The haori that Ogata was wearing at this time was the haori embroidered with the Ogata family crest that A-machi had bought for him before.
Although I haven't had time to take a shower from last night until now, I still have enough time to change into new clothes.
When Master Xianyuan shouted "Stop this man" to the four Iga ninjas disguised as monks beside him, Ogata drew out the Daishikuten from his waist almost at the same moment.
Da Shitian thrust forward and stabbed one of the four ninjas who were rushing towards him. The ninja who was stabbed flew past the fleeing Xianyuan Shangren like a cannonball, and then hit a pillar of the house heavily, shaking off a lot of dust on the beams.
After stabbing the ninja away, Ogata turned the blade and drew an arc to the right, knocking down another ninja. Then he drew a half circle to the left, turning the remaining two ninja into motionless corpses lying on the ground.
The two young monks who were sweeping the floor were so frightened by the strange change happening before their eyes that they collapsed to the ground and forgot even to scream.
Ogata quickly dealt with the four ninjas and immediately looked up to follow the figure of Master Xianyuan.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
Although Master Xianyuan was old, he ran very fast. He threw off the thick robes that hindered his movement and turned into a corner of a corridor.
As he ran away, he kept shouting "Enemy attack".
Ogata naturally had no reason to let Xianyuan Shangren, who was obviously a high-ranking figure in the Toyotomi army, go.
Ogata was seen shaking his sword to wipe off the blood on the blade of Dashitian, while chasing in the direction that Master Xianyuan had just left.
How fast can one get with a body strengthened by the "power of immortality"?
In just a blink of an eye, the figure of Master Xianyuan reappeared in Ogata's field of vision, and was being brought closer by Ogata at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Hearing the footsteps getting closer and closer behind him, Master Xianyuan looked back in panic.
Looking at Ogata's face that was getting closer and closer, not only did the blood on Master Xianyuan's cheeks disappear, but even the blood on his lips disappeared as well.
Just when Xianyuan Shangren was about to despair, a series of voices that sounded like heavenly sounds to him rang out——
whoosh!
Sharp sounds of breaking wind came towards Ogata.
Ogata's eyes twitched slightly, and he quickly stopped, then jumped lightly to the side.
The next moment he dodged to the side, he saw shurikens flying past his sides.
Looking in the direction the shuriken had just flown from, there were two "monks" with bald heads and shurikens sandwiched between the fingers of their hands, squatting on the beam not far away.
Crash...
At the same time, Ogata heard dense footsteps coming from the corridor in front of his left.
Seven "monks" who looked like Buddhist disciples but were holding weapons such as wakizashi and shurikens that should have nothing to do with Buddhism appeared from the corridor in front of Ogata's left.
Looking at the ninjas who came to reinforce him after hearing his shouts of "enemy attack", Master Xianyuan was overjoyed. He gritted his teeth, quickened his pace a little, and ordered the ninjas who came to reinforce him:
" Stop this guy! Stop this guy at all costs!"
The ninjas who came to reinforce formed a formation to half surround Ogata and attacked him.
"Is there not many normal monks left in Xianyuan Temple?"
After muttering these words, Ogata quietly held the knife in front of him.
"Come on, everyone."
…
…
Of all people, the first person to recover from his shock was Toyotomi Nobuhide.
He regained his composure and calmly asked the ninja who had come to report the news:
"...Where is Ogata Ittosai currently?"
The ninja swallowed hard to moisten his dry throat, then quickly conveyed all the information he currently knew to Toyotomi Nobuhide.
"Ogata is currently at Sengenji!"
"Just now, he suddenly appeared in Xianyuan Temple! The guards of Xianyuan Temple are now fighting with Ogata! The battle situation... is quite urgent! We can't stop him!"
"Besides Ogata Ittosai, did you meet anyone else?" Toyotomi Nobuhide asked, "Did you meet an elderly person?"
"No! Only Ogata has been found so far!"
“……” Toyotomi Nobuhide fell silent.
He lowered his head slightly, and his right hand rested naturally on his right knee. His index finger kept rising and lowering, tapping his knee rhythmically .
"Sir!" A certain burly man with an anxious face shouted hurriedly, "We must send reinforcements to Xianyuan Temple as soon as possible! With the few ninjas currently lurking and staying in Xianyuan Temple, it is impossible for them to defeat that Shura!"
