"Don't retreat! Don't retreat!"
"No one is allowed to retreat! Anyone who retreats will be killed!"
"First, kill those people holding the big guns!"
After Genichirō and Mamiya went into battle, the originally stalemate situation gradually turned into a situation where Lin and others had the upper hand, and this advantage continued to expand.
As an "ancient version of the rocket launcher", there is no need to elaborate on the power of the large barrel.
With one shot, the splash damage alone could injure a large number of people.
Facing Lin and others who have 18 large guns, the only means of counterattack for the Shiranui ninjas is to use long-range weapons such as kunai.
With the advantage in numbers and excellent kunai throwing skills, the ninjas could have achieved a draw in this "battle between ottochi and kunai".
But after the two surprise troops, Genichirō and Mamiya, appeared and disrupted their "military formation", their only advantage began to gradually disappear.
Having lost their only advantage, the ninjas naturally began to fall into a disadvantage.
But even though they were at a disadvantage, the ninjas in Shiranui were still fighting back fiercely.
"What a strong fighting spirit..." Lin couldn't help but mutter.
The performance of these ninjas made Lin have to praise them, “They are worthy of being ninjas from Shiranui.”
Facing such a powerful weapon as the Ōtsu and being attacked by two surprise soldiers, Genichi and Mamiya, it is already very remarkable that he was able to fight to this extent.
But despite the praise, Lin would not show any mercy to them.
The ninjas' fierce counterattack was still effective.
There have been casualties on Lin's side.
Needless to say, the gunners are also very good.
Makimura and others also started to get injured.
Makimura's left arm was accidentally stabbed by a kunai.
Shimada's right leg was scratched by a ninja who had just managed to get close to them.
Only Lin and Asai were still safe.
Just as Lin was thinking about whether there was any way to give these ninjas another heavy blow to further reduce their morale and fighting spirit, Lin suddenly heard a noise coming from far away.
Lin looked in the direction of the voice.
I saw a group of ragged people holding various weapons appearing from the southeast, and heading straight towards the Shiranui ninjas who were confronting Lin and others.
This group of people who suddenly appeared not only surprised Lin and others, but also surprised the ninjas in Shiranui.
It wasn't until the ragged group of people came closer that a ninja finally recognized them.
"It's the 'Gu'! The 'Gu' have rebelled too!"
As if in response to the ninja's scream, this group of ragged people... or "dirty" people roared in unison.
He roared as he lunged at the ninja closest to them.
The vast majority of "Gu" were originally ninjas.
Even if they have neglected their training due to years of doing all kinds of hard and tiring work, their muscles still remember the feeling of swinging a sword and throwing a kunai.
"Ms. Lin!" When Lin was looking at these "dirty" people who joined the battlefield with surprise, she suddenly heard Ating's voice behind her.
Following the sound and looking back, Lin saw A-Ting walking quickly towards her.
"We have released the 'Gu'." A-Ming smiled, "There are many more people willing to join us than we thought."
"Thank you for your hard work. You've been a great help. Hmm? Why can't I see Ogata Ittosai?"
"We just encountered Shuntaro." A-Machi said in a slightly serious tone, "Ayi went to deal with Shuntaro."
"Shuntaro?" A look of surprise flashed across Lin's face.
"Yeah." Ating nodded, "The two of them should have started fighting by now."
"Shuntaro was held back by Ogata Ittosai..."
…
…
With the help and cover of Shintaro, the Iga ninjas have been lurking in Shiranui.
The sound of the cannon not only alarmed the ninjas in Shiranui, but also the ninjas in Iga.
Hannosuke and his companions only obey the orders of Shintaro, who is also a retainer of the Toyotomi retainer but has a higher status than them.
For Shintaro, compared to the ninjas in Shiranui, the Iga ninjas, who are also vassals of the Toyotomi retainer, are definitely closer to him. He is unwilling to send the Iga ninjas out unless it is necessary.
So Shintaro just kept the Iga ninjas on standby.
