[Ding! Use Sakakibara Ittoryu: Waterfall to defeat the enemy]
[Gain 120 personal experience points, and 120 swordsmanship "Sakakibara Ittoryu" experience points]
[Current personal level: Lv40 (2500/6400)]
[Sakakibara Ittoryu Level: 14th stage (965/14000)]
Ogata took two deep breaths in a row, and the rhythm of his chest rising and falling became normal again, slowly coming out of the state of "selflessness".
Just now, when An Yun was chattering away, talking about a bunch of nonsense that Ogata was not listening to at all, Ogata had silently used the "Origin Breathing" again.
Then, relying on the power of the "selfless state", he killed the man instantly with one blow.
To deal with this person, Ogata does not actually need to enter the "state of no self". Under normal circumstances, Ogata can also defeat this person.
It's just that there's no way to kill him instantly.
After all, this person is of some ability and is not a weakling who is easy to bully.
Under normal circumstances, without using his Muga Nito-Ryu, it would take Ogata at least 3 or 4 moves to knock this person down.
Using 3 or 4 moves to defeat Aki? Ogata refused to do it.
What Ogata wanted was to give others a taste of their own medicine.
What Ogata wanted was to teach this guy a lesson.
What An Yun said just now was very irritating to Ogata.
It's the saying "Women shouldn't hold weapons. If women hold weapons, it will only make the weapons they hold want to cry."
These words reminded Ogata of the friends he made in Ezo - the villagers of China Village.
The Qina Village, which had lost most of its young and strong men, was not defeated by this sudden disaster.
Most of the women in the village took up bows and spears and very tenaciously did the work of both men and women.
Ogata has always admired these strong girls in China Village.
What An Yun said just now was an insult to the strong girls in Qina Village.
Ogata was very unhappy that his respected friend was offended in this way.
This was not the only thing that made Ogata unhappy about Ayun.
Ogata was also displeased by his heavy-handed treatment of Isshiki Hana.
No matter how you look at it, the sword attack that An Yun used against Isshikika just now was beyond the scope of sparring.
Ogata didn't know whether there was any grudge between Aki and Isshikika, which led to Aki's heavy-handed attack.
He also didn't want to know whether An Yun and Isshiki Ka had any conflicts.
All he needed to know was that Isshikika was his friend, and that his friend was almost beaten to the point of having to stay in bed for a long time.
Taking all the above reasons into consideration, after Ogata took the wooden sword from Isshikika, he made up his mind - he would kill this man in the same way he killed those people from Kitahara just now.
After releasing the "state of no self", Ogata lowered his eyes and glanced at An Yun who had completely fainted - the area between his right shoulder and right neck was now swollen.
Judging from the feeling just now coming back from the wooden sword, this guy's right shoulder bone and right clavicle are probably broken.
However, even though it was broken, it could still be reconnected. Ogata still showed mercy and did not use too much force.
Although this person's actions made Ogata extremely unhappy, his crime was not punishable by death.
Otherwise, if Ogata attacked with all his strength, with his current basic strength of 20 points, plus the enhancement brought by the "selfless state", even with a wooden sword, he could easily chop Anyin to death... no, smash her to death.
——I just wanted to be a quiet spectator, why did things turn out like this...
Ogata turned his head and glanced around him. Except for Naoki and Isshikika, almost everyone sitting at the edge of the dojo had the same expression:
As if he had lost his soul, he stared at Ogata blankly.
Because almost everyone seemed to have lost their souls, the temple was extremely quiet and you could hear a pin drop.
After a long while, the deathly silence was finally broken.
"Quick! Carry your junior brother back!" Yagi, the head of Yuanming Hall, hurriedly shouted to several disciples beside him.
After receiving Yagi's order, the disciples rushed forward in a hurry and carried An Yun down in a panic.
When Aki was carried away, Ogata silently lowered the hat on his head slightly, holding the knife and strode towards the place where he had just sat.
Wherever he went, people's eyes followed him.
From time to time, you can hear the sound of swallowing saliva.
Ever since Aki suddenly started to "go crazy" and challenged Nanjo, everyone's emotions were like a roller coaster with huge ups and downs.
