…
…
Ogata was carrying Uezaki on his back, speeding along a deserted street in Edo.
Because Ueo was injured and couldn't run fast, Ogata carried Ueo on his back.
The melon is not only small in size but also light in weight.
For Ogata, whose strength is now as high as 14 points, carrying Uone on his back is no different from carrying a cat.
"Are your feet cold?"
Ogata lowered his eyes and glanced at Uazesa's feet behind him.
Because Uekusa was only wearing a thin white yukata, Ogata took off his dark blue haori and lent it to Uekusa before carrying him away from Yoshiwara.
But the haori could only protect Guasheng's upper body, but not his feet without socks.
The wind is quite strong tonight and it's a little chilly.
"Well...it's okay, it's not very cold. I can still bear it." Guasheng said softly.
Uesugi turned her head and glanced at Ogata's profile, who was very close to her.
"Mashima-kun... why did you come to my house just now?" Uesugi said slowly in a hesitant tone.
"I just ran into an injured uncle." Ogata told the truth, "He said that a girl named Ueyu Hide who works at Yoshiwara Shirobei Club is in danger, and asked me to save you quickly."
"So here I am."
"Injured?" Ueyu's eyes widened. She instantly guessed who this uncle was. "Mashima-kun, is the uncle okay?"
"My friend should have taken him to a safe place by now and called a doctor to treat his injuries."
Having said this, Ogata turned his head and looked at Guase who was lying on his back.
"Ms. Ueyu, tell me how you got into trouble with the Shiranui ninja now."
"Did you know that those people just now were ninjas from Shiranui?" A look of surprise appeared on Uesugi's face.
"For some complicated reasons, I am quite familiar with Shiranui. For example, I have heard of the names of Enma, Shuntaro and Gokutaro from the 'Four Heavenly Kings'."
"...You actually know Gokutaro." Uesugi bit his lower lip and remained silent.
After a long silence, Guasheng said in a calm tone:
"I used to be... the daughter of a sword gym owner in Kamakura..."
"I have a kind pair of parents and a gentle brother."
"Although we are not rich, we have enough food and clothing."
"Then... 4 years ago, when I was 12 years old, something happened..."
“My father is a very helpful and enthusiastic person.”
"When he was out one day four years ago, he ran into two young men who were chasing an old man."
"The father, who hated evil, fought off the two young men and saved the old man."
"I later found out...that those two young men...were ninjas from Shiranui."
"That old man was the target of an assassination that someone had entrusted the Shiranui ninjas to kill."
"My father fought off their ninjas and saved the old man, which led to the failure of their mission and angered Shiranui..."
"In order to retaliate, they decided to kill this ungrateful guy and all his family members."
Although Uekusa's tone remained calm, Ogata could feel that her arms around his neck were slowly tightening.
"The person sent by Shiranui for revenge is Gokutaro, one of the 'Four Heavenly Kings'."
"Gokutaro is famous for his bloodlust. The number of people killed by the other three of the 'Four Heavenly Kings' combined may not be as many as that of Gokutaro."
"That night... Gokutaro broke into his father's sword gym alone."
"My father and my brother...are no match for Gokutaro."
"While my father and brother held Gokutaro back, my mother stuffed me into a closet."
"It was a specially made cabinet with a hidden tunnel at the bottom. It was an escape route that my father had commissioned a friend to build for fun ."
"My mother said to me, 'You go first, I will catch up later'."
"But I saw at the time that my mother was lying. After she stuffed me into the closet, she wanted to do her best to hold Gokutaro back, just like my father and brother did, to buy me time to escape..."
"Just as my mother stuffed me into the closet, I saw Gokutaro walking into the room through the gap in the closet, holding a knife dripping with blood..."
"I saw with my own eyes how Gokutaro killed my mother..."
"I was totally shocked..."
"After seeing my mother being killed, I was completely stunned and crawled into the escape passage in the closet, running for my life..."
Ogata could clearly feel that Ueyu's arms around his neck were trembling slightly.
"After I ran away until I had no more strength to run, I realized belatedly that I had no family left..."
"But maybe it's because I wasn't destined to die... Not long after I was saved, I happened to meet Lord Shirobei who was on a business trip to Kamakura for some official business."
