He saw himself practicing sword - this shocking scene made Ogata subconsciously raise his hand and pinch his face to confirm whether he was dreaming.
"pain……!"
After pinching his cheeks hard with the thumb and index finger of his right hand, Ogata couldn't help but grimaced because of the stinging sensation as if he was pricked by a needle.
It was also at this time that Ogata realized that the immortality poison that had tormented him for nearly a whole night had actually subsided.
The tingling sensation in various parts of the body no longer exists, the body temperature has returned to normal, the head no longer feels as if it is about to break into countless pieces, and the eyelids no longer feel heavy as if several pieces of steel are hanging on them.
He opened his shirt and looked at the left side of his neck - there was still a patch of purple skin, but the area was only a quarter of its original size.
Feeling the lingering pain on his cheek after being pinched, and his body now back to normal, Ogata's head was immediately filled with a flood of questions.
Why am I here at Sakakibara Sword Hall?
Why do I feel pain? Is this not a dream or an illusion?
Where is Miss Isshiki? Where is Toyotomi's army?
Why do I see an "I" practicing sword in the Sakakibara Sword Hall?
…
There were so many questions that Ogata didn't know where to start thinking.
Just at this moment!
The "Ogata" who had been standing in the center of the dojo and practicing swinging the sword at the air in front of him slowly stopped the wooden sword in his hand.
"Nice to meet you."
He wiped his forehead, which was not sweaty, and gave Ogata a friendly smile.
Watching "myself" saying "nice to meet you" to himself - the sense of incongruity was so strong that Ogata didn't know what expression to make.
"Who are you? Where is this place?"
Ogata looked at "Ogata" with a vigilant look, subconsciously lowered his body center of gravity, and raised his hand to touch his left waist, but he touched nothing - there was nothing on his left waist.
"Don't be nervous. I'm not the enemy."
"Ogata" waved to Ogata, then raised his right hand and rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful.
"If I were to explain to you who I am... it's a little too difficult. To put it simply, you can think of me as another you."
"I am you and you are me."
"As for where this place is...I don't need to explain this, right?"
"This is Sakakibara Sword Hall."
Having said this, he held the wooden sword in his right hand, put his left hand on his waist, looked at the ceiling above his head with a nostalgic look, and then looked at the ground under his feet.
"This is also where our 'dream' began."
"After traveling to this era, the first place I saw when I opened my eyes was this Sakakibara Sword Hall."
"Ogata"'s words were like a spell with special magic power, causing Ogata's expression to change suddenly.
He is a time traveler - this is Ogata's biggest secret, and he has never told anyone about this secret, including Ating.
But the "Ogata" in front of him casually told him the biggest secret of his life.
(I am you and you are me)
The words that "Ogata" had just said to him automatically echoed in Ogata's mind again.
But Ogata's words had not yet completely fallen, and he continued:
"The days when I was learning swordsmanship at Sakakibara Sword Gym were also the most peaceful and carefree time since I traveled through time."
"My daily life is just going to work and practicing swordplay."
"Apart from being short of money, there is almost nothing wrong with life."
"I have a safe place to live, I'm not wanted nationwide, I'm not unable to show my true face, and I don't have so many messy enemies."
"It's a pity... this wonderful life was ruined not long after."
As soon as "Ogata" finished speaking, Ogata suddenly felt a flash before his eyes!
The Sakakibara Sword Hall under my feet was like a piece of burnt plastic; the ceiling, walls, floor... everything was melting and distorted.
Before Ogata could even utter a cry of surprise, the Sakakibara Sword Gym beneath his feet melted and reorganized into a new scene.
A rather rowdy new scene.
"He's running out of strength! Quick! Surround him!"
"He's running towards you!"
"Hurry up!"
…
Hearing these familiar shouts, Ogata was stunned and quickly turned his head to look around.
Another place that is...quite familiar to Ogata.
Ogata looked in the direction where the shouts came from.
He saw a third self.
The third “he” was holding two swords, fighting bloody battles with hundreds of warriors who came one after another.
Not far away from the battlefield, Matsudaira Gennai, who was sitting on a large rock, was watching his subordinates fighting for him at the risk of their lives, as if he was watching an outstanding performance, with a happy smile on his face.
"This is the first fierce battle we have experienced since entering the Edo period."
The wooden sword in "Ogata's" hand had disappeared at this time. He put his hands behind his back, stood beside Ogata, and looked at the bloody battlefield not far away with Ogata.