The originally silent dojo finally had voices starting to appear.
"Hey, who is this person wearing a bamboo hat and a scarf? When did this person appear in Isshiki Sword Hall? Is he a new guest invited by Isshiki Sword Hall?"
"It doesn't seem so. This person seems to be just a guest invited by Mr. Isshiki to watch the 'Big Test'."
"Guest? Where did Isshiki Sword Hall invite such a great swordsman?"
"Iseki Sword Hall is actually related to such a powerful swordsman... Then who would dare to mess with Isseki Sword Hall in the future?"
"Too strong... I couldn't see clearly what that person did just now..."
"What's his name?"
"It seems to be Majima Goro."
"From the voice of this person just now... he seems to be quite young... I think he is around 20 years old."
"It's so unfair... We're both in our 20s, but I haven't even qualified for the 'Directory', while his swordsmanship has already reached the pinnacle..." (Directory: The first level of swordsmanship)
“Damn it… I’m so envious… Not only does he have such amazing skills, but he also seems to have a good relationship with Miss Isshiki… I just saw him chatting with Miss Isshiki…”
"Oh no... I cursed him when he was chatting with Miss Isshiki just now... He shouldn't have heard the curses I just said to him, right?"
"He's about 20 years old, and he has such amazing skills... I hope he doesn't look like the type that Miss Isshiki likes..."
…
Although almost everyone in the venue was looking at Ogata with a dazed expression, the "excitement" and "shocking emotional content" of their expressions were different for different people.
The people whose expressions showed the highest "emotional shock" were the two museum directors who had just fought with Aki - Nanjo and Shimura. Especially Nanjo.
Both of them have fought with Anyun, so they know exactly how strong Anyun is.
Although they were very unwilling to lose to Anyi, they had to admit that Anyi was indeed very strong, and there was no luck involved in Anyi's victory over them.
If Anyin is so powerful... then how powerful is this "man in the bamboo hat" who killed Anyin in an instant?
——Who on earth is this person? !
Because Nanjo was completely focused on Ogata, he didn't even notice that his mouth had been opened into a small "O" shape since a while ago.
All he knew about Ogata was that he was a guest invited by Isshiki Naoaki.
Nanjo is not only a samurai and swordsman, but also the operator of a sword gym.
After the shock, Nanjo's brain started to work quickly.
He is now thinking seriously about how to deepen his relationship with Isshiki Sword Hall and how to use this relationship with Isshiki Sword Hall to get on the good side of this "great swordsman in a bamboo hat".
Being friends with such a powerful swordsman, Isshiki Sword Gym became very rich!
Hurry up and establish good relations with the prosperous Isshiki Sword Hall. It will definitely be beneficial and harmless!
In terms of the "shocking emotional content" of expressions, Nanjo took the lead.
But if we talk about the "brilliance" of expressions... Coincidentally, the person who took the lead in this regard was also from Quanbingguan - it was Kitahara.
At this moment... no human words can describe Kitahara's current expression.
Looking at Ogata's back as he slowly walked back to his seat, a thought slowly emerged in Kitahara's mind:
——So… this is why Mr. Isshiki treats this person so courteously…?
Kitahara recalled the scene where he had picked a fight with Ogata outside the sword hall and was scolded by Naoshige.
At that time, he only thought that Ogata must be the descendant of a high-ranking official or a wealthy businessman, because he could be treated with such courtesy by Naoshige at such a young age.
After this self-defense, Kitahara still looked down on Ogata vaguely, thinking that this man was merely blessed by his ancestors, and was far inferior to him, who was self-reliant and had built a career with his own strength.
It was not until now, after witnessing Ogata's amazing sword that killed Anyi in an instant, that Kitahara realized belatedly that his previous self-justification was really ridiculous...
The reason why this person was treated so politely by Zhi Zhou was not because he was the descendant of a high-ranking official or a wealthy businessman...
At this moment, the chaotic thoughts in Kitahara's mind suddenly changed - a string of memory fragments emerged in Kitahara's mind.
This series of memory fragments, faces.
