"...Ogata-kun."
After the brief confrontation with Toyotomi ended and Toyotomi took the initiative to retreat and distance himself from Ogata, Ogata heard Genichi beside him lower his voice again and whisper to him.
"Nobuhide just now... it turns out that he ate something that can enhance his strength... His current strength and speed... have increased a lot..."
Genichi had been closely watching the brief confrontation between Ogata and Toyotomi.
Therefore - he clearly realized that compared to the time when he had just started the decisive battle with him, Toyotomi's current strength and speed had greatly increased.
"...This is really not good news." Ogata shook his shoulders and sighed half-jokingly in a low voice.
Just now, when Genichirō whispered to him that Toyotomi had eaten something that greatly increased his strength and successfully withstood Genichirō's fatal blow, Ogata had already prepared himself mentally - he was prepared that the strength of Toyotomi Nobuhide in front of him was far stronger than he had expected.
However - although he had prepared himself mentally in advance, Ogata was still secretly surprised by the strength that Toyotomi had just displayed.
Just now, during the brief battle with Toyotomi... the memory of working together with A-machi to fight against the bear in Ezo land emerged uncontrollably in Ogata's mind.
The sword that Toyotomi swung was as heavy and swift as a bear's paw! It made people feel as if their bodies would be torn into pieces like paper if they were hit by the blade.
——It seems that... this battle won’t be so easy to decide the winner...
Ogata pursed his lips, then silently opened his system interface:
[Name: Ogata Noriyoshi]
[Current personal level: Lv41 (58 20/6600)]
Personal attributes:
Strength: Hard to measure
Agility: Hard to Measure
Reflexes: Hard to Measure
Physical strength: difficult to measure
Vitality: Uncalculated]
【Skill:
[Sakakibara Ittoryu Level: 14th stage (10335/14000)
【Wugu Two-Sword Style Level: 13th Stage (8440/16000)
Shiranui-ryu Ninjutsu Level: 9th stage (910/9000)
Iga-ryu forbidden technique level: 4th stage (440/2000)]
[Remaining skill points: 7 points]
…
[Sakakihara Itto-ryu (14 paragraphs):
Climbing: Intermediate
Water Fall: Advanced
Bird Thorn: Master Level
Dragon Tail: Advanced
…
【Muga Two-Sword Style (13th stage):
Step: Grandmaster
Blade Return: Grandmaster
Flow: Master
Breath of the Source: Grandmaster
Raikiri: Beginner
Cicada Rain: Elementary
Starfall: Primary
…
【Shiranui Style Ninjutsu (9th level):
Shiranui Stealth Technique: Intermediate
Shiranui Style Jujutsu: Advanced
Shiranui Breath Holding Technique: (Not unlocked)
Shiranui Assassination Technique: (Not unlocked)]
…
[Iga-ryu forbidden techniques (4 stages):
[Use of Strength: Intermediate]
…
…
Since last night, fierce battles have been one after another. Last night, there was a fierce battle in Osaka with the musket troops led by Soemon, and then today there was a "cross-sea raid" on Toyotomi's two warships.
The overwhelming battles naturally led to a massive increase in the experience points of Ogata's various experience bars.
His personal level increased by 1 level, and his Shiranui-ryu ninjutsu and Iga-ryu forbidden jutsu, which were only one step away from being upgraded, were each upgraded by 1 level, bringing Ogata a total of 5 skill points.
Adding to the original 2 skill points, after Ogata upgraded "Step Up" to "Grand Master Level" last night, the skill points that had become a little "poor" became "rich" again.
However - although he has become "rich" again, the number of 7 skill points... is a little bit tricky...
Personal attributes such as strength and agility have now become a mess due to the "undying force". There is no need to spend skill points on improving personal attributes, just use them to improve skill levels.
However, to upgrade a "master-level" skill to a "grandmaster-level" skill, 8 skill points are needed, and Ogata is still short of 1 point...
7 skill points...at most, you can upgrade a certain "advanced" skill to "master level".
Fighting against the monster Toyotomi... Even if I temporarily upgraded a certain "advanced" skill to "master level", it would hardly have any significant impact on the battle situation...
——Does it still depend on the "state of no self" or something like that...
Ogata silently closed his personal system interface.
Even without touching it with his hands, Ogata could feel it in his chest - a small medicine box was lying quietly in his arms.
Although the battle with Toyotomi just now was brief, this brief battle had allowed Ogata to roughly understand Toyotomi's strength - his swordsmanship skills were far inferior to his, but in terms of strength, speed and other physical functions... the current Toyotomi was probably better than his normal self.
If he hadn't entered the "state of no self" or used the thing in the medicine box... under normal circumstances, Ogata would probably have been able to fight Toyotomi to a standstill, and the outcome would not have been determined in a short period of time.