Although he has not received the order from Shintaro to "support the front line", in order to better understand the latest developments and intelligence on the battlefield, at Shintaro's request, Hannosuke has always sent his subordinates to lurk in the distance of the battlefield, paying attention to and observing the battlefield.
Originally, there was no need for Hannosuke to go to the front battlefield to observe the situation personally. After all, both in name and in reality, Hannosuke was the leader of their Iga ninja .
And now, Hannosuke couldn't sit still anymore.
When Hannosuke heard the sound of artillery fire that seemed to be getting closer, he began to vaguely feel that something was wrong.
Just now, some other sounds were heard from the direction of the battlefield - it seemed to be the noise of people.
Hearing the noise, both Shintaro and Hannosuke were startled, and a bad idea came to their minds: Could it be that the enemy reinforcements have arrived?
Shintaro, Hannosuke and their lord, the descendant of Toyotomi, has always had high hopes of regaining control of Shiranui, and sent Shintaro, Keitaro and others to infiltrate Shiranui a few years ago to make preparations early.
If Shiranui were to disappear like this and all the years of preparation were to go to waste, their lord would surely be furious.
Neither Shintaro nor Hannosuke will have a good ending by then.
Therefore, Hannosuke also didn't want Shiranui to be destroyed by these people using the big gun.
Hannosuke, unable to sit still any longer, rushed to the front line with Shintaro's permission, ready to see with his own eyes what had happened and where the sudden noise came from.
After quickly arriving at the front line, Hannosuke found two of his subordinates who were lurking not far from the battlefield, secretly observing the changes on the battlefield.
"What happened? Have the enemy reinforcements arrived?" Hannosuke approached his two subordinates from behind and asked them anxiously.
"Hannosuke-sama." One of the two men had a sad face. "It seems that the 'Saka' from the 'Saka Village' have been released. Now the 'Saka' are helping to attack the group in Shiranui, and are fighting against the ninjas in Shiranui together."
"'Gu'?" Hannosuke's pupils shrank slightly, and he quickly moved forward, looking at the battlefield not far away.
After turning his eyes to the battlefield, Hannosuke indeed saw many people in tattered clothes holding various weapons in their hands.
The weapons in their hands were varied, including ninja swords, shurikens, and sickles. Some of them even just held a stone or went empty-handed.
Compared with the various weapons they use, their fighting spirit is more eye-catching.
They roared and launched frantic attacks on all the ninjas within their field of vision. The resentment that had been pent up in their hearts now turned into their strength and fighting spirit.
Because of the participation of "Gu", the situation on the battlefield changed suddenly.
The group of people attacking Shiranui now have weapons like the Ōtsuki for long-range attacks, as well as the highly motivated "Ku" who are responsible for hand-to-hand combat with the ninjas.
The ninjas in Shiranui began to retreat at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Just as Hannosuke's face turned blue, he suddenly saw a figure fighting on the battlefield.
He is an old warrior.
This old warrior should be about the same age as him, over 60 years old.
Although he looks so old, the posture of this old warrior is not old at all.
Running around the battlefield, killing ninjas like cutting melons and vegetables.
Hannosuke froze when he saw the old samurai.
After being stunned for a moment, Hannosuke felt that all the blood in his body was rushing to his head.
He recognized the old warrior.
Although he hadn't seen the old samurai in 40 years, Hannosuke could still recognize him.
Because Hannosuke recognized his swordsmanship, his sword, and his eyes that were exactly the same as when he was young, with almost no change...
"Genichi...!!" Hannosuke gritted his teeth and squeezed out the name from between his teeth.
…
…
With the help of "Gu", their only numerical advantage in Shiranui no longer exists.
The morale and fighting spirit of the ninjas were declining at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Although the jonin who served as commanders tried their best to maintain order, they were still unable to reverse the downward trend.
Originally, their only means of resistance against Otsutsu was to throw shurikens.
Now that it is gradually becoming impossible to use shurikens to fight back, despair begins to grow in the face of the large cannon with its amazing range and power.
Finally - fugitives began to appear.
A Genin seemed unable to endure this technologically unequal battle any longer and turned around and ran back.
Once a fugitive appears on the battlefield, a chain reaction can easily occur.