They are all the faces of Isshikika’s good friends.
Kitahara remembered what this string of memories was.
These are the scenes when Kitahara asked Isshikika's friends "What kind of man does Isshikika like?" and Isshikika's friends answered Kitahara.
He received different responses, but most gave the same answer - Isshikika liked people who were strong in swordsmanship.
This string of memories flashed through Kitahara's mind, and his face turned pale.
His gaze automatically turned to Isshikika as if it had consciousness.
After turning to Isshikika, he happened to see... Isshikika was looking at Ogata who was walking back slowly with a faint smile on her face.
…
…
Just now, when she saw Ogata helping her take the blow from Anye, which would have seriously injured her if she had taken it head-on, and when Ogata killed the arrogant Anye, who had defeated Nanjo and Shimura in a row, with just one strike, memories of the past flashed before Isshikika's eyes.
She recalled the times when she and Ogata had fought against pirates together.
The scenes at that time were surprisingly consistent with the scene before my eyes.
Every time she was about to be seriously injured, Ogata appeared in time and helped her defeat those who almost hurt her.
This was the second time she was saved by Ogata since she met him.
Isshikika felt very strange now.
Previously, when she and Ogata were working together to fight the pirates, she was somewhat depressed when she was saved by Ogata.
She is a strong girl.
Being saved by others due to her lack of strength - this made Isshikika feel like her self-esteem was hurt.
However, the magical thing is that after being rescued by Ogata again today, she miraculously no longer felt depressed at all.
Not only did he not feel depressed, but as he looked at Ogata who was slowly walking back, the corners of his mouth slightly curled up, and a hint of joy and smile appeared with the upturned corners of his mouth.
Isshikika now felt more than just a faint joy.
After seeing that everyone in the venue was looking at Ogata with awe, there was actually a kind of... emotion similar to pride emerging in Isshikika's heart.
"Mr. Majima." After Ogata came back, Naoshige hurried over to greet him. "Thank you so much for what you did just now. If you hadn't come to my rescue in time, I would have to rush to carry my daughter to the clinic."
"You're welcome." Ogata shook his head gently, "I just did what I had to do."
After thanking Ogata solemnly, Naoshige cast a serious and angry look at Yagi, who now had a very ugly expression for some reason.
"Yagi Matahachiro." Naoshu called out Yagi's full name, "I'm sure you saw the fight between your lord's Aki Uenosuke and my daughter just now?"
"The attack that your guild's Aki Uenosuke used on my daughter just now, no matter how you look at it, is beyond the scope of sparring."
"If it weren't for the timely help of this distinguished guest I invited, my daughter would have been rushed to the hospital for treatment."
"I can turn a blind eye to your disciples' actions that disrupt the 'Grand Test'."
"But I will investigate your disciples' actions against my daughter to the end, no matter what."
"Yagi Matahachiro, I hope you can give me an explanation that will satisfy me."
Yagi did not immediately answer Naoshige's harsh question.
Instead, he glanced at An Yun, who was being hurriedly carried onto a wooden board and was about to be sent to the clinic for treatment, and then he said quietly:
"...I understand. It was indeed my disciple who did something wrong during the competition between my disciple and your daughter just now."
"When my disciple wakes up, I will bring him to your house to solemnly apologize to you and your daughter."
"I will give you an explanation that will satisfy you."
While Naoshige was questioning Yagi, Ogata had already knelt down and sat back in his original seat.
As soon as he sat down, Isshikika also sat down next to him again.
"……grown ups."
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
"……Thanks."
"You're welcome." Ogata smiled carefreely, and then repeated the same words he had used to answer Naoki just now, "I just did what I had to do."
Finally, Ogata added:
"I'm glad you're okay."
"...Thank you." Isshikika lowered her head, with a faint smile on her face, and said thank you to Ogata again.
…
…
The "Grand Test" has become the mess it is now - the owners of the various sword halls are no longer in the mood to continue hosting it.
Therefore, after some discussion, the museum owners decided to put an end to this year's "big trial".
The annual "big test" ended so abruptly.
The first to leave were the people from Isse Sword Hall.
