"You started wrong!"
Ogata poked his finger hard at the first line of the first page of the draft.
"Didn't you say before that you spent several months collecting information before you started writing this script?"
"'Ogata Ittosai didn't shave his hair. He kept his hair long' - this level of information should be easily found out by just asking around, right?"
As soon as Ogata finished speaking, Nishino Jiro nodded confidently:
"I know. I know that Ogata Ittosai doesn't shave his hair. He keeps his hair in a long shaved style."
"If you knew that, why did you design Ogata Ittosai in the script as a 'handsome man with a shaved head'?"
"Because the topknot looks more handsome."
After saying this, Jiro Nishino lowered his head and showed his shiny head to Ogata.
Jiro Nishino's hairstyle is a topknot.
At this moment, a few beams of sunlight happened to shine into the room through the window, hitting Jiro Nishino's clean-shaven head, reflecting a slightly dazzling light.
"Compared to long hair, the topknot is more popular among people."
"So in order to make everyone like Ittosai more, I changed his hairstyle to a bun."
What Jiro Nishino said is well-founded...
During the Edo period, the most popular hairstyle, which people considered to be the most masculine, was the topknot.
Since traveling through time, Ogata has lived in this era for more than a year.
Although he has lived with this for such a long time, Ogata still cannot accept the hairstyle of shaving off all the hair on the top of his head...
Ogata couldn't tolerate himself having such an ugly hairstyle.
At the same time, I cannot tolerate anyone changing him into this state.
So he immediately said to Nishino Jiro righteously:
"You can't do that."
"Didn't you just swear to me yesterday that you would complete a work that surpasses "Chushingura"?"
"In order to pursue the authenticity of the characters in my writing, I specially asked me, a ronin from Izumo, to teach you the Izumo dialect and the customs of Izumo life."
"Anyone who has some knowledge of Itosai's deeds knows that the hair that Itosai kept was his total hair."
"If you change the image of Ittosai's characters like this, wouldn't that destroy the authenticity and completeness of the work?"
"Maybe you'll even get abused by some people who respect Ittosai."
Hearing what Ogata said, Jiro Nishino showed some hesitation on his face.
"...Okay then." Nishino Jiro nodded, "I 'll fix this later and change Ittosai's hair back to a straight style."
Seeing that he had successfully persuaded Jiro Nishino to change his appearance in the script back, Osamu nodded slightly with satisfaction, and continued to look through the draft in his hand.
Ogata read very quickly and soon finished reading the first draft written by Jiro Nishino.
When Ogata was formally reading this first draft just now, he didn't say a word the whole time. He just kept turning the pages in his hand with an expressionless face.
Because Ogata was slow to speak and express his opinions, Jiro Nishino, who was waiting for Ogata's opinion, was very nervous and anxious.
After Ogata closed the last page of the draft, Jiro Nishino couldn't wait to ask Ogata.
"How is it? What do you think?"
"...It's just as you told me yesterday..." Ogata smiled bitterly with a hint of helplessness, "Every character you write doesn't speak like an Izumo person, but more like a Northeastern person."
"We Izumo people would never say something like 'Be careful or I'll cut you.'"
"And the food that every character eats is wrong."
"I saw a scene in your first draft where Ittosai and his fellow disciples from the sword hall went to eat 'Wanko Soba' together."
"There's no Wanko Soba in Izumo."
"We all eat 'Izumo soba'."
"'Izumo soba'?" Jiro Nishino asked in confusion.
At this time, Atachi on the side also cast a curious look at Ogata.
"It's a specialty of our Izumo area." Ogata said slowly, "First, divide the soba noodles into three small bowls called "wariko", and each bowl has different ingredients. The most commonly used ingredients are raw eggs, grated yam, and grated radish."
“Pour the soup into the first bowl first, and then pour the remaining soup into the next bowl and continue eating. Repeat this process until you have finished all three bowls of soba noodles.”
"It tastes so good." Curiosity and excitement flashed in Jiro Nishino's eyes.
After Nishino Jiro finished speaking, Atachi next to him also expressed her thoughts: "Is it true that the soba noodles can be divided into three bowls? It feels so fresh."
Ogata has never actually eaten Izumo soba.
Since he traveled to this era, he actually only stayed in the Hirose Domain in Izumo for more than half a year.
He traveled to this era in May last year, and then at the end of the year he escaped from his fiefdom and began traveling around the world.
