176 5.65 'sBandits's Confusing Other Bandits.

The guard came and passed me a note from Yonezawa and it read STM Yonezawa 321. Oamagai...! We'd better get the warehouses up and running with the assembly line and get the 1st shift to be notified of their commencement date.

We had so many orders to fulfil but the STM is still in midair and yet to be mass-produced. But at this rate, I won't be able to complain because logistics and safety are yet to be tightened and nothing should be compromised when lives are at stake here.

Cargo can be replaced but human lives cannot!

We have to wreck our brains to outsmart these villains. I waited till Hiko-sama had returned from the Treasury and remembered a decoy in sea battles using sail ships of the yesteryear. If Captain Blackbeard could fool the trading ships, we could also follow his example and fool the villains.

When Hiko-sama returned with the ambassadors, I discussed with them my ideas.

"Seniors, I want to share something. What happens en route to Shibata is no laughing matter. Luckily I can sense an arrow coming at me and I was able to avoid it. Now I wanted to ask you these. When you all were in an expedition, you met with bandits and other enemies right?"

"Yes, we do on a number of occasions. Why do you ask? Were you intending to take an act of revenge or annihilating them to make the journey safer?"

"Not really, seniors. We don't even know them how are we going to revenge on them? Furthermore, we were not hurt in any way and at most, the one who gets hurt most would be the ranger, as the more he struggled, the more the stick is gonna poke through his ass!"

The men laughed at what I had done earlier to the poor lone ranger because I positioned the stick right at where his legs were and the more he struggles, the more pain he would feel.

"I mean is, we would put on a disguise the moment we leave this village and remove the disguise before entering the next town. Have you seen any flags these bandits carry or the type of masks they put on? It's like the time you were carrying the black flag with a big red X in the centre."

"Oh that flag, I remember. The flag we carry is an international sign for those in expedition or scout. It doesn't represent anything."

I drew a skull and two crossed bones in it and asked if anyone sports this type of flag before? They looked at it and said they hadn't seen it before. Then how about masks like these..."

I drew a mask with horns like a ram and a mask that looked like a geisha.

"We haven't seen such a hideous mask before. And this mask it looked like a youkai to me."

I looked at the geisha-like mask I had drawn with a very tiny mouth and eyes and I wondered how the men gonna look through it with tiny dots for eye holes.

"We have to put in an act from now on. We make the flags and fly it in too of the wagon. Then if anything happens like this again, we acted like we are from another bandit group and called out how dare they shoot at their fellow bandits. And curse their mothers and fathers and so on."

"If they happen to look over and saw our flags we call out to them to come over so we gonna flogged their butt's and when they are near, we jumped on them and carry off to the next town to be trialled and sentenced."

"Tell me if you have another idea because sometimes my idea sucks. Don't tell me we are going to ride on a fully armoured wagon or carriage?"

The men discussed and they agreed on my idea on making the skull with crossbones. I explained to them this was the international flag for sea pirates. While they were discussing I drew some political logos that looked like a bolt of lightning, a Blacksmith hammer, two hands shaking, a pyramid with an eye in the centre, a no smoking sign, handicap toilet sign.

They saw what I drew a d I told them some are dangerous signs, some political signs and another one is for an outhouse for people with big butt's. They saw the last one and can't help laughing and I asked Hiko-sama to tell about what I saw last night at the cosmetics shop.

After Hiko-sama had told the story to them, they all burst out laughing because I had such an imaginative mind... And I asked Hiko-sama to tell about the hairy flat-chested woman and the demon that ran away.

After Hiko-sama had told the story, everyone was basically laughing hysterically and the cooks were thinking they can laugh like this before drinking sake and when they drink they become serious. These men are so unpredictable.

I saw a messenger and asked to pass two notes. One is for the tailor to come here and the other is to inform the brewery to send 3 jars of sake. I paid and he immediately ran to his destination when I have a silver to him.

15 minutes later the tailor arrives. I showed her the skull and crossed bones and to make a silkscreen print on black cloth and white printing. She asked if this is the company logo and I said its is not but is a sign we are carrying hazardous products.

She was sceptical at first and then we laughed saying we are going to be bandits to fool the bandits. She doesn't understand it and I told her to make three of these flags measuring 2m x 1m landscape design.

I asked her to make several bandanas for us and design it with the smiling face of a skeleton, just the smiling teeth and nose. I held up a cloth to my face and covers the nose and mouth and told her to make a skeleton nose here and a skeletal mouth over my lips in white and black cloth. Make a sample first and let me see to approve.

