After shouting "Hide", Hasegawa was the first to rush to the back of a large protruding rock wall beside him. When rushing towards this obstacle, Hasegawa did not forget to pull Naoshige and others up with him.
The high level of organization of the Fire Thief Kai, who was trained by Hasegawa, was displayed at this moment.
Following Hasegawa's order, his subordinates scattered and searched for and hid in suitable hiding places like Hasegawa did.
Just as Hasegawa and the others hid their bodies, they saw a large group of people pouring out from the end of the corridor in front of them, like a spring bubbling with water.
The one leading this large group of people was Gao Qing.
Seeing that the people who went to escort Hasegawa had not returned yet, Gao Qing realized that this matter was unusual, and immediately rushed to the underground prison with all the troops he could currently lead - 6 Iga ninjas and 18 musketeers.
After arriving at the cell where Hasegawa was originally imprisoned, Gao Qing saw the corpses of people killed by Hasegawa all over the floor.
After realizing that her bad premonition had come true, Gao Qing no longer dared to be negligent or hesitant.
Gao Qing had heard many stories about the famous "Gui Ping" a long time ago.
He solved a case in just three days that ordinary officers had been struggling to solve for a month.
The mother of a certain official who was a thief was seriously ill, so he used his private money to pay for his subordinate.
If it was that "Onihei", he would definitely not abandon his subordinates like this - Gao Qing, speculating so in his mind, led his men and rushed straight to the place where Hasegawa's subordinates were imprisoned.
Sure enough - the current situation he saw with his own eyes was exactly the same as he had guessed.
Although Hasegawa and others hid in the obstacles very quickly, Gao Qing still caught the moment when Hasegawa rushed behind the stone wall in time.
——Tsk… Damn it… You’re causing trouble for me at a time like this!
Gao Qing's cheeks bulged outwards because she clenched her teeth so hard.
At a time when they are in a hurry to evacuate from Koyasan, Hasegawa's behavior has made Gao Qing feel... like killing someone very much.
However, even though his heart was filled with murderous intent, Gao Qing still suppressed his anger and spoke loudly to Hasegawa in a gentle tone:
"Mr. Hasegawa. Stop hiding! I've seen you!"
"You are Lord Toyotomi's guest!"
"We don't want to hurt you!"
"Please put down your weapons and come out!"
"If you are afraid that we will take you to some terrible place later , then you can rest assured!"
"We are now transferring everyone in this cell, including you, for some reasons!"
"I assure you! Everything I just said is true!"
For Gao Qing, the best outcome at the moment is naturally to successfully persuade Hasegawa to surrender with words.
It was not only because Hasegawa was a guest of Toyotomi Nobuhide, but also a talent that Toyotomi Nobuhide was eager to recruit. If Hasegawa was accidentally injured or killed, it would be difficult to explain to Toyotomi Nobuhide.
This is also because Hasegawa and others now hold a number of weapons that cannot be underestimated.
Gao Qing not only captured the moment when Hasegawa and others hid in various obstacles, he also witnessed that Hasegawa and others were holding a considerable number of muskets in their hands.
Although the number of muskets owned by Hasegawa and others, according to Gao Qing's previous observation, was less than the number of both hands, and was far less than the 18 musketeers under his command, a musket was still a musket after all.
If they engage in a firefight with Hasegawa and others in such a narrow place, even if they win, there will definitely be a lot of casualties - this is not what Gao Qing wants to see.
Of course, Gao Qing is not a naive fool.
He certainly wouldn't be so foolish as to put all his hopes on persuading the enemy to surrender.
He had made preparations for both situations. While loudly persuading Hasegawa to surrender, he gestured to all his subordinates around him to be ready to fight at any time.
"Tsk..." Hasegawa secretly poked half of his head out of the rock wall to observe the military strength that Gao Qing had.
Due to the angle and terrain, it is difficult to discern the exact number of Gao Qing's troops. The only thing that can be confirmed is that in terms of the number of muskets, Gao Qing has the advantage.
——It’s troublesome…
Hasegawa turned his head and looked at his subordinates beside him.