"I told Lord Shirobei about my experience, and Lord Shirobei took pity on me as an orphan, so he brought me to Edo."
"So I started working at the Shirobei Club..."
"Lord Shirobei changed my name ."
"The original 'Ukuei Kei' was changed to the current 'Ukuei Hide'."
"Although I survived in shame, I have never forgotten the hatred of my family being killed."
"While I was honing my sword skills, I was also investigating who killed my family."
"The weapon used by the person who killed my whole family was two scimitars. Few people use this kind of weapon. In addition, I clearly remember the murderer's appearance. It took me nearly three years, until the end of last year, to finally find out that the person who killed my family was Gokutaro, one of the 'Four Heavenly Kings' in Shiranui..."
"After learning that my enemy was a behemoth like Shiranui... to be honest, I was very desperate."
A bitter smile slowly appeared on Guasheng's face.
Guasheng's eye sockets were slightly red at this time.
"Not long after I learned that my enemy was Shiranui, I met Gokutaro again."
"After Shiranui moved her base to Edo a few months ago, Gokutaro came to Yoshiwara every night to have fun."
"I recognized this man at first sight as the enemy who killed my parents and brother."
"Every time I saw him in Yoshiwara, I wanted to pick up a knife and kill him immediately..."
"But I know this is just wishful thinking."
"I know very well that even after four years of hard training, I can never be a match for Gokutaro who was able to easily kill my father."
"If you rush forward with your sword to seek revenge, you will surely die."
"While I was holding it in, I was thinking about how to take revenge on Gokutaro and Shiranui."
"Then...I ran into someone."
"A... Shiranui ninja who happened to be on a mission near Yoshiwara."
"Although he is a ninja from Shiranui, he hates Shiranui very much."
"After meeting and getting to know him by chance, he proposed to me that we work together to help those 'dirt' in Shiranui escape from Shiranui."
"He always wanted to help those poor 'Filths."
"But he had no support from outside the village, so it was difficult for him to completely get rid of 'Gu' from under Shiranui's nose."
"So he hopes that I, who also has a grudge against Shiranui, can help."
"Thanks to him, I found a way to get revenge on Shiranui."
At this moment, a smile finally appeared on Guasheng's face.
"'Smell' is an important laborer in Shiranui."
"Once the number of 'dirt' decreases, the daily operations of Shiranui will be greatly affected."
"Reduce the labor in Shiranui, disrupt Shiranui's daily operations, and free those who are oppressed by Shiranui - this is the only revenge I can take since I have no power."
"So I started working with that person and began our own unique way of revenge."
"That person found an extremely secret passage out of the village in Shiranui."
"He first helped 'Gu' to leave Shiranui through this passage out of the village."
"Then I, who am familiar with Edo and can move freely outside of Shiranui, will help 'Saka' leave Edo."
"That person and I have helped many 'dirt' escape in the past few months."
"It's a pity that our act of helping 'Gu' escape was exposed."
"That person got wind of the news and betrayed Shiranui before he could be arrested, and then came to me."
"He told me to run away quickly."
"With Shiranui's ability, it's only a matter of time before he finds out that I'm his helper."
“But I refused.”
"I don't want to escape."
"I was already forced to leave my home once, four years ago."
"And now...I would rather die than leave my home again."
“So I decided to stay.”
"Silently wait for the Shiranui ninjas who may come to us at any time, and then fight them to the death."
At this point, Guasheng changed his tone to a half-joking one.
"When the Shiranui ninjas come to me, I will be dead for sure."
"So in the past few days, I have quietly prepared for my funeral."
"I told the trustworthy Fuujiu the location of the money I saved over the years."
"Tell the lady to take out the money after my death and use it for good."
Ogata listened quietly the whole time.
After Uesugi finished speaking, Ogata said softly:
"…I'm sorry. I seem to have reminded you of some bad things in your past…"
"It's okay." Guasheng smiled. "I'm not a child anymore. I won't be in a bad mood or look depressed just because I recall some unhappy past events."
call--!
Just then, a strong wind blew.
The wind blew the melon's hair into a flutter.
A piece of paper tucked inside the collar of her yukata was blown away by the sudden strong wind.
"ah!"
Guasheng let out a small cry of surprise, and quickly reached out to grab it, catching the paper just in time as it almost flew away.
