It doesn't matter what means you use, as long as you can win - this is the only purpose of "Ogata Ryu".
What exactly Toyotomi ate, and whether he could further increase his strength by eating this "unknown object" - Ogata, who lacked information, had no idea about this.
If he had entered the "selfless state" since the beginning of the war, he might have been forced to eat the "unknown object" again.
Therefore, Ogata decided to use the "Ogata Style"——
He first confronted Toyotomi in a normal manner, making Toyotomi mistakenly believe that this was his full strength, and letting Toyotomi "get used to" his strength.
Then, taking advantage of Toyotomi's unpreparedness, he suddenly entered the "state of no self" and launched a surprise attack on Toyotomi!
Decide the outcome with one strike, directly take off Toyotomi's head and end the battle!
The above is the battle plan decided by Ogata.
The "surprise attack opportunity" chosen by Ogata was the moment when he and Toyotomi passed each other and Toyotomi had his back to him!
After passing Toyotomi, Obe immediately switched his breathing rhythm to "Source Breathing".
Entering the "selfless state", using the left foot as the axis, he quickly turned backwards and used the centrifugal force to chop out the Great Instructor - the movement was done in one go!
The sword that carries Ogata's determination falls towards the head of the evil demon like a summer meteor!
…
…
After seeing the Daishakuten coming towards his head, Toyotomi did not have many negative emotions in his mind.
Because the sudden change happened so quickly, Toyotomi's brain didn't have time to react.
He is now... still immersed in the comfort of thinking that he has the upper hand.
However, although his brain did not react, his body did.
Swish.
Toyotomi felt a sharp pain in his throat.
He caught a glimpse of large amounts of blood spurting out from his slit throat, either dripping onto Ogata's body or spilling into the air, then falling onto the deck along with the raindrops.
When Da Shitian's blade was about to hit his head, his body moved before his brain.
He stepped back and tilted his head back as far as possible - the blow that could have cut off Toyotomi's entire head only cut off half of his throat due to Toyotomi's timely retreat.
If it were an ordinary person, with half of his throat cut, he would be close to death and the outcome would be close.
However... the one facing Ogata was Toyotomi.
The severe pain in his throat helped Toyotomi come back to his senses.
He covered his cut throat with one hand and held the knife with the other, and quickly retreated to distance himself from Ogata.
Because his throat was cut and he was temporarily unable to speak, Toyotomi, whose mouth was bleeding, could only utter meaningless words such as "gu" and "pu".
…
…
——Tsk… I failed to chop off his head…!
Toyotomi's quick reaction caused the surprise attack to fail, and Toyotomi's head did not fall to the ground as expected - this made Ogata's expression change slightly.
——Can you dodge even this attack?
Ogata silently adjusted his estimate of Toyotomi's current physical fitness - he could even dodge his "surprise attack", and Toyotomi's current reaction speed was really beyond Ogata's expectations.
Although the surprise attack failed, Ogata did not let time go to waste.
He quickly composed himself, then stepped forward, raised his sword, and chased Toyotomi.
The one who attacked Toyotomi's head this time was Ogata's left-hand Daijizai.
The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.
In order to pursue Toyotomi, whose head had been cut off in half, as quickly as possible, Ogata aimed the tip of the Great Jizai at Toyotomi's throat, which was being covered.
Sakakibara Ittoryu, Bird Thorn!
The blade of the Great Freedom was stretched into a straight line of white light.
clang--!!
Toyotomi held up Yoshimitsu Bone Food and blocked the stabbing Da Zizai, thus resolving the crisis once again.
"Your...breath..."
A large amount of red meat oozes out from Toyotomi's injured throat.
The huge wound was quickly "filled" and repaired by the red flesh silk, and Toyotomi slowly regained the ability to speak.
"Just now at Uncle Gong's place, I also saw this peculiar breathing rhythm."
Toyotomi stared at Ogata's chest, which was rising and falling in a strange rhythm, with a serious look in his eyes.
"I see... You guys rely on this strange breathing technique to increase your strength..."
Toyotomi's judgment was quite accurate and deserves praise.
But Ogata Rito ignored Toyotomi's murmur.
He simply silently increased the strength he infused into the Great Freedom in his left hand.