In the past six months, Ogata has not had much chance to try the Izumo delicacies.
However, "Hara Ogata" had eaten some Izumo delicacies, including "Izumo soba", so Ogata had memories of these foods.
"Except for some issues with the characters' dialogues and their living habits and customs, everything else is pretty well written."
As Ogata spoke, he handed the draft back to Jiro Nishino.
"It's basically consistent with what I've heard about Itdaosai's deeds."
In Jiro Nishino's script, Hanyu Isyo, a young man based on Ogata, is a lower-ranking samurai of the Izumo Hirose Domain.
Although he is an expert swordsman, he has always lived a poor but stable life due to his humble status.
The current lord of Hirose Domain is a cruel and inhumane tyrant. Although Hanyu Ishiba is of humble status, he has always been worried about the future of the domain and sympathizes with the people who have been tortured and destroyed by the tyrant.
Until one day, the tyrant forced Hanyu Ishii's fellow swordsmen to kill each other just for fun.
Hanyu Ishii's fellow disciples refused to obey, and were all brutally killed by the tyrant.
Also killed was Hanyu Ishii's swordsmanship master.
Hanyu Iyo was not at the sword hall at the time because of something else, so he escaped the disaster.
After learning that his master and fellow disciples were all slaughtered, Hanyu Ishii decided to take revenge and assassinate the tyrant.
After lying dormant for a while, he finally waited for the best opportunity to assassinate the tyrant - when the tyrant went out hunting.
Hanyu Ishigo went on the assassination mission alone and killed hundreds of the tyrant's guards, and finally succeeded in killing the tyrant.
The above is the story outline of the first draft of the script written by Jiro Nishino.
"…You have collected quite a lot of information."
Ogata folded his hands across his chest, lowered his head slightly, and continued in an unusually calm tone:
"Even... the information that Ittosai's master and fellow apprentices were killed by a tyrant and the reason for the killing was found out, and it was very accurate."
"As far as I know, Ichitosai's fellow disciples were indeed forced by that tyrant to kill each other, and then they were killed because they refused to obey..."
Although there was nothing unusual in Ogata's expression and tone, Atachi still unconsciously cast a concerned look at Ogata beside him.
"Hehe." Jiro Nishino, who didn't notice Atachi's little action, smiled smugly, "I put a lot of effort into completing this script."
"But there are still some inaccuracies." Ogata shrugged and smiled, "The last part is a little inaccurate."
"From what I know, Itosai did not go alone to assassinate the tyrant."
"He had a companion at the time."
"Oh?" Nishino Jiro's face showed confusion and curiosity, "I'd like to hear more about it!"
Ogata told Jiro Nishino the true historical facts.
The assassination was carried out with the participation of the family elders, and there were seven assassins, including Ittosai, who were at the forefront of the attack on the tyrant.
But in the end, only Ittosai survived.
After hearing this never-before-heard version from Ogata, Jiro Nishino's eyes widened in surprise.
"I have heard before that the Hirose clan elder was involved in the assassination."
"But Ittosai had other helpers at that time... This is the first time I've heard of this..."
"Before I left Izumo, the rumor that Ogata had six helpers was widely circulated in Izumo," Ogata continued. "At that time, for the sake of convenience and to avoid developing feelings, they were all referred to by code names like 'Ichiro' and 'Jiro'."
"So the other six assassins who died in the assassination did not have their names passed down."
"Did Itosai have other helpers at that time..." Nishino Jiro's eyes rolled around, and the excitement in his eyes became more and more intense, "Everyone tried to assassinate him together, but after the fierce battle, only Itosai survived..."
"This version of the story is more dramatic and tragic..."
Bang!
Jiro Nishino slapped his thigh.
"Mashima-sama! I made the right choice to ask you to help me finish the script!"
"Thanks to you, I now know a new version of Ittosai's story."
"This version of the story is much more dramatic than any other version I've ever known! It's also much more tragic! It's more suitable for adaptation into a Kabuki play!"
After saying that, Jiro Nishino couldn't wait to take out his pen and ink.
"I'll correct the story now!"
"There's no rush to correct the story." Ogata smiled, "I'll first teach you how we Izumo people speak and what the living habits are like there."
"Oh, yes." Jiro Nishino rubbed his hair awkwardly, "If I don't learn the way of speaking and living habits of the Izumo people first , I will end up writing about a bunch of Northeastern people..."