"That was a close call..." Guasheng muttered, "I was almost blown away."
Xu looked back.
"Why are you still carrying this thing?" Ogata raised his eyebrows.
The piece of paper in Uesugi's hand that was almost blown away was exactly Ogata's portrait.
After the portrait of Ogata, which was kicked by Gokutaro and hit the wall, fell off, Ueyu picked up the portrait and stuffed it into the collar of his yukata.
"This is my treasure..."
Uesugi looked at the portrait of Ogata in his hand, and his gaze gradually softened.
"It was Ogata-sama's story that inspired me."
"At the end of last year, when I finally found out that my enemy was Shiranui, I was so desperate that I didn't know what to do."
"How can I have the ability to take revenge on such a behemoth..."
"When I was in despair, I heard Lord Ogata's story."
"Ogata-sama is going through something very similar to me."
"My master was slaughtered, and the enemy was the lord of a feudal domain."
"If you fail, you will die. If you succeed, you will be wanted nationwide."
"Even so, Lord Ogata still raised the sword of justice to avenge himself and those who were harmed by the tyrant Matsudaira Gennai."
“It may be a bit of an exaggeration to say this, but after hearing Ogata-sama’s story, it really feels like the whole world has become brighter.”
"I respect... and at the same time I envy Lord Ogata for being able to successfully take revenge."
"To motivate myself, I put a picture of Lord Ogata on the wall of my house."
"If it weren't for Ogata-sama, I might still be living in despair right now, and I wouldn't be as determined as I am now to do everything I can to take revenge on Shiranui."
"In addition to motivating myself, I also make wishes to Lord Ogata's portrait from time to time."
"...Make a wish?" Ogata asked doubtfully.
"Yes." Ueyoshi nodded gently, "I make a wish to Ogata's portrait every day: I hope Lord Ogata can help me get revenge."
"Lord Ogata is very powerful and can do things that I cannot do. Even the 'Four Heavenly Kings' in Shiranui may not be his match."
"So I've been looking forward to the day in the future when Lord Ogata will suddenly appear in Edo, just like he suddenly appeared in Kyoto a few months ago."
"Then, destroy Shiranui Satoshi just like we destroyed the tyrant of Hirose Domain."
"Just like you helped many people who had grudges against Matsudaira Gennai to avenge themselves, help me avenge myself..."
"But I know that this is wishful thinking."
Guasheng smiled, his smile containing a hint of helplessness.
"The world is so big, how could Lord Ogata just happen to appear in Edo and help me with revenge..."
A faint smile slowly emerged on Ogata's slightly upturned mouth corners.
"'The Executioner Ittosai' is actually just an ordinary person."
“He is not a god.”
"There is no need to respect and worship him as a 'god'."
"You don't need to call him 'sir'."
"Lord Ogata may have many strange problems. If you know about them, you may become disillusioned with them."
"For example: He is actually a very lustful person. When he sees a girl with big breasts, he can't help but glance at her breasts, or he falls in love with her at first sight simply because she has big breasts and is good-looking."
"Hey! Don't speak ill of Lord Ogata! Don't make Lord Ogata sound so superficial!"
Because she was holding Ogata's portrait with one hand and had the other around Ogata's neck, Uesugi was not able to teach Ogata a lesson for daring to speak ill of her idol.
So she buried her head and bit Ogata's neck with her teeth like a vampire.
Uesugi didn't use much force, but Ogata felt as if he was pricked by a tiny needle.
Just as Ogata was about to say something, he suddenly heard an extremely sharp sound of breaking wind behind him.
Hearing the sound of breaking wind, Ogata's pupils suddenly shrank.
He jumped quickly to the side carrying the melon on his back.
As soon as he jumped away, a kunai with great power cut the air where Ogata had just stood.
The next moment after jumping away, Ogata immediately looked in the direction where the kunai had just flown from.
I saw a blurry figure slowly walking out from the shadows not far away.
After they stepped out of the shadow and the moonlight shone on the figure, Ogata and Uesugi were finally able to see the true face of the figure.
It's Gokutaro.
Gokutaro, who was holding two swords, looked quite strange now.
Naked|The veins are bulging outside the clothes.
The skin appears dark red.
Ogata could vaguely see some thin gas similar to steam coming out of Gokutaro's body.
