A day after the convoy from the capital city of Hokunoa had left, at night, ninjas were observing the bar in the darkness. There was a small group of them here to gather the information that they needed. Leading them was the most prominent among them, the man named Mashai Katagiri, their new clan leader.

  With no clear leader assigned in the case of their master’s passing, they picked the strongest among them. There were other strong ninjas out there, but they already belonged in other groups or already had their superiors to follow, or just didn’t want to take over the mantle. That being said, it wasn’t all ninjas that were in on this decision, but there were so few of them that they were beaten by the majority. The rest, meanwhile, were still confused about what to do.

  But this new group had found a purpose — to maintain their clan, prevent it from completely falling apart. Save it. However, before that, they had to be satisfied first. They had to have their revenge; they had to avenge their master. It was the right thing to do. They would be unable to rest until they had their revenge. Only then could the clan be rebuilt.

  One of their fellow ninjas, Jin, knew of the person that killed their master — or at the very least, guessed from what information they had. But with all that was happening, they surmised it could only be her. From what they knew, she was from another land. And that they were helping the Nishinoan representative for some unknown reason. That was fine, it worked for the ninjas, if they could find either one, they’d find both of them. They could avenge the lord, the young lord, and their master all at the same time.

  Now, it was only a matter of searching for them. Ninjas had a vast network of intelligence, as was their job. They had contacts and agents at the gates to look out for their targets, but there were no reports about the individuals they were looking for. However, there was some interesting intel that involved the dark corners of their city. They have heard that the criminals were transporting an unknown group, a special service. From what they knew, they normally didn’t do that.

  Mashai surmised that if the Nishinoan representative wanted a way out of the city, and a way back to their island safely, they would need some help. That was why he ordered to pay special attention to the dealings within the criminals in the city. Although they were a bit too late, a convoy from the criminals had already left the city. If that Nishinoan representative was included ?there, they needed to make sure.

  Their target was one of the close subordinates of a high-level criminal lord. Going after the criminal lord himself would be too risky, even for the ninjas. That was why they were going after those below him. Rarely would a criminal lord care if their underlings get harmed. Furthermore, underlings would be easier to crack and extract information from.

  “Mashai,” said a ninja beside him. “Are we certain about this? It might warrant ?retaliation from these criminals.”

  Mashai frowned. “Their retaliation won’t matter on a greater scale. But then again, perhaps we don’t need to kill our target. Just get the information out of him.”

  “If he doesn’t speak about it immediately?”

  “We’ll force him to, no matter what. If they had indeed already left the city, we can’t spend too much time dawdling around. We’d need to get them before they are out of our grasp.”

  “Hm.”

  A moment later, a man with a couple of guards left through the rear exit of the bar. It was their target.

  “Finally. Kill the guards. We have no need for them, nor are they significant. But keep the target alive. Now go.”

  They moved out altogether in harmony, as ?they were trained to do when moving in groups. Their movement as they traversed ?the buildings and rooftops was light and silent. They were all completely undetectable to the untrained eye and ears. Two ninjas instantly dropped down from the rooftop, quietly taking out the two guards behind the target. He didn’t realize it, and the target kept walking.

  Mashai suddenly came up from behind the target and abruptly covered his mouth with a cloth. The target was surprised and struggled to break free. However, another ninja came up and punched him hard in the stomach, knocking him out instantly. Mashai lifted the unconscious man and put him on his shoulder.

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  “Let’s go.”

  As fast as the wind, the ninjas disappeared from the area. Leaving the bloodied remains of the two guards.

  ***

  The ninjas brought their captive into a secluded building that should be away from prying eyes. The man was still unconscious, tied tightly to a chair. Mashai stood in front of the man and suddenly slapped him in the face, prompting him to wake up.

  “W-What?!” He shook his head before looking up at Mashai with blinking, refocusing eyes. “Who the fuck are you?”

  “We have some questions for you.” Mashai crossed his arms.

  The man looked around, and he chuckled, grinning widely. “Ah, of course, it has to be you guys. Though it’s a surprise, you’re going after us now.”

  “This is not about you.”

  “Then what the hell do you ninjas want from me?”

  “We learned that you’re transporting a particular group of people.”

  The man raised an eyebrow. “Oh, come on, surely you know we always transport people. So you’d know how little that narrows it down.”

  “I’m not referring to slaves.”

