I order you as shogun.
Take out the rebels!
C-Curse you!
I can't believe that one of Iga's three great ninjas
would so disgracefully attack his target instead of admitting defeat.
But it's all over.
Momochi, you set me up?!
Why is the shogun in the shogun assassination squad?
I mean, Zenzo-san killed the real one...
That wasn't me.
No...
The shogun you all probably met in the past few days wasn't me, either.
I was kidnapped by a certain someone
immediately after the incident in the palace.
And I was hiding in Iga, under the protection of Momochi here.
What?!
That shogun was a fake, too?
Kidnap the shogun from the palace?
That's not...
It is possible,
for him.
It can't be!
That brat?
It was all that Hattori brat's doing?!
Momochi, you...
Did the two of you conspire to fake the shogun's death?!
You outwitted your enemies, allies, and even us Iga ninjas?!
Watch the Shogun Assassination Arc in a bright room and at a safe distance from your TV!
You don't get to call yourself an Iga ninja, scumbag.
The only reason Iga fell so easily
must've been because you all were in cahoots with the enemy.
Unfortunately for you, that brat and I are ninjas through and through.
We choose our lords and our enemies ourselves—
Quit the bullshit, you senile blockhead.
It's all over.
Iga, the shogun, and everything!
You won't take the shogun's head with pathetic ninja arts like that.
Or, for that matter, Momochi Rappa's.
You lack training.
Now this is true ninja artillery.
That was her real body?!
Shogun Assassination Arc Part Three
Ninja Soul
The holy land of ninjas,
the hidden village of Shiranui.
This place is under the protection of Marici, the god of ninjas,
so the shogun will be safe here.
Have some tea and relax.
Drink up.
It's the village's special tea, nincha.
Uh, excuse me, Momochi-san.
That's a weapon, isn't it?
Not a person, right?
Are you whelps too young for tea?
Have this, then.
Cocoa!
It's safe, right?
You're the real body, right?!
I'm a ninja who practices puppet arts,
one who controls a puppet and is controlled by one.
We are both the real Momochi Rappa.
Uh, I'm not sure I follow.
And you look more like a puppet, if you ask me.
Worry not.
Momo-chan can be a weapon at some times,
and a teapot at others. She's an all-purpose puppet.
So it's safe, then.
And at times, she can also be a toilet.
Hey, there's a toilet right here.
You won't find a restroom if you go that way.
Nor will you survive.
This is a ninja fortress.
You'd best not run around carelessly.
Some have had their bodies twisted the moment they entered a restroom.
What is this, the Dark Continent?
I see.
Yeah, the shogun really might be safe here.
The shogun went and got himself twisted first!
Down there?!
So you get twisted down there?!
It should be clear to you now.
I shall guarantee the shogun's safety.
Leave the rest to me and withdraw.
Who'll protect the shogun, if not us?
The enemy is as powerful as an entire nation.
"Protect"?
Shallow thinking like that will only get the shogun killed again.
Could you kill the shogun, like the Hattori brat did?
What do you mean?
I met him a month after the Harusame overran Iga village.
Since he'd already been keeping tabs on the situation, he knew that
while the enemy had started as a group of radical Joi Rebels in the Hitotsubashi faction,
they had now grown into a massive, unstoppable force.
That they wouldn't stop attacking as long as the shogun stayed the shogun.
That if we wanted to protect the shogun, protect Iga,
and prevent further warfare,
there was only one way to do it:
kill Tokugawa Shigeshige, the shogun,
and return him to merely being Tokugawa Shigeshige.
What he lopped off was the position of shogun.
By taking him out of the political picture,
he tried to protect the life of Tokugawa Shigeshige, the man.
To that end, he chose to throw his life away
and go down in the history books as a traitor.
Take it.
I can't get curious about what happens next.
It'll make me waver.
That bastard was planning it all along?
Sacchan-san!
Don't tell anyone that the shogun is alive,
if you don't want anyone else to die.
Do you really think they'll be satisfied with taking the shogun's head?
Are you familiar with the enemy?
You bet I am.
Enough to make me sick.
Impossible!
That's the Harusame!