Sure enough - after the first person escaped, fugitives appeared one after another.
In order to maintain order, some senior ninjas wielded their swords to kill several ninjas who fled from the battlefield, but this was of no avail.
After keenly noticing that the ninjas in Shiranui were already in a state of fleeing, Lin hurriedly ordered the gunners to increase their firepower and not to save any more shells.
As Lin issued this order, the speed at which the ninjas collapsed accelerated further.
The morale and fighting spirit of the ninjas in Shiranui are now like a river embankment that is about to collapse. First, cracks appear, and then the cracks increase little by little, until finally it collapses completely and the river water pours out.
The ninjas began to flee on a large scale, even some senior ninjas began to flee.
The "dirt" with a "revenge" mentality began to chase.
The ninjas had already begun to flee and had lost their will to fight. They no longer posed any threat, so Lin did not order the "Gu" to chase the fleeing ninjas.
After all, compared to these ninjas who are no longer a threat and can be left to the "Ku" to deal with, there is a more valuable opponent who needs to be dealt with more - Shintaro.
It is a truth that one must first capture the leader of a thief. If the leader of Shiranui is not killed, the battle with Shiranui cannot be considered a victory.
Lin and the others had already learned that Enma in Shiranui was no longer there, and that only Shuntaro and Shintaro were left in the "Four Heavenly Kings". These two were the current leaders of Shiranui.
I just learned from Atachi that Shuntaro has been held back by Ogata .
This means that now there is only one Shintaro left.
Both Shuntaro and Shintaro are the top ninjas in the world, possessing the ability to turn the tide of a battle in an instant. Unless they are eliminated, no one will feel at ease and think that they have won the battle.
"Katsurokuro." Lin turned her head and said to Shimada, "You stay and take care of the injured gunners."
After that, he turned around and looked at the others: "Everyone else follow me!"
Since the war broke out, these gunners hired by Ating have suffered a lot of casualties.
8 of the 36 gunners were killed and 20 were injured. Of these 20 wounded, 10 were seriously injured and temporarily unable to move freely or use the cannon.
So Lin now only has 18 gunners and 9 large guns available.
Lin planned to rely on the remaining 9 cannons to eliminate Shintaro.
One of the important reasons why Lin decided to use the Otsutsu to deal with Shiranui was that she wanted to use the Otsutsu to counter Shiranui's "Yaksha realm".
Although she had never seen what the "Yaksha Realm" was like with her own eyes, just by listening to Ogata's description, Lin could instinctively feel that the "Yaksha Realm" was very threatening.
That's why she planned to use the power of the big barrel - no matter how powerful the people who entered the "Yaksha Realm" were, they were still mortal and could not withstand the bombardment of the big barrel.
Shimada was weaker and was already injured, so Lin decided to let Shimada stay and look after the injured gunners.
Shimada was not the kind of person who would make trouble for no reason. He knew that if he followed Lin and the others since he was injured, he might only be held back, so he nodded vigorously and shouted loudly, "I understand."
Lin led Genichi, Mamiya, Makimura, Asai, and Amachi, as well as the remaining 18 gunners, and headed deeper into the Shiranui to search for Shintaro.
…
…
Shintaro had just learned about the disintegration of the ninjas in Shiranui.
When he learned the news, Shintaro's expression could really be described as "like he had eaten shit."
He clenched his fists as if he wanted to scratch the skin on his palms.
A few hours ago, he was still feeling proud that he no longer had to pretend to be the "honest man Shintaro" and was finally going to get Shiranui into his pocket.
And a few hours later, Shiranui was destroyed by a man carrying a large barrel who came from nowhere.
In order to obey his lord's orders and control Shiranui, Shintaro infiltrated Shiranui 6 years ago and took great pains to fight his way up to the throne of the "Four Heavenly Kings" from an ordinary, unknown ninja.
He endured and prepared for the goal of "controlling Shiranui" for 6 years.
I finally took the first step towards controlling Shiranui last night.
Before he could start showing off his skills, a group of uninvited guests carrying large guns suddenly showed up and beat Shiranui to a pulp.
