Naoshige, who was not far away, glanced at Ogata and Isshiki who were standing side by side with a complicated look.
Then he sighed softly and quickly stood beside Isshiki.
"It's really foolish to fight this group of pirates head-on..."
Although Naoshige said this, he still silently untied the cloth bag in his hand, revealing an ordinary-looking katana.
After Naoshige stood next to Isshiki, a female voice with obvious nervousness in her tone was heard.
"Go-Go-Mr. Goro! I'll help you too!"
The owner of the voice, Azuki, said this while standing to the right of Ogata.
Ever since Ogata took out his Daishakuten and Daijizai and threatened to kill that Yitong, Azhu's expression has become extremely interesting.
Too many questions made Azhu's expression dull and her brain went into a brief shutdown due to overload.
Eh? Isn't Mr. Goro a merchant who specializes in selling Ezo goods?
What did he say just now? Was he going to kill that ugly guy?
How is that possible! They have so many people! How can we defeat them?
What to do now, what to do now?!
…
Azuki's expression became even more flustered as Ogata stood up and drew his sword.
But after seeing Isshiki and Naoshige stand up one after another and express their willingness to work together with Ogata to fight against this group of pirates, the panic on Azuku's face gradually disappeared.
Instead, there was a look of tension mixed with a bit of fear.
Glancing at Azhu standing beside him, Ogata said slowly:
"You don't have to force yourself to help us."
"Mr. Wu, Mr. Wulang. Don't underestimate me because I'm so small. I'm quite good at boxing and kicking. You've seen me use 'power' before, right?"
——Azuki... such words, coming from you whose legs and feet are trembling slightly, are not convincing at all.
Ogata silently complained in his mind.
Not only was Azhu's voice trembling, but his legs and feet were also shaking.
Ogata understood Azhu's voice and the trembling of his legs and feet very well.
After all, standing in front of them were more than 60 vicious pirates.
The child is still very young. From a modern perspective, Azhu is just a student in the third year of junior high school or the first year of high school. At her age, she probably has not seen too many big scenes. It is understandable that she feels timid when facing so many enemies.
Rather, it is quite brave of Azhu to stand up and fight alongside Ogata. If it were anyone else, they probably wouldn't even dare to move in this situation, let alone stand shoulder to shoulder with Ogata.
As if to cheer himself up, Azhu took several deep breaths.
Then, in order not to affect her fighting, she tore off the black robe she was wearing, revealing the clothes underneath.
Under the black robe is an ordinary bright red women's kimono.
After pulling off the black robe, Azhu pulled up the hem of the kimono and tucked it into the big belt.
Although Azhu's behavior of pulling up the hem of her kimono was a bit bold, she didn't actually reveal too much of her body.
Because her calves were tied with thick bandages that covered her entire calves, and her two feet were properly covered with white cloth socks and straw sandals, in the end only a little bit of Azhu's thigh skin was exposed to everyone's view.
"Oh oh!" At this time, Yi Tong shouted excitedly, "This ship is really the right one to rob!"
After Azhu took off the black robe on his body, Yitong naturally saw Azhu's beautiful face.
When he saw Azhu's face, a glow of excitement appeared on Yitong's face at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Is there anyone willing to come forward and help that guy?" With his arms folded across his chest, Yi Tong glanced at the other people on the deck with a playful look.
After Ogata expressed his intention to kill Yitong and Isshiki stood beside Ogata, Yitong did not rush to order an attack immediately.
Instead, he watched every scene on the deck of the smuggling ship with an attitude of watching a good show.
With more than 60 men under his command, he did not think they would lose to just one or two samurai.
Feeling that there was no reason for him to be defeated, Yitong regarded Ogata's previous bold words as ignorant nonsense.
He regarded the actions of Ogata, Isshiki and others who drew their swords against him as a foolish act of seeking death.
