[Gintama] Immortal

The scorching firelight streamed on the wooden floor, and the lamp oil hissed.

The heat wave distorted the darkness, and once the wooden buildings were ignited, the fire spread extremely quickly.

"You blocked me, Yae."

Turning a deaf ear to her questioning, Xu tilted his head and smiled with eyebrows and eyes crooked, his dark red pupils reflecting the burning fire, deep and empty.

The light and shadow flickered, and the air smelled of rust and salt, making one's throat bitter.

Yae protected the wounded and gasping young priest behind him, watching him fixedly.

"why?"

Until this moment, her time on this planet had been happy.

Now this mood came to an abrupt end, as if suddenly awakened from alcohol, the slightly drunken warmth evaporated, leaving only the objective, cold and indefensible reality.

Xu Xu looked over her shoulders and landed on the boy's restrained face.

"...You don't need to know." As if looking down at some kind of dead object, his eyes were indifferent, and he repeated: "Get out of the way."

The heat wave continued to heat up, and the fire spread to the corners of the room. Yae looked away, stopped looking at him, and asked the boy behind him:

"Can you go?"

Clutching his bloody throat, the gray-eyed priest shook his head slightly, apparently unable to speak.

"I can't stay here anymore, I'll take you out." Yae stretched out his hand.

The wood crackled and burned, and billows of black smoke spread with flames.

"Yazhong." Xu's voice suddenly sank, cold and cold: "Put him down."

"You've ruined his throat, what else do you want?"

Yae helped the young boy who was enduring the severe pain to stand up, and asked him to put his weight on her shoulders.

"Enough is enough." She turned her head and glanced, "Let's all go out now."

This building, which was about to be swallowed by fire, couldn't stay anymore.

After going through tonight, they couldn't stay in this village anymore.

The blazing fire illuminated the dark night, and the awakened villagers rushed to fight the fire.The injured priest was taken by the tribe for treatment. Yae saw someone crying, and the moisture from the corners of his eyes was quickly wiped away by the back of his hand. Everyone performed their duties, desperately saving the burning shrine.

Ah, people on this planet cry too.

The fire was barely extinguished until early in the morning.The buildings with a long history were destroyed, and everyone stood silently beside the charred ruins. She and Xu stood further behind. The surrounding area was like a vacuum, and no one approached from the beginning to the end.

On the second day after the fire broke out, Amaterasu-in Naraku's fleet landed on the planet.

The boarding ladder slowly descended, and Yae took one last look at the empty plain.

The low sky enveloped the whole field, the wind blowing, the knee-high weeds rustling, the sound resounding through the wilderness was empty and lonely.

It was to be expected that there would be no one to see him off.

Yae turned around and stepped on the boarding ladder.

The bright and dazzling fire was burning in the dark night, and the child holding his mother was standing in the open space at a loss. He looked in Xu's direction, and the adults around him pressed his head quickly, as if avoiding famine and plague, stiff and Abruptly look away.

The moment their eyes crossed briefly, she clearly saw the expression in the other's eyes.

--fear.

In the past 500 years, even she, a bystander, has nothing but empty boredom about this emotion.

"It's a blessing that you're safe and sound."

The screen in the main control room showed a quaint Japanese style room. The gray-haired man had a rosary hanging around his neck, a black cassock tied around his shoulders, and was wearing the outfit of the leader of Amaterasu-in Naraku, who was obviously still on duty not long ago.

Seeing that he was about to launch a long confession with "subordinates' incompetence" as the central idea, he raised his hand, the voice on the other side of the screen seemed to be pulled by an invisible thread, and immediately held his breath quietly.

"Even if I'm a little old, I don't want to be treated as an old man." He said with a smile, and the first thing he did when he returned to the ship was to change back to the black cloak, which now covered him from head to toe. Strictly.

"About this attack..."

"The troubles on the side of Tiandaozhong, I will find them back at that time." Yun Danfeng lightly changed the topic, and Xu continued, "How is the adjustment of the itinerary?"

A moment of silence:

"Chun Yu's Elder's House hopes to have a call with you as soon as possible."

"Oh?" Xu Xu's voice was calm, "How fast is as soon as possible?"