Toyotomi now feels like... he is holding up a weight that is constantly increasing in weight.
The great freedom of Ogata's left hand is actually just for misleading purposes.
While Toyotomi was struggling to hold up his Daishizai, Ogata lifted Daishikaten and lifted Toyotomi's legs from below.
In order to avoid having his legs cut off, Toyotomi could only grit his teeth and use all his strength to slightly push away the blade of Da Shizai, then quickly retreat to a position where Da Shitian could not reach.
He tried his best to dodge, but the tip of Da Shitian's knife still cut his thigh, leaving a wound of neither shallow nor deep.
——Did you escape again... Never mind.
After thinking this, Ogata quickly adjusted his knife-holding posture, then pounced on the retreating Toyotomi relentlessly, sticking to him tightly.
Ogata had also thought about it in advance: what to do if the surprise attack launched by relying on the "state of no self" failed and he failed to take Toyotomi's head in one blow.
The countermeasures are also very simple - just rely on the enhancement brought by the "state of no self" to kill Toyotomi directly!
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding...
The sound of hammering iron was dense enough to compare with the sound of raindrops falling on the deck.
Ogata used two swords to make it look like eight swords.
"Eight swords" attacked Toyotomi from different angles and directions.
The situation of the battle changed dramatically as Ogata entered the "state of no self".
Toyotomi, who was enduring Ogata's fierce attack, clearly felt that after using this special breathing technique, Ogata's physical fitness and swordsmanship skills had all improved greatly!
Ogata's physical fitness, which was originally inferior to Toyotomi's, has now been directly reversed! The one who is inferior in physical fitness is Toyotomi himself.
And his sword skills, which were already inferior to Ogata's, were even further apart!
Although Ogata's swordsmanship is still slightly inferior to Genichi's, it is not much worse! It is basically the difference between 90 points and 100 points!
If we say that Ogata and Toyotomi had fought to a draw just now, with neither losing, then now, Ogata had completely gained the upper hand.
Toyotomi no longer had any strength to defeat Ogata and was completely suppressed. Not to mention the strength to fight back, he could barely even defend himself.
It can be said that Ogata always kept in mind: "Toyotomi can greatly enhance his strength by eating some unknown objects."
Therefore, in order to prevent Toyotomi from having the chance to eat anything, Ogata could be said to have literally not given Toyotomi even a chance to breathe.
The swords in his hands attacked Toyotomi one after another like waves, leaving Toyotomi with no time to do anything except "defense".
Toyotomi was already in a complete disadvantage, and it was impossible for him to completely avoid or dodge Ogata's attack.
Therefore - in order to defend against Ogata's torrential attack, Toyotomi had to make some necessary sacrifices.
The head should be the key part to protect, and the rest of the body... unless the attack is one that will cause severed limbs, anything that cannot be blocked or dodged should be endured head-on.
Therefore, we can see that Toyotomi's body is constantly cut with wounds of various sizes, and then quickly repaired, and this cycle repeats over and over again...
The blood that flowed and spurted from his wounds mixed with the raindrops falling from the sky, dyeing the deck around him and Ogata into patches of strange light red...
Toyotomi was swinging the sword in his hand at high speed to defend against Ogata's fierce attack.
And his brain was also "moving" at high speed——
——Damn it…! Damn it…!
Toyotomi once again vented his inner emotions by roaring in his heart.
——Once again, the plan went awry due to an unexpected event… It never ends!
——A breathing technique that can greatly increase a person's strength... It's fine if Hakko is able to master it, but why does even Ogata Ittosai have this skill...!
——Well...there’s no point in thinking about this now.
——You should calm down quickly and think about how to break the impasse.
Toyotomi took advantage of the gap between Ogata's attacks to take a deep breath. With this deep breath, Toyotomi's emotions of irritability and disgust were slightly calmed down.
——The current situation is very clear.
——Ogata Ittosai’s physical strength and swordsmanship skills are now better than mine.
——If we continue to fight like this, I will definitely lose.
——Should I…let Master and the others “help” me now…?
Toyotomi narrowed his eyes slightly, and both eyes became half-closed.
——No, letting the Master and the others to “help” me, like the heads of the eight hundred nuns, is a final resort that should be avoided as much as possible unless it is absolutely necessary.
