The document detailed a ronin robbing travelers—a weekly occurrence in Inazuma, rarely reported unless something unusual popped up.
This was unusual. The ronin, from a Seirai Island gentry family, wielded a Pyro Vision. More crucially, he was once a Shogunate conscripted samurai.
He'd been set to inherit his family's title and land, but tragedy struck. While he trained as a conscript, his father died fighting monsters. His stepmother and younger brother swiped his inheritance, somehow convincing the local magistrate to back their claim.
Two years ago, he returned home to find the deal done. After a family blowout, he became a ronin, cut off from clan support and barred from magistrate jobs. He scraped by with odd jobs and dirty work.
Things were fine until recently, when he clashed with his family again. They sent men to hunt him down, but those regular samurai were no match for a former conscript. The conflict snowballed, dragging in family allies and eventually the local magistrate, who had ex-conscripts on payroll.
Outmatched, the ronin fled—and somehow escaped.
After that, he gathered a crew, forming a lively group called the Fukuichi Gang, robbing merchant caravans, especially his family's.
"What a pain," Reisen Riou muttered.
"How you handling this?" Raiden Makoto asked. "This isn't rare in Inazuma."
"I get it. Dirty family inheritance disputes," Reisen nodded.
"You understand, then. They're yours to deal with," Makoto said.
"No sweat," Reisen grinned, Electro sparking in his hand as he drafted a document.
"'On Legalizing Lively Groups,'" Makoto read aloud. "Recruitment?"
"More like absorption," Reisen said. "Legalize them, fold them into the Shogunate's system. They can handle inconvenient tasks. You know we're short on dock workers and street cleaners."
"Plus, the Shogunate's control over outer islands like Narukami and Watatsumi is loose, relying on nobles' goodwill. Legalizing these groups lets us tap their idle labor and martial skills."
"They can run businesses too—burn their energy and ambition. Nothing grinds down dreams like daily life."
"Hand it to my Rock-Shadow-Thunderlight Brigade. They're perfect—ex-ronin leaders themselves. Their old crews are thriving around Araumi."
…
"This is your job. Start with Narukami and Watatsumi, absorbing all ronin gangs," Reisen told Banjiao Nisei. "Here's my seal. You can tap some shrine forces, including part of Watatsumi's Sangonomiya."
"Once those are done, move to named ronin."
"No problem, boss, but some have bounties. That's tricky," Banjiao said.
"Take a One System, Ten Thousand Minds Machine. Scan bounty-carrying ronin. If their ideology's Ukiyo or Elegant, arrest them. Skylight ideology? Investigate, clear if minor issues. Anything else? Kill on sight."
"Hand the rest to the Tenryou, Yashiro, and Kanjou Commissions."
"For bounties, after resolving issues, use my seal to register them under local shrines. Report back, and I'll clear their bounties with the Tenryou Commission."
"Don't skip scanning others, but don't act—just report quietly, especially on Watatsumi."
"Got it, but Watatsumi? Really?" Banjiao asked, skeptical.
Reisen got it. Watatsumi had a shaky rep in Inazuma. He couldn't exactly say he'd smoothed things over with the Divine Priestess, so he laughed it off.
"Trust me, I've written to the current Divine Priestess. It's fine. This helps her too—Watatsumi's plagued by rogue ronin and spies."
"Soon, the Shogunate will issue a decree. If it gets rough, hit up Tenryou Commission camps for backup. You don't trust Watatsumi, but you trust them, right?"
As Banjiao left with his team, Reisen sighed. That was a close one—almost had to explain that.
…
Banjiao Nisei, now a senior agent of the Rock-Shadow-Thunderlight Brigade, hadn't ditched his old Banjiao Gang leader title.
After the Tsurumi mission, he rebuilt the disbanded gang, training members as informants for intel-gathering. In return, he vouched for them, securing high-paying temp jobs like dock work or aiding samurai in spy hunts.
Post-rebuild, the Banjiao Gang sniffed out fifteen Khaenri'ahn spies quietly digging in Araumi. Some even had Ukiyo ideologies but served Khaenri'ah.
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