Due to insufficient weapons, more than half of the subordinates were unarmed.
Those who had weapons were only holding flintlock rifles, which they had never seen before and were not familiar with at all.
"Master Hasegawa."
A subordinate next to Hasegawa who had just been fortunate enough to be given a flintlock rifle asked Hasegawa in a low voice.
"How do you use this cannon? Why doesn't it even have a fuse? How can you shoot without a fuse?"
"I don't know either." Hasegawa whispered, "But this cannon seems to fire with just one pull of the trigger. Be careful not to accidentally fire it."
"Master Hasegawa." Another person lowered his voice and asked Hasegawa, "What should we do now? Should we... rush out and fight those people outside?"
"..."Hasegawa did not respond to his subordinate's question.
He had a gloomy face, looking thoughtful.
"...You just said: Now we have to be transferred due to some reasons. May I ask what the reason is?" Hasegawa asked Gao Qing outside loudly in a calm tone.
While asking Gao Qing this question, Hasegawa quickly turned his eyes and scanned everything within his field of vision.
Finally - Hasegawa's gaze was fixed on the cell diagonally behind him, from which his subordinates had just come out.
To be more precise, it is the large wooden boards, one person long and half a person wide, fixed on the floor of the cell.
There are 23 large wooden boards in total, no more, no less, which is exactly the number of subordinates imprisoned here.
I guess these wooden boards are the beds of my subordinates these days.
"I'm sorry." Gao Qing answered Hasegawa's question, "I'm sorry, I can't answer this question."
As soon as Gao Qing finished speaking, Hasegawa quickly raised a new question:
"Where are we being transferred to?"
While asking this question, Hasegawa turned his head frequently, repeatedly confirming the location of the cell and the locations of Gao Qing and others with his eyes.
After confirming that Gao Qing and the others would definitely not be able to see any movement in the cell due to the angle, Hasegawa fixed his eyes and made two very simple gestures to the two subordinates beside him.
He pointed to the large wooden boards in the cell not far away, and then raised three fingers.
Then he retracted his fingers and compared himself and the two subordinates.
The two subordinates beside Hasegawa happened to be old subordinates who had followed Hasegawa for many years.
Even though Hasegawa didn't say a word to them.
Even though Hasegawa only made these two very simple gestures.
The two of them were still able to understand what Hasegawa's "sign language" meant at the first moment.
The two of them nodded vigorously with solemn expressions, then bent down, and walked quickly back to the cell they had just come out of with as little noise as possible...
…
…
"Where are we being transferred to?"
Hearing this latest question raised by Hasegawa, the impatience on Gao Qing's face reached its peak.
"...East." Gao Qing answered, "We will move eastward next. I'm sorry I can't tell you where in the east we will move to."
"Lord Hasegawa. Please don't waste our time any more."
Time was urgent, and Gao Qing, who didn't want to waste any more time here, said sternly in a very serious tone.
"I am giving you one last warning now: please put down your weapons as soon as possible..."
"Okay!" Before Gao Qing finished speaking, Hasegawa's voice suddenly rang out and interrupted Gao Qing, "I understand, we'll come out right away."
"Please tell your men to be careful and not to accidentally pull the trigger of the cannon when we come out."
After hearing what Hasegawa said, Gao Qing was stunned at first, then her expression relaxed.
"As long as you put down your weapons and come out, we will never do anything to you. After all, you are a guest of Lord Toyotomi."
"Is that so... Then I'm relieved!"
Hasegawa's last words, "I'm relieved", suddenly raised the tone by several degrees.
After he shouted "Don't worry" in an almost roaring tone, he suddenly rushed out from behind the rock wall where he was hiding.
He did not come here alone.
Rushing out from his hiding place with him were the two old subordinates who had just been ordered by him to enter the cell to get the wooden boards.
Hasegawa and his two old subordinates, now each holding a tall wooden board just taken out of the cell, launched a true "wall charge" against Gao Qing and others side by side!
The more dangerous the work, the more he has to lead by example - this is what Hasegawa has always insisted on.