——Do you want to enter the "state of no self" now...?
——According to Master Genichi, this madman must have eaten something that caused his strength to increase dramatically...
——God knows whether this madman can continue to increase his strength by eating that "unknown object"...
——If I enter the "selfless state" now... maybe I can force that madman to continue eating that "unknown object" and continue to increase my strength...
Ogata's eyes narrowed slightly at this moment...
A plan that was quite in line with Ogata's personal style slowly took shape in Ogata's mind.
And at this moment——
"Ogata Ittosai."
Toyotomi, who had just been stabbed by Ogata, glanced at his left hand which had recovered as before, and a hint of curiosity could be seen between his eyebrows.
"Where does your 'immortality' come from?"
"...I don't need to answer you." Ogata silently put the two swords in his hands back in front of him.
"Don't want to answer..." Toyotomi shrugged, "Well, you can talk about it if you want. Anyway, I'm not that interested."
After saying this, Toyotomi also slowly raised his sword like Ogata.
"I originally wanted to wait until the Edo War was over before slowly dealing with you, a guy who is far more troublesome than I expected."
"But I didn't expect you to be able to chase me all the way from Koyasan."
"Well! Since you are so difficult to deal with, I will just get rid of this big trouble of yours tonight and get rid of all the bad energy that was destroyed in the Shiranui!"
"Although I failed to kill the Grand Duke, the result was that my plan of 'defeating you one by one so that you and the Grand Duke cannot fight side by side' was accomplished in disguise."
"Come on, Ogata Ittosai!"
Toyotomi raised his eyebrows and revealed a ferocious smile.
"As long as I kill you again, there will be no obstacles to going east to Edo!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Toyotomi changed his knife stance to the "Eight Pairs" stance, and rushed towards Ogata with hurried steps!
【Note: Eight pairs: Hold the knife with both hands and place it vertically in front of the right side of the body.】
In just a moment, Toyotomi crossed the distance of more than ten steps between him and Ogata and approached Ogata, causing the light in front of Ogata to suddenly dim.
Yoshimitsu Koshoku, who was holding the sword in the eight-pair stance, raised it high , and then slashed at Ogata diagonally, a simple but extremely destructive slash.
Ogata snorted coldly, twisted his body, used the Muga Two-Sword Style's stepping move, and dodged to the side.
Snap! Boom!
Yoshimitsu's bone food hit the railing of the ship behind Ogata.
The railing on the side of the ship that was hit by Toyotomi's sword immediately shattered at the injured part, as if it was hit by a tiger's claw or a bear's paw, and the large piece of railing was cracked.
Sawdust flew along with the raindrops.
Ogata jumped to the side and landed safely. After glancing at the broken railing of the ship's side, he took a step forward with his hind feet and launched a counterattack!
Sakakibara Ittoryu·Toribashi!
The bird spike combines speed and lethality, and has always been a move that Ogata loves and is good at.
But Toyotomi dodged his favorite move by turning his body slightly, and while dodging, he once again pointed the blade of Yoshimitsu Boneshoku at Ogata's head.
call!
The blade of Yoshimitsu Kushoku drew an arc, slashing towards Ogata's forehead from bottom to top. The blade compressed the air and brought with it a terrifying momentum.
This time, Ogata did not dodge.
He moved the five fingers of his left hand, switched the Great Freedom to a reverse grip, and chopped towards Ji Guang Gu Shi's blade!
clang--!!
The two great swords, both of which were as powerful as swords in cutting through iron, collided with each other, creating a sound wave that seemed to be able to shatter the railings of the ship nearby.
After relying on his own arm strength and the blade counter in his Muga Nito-ryu to forcibly block Toyotomi's sword, Ogata silently accumulated strength in his back, and then bounced his upper body and the Daishikuten in his right hand upwards like a spring.
Daishakuten flew over the layers of rain and slashed straight at Toyotomi's chin.
Just as the tip of the knife was about to hit Toyotomi's chin, Toyotomi took back Yoshimitsu's bone food in time.
clang--!!
The eardrum-hurting sound of metal clashing rang out again.
Toyotomi, who sent Yoshimitsu Hatanobu back to defend in time, blocked Daishikatsu's attack.
Click.
Toyotomi shook his arms, shaking off Daishikatsu who was fighting with Yoshimitsu Bone Food, and then stepped back half a step, slightly increasing the distance between himself and Ogata.
A sword... especially a katana which has a certain length, would be inconvenient to swing if you get too close to the target.
Just now, Toyotomi was too close to Ogata, so he took the initiative to step back half a step, creating a distance between him and Ogata that would make it easier for him to swing his sword.
This time, Toyotomi used the "upward move".
