"The place where I was at that time was the hardest hit area by the uprising. Serfs would rise up and cause trouble every three days, and wars would break out every day."

"It's really a situation where wars are constantly going on, which is really an advantage for me."

"My only way to make money at that time was to go to various battlefields that no one had cleaned yet, steal weapons, and then resell them."

"Not long after I started doing this kind of petty theft, I met that person..."

The look of memories on Skulucci's face became more intense.

"He adopted me for a while, but it only lasted three months."

"Three months later, I broke away from him and joined the Cossacks because I wanted to get away with myself. I became a member of the Cossacks."

"Having said that...I am already 32 years old this year. I met and left that person when I was 12 years old."

"That was 20 years ago."

"Twenty years have passed. Even if that person is not dead, he is probably already gray-haired."

"You've only been with him for three months, but you can't forget him all the time." Amachi said, "It seems that you have a really deep feeling for that person..."

"After all, he is the person who has influenced my life." Skulucci said with a smile, "He is a swordsman from Japan in the Far East."

"He told me that he would definitely return to China in the future."

"The reason why I came to the Far East this time is actually because I took the initiative."

"The reason is to come here to find him. To see if he is alive or... dead."

"In order to find him more easily, I studied Japanese very hard."

"Twenty years ago, when he was saying goodbye, he gave me a small gift. And I have always kept this small gift. It can be regarded as a token of me and him."

After saying that, Scrooge reached into his arms and took out a neatly folded piece of paper.

Scrooge unfolded the paper and handed it to Ogata.

"That person likes to draw. So when he was leaving, he gave me this painting."

Ogata took the painting handed over by Skulucci and took a closer look - then his expression froze.

At this time, Atachi, who was on the side, also leaned his head over, looked at the painting, and then showed an extremely shocked expression like Ogata.

The reason why the two of them showed such expressions was not because of how beautiful the painting was.

But this painting is extremely difficult to see.

The paper is severely yellowed, perhaps due to countless folds, and some small holes have appeared on the edges of the drawing paper.

In the center of the picture, there are two "alien".

These two "aliens" that barely have humanoid shapes stand side by side.

"Although that man likes painting, his painting skills are really poor." Skulucci said with a bitter smile, "The two 'things' in the painting are actually me and him."

"This is the picture he painted of 'me and him standing side by side.'"

"He used this painting as a parting gift, which is very meaningful."

"It's a pity that he and I in the painting are so ugly that we can't recognize that they are actually two people."

The reason why Atachi looked shocked was simply because he was so ugly by this painting.

The reason for the emotional shock was more complicated.

In addition to being struck by the ugliness of the painting, it was also because - he found that the painting looked very familiar.

He had seen such ugly strokes before.

And I've seen it many times.

A name appeared in Ogata's mind unconsciously.

Ogata subconsciously turned the painting in his hand around, wanting to see if there was any painting on the back of the paper.

There is no painting on the back of the paper.

But there is one sentence.

A sentence written in Japanese that Ogata is very familiar with.

The moment this sentence came into view, Ogata's pupils shrank suddenly.

A-Machi was also stunned.

Skulucci's voice sounded faintly:

"Mr. Majima, I think that man must have some connection with you."

"Because he uses the same sword as you."

Scrooge stared directly at Ogata with a somewhat fiery gaze.

"The name of this person who is very important to me is... Kinoshita Genichi."

The words written on the back of the painting are - Kinoshita Genichi presented to Skuluch Dovnar.

Since he left Edo and went to Ezo, he hadn't seen or heard this name for a long time.

"Last night, I recognized the swordsmanship you used. It was Kinoshita Genichi's swordsmanship - Mugo Two Sword Style."

Scrooge said slowly.

"Besides the fact that I really want to compete with you, a swordsman who can kill more than thirty Cossacks in a row, I also want to confirm whether the swordsmanship you use is really the Wuwo-sword style."

"The blade reflex, flow, and step you use are all the same as what Mr. Kinoshita used before."

Scrooge's eyes looking at Ogata became more and more intense.

Although he tried his best to hide it, there was still a bit of urgency in Skulucci's tone.

"Can you tell me what your relationship is with Mr. Kinoshita? How is Mr. Kinoshita doing now? Is he still alive?"

Scrooge spit out many questions to Ogata like a barrage of questions.

Faced with this series of questions thrown by Skulucci, Ogata did not answer immediately.

Because he was still in shock.

In this remote wilderness, a Cossack I met by chance actually had a very deep connection with Kinoshita Genichi.

Ogata never imagined that he could encounter such a frighteningly low probability.

Genichi once traveled to Europe for a short period of time, and did not return home until he was 54 years old - Ogata still knew this.

According to Skulucci - he met Kinoshita Genichi 20 years ago and was adopted by him for three months.

20 years ago, Genichi was only 44 years old - the time coincides with it. It is indeed very possible that Genichi at this period is still wandering around somewhere in Europe.

He has encountered many enemies of Yuan Yi.

Ogata had learned profoundly about Genichi's nature as a "trouble maker" in Edo.

The "grand occasion" where a bunch of people who had a grudge against Kinoshita Genichi gathered in Edo just after hearing that "Kinoshita Genichi might be in Edo" left a deep impression on Ogata.

In Ogata's impression, the only people he met who were related to Kinoshita Genichi but had no enmity with Kinoshita Genichi were the Fuma from Kyoto and the Calabash House group.

Seeing Ogata's delay in speaking, Scrooge had to hesitate and said:

"Mr. Kinoshita...isn't he no longer alive?"

"You misunderstood." Ogata finally spoke out, "The reason why I remained silent was just because I was surprised to meet someone who had no grudge against Kinoshita Genichi and was actually beholden to him."

Hearing Ogata's words, Scrooge was stunned for a moment.

Then he showed a wry smile:

"That's right... It's normal for you to be surprised... After all, Mr. Kinoshita is a person who really likes to make trouble and make all kinds of enemies for himself."

"I only lived and ate with him for three months, and three enemies came to my door."

"The three months I lived and ate with him really made me suffer a lot."

"But - even though I suffered a lot, those three months were also the three months that allowed me to transform."

"I originally thought about traveling to Japan and landing directly on the Japanese mainland to look for him."

"However, Japan has implemented a national lockdown, and with my appearance, I cannot even enter Japan."

Scrooge poked his tall nose.

"If a foreigner like me lands on Japanese soil, he will be immediately arrested by Japanese officials and then beheaded."

"So I can only go around asking about Mr. Kinoshita's whereabouts like I am now."

"I have nothing else to ask for, I just hope to know whether Mr. Kinoshita is still alive..."

Ogata looked deeply at Scrooge who looked at him with almost pleading eyes.

After a moment of silence, he took a deep breath.

While returning the painting in his hand to Skulucci, he slowly said:

"...I am a friend of Yuan Yi, and at the same time...I can also be regarded as his half-disciple."
To be continued...