As Mizuki gathered information in the enemy mansion, Toshie began his scouting mission of the lands surrounding the castle and town. As he walked along the country roads with his pack horse, he would play his flute and to the casual observer he seemed like a harmless merchant moving his wares to a new location. As he walked along the dirt road he noticed something odd that in the early afternoon, he had not seen anyone in over an hour although the road was surrounded by forest on both sides, he has yet to encounter a single person. He was heading east back toward Shinano province. Although he was not going all the way back, he was trying gauge any patrols of soldiers on either foot or horses but again not one single patrol has been encountered. All he has seen is the winding shifting the branches in the trees, birds chirping, an occasional forest animal such a rabbit or squirrel but nothing else. Finally, another two hours pass by, and he encounters a patrol of a single soldier carrying a spear. Toshie simply nods his head at the soldier and soldier sees him and continues walking west back in the direction of the Nagano stronghold. Toshie thinks in his head, "Three hours and I only encounter one soldier on foot patrol. This land is too relaxed and at ease. If they were invaded, they would receive no advance warning with one foot soldier on patrol. Lord Ryuzen must take this land before the Uesugi or Hojo discover how lazy and easy going these people are here" Satisfied with his scouting mission going east he would head back to Minowa castle and make a report to Hanbei. Tomorrow he would head west and again observe the country roads and see if the patrols are as slow as they are in the east. Then Toshie stopped and fed his pack horse some apples which seemed to make the animal happy and content and then he turned with the animal around back toward Minowa castle, the horse was trained to follow Toshie without him leading it by the reins and Toshie once again pulled out his flute and began to play while the walked back toward the castle.

  In the meantime, Hanbei is still at the stall, and he is scratching his goatee as he waits for customers and observes Harunobu being escorted by a samurai guard and at first, he assumes he is heading toward his stall but instead he walks by and goes into the blacksmith shop. The portly lord is dressed in a blue samurai robe that seemed to be barely keeping his gut in check and from spilling out of his robes with black sashes tied around his waist, he is sweating profusely in the afternoon sun and breathing quite heavily. No doubt from the excess weight he is struggling to walk. Hanbei thinks to himself, "I do not envy Mizuki job in what she has to do to put up with being with that man. She is truly the most brave and dedicated ninja I have ever seen. The sacrifices she makes with her body is something that not everyone else could do and I admire and pity her at the same time" Hanbei wants to hear what the young lord is discussing with the blacksmith but he cannot move from his stall without arousing suspicion and the guard is standing at the doorway, then after ten minutes Harunobu and his guard leave the blacksmith shop and head back toward the castle. Then a few minutes later the blacksmith emerges smiling and happy. This is the first time Hanbei has ever seen him, and he has a shaved head and is clean shaven and he is wearing black apron and his arms are extremely muscular and well defined and he is short and stocky. No doubt from a lifetime of constantly hammering at his metals and he appears to be the same age as Harunobu, but a much fitter version of what a man should look like in his thirties. Hanbei observes he beckons and waves at the short female in the vegetable stall across from the blacksmith shop she has short black hair covered by a white cloth bandana in blue peasants working women's clothing. Her facial appearance is plain with a flat nose and small squinty eyes and has the look of small wrinkles in her eyes and face from a lifetime of work in the sun. She appears to be around the same age as the blacksmith. She quickly leaves her vegetable stall and crosses the avenue and is finally in front of the blacksmith. Hanbei from his stall then leans into to listen from his stall. Then then the blacksmith speaks to her, "Kiku my love, luck has finally smiled upon us" "What are you talking about?" "The daimyo son has ordered a full set of new blue armor to go with the katana he has already ordered. Given his size I explained to him it would be quite expensive. He said money was not a problem and I quoted him 10 heavy gold coins and he then gave me twenty heavy gold coins to pay in advance and to rush the job. We can finally buy the land you always wanted" Then Kiku hugged her husband and both of them then went inside his shop to celebrate. It was all Hanbei needed to hear. Hanbei realized one heavy coin was at least 10 oz of gold and he gave the blacksmith twenty heavy coins. That was at least two hundred ounces of gold. A massive sum that could put a dent in the coffers of the Nagano. Mizuki truly has a gift in getting men to do whatever she wants thought Hanbei. This could have bought them a thousand more spearmen and now it will be foolishly spent on this armor instead. Hanbei could not help but laugh to himself at what this fool has just done to his clan. Hanbei would need to write this down once he got back to the inn. Then a customer got his attention, and he continued on with his day of selling wares.