…
…
Although Jiro Nishino's father supported his ambition to become a Kabuki playwright, as the second son of Minamoto Tachibana, he also had to help with some business matters on a daily basis.
Jiro Nishino only had time to write scripts in the morning. He had to help his family in the afternoon and evening.
So Ogata and Atachi left Minamoto noon.
Jiro Nishino decided to rewrite his script and use the version that Ogata had just told him about, "Ittosai has a companion."
It is impossible to rewrite a script with such a large plot in just one morning.
So before leaving, Ogata made an agreement with Jiro Nishino - he would return to Tachibana-ya on time at 5 a.m. tomorrow and continue to work on the script together until it was completed.
Judging from Jiro Nishino's writing speed, Ogata estimated that he would not be able to finish rewriting the script in less than a week.
As soon as they left the house of Minamoto Tachibana, Atachi said to Ogata in a tone of surprise:
"You are much more serious than I thought."
"Huh? What do you mean, much more serious?" Ogata asked back.
"Your assistance to Nishino-kun. I was just observing you. You were so serious, teaching him little by little what the Izumo dialect sounded like, and what the living habits and customs of the Izumo people were like."
"I also helped him add some details to the script."
After hearing what Atachi said, Ogata couldn't help but smile.
After organizing his words, Ogata lowered his voice and said softly:
"Because I just finished reading Nishino Jiro's first draft today, and suddenly realized: This is a good opportunity to let the world know the truth about the assassination of Matsudaira Gennai."
"Many people have always believed that I went alone to assassinate Matsudaira Gennai."
“I didn’t know that I actually had six comrades at the time.”
"And the elder of the Kuranaga family secretly supported us and organized us together."
"It was everyone's efforts that led to the successful surrender of Matsudaira Gennai."
"In the end, the world only knew Ogata Ittosai."
“Although even I don’t know their real names, their existence should not be forgotten.”
“So I plan to use the power of Kabuki to let the world know that there were many heroes besides me.”
"Although Nishino-kun is still a little young, his writing skills are quite good. He has the potential to write a work that will go down in history."
"So I've made up my mind now."
Ogata tightened her haori and scarf, her eyes full of determination.
"I will do my best to help Nishino-kun write this script."
"As for whether this Kabuki play based on my story will eventually become as popular as Chushingura across the country, that's up to fate."
In this era when entertainment is not well developed, popular entertainment programs such as Kabuki and storytelling have a huge influence among ordinary people.
Many historical figures or historical events have gained greater fame and influence through popular entertainment programs such as Kabuki and storytelling.
Through Kabuki, the public will know that in addition to Ittosai, there were other heroes who risked their lives - this is Ogata's current goal.
Let the public first generally accept the view that "Ittosai had companions", and then after several decades or one or two hundred years, perhaps there will be some people who are interested in this period of history and conduct in-depth investigations.
Then maybe we can find out the names and identities of the heroes who risked their lives along with Ogata.
By then, the truth of history can be truly revealed.
"Does it have to be as popular as "Chushingura" and become popular all over the country?" Ating shrank his neck, "That should be difficult..."
"Whether a Kabuki play can become popular all over the country depends not only on the quality of the script, but also on many other factors, such as luck..."
"That's why I said that whether this Kabuki play based on my deeds will eventually become popular all over the country like Chushingura is up to fate."
Ogata shrugged with a wry smile, then crossed his hands and put them into the sleeves of his haori.
"Okay, so how are we going to kill time ?"
"Anyway, let's go around first." A-Machi said, "I just briefly visited Kinno-cho last night, and there are still many places I haven't visited yet."
"No, I'm not just talking about how to spend this afternoon and evening." Ogata let out a long sigh, "I'm talking about what we should do in the next month."
"Nishino-kun's father has already said that their merchant ships won't be able to sail until January next year at the earliest."
“It’s only the end of November.”
"We have to spend more than a month here."
"What should we do in the next month or so?"
"You can't just hang around in Kinno-cho every day, right?"
Ogata's question stumped Atachi.
Ogata's idea is to find a way to gain experience and level up in this month or so.
They were about to head to Ezo.
The entire Ezo area is basically in a state of waiting to be developed. At the same time, there are three forces: the shogunate, Ezo, and Russia. It should be the most chaotic place in Japan at present.
Going to such a chaotic place can make you stronger and provide you with more protection.
