It was a tiny dugout canoe. A dark shape sat inside it, and on closer inspection, it was a woman in a black cloak.
She was well past her youth, over sixty, and enormously fat. Even beneath the cloak, there was no hiding her bulk. Her clothes were loose, yet they looked tight on her, bunching around the rolls at her waist. She had to weigh at least three hundred jin.
When the canoe drew close, the woman in black listened for a moment, then climbed aboard without a sound.
Despite her size, she moved with surprising agility. She landed on the deck without making a sound.
She crept forward with her back bent, glancing around warily.
After checking, she confirmed there was only one person on deck. He was behaving strangely, hugging the mast with both arms and rubbing himself against it. Sparks were practically flying from his crotch. It was hard not to laugh.
The woman in black was a professional assassin. Her name was Yamabiko Kumadori.
Yamabiko Kumadori smiled smugly, drew a dagger from her waist, and crept toward Buggy. Oblivious to everything behind him, Buggy kept rubbing against the mast with a blissful look on his face.
He hummed a little tune. "Rub... rub..."
He seemed to be enjoying himself immensely. Eyes closed, he was lost in a pleasant daydream, probably about some pretty woman.
"Too bad for you!" Yamabiko Kumadori reached Buggy's back, gritted her teeth, and drove the dagger straight into his heart.
Pfft!
The blade struck a vital spot without a hitch.
But Yamabiko Kumadori was baffled. She had felt no resistance. The dagger had clearly gone in, yet it was as though she had stabbed a pocket of air.
She stared. The dagger was indeed buried in Buggy, with only its handle