"Fighting against hundreds of warriors by myself... Oh, it's amazing that we had such a crazy idea back then."
"Oh, I almost forgot to say this - you can now understand that the two of us are watching a movie."
"Whether it's me who's fighting with Matsudaira Gennai's subordinates or Matsudaira Gennai and his subordinates, we can see them, but they can't see us or touch us."
"So don't even think about rushing over to support yourself."
"...I feel like my brain is almost shutting down." Ogata closed his eyes and rubbed his brows with a tired look. "Where on earth is this place...Why did I suddenly move here from Sakakibara Sword Hall?"
"Ah...!" - At this moment, a scream reached Ogata's ears.
There was probably no one who was more familiar with this voice than Ogata—because it was his own voice.
He opened his eyes and looked up at the battlefield not far away - the third "he" accidentally revealed a flaw due to the decline of physical strength, and was hit by the enemy in the left shoulder.
The pain in his left shoulder made the third "Ogata" involuntarily let out a low cry of pain.
Since he drew his sword and rushed towards hundreds of warriors, he had suffered countless injuries like this.
His body was covered with wounds, blood gushing out, staining his clothes with blood. His strength was declining, and his hands and feet were no longer under his control.
He was almost out of strength to fight anymore, but there were still countless enemies in front of him.
The outcome of the battle... no matter how you look at it, it's already been decided.
However, this "Ogata", who had just been stabbed in the left shoulder, did not show any timidity or fear.
Even if you are already scarred.
Even if it seems that he has no chance of winning at the moment.
His eyes were still wide open as if there were flames burning inside, and he swung the knife in his hand persistently at the enemy in front of him.
"...You didn't know at that time that you were about to have your first breakthrough, or that you were about to enter the 'selfless state'."
Standing next to Ogata, with his hands behind his back, "Ogata" slowly turned around and asked in an interrogative tone:
"The war situation at that time was hopeless no matter how you looked at it."
"But why don't you want to put down the knife?"
"Why hasn't the light in your eyes faded away?"
Facing the calm gaze from "Ogata", Ogata was stunned for a moment, then slowly turned his gaze back to the 'self' who was still fighting bloody battles in front of him.
"…because I don't want to lose like this," he said.
"Why don't you want to lose?" the other self asked.
"…If I lose…"
Ogata lowered his head and was silent for a moment before raising his head again and looking at the "himself" who was fighting bloody battles with a firm gaze.
"…If I fall like this, I don't know how long this beast Matsudaira Gennai will remain at large, and I don't know how many innocent people will be harmed by his poison. I don't know how long it will take for my master, fellow apprentices, and other victims who were killed by Matsudaira Gennai to be vindicated."
“So I can’t fall down.”
"No matter how much pain I suffer...I can't fall down!"
"Ogata" smiled happily, as if he was very satisfied with Ogata's answer.
Then - the scene around Ogata melted, twisted, and reorganized into a new scene.
This new scene is hot.
It was another scene that was quite familiar to Ogata - Nijo Castle in Kyoto.
Ogata looked forward and saw himself again.
On the top of the Nijo Castle tower which was now in chaos, he once again fought a desperate battle with the Shiranui ninjas and the lunatics who tried to blow up Kyoto.
As for "Ogata", he still had a smile on his face and stood beside Ogata with his hands behind his back.
“Kyoto is truly a very memorable city for us.”
“Here, we reunited with A-Ming.”
"I was so happy when I first saw Ating on the street."
Ogata smirked and poked Ogata in the side with his elbow.
"After all, we already had a good impression of Ating at that time."
"People would never have thought that the famous Ogata is also a vulgar man, and he would also fall in love at first sight with a girl who meets his own aesthetic standards."
"When I first met Ah-Ming on Butterfly Island, I was fascinated by her. If you hadn't been fascinated by Ah-Ming, you might not have agreed to her invitation to form a team. If Ah-Ming was an ugly girl, you would have ignored her."
Someone revealed the truth about why he agreed to team up with Atachi in the first place - even though it was "himself" who revealed the truth, Ogata still couldn't help but look embarrassed.
And "Ogata" seemed to have revealed Ogata's little secret just to see his embarrassed expression. With a playful smile on his face, he carefully looked at Ogata's embarrassed expression several times before turning his gaze back to the battlefield in front of him that was almost surrounded by flames.
“This is our second tough battle.”
"On the tower of Nijo Castle engulfed in flames, we faced off against the ninjas of Shiranui and the thugs who were trying to turn Kyoto into a dead city."