Anyway, there was still plenty of time, so he didn't order an attack immediately. He wanted to see how many people were willing to follow Ogata in being stupid.
Wherever Yi Tong's gaze swept across, people there lowered their heads, not daring to look at Yi Tong.
No one, including Captain Saburo and the eight guards, or the other stowaways who ran to the deck to check the situation, were willing to come forward to help Ogata.
Seeing this, Yi Tong let out a few smug laughs.
Yi Tong, who was feeling very proud, did not notice at this moment that Gong Bu, who was standing behind him, was now frowning.
Just now, after Yi Tong walked from the bow to the side of the ship facing the smuggling boat, Gongbe followed closely behind him.
Originally, Gongbe followed Yi Tong to the side of the ship with the intention of watching a good show.
However...after Ogata stepped forward, Miyabe let out a light "eh".
Looking at Ogata's face, Miyabe's brows furrowed more and more.
"Where on earth is it..." Miyabe whispered in a voice that only he could hear clearly, "I've seen this face..."
At this moment, Yi Tong was immersed in the pleasure of pride and the power of life and death of everyone on the smuggling boat, and until now he did not notice the abnormality of the palace department behind him.
After confirming that no one else was standing next to Ogata, Yi Tong cleared his throat:
"It seems that you four are the only ones who want to die!"
"Really? What I said before was all true!"
"As long as you cooperate with us, we won't hurt you!"
"I meant so well, but I didn't expect you guys to be so ungrateful!"
The smile on Yi Tong's face became more ferocious at this moment.
"In that case, let you who are rushing to die get what you want!"
"Hey! Kill them all!"
Yi Tong gave orders to One-Eye and others who were now standing on the deck of the smuggling boat.
"Except for the woman in the red kimono!"
The woman in red kimono that he was referring to was naturally Azhu.
“That’s a precious commodity!”
"Don't hurt that woman! As for the others, do as you please!"
Yi Tong did not plan to send more troops to the One-Eye who was now standing on the deck of the smuggling boat, because in his eyes, the 18 people on the smuggling boat, led by the One-Eye, were more than enough to kill Ogata and his four companions.
18 people versus 4 people, the advantage is on their side!
"Understood!" The one-eyed man grinned and pulled out a wild sword from his back, "Everyone! Follow me! Except for that woman, kill the other three!"
As One-Eye finished speaking, his subordinates raised their weapons high in the air and responded to him with cheers.
The appearance of Azhu and others, to a certain extent, inspired Yi Tong and others and boosted their morale.
Because according to their practice, after they successfully catch some "high-quality goods", they will first "enjoy" them themselves and then sell them.
So after seeing Azhu, a beautiful girl, appear, Yi Tong's subordinates were extremely excited and wanted to quickly seize the entire smuggling ship and quickly enjoy the pleasure of "enjoying" these "high-quality goods".
"Hey, Majima Goro." Isshiki said to Ogata beside him in a deep voice, "Try to avoid that tall guy. He looks like he is not someone you can easily deal with."
"Given his height and the weapon he uses is a nodachi, his 'arms' must be quite long. Let's try to kill the others first, and then deal with the tall guy together."
The tall man that Isese was referring to was naturally the one-eyed man.
Swordsmanship is also a type of martial art where people with tall height and long arms will have an advantage in combat. The One-Eye Man is over 1.9 meters tall, and people don't want to go up and fight with him just by looking at him.
Facing Isshiki's advice, Ogata simply turned his head and looked at One-Eye with an expressionless face, saying nothing, with a thoughtful look on his face.
Isshiki was secretly annoyed at Ogata for ignoring him.
Just as he was about to ask Ogata if he heard what he just said, he suddenly heard his grandfather shouting:
"Ryoma! Don't leave my side!" Zhi Zhou shouted, drew his sword from its sheath, and clenched the knife in his hand.
Because the difference in numbers between the two sides was too great, the number of pirates who first rushed towards Isshiki, Naozune and the others was as many as eight.