Looking at Gokutaro in this state, Ogata frowned and whispered in a low voice that only he could hear:
"'Yaksha Realm'?"
It was the first time that Uesugi saw the appearance of someone who had entered the "Yaksha Realm", so he looked at Gokutaro with confusion and astonishment.
Of course, there was also hatred towards Gokutaro in Uesugi's eyes.
After walking out of the shadow where he had been hiding, Gokutaro gave Ogata and Uekusa a sinister smile.
"Finally I found you."
Gokutaro fixed his gaze on Ogata.
"You bastard."
"Because of you, I wasted a precious 'Yashāmaru'!"
"I will skin you alive tonight!"
Facing Gokutaro's threat, Ogata remained unmoved, his expression did not change at all, and he simply said:
"I'm glad you found this place."
"Ah, my luck is so good! It looks like you two are destined to die here tonight!"
In order to bring back the escaped Uesugi and ensure the success of the mission, Gokutaro resolutely took the precious "Yakshamaru".
After entering the "Yaksha Realm", Gokutaro relied on his skyrocketing physical fitness, left behind Keitaro and others who could not keep up with his speed, and went alone to chase the escaped Uesugi.
Since he had no idea which direction Ueoka escaped from, Gokutaro could only take his chances.
Jitaro first searched in the southeast direction.
Because he entered the "Yaksha Realm", Gokutaro ran extremely fast.
After quickly searching in the southeast direction and failing to find any trace of Uezaki, Gokutaro decisively changed the direction of his search and headed northeast.
Just as Gokutaro said just now - he is very lucky.
After changing his search to the northeast, Gokutaro immediately saw Ogata, who was running away with Uezaki on his back.
Uesugi didn't know what was going on with Gokutaro's appearance, but she instinctively felt that Gokutaro was in danger now.
After biting his lower lip hard, Uesugi put his lips close to Ogata's ear and whispered softly:
"Mashima-kun, thank you for saving me. Now put me down and run away."
"You don't have to take any more risks for me..."
"I'll help you buy time to escape."
After entering the "Yaksha Realm", Gokutaro's senses also became much sharper.
Gokutaro heard clearly what Uesugi and Ogata said in private.
"Neither of you can escape!"
Gokutaro's facial features turned ferocious.
"Use Shuu! You can't even block one of my attacks! And you're trying to buy time for this guy to escape!"
"It's better to talk less in your sleep."
Having said that, Gokutaro turned his attention back to Ogata.
"You are harming Gua Shengxiu in disguise."
"I didn't want to do anything to Gua Sheng Xiu. I just wanted to kill her and be done with it."
"But thanks to you, I'm really pissed now."
"I won't let you two die so easily now."
"I have played with so many Yoshiwara courtesans, but I have never played with a Yoshiwara official."
"I'm going to take Gua Sheng Xiu back and kill him when I get tired of playing with him!"
"As for you... I will also take you back, torture you beyond recognition, and then kill you!"
Gokutaro's humiliation, which showed that he totally disregarded them, filled Uesugi's face with grief and anger.
There was a bit of despair and unwillingness mixed with the grief and anger.
And a hint of fear.
The arms wrapped around Ogata's neck were also trembling slightly.
Just as Uesugi suppressed his inner fear and despair and was about to say to Ogata, "Run, I'll cover you"...
…
…
"Ms. Uemori, although it may be a little late to say this now, I definitely heard your wish just now."
…
…
As Ogata said this, he put the melon down from his back and slowly walked to the opposite side of Gokutaro.
Uekushi realized what Ogata was going to do and screamed:
"Mashima-kun, what are you doing? Run away!"
Ogata seemed not to have heard what Uesugi said, and stared at Gokutaro in front of him with an expressionless face.
Looking at Ogata, who did not run away but walked right in front of him, clearly intending to confront him, a hint of sarcasm appeared on Gokutaro's face.
"Humph, a nobody like you is not qualified to be my opponent!"
"Okay!"
Gokutaro sneered and raised the swords in both hands.
"Let me show you the strength of the 'Four Heavenly Kings' in Shiranui!"
"...An unknown person?" Ogata, who had been expressionless just now, now had a strange smile on his face.
Ogata raised his left hand and touched the skin beneath his right earlobe.