"Ha, this should be the highest-level battlefield we have ever seen."
"The battle began on the castle tower of Nijo Castle in Kyoto."
"It was another tough fight with several near-death experiences."
"You could have avoided this battle."
"But why did you choose to draw your sword in the end?"
"…Because I want to protect Atachi." Ogata's answer this time was much faster than the previous one. "Atachi, who defected from Shiranui, is being chased by Shiranui's pursuers ."
"And those pursuers are now gathered in Nijo Castle in Kyoto, protecting those who are having a banquet in Nijo Castle."
"That night, at Nijo Castle, was my only chance to capture all of A-Machi's pursuers in one fell swoop."
"If we miss this opportunity, God knows what those pursuers will do to A-Ming later."
"So... I don't want to miss this opportunity to kill them all."
"To protect Ah-Machi..." "Ogata" nodded with a smile, "What else? The reason you attacked Nijo Castle in one go wasn't just for Ah-Machi, right?"
Ogata pursed his lips, as if thinking or reminiscing.
But before he could think for long, "Ogata" interrupted his thoughts with a smile.
"Let me answer for you this time."
"To protect the innocent people in Kyoto, right?"
Although "Ogata" added "right?" at the end of this sentence, the tone used does not have the tone of a question sentence at all, but the tone of an affirmative sentence.
"That night, Kyoto was almost blown up by those lunatics."
"If those thugs who intend to destroy Kyoto really succeed, I don't know how many innocent people in Kyoto will die tragically."
"So, you decided to lead those thugs who were planning to burn down Kyoto and attack you to the most conspicuous building in Kyoto: Nijo Castle, and eliminate these thugs and A-Machi's pursuers at the same time."
"At the same time, it was this belief in protecting A-machi and the people of Kyoto that supported you in defeating all the enemies on Nijo Castle."
"...You seem to understand me better than I understand myself." Ogata pursed his lips and said softly.
"From a certain perspective - that's true." "Ogata" smiled.
The surrounding scenes melted, twisted, and reorganized into new scenes at this moment.
This new scene is very cold.
"Is it the Red Moon Fortress this time..." Ogata lowered his eyes and glanced at the city wall beneath his feet.
"This place is very, very familiar to us." "Ogata"'s personality seems to be different from Ogata's. He seems to be more cheerful, and he almost always has a smile on his face. "After all, we were drinking and chatting happily with the Ainu people here not long ago."
At this time, the two of them were standing on the inner city wall of the Red Moon Fortress.
The people from the Red Moon Fortress were standing guard all around.
They were all staring with vigilant eyes at the seemingly endless shogunate army camp outside the city.
"This battle... is our third major battle. It is also the largest one."
"Ogata" placed his hands on the battlements in front of him, looked at the military camp outside the city, and then said in a joking tone:
"Fighting the shogunate's 10,000-man army... Ha, before, we only fought enemies numbering in the hundreds at most ."
"And in this battle, we actually fought against an army numbering in the tens of thousands at once."
"After this battle, people in later generations will probably always remember that during Japan's Kansei era, there was a swordsman who could defeat even the shogunate's army."
“…You are not going to ask me again why I took the risk to fight against the shogunate’s 10,000-strong army?” Ogata walked slowly to the side of “Ogata”.
"As expected of me. You got it right." The smile on Ogata's face became even brighter. "Why did you choose to fight a battle that most people wouldn't even dare to think about?"
"This time it was also to protect Ah-Ming." Ogata responded without hesitation, "At that time Ah-Ming was recuperating in this Red Moon Fortress and needed to be carefully cared for for a long time. During this time she could not move..."
Before Ogata could finish his words, "Ogata" interrupted him:
"Besides protecting Ating, what else is there? What's the other reason?"
Ogata paused.
After a pause, Ogata lowered his head slightly and pondered.
And this time, "Ogata" patiently put his hands behind his back, and waited quietly for Ogata's answer with a faint smile on his face.
After an unknown amount of time, I heard Ogata say in a deep voice:
"…And also for everyone in the Red Moon Fortress who helped me a lot."
A brilliant smile appeared on Ogata's face.
He took over Ogata's words:
"The reason why we chose to fight against the 10,000 shogunate troops is not only to protect Atachi who needs to rest in the Red Moon Fortress for a while."
"It's also for the Red Moon Fortress."
"The Ainu people who live in this fortress have given us a lot of help."
"Help us find Xuanzheng and Xuanzhi."