It was because of this persistence that he won the love and support of his subordinates.
So he would never let anyone take away his position of "rushing to the front with a wooden shield in hand".
Three large wooden boards placed side by side can just cover almost the entire passage.
“Go!”
"superior!"
"Follow Master Hasegawa!"
…
Hasegawa led the way holding a wooden board, and the rest of the fire thieves followed closely behind.
Seeing this, Gao Qing's pupils shrank suddenly, and then he raised his hand and ordered:
"Fire!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang…
The sound of bullets exploding was like popping beans.
Rows of bullets whizzed towards the large wooden board held by Hasegawa and others, and wood chips flew everywhere.
Although the wooden board in Hasegawa and the others' hands was large, it was not very thick. It was only about as thick as a thumb.
The only effect of a wooden board of this thickness in front of a flintlock rifle is probably to slightly reduce the potential energy of the projectile.
The barrage of bullets fired by Gao Qing's side instantly turned the wooden boards that Hasegawa and his men were using as shields into a hornet's nest.
The bullets penetrated the wooden board and hit Hasegawa and others behind it.
“Ahhhhhh!”
“Mmm…!”
“Ahhh!”
…
A total of seven people were shot.
Among them was Hasegawa.
Hasegawa now only felt a burning pain in his left leg.
I looked down and saw that there was a small hole on my left leg.
Fortunately, the bullet did not penetrate too deep because of the wooden board blocking it.
Hasegawa endured the pain and continued to rush forward with the board, shouting:
"Cannon forward!"
This is the order from their Fire Thief Kai.
As soon as the order was given, the fire-breathed thieves who were armed with flintlock rifles immediately extended the barrels of their guns through the gaps in the wooden boards.
"Fire!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang…
Hasegawa and his men endured a round of shooting from Gao Qing and his men, and only launched a counterattack after the two sides were shortened. The shortened distance made Hasegawa and his men's hit rate higher, and they hit six of Gao Qing's subordinates in one breath. So even though their firepower was not as strong as Gao Qing's, they also brought a lot of psychological shock to Gao Qing's side.
After the two sides exchanged a round of shots, they collided head-on in this narrow passage like two tides.
Hasegawa threw away the large wooden board in his hand, raised the katana in his hand high, and slashed at the enemies in front of him. Those who had flintlock rifles in their hands held the flintlock rifles upside down and used them as blunt weapons.
The two sides engaged in the most primitive battle.
You punch me, I kick you.
You swing your musket towards me, and I will try to grab your musket.
One can imagine what the result would be if a street fight broke out in such a narrow space.
At the beginning, both sides were relatively orderly, but in the blink of an eye, all order was gone.
The two sides wrestled with each other, pushing each other, and even turning around became difficult.
Looking at the chaotic battlefield in front of him, although Gao Qing looked not good, his expression was by no means heavy or ugly - even though the scene he least wanted to see, "a melee with Hasegawa", had happened, he was not too afraid of a bloody battle with Hasegawa.
After all, they are the party with the advantage.
In terms of numbers, the two sides were almost the same, but in terms of weapons, Hasegawa's side was far inferior to them.
More than half of Hasegawa's group were unarmed, while everyone on his side had a weapon.
At the same time, in terms of training level, the musketeers of the Toyotomi clan are no less skilled than the fire thieves and police officers.
The difference in combat power caused by the difference in weapons soon became apparent - Hasegawa's side had a very hard time fighting, and the number of people who fell was obviously more than that of Gao Qing's side.
The person with an ugly expression is Hasegawa.
Looking at this scene, Hasegawa had a gloomy face and was secretly anxious, with an extremely ugly expression.
With a gunshot wound in his left leg, his strength has been greatly reduced, and it has become extremely difficult for him to just kill an enemy.
——We have to kill that guy who looks like the commander first!
After glaring at Gao Qing fiercely with his sharp eyes, Hasegawa shouted:
"Everyone, charge forward with me!"
Hasegawa personally made the arrowhead of the sharp arrow and charged in the direction where Gao Qing was.
Hasegawa could think of capturing the leader first - Gao Qing could naturally think of it as well.