As soon as this person finished speaking, he received a "big reward" from Toyotomi Nobuhide - Toyotomi Nobuhide's cold gaze like a knife.
"Mutaro, calm down."
"Don't panic."
"Let me ask you - since Ogata Ittosai is now in Sengenji, where are my uncle and his family now?"
The cadre who had threatened to send reinforcements to Xianyuan Temple immediately froze in silence, and looked at each other in bewilderment with the people around him.
"It's impossible that Ogata came to Koyasan alone." Toyotomi Nobuhide said with certainty, "Hakugo and the others... must be somewhere in Koyasan now..."
Toyotomi Nobuhide once again raised and lowered his right index finger, tapping his knees rhythmically with his fingers.
Toyotomi Nobuhide looked thoughtful for a while before everyone finally heard his voice again.
This time, Toyotomi Nobuhide's voice was an order in an unquestionable tone.
"...Yoshihisa, Takaharu." Toyotomi Nobuhide turned his head to look at Yoshihisa beside him and a strong man not far in front of him, "You two, lead your men to transport all the people in the cell to the Hikari Maru and the Hulu Maru immediately."
"Jijiu, you are responsible for taking my sister away personally. Don't make any mistakes."
"If the situation requires, Mr. Hasegawa and the others don't have to be taken away, but my sister must be taken away no matter what."
"Without my sister, the Edo War would not be complete."
"The rest of you will follow my orders." Toyotomi Nobuhide looked at the others at the scene, "We will now evacuate Koyasan in an orderly manner, head to the coast, board the Hikari Maru and the Hulu Maru, and head north to Edo."
When Toyotomi Nobuhide said this, everyone in the room was shocked.
"Lord Toyotomi ! Are we going to withdraw from Koyasan now? What should we do with Ogata Ittosai? Are we just going to ignore him?" The sturdy man who had just threatened to immediately support Sengenji widened his eyes.
"Yes. Just ignore him first." Toyotomi Nobuhide said calmly, "The musketeers who participated in the Battle of Osaka last night have not returned yet."
"At present, only some Iga ninjas and a very small number of musketeers remain in Koyasan."
"With this amount of troops, even if I were to lead the team myself, even if we succeeded in defeating Ogata Ittosai and my great-uncle, it would definitely be a miserable victory."
"Didn't I say this just now? I hate victories with heavy casualties. I only like complete and perfect victories."
"Let's retreat for now. When the conditions are ripe, we can slowly deal with that Shura and my uncle."
"and……"
Toyotomi Nobuhide narrowed his eyes slightly.
"If my judgment is correct... our best strategy now is to leave Koyasan as soon as possible."
"If we put all our strength into counterattacking Ogata Ittosai now, we might just fall into their trap."
"Ogata Ittosai who suddenly appeared in Sengenji Temple was probably just a bait to lure us in."
"Fooled?" Someone tilted his head and asked in confusion.
"Why do you only see Ogata Ittosai, but not my great-grandfather?" Toyotomi Nobuhide asked with a somewhat impatient tone, "Time is urgent now, I don't have time to explain it to you slowly. I will explain it to you slowly after we leave Koyasan."
"Then..." another person asked quickly, "What should we do with the supplies we currently have stored in Koyasan?"
"Yes." Another cadre agreed, "What should we do with the huge amount of materials we currently have stored in Koyasan? Should we throw them all away?"
"That's right." Toyotomi Nobuhide nodded, "I don't want any of them."
"Those supplies are not something that cannot be discarded."
"It would take too much time if we were to take them all away."
"Just take away the people currently in the cells."
"…Lord Toyotomi." Another person asked Toyotomi Nobuhide a question.
The person who raised the question this time was Prajna, who had just been rewarded with a precious sword by Toyotomi Nobuhide.
"If we want to leave Koyasan now... we must send someone to hold back Ogata Issei and buy time for our evacuation."
"Otherwise, if we allow Ogata Issei to do whatever he wants, we will never be able to leave Koyasan."
"Don't worry about this." Toyotomi Nobuhide slowly smiled, "I have already...thought of a way to trap Ogata Ittosai. If we are lucky, we can also seriously injure him."
After saying that, Toyotomi Nobuhide slowly turned his gaze to...Kikutaro.
"Kikutaro!"
Toyotomi Nobuhide called out Kikutaro's name loudly.
