Chapter 214: First Meeting with Shanks (Subscription Required)

"Are you... ninjas from Hyuga?"

Early the next morning, Ryosuke and Hinata arrived in front of the Saki family's residence.

As soon as they approached, a samurai came forward to ask.

His tone was respectful but also alert, and there was a hint of delaying time. Perhaps he had sent someone to the house to inform that there was a guest.

"Master Hyuga, Ryosuke."

With Hinata holding his arm, Ryosuke replied gently.

Since they were visiting, they would definitely not be disguised, so based on the obvious appearance of the Hyuga family, it was not difficult for the samurai to recognize them.

"Hyuga Hinata."

Beside him, Hinata also spoke politely and explained her identity.

"...Main family?"

Hearing their introduction, the gatekeeper was stunned for a moment, then his expression became more respectful, and even his waist was unconsciously lowered a little, "So it's the Hyuga clan who is visiting. I'm sorry for the neglect. Please come in first. I have asked someone to inform my master."

He directly welcomed the guests in without further delay.

In the Land of Fire, there is a difference between the people of the Hyuga main family and the people of the branch family. Even though he is a gatekeeper, he is very clear about this.

Nodding gently, Ryosuke and the others entered the mansion under his guidance.

Although the gap between the main family and the branch family is not so obvious within Hyuga, the long-standing rules are there.

So in the eyes of outsiders, the Hyuga main family represents the real Hyuga, and the status of its clan is almost the same as that of the first-class advisor of the Konoha Hokage. This is also the reason why Ryosuke pointed out the identity of the main family.

Since it can be convenient, why not do it?

The mansion of the Saki family,

The houses and attics are elegant and simple, and the green forests are very neatly trimmed, which is completely different from the rough style of the Hyuga clan.

In the outer house, there are all kinds of samurai retainers, maids and servants, and the bustle is not much worse than on the street.

There is even a martial arts field in the open area, and many strong men compete on the ring.

From time to time, you can hear their shouts.

"They are all some superficial physical skills, which are not as good as the inheritance of the Hyuga family."

The samurai noticed that Ryosuke and others were watching the fight on the ring, and couldn't help but flatter.

Ryosuke didn't refute it, just glanced at it casually, and then looked away.

There was really nothing worth paying attention to.

It seems that the retainers guided by Shanks are not these in the outer house.

Passing through the stone wall covered with exquisite murals, they came to the inner house again.

A man who seemed to be a butler hurried over after receiving the news that there were guests. After seeing that they had entered the house, he was stunned at first, and then flattered them. He seemed to know that those who could be led directly into the house by the gatekeeper were all people of prominent status.

Then, after hearing that Ryosuke and the other two were from the Hyuga family, his attitude became more respectful.

"Please move to the main hall, my master will be here soon."

The butler took over the work of leading the way from the gatekeeper and led Ryosuke and the other two into the main hall.

In the main hall,

the layout and decoration are extremely elegant, and the faint fragrance of flowers is overflowing. As soon as you enter, you will feel relaxed and happy.

"You two, please have tea first."

As soon as the butler's words fell, a graceful maid swayed her slender waist like a willow branch and entered the house with tea.

Ryosuke's attention has been observing the decoration of the room, but he didn't pay much attention to the maid.

Instead, Hinata, who was sitting next to him, was carefully looking at the maids in cheongsams, looking at their looming slender thighs, secretly envious, and also had a desire to compare.

The maid who brought the tea stood behind them and served them.

Beside them, there was also a housekeeper who smiled apologetically, repeatedly explaining that the hospitality was not good enough and asked them to wait patiently.

Ryosuke and the others did not talk to them, but sat quietly and sipped tea.

Soon, hurried footsteps were heard outside the house.

Then, Ryosuke saw a white-haired old man leading a middle-aged man towards this side.

"The two young masters of the Hyuga family, please forgive me."

The white-haired old man in the retro kimono who was in the lead said apologetically, "It's our first meeting. I am the head of the Saki family, Saki Nozomi."

Then he introduced the people next to him, "This is my son, Saki Yu."

Although he was older, he did not neglect Ryosuke and the others because of his age.

