The scout who went out to scout for information burst into the mountain stronghold's main hall.
"Boss Shutenmaru, this is bad!"
"Don't panic!"
Shutenmaru sat in a rattan chair, rebuking with a gloomy gaze.
He naturally knew it was bad.
Lately, the matter of the bandit suppression had been making a huge uproar, and as the main protagonist of that suppression, how could he possibly know nothing about it?
This time, they were probably playing for keeps.
"Where are the enemies?"
"They've already reached southern Atama Mountain and are setting up camp!"
The scout answered with a tremble.
"So fast!"
Shutenmaru felt a shock in his heart, his slightly bloated physique sitting up.
Judging by the enemy's progress, they would probably send people to comb the mountain tomorrow. Even though Atama Mountain covered a vast area and had a complex and intricate environment, a stronghold was not that easy to hide.
As long as they were willing to spend the effort, the stronghold being discovered was only a matter of time.
He certainly didn't want his home to be gone.
"How dare they bully their way to my doorstep!"
Shutenmaru sneered.
Orochi had tried to finish him off more than once, but ended up returning in failure every time. Trying to fight him on his own turf in Atama Mountain was nothing more than wishful thinking.
This was his territory!
"Lads, prepare to move out!"
Shutenmaru gave a savage grin. "Don't think we'll just sit here and wait for death. Let those bastards witness the terror of the Atamayama Thieves!"
"Yeah!"
Half an hour later, dozens of bandits followed behind Shutenmaru, who was riding an ox, and bypassed the bandit-suppression army's camp to head in the direction of Boro Town.
Southern Atama Mountain, temporary camp.
Inside the largest tent.
Good looked at the terrain map of Atama Mountain.
Atama Mountain wasn't just a single mountain, but rather referred to an entire region totaling several dozen peaks. Trying to find the headquarters of the Atamayama Thieves among them was quite troublesome.
Yamato was also inside the tent, wearing a look of worry on her face. "Good, is that Shutenmaru really a retainer of Kozuki Oden?"
"That's right."
Good looked up at Yamato, asking calmly, "You've already read all of Shutenmaru's intelligence reports. What do you think of this person?"
"He's a heinous bad guy!"
Yamato nodded firmly.
The intelligence Good gave her was extremely detailed, including not only Shutenmaru's experience ruling Kuri over a dozen years ago, but also the matter of Kozuki Oden subduing Shutenmaru all by himself and becoming an Oden retainer.
From a notorious bandit to a retainer of Kozuki Oden, and then back to a bandit plundering the countryside.
Although he had a past where he turned over a new leaf, his stacked crimes would not disappear, and his hands were already stained with innocent blood.
To verify its authenticity, she even specifically asked Shimotsuki Yasuie and Hyogoro, and the answers she got were identical to the intelligence.
"Whether it's pirates, samurai, or ordinary citizens, there are good people and bad people in every group."
Good gazed into Yamato's eyes.
"Oden's retainers are no exception."
"Shutenmaru claimed a mountain as his king, not only burning, killing, and looting, but also shielding criminals from various villages. His hands are stained with innocent blood."
"Kin'emon used to be a punk, doing everything from petty theft to swindling."
"Kanjuro is a freak who cuts off people's hair and makes it into writing brushes to sell..."
Good recounted the deeds of Oden's retainers without emotion, not to slander them, but to shatter the mystique for Yamato.
"In fact, even Kozuki Oden himself had an equally blemished record: visiting casinos, fighting and injuring people, and even plundering women and building a harem at a temple from a young age-all recorded in the history of Wano Country. Can you accept these evil deeds?"
"Good, I..."
Yamato couldn't stop the heartache inside her.
Of course she couldn't accept it.
In her heart, Kozuki Oden was a free and bold samurai; it was hard to imagine him pulling off so many bad things.
Good smiled and shook his head.
"Yamato, you are an independent individual with your own thoughts. There's nothing wrong with wanting to become Oden, but you have to understand Oden first."
"A single meeting, a single diary, and a few hearsay deeds-you can't explain the entirety of a person based on just those."
"Think about it carefully. Think about your original intention in wanting to become Oden, and think about whether Oden is truly the image you hold in your mind!"