  At the same time as Hanbei has learned about the armor purchase inside the mansion Mizuki carrying a tray with empty cups just used by her lady that she was serving while staying in the castle. She is carrying them back to the kitchen and near the entrance to the mansion when Harunobu comes through the mansion entrance accompanied by his guard and sees Mizuki. From what she observes is he is sweating quite profusely and breathing heavy and she assumes he has just been in town. His heavy breathing reminds her of last night and she shudders at the thought but still she manages a fake smile at Harunobu as he walks toward her near the kitchen. She stops while holding her tray as he puts his arm in front of the entrance to the kitchen. Harunobu then gleefully speaks to her, "My flower I have just ordered a new set of armor, I am told by the blacksmith that this will be his greatest creation and will dedicate all his time in making this armor for me" Mizuki laughs inwardly but she then speaks, "I am so happy for my lord that such a fine piece of armor will adorn you. Truly I am in awe of your greatness and feel comforted in knowing you will be well protected" Harunobu smile grew even bigger after receiving such praise and turned red. "Bring sake to my quarters I wish to celebrate. Do not delay in meeting me there" He then left with his guard and walked toward the inner chambers. Mizuki then brought the empty cups to the kitchen and then got the required items he requested and made her way to the inner chambers. As she passed the meeting hall, she heard the daimyo yelling and she stopped to listen as there were no guards posted at the inner chamber's doors during the day, and she could observe the commotion without arousing to much suspicion. She could only stay a minute or two and did not want to make Harunobu suspicious. She peered through the entrance of the meeting hall but far enough away to not be seen. She observed the daimyo seated on a mat in the middle of the hall wearing white colored samurai robes with his katana placed on the floor next to him, he had a full head of grey hair and despite his age looked fit and nothing like the way his son looked. He was in counsel with two other samurai seated in front of him facing him. "What do you mean we do not have enough funds to hire more men" "Apologies my lord it appears your son has bought a new katana and when we went today to check the coffers again a further twenty heavy coins are missing" "My son truly is a fool, has he no discipline or thought for anyone but himself" "What would you have us do lord?" "Change the locks to the coffers, furthermore if my son tries to get into the coffers tell him that he is no longer allowed in there and must speak to me personally for any other purchases and if he complains or threatens anyone about getting more money he will be punished severely by me. I am just glad we purchased the muskets ahead of time. Which route will they be arriving from?" "East from Sanada territory. The Sanada have ensured safe passage to our borders" "Excellent then once they arrive, we will begin having our men to start training on them as soon as possible" Mizuki having heard the conversation did not dare linger any longer lest she risk being discovered listening in on the daimyo. She made mental note of the direction of the shipment of muskets were coming from and would need to rendezvous with Hanbei tonight so they can make plans how to intercept them. She then made her way into the inner chambers past the daimyo quarters and in the daylight the mansion was bright and cheerful and all the paintings on the walls of birds and nature really gave it a serene atmosphere. She then finally made her way to Harunobu quarters and knocked on the door. She was already getting sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. She knew in her heart he wanted more than just sake and wished she could just leave the sake at the door and leave. However, she needed to get out of the castle and speak to Hanbei and the best way to do that was to keep the daimyo son content and she could move about the castle without arousing suspicion since everyone in the castle knew she was the daimyo son mistress and would not dare anger him and face his wrath. He slid the door opened and to her surprise he was not undressed. She walked through with the tray, and he slid the door closed. He then walked toward his mat he was sitting on at the other end of the room. As soon he sat down she moved toward him and set the tray down on a small table near him and then poured him a cup of sake and handed it to him. He then took the cup and drank the whole cup in one gulp. He then grabbed the bottle. Mizuki began to feel uneasy and her instincts were telling her something was wrong. His face had not smiled, and he had a sinister look in his eyes. He poured himself another drink and quickly empty its contents. He then spoke to her, "Can you please hand me that parchment on my bed?" Mizuki bowed her head and moved to grab the parchment. Then without warning she felt a tremendous shock of pain in back of her head, and she lost her balance and fell backwards facing up and she could feel blood seeping from the back of her head. She was starting to lose consciousness, and she could see Harunobu standing over her with a hideous crooked smile. She knew instantly she had completely miscalculated this man and would pay heavy price and then she loses consciousness.