Isshiki quickly gathered himself, ready his sword, and assumed a mid-fight stance.
This is a real life-and-death fight, and there is no room for carelessness.
He took deep breaths and tensed his nerves to the extreme.
"Ono Ittoryu."
"Isshiki Naoshu!"
Nao Zhou shouted out his name.
"Ono Ittoryu."
"Iseki Ryoma!"
Isshiki followed closely behind.
After the grandfather and grandson gave their respective names, they took the initiative to go towards the seven pirates.
The eight pirates that rushed towards the grandfather and grandson split into two groups.
One group of 5 people attacked Zhizhou, and the other group of 3 people attacked Yise.
The three people who attacked Isise were quite cooperative. The three people attacked Isise from three different directions.
call--!
The "Pirate 1" who was in the front and closest to Isshiki took the lead in launching the attack. He swung the katana in his hand and chopped it towards Isshiki's head. The blade cut through the air, causing gusts of wind to break.
Isshiki nimbly took a step to the side and dodged the downward attack.
When he subconsciously wanted to launch a counterattack, he saw "Pirate 2" following behind "Pirate 1" attacking him with a knife.
Isshiki had to give up the idea of ​​counterattacking "Pirate 1" and once again misstepped and dodged.
These three pirates were like arquebusiers using the "three-stage attack" tactic, taking turns attacking Isshiki.
Not only did the three of them know how to cooperate, but their swordsmanship was not bad. Isshiki recognized that the swordsmanship used by one of them was the famous Katori Shinto-ryu, and his level was probably enough to get a catalogue license. (When Katori Shinto-ryu evaluates the level of its disciples, it uses three levels from low to high: paper cutting, catalogue, and no-permission)
——Damn it… These three people are not completely unfamiliar with swordsmanship…
——They have such powerful swordsmanship, but they become pirates, and pirates who specialize in human trafficking. They really defile the swords in their hands!
Isshiki cursed bitterly in his heart.
Isshiki had practiced many one-on-many matches in the dojo before. Although Isshiki won in the end every time, he knew very well that this did not mean that he really had the strength to fight one-on-many in actual combat.
No matter how well you practice in the dojo, the "dojo sword" is always a "dojo sword" and cannot be compared with a "real sword".
——I can’t just dodge like this anymore! I have to find a way to fight back! Otherwise, I will definitely lose!
After quickly assessing his current situation, Isshiki's eyes quickly swept over the three pirates in front of him, looking for and waiting for a breakthrough point.
Because he focused all his attention on fighting the enemy, Isshiki had no time to care about his grandfather, Ogata, and Azuku.
He knew his grandfather's strength, so he was only worried about Azhu, who was tiny in his eyes, and Ogata, who just claimed that his swordsmanship was mediocre.
——Please don’t let anything happen to you so soon... I will kill these three people as soon as possible and help you share the pressure.
Isshiki was now just trying to take care of himself, and there was nothing else he could do except praying that nothing would happen to Ogata and the others.
Because of his intense concentration, he not only had no time to look, but he couldn't even use his ears to listen to the movements of other "battlefields". So he didn't even know what was happening in other "battlefields" now.
call!
"Pirate 1" aimed at Isshiki's head with another powerful blow.
Looking at the oncoming blow, all of their eyes sparkled with brilliance.
The opportunity to counterattack that he had been waiting for came.
"Pirate 1" was standing too far forward at this time, and was somewhat disconnected from the other two, resulting in the attack of the other two not coming so quickly.
Isshiki would naturally not let go of the long-awaited opportunity to counterattack.
After dodging the downward slash from "Pirate 1" with a misstep, Isshiki turned the blade and aimed the tip at "Pirate 1"'s heart, then held the blade flat and pushed hard against the ground with both feet.
“Haaaa——!”
While emitting an astonishing amount of energy, he thrust his sword forward.