But here comes the question?
Where can I find a place to gain experience and levels?
Ogata raised his hands and gently rubbed his temples.
——Where can I efficiently gain experience points and levels?
Ogata pondered for only a moment, and suddenly he felt like a flash of lightning passed through his mind.
At the moment when the lightning flashed, Ogata suddenly remembered that in this era, most cities and towns of a certain size had some kind of building.
In this kind of building, you can kill people openly...
"…A-Ming."
"Um?"
"After we finish eating, can you accompany me to look for a sword hall in Kinno-cho?"
…
…
Ogata and Atachi found a soba noodle restaurant and had lunch for the day, then started looking for the sword hall in Kinno-cho.
After asking a few passers-by, the two learned that there was only one sword hall in Kinno Town.
This sword gym is called "Hosho Kenkan" and the sword style taught there is Katori Shinto-ryu.
After asking about the location of the sword gym, the two of them quickly rushed to the location of the Hosho Sword Gym.
After arriving near the Hosho Sword Museum, the two saw this rather impressive sword museum from afar.
After quickly walking up to the Hosho Sword Museum, Ogata looked at the sword museum carefully.
"Is this the Hosho Sword Hall..." Ogata muttered.
"This sword hall is so magnificent..." Ating looked into the sword hall through the open wooden door.
The outer perimeter of the Hosho Sword Hall is surrounded by a thick stone wall, with only a 2-meter-high wooden door for people to enter and exit.
Now the wooden door is open, with no guards inside or outside.
What is striking is that there is a plaque hanging on each side of the wooden door.
The plaque on the right side of the wooden door has a line of large Chinese characters written on it: Tenshin Shinden Katori Shinto Ryu Hosho Dojo.
Tengen Shinden Katori Shinto-ryu is the full name of Katori Shinto-ryu.
The font size of the four Chinese characters "Hosho Dojo" is two sizes larger than the above characters "Tenshin Shinden Katori Shinto Ryu".
This plaque simply states the sword-fighting style taught in this sword school and the name of the dojo. There is nothing noteworthy about it.
On the other hand, Ogata was somewhat concerned about the plaque hanging on the left side of the wooden door.
There are only four powerful Chinese characters written on this plaque:
(Welcome to consult)
Just as Ogata was looking at the plaque with a bit of surprise, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching from the street behind him - it was a middle-aged man who put his hands alternately into his sleeves.
Judging from the way this middle-aged man was dressed, he was probably just an ordinary town dweller.
After discovering the middle-aged man who happened to pass by here, Ogata immediately called out to him.
"Excuse me! I want to ask you a question!"
"Hmm?" The middle-aged man looked Ogata and Atachi up and down several times with a suspicious look.
Judging from his appearance, he didn't seem to want to pay attention to Ogata who suddenly called him.
But the two swords hanging on Ogata's waist showed the middle-aged man that he had no courage to ignore the samurai, so he immediately put on a flattering smile and walked quickly to Ogata's side.
"Master Warrior, what can I do for you?"
"What does this plaque in this sword hall mean?" Ogata pointed to the plaque in front of him that read "Welcome to ask for advice."
"Hmm? Sir Samurai, are you a foreigner?"
"Yeah. Because of something, I happened to travel here today."
"Oh! No wonder you didn't know about this plaque." The middle-aged man turned his head to look at the Hosho Dojo beside him, and then slowly said, "This plaque... Actually, to put it bluntly, it was used by the owner of the Hosho Sword Hall to attract attention."
"Master Samurai, you should also know that the world is in bad shape now. There are fewer and fewer people willing to learn swordsmanship, and the dojo is not doing well anymore."
"So in order to attract more people to his dojo, the master of the Hosho Sword Hall hung up this plaque."
“And it actually worked a little bit.”
"Other sword halls avoided those challengers, but the Baosheng Sword Hall actually hung up a plaque saying 'Welcome to learn from you'. Because it was very special, it really attracted everyone's attention."
"Since they dare to hang up such a plaque to attract people's attention, the masters and disciples of this sword hall must be very strong, right?" asked Ating.
"Yes. The strength of the students of the Hosho Sword Hall is indeed very good." The middle-aged man nodded gently. "After the owner of the Hosho Sword Hall hung up this plaque, many young and energetic young people came to teach the arrogant Hosho Sword Hall a lesson."
"But these young people who came to challenge basically lost."