No way!
Why are they coming to Iga again?!
Did they find out that the shogun was hidden here?!
The Hattori brat wouldn't mess up like that.
Then why?
Take a good look, you guys.
This is who he is.
He won't stop, even if the shogun dies.
He won't stop, even if the entire political landscape changes.
If you want to stop him,
you'll have to kill him.
Hello?
Where are you right now, Abuto?
C-Commander!
Th-The vice commander is in the restroom right now.
That so?
Tell him that he'll get a pay cut if he's not back within three seconds.
Hey, Commander. I just got done.
That was one smooth dump. I probably didn't even need to wipe.
Where'd you run off to while I was off the ship?
I don't see you anywhere.
We're looking for you, too, but can't find you anywhere.
You're not off doing something fun while I'm gone, are you?
Of course not!
You're not headed to Iga with Shinsuke, are you?
Of course not!
Did you find who you were looking for?
Nope. I guess they must've died.
All of them.
Aww, what a waste.
And here I'd managed to find such an interesting rarity.
Anyway, I'll head over there. Tell me where you are.
Uh, you're wounded, so why don't you take it easy for a while?
Fine.
I'll come through here, then.
You can do that?!
Abuto...
You know what'll happen if you go and do anything fun without me, right—
Cut!
Cut the feed!
A-Are you sure about this?
As if I could bring along a guy who was looking for prey even when wounded.
Besides,
I can't help but feel there's trouble brewing.
Where'd that guy go? Where'd Hattori Zenzo go?
Stop the ships!
State your business!
Why don't you put them at ease?
Tell them we're only here to thank them for helping to assassinate the shogun.
If you want to thank someone, thank me.
Those idiots weren't very useful at all.
You don't seem the type to care much about achievements.
I was the one who took the shogun's head.
I don't want a medal or anything,
but I don't want anybody taking credit for the job I carried out with my skills.
Or taking the fall for it.
That was your plan all along, wasn't it?
You guys didn't get the Iga involved just to borrow their strength.
You wanted them to take the blame for the shogun's assassination
and be destroyed in the name of Lord Hitotsubashi.
In other words,
you used us ninjas to give him a just cause to become the next shogun, didn't you?
Talk about looking down on me.
Are you saying the name Hattori Zenzo isn't enough to bear that cross?
This isn't the Crossing of Iga, but rather the Crossing of Styx,
and you don't have enough companions.
Go give the shogun's skull some company in hell,
Oniwaban.
Oh, I've already got enough people taking a trip to hell with me
right here.
What the?
What's this black fog?
Flame Mist.
An Iga-developed smokescreen that explodes when it detects high temperatures.
With this, your big dongs have been rendered useless.
The only thing you can believe in is your own skills.
Now, how many of you can I take to hell with me?
I'll show you what a traitor to the nation is capable of.
Welcome to ninja country.
You haven't changed one bit, have you?
That is my creed.
I see.
You've really forgotten, huh?
So it did end up like this after all.
Don't let the Hattori brat die alone.
Show them the skills we have honed.
Show them the ninja soul!
Where might you be headed?
You don't look like you're running for it.
Sho-chan,
we can't let you go any further.
Please leave this to us and take refuge.
Step aside.
I know that everyone's fighting for me.
But...
But I cannot bear to see any more people die for m—
Gin-san!
In that case, do you wanna abandon everything and die right here?
I'll help you cast aside the lives of everyone who's died for you,
and put you out of your misery.
Or will you live on, using countless corpses as stepping stones?
Pick whichever you like.
All I'll say is,
even if you run away from your battle,
we don't plan on running from ours.
Pachi-boy!
Shogun, you...
I was taught how to throw them long ago
by the Oniwaban.
To me, they're not merely retainers.
They're precious friends.
Please, let me go!
I don't want to let them...
To let Zenzo die!
Sheesh.
Yet another ship down the drain.
He's good, that Hattori Zenzo.
But it looks like my instinct was right on the money.
I thought he was fishy, and that he was hiding something.
And look, we found the real shogun's head.
S-So many Yato...
Gin-chan! Sho-chan!
