Volume 5: Kyoto Summer Campaign Chapter 333 "Let's go back to Ryukyu!"
Half of his waist was cut open, and his intestines, kidneys, stomach and other internal organs were damaged - even if he was at the "Yaksha Realm", there was no way he could survive such a degree of injury.
“But… Damn it…”
Kotaro's breath gradually weakened, and he spit out blood and fragments of internal organs while glaring at Ogata with resentful eyes.
"Asshole... don't think... that you can sit back and relax... after you beat me...!"
His breath gradually weakened, and Kotaro, who was breathing out more than breathing in, used all his strength to speak viciously to Ogata.
"You just...beat...me..."
"In our Shiranui... there are three other 'Four Heavenly Kings'... and Lord Enma..."
"Not only did you protect... Ating... that traitor..."
"And it ruined our mission to defend Nijo Castle..."
"We... Shiranui... will never let you go...!"
Ogata glanced at Kotaro with a calm gaze.
“…Come on.”
Ogata's answer was brief and clear.
The tone was as calm as water.
Kotaro's lips moved as his breath became so weak.
He seemed to want to say something else.
But he didn't have enough strength left to utter another word.
After realizing that he could no longer speak, Kotaro widened his eyes and glared at Ogata fiercely, as if he wanted to engrave the face of the guy who had brought him such a miserable defeat firmly in his mind.
Ogata walked slowly towards Kotaro.
When Ogata walked to Kotaro's side, Kotaro's breathing had just stopped.
Ogata knelt on one knee beside Kotaro's body and began to search through it - trying to find the "Yakshamaru" that could allow Kotaro to enter the "Yaksha Realm".
However, no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find any pills or edibles on Kotaro, so Ogata had to give up.
Looking at Kotaro's body, Ogata couldn't help but purse his lips and thought to himself:
——Yaksha realm?
——What a strong state...
This name is very similar to the "state of no self", which makes Ogata have the illusion that "the person who decided to name this state 'Yaksha realm' was inspired by the name 'state of no self'."
After taking "Yakshamaru" and entering the "Yaksha Realm", Kotaro was able to defeat Ogata in his normal state - this shows how powerful the "Yaksha Realm" is.
Only after entering the "selfless state" can Ogata contend with the enemies who have entered the "Yaksha state".
According to what Kotaro just revealed, in the entire Shiranui, only their leader Enma and the Four Heavenly Kings, a total of five people, possess this "Yakshamaru".
In other words, there are still 4 people in the entire Shiranui who can enter the "Yaksha Realm"...
——The fighting power that Shiranui possesses is even stronger than I imagined...
As Ogata said this in his heart, he stood up from Kotaro's side and walked towards the wooden pillar with the Great Freedom Statue inserted on it.
This wooden pillar is one of the few remaining parts of the area that has not been engulfed by the flames.
After taking back the Great Freedom, Ogata took a deep breath, inhaling a large amount of burnt, smelly, and dry air into his stomach.
When the air entered his lungs, the scorching hot air made Ogata feel as if he had swallowed a ball of fire, burning his trachea and lungs.
But this slight pain also made Ogata cheer up a little.
The effect of the "state of no self" is still there - but how long this effect can last is an unknown.
Even someone like Ogata who knew nothing about carpentry could see that the castle tower he was in was in a state where it would not be surprising if it collapsed at any second. The creaking sound of wood coming from all around was not good just by listening to it.
Just as Ogata was thinking about how to escape, Ogata's expression changed slightly.
With the blessing of the "state of no self", Ogata's perception ability has been raised to more than one level.
Ogata keenly heard a strange noise coming from his side, and looked in the direction of the sound - a figure flashed in from the window not far from Ogata.
After seeing the figure clearly, Ogata was slightly stunned and muttered:
"Master Fuma... why are you here...?"
The person who slipped into the castle tower through the window was none other than Fuma, who was giving Ogata a complicated look.
"Brother Ogata... you've caused quite a stir... Throughout the history of Japan, there is probably no one else who can be compared to you."
"I'm not the first person in history to attack Nijo Castle."
Ogata shrugged and said in a half-joking tone.
"Didn't Akechi Mitsuhide do something similar more than 200 years ago?"
"More than 200 years ago, Akechi Mitsuhide commanded an entire army to attack Nijo Castle. Can you do the same?"