"The Hosho Sword Hall has successfully gained fame in the area thanks to this plaque and the young people who were attracted by the plaque to challenge it."
"I see..." Ogata nodded gently, "The owner of this Hosho Sword Hall is quite good at business..."
Ogata had seen this kind of business model many times in his previous life.
Create some gimmicks to attract public attention and traffic.
This kind of "creating gimmicks to attract traffic" business style was very common in previous lives, but it is indeed quite rare in the Edo period.
"Sir Warrior, is there anything else I can help you with?" the middle-aged man asked with a bow.
"Yeah. Nothing happened." Ogata took out two copper coins from his pocket and handed them to the middle-aged man, "Thank you for your help."
"No way! No way!" The middle-aged man took the copper coin handed over by Ogata with both hands and said with a smile, "It is my honor to help the samurai!"
After the middle-aged man excitedly took the two copper coins that Ogata had given him as a thank-you gift and quickly left, Ogata once again turned his gaze to the plaque in front of him that read "Welcome to ask for advice."
"It's really a difficult world now..." Ating sighed, "Even the sword hall has to find ways to attract people's attention."
After that, Atachi changed to a half-joking tone and asked Ogata:
"How about it? Interested in going in and taking a look?"
"I'm very interested." Ogata showed a meaningful smile on his face.
He had a hunch.
He had a feeling: he seemed to have found a place where he could gain experience and level up...
…
…
The architectural layout of the Hosho Sword Hall is very typical of the wealthy families of that era - there is a wall on the outside, and the space between the sword hall and the wall is the courtyard.
Although there were no guards inside or outside the gate of the wall, there were two young warriors guarding the door of the sword hall.
Ogata and Atachi passed through the gate of the wall, walked on a path paved with white fine sand, and came to the gate of the dojo. The two warriors guarding the gate stopped Ogata and Atachi.
One of them simply looked at Ogata and Omachi for a few seconds, then asked:
"Excuse me, who are you two?"
"I'm here to ask for advice." Ogata smiled slightly and raised his left hand to place it on the two swords at his left waist.
Ever since that eye-catching plaque was hung up, the number of people who came to seek advice, ostensibly to challenge the master, increased suddenly. So the two young warriors guarding the gate had become accustomed to this kind of life where from time to time people would be attracted by the plaque and come to seek advice.
With a look of understanding on his face, he moved to the side to make way and opened the door.
"plz follow me."
The young warrior who had asked Ogata a question just now led Ogata towards the depths of the sword hall.
When leading Ogata and Atachi to the dojo, the young samurai introduced Ogata behind him:
"You might have to wait a while at the dojo."
"Because just now there happened to be four warriors from other places who came to ask for advice."
"The fight should be going on hotly now."
"It's okay," Ogata responded, "I have plenty of time, so I'm not in a hurry."
After passing through a not-so-long corridor, the young samurai led Ogata and the other man to a wide wooden sliding door.
After slowly opening the wooden sliding door, gusts of hot air and a mixture of various odors, such as sweat and foot odor, blew towards Ogata and Atachi.
Smelling this slightly pungent smell, Ogata couldn't help but secretly thought:
——It’s been a long time since I last tasted this flavor…
This "poisonous gas" mixed with sweat and foot odor is a smell that can be found in every dojo.
The last time Ogata entered the sword hall was this summer in Kyoto.
It had been several months since he had been near the sword hall, and Ogata was a little uncomfortable with the unpleasant smell.
At this moment, there happened to be two strong men standing opposite each other in the dojo, holding wooden swords.
A large number of men of different ages were kneeling on both sides of the dojo.
After the wooden door was opened, the men kneeling on both sides of the dojo immediately focused their attention on the opened wooden door.
After seeing Ogata and Atachi... no, to be more precise, after seeing that Ogata was actually with a woman, many people frowned.
"Please follow me." The young warrior who had just led Ogata made a "please" gesture to Ogata and the other two, and led them to the corner of the dojo.
There were three burly men sitting in this corner.
After successfully leading Ogata and Atachi, the young samurai quickly left and went back to guard the gate.
After Ogata knelt down beside the three burly men, the bearded man who sat closest to him asked him:
"Are you here to challenge the master too?"
"Kicking the door" and "asking for advice" actually mean the same thing.
It's just that "ask for advice" is a more polite way of saying it.
"I am free now." Ogata said softly, "So I want to come and see the Katori Shinto style of this Hosho Sword Hall."
