swordsmanship halls.

According to Fuma - Inaba is a middle-aged man who is no longer young, so Ogata can only focus on finding middle-aged men with extraordinary temperament in the metaphysics hall.

——I hope this Inaba can be in the metaphysics hall now...

While Ogata was praying like this in his heart, he moved slowly on the ceiling, and from time to time he would pull open the ceiling panels under his feet to look at the situation under the ceiling.

Although it is already evening and there is still the annual "Shanboko Parade" tonight, there are still some people who choose to stay in the sword hall to practice swordsmanship at this time.

No matter where Ogata goes, when he looks down, he can always see the disciples of the Metaphysics Hall running through the sword hall.

Ogata moved on the ceiling bit by bit like this, and Ogata finally moved to a certain room in the sword hall.

Pulling open a certain panel of the ceiling of this room and looking down - I saw that this room seemed to be a living room.

There was only one middle-aged man in the clean living room.

This middle-aged man was sitting by the window in the living room, seemingly staring at the scenery outside the window in a daze.

He seemed to be thinking about something.

Looking at this middle-aged man, Ogata narrowed his eyes slightly.

He noticed that this middle-aged man was covered with calluses - calluses that only those who used swords all year round would have.

Ogata was convinced in his heart that this person should be Inaba Shigemune, the owner of the Metaphysics Museum.

Ogata pulled apart the ceiling panels under his feet and jumped down quickly.

While leaping down from the ceiling, Ogata pulled out Daishiten.

Ogata didn't jump around randomly.

He aimed in the right direction: at Inaba's side.

The moment his feet touched the tatami, Ogata put his hand on Inaba's neck.

Inaba doesn't seem to have this kind of experience in dealing with ninjas who suddenly jump from the ceiling - but this is normal, the world has been peaceful for a long time, and in such peaceful times, ordinary people will never see a few ninjas in their lifetime.

It wasn't until Ogata put Daishiten on his neck that Inaba realized what had happened and put his hand on the wakizashi at his waist.

Because he was at home now, Inaba did not bring his katana with him, but placed it on the knife rest a few steps away.

"Inaba-sama." Ogata said softly, "Please don't say anything. I don't have any ill intentions. I just have some questions to ask you."

Inaba's eyes widened and he looked at Ogata's face carefully.

"Excuse me..." Inaba asked Ogata in a cautious tone, "Are you Ogata Ittosai?"

Although Inaba's words sounded like he was asking Ogata, there was actually no question in his tone.

Inaba had seen the wanted notice of Ogata Ittousai, so he recognized this person at a glance as Ogata Ittousai.

"That's right." Ogata admitted straightforwardly, "I am the executioner Ittosai. I came to your mansion this time just to ask you a question."

Ogata told Inaba what he had just heard from Dieyin about the disciples of the Metaphysics Hall.

"A disciple of our metaphysics hall actually said such a thing...?" Inaba murmured, "I'm sorry...I don't know..."

Seeing that he couldn't get anything valuable out of Inaba's mouth, a look of disappointment appeared on Ogata's face uncontrollably.

At this moment, Inaba suddenly looked a little excited and lowered his voice and said in a deep voice to Ogata:

"Master Ittousai, please... help me...!"

"Um?"

If the emotion of doubt was in a liquid state, then the emotion of "doubt" would have almost flowed down Ogata's face.

I just wanted to ask a question, why did I become the one being asked for help?

"...What happened? Please tell me in detail."

…

…

After listening carefully to Inaba's plea for help, Ogata finally understood what had happened.

About half a month ago, Inaba's wife and daughter were kidnapped by unknown persons.

The kidnappers didn't want any ransom, but only one request: for Inaba to obey their instructions.

There are few people in this world who can remain indifferent after their wife and daughter were kidnapped.

Inaba had no choice but to agree to them.

Half a month after his wife and daughter were kidnapped - today, this group of unknown people finally gave Inaba their first instruction:

He summoned the masters of the other five sword masters of the six major sword masters and proposed to them that they call on all their disciples to assist the officials in capturing Ogata Ittosai.

Although Inaba didn't know the reason for doing this, he didn't dare to ask those people why, so he could only obey.

Just now, Inaba's mission was successfully completed: his proposal was approved by the other five swords hall masters.

At this moment, the disciples of the six major sword schools took to the streets, aggressively looking for Ogata Ittosai.

With so many fellow apprentices being killed, most of the disciples in the Six Great Sword Halls were already extremely sad and angry.
To be continued...