  Mizuki regained consciousness several hours later and to her horror she was in a dark room. The smell of dried blood filled her nose; she tried to move but her arms were chained to a wall, and she was standing and could not move them. Her legs were not restrained but could not see anything as there was no light in this room and it was just pitch black in this room. Which led her to conclude she was in an inner part of the castle, maybe a dungeon or secret chambers. Her clothing was loose and undone, and she could feel stabbing pain in her ribs, her legs were felt bruised and swollen. Her face also felt swollen and even though could not see she could feel she had been tortured and beaten severely. Even though her hands and wrists were confined to the walls they were sticky and slick from unknown liquid and it actually seeped into her chains. She knows she must get free if she was to stand a chance at survival. Thankfully because of how tiny her wrists are and the liquid filling the cuffs of her chains she began to wiggle her left wrist free and very quickly she freed her left hand and then she began to feel around the slick wall for her other hand and very quickly free her right hand as well and instantly she collapsed to the ground. Again, it felt sticky and slick, the smells were hard to tolerate, and it smelled horrible and Mizuki had to fight herself from vomiting. Her legs feeling relieved from standing so long and she allowed them to rest. Her eyes were starting to adjust and even though she could not really see she was starting to make some sense of the room. Her body ached all over and she was annoyed in not anticipating this side of Harunobu. She had severely underestimated him; how did he figure out her treachery. She had been perfect in playing the star struck servant girl. Finally, her legs were regaining strength, and she began to feel around the room looking for a door or entrance and so far, all she could feel was stones on the wall and floor. She eventually felt air flowing on the floor and began to move toward the direction of the air and she felt wood and realized that this was probably the door. Her fingers could feel the small space under the door and then the light under then door began to grow brighter and she realized someone was walking toward her cell. She raced back to the chains and slipped them in the chains and luckily, she could feel her hair sticks still in her hair and would use when given the chance. She would endure whatever came next and survive to live another day. She willed herself to see Ryuzen again.

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  The cell door swung violently open and carrying a torch was Harunobu and this time his robe was open and he was quite drunk. Looking her up and down with that sick twisted smile she saw after he hit her the first time. As the light illuminated the room in the cell to Mizuki horror the slick liquid was blood and, on the floor, she could see bones and skulls. Then next to the door was another set of bones chained to the wall. She realized this man was a monster and he seemed to enjoy torturing and hurting others. She then now understood he had not discovered that she was a spy but instead he was simply a sadist. Finally, he spoke, "Hello my flower I hope you are enjoying your new quarters. I will be plucking your petals one at a time until you wither away and be added to my collection of bones in here" Mizuki was angry and filled with murderous rage that was building in her, but she needed to play the part of a scared servant girl and draw him closer to her so she could strike. Just like he needed praise he seemed to enjoy causing pain and terror and Mizuki played the part. She instantly began to scream and beg, and it seemed to excite him all the more and he seemed to enjoy watching her squirm. Again, with the sick twisted smile he then punched her in the stomach and instantly Mizuki screamed in pain but again she was making it seem worse than it actually was to draw him closer. He was still too far away, he then smacked her across the face, and she felt the pain but acted like she passed out and he grunted annoyed and finally decided to stand close to her. He grabbed her face to shake her awake, at the same time he was occupied with shaking her awake, she slowly moved her left hand from her chains and moved toward her head to grab the sharpened hair stick in her hair. She opened her eyes to have him stop shaking her and satisfied she was awake turned around to grab a whip he brought with him. Before he could grab his tool, she pulled her hair stick out and instantly stabbed him in the back of his neck where his spine was located and he instantly crumbled to the ground dying instantly.

  Mizuki knew she needed to escape the castle as quickly as possible but luckily her cover was still intact and when his body was discovered in this room they would assume she escaped because of what he did to her. They would do everything to cover up the shame of his illicit activities, but she would still be killed for daring to harm the daimyos son. She needed to get back to her room and recover everything she had from her secret stash and leave the castle as quickly as possible. She gathered her wits and picked up the torch and fixed her torn robe although that would require much more than just simply tying it together, but it would at least preserve some of her dignity and then left the torture chamber and looked left to right and on the left side there was a stone wall and on the right side was a dark hall way. Then as quickly as possible she made her way through the dark hallway. The smells lessened as she got farther away from the torture cell and she then approached a stairway that only went in the direction of up. She made her way up the stone steps and then she came upon a secret door that had light illuminated from the other side through the cracks of the door. She held her breath and has no idea where she will end up and may have to make a run for it, but she has no choice and quietly slides the door open and to her surprise she is still in Harunobu room. This makes sense as he could not carry a beaten and bloody servant girl out of his room without raising the daimyos suspicion. The room was lit up by a small candle on his table stand and it seemed to be late at night. She could see the spot on the floor where she fell with the blood stain from where he hit her and she fell down. He did not even care to clean the evidence of his crime up and Mizuki assumed some of the servants were complacent in helping him clean everything up later when he was done. He was too lazy to do it himself.