It is common sense to keep the blade flat when stabbing, because in this way, when stabbing the enemy's chest, it is not easy to be blocked by bones such as ribs, and it is easier to pierce the enemy's internal organs through the gaps between the bones.
Isshiki originally thought that he would be able to kill this "Pirate 1" in one move this time.
But one of the biggest differences between "Real Sword Duel" and "Dojo Sword Practice" is that in "Real Sword Duel", any moves can be used.
Just when the tip of Isshiki's knife was only half an arm's length away from Pirate 1's chest, Pirate 1 snorted coldly, suddenly raised his left hand and grabbed the tip of Isshiki's knife.
The sharp tip of the knife pierced through Pirate 1's left palm easily, as if piercing a piece of paper.
After his left palm was pierced, Pirate 1's face immediately turned as pale as snow.
But as his face turned pale, a fierce look slowly emerged in the eyes of "Pirate 1".
After his left palm was pierced, he quickly tightened the five fingers of his left hand, tightly grasping the blade of the Isshiki sword and stopping the kinetic energy of the blade's forward thrust.
The straight thrust that Isshiki had placed high hopes on was broken just like that.
“Go to hell!”
"Pirate 1" yelled, holding Isshiki's sword tightly in his left hand, and slashed at Isshiki with his right hand.
——Oh no!
This time, everyone's face turned pale.
Isshiki was briefly stunned because he was frightened by the ruthlessness of "Pirate 1" who was willing to destroy his left hand.
It wasn't until "Pirate 1" swung his knife at him that he finally came to his senses.
It was too late for him to escape now.
He could only watch as the blade of "Pirate 1" got closer and closer to his crown.
——How embarrassing...
At the end of his life, for some reason, the last image that appeared in Isshiki's mind was the scene where he had just told Ogata, "If there is any trouble, just call him loudly."
——Just now I told that Majima Goro to call me if you run into any trouble, but in the end I couldn’t even kill a single pirate…
——The gap between men and women... after all... it's not that easy to make up...
Just when Isshiki was about to close his eyes in despair...
Boom boom boom!
He suddenly heard hurried footsteps coming from his side.
Then——
clang!
The sound of metal clashing against metal rang out from above Isshiki's head.
"Eh..."
Isshiki raised his head and looked in astonishment at the two swords placed together above his head.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting. That big one-eyed guy was a bit troublesome, so it took a little longer."
A familiar male voice came from the side.
Isshiki tilted his head to the side and saw Ogata who was lowering his head and smiling at him.
Ogata, who was standing behind Isshiki, let his left hand hang naturally and raised his sword with his right hand to block the downward attack from "Pirate 1".
——Why is he here?
Although at this moment, a lot of questions popped up in Isshiki's mind.
But facing a powerful enemy, Isshiki blurted out subconsciously:
"Be careful! This guy is not that easy to deal with..."
……pay.
Before Isshiki could utter the last few syllables of this sentence, he saw Ogata gently shake his sword, which shook away the sword of "Pirate 1".
Then… as if the scenery in front of him suddenly sped up, Ogata's sword slashed diagonally at the neck of "Pirate 1" at a speed so fast that Isshiki's eyes could not catch up.
Because the speed of the sword was too fast, "Pirate 1" had no time to defend or dodge.
Ogata's knife did not cut off the entire head of "Pirate 1", but only used the tip of the knife to cut off the throat and aorta at the neck of "Pirate 1".
It was not until his neck was cut in half that "Pirate 1" belatedly loosened the knife in his right hand and hurriedly raised his hand to stop the blood gushing out like a fountain.
But his action was doomed to be in vain. No matter how hard he pressed, the blood spurting out from the broken aorta continued to flow out from between his fingers.
The light in "Pirate 1"'s eyes gradually faded, while he continued to cover his neck and slowly fell to the ground.