The flags are the priority so make one first and let me see. We going to fool the fools, who wanted to make us like their fools, but in the end, make them look like fools instead, we decided to eat until we are full. The tailor looked at me and was utterly confused and Kami repeated the words and then he laughed out loud again. The tailor excused herself after hearing me making the orders and told me that she will work on a sample and pass be to see first.

"You have a way with words, kid. I like your style. But I like it when you hang on to the horse's neck and somersault." Kami praised me for the act.

"Actually, Seniors. I did that to protect the horse from being arrowed and parry it away before hitting the horse's heart. Do you see the 'baluku' on the guy's head? I just use a rock and hurled at him. I only used the Odachi blunt part to parry two arrows twice."

"Oh, we didn't know that. You can actually sense the arrow before it comes into range?"

"Yes, Seniors. I did a lot of meditation and can see danger before it hits me. Come, let me show you an example. I will wrap my eyes with this cloth and you can come at me anytime when you are ready."

Kami accepted the challenge thinking that I am pulling his leg and said I can sense danger. I went to take a long and thick stick from the firewood and passed to Kami." Use this as a katana. It has been a long time since I spar with anyone."

"I'm warning you, kid. I won't hold back with this stick." Kami told me as I wrapped my eyes with the thick cloth. To make it more realistic I turned around a few times and stop and I knew I am in the wrong direction.

Then I saw a white flash on my right coming down towards me and I evaded. Another came from my left in an upwards swing and I evade again. A horizontal swing came close and I jumped over it and rolled to the ground. A downward strike coming down on my head and I took a few steps back.

"Alright, kid. That's enough. The show's over." I heard Hiko-sama said when I had proved my point. I opened up the blindfold and the bright light blinded my eyes and I sat down. The sake has arrived and I paid for it.

"Interesting, kid. How can you see if you are blindfolded?"

"I also don't know how to answer it. What I can see is a white flash of light that liked like an after image but in slow motion that's why I can evade so easily."

"I meditated a lot and maybe that heightens my senses."

"Oh yeah, just now you were calling the time at 3 o'clock. We don't understand you because the time was only 9 plus in the morning."

I explain to them the meaning when I shouted "Enemy! 3 o'clock." and told them to take out the pocket watch and held it horizontal to the ground. In any position that you are, straight means 12 o'clock. Behind is 6 o'clock, left is 3 and right is 9. This is used to expose where the enemy is. We don't tell our Comrades. Enemy high in the hill in this or that direction, watch out he is using arrows bla bla bla bla... The enemy when they heard us shouting like that, can doze off and also call out to us. "Hoy, are you done blabbering. When will you attack us? You've been talking like that for 3 hours nonstop and I want to go back and eat first, ok?"

I was acting out the scene in a comical way while culling my hands and shouting in a downward manner acting as the enemy and cupping my hands as I expose the position if the enemy too.

When they heard that we are blabbering for 3 hours and the enemy feels hungry and want to go back and eat first, we all laughed again.

"Hey, kid... Just a question from me. You are still a kid but you know about military tactics so much. Things that we don't even know, even we are in the shogunate for some years... Where did you learn from?"

"Aahhh... Senior. This is for me to know and for you to find out."

I answer with a ridiculed answer and Kami repeated, "For me to know and for you to find out..... Hmmm... I know! It is a secret..!! Hahahahaha..... You really have a way with words!"

We all laughed and pushed the thoughts of being in danger away and looked forward to our future, wellbeing and safety instead.

"I wonder what happened to the lone ranger," Miroku asked within the group.

"I know, he would be walking home to find his mummy and cried and complained a group of men bullied him and a kid sticks a stick up his sticky little butt, walking like this."

I said and walked as if I had been in constipation for some hours with my thighs closed tight and shuffling my feet and said... Oowwhhh ouch... Sssssss... Ooooh

The men looked at me and laughed hysterically again. Today a life-threatening situation was turned into a joke for us and lighten the mood.

I said, "we can have the wealth on this whole world but what can we do without trust and friendship, am I right?"

The men all nodded and Hiko-sama said: "that's the name of Himura's Odachi."

I excused myself and walked to the construction ground and found that they had completed the structure of the 3 warehouses and were putting up the boom overhead for the pulley system and erecting the elevated staging area with wooden staircases. The ground had been dug 1 foot deep for the laying of cement and I called Kayu-San about the agreement that he signed before as I had destroyed it.

I told him we were just pulling his leg so that he would not belittle the people who worked for him even if its a short project. I asked him if the prices of the warehouses remained the same as before.

Hearing that we were just teasing him, he signed inwardly and said the price for the warehouses remains at 60 gold pieces each. I asked him favour about the cementing of the whole area and he said it could be done.

I noticed he didn't place any price so I asked how much for the materials and he said whatever price I paid him, he would gladly accept. I also asked him about the junk in his warehouse and told him he can shift everything here so he could also start on his project as soon as possible.