After Fuma responded to Ogata in such an unpleasant tone, he said seriously:
"Brother Ogata, it seems I have come to the right place. Seeing how bloody you are now, it will be difficult for you to escape from Nijo Castle by yourself."
After saying that, Fuma turned around, facing Ogata with his back, and bent his knees slightly.
"Come on up, brother Ogata. I'll carry you out of here. Hurry, this place will collapse at any moment."
Seeing Fuma say this, Ogata did not show any humility.
After all, the state of "selflessness" can fade away at any time.
Once the state of "no self" fades, Ogata will find it difficult to even stand firmly in his current exhausted state, let alone escape from Nijo Castle.
Ogata quickly walked behind Fuma and lay on his back.
Fuma said softly, "Hold on tight," and then jumped out again from the window he had just come in through, carrying Ogata on his back.
After jumping out of the castle tower which had long since turned into a "scorching hell", the slightly cool night air hit Ogata's skin which was burned by the flames, causing him to feel a stinging pain.
After jumping down from the top floor of the castle tower, which was the 5th floor, carrying Ogata on his back, Fuma landed steadily on the 4th floor below, and then jumped from the 4th floor to the 3rd floor...
Looking at Fuma who was able to move so nimbly while carrying a living person like him, Ogata couldn't help but ask:
"Master Fuma...are you really already over 70?"
“He’s definitely over 70.”
“It doesn’t look like it.”
"Old people are like this. Sometimes they are in very poor health, and sometimes they are in very good condition."
"Master Fuma, I haven't asked you why you came to see me."
"My original plan was to come to you as soon as I released Komachi to my home."
"You are Komachi's friend after all. I can't ignore you no matter what."
"But before I could send Komachi back to my house, she woke up."
"As soon as Komachi woke up, she begged me to come find you."
"Komachi originally wanted to come with me, but after I warned her several times that 'you can't help in a place like that', she gave up the idea of coming with me to Nijo Castle."
"Master Fuma..." Ogata smiled helplessly, "Your words might hurt Atachi's self-esteem."
"A-Ming won't let my words hurt her self-esteem." Feng Mo chuckled a few times, "One of A-Ming's great qualities is that she never forces herself or others to do things that she or others are not good at."
"Anyway - now it seems that I was right to come to you. You look so bloody now, it's really scary."
"Don't worry, Master Fuuma. Most of the blood in my body is from my enemies."
"I don't have any fatal injuries. I'm just very tired now..."
…
…
Not long after Fuma escaped from the Nijo Castle tower with Ogata on his back, the creaking sound of the wood on the top floor of the Nijo Castle tower immediately became several times louder.
Then - it collapsed with a loud bang.
Pieces of wood fell down one after another, sparking sparks one after another.
Because the top floor collapsed, the flames fell onto the 4th floor, causing the fire on the 4th floor to expand several times in an instant.
Due to the level of technology, the fire-fighting capabilities of this era were not very high. When encountering a fire that was too large - such as the fire of the magnitude of the Nijo Castle tower now, there was basically nothing that could be done.
The only way to deal with this kind of fire is to use tools such as sledgehammers and shovels to remove flammable materials around the fire, control the fire to the smallest possible range, and then wait for the flames to burn out naturally after all the burnable objects around it have been consumed.
After the citizens around Nijo Castle discovered that the castle tower was on fire, officials from the town fire department rushed to Nijo Castle to put out the fire .
However, after hearing the sounds of intense fighting coming from the castle tower and seeing people who had lost their fighting spirit and morale escaping from the castle tower from time to time, the town fire officials all backed off and were reluctant to go up or approach the castle tower.
After Fuma carried Ogata out of the castle tower and discovered that there was no more sound of fighting on the tower, the town fire officials stepped forward and began to remove the flammable materials around the castle tower.
Fortunately, there were not many flammable materials around the castle tower. Judging from the speed at which the town fire officials were able to remove them, they were able to clean up the area around the castle tower before the fire on the castle tower spread to other places.
After the fire broke out in the tower of Nijo Castle, it immediately attracted the attention of most of the residents in Kyoto.
Everyone looked at Nijo Castle, the "City of Fire", which had turned into flames soaring into the sky, with expressions of panic, surprise, complexity, or... joy.
…
…
In a burned area in Kyoto——
"Brother! Lift me higher!"
Ade shouted at Dousuke who was below, putting his hands under her armpits and lifting her up with all his strength.
"It's already been raised to the highest point!"
Although Douzhu below said this, he still tried his best to tiptoe higher and tried to hold his sister higher.