When Ogata stood up with Naoshige and others and walked out of the dojo, everyone in the field looked at him with awe as if they were seeing off a king.
"Mashima-san. I'm so sorry..." As soon as he stepped out of the dojo, Naoshu said to Ogata who was walking beside him with an apologetic look on his face, "You took the trouble to come here, but you saw such an embarrassing scene."
"Mr. Isshiki, it's okay." Ogata smiled. "Accidents are always inevitable. Although this 'big test' ended in vain, I still enjoyed it very much."
To be polite, Ogata decided to tell a white lie and said that he enjoyed watching the movie.
"Ah..." Naoshu sighed heavily , "What happened to Yagi... He was obviously not like this before... He seemed to have become a different person today, and he actually allowed the students in his hall to cause trouble in the 'Grand Test'..."
As they were talking, they had already left Quanbingguan.
As soon as he left the Zenhyōkan, Osamu stopped and said to Naoshu and the others:
"Well then - Mr. Isshiki, I'll be leaving now."
"Mr. Majima, are you leaving?" Naoshige exclaimed.
"Yeah." Ogata nodded, "After all, I only agreed to come and see the 'big test'. Now that the 'big test' is over, I should leave."
"Mashima-san," Naoshige said quickly, "I'm sorry that you saw such indecent scenes today. I'd like to treat you to a meal. It happens to be almost noon now."
Because the "Big Test" was forced to be interrupted, it was supposed to end at 12 noon, but Ogata and his team came out of the Zenbeikan just after 11 o'clock.
"Thank you for your kindness." Ogata shook his head, "But it's not necessary. I have bothered you for too long today, so I won't bother you any more."
Seeing that Ogata rejected his invitation without hesitation, Naoshige's face showed hesitation.
After hesitating for a while, Zhi Zhou sighed heavily.
"...Okay. Then - Mr. Majima, we'll meet again someday."
Naoshu bowed deeply to Ogata.
Then he let out a long sigh.
"Alas... After this separation, I really don't know when I will see Mr. Ogata again."
Ogata bowed and returned the greeting, smiling:
"It's not like we will never meet again."
"I don't know anyone in Osaka. I only know you and Miss Isshiki."
"When I am free someday, or if I encounter something in Osaka that requires your help, I will definitely come to your house to bother you."
"Hahaha." Naoshige laughed heartily, "No problem! If you, Majima-sama, encounter anything that requires help in the future, just come to Isshiki Sword Hall to find us!"
"Anything I can do to help, I will help!"
"Then I will remember your promise." Ogata said in a joking tone.
Although he said that just now, Ogata actually knew in his heart that there would most likely be no chance for him to have any contact with Isshiki Kenkan again.
Ogata, who was busy greeting and saying goodbye to Naoshu, did not notice that Isshikika, who was standing behind Naoshu with her hands folded in front of her body in an elegant posture... was now hanging her head.
It looks as if he is looking at his own tiny toes, but in fact it is not the case at all.
Firstly, she couldn't see her toes at all, because as soon as she lowered her head, two objects would occupy most of her field of vision.
Secondly, the way she looked down was a complete illusion.
Although she lowered her head, she was actually secretly looking at Ogata.
There was a hint of disappointment in his eyes as he looked at Ogata...
…
…
In Osaka, a certain unpopular izakaya——
Squeak...
The door of the izakaya was slowly opened.
The sunlight shone through the open door into this izakaya, which was not very popular due to its poor location.
The business of this izakaya was so bad that at this moment there was only one middle-aged woman of average appearance, who looked like the proprietress of this izakaya, wiping the table with a bored look on her face.
After the door of the izakaya was opened, the proprietress of the izakaya stopped what she was doing and looked sideways - the person who opened the door was a young man with a stern look.
"Prajna, this is the first time I see you here during the day." The proprietress said with a smile.
The young man called "Prajna" ignored the proprietress's joke, but quickly closed the door and walked quickly to the proprietress.
"Go and tell Lord Toyotomi."
Prajna said seriously, word by word.
"The executioner Ittosai Ogata Issei is in Osaka right now! He has a close relationship with Isshiki Kenkan!"