"Then you are here to challenge us." The bearded man grinned, "The four of us are here to challenge us too."
"The four of us were entrusted by a merchant to serve as the escort for their caravan and to escort their caravan back to Kinno Town."
"We just arrived in Kinno-cho this morning."
"I was just planning to just wander around this town, but I ended up seeing this extremely arrogant sword hall."
At this point, a hint of disdain appeared on the bearded man's face.
"They actually dared to hang that kind of plaque in front of the gate. We would like to see how powerful this sword school is."
"From your accent, you seem to be from Kansai."
"No. I'm not from Kansai." Ogata smiled helplessly, "I'm from Izumo. It's just that my wife is from Kansai. After spending so much time with her, my accent has become that of Kansai."
"I traveled here with my wife for some reason."
The bearded man glanced at Ating.
"Is she your wife? She's so beautiful."
"Thank you." Ating smiled and thanked the bearded man.
Whether men or women, they all like to be praised by others.
"How dare you travel to this messed up place called Northeast China?" The bearded man cast an admiring look at Ogata. "Don't you know that Northeast China is a mess right now?"
"I know." Ogata nodded, "But my wife and I are lucky. So far, we haven't encountered any powerful gangsters."
After saying that, Ogata cast his gaze towards the center of the dojo.
The two sturdy men still stood with knives in their hands, constantly changing their positions and confronting each other.
"Who is your companion?" Ogata asked.
"The taller one is our companion." The bearded man pointed at the tallest of the two men, "The other one is Taisuke Shimura, the Ten Swords of Hosho."
"'Ten Swords of Hosho'?" Ogata raised his eyebrows.
"It's a title from their Hosho Sword School." A look of disdain appeared on the bearded man's face. "It seems to be a collective name for the ten most skilled swordsmen in their sword school."
Ogata turned his gaze towards Shimura, who was known as the "Ten Swords of Hosho".
He has a sturdy figure, a square face, and a firm look in his eyes - it's the kind of face that anyone who sees it would praise and say "You are worthy of being a samurai."
The only drawback is that Shimura's head is a bit big compared to his body.
The whole person's figure seems a little uncoordinated.
Shimura and his bearded companion kept changing their positions, but they refused to attack.
Whether it was the students of the Hosho Sword School or the challengers such as Ogata and Bearded Man, they were all watching the competition that was taking place in the center of the venue attentively.
"They are equally matched..." the bearded man said in a deep voice.
As soon as the bearded man finished speaking, a calm voice suddenly came from beside him:
"No, your companion should lose."
The person who said this was naturally Ogata.
Hearing Ogata's words, a look of surprise flashed across the bearded man's face, and he turned his head to look at Ogata beside him.
"My companion is going to lose? Why?"
As the bearded man spoke, he looked back towards the center of the dojo.
No matter how he looked at it, the two were evenly matched, constantly changing their positions, looking for opportunities to attack.
"Shimura's footsteps are much more solid than your companions." Ogata continued softly, "Based on this alone, it can be seen that Shimura's swordsmanship level is far superior to your companions."
"In my opinion, the winner will be decided soon."
The two men who were constantly performing a duet in the center of the dojo were like puppets who only obeyed Ogata's orders. As soon as Ogata finished speaking, the bearded companion made a powerful sound of qi gong and swung the wooden sword in his hand towards Shimura.
Facing the wooden sword that was coming straight towards him, Shimura neither dodged nor evaded. He simply stared at the wooden sword that was getting closer and closer to him.
When the wooden sword was only as long as an adult's arm away from Shimura, Shimura shouted loudly and then swung the wooden sword in his hand at a speed far faster than his bearded companion.
Bang!
Shimura's first attack was to block the bearded companion's knife.
Afterwards, he quickly added a second blow, which directly hit his bearded companion, who was left wide open because the knife in his hand was blocked.
Pop.
The wooden sword accurately hit the bearded companion's right shoulder.
Because Shimura withdrew his strength in time, the bearded companion only felt pain but was not seriously injured.
The bearded companion's face turned pale and blue, and his lips trembled slightly, as if he wanted to say something.
But in the end he said nothing. He snorted loudly, threw down the wooden sword in his hand, and quickly walked back to where the bearded man and Ogata were sitting.
There are a total of 4 people in Bearded Man’s group. Now one of their companions has been defeated, leaving 3 people including Bearded Man.
