Makimura held Boji's hand and ran through the streets of Kyoto, followed closely by Shimada and Hasegawa.

When he ran to an intersection, Porgy stopped, put his nose to the ground and sniffed, then turned around and ran towards the east intersection without any hesitation.

Poji spread his paws and ran wildly, stopping from time to time to smell the ground, and after confirming that the direction was correct, he led Makimura and others along the way.

Shimada, who was following behind, couldn't help but asked Makimura:

"Makimura-senpai, is this dog reliable?"

"Don't worry. This dog is very reliable." Makimura said loudly without looking back, "If it is an ordinary dog, it would be fine, but Poji has been specially trained. It is very powerful."

Unknowingly, three people and one dog rushed into a busy street.

Pedestrians on this street were crowded shoulder to shoulder, and Makimura and his group had to push forward hard and use their hands and feet to squeeze out a way.

"What is happening on this street..." Shimada said in an unhappy tone, "Why are there so many people?"

Hasegawa raised his head and looked around and said:

"...This is Shijo Street, no wonder there are so many people."

"Shijo Street?" Shimada repeated the unfamiliar term.

"This is the street where Yamabokos pass through when the Yamaboko Parade is held."

Hasegawa replied.

"The Yamabokos will set off from Shijo-dori Street. Counting the time, it's almost time for the 'Yamaboko Parade' to start."

"No wonder there are so many people..." Shimada muttered, "Are these people all here to see the Yamaboko Parade?"

"It should be." Hasegawa nodded, "The 'Shanboko Parade' is the highlight of the Gion Festival."

"Every year when the Yamaboko Parade is held, the streets are packed with ordinary people in Kyoto."

Makimura also raised his head at this time and looked around.

Looking at the familiar scenery around him, Makimura muttered softly at a volume that only he could hear clearly:

"Is there a four-way street... This place is quite close to that damn place on Sanjiji Street..."

…

…

Even though he was walking through such a crowded street and was disturbed by various smells such as human sweat, horse manure, and powder, Poggy's four paws did not hesitate for a moment.

Boji led Makimura and others through an intersection and left Shijo Street.

After leaving Shijo Street, the flow of people suddenly decreased a lot. Makimura and others immediately felt like "jumping out of the pond", and their breathing became easier.

Under Boji's guidance, Makimura and others gradually moved away from Shijo Street and away from the flow of people.

The crowd around Makimura and others slowly changed from a dense crowd to a complete absence of people.

After entering a new street, as far as the eye could see, almost no one could be seen.

"...What's going on in this place..." Shimada said softly, "Just now there were too many people on Shijo-dori Street, and now there are too few people here..."

"...This is Sanoji Street." Makimura answered abruptly, "Sanjiji Street was originally a gathering place for Yakuza in Kyoto."

“This place used to be very ‘prosperous’.”

"Of course - it's not as prosperous as Shijo Street."

"Seven years ago, under the auspices of Lord Kamiyama, and with the help of... two 'former Yakuza', Kyoto Prefecture organized a large-scale 'clean-up' operation of Yakuza against Sanoji Street.

"

"During this operation 7 years ago, Sanjizi Street was completely wiped out by Li Ting."

"The Yakuza who are entrenched in Three Princes Street are dead and injured."

"The Yakuza who survived either fled Kyoto, or they stayed anonymous in Kyoto, tucked their tail between their legs and became ordinary people."

"But because the people of Kyoto think this area is unlucky, even after seven years, no one is willing to move to this street."

"So after seven years, this Sanjizi Street is still very deserted. No one wants to live here. Because no one wants to live here, no businesses will open stores here."

After quietly listening to Makimura's explanation, Shimada was stunned for a moment, and then asked:

"Senior Makimura...the two 'former Yakuza' you just mentioned who assisted Kamiyama in pacifying Sanjiji Street...could one of them be you?"

"Yes, it's me." Makimura admitted readily, "So do you understand why Yakuza, who came to find trouble at noon today, hates me so much? Okay, let's stop chatting here, look at Poji's appearance

, we should be almost reaching our destination..."

What Makimura said was not wrong.

Porgy, who put his nose to the ground more and more frequently to sniff wildly, was moving slower and slower.

Finally——Porgy turned his head towards a small building with a height of three floors.

"Why doesn't Poji leave?" Shimada asked.

"Because we have arrived at our destination." Makimura followed Poji and turned his attention to the three-story building not far away. "It seems... the bald man hid in that building..."

From the outside, the small building seemed to have been a hotel.

But no one is running the hotel anymore, and it looks dilapidated.

Makimura picked up Pochi and then put Pochi into Shimada's arms.

"Shimada, you are responsible for looking after Poji and providing security outside the house."

"Huh?" Shimada looked stunned, "Wait a minute, Makimura-senpai, I want to be with you..."

"Hasegawa and I are responsible for entering." Before Shimada could finish his words, Makimura interrupted, "If too many people enter together, they will hinder each other."

"And there needs to be one person standing outside to guard the outside of the house."

"If enemy reinforcements approach, you have to call us loudly, do you understand?"

"...I understand." Shimada, who hugged Bochi tightly, nodded gently, "Senior Makimura, Lord Hasegawa, I wish you good luck in martial arts."

"Yes." Makimura said as he tore off the cloth on the Odachi wrapped around his back and slowly pulled out the Odachi, "I also wish you good luck in martial arts."

…

…

"Makimura-kun, how do you plan to capture this small building?" Hasegawa asked Makimura in a calm tone while slowly pulling out the knife from his waist.

The cold light reflected from the sword in Hasegawa's hand complemented the cold light emitted by the Odachi being held by Makimura on his shoulder.

"I plan to attack directly from the front." Makimura replied without hesitation, "Hasegawa-sama, what do you think?"

"I feel great."

"Then let's go!"

After saying that, Makimura suddenly accelerated.

Hasegawa, who was walking beside Makimura, also sped up.

Bang!

Makimura, who was at the forefront, hit the door on the first floor of the small building like a cannonball, smashing the wooden door that had become fragile due to its age into pieces.

…

…

"what happened?!"

The bald man who was dozing off on the third floor was awakened by the loud noise coming from the first floor, and he stood up from the ground in a panic.

Boom, boom, boom.

There were footsteps outside the door.

The paper sliding door was opened, and a subordinate knelt on the ground and shouted to the bald head:

"Lord Ichizaburo! There is an invasion!"

"Invasion? Is it an official from Kyoto Prefecture? How many people came?"

"They are not official servants of Kyoto Prefecture! Only, there are only two of them!"

"Two people?" Baldhead suspected that his ears heard wrongly.

"Yes!" His subordinates responded loudly, "There are only two of them!"

"Then why don't you hurry up and kill those two people!"

"Yes Yes!"

"Wait!" Before the subordinate left, the bald man suddenly stopped him, "Go tell the people responsible for assembling it! Move all the remaining raw materials away quickly! We must not let outsiders discover the secrets of this place!"

"yes!"

…

…

After rushing into the building, Makimura immediately sensed the sound of a large number of footsteps approaching him and Hasegawa.

Not long after, a figure holding a sword appeared in front of Makimura and Hasegawa, charging toward them with great force.
To be continued...