"Stop them! Surround them!"
While giving orders, Gao Qing quickly retreated to the back of his subordinates, some distance away from the battlefield.
The musketeers and Iga ninjas formed a thick human wall to block Hasegawa's side and made it difficult for them to get close to Gao Qing.
The enemy's commander was clearly right in front of them, but they were unable to make any progress - this feeling of frustration and anxiety made Hasegawa's expression more solemn and his teeth clenched tighter and tighter.
——Shit…if only my leg hadn’t been shot…
If his leg had not been hit by the bullet, Hasegawa was confident that he could rely on his skills to rush to Gao Qing in one breath.
Gao Qing's expression at this time was completely opposite to Hasegawa's - looking at Hasegawa and his group who were struggling with the battle with his subordinates, his expression showed more and more relaxed smiles.
While he was watching with interest Hasegawa and others who were struggling in his eyes, he was also carefully observing every movement on the battlefield, guarding against Hasegawa's new trick.
And, at this moment——
--Um?
Gao Qing suddenly saw a number of people, led by Hasegawa, suddenly looking at him with dazed eyes.
No.
Looking behind him.
Just as Gao Qing was about to turn around to look behind him——
"Ahh... I finally met someone."
An old male voice sounded from behind him.
Gao Qing's pupils shrank to the size of a pinhole, and she hurriedly turned her head to look behind her.
As soon as he looked behind him——
whoosh!
A shuriken cut through the air at an extremely fast speed like a meteor and hit Gao Qing right between the eyebrows.
Gao Qing didn't even see who shot the shuriken, and his vision was shrouded in darkness.
When his consciousness was about to dissipate due to death, the last set of words Gao Qing heard in his life was an exclamation and a word of humility.
"Exquisite technique." The old male voice just now did not hesitate to praise, "Hatsumitsu, it is quite rare for you to be able to practice the Iga-ryu shuriken throwing technique to this level at your age."
"Thank you for the compliment." A cold female voice replied.
…
…
——Who are these people…?
Hasegawa looked in astonishment at the group of people who suddenly appeared behind Gao Qing.
This is... a group of people with a very complex composition.
There are both men and women.
There are old people and young people.
The leader was a man who was between 60 and 70 years old, wearing a katana and wakizashi with dark red hilts and scabbards on his waist.
Hasegawa had just noticed this uninvited guest when something strange happened - a beautiful woman standing behind the old man suddenly trembled her hand and threw a shuriken, accurately shooting Gao Qing's head...
Immediately afterwards, the old man and the others behind him all started to move.
They drew their weapons and pounced like hungry tigers on the Toyotomi clan members who were fighting with Hasegawa and others.
This battle... No, it can no longer be called a battle.
It can only be regarded as a one-sided massacre.
The old men almost killed them all with one strike.
Every time the sword is struck, someone will be killed.
They were suddenly attacked from the rear, and the people who attacked them were a group of masters - Gao Qing's remaining subordinates immediately fell into chaos.
But they did not panic for long - because in the blink of an eye, they were attacked from both sides and had nowhere to escape, so they no longer had the emotion to panic.
From the time the old man and his men appeared and joined the battle, to the time they killed all of Toyotomi's followers, including Takaharu - only a few seconds passed in total.
“Back off! Back off!”
When the old man and others suddenly entered the battle, Hasegawa began to quickly command his subordinates to retreat, regroup and distance themselves from the old man and others.
Looking at these uninvited guests who killed Gao Qing and others in a flash, the vigilance in Hasegawa's eyes was extremely strong.
"I am the leader of the fire-fu thieves: Hasegawa Heizo!"
Hasegawa held the knife tightly and asked loudly.
"Who are you?"
"Hasegawa Heizo?" Hasegawa saw that the old man's expression became strange after he muttered like this.
At this time, a male voice that sounded very familiar to Hasegawa came from behind the old man:
"Mr. Hasegawa? Why are you here?"
A tall and strong man walked out from not far behind the old man.
This time, Hasegawa's expression became strange:
"Makimura-kun?"