——Think again…
——What other means do I have at my disposal now?
——What else… the advantage …
…
…
Hikari Maru, in an inconspicuous corner of the cabin——
"Quick! Quick! Follow Lord Kasugabee's orders! Push all the unimportant heavy objects in those areas into the sea! Reduce the load on the ships!"
"Will this work?"
"Hehe, Taro-sama, I heard that there was no one on the deck of the gourd pill that was about to hit us, and that a ghost is driving the gourd pill now. Is this true?!"
"Of course it's fake! If there really are gods and ghosts in the world, why don't they punish those bastard landlords who killed my parents and seized my land! Stop talking nonsense! Go and carry out the orders of Lord Hexufeng!"
Nearly 10 sailors rushed to the cabin on the lower level along a corridor that was rarely passed by on weekdays.
After the shouts and footsteps of the sailors faded away -
"It's very noisy now..."
A murmur with a hint of comfort and complacency came from an inconspicuous dark corner somewhere in the corridor.
Immediately afterwards, a black shadow was seen "crawl" out from the dark corner.
If any Toyotomi clan executive were here now, he would surely recognize him immediately - this black shadow was none other than the remnant of Shiranui who was "taken in" by Toyotomi: Kikutaro.
Kikutaro looked into the distance at the direction where the crew had just left, with the corners of his mouth raised in an arc that contained emotions such as complacency, sarcasm, and relief.
"Is the gourd pill about to hit me..."
"Then I'll wait a little longer..."
"When this ship gets a little more chaotic..."
After mumbling, the surviving ninja retreated into the dark corner again...
…
…
"Hmm..." Genichi endured the pain and used torn pieces of cloth to make a simple bandage on the wound on his chest.
He wanted to light a fire and use the flame to burn the wound - although this method was painful, it was very convenient for stopping the bleeding.
It’s a pity that this heavy rain, which seemed to be pouring down all the water in the ocean, made it impossible for Yuan Yi to even light a fire.
——Alright... This is enough for the bandage...
——We have to take advantage of this moment when Ogata-kun has suppressed Toyotomi... and rescue Korin as soon as possible...
Genichirō knew that he was no longer able to support Ogata and help him defeat the evil demon Toyotomi.
So - he decided to do his best to do what he could do now.
Genichi grabbed the Yangshen that was stuck on the deck beside him, and tried to stand up, leaning on the knife.
With the remaining strength in his arms, Genichi managed to stand up - but his now weak and powerless legs could no longer allow him to stand firmly.
As soon as he stood up, Yuanyi's body began to tremble violently like a needle standing on the ground.
Wow!
A huge wave hit, and the hull of the Hikari Maru shook violently.
In this violent shaking, Yuan Yi was unable to stand steadily and fell to the ground again.
“Damn it…” Yuan Yi supported himself with his hands and slowly raised his upper body. He murmured in a calm but regretful tone, “Don’t I even have the strength left to stand…”
…
…
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding...
The duel between Ogata and Toyotomi has become increasingly intense.
Ogata held up the Daishakuten and slashed Toyotomi's cheek.
When he was about to stab Toyotomi in front of him, he crossed the five fingers of his left hand, switched the left hand's Da Zi Zai to a reverse grip, and stomped on Toyotomi's lower body.
No matter which direction the attack comes from, it is extremely deadly.
Although it would be difficult for him to be killed by injuries other than brain injuries, Toyotomi still wanted to avoid injury as much as possible.
Although he now has a recovery ability far beyond that of ordinary people, his sense of pain has not disappeared, and he still feels pain when injured.
In this kind of battle where the whole body is tense and any carelessness or relaxation may lead to irreversible consequences, any injury may lead to an accident.
Because of the pain caused by the injury, it is very easy to cause the reaction to become slow or the movement to become insensitive.
Whether it was an attack on the face or an attack on the lower body, Toyotomi could not easily withstand it.
He jumped to the side to avoid the slash attack on his face, while switching Yoshimitsu Bone Food to a lower stance to protect his lower body.
He successfully blocked the slashing attack aimed at his lower body.
But the slash aimed at his face... was not completely avoided.
The sharp blade passed by his right ear and cut off a small section of his ear...