Yamato fell silent.
After quite a while.
Yamato had faint tears in her eyes as she uncomfortably asked, "Good, you're smarter than me. What does Oden look like in your eyes?"
"In my eyes? Hmm, let me think."
Good rubbed his chin and let out a dry chuckle.
"Just like your father, I suppose."
"Ah?"
Yamato was dumbfounded.
How on earth were Oden and her father anything alike!
"Why is that?"
"Because both Kozuki Oden and your father rely on their own formidable strength to ignore the rules, act recklessly, and never care about the feelings of others. To put it simply, they're both bastards!"
Good voiced his own thoughts.
"Eh?"
Yamato blinked her eyes, smoke rising from her brain.
It... actually made a bit of sense, huh!
Then her wanting to become Oden wasn't that different from wanting to become her father?
Wahahaha, her head was such a mess!
"Hahaha, don't think too much. Let's go play at something else."
Good smiled as he rubbed Yamato's head, pulling her in front of the map and pointing at the terrain map of Atama Mountain to ask, "Yamato, suppose you were Shutenmaru. What would you do right now?"
"I'm Shutenmaru?"
Yamato tilted her head in thought, her attention caught by Good's question.
"Um, hide away?"
"There is indeed that possibility."
Good nodded, then shook his head.
"But Shutenmaru wouldn't do that."
"Ah."
Yamato was a bit puzzled.
If it were her, she would definitely find an empty place to hide. That way, she wouldn't have to fight, nor would she get caught.
"Why is that?"
"Because he has a very bad temper."
Good replied jokingly.
Having been a bandit boss his whole life and accustomed to the trade of murder and pillaging, how could he possibly have a calm and collected personality?
And once a person's personality became hot-tempered, they wouldn't be willing to suffer a loss. Facing the bandit-suppression army, the very first thing on his mind would never be sitting around waiting for death or running away, but rather payback.
And it was very simple to want to take payback on them.
Good pointed to the town closest to Atama Mountain on the map.
"I'm guessing Shutenmaru will head over here!"
"Boro Town?"
Yamato's spirits gave a start.
"Then shall we go to Boro Town to catch him?"
"No need, I've already arranged for ninjas to ambush them in Boro Town."
Good shook his head, a hint of killing intent emerging in his gaze.
The people he wanted to finish off were far more than just Shutenmaru!
Evening time, the sun was about to set.
To the northwest of Boro Town, dozens of supply-laden grain carts moved slowly forward, heading toward the bandit-suppression camp at Atama Mountain.
The bandit-suppression force exceeded five hundred men. While it couldn't be counted as a massive army, their daily consumption of food and drink was still astonishingly huge.
"Move it!"
"We have to arrive before dark!"
"If we delay the bandit suppression, all of us are going to be punished!"
The samurai in charge of the escort urged.
This bandit suppression operation had been far too sudden-less than a week from the shogun's announcement of the suppression to the expedition, and the logistics team had only been put together in the last two days.
This caused the logistics progress to fall quite far behind. If they couldn't arrive before dark, the samurai suppressing the bandits would all go hungry.
Fortunately, the distance wasn't too far.
"Put a little more--"
"Whoosh!"
Right as the samurai swung his leather whip, wanting to lash a farmer, a sharp arrow pierced into his chest, blood spurting out in its wake.
"Ahhh!"
Screams echoed across the sky.
Before the grain transport team could even react, a large number of bandits rushed out from the forests on both sides, excitedly slaughtering their way toward the grain cart convoy.
"Gagagaga, charge!"
"Don't let a single one go!"
"Seize all the supplies!"
"How dare you go against us? Witness the terror of the Atamayama Thieves!"
In an instant, the bandit crew charged into the grain transport convoy, unhesitatingly swinging their blades to slaughter the guarding samurai, not even sparing the farmers pushing the carts.
"It's the Atamayama Thieves, run!"
The farmers fled in panic.
As long as one lived in Kuri, no one didn't know the terror of the Atamayama Thieves. They were a bunch of inhuman villains whose targets for plunder even included helpless, impoverished commoners.
Before you continue