The moment he learned that the ninjas began to flee, Shintaro knew that it was too late to save the situation.
Unless a miracle happens, it is impossible to make a group of people whose morale and fighting spirit have been so low that they have begun to flee turn around and continue to fight the enemy.
Not long after Shintaro received the news that the ninjas had begun to flee, he saw Hannosuke, who had just gone to the battlefield to check the situation, coming back.
"...Hannosuke, it's time to retreat. Tell your subordinates to retreat immediately." Shintaro said in a deep voice, "Shiranui is already beyond saving. There's no need to stay here any longer. It's better to be punished by the lord than to stay here and be bombarded by the cannon."
Although he was filled with resentment and resentment, Shintaro quickly found the best solution for a Toyotomi retainer like him - running away was the best option.
Bringing Shiranui back to Toyotomi's service was an important part of their lord's plan to "overthrow the shogunate."
They failed to save Shiranui, and when they returned to report to their lord, they would definitely be scolded by their lord and receive a lot of punishment.
But it is better to be scolded by the lord and receive a lot of punishment than to stay here and be buried with the Shiranui.
After giving the retreat order to Hannosuke, Shintaro began to ponder, wondering if there was enough time to find Keitaro and convey the "retreat" order to him.
Before the battle began, Shintaro asked Keitaro to supervise Shuntaro.
Shintaro now doesn't even know where Keitaro and Shuntaro are exactly. He only knows that they are roughly in the direction of "Kusan Village". If he wants to send a message to Keitaro, he doesn't know where to find him.
Just as Shintaro was thinking about whether or not to spend time looking for Keitaro, Hannosuke suddenly spoke up:
"Shintaro, go on your own. We'll stay in Iga."
"Huh?" Shintaro gave Hannosuke a surprised look.
Before Shintaro could ask a question, Hannosuke spoke up first:
"I just saw Genichi Kinoshita. Genichi Kinoshita is here now."
"Genichi Kinoshita...?" Shintaro repeated the name, and after going over it in his mind, he remembered who this person was - one of the culprits who led to the destruction of Iga Village.
After remembering who Genichi Kinoshita was, Shintaro instantly understood what Hannosuke wanted to do.
"...Do you want to deal with that Genichi Kinoshita?" Shintaro said in a deep voice.
"That's right." Hannosuke responded without hesitation.
"Even if it means disobeying my order to retreat?"
"That's right." Hannosuke nodded again.
"Don't blame me for not reminding you. You should know the consequences of disobeying orders from your superiors in the Toyotomi family. Even if you succeed in killing that Kinoshita Genichi, you will..."
Before Shintaro could finish his words, Hannosuke interrupted him:
"It doesn't matter."
"As long as I can kill Genichi Kinoshita, nothing else matters."
"Even if I have to commit suicide after killing Genichi Kinoshita, I will do it."
Although Hannosuke's tone was calm, there was an incomparable firmness hidden in his calmness.
"The reason why I joined Toyotomi's army was just to use Toyotomi's power to strengthen myself and to use Toyotomi's power to find Kinoshita Genichi."
"Now that I have found Genichi, there is no need for me to continue to serve Toyotomi."
After saying that, Hannosuke turned around.
"You can run away on your own, Shintaro. You can report our disobedience to the lord in any way you like."
Hannosuke left without a moment's hesitation, as fast as the wind.
Shintaro watched Hannosuke leave as if he was looking at a pig.
He didn't waste any time trying to persuade Hannosuke to obey orders.
Because he knew that no matter what he said, facing a person who had not forgotten his hatred even after 40 years, he would not give up the opportunity for revenge that was right in front of him.
After taking his eyes away from Hannosuke who had disappeared from his field of vision, Shintaro took his three trusted men and left in another direction.
These three of his confidants, like him, were sent by Toyotomi to infiltrate Shiranui.
——Okay...where is Keitaro now?
Shintaro thought to himself.
He finally decided to take some time to look for Keitaro and let him leave with him.
After all, in this long and painful career of hiding, Keitaro is one of the few friends who can show his "true self" in front of him.