  She saw the tray with the sake bottle and realized this could be her way to not arouse suspicion. It was dark enough in hallways that no one could really see her appearance and not grow suspicious. Her adrenaline was wearing off and the pain of the beating he gave her was coming back and she needed to hurry before mansion awoke in the morning. She fixed her hair and robes as best she could and then grabbed the tray and sake bottle and went to small candle and blew it out to darken the room and allow her to not be seen by the guard outside in the hallway. She guessed it must be after midnight by how dark the mansion was at this time. She then exited the room and slid the door as quietly as possible. Then carrying the tray with the sake bottle she made her way down the hallway, and the guard was standing there but as she made her way past him, he did not stop her, and she continued walking past him. She walked past the daimyo room, and it was dark in the room. The dark hallway gave it a sinister look and made her way to the inner chamber entrance where the two guards stood watch and again, they said nothing as she passed by them. To the guards it was just an innocent servant girl leaving their lords quarters after spending the evening servicing him. Since she has already been there the previous night it did not arouse any suspicion in them. After dropping off the tray and sake bottle in the empty kitchen she then made her way to her quarters and did not even inspect them. She quickly undressed herself and washed her bruises and wounds as best she could and bandaged any cuts or abrasions on her body. He had really done a number on her, but she was satisfied he would never be able to hurt anyone again. She for the final time washed his filth off and then dressed in black fitting ninja clothing and covered her outfit with a black robe and hood. She gathered her items from her secret stash and chest and then exited her room and headed to the entrance. Again, the guard at the door said nothing as she left and Mizuki could not believe how lazy the security in this mansion was compared to Lord Ryuzen estate. She quickly made her way past the castle gates and then headed straight to the local inn where Hanbei and Toshie were staying.

  As she made her way into the inn it was mostly empty except for a few drunks sitting at a few tables and appeared the inn was getting ready to close its bar. She was relieved to see Hanbei sitting in a corner with a bottle of sake by himself and she quickly made her way to his table. To Mizuki relief he was not drunk yet. She quickly sat down next to him, and he was shocked by seeing her swollen face and appearance that he had to compose himself for a minute. He then grabbed her hand and took her to his room in the inn. To anyone observing them they assumed it was a late-night rendezvous between lovers and would simply ignore them. Once in the room Toshie rose to his feet and had the same expression Hanbei had at seeing what happened to her face. Instantly he grabbed his medicinal herbs from his bag and begin to brew a concoction of herbal medicine to help her with the pain. Hanbei spoke first, "What happened to you sister? Who hurt you?" He had tears welling up in his eyes at seeing her hurt. Mizuki responded "The fat fool showed his true colors, and I failed to anticipate his darker personality, he tortured me in a secret dungeon for hours that was connected to secret door in his quarters. I managed to free myself from my chains and killed him, but he had a collection of bones in his private chambers. He must have been doing this for years. It matters not now. He is dead and I must escape as quickly as possible but before I leave there is something you must know. The muskets will pass through Sanada territory and into Nagano territory in less than six days. If you can intercept the shipment, you will deprive them of any guns and Ryuzen will only have to deal with just bows and arrows. Here is everything I have written down about what I gathered so far in the castle" She then handed him her notes about the castle. Toshie had her sit on his bed and then her hood removed and with rag with warm water washed some of the blood from her face that she had missed. Tears began to slowly streak down her face and neither Toshie or Hanbei said anything and simply let her cry in silence. Her brothers comforted her as best they could and the medicinal tea helped regain her strength and lessen the pain. Finally, Hanbei broke the silence, "Toshie take her to the stables and give a horse, Mizuki ride with all haste back to Lord Ryuzen estate and inform him of what has happened. Also advise him we will return once the weapons have been destroyed" Feeling better by her brothers comfort she stood up as did her brothers and gave them each a hug and then Toshie and Mizuki made their way to the stables. Toshie saddled the horse and gave Mizuki half the profits from the salt shares and said, "Ride fast sister and stay safe. We will see you again in Kai" He gave his best smile he could muster, and she smiled in kind and rode off into the night with all haste toward Shinano province.

  Six days later Hanbei and Toshie ambushed the soldiers escorting the shipment of muskets just inside Nagano clan territory quite easily and then took the shipment to a secluded area and destroyed the muskets and then buried the evidence to make it look like bandits stole the shipment. Having accomplished their mission in sabotaging and gathering intelligence on the Nagano clan. They made their way back to Kai to report to Ryuzen. The mission was over and very soon the invasion would begin and made much easier thanks to the efforts of Mizuki, Hanbei, and Toshie Ryuzen's vaunted and formidable shadows.