That hand.
The hand reaching out toward Danzō.
It was not a hand with sharp claws.
It was—
An utterly ordinary hand.
Lord Kotarou.
The ninja who had spoken to Danzō so often.
Why?
Why?
Why did it feel as though she had known him for a very long time?
But... she truly had no memory of him.
Her records—the equivalent of an automaton's memories—had long been lost. Aside from information centered on completing missions, Danzō clearly no longer possessed any records that could be replayed—
Lord Kotarou.
Lord Kotarou.
That hand, that utterly ordinary hand extended toward her—
Was so familiar.
Could it be that, before I broke down—
I met you?
"Everyone—head south!"
"Men with strength, don't just flee for your own lives! Look after the elderly and children too!"
Within Toke Castle, chaos and disaster continued unabated. The blood-red moon shone overhead, as though—hell would never come to an end.
"I shall go on ahead."
Sakumura suddenly rose to stand atop his horse's back, kicked off with both feet, and leaped high into the air.
"There it is again! That completely unreasonable jumping ability!"
Musashi's voice was thick with envy. She really wanted such terrifying physical ability.
"We're going too! We'll cut our way straight through! We absolutely cannot let these aberrations continue their rampage!"
Kotarou gave a calm roar and burst forth with a ninja's speed. After dismounting, he actually overtook the horse and rushed ahead.
"Huh!? So suddenly!? Damn it, I'm going too—more importantly, what exactly happened here? Why are there so many aberrations?"
Musashi also leaped from her horse, drew Myojin-giri Muramasa, and cut down a transformed creature as she asked anxiously.
Was this hell?
Such a horrific scene—had appeared inside a city this enormous?
"The center of the anomaly is indeed Toke Castle!"