The same goes for Ryosuke and the others. They did not become arrogant because of their superior combat power. Although Nozomi Saki and the others were ordinary people, they were elders first after all. When the two entered the room, they stood up humbly.

After hearing the introduction of the two, they also hurriedly began to introduce themselves.

After a round of greetings, the four sat down at the host and guest seats respectively.

Saki Yu did not sit down, but stood beside his father.

As for the housekeeper, he had already retreated outside the door. There were only a few maids waiting in the room to pour tea and water at any time.

"Young Master Ryosuke is very elegant. When I went to the daimyo's mansion on official business, I often heard the daimyo mention you, saying that you are a dragon among men. Today I saw that it was true."

After sitting down, Nozomi Saki spoke in a gentle voice, and his face looked very kind.

"I didn't expect that I had only met the daimyo once, and he remembered me."

Ryosuke smiled and replied, "A dragon among men? This saying is novel, but..."

He changed the subject, and the smile on his face gradually became a little arrogant, "How can a dragon and a tiger compare to me?"

With such an attitude and words, not only Nozomi Saki, who was sitting in the main seat, was stunned, but even Hinata couldn't help but secretly glance at Ryosuke.

"... Young Master Ryosuke is a little different from what I know."

However, Nozomi Saki's doubts only lasted for a moment, and she did not show any dissatisfaction. She continued to ask with a smile: "I wonder if Young Master Ryosuke has something important to discuss with you this time?"

"This time, I do have something to discuss with you. I believe you two should be aware of the actions of my clan members when they came to visit before."

Ryosuke did not delay and went straight to the point, "I want to meet the samurai named Shanks. I hope that the head of the Saki family can arrange it."

As soon as these words came out, the smile on Nozomi Saki's face slowly faded.

Ryosuke was so direct, and if he continued to smile, it would be a bit like trying to please others.

"... Shanks."

Nozomi Saki pondered for a moment, raised her head and asked seriously: "I wonder if Master Ryosuke's visit is due to the attitude of your Hyuga clan or... Konoha's attitude?"

"Of course it is our Hyuga clan's own attitude."

Ryosuke did not hide it, "This matter... Konoha is not clear yet."

Without mentioning the other world, he did not know what information Shanks revealed to the Saki family, and he did not want to point it out.

"Oh?"

Whether it was Nozomi Saki or Saki Yu, they had always been very upright, and finally had a different meaning, a flaw revealed by their inner emotions.

"Just now, I found that the decoration of your house is not much worse than that of the daimyo's mansion."

Before the two of them could speak, Ryosuke suddenly smiled and said, "Although it doesn't have the solemn and majestic momentum of the daimyo's mansion, it already has some flavor in its posture."

After a pause, he half-squinted his eyes and looked at the two of them, "I remember... your Sasaki family seems to have not produced a daimyo for a long time."

Unconsciously, Sasaki Nozomi tightened her palms holding the handles of the table and chairs...

"The reason why these nobles in the Land of Fire are nobles is because they have more or less the blood of the first daimyo in their bodies."

In the reception room, only Ryosuke and Hinata sat quietly, waiting for Shanks to arrive.

"In the long history of the country, the position of daimyo is not inherited from one generation to another, but is held by the most capable, and is chosen from among these nobles."

He explained the situation while drinking tea, "That is, everyone has the opportunity to sit on this position, but it requires competition and depends on the family's foundation."

"Whoever has a strong family foundation and great ability can become the master of this country."

"And the Saki family once served as daimyo for three generations, but after being taken away by the Tokugawa family four hundred years ago, there has been no chance to take office again."

Hina understood what he meant, "That is to say... these nobles "The families are not connected to each other, but just like the situation in Konoha Village, each family has its own ulterior motives?"

"And because they want to sit on the throne of the country, the Saki family did not pass this matter on to other nobles, or even the daimyo, but concealed it themselves?"

"Maybe."

Without exact information, Ryosuke could not give an accurate answer, "At least from their current performance, they do not want the news of Shanks to be passed on, they hope to eat it themselves."

Hinata nodded, and was about to say something else, but stopped quickly.

She could sense that someone was coming towards the reception room.