I guessed he learnt a lesson the hard way from us and I would pull the last joke on him. I asked him if he were to cement the whole area and make it smooth, would he do it in phases or do it one time shot? He said he could do it 3 part ways. Also, he would use a hardener agent to make the cement dry up faster.

I think he knew a lot of bottles were missing from his inventory and he does not dare to point a finger on anyone. I said OK, take his time since the project is going to end soon.

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He thanked me, bowed and continued with the supervision work. Before he left, I told him I'm going to absorb all the 30 men that are working with him and asked them whether they were plebs and he replied to me that they are.

Later I checked with my guards and confirmed that the 30 men working for him were plebs and were his neighbours and also suffered the same fate as they get laid if they work and if not they would be hunting small animals and fish in the rivers.

So I have decided on absorbing the men after they finish the projects, the same manner which I did with the 1st batch. I went back to the group and looked at my sketchpad and one of the ambassadors asked me, "Am I too young to drink?" I replied that this a prop and whatever was poured for me was Sprite.

Hiko-sama said, "Sprite eh....? Its sake with plums and this kid called it yumeshu." the men nodded as they continued chatting as I drew up a plan on my sketchpad on the next deployment and new manpower requirements.

More manpower means more equipment. I don't have to worry because we have a lot of float cash that could run for 3 to 6 months.

I went to the warehouse and looked at the stock for Refined Iron and saw it had depleted quite some time. We still have 20,000 pieces and would be making another 2,000 trays and when the iron ores and coal comes, it will be time to make the Ordinary Steel or Refined Steel as I speculated that the prices maybe 15 and 25 gold pieces respectively.

"Sensei, let's meditate tonight. We got about 2,000 steps to achieve."

"Sure, kid. We will meditate together after supper."

I speak in tongues and Hiko-sama understood. Now the process to make 20,000 was 3 hours instead of 8, compared to the previous times and the steps are much easier now since Hiko-sama would help to stack 100 trays per pallet.

Since the iron ores and coal would arrive later, I checked with the ambassadors that we would be going to get limestone in Mount Otakine. So the men were given rest tomorrow and then we would proceed with an expedition in 2 days time.

At the meantime, I called the guards and told him to take the 1x2 timbers and make it look like 5-foot katana and paint it black with some trimmings on the handle. I told him to make 10 first and it must look real from far.

I explained we need it in 2 days time. At the meantime, I saw that we need around 200 crates so I gave him 5 gold coins and ask him to get the necessary materials and pass me back the change and the receipt.

I asked the 'aunties cook' how are they coping and they replied that they are doing fine. I informed them once the warehouse operations start, there would be a surge of another 100 to 150 more manpower added. They were surprised that we could afford to have so much manpower. I said it is alright because we create employment.

Suddenly a group of 12 men wearing the Imperial Guards armours and weapons came over with the Mayor of the town. The sight of this prestigious person stepping into the 2nd cluster of the residential district means something is not right.

"EVERYONE STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND STAY WHERE YOU ARE!" an Imperialist shouted and everyone stopped what they are doing and stayed rooted to the ground. I saw a few chickens crossing in front of the Imperialist stopped midway with one claw on the ground while the other was midway walking and froze. Someone was eating and had stooped midway too as if the pause button had been pressed.

I walked over followed by Hiko-sama and the 4 ambassadors and we stood in front of the Mayor and bowed low and straighten up. The damn bloody arrogant Mayor didn't even bid his head or even bat his eyelids.

"WHO IS THE OWNER OF THIS LAND?" an Imperialists asked.

"I am, these two pieces of land belongs to me, I am Hiko Seijuro the 12th, ex Samurai from the Shogunate"

"WHO GIVES YOU PERMISSION TO BUILD FACTORIES AND OPERATE A BUSINESS HERE? ALL BUSINESS SHOULD BE HELD IN THE BUSINESS OR TRADING DISTRICT. THIS IS A RESIDENTIAL AREA. TEAR DOWN THIS ILLEGAL DEALING RIGHT AWAY."

"Hmm... Would you mind not to use caps in this novel and chapter are you are talking to us? We are not blind nor deaf and using caps are like you are trying to shout down our ears... Have you brushed your teeth today?"

"WHO ARE YOU, PUNK? DID I TALK TO YOU? YOU ARE JUST A SMALL KID WHO EITHER STILL SUCKLING ON YOUR MUMMY'S SMELLYPILLOWS OR NEEDS SOMEONE TO WASH YOU AFTER YOU PEE AND SHIT."

"You gonna get it, you overgrown, pea-brained slowpoke, obese armadillo; talk about my mother once more I let you vomit shit afterwards!"