This brother and sister were the ones who helped Ogata and Atachi escape from the burned area.
After several efforts, Dousuke finally succeeded in carrying his sister onto the roof of an abandoned house that was still relatively intact.
After climbing onto the roof, Achu immediately reached out to Dousuke below and helped him climb up.
The brother and sister climbed up to the roof with great effort, not to enjoy the night breeze or lie on the roof to look at the stars.
It was to better see the Nijo Castle in the distance which had turned into the "City of Fire".
This area is where Dousuke, Aide and the others live. It is also where Eta lives.
Just now, someone in this crowded residential area shouted, "Look! Nijo Castle is on fire!"
This loud shout immediately attracted the attention of all the evil people around.
Almost everyone stood up and looked towards Nijo Castle in the distance.
In order to get a better view of the current appearance of Nijo Castle, some people even climbed onto the roofs of the surrounding houses that had long since turned into ruins, just like Dousuke and Aide.
"Nijo Castle... is burning..." Looking at the flames of Nijo Castle in the distance, Dousuke couldn't help but mutter this.
Nijo Castle - the symbol of power of the shogunate.
In the eyes of these evil people, no matter what happens, even the great fire two years ago cannot hurt it in the slightest. Nijo Castle will always be so majestic and unshakable, but at this moment, flames are shooting up into the sky.
Dousuke didn't know why... at this moment, he felt an indescribable and strange emotion lingering in his chest.
“Ha, hahaha…hahahahaha.”
At this moment, Dousuke suddenly heard a low laugh coming from beside him.
Douzhu looked in the direction of the sound.
It was Lord Yashi who was laughing.
Yashi - the old man who just scolded the siblings Dousuke and Aide for being ignorant in front of Ogata and Amachi, and even talked back to the common people in person.
At this moment, Yashi let out a low laugh.
After a while, the low laughter turned into loud laughter.
Yashi laughed.
Laughed until tears appeared in my eyes.
It wasn't just Mishi who was laughing.
Many people around were laughing.
"turn out to be……"
After he couldn't laugh anymore, Yashi whispered:
"The General's headquarters is no different from an ordinary house. It will still catch fire!"
As soon as Yazhi finished speaking, voices echoed one after another around him:
"The General's headquarters is on fire!"
"Nijo Castle can also catch fire!"
"The symbol of the shogunate is nothing special!"
“Hahahahahaha!”
…
Douzhu didn't know if it was his illusion.
He always felt that Lord Yashi, who usually always abided by the so-called "Eta Survival Code" and never dared to disobey samurai or civilians, suddenly had a different light in his eyes that Dousuke had never seen before.
…
…
In a remote street somewhere in Kyoto.
"Lord Hexian, what should we do now?"
Dozens of young men surrounded He Xian, and the young man closest to He Xian asked this.
He Xian did not immediately respond to the young man's question.
Instead, he first took a look at Nijo Castle in the distance.
Looking at the Nijo Castle still emitting flames and black smoke, Tsurugen twitched the corner of his mouth:
"That executioner Ittosai... is really a madman..."
After commanding Ryunosuke's subordinates to charge into Nijo Castle, Tsurugagen secretly escaped to the side.
He Xian is not a fighter after all. For his own safety, He Xian chooses to stay away and watch this battle that is destined to go down in history from a distance.
Just now, Tsurugan had received accurate information from his subordinates: those subordinates of Ryunosuke who entered Nijo Castle, as well as the ninjas from Shiranui who were guarding Nijo Castle, were either dead or escaped.
As for Ogata Ittosai, his whereabouts are unknown.
After taking a few final glances at Nijo Castle in the distance, Tsurugan withdrew his gaze.
"What should we do now?" He Xian asked the young man who had just asked him this question. "What else can we do? Of course, we should leave Kyoto."
"We came to Kyoto with them to help Ryunosuke disgust the shogunate and provide them with weapons and raw materials for making bombs."
"I even lent him one of my elite archers to monitor the master of the Metaphysics Hall. It's a pity that the archer died. It's not easy to train such an elite."
"Now that Ryunosuke and his 'gravedigger' are dead, their plan to destroy Kyoto has failed, and there is no reason for us to stay in Kyoto anymore."
"I just wanted to capture Ogata Ittosai alive. It's fine if I didn't catch him."
After saying that, He Xian shook his cloak.
"Let's go back to Ryukyu!"