Pinch the skin under the right earlobe as if you were pinching off dead skin, and then...
Hiss!
Under the eyes of Gokutaro and Uesugi, Ogata tore off the human skin mask on his face.
Revealing his true face.
From "Mashima Goro" to "Ogata Yoshisei"!
After Ogata tore off the human skin mask on his face, both Gokutaro and Uesugi were stunned.
Gokutaro recognized this face.
After the mission to defend Nijo Castle failed, a wanted order for the culprit that caused their mission failure spread throughout Shiranui.
Every ninja in Shiranui was asked to remember this face and to take revenge on the bastard who caused them to fail in this important mission.
The face that he had been tired of seeing on the wanted posters suddenly appeared in front of Gokutaro, making Gokutaro's mouth open involuntarily.
As for Guasheng...
When he saw Ogata tear off the "face" of "Mashima Goro" and reveal his true appearance under the human skin mask, he was stunned like Gokutaro.
Then he quickly lowered his head to look at the portrait of Ogata in his hand.
He looked at Ogata's portrait for a while, then looked at Ogata's face not far away.
Keep comparing.
After comparing it countless times and confirming that the person in front of him was the one in the portrait, Guasheng's lips began to tremble slightly.
Guess couldn't help but raise his hands to cover his trembling red lips and his mouth that was about to scream.
A pair of beautiful big eyes began to become moist as the eye sockets turned red.
After tearing off the human skin mask, Ogata put the mask in his arms and slowly adjusted his breathing rhythm.
Adjust your breathing to the Breath of Source.
The next moment when the breath becomes the breath of origin——
[Ding! The host enters the state of selflessness! ]
[Pain perception decreased by 70%]
【Fatigue perception decreased by 70%】
[Strength increased by 15 points! ]
[Agility increased by 15 points! ]
【Physical strength increased by 15 points! 】
[Reflexes increased by 15 points! ]
[All martial arts levels are upgraded! ]
[The martial arts skill Sakakibara Ittoryu: Waterfall has been promoted to the master level! ]
[The martial arts skill Sakakibara Ittoryu·Tori-stab has been promoted to the Grandmaster level! ]
[Martial arts Sakakibara Ittoryu: Ascend the stairs, upgraded to a high level! 】
[Martial arts Sakakibara Ittoryu·Ryubi, upgraded to high level! ]
[Martial arts Wuwo Two-Sword Style: Stepping forward, promoted to Master Level! ]
[Martial arts Muga Two-Sword Style: Blade Reversal, promoted to Grandmaster level! ]
[Martial arts Wuwo Two-Sword Style · Flow, promoted to Grandmaster level! 】
[Martial arts Muga Two-Sword Style: Raikiri, upgraded to intermediate level! ]
[Martial arts Wuga Nidao Style: Chanyu, upgraded to intermediate level! ]
[Martial arts Shiranui-ryu Ninjutsu and Shiranui-ryu Jujutsu, promoted to master level! ]
[The martial arts Shiranui-ryu Ninjutsu and Shiranui-ryu Stealth Technique have been upgraded to a high level! ]
…
"How is it? Lord Four Heavenly Kings, is Executioner Ittosai qualified to be your opponent?"
After saying that, without waiting for Gokutaro to respond, Ofang rushed straight towards Gokutaro like an arrow.
While rushing towards Gokutaro, Ogata drew out the Daishakuten and Daijizai from his waist.
Ogata's speed was far beyond Gokutaro's imagination, and Gokutaro's face was filled with horror.
clang!
He barely raised the two swords in his hands and blocked Ogata's slashing blow.
But the next moment after blocking Ogata's attack, Gokutaro suddenly felt a sharp pain in his abdomen - after the knife was blocked by Gokutaro, Ogata immediately kicked up and hit Gokutaro's stomach with his knee.
Gokutaro was knocked directly away by Ogata's knee and flew backwards, hitting a willow tree behind him heavily.
“Cough, cough, cough…!”
After the willow tree caught him steadily, Gokutaro coughed violently.
While coughing, he raised his head and saw Ogata holding two swords and walking towards him slowly with an expressionless face.
There was no longer any ferocity or arrogance on Gokutaro's face.
What replaced the hideousness and arrogance were shock and fear.