Chapter 770: Hiring Shigeru’s Group
Once he had said what needed to be said to Sakura, and once he was satisfied that she would remain quiet for now, Nathan finally turned toward Hanzo.
He moved a few steps away from Sakura and Akiko, lowering his voice as he approached her. The room was still tense, but there was something different in Hanzo’s face now. She had been waiting for this. He could see it in her eyes.
"You really met Norihiro?" she asked.
For all her usual control, she could not hide the disbelief in her voice.
Nathan nodded once. "Yeah. I met him. We talked."
Hanzo stared at him for a moment as if trying to measure whether such a thing was even possible. Then her expression changed. The shock remained, but something more fragile surfaced beneath it.
"Does he have my uncle?" she asked.
She tried to keep her voice steady, but Nathan caught the slight tremor in it anyway.
"No," he said. "He does not have him. But he told me who does. Mitsuhide."
Hanzo’s eyes widened. "Mitsuhide?"
Nathan gave a grim nod. "He is most likely in Death God Valley by now. In Mitsuhide’s territory. And from what Norihiro told me, Genzo does not have much time left if he stays in Mitsuhide’s hands."
Hanzo’s breath caught.
For a second she said nothing. Her fingers slowly curled into fists at her sides, tightening so hard that the knuckles turned pale. "How..." she whispered. "How did that even happen?"
Then she looked back up sharply, as if refusing to believe it. "Maybe Norihiro lied. Maybe he is keeping him himself."
"No," Nathan said. "He was telling the truth."
Hanzo frowned at once. "Why would he be honest with you?"
"Because Mitsuhide is no friend of his anymore," Nathan replied. "He threatened to turn against him. Right now Mitsuhide is a problem for Norihiro too."
Hanzo looked stunned. "What?"
"That is the situation," Nathan said. "So he offered a temporary truce, and I accepted it."
Hanzo blinked as if she had misheard him. "A truce?"
"Yes."
"With Norihiro?"
"Until we get Genzo back."
The silence that followed felt heavier than anything else in the room. Hanzo’s lips parted slightly, but no words came at first. She looked at him as if trying to understand what she had just heard, or perhaps what kind of man would make such a choice.
At last she spoke, quieter this time.
"You want to go after my uncle?"
Nathan looked at her. "Do you not?"
Her expression faltered. "I do. Of course I do, but..."
She stopped there, unable to finish.
Nathan understood the conflict without needing her to explain it. Genzo had trained her well. In the world she came from, emotion was dangerous when left unchecked. It clouded judgment, weakened discipline, and pulled people away from what mattered most. A shinobi who let personal feelings rule them could doom more than just themselves.
And that was exactly where Hanzo stood now.
She was worried for Genzo. Deeply worried. Nathan could see it plainly. But going after him would mean abandoning the mission she had been entrusted with. The festival, Norihiro, the gathering of information, the quiet web of movement Genzo had already set into place among the shinobi in the region, all of that still mattered. If anything, it mattered more now than ever. Norihiro remained the root of everything festering in the south, and opportunities like this did not come twice.
On top of that, Hanzo clearly had not expected Nathan to do this at all.
"Why?" she finally asked.
Her voice was softer now, stripped of suspicion and replaced by something more honest.
"Why would you want to save my uncle?"
Nathan answered without hesitation. "Because I owe him."
Hanzo kept looking at him.
"He taught me a lot," Nathan continued. "More than he probably realizes. And he still owes me one. He promised he would come to the capital and serve as Ayame’s bodyguard. I am not letting him die before he makes good on that."
For the first time since he had entered the room, Hanzo smiled.
It was a small smile, faint and tired, but real.
"I see," she murmured.
Nathan held her gaze for a moment, then his expression grew more serious again. "But you have your own responsibility here."
Her smile faded. "What do you mean?"
"Without Genzo, you are the one in charge now," Nathan said. "The shinobi he called here still need direction. Someone has to watch Norihiro. Truce or not, he is dangerous, and I do not trust him any farther than necessary. You cannot leave this place without leadership."
Hanzo lowered her eyes for a moment. She knew he was right. That was what made it hard.
"Yes," she said quietly. "But I cannot just let you go there alone. Death God Valley is dangerous."
"I will be fine," Nathan said. "And I will not be alone."
Hanzo looked up at once. "Yukihime is back?"
"Not yet," Nathan replied. "But she will be soon."
That was not the whole truth, not exactly, but it was close enough. Shiina was already waiting for him, and Nathan had another idea forming in the back of his mind as well. He was not walking into Mitsuhide’s territory without preparation.
He glanced toward Sakura and Akiko. "While I am gone, I need you to keep watch over them. Norihiro will likely send men to search for his daughter sooner or later."
Hanzo followed his gaze, then nodded. "I will keep them here."
"Good."
Nathan turned toward the door, ready to leave.
Then Hanzo spoke again.
"Ryo."
He paused and looked back over his shoulder.
There was an expression on her face he had not seen before. The edge she usually carried was gone. So was the guarded distance. In its place was simple, quiet sincerity.
"Thank you," she said. "Really."
Nathan looked at her for a second, then gave a small nod. "I will bring your uncle back."
Hanzo said nothing after that, but her eyes followed him as he moved to the door.
Nathan stepped out into the corridor and closed it behind him.
For a brief moment he stood there in silence.