At this moment, Kikutaro, who was suddenly called, trembled slightly.
"If I remember correctly... there are currently 18 ninjas from Shiranui under my Toyotomi Army, including you, correct?"
"Yes, yes." Kikutaro, whose face had been very unhappy since he heard the news that "Ogata has attacked", gave a flattering smile to Toyotomi Nobuhide, "This is all thanks to you, Lord Toyotomi."
Kikutaro habitually flattered Toyotomi Nobuhide.
"It was you who took us in after you were destroyed in Shiranui, when we were homeless and had no skills other than ninjutsu."
"We have always remembered your great kindness..."
Before he could finish his flattery, he was ruthlessly interrupted by Toyotomi Nobuhide:
"Did you just say that you wanted to lead the Shiranui people to join the defense of Koyasan?"
The smile on Kikutaro's face froze.
“Yes, yes…”
He nodded reluctantly.
The sturdy man who had just snatched the task from Kikutaro now hung his head low, his face pale, and he didn't even dare to breathe.
"Since you care so much about the safety of Mount Koya..." Toyotomi Nobuhide's smile slowly emerged with a deep and meaningful look, "Then I will give you a task now."
"The mission is very simple: You lead all the members of Shiranui to hold back Ogata Ittosai for me, and buy time for us to evacuate Koyasan."
"This mission is very suitable for you."
"Ogata Ittosai was one of the main culprits in the destruction of Shiranui."
"This mission is also a good opportunity for you to take revenge in disguise."
"Didn't you ask me before that you wanted to join the Battle of Osaka, contribute your meager efforts to the elimination of Ogata Ittosai, and personally avenge your Shiranui?"
"Now is your chance to make a small contribution."
At this moment, Kikutaro... was like a water pump.
A lot of cold sweat broke out from all over Kikutaro's body.
"Toyotomi-sama..." Kikutaro's body was shaking slightly uncontrollably. He tried to force a smile and stammered, "No, no, it's not that we don't want to obey your orders..."
"It's just that...there are only 18 of us, including me..."
"What we are best at is reconnaissance, not combat."
"Let's go fight Ogata Ittosai... I think we'll be wiped out soon..."
"I'm not afraid of death!"
"I was just afraid... that I would not be able to hold back Ogata Ittosai... and that this would affect your evacuation, sir..."
Before Kikutaro finished his defense, Toyotomi Nobuhide let out a low laugh.
"Kikutaro, what are you thinking about?"
"When did we ever say that you should go head-to-head with Ogata Ittosai with swords in hand?"
"Huh?" Kikutaro raised his head and cast a surprised look at Toyotomi Nobuhide.
"At present, apart from Yoshihisa and I, no one in the entire Toyotomi army can survive a single round under Ogata Istosai's sword." Toyotomi Nobuhide stretched out his right little finger and scratched his ear. "If I ask you to fight Ogata Istosai with swords, you probably won't be able to last even a stick of incense."
"So, if you want to hold back Ogata Ittosai, you have to use your wisdom."
Toyotomi Nobuhide raised his finger and pointed at his head.
Kikutaro was not quite sure what Toyotomi Nobuhide meant by "you have to use wisdom".
All he knew was that he seemed to be saved.
——We’re saved…don’t we need to fight Ogata Ittosai head-on?
Kikutaro's originally tense face now showed a long-lost smile.
——Just don’t let us go and die… Asking us to fight with Ogata Ittosai, isn’t that asking for our lives…
He secretly rejoiced in his heart.
While Kikutaro was still celebrating his happiness——
"Kikutaro, you and all the people in Shiranui, take all the kerosene stored in the warehouse and burn Mt. Koya for me."
After hearing "Burn down Mount Koya for me", Kikutaro's head immediately buzzed and he fell into chaos.
He blinked and shook his head.
"Eh? Excuse me, sir, you just said..."
——Did I hear it wrongly? What did I just hear?
Toyotomi Nobuhide continued to smile meaningfully at Kikutaro, who was clearly shaken and questioned his leader, and responded with a more playful tone:
"What's wrong? Kikutaro, as a ninja, your hearing shouldn't be that bad, right? Or did I speak too softly just now?"
"Sir!"
"Take the kerosene and burn Mt. Koya for me. Within two incense sticks, I want to see the boundless sea of ​​fire trapping Ogata Ittosai."
I'm not kidding, nor did I hear it wrong.