"When Ah-Ming was seriously injured and in urgent need of treatment, they provided Ah-Ming with medicine, which saved Ah-Ming's life in disguise."
"To protect A-machi and to repay her kindness, we mounted our horses, picked up our swords, and launched a desperate attack on the shogunate's 10,000-strong army."
"We have always held the sword tightly to protect important people, for a simple sense of justice, to repay those who have done us a favor, and for many other reasons."
"At the same time, our victory in these fierce battles is inseparable from the support of these beliefs."
The surrounding scene changed again.
Ogata looked around - he and "Hara Ogata" returned to the starting place: Sakakibara Sword Hall.
"Ogata Issei. How do you feel after watching what just happened?"
"Do you feel that you were extremely ugly just now?"
"Ogata", who always loved to laugh and had a smiling face just now, now had no smile at all on his face.
He looked at Ogata intently with a very solemn expression.
"I was just being hunted down by the Toyotomi army, and was tortured to death by the 'Immortal Poison'."
"That's all. You just thought that 'death is a kind of relief'. Is it because the torture brought to your body by the 'Immortal Poison' is too strong that your willpower has become weak?"
Hearing what "Hara Ogata" said, Ogata subconsciously wanted to refute.
And he found out—he couldn't argue with it.
After he fainted and before he came to this strange place, he thought he was going to die. He did think that "death is also a kind of relief for him". Deep down in his heart, he did feel a little... fortunate...
"Not long ago, you vowed to Isshiki that you would never give in to death even if you were in extreme pain. But not long after, you were actually thinking, 'It's better to die, I'll be free.' It's really hilarious!"
Ogata's words became more and more intense and harsh.
Ogata was like a child being scolded by his parents, staring blankly at "Ogata" who was still speaking impassionedly.
"We still don't know what the situation of Atachi and his men is. The worst case scenario is that they were also attacked by the Toyotomi clan."
"Toyotomi's men destroyed Osaka beyond all recognition, and countless people died at their hands."
"And now, the Toyotomi army has surrounded us and Isshiki Hana, intending to kill us, and Isshiki Hana has also been implicated by us."
"This foolish girl who refused to follow our advice and escaped alone is now trying to fight the Toyotomi army alone and protect us as best she can."
"Ogata Yisei!"
"Look at your left waist!"
"What's hanging around your left waist right now?"
The tone of "Ogata" suddenly rose several tones!
"Tell me! What are you supposed to do now?!"
Ogata lowered his head and saw it at his left waist.
There is now a katana on the left waist which had been empty just now.
An ordinary sword with ordinary appearance and weight.
Looking at the ordinary knife at his waist, Ogata's expression first froze in surprise, and then, determination appeared in his eyes!
Click!
Ogata suddenly raised his hand and pressed the hilt of the knife.
The blade of this sword seemed to be integrated with the handle, and Ogata had to use all his strength to pull the sword out of the scabbard little by little.
But even though the sword was so difficult to draw, Ogata did not let go of his hand.
Looking at Ogata who was pulling out the knife from his waist inch by inch, Ogata's originally frowned brows slowly relaxed and a smile slowly appeared in his pupils.
The smile in his eyes contained a hint of relief.
"Are you going to draw your sword?"
After asking this question, he immediately threw out a sentence that he had been throwing at Ogata since they first met:
"Why do you want to draw your sword?"
"Why?" Ogata raised his eyes and looked directly into "Ogata's" smiling eyes.
At this moment, the knife from his waist was just pulled out an inch.
The cold light reflected by the unsheathed blade shone on Ogata's eyes, which seemed to have flames burning in them!
"Because I have something to accomplish!"
Bear!
A huge fire suddenly broke out in the Sakakibara Dojo where he and Ogata were standing.
In just a moment, the fire engulfed the ceiling and walls of the dojo.
The ceilings collapsed one by one.
The sword rack and wooden sword placed at the edge of the dojo were burned to ashes.
The smile that originally existed only in the pupils now spread to the entire face - standing in the center of the fire, "Ogata" smiled at Ogata with relief.
"Ogata Yisei!"
he shouted.
“Draw your sword!”
…
…
The smell of soil continuously penetrated into Ogata's nose.
He slowly opened his eyes—he was lying face down on the ground with the tip of his nose stuck in the dirt.
As my consciousness was becoming hazy, a voice suddenly sounded in my mind:
[Ding! The host completely absorbs the "power of immortality"! ]
The sudden system sound pierced the darkness like lightning on a rainy night.