A few minutes later, a strong and tall figure appeared at the door.

"Captain Shanks."

Chuckling and standing up, Ryosuke stared at the person in front of him with his bright eyes without any disguise,

and scanned his body unscrupulously, both externally and internally.

Just by meeting him, he could sense a strong aura coming from the person in front of him.

This aura had a domineering and oppressive force that he had never felt before, whether it was Nagato who had the Samsara Eye or the former Sandaime, or the daimyo, who were all top-level superiors, but they did not have this aura.

Or... Sarutobi Hiruzen had it when he was young, but it gradually faded away after he got old.

"Oh? It's been a while since I heard someone call me that."

Walking into the house, Shanks seemed a little surprised, but laughed heartily, "Although you look familiar to me, I really can't resist your fiery eyes."

"Hinata Ryosuke."

Ryosuke smiled and extended his palm, and introduced Hinata next to him, "This is my wife, Hinata."

"Shanks."

Shanks also smiled and extended his palm.

There was no competition, they just lightly shook each other's palms, without using any strength.

Skipping the greeting process, Ryosuke and Hinata sat down casually,

And Shanks looked at them unexpectedly and sat down directly.

"So... where do we start?"

Having been looking forward to it for a long time, Shanks was a little speechless when they actually met. He scratched his head in distress. "I have a lot of questions I want to ask, and I know you have a lot to ask me, but where do I start?"

Since the other party was unwilling to speak first, Ryosuke took the initiative in the conversation. "In fact, we have learned a lot about your world from a person from your world."

"Whether it is the general structure of your world or the system of power, we actually know a lot about it."

Shanks was not surprised by this. He had roughly guessed that Ryosuke and his team had a lot of intelligence information about their world. "So... who is he? Where is he now?"

"Before I answer, I need to mention that his attitude towards us is different from yours."

Ryosuke explained first, and then replied: "His name is Bruno, from the secret intelligence agency of the World Government."

"He is the first person we found A person from another world, and in a battle, he led the ninja army of the Hidden Mist Village to raid our Konoha Village, and was captured by our clan, and then we found out about the other world. "

"As for him, he is dead now."

"So he is from the World Government?"

For the killing of people from the same world, Shanks did not react, "Since he started it, he was unable to bear the consequences, and it is natural that he died. This kind of thing will not affect our conversation."

"But...besides him, have you come into contact with other people from other worlds? Apart from our world."

The indifferent expression became a little surprised, and Ryosuke was a little curious about what Shanks revealed in this sentence, "Indeed, apart from your world, we have also come into contact with people from other worlds."

"Their attitude is quite kind, and they have always had close contact with our clan."

Although Gintoki and his three-man team and one dog were unwilling to abandon the business of Yorozuya and leave the Iron Country to come to the Fire Country to join them,

But their contact with Hyuga has never decreased. Many projects in the Hyuga tribe were also completed under their inspiration.

"Really? Then..."

Shanks was about to ask something.

But Ryosuke interrupted him with a chuckle, "Since we Hyuga have shown an attitude of willingness to negotiate, then Captain Shanks, should you also show your attitude?"

Shanks was stunned for a moment, but did not refuse, "Of course, if you have anything to ask, as long as it is convenient for me, I will tell you everything."

"I need you to do me a small favor here, and it will definitely not be something inconvenient for you."

As Ryosuke spoke, he took out a scroll from his arms.

Now he didn't even need to make a seal. As soon as he took it out and spread it flat on the table, a cloud of smoke rose from the scroll.

And when the smoke dissipated, a strange-looking devil fruit was lying quietly in it.

"What a strange method, how much storage space is there in this scroll?"

As Ryosuke took out the devil fruit from the scroll, Shanks did not show any vigilance, but was full of curiosity.

"It depends on the complexity of the runes written on it. The specific explanation requires a huge reserve of ninja knowledge. If you are interested, I can have someone send you books on this subject later."

Ryosuke explained casually. This kind of thing cannot be explained in a few words, let alone a person who comes from another world and has never been exposed to any ninja knowledge.

"Thank you very much."

Shanks did not refuse, and looked at the devil fruit on the table again, "Do you want me to help you identify this devil fruit?"