(T/N: Third Chapter! Hope you guys enjoyed the read! and Thanks for the support!!
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"I can offer that price because my Suzuka Sake House has been a century-old establishnt in the Suzuka District. Can your wholesale price even compare?" The young shopkeeper’s voice turned sharper. "Try selling that shady-looking booze sowhere else, see if anyone’ll even take it."
Komamura Sajin was silent for a mont before responding, "I can work at your shop. Just give food in return..."
The young man’s expression eased, as if a thought had just struck him. "If you can supply mandarin wine on a regular basis, maybe we can negotiate. I could raise the purchase price a bit..."
Komamura shook his head. "I won’t be going back to Inuyama."
[TN: Inuyama (犬山) , a territory associated with the Wolfman Clan]
The young man gave a short laugh. "Then there’s nothing to talk about. I don’t need extra hands here. And with how you look, leaving you in front of my shop would probably scare away all my custors!"
He waved dismissively. "Don’t block the entrance. You’re hurting business."
Just as Nanatsuki was about to speak to Komamura, the latter’s nose, hidden beneath his bamboo helt, twitched slightly.
The canine sharpness of his senses caught a scent from afar. Komamura’s expression shifted, and without another word, he turned and hurried off.
He hadn’t been gone long before four figures, all wearing bamboo helts, appeared at the far end of the street.
They paused briefly in front of Suzuka Sake House.
"Komamura Sajin stayed here for a while," one of them said.
"I sll mandarin wine..." said another.
"Must be what he brought out with him."
"Doesn’t matter. He hasn’t gotten far, after him!"
The four bamboo-helted strangers chased off in the direction Komamura had gone.
Inside, Kyōraku Shunsui withdrew his gaze from the window.
"Those bamboo-hatted weirdos... They’re from the Wolfman Clan, right?"
The group’s hearing was sharp, they’d clearly caught every word of the conversation outside.
"Most likely," said Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, nodding lightly. "When I first established the Gotei 13, I visited them. I granted them domain over Inuyama and the surrounding areas. In return, they agreed not to harm Shinigami or Rukongai residents without cause."
Nanatsuki asked curiously, "I haven’t heard much about the Wolfman Clan these past few years. They don’t leave Inuyama often, do they?"
Yamamoto replied, "That’s correct. The clan lives in seclusion within Inuyama and rarely steps outside. Seeing them here today is rare indeed."
The group of wolfn had clearly been in a hurry, but Yamamoto showed no interest in pursuing the matter.
After finishing their al, the group left the Suzuka Sake House.
At the sa ti, out beyond the streets of Suzuka District, bubbles rose slowly in a river, disturbing the calm surface.
The bubbles drifted toward the riverbank. With a sudden splash, a strange figure wearing a bamboo helt erged from the water.
Komamura Sajin had escaped Suzuka District by diving into the river.
He had left in such haste because he was being hunted by mbers of his own clan.
He’d gotten into so trouble recently, and word of it had reached the Wolfman Clan. As a result, they had sent people to capture him and bring him back.
But if they succeeded, he’d likely be locked away and never see the outside world again.
Komamura couldn’t accept that fate. He couldn’t bear the thought of living his days hidden away in the mountains. He wanted to wander the world, perhaps even beco a Shinigami.
"Good thing there was a river. The current should wash away my scent. That’ll throw them off for now," he thought.
He removed his bamboo helt, revealing a head like that of an Akita dog.
In his left hand, he clutched a large, struggling fish, at least ten pounds by the look of it. He’d grabbed it while swimming.
Komamura scanned the riverbank, then began walking downstream. He needed to find a place to rest, build a fire, and roast the fish.
That evening, he found a suitable spot in a desolate mountain area.
There, Komamura ca across an abandoned shrine.
The shrine was in ruins, the roof partially collapsed, debris and wood scattered across the ground. It clearly hadn’t been maintained in ages.
Inside, the sacred statue lay toppled and broken. It was so weathered, it was hard to tell what deity it had once represented, its twisted shape barely resembled anything human.
Behind the shrine, Komamura discovered an overgrown graveyard.
The graves varied in age, but even the newest among them were covered in weeds.
A withered banyan tree stood beside the cetery, nothing left but dry branches. A row of crows perched silently above, watching the intruder.
Caw! Caw! Caw!
Their shrill cries echoed from the dead branches.
’No one should co to a place like this at night,’ Komamura thought.
After confirming he was alone, he gathered so firewood and started a fire.
As he roasted the fish, however, he picked up the scent, and sound, of people.
"Yare yare, I told you soone was making a fire. Can’t you sll that? Slls like grilled fish. This spot’s perfect for a break, let’s rest in the shrine tonight."
"Your nose is better than a dog’s."
Hearing the voices from the shrine’s courtyard, Komamura hurried to put his bamboo helt back on.
’Why would people co here at night...?’ he sighed inwardly.
He’d only wanted a quiet place to rest, but it seed the fire had caught the attention of travelers below the mountain.
Looking at the fish roasting over the flas, Komamura hesitated. The newcors weren’t from his clan, so he didn’t flee. He decided to finish the fish first.
Under his bamboo helt, his ears twitched. Soone was approaching the graveyard.
"Mmm, slls good! Soone’s cooking behind here?" Kyōraku Shunsui stepped past the shrine and walked into the back courtyard.
"Phew, grilling fish over a grave?" Shunsui blinked at the sight of the fire, the fish, and the bamboo-helted figure.
Nanatsuki, following behind, also spotted Komamura by the fire.
He was surprised. He hadn’t expected to run into Komamura Sajin again so soon.
In Nanatsuki’s mory, Komamura had once received a great favor from Yamamoto, and ever since, had been fiercely loyal to him.
Now that he thought about it, that event likely took place during this very training journey.
"That’s a huge fish! Looks good, mind sharing half with us?" Shunsui, ever shaless, walked right up and asked. "I can pay for it."
Komamura, keeping a cold and aloof deanor, simply replied, "Help yourself."
He’d been starving all day and didn’t really want to share. But to avoid conflict, he agreed to Shunsui’s request.
As a mber of the much-mistrusted Wolfman Clan, Komamura had learned to live cautiously.
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