Hazy lowered her head: "The Elder's House learned the news of your safe return, and arbitrarily scheduled the meeting for half an hour later."

"Is it so impatient." Xu Xu showed a playful look: "Then it will be as they wish."

Dirty's voice was low: "With all due respect, Master Xu, you don't have to accommodate Chun Yu's request."

"It's not accommodating, but I just don't want people to wait for a long time, and it's okay to try eagerly."

Xu Xu smiled, with a kind expression on his face: "After all, Chunyu still has a little use, doesn't it?"

Half an hour later, the meeting with the Chunyu Elder's House was held as scheduled in the conference hall inside the ship.

The holographic projection was activated, and a figure covering his face appeared at the table out of thin air, and the metal conference hall turned into a tall tower standing in the depths of the universe in the blink of an eye.

"The unexpected trip seems to be over, Your Excellency Xu." The old man who spoke had a gray beard and deep eyes, "You disappeared for a while before, and I thought the agreement with the Heavenly Daoists was about to change."

After listening with the same expression, he smiled: "Thanks to everyone's concern, as you can see, it's just a small accident during the journey, not enough to bother Chun Yu's concerns."

"Really? It seems that I am meddling in my own business."

"No, I'm just flattered to hear that you care so much about me."

A cold snort came from the opposite figure.

After several rounds of greetings, the smile on Xu Xu's face remained unchanged.

With fingers crossed, he leaned against the back of the metal chair and spoke slowly:

"So, can we get down to business?"

There was no objection.

"The rebels on the earth have caused headaches for the Heavenly Daoists recently. I heard that Chunyu also appeared rebels who violated the orders of the Elders' Court. The two are now joining forces. The Heavenly Daoists and the Elder's House have the same interests. According to the previous agreement, we should help each other. Yes. Do you have any objections?"

After a moment of silence, the leading elder said coldly: "We need proof that the Heavenly Daoists will not betray."

As if waiting for the other party to bring this up, he frowned and replied: "The Heavenly Daoists also need proof that Chun Yu will not betray. We have also taken a lot of risks by joining forces with well-known criminal organizations in the universe."

"...Obviously it's just a parasite of the planet, and the Heavenly Daoists really dare to say it."

"Oh, so our reputation has spread so far." Xu smiled and said, "Everyone, the number one criminal organization in the universe, even the Daoists of Heaven have to take precautions."

The talks were at an impasse for a while.

As if not aware of the blunt atmosphere, he continued with a calm expression: "I heard that Chun Yu's Seventh Division has assembled an elite group. In terms of strength, it is far superior to other divisions. The reputation of the new admiral is also quite high. I was defeated by the sharpest division in my hands. It must be quite unpleasant for the knife to be pointed at."

"..."

"I am here now, and the agreement I want to conclude with you is very simple."

The deep and gentle voice seemed to be wrapped in the mist of deep winter, the corners of his mouth were curled up, and the smile in his eyes was cold: "The next goal of the united rebels is the earth. When the time comes, the Heavenly Daoists will get rid of the rebels, and everyone from Chunyu Just deal with the traitors inside with peace of mind, take action at the right time, and ensure that the two can't unite forces again."

……

Outside the porthole, the galaxy is still in the dark void.The indoor constant temperature system regulates the humidity, and it is warm all year round. The remodeled cabin is covered with tatami mats, and the lamps in the alcove emit a warm orange light.

Yae lit the light and casually flipped the pages of the book.

The air flow escaped, and the green light for passing was lit by the door.She didn't look up, and a black figure was reflected on the edge of her field of vision.

"...What's the matter?" Gouyu, who was hanging on her neck, made a soft sound as she leaned over, and stretched out her hand to support her chin, rubbing her fingertips against her cheek, "with an unhappy expression."

If she was unhappy if she wasn't smiling, she had nothing to say.

"I'm reading." Yae said concisely, expressing the subtext of wanting to be alone for a while.

"Really." Xu didn't comment, "Which paragraph did you see?"

Yae paused: "You won't be interested in the content of this book."

Xu Xu frowned, smiled and said, "I'm listening."

"..."

Yae sighed and closed the book: "What the hell are you here for?"

