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“Powers?” Lily cheered up at the thought.

Lily felt annoyed that the animas she had risked her life to seize couldn’t even serve as a good tonic to Sakura; however as she thought about this point, she could assume that Sakura wasn’t a low-level shikigami. Anyway, since Sakura’s memory was imperfect, she didn’t even know how strong she originally was.

Sakura said, “master, even though your anima container could be said to be exquisitely made, its level is too low. So, even if you can kill higher-level monsters, you can’t seize their souls. I just remember this: it will be much faster if I assist you in collecting the animas; moreover, we can even take in high-level souls.”

“Sakura, are you saying that you can capture high-level animas?”

“With master’s current level of skill, of course, it’s not a big deal. You should know that my former master… Crap, I can’t remember!”

Lily was both happy and worried. “But if I give you the animas, they will be gone forever…”

“Master! What are you talking about? I’m your shikigami: How could I go against my master’s benefit? I’m sure I won’t swallow the animas without your consent,” said Sakura.

Lily looked at the Sakura Parasol and her anima container, “How are you going to take in the animas? I don’t really understand you can store them.”

The Sakura Parasol swiftly flew up above Lily’s head, spinning slowly. “Master, have you never heard that a parasol can hold an entire sky?”

Meanwhile, beneath the dreamy silver light of the giant moon outlining the dense forest of swords that were the mountains embracing Kamakura city, purple smoke was rising through the dark night from the northeastern part of the city.

Deep in the forest of this mountain range was a ninja’s dwelling.

It was the secret dwelling of the “Fuma Clan.”

Compared to the renowned Iga-ryu and Koga-ryu, the Fuma Clan was just a very small branch. However, among the eight nations in Kanto where the onmyojis and ninjas were lesser than the samurai, they were somewhat famous.

In this ninja’s dwelling, there was a house built on the mountain flank under a waterfall. To reach this place, people had to climb and cross a single-log bridge, piercing through the immense mist over a hundred-mile-deep abyss. At this moment, bonfires were set in the biggest room of the house.

Even so, the shabby, old wooden room still looked ill-lit as though light couldn’t pierce through the place. Two rows of still ninjas sat under the thick and primitive wooden pillars. The air was strangely quiet except for the popping sounds of burning wood.

A ninja in black with a sturdy body sat in the front row on the wooden floor. He was wearing a heavy and simple-looking silver shoulder pad armor. His physique didn’t look like it belonged to a ninja.

This Fuma Clan grew upon what they feasted: brutal killings and merciless murders, as they weren’t good at collecting intelligence or sending messages.

The sturdy ninja opened his mouth, his rusty voice conveying a threatening tone, “the Daidouji’s commission this time, Shiu¹, you’ll take it.”

Mido Shiu was standing behind the beefy ninjas. Hearing her name called, she was shaken inwardly as if she had just received great pressure. She walked out of the group.

Mido Shiu had a body as beautiful as her name. Her crystal-like, purple hair was tied up with a hair ribbon with white and pink flowers prints. Her ponytail was held high and descending like a waterfall, reaching her waist.

Shiu wore a tank top and a short, deep-green skirt with light orange flower prints. A section of her creamy thighs was revealed at her stocking’s garter belt. She held a straight, ivory single-edged sword² on her back.

Different from the other ninjas, Shiu didn’t cover her face. She had a beautiful face with a pair of clear but cold black eyes. Her lips were dark red, which was somewhat dark but shining as if she had deliberately applied some lip gloss.

“Chief, Sir, Shiu… received the order.”³

“Shiu, although you’ve just finished your apprenticeship, the Elders have high expectations for you. Even though the Daidouji’s family has average power-level, their money is as much as water. They’re our main business for getting rich. I’m not going to linger on the importance of this mission. I hope you wouldn’t fail your father’s name,” the robust Chief Ninja’s words sounded as if he was entrusting some important mission; however, it felt somewhat mistrustful.

“Such an important mission. Shiu will try her best to accomplish it! Chief, sir, please don’t worry.”

The burning bonfire couldn’t shoo away the dim, gloomy atmosphere of Fuma Clan’s hall.

Right after Shiu received her mission and left, the ninjas of different ranks in the Fuma Clan also dispersed.

The chief was now alone in this dimly-lit room. With a stern face, he took out a small wooden box carved with a Mask of Prajna. Carefully, he opened it and took out a small, black roll of paper. His face turned more cautious when he slowly unrolled it.

The roll of paper had strange writings in red ink, which had a faint smell of blood. It read,

“During the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons, the Kamakura’s Ancient Mirror will appear.”⁴

The Chief furrowed his brows, taking in a deep breath, his eyes turning heavy and cold.

1. Oh… now I finally understand what the title means
2. 直刀 – Chokuto
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_sword
3. I can’t help but think, “Oh hello, another yuri candidate~”
4. Ja-ja-ja-jan!! Plot twists!!