After watching the "Pirate 1" whom he had just tried so hard to kill being easily killed by Ogata, Isshiki's eyes widened and his mouth unconsciously opened into an "O" shape.
It was not until this time that Isshiki realized that "Pirate 2" and "Pirate 3", who had been fighting with him together with "Pirate 1", were now lying in a pool of blood. They didn't know when they fell to the ground, and there was no sign of life at all.
——Were these two also killed by Majima Goro?
Before Isshiki could fully recover from the shock, he saw Ogata, who killed "Pirate 1" with a single sword strike . He shook the sword in his hand, shook off the blood on the blade, turned around, and quickly ran to Isshiki's side and back.
That was Zhi Zhou’s “battlefield”.
In a battle of 1 against 5, he actually killed 2 of them despite the huge difference in numbers between the two sides.
But after killing two people, Zhi Zhou's chest began to rise and fall at an exaggerated amplitude, announcing his physical exhaustion.
If it is delayed any further, Zhi Zhou, who is old and weak, will be in great danger.
But fortunately - Ogata came.
Ogata ran like a ghost without trying to hide the sound of his footsteps.
The three pirates who were besieging Naoshiro noticed that Ogata was approaching and quickly adjusted their positions to prepare to fight off the enemy.
But whether they are prepared to defend against the enemy or not is actually the same.
Soon—Ogata encountered the enemy.
Be it Isshiki or Naozune, the grandfather and grandson were like ignorant children at this moment, staring blankly at Ogata who was fighting one against three pirates and then easily chopped down the three pirates like cutting melons and vegetables.
“…Too beautiful…” Isshiki stared at Ogata blankly and muttered subconsciously.
For Isshiki, who advocates the idea that "swordsmanship should focus on the physique", Ogata's movements are so beautiful that Isshiki can't take his eyes away.
There are no fancy or unnecessary moves. Each move is designed to hit the enemy at the shortest distance.
When dealing with each enemy, he would hit his vital points accurately and kill him with one blow, without using even a bit of extra strength.
Powerful strength and speed. The speed of the sword is so fast that even the eyes can't keep up. By the time the enemy comes to his senses, he is already dead.
This is the swordsmanship and the look !
Possessing a strong physique, every move and every style is designed to kill the opponent faster!
Because he was so shocked, Isshiki didn't even realize that he was sitting on the deck in a duck-like position, holding the knife.
It took Ogata less than 2 seconds to kill the three pirates who were besieging Naoshige.
After the three pirates fell to the ground, Ogata used blood vibration to shake off the blood on the blade while looking up at Yitong.
"It seems that the pirates who make money by trafficking in human beings are really not that strong." Ogata said in a calm tone, and his words made Yi Tong's hands shake with anger.
After hearing what Ogata had just said, Isshiki realized belatedly that the deck was so quiet...
He turned his somewhat stiff neck and looked in other directions of the deck.
The deck was littered with corpses - but they were all the bodies of pirates.
All the corpses, without exception, were killed by the sword, and all the corpses were killed with a single blow.
In the middle of the pile of corpses, there was a huge corpse lying there - it was the one-eyed corpse.
There was a wound on the one-eyed man's heart that was pierced by a sword. He died from having his heart pierced.
His only eye was wide open with horror, as if he couldn't believe what was happening before his eyes.
Azhu was now standing next to the pile of corpses, looking dumbfounded, with his arms hanging down, standing there stupidly.
…
…
Yi Tong's face turned pale and blue as he looked at Ogata, who had just killed One-Eye and others with great ease.
Just as Yi Tonglian took several deep breaths and tried to suppress the anger -
"Ah." Gong Bei, who was standing behind him, suddenly let out a low cry of surprise, "I remember where I saw this face..."
Miyabe narrowed his eyes and looked down at Ogata with a meaningful look.
"...Master Yitong. Let's make a deal."
"You help us capture that guy alive."
"We will give you 1,000 taels of gold as a reward afterwards."