"Next." Shimura cast a calm gaze towards the three bearded men who had not yet entered the arena.
"I'll do it!"
The bearded man shouted, then stood up from the floor, walked quickly to Shimura, and picked up the wooden sword that his companion had just thrown to the ground.
"I'm going to put a bump on that big head of yours!" The bearded man seemed very unhappy that his companion had been defeated.
"Humph." Shimura said with a fake smile, "If you can do it, just give it a try."
Shimura and the bearded man both assumed extremely standard mid-section stances.
After only a standoff of ten swords for less than half a minute, the bearded man launched an attack while shouting.
10 seconds later...
The bearded man covered his swollen thigh and limped back to Ogata and the others.
Shimura's forehead was not swollen, but his thigh was swollen.
"Next one." After losing two people in a row, Shimura smiled with pride. He looked at Ogata and the others who had not yet entered the game, and there was a hint of provocation in his eyes, "Who else wants to give me a swollen head?"
The smug smile on Shimura's face and the provocative tone in his voice made the bearded man and the others furious.
There are still two people among the bearded man's group who have not yet appeared on the stage.
One of the two men, a young man with short hair, slapped the wooden board under him and shouted, "I'll do it!"
5 minutes...
The young man with curly hair returned to his companion with a frustrated look on his face, holding his swollen left shoulder.
"It's your turn." Shimura looked at the last person who had not yet entered the game, "Come and see if you can make my head swell up."
Shimura had plenty of physical strength. After fighting three people in a row, he only had some more sweat on his forehead. His breathing was still steady and not at all hurried.
His three companions were all defeated and injured, which made the last one who had not yet entered the game look a little timid.
But the samurai's self-esteem prevented him from having the courage to flee from the battlefield.
So he gritted his teeth, walked forward, and picked up the wooden sword that his three companions had used...
3 minutes...
He covered his right arm which was red and swollen from being hit, and returned to where he had just sat with his head down.
After defeating the bearded man and his gang, Chief Shimura let out a sigh of relief, then turned his gaze to the new seeker who had just entered the arena.
"It's your turn." Shimura looked at Ogata and spoke word by word.
It wasn't just Shimura who was looking at Ogata.
The other masters and disciples of the Hosho Dojo, as well as the bearded man and his group, all focused their eyes on Ogata.
"Brother, you are the only one left! You must avenge us!" The bearded man and his companions cast hopeful glances at Ogata.
"I will try my best." Facing the hopeful gazes from the bearded man and others, Ogata smiled helplessly, slowly stood up, walked to the dojo, and then picked up the wooden sword that had been used in turn by the four bearded men.
The handle of the knife still retained the body temperature of the bearded men.
He casually swung the sword twice in the air in front of him, and after confirming that the weight and center of gravity of the wooden sword were fine, Ogata nodded slightly.
"I haven't seen you before." Shimura, who was standing in front of Ogata, said, "I didn't expect so many outsiders to come here today. Are you training as a warrior?"
"No. I just traveled here with my wife because of something."
"Traveling with your wife..." Shimura glanced at Atachi who had been sitting obediently at the edge of the dojo, "I'm so envious."
It wasn't just Shimura who had envy and jealousy in his eyes.
Many of the men who were sitting at the edge of the dojo and who didn't even have a wife at the moment cast envious and jealous glances at Ogata.
Some people even whispered:
“I’m so envious…”
"It's great to have such a beautiful wife. If I had such a beautiful wife, I would definitely practice other swords every day."
"Humph, what an annoying guy. I hope Senior Shimura can hit him harder and hurt him a little."
Shimura took a deep breath, cleared his mind of all these distracting thoughts, steadied the wooden sword in his hand, and assumed an extremely standard mid-section stance.
And Ogata also followed suit and assumed a mid-range stance.
The next moment after getting ready, Shimura pulled himself together and shouted with full vigor:
"Come!"
Bang.
Shimura's sword was knocked away by Ogata's sword.
The whole audience was silent.
All those who were originally whispering fell silent at this moment.
[Ding! Use Sakakibara Ittoryu·Climb the stairs and defeat the enemy]
[Gain 50 personal experience points, and 50 swordsmanship "Sakakibara Ittoryu" experience points]
[Current personal level: Lv34 (1870/5 200)]
[Sakakibara Ittoryu Level: 12th Stage (1515/9000)]