He did feel indebted. To Genzo, certainly. To Hanzo as well. In the past weeks, he had grown stronger, sharper, more capable than before, and neither of them had played a small part in that. Genzo had trained him. Hanzo had fought beside him, challenged him, and proven herself again and again.
Nathan was not the kind of man who forgot debts.
And he was not the kind of man who left those who had helped him to die.
Nathan pushed the matter from his mind for the moment and headed downstairs.
The tavern was still noisy, thick with the smell of spilled sake, sweat, roasted meat, and old wood soaked through by years of drink and laughter. Men talked too loudly, cups knocked together, and somewhere in the back someone was already half singing, half shouting a song that nobody else seemed to know. It was the same rough warmth as before, almost comforting in its own way.
As expected, Shigeru and his group were still there.
Nathan spotted them near the same table, bottles and cups spread around them, their mood loose after drink and excitement. That suited him well enough. If Sakura was going to remain upstairs, then Shigeru’s group could not stay lodged so close to her room. It was too risky. They were staying just nearby, and sooner or later they might notice something they should not.
So he would solve two problems at once.
He needed more fighters for Death God Valley, and he needed these mercenaries out of Minami Kyoto.
Shiina was skilled, no doubt about that, but more swords at his side would only help. Nathan had no illusions about himself. He was strong, but not untouchable. A place like Mitsuhide’s domain would be dangerous enough without walking into it with too few people.
The moment Shigeru noticed him, he lifted a bottle with a broad grin. "Nathan. There you are. Come here. Want another drink?"
"We saw your fight," Sana said brightly, already a little flushed from alcohol as she reached for his arm. "That was incredible."
Yuwa leaned back in her seat, studying him with open curiosity. "So, what kind of reward did the great Daimyo give you?"
Nathan stopped beside the table. "Nothing. But he did give me another job."
That caught their attention at once.
He let the silence settle for a moment before continuing. "And I came to ask if your group wants to come with me."
Shigeru’s smile faded just a little. Not fully, but enough for Nathan to see the shift. "The Daimyo gave you a job?"
"He did."
Shigeru sat up straighter. "What kind of job?"
Nathan answered as if he were talking about the weather. "He wants me to go to Death God Valley and kill Daimyo Mitsuhide."
For a second the whole table froze.
Then several of the men who had been drinking nearly choked. One spat sake back into his cup. Another burst into a fit of coughing. Sana stared at Nathan with her mouth open. Yuwa looked like she had stopped breathing altogether.
"W... what?" she blurted.
Nathan did not even blink. "I am serious."
The levity around the table thinned at once. Even the drunker ones sobered a little at the name.
Shigeru looked at him carefully now, measuring him in silence. "You are telling the truth?"
Nathan nodded. "I would not be here asking otherwise."
The mercenary leader held his gaze a few seconds longer. "And you want us to go with you."
"I do," Nathan said. "I have never been to Death God Valley. Some help would be useful."
Yuwa let out a short, unbelieving laugh. "Useful? We have never been there either. That place is infamous."
"Then it will be a first for all of us," Taku said, slamming his cup down with a grin. "I am in."
A few others laughed, their earlier shock already turning into excitement.
"Same here."
"Could be fun."
"I have always wanted to see if the stories are true."
Yuwa threw them an exasperated look. "You people are insane."
Sana, still flushed from drink, nodded with complete confidence. "If Nathan is going, I am not scared."
That drew a few chuckles.
Yuwa rubbed her forehead and muttered, "That is not how fear is supposed to work."
Nathan let them talk for a few moments, then cut through the noise. "I am not asking you to kill Mitsuhide. I will handle the Daimyo myself. I only need your group to come with me and deal with his men if they get in the way."
That changed the mood again.
The danger was still there, but now it sounded more like a mercenary contract and less like a suicide pact.
Sosuke leaned forward, practical as ever. "And the pay?"
Nathan had expected that question.
Without a word, he reached into his spatial ring and pulled out a small pouch. He tossed it onto the table. It landed with a heavy clink, and when the mouth of it fell open, gold gleamed in the lantern light.
Every eye at the table dropped to it.
Even those trying to stay composed could not hide their reaction. The noise around them continued, but for Shigeru’s group, the world had narrowed to that single pouch.
Shigeru looked at the gold, then at Nathan, and a slow smirk formed on his face.
"So all we have to do is go with you, fight off Mitsuhide’s men if needed, and let you handle the Daimyo himself?"
"That is right," Nathan said. "I kill Mitsuhide. Then we leave."
Shigeru leaned back and glanced around at his companions. "Well? What do you all think?"
"I am in."
"Me too."
"Same here."
"With that kind of pay? Obviously."
Taku raised his cup. "To Death God Valley."
A few of them laughed and raised theirs with him.
Yuwa let out a long sigh, though a reluctant smile tugged at her lips in the end. "I hate that I cannot refuse this much money."
Sana nodded eagerly. "Then it is settled."
At last Shigeru turned back to Nathan. "We accept."
Nathan gave a single nod. That was the answer he had expected.
It solved things neatly. He would have more fighters for what lay ahead, and Hanzo would not have to worry about these mercenaries staying too close to Sakura upstairs.
One move, two problems handled.
Nathan stepped back from the table. "Be at the front gate in half an hour."
Shigeru grinned. "We will be there."
Nathan turned and walked out without another word, leaving behind a table full of mercenaries already buzzing with fresh energy, their shock swallowed by greed, curiosity, and the thrill of marching toward danger.