  The man frowned. “Then what?”

  “Just recently, you sent a convoy with people seeking transport. You gave them ?special treatment. We’d like to know who they are.”

  “I have no damn idea what you’re talking about.” He shook his head.

  “Don’t lie to me. We know you made a deal with them.”

  The man clicked his tongue. “Even if we did make any kind of deal, it ain’t your business.”

  Mashai lifted his fist and punched the man in the cheek. “It’s best if you start cooperating.”

  “Gah, a-again, I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about!”

  He punched him in the face again, making him spit blood. “Don’t lie to me.”

  “Fuck you!”

  “Is it really worth risking your life for?”

  “You don’t know who you’re fucking with! Even if I knew, I’d never tell you fucking anything.”

  Mashai pulled out a dagger and stabbed the criminal’s hand.

  “Aagh! F-Fuck!” The man writhed in agony.

  “We have credible intel that you’re among those who prepared the convoy, especially for those you’re transporting. Lying is pointless.”

  The man gritted his teeth, glaring at Mashai. “How the fuck would you even know…?” His eyes widened for a moment. “Of course, fuck, the boss would have my ass for this. We have fucking sellouts under us. Fucking simpletons... However,” he chuckled. “Seems this sellout ain’t so deep that you have to question me like this.”

  Mashai pulled out another dagger and stabbed the man in the leg violently, twisting it inside his flesh. “Tell me who they are.”

  The man gritted his teeth, enduring the pain. “I ain’t telling you shit!”

  “Are you really willing to die for this?”

  “Heh, you can’t kill me. You need me.” He chuckled. “Aside from the boss, there’s only two of us who know the specifics. One has already left the city.”

  “So you are saying you are transporting ?special personnel.”

  “I have no idea who you’re looking for, but this kind of thing is nothing fucking special! There are always people, other criminals that want to get away, or just want security, that pay us for transport.”

  “Then tell me who they are, and where they’re heading.”

  “Fuck you!”

  Mashai was becoming more irritated and impatient. He pulled out a cloth and wrapped it around the man’s mouth. “Everyone breaks, especially someone like you.”

  “Mmmm, mmm!”

  Mashai gripped the man’s hair, pulling it up. “You have no idea of what’s happening. Of the people we’re looking for, their crime. The chaos that is about to unfold because of them.”

  “Mmm!”

  “There is no leader left who can lead this island. The lord, his son, is dead. Our master is dead.”

  Hearing that, the criminal froze, and his eyes widened.

  “Right now, before even a burial could take place, before a public announcement, the conflict between clans is already heating up. I have no time to delay, no time to waste. So, at the end of this… interrogation, you will have answered who you are transporting, and where they are heading, their routes.”

  Mashai grabbed a metal bar. “We will stop at nothing to get what we want. We will have our revenge.”

  The criminal writhed, struggling to break free from his bonds.

  Mashai raised the metal bar. “But for now, I’ll make sure your mouth will be as free to speak as it can be. I will break you apart.”

  “Mmmm!”

  And Mashai violently swung down the metal bat.

  ***

  Mashai wiped the blood off his hand with a cloth. Before him was the barely conscious criminal they had abducted. He was absolutely beaten, his face was disfigured, blood pooling below his seat, faintly wheezing in his breath. Mashai and the ninjas were rough on him, giving no mercy.

  He was tough to crack, almost like he feared his boss more than they feared Mashai. But in the end, he told them what they were seeking. They left the room to discuss what to do from this moment forward.

  “It’s confirmed. This white-haired girl’s group also fit what Jin mentioned,” Mashai said. “Their convoy is guarded too.”

  “They shouldn’t be too far off. We can catch up.”

  “Indeed.”

  “When are we heading out?”

  “Is everyone in top condition?”

  “They should be.”

  Mashai nodded. “Then we run. With our speed, we’ll catch up to them soon.”

  “How many should we bring? Remember the warning Jin gave to us.”

  “Of course.” Jin warned them heavily, urging them not to hunt them down. However, Mashai and the others couldn’t bring themselves to let go. They must avenge everyone who perished. That being said, they took Jin’s warning to heart. “We’ll bring everyone who’s willing to come.”

  “That’s a lot.”

  “A lot is what we need.”

  “Understood. What about the criminal? Should we leave him here?”

  “... Return him to the bar. Let it serve as a warning as well.”