I'm sorry, but once the rabbits of the night lock on to their prey,
they don't let it escape!
I see.
Ninja country's out for revenge, eh?
Interesting.
If the commander saw this, he'd jump for joy.
The nation's strongest warriors teamed up to challenge the universe's strongest?
Can you defend this country from us?!
Well done coming back from that disaster alive.
You have my gratitude for protecting the princess.
It was all thanks to Okita-dono.
He aided in our escape until right before the ship sank.
If it weren't for him, none of us would've survived.
That troublemaker did all that?
So we've been saved by a couple of punks, who're the farthest thing from loyal.
And that Zenzo...
Who would've thought he'd trick even us to save Sho-chan?
Are you sure?
Yes.
That wasn't Shigeshige-sama.
When I checked the body, I didn't find something that should've been there.
A scar.
A scar?
That's news to me.
It's a secret that only Shigeshige-sama, the Oniwaban, and I know.
No...
It's proof of the bonds between Shigeshige-sama and the Oniwaban.
Shigeshige-sama met them before he became the shogun, and they the Oniwaban.
He was deeply shocked to learn
that kids his age were laying down their lives to protect him
as his body doubles.
What? The double got kidnapped?
It's probably the Mito faction's doing.
Their demands—
Ignore them.
The Oniwaban's duty is to protect the shogun.
While there's only one shogun in this world,
there are plenty of doubles to go around.
Where do you think you're going,
Zenzo?
Are you going to defy the shogun?
Are you going to save Kagemaru all by yourself?
What shogun?
I learned during the lectures
that the Oniwaban's duty isn't to protect the shogun,
but rather to protect the shogun's duty.
That's why he became a double.
In my eyes, a shogun who'd abandon him is no shogun at all,
so I'm gonna do as I pl—
Oh, so that's what being a shogun is all about.
Then would you help me fulfill my duty?
I want to save the double.
I only found out about it after it was all over,
when Shigeshige-sama came back covered in blood.
Would you believe it,
not only did he charge into the rebel base,
he also protected the double in that fracas
and ended up with a deep wound on his chest.
The real shogun got gravely injured to help the double.
If this had come to light, the entire clan would've been beheaded.
But...
Fret not.
Isn't this what doubles are for?
I'm sorry to ask this of you after you went through a harrowing experience,
but could you take my place for a little longer?
To cover up the incident, Shigeshige-sama switched places with his double.
For the little over six months it took for the wound to heal,
he hid among the Oniwaban as the double, protecting them.
Hey, Shogun.
This is how you throw these knives.
Hey, Shogun. A ninja shouldn't be crying over such a minor wound.
Hey, Shogun.
Jump is most fun to read during class.
Hey...
Shigeshige.
You finally called me by name.
Well, I probably won't get another chance.
The next time we meet, will I have to call you Shogun-sama?
Address me however you like.
But no matter what I come to be called,
I shall never forget the time I spent here with you all.
I shall never forget what you all taught me.
The duty of the Oniwaban isn't to protect the shogun,
but rather to protect the shogun's duty.
And the shogun's duty
is to protect the country and its people, even at the cost of his life.
If you become the Oniwaban someday...
If I become the shogun someday,
I hope we can fight together
for this country.
Apparently loyalty and fidelity will forever be beyond me.
That day has finally come, and I've finally become one of your Oniwaban,
so why does this have to be my first and last mission?
I, Kagemaru, wouldn't be here if he hadn't saved my life back then.
Use it for his sake.
Why did it have to involve sacrificing a comrade
and putting you—the shogun to death?
But I guess it's not that bad.
I have to admit it's very like me.
Only fools die for their lords or kings,
but, Shigeshige,
anyone who lays down his life for just a buddy must be an even bigger fool.
Don't lay a finger on him.
Don't you dare lay a finger on our boss!
Shogun Assassination Arc Part Four
Dying with you guys is the last thing I want!
And Then There Were Five
Zenzo put his life on the line for this plan,
and Sacchan and the rest of the Oniwaban join in!
The Yato's onslaught, and the impending showdown...
As the new year quickly approaches, the story speeds up!!