Yoshimitsu Boneshoku chopped at Ogata's leg from bottom to top. The power contained in the blade was so great that there was no doubt that if Yoshimitsu Boneshoku hit him, Ogata's leg would be easily split in two like a fragile dead branch.
Facing Toyotomi's attack, Ogata did not retreat but advanced instead. When Toyotomi's Yoshimitsu Bonesaki was about to chop his leg, he swiftly stepped to the side, and the blade of Yoshimitsu Bonesaki just brushed past the hem of Ogata's hakama.
——Hmph… No wonder Soemon and his men were beaten so badly by Ogata Ittosai in Osaka last night.
Since the war began, not only Ogata had been observing Toyotomi, but Toyotomi had also been observing Ogata, who had never fought with him before.
He has a physical fitness far superior to that of an ordinary person, which is granted by the "power of immortality". In terms of physical fitness, he is far superior to Soemon and Yoshihisa who obtained the "power of immortality" through Bingo Maru.
Although the swordsmanship skills he displayed were not as good as Genichi's, they were only inferior to Genichi's. In terms of level, Ogata's swordsmanship skills were definitely the best in the world.
Possessing a physical fitness far superior to that of an ordinary person and a top-notch swordsmanship level - the above is Toyotomi's evaluation of Ogata.
After fighting with Ogata, Toyotomi finally understood why Soemon and his men had suffered a crushing defeat in Osaka last night.
——Overall...I have a slight advantage.
The corners of Toyotomi's mouth curled up slightly, and a look of relief and satisfaction appeared on his face.
Although Ogata's swordsmanship level was better than his, through several sword fights with Ogata, Toyotomi had clearly felt that he had the advantage in terms of physical fitness.
Although Ogata's swordsmanship level is better than his, the gap between him and Ogata is far less than the gap between him and Genichi.
Toyotomi is no longer in as much of a hurry as he was when he was fighting Genichi just now.
When fighting with Genichi just now, Toyotomi could not afford to delay or waste time because he was in a hurry to get rid of this big threat before Ogata arrived.
But now—things have changed.
Genichi has temporarily lost his ability to fight, and only Ogata can still pose a huge threat to him.
Toyotomi, who was no longer in a hurry, was willing to fight and consume time with Ogata, engaging in a war of attrition.
He was quite confident - if he got into a war of attrition with Ogata, he would slowly gain the upper hand due to his superior physical fitness!
Toyotomi thought he had the upper hand, and even the trajectory of the swing of his sword had a sense of lightness.
The sound of straw sandals rubbing against the deck has not stopped since a while ago.
After dodging Ogata's sword once again, Toyotomi turned the blade and switched to holding the sword with a reverse grip.
I am in a state of decline!
This move is not a sword technique from any school, but a sword technique created by Toyotomi himself. It is also the one he is most proud of among the many sword techniques he created.
Toyotomi has always been proud of the powerful power of this move.
With a flash of his figure, Toyotomi rushed straight towards Ogata, and when he reached the best attacking position, he chopped out the Yoshimitsu Boneshoku that was held in reverse.
The sharp blade, like a tiger descending from a mountain, pounced on Ogata from above.
Ogata raised his eyes and glanced at the falling blade——
"call……"
He just let out a long breath, then switched the Great Freedom in his left hand to an upper stance, and the Great Shitian in his right hand to a lower stance, and rushed towards Toyotomi with a momentum as if he was not afraid of colliding with him!
Ogata dodged Toyotomi's attack by leaning sideways, then swung his two swords, which slashed at Toyotomi from two different, tricky angles.
Toyotomi once again demonstrated the strong physical fitness brought to him by the "immortal power".
He twisted his body in a strange direction, and Ogata's double swords' blades brushed against his body.
Both Mahakala and Mahadeva just passed by the air in vain.
The two people rushed towards each other and passed each other.
Toyotomi took advantage of the momentum of the charge and ran a few steps forward after the crossfire, then immediately stopped and quickly turned around to face Ogata again.
He originally wanted to chase Ogata after turning around.
However... after he turned around -
Woo——!
The atmosphere began to vibrate unusually...
As soon as he turned his body back to face Ogata, Toyotomi saw a dazzling silver light filling his eyes.
Da Shitian drew a perfect arc like the crescent moon in the night sky and slashed at the upper half of his head!
This slash was more powerful and faster than any attack Toyotomi had seen since his battle with Ogata!
This feeling... is like when you are playing with a cat, and the kitten that just now was doing a cute "meow punch" suddenly swings out a "tiger paw slap"...
The sudden change caused Toyotomi's pupils to shrink violently and his expression was stunned.
As his eyes widened in shock and astonishment, he saw Ogata in front of him, his chest rising and falling in a strange rhythm.
There is a bright light flashing in his eyes!