After a moment of silence, Xu rubbed the corners of her pursed lips, his gentle voice still smiling: "It's just someone I've known for a few days, are you going to get angry with me for such a boring reason?"

"...take your hand away."

Before the words fell, the blood in the opponent's eyes suddenly darkened.

"—If I say that, will you feel bad?" Yae looked up at him.

Xu restrained his hand from releasing his strength: "What exactly do you want to express?"

"You know it clearly." Yae said, "I don't like your approach."

"I didn't kill him, isn't that enough?"

Xu Xu spoke unhurriedly, with a gentle expression, almost as if he was coaxing her.

Yae's expression suddenly became a little sad.

Soon, she turned her eyes away.

"...you have a group of loyal subordinates." She brought up seemingly unrelated topics.

"Oh?"

"I asked about the meeting with Chun Yu, but no one answered. Naraku's tone was really strict."

"I didn't give an order." Xu Xu's breath eased, "Others don't know the contract between you and me."

Bound by the Spirit of Words, she cannot interfere with his plans.Even if she sat at the scene and listened to the conversation between Tiandaozhong and Chunyu, she still couldn't disclose the information to others.

Xu observed her for a while, narrowed his eyes slightly, and said, "You know."

The alliance between the ghost soldiers and the Seventh Division of Chunyu, no matter from the perspective of the Tiandao people or the elders' house, this thorn in the side must be eliminated.

"Yeah, I see."

When she was on earth, she heard a lot of news from Gui.Although there is no exact channel to obtain intelligence, there is still the ability to piece together various information and make inferences.

From the get-go, it wasn't just a matter of space travel.

However, for a moment—a brief moment—when she didn't think about it deeply, she would feel that it might be okay to go on like this.

It might work together.

"I can't do anything. But at least, can you leave me alone?"

She smiled.

"Yes." Xu Xu suppressed a faint smile, and raised his hand to touch her cheek lightly, from the cheekbone to the chin, "but you have to take back what you said before."

Yae blinked and looked up at him: "Which sentence?"

Immediately, she reacted.

"Take your hands away."

"...Ah," Yae said slightly, with a complicated mood, "I take back that sentence."

"Just this time." Xu Xu tilted his head and kissed her lips.The wet and cold touch was fleeting, he let go of the hands around her neck, got up and left as promised.

"There will be something you are interested in at the next destination." Before the door closed, he looked sideways, his red eyes slightly curved, "If you are not happy, go shopping."

The predecessor of Tiandaozhong is also known as the Altana Security Association, and its branches are all over the planets in the universe.

The Branch Association in charge of the Gate of Altana is an extension of the power of the Heavenly Dao, and only the core members with the highest authority can get close to the Gate.During Xu's inspection of the Gate of Altana, Yae either found a random place to stay, or went out to walk around, so he should be familiar with the local customs.

The new itinerary has been adjusted, and the number of planets to be inspected has been reduced by one-third.

Yae stood on an unfamiliar street, raised his face, and the suspended train whizzed away along the railroad tracks in the air.Both sides of the street are lined with square-like residential buildings, retro street lamps hold woven flower baskets, the future and the past are perfectly blended, the efficiency of high technology and the elegant splicing of history are so novel that people cannot take their eyes off them.

She admits that the planet is indeed interesting.Normally, she would have already left Naluo behind, and she could be as happy as she wanted.

Yae took a step forward, and the two Naraku dressed as civilians followed neatly.

The sliding door of the bar suddenly opened, and a gray and autumnal figure rolled out roundly, not too far away, just two or three steps away from her.

The scarlet long windbreaker was covered with dust, and the sunglasses were tilted to nowhere. The obviously drunk man staggered up from the ground, laughed ah ha ha ha ha, and shouted into the bar:

"Have another cup, boss!"

Tosa accent.

brown hair.natural volume.

Yae didn't expect to meet people from Earth on such a distant planet.

"I'm rich, I'm really rich! If you don't believe me, ask the people around, is there anyone who doesn't know the captain of the fast rescue team, Sakamoto Tatsuma... Ugh."

The drunken man leaned on a trash can on the side of the street, bent over and vomited out.

Yae stopped.

The name Sakamoto Tatsuma... seems familiar?