Although the cut off section of the ear grew back quickly and the pain from the ear was not that intense, Toyotomi's expression at this moment was still solemn enough to be compared with the state of Yuan Yishi who had just faced off against him and entered the "transparent state".
Even someone who knows nothing about "battle" can see that the battle situation is obvious.
Toyotomi had been completely suppressed by Ogata, to the point where he couldn't even turn things around.
Toyotomi is just holding on now - if there is even the slightest flaw or slackness in the defense of his head, Oofang will be able to take his head in an instant.
Although he was clearly in the upper hand, Ogata still had a feeling of foreboding that he couldn't explain...
He always felt that Toyotomi seemed too calm...
Although he had been completely suppressed and didn't even have the strength to fight back, Toyotomi was still calmly defending and dodging...
In this regard, Ogata only thought of two possibilities.
Or maybe Toyotomi was the kind of person who could remain extremely calm no matter what happened.
Or... maybe Toyotomi still has some trick up his sleeve that can help him turn defeat into victory...
If it's the former, that's fine.
If it's the latter...
——Whether Toyotomi still has some tricks up his sleeve ...
Ogata said to himself in his heart.
——It’s right to suppress him all the time and make him have no time to resort to any tricks…
Having made such a conclusion in his heart, he did not dare to relax or be careless as he continued to launch a fierce attack on Toyotomi.
Ogata pointed the tips of Daishakuten and Daijizai at Toyotomi, stomped his hind feet on the deck, and charged towards Toyotomi like a wild bull, with the two swords in his hands acting as the bull's horns.
Sakakibara Ittoryu·Toribashi!
Using the swords in both hands to strike bird thorns at the same time - with the help of "Muga Nito-ryu", he can do this skill easily.
For this move, Ogata tentatively named it "Bird Thorn Double Sound".
The two knives stabbed towards Toyotomi's head and lumbar spine respectively.
Looking at the two swords stabbing towards his vitals, Toyotomi opened his nostrils slightly, took a deep breath through his nose, and rushed towards Ogata who was "colliding" with him.
When the two were about to collide with each other, Toyotomi, with his agility and reflexes, managed to dodge Ogata's "Double Bird Stab" with a little difficulty.
The two men staggered past each other and rushed towards Toyotomi like cannonballs - with such a huge kinetic energy, Ogata only took half a step forward before he was stopped by brute force and the flexibility of his body.
He stopped his forward movement, quickly turned his body around with his left foot as the axis, and using the centrifugal force brought by the rotation of his body, swung the Daishikuten and slashed horizontally at Toyotomi.
Da Shitian slashed towards Toyotomi's neck at a speed that seemed to be trying to shake off the cold light reflected from the blade.
Looking at Daishakuten who was getting closer and closer to his neck, Toyotomi raised Yoshimitsu Boneshoku, as if intending to take Ogata's move head-on.
However, at this moment——
--Um?
Ogata's eyebrows couldn't help but twitch slightly.
The next moment when Toyotomi raised his Yoshimitsu bone food... Ogata vaguely saw - a hint of smile appeared at the corner of Toyotomi's mouth...
…
…
At this moment——
Hikari Maru, on the open deck, on the main mast observation deck—
Snap… snap… snap… snap… snap…
From the mainmast's lookout tower, there was a constant stream of strange, intermittent "click, click, click" noises.
The view is fixed on the observation deck - a young man is seen sitting on the railing of the observation deck with a majestic posture.
He did not have a wakizashi on his waist, only a katana with a yellow handle and a red sheath.
Apart from this katana, he did not carry any other weapons.
In his hand, he held a small bamboo tube.
The young man holding the bamboo tube kept playing with it. The strange intermittent "click, click, click" sound was the sound made by this person when he played with the bamboo tube.
Generally speaking, people sitting on the lookout tower observe the direction of the ship and the conditions of the surrounding sea.
But this man did not do so - his eyes were fixed firmly on the battlefield between Ogata and Toyotomi from beginning to end...
"…Lord Toyotomi…"
As he murmured this, he stopped playing with the wooden barrel and tightly grasped the small wooden barrel.
"It seems... that you don't need the 'help' of me and Master Xianyuan yet..."