Time goes back to not long ago——
On the coast -
"Ms. Atachi, how are you doing now?" Asai, who was sitting on a big rock and stroking his injured waist and abdomen with a pale face, asked Atachi beside him.
"..."Acheng opened her beautiful eyes wide and stared at the sea in the distance.
After a while, Ah-Ming suddenly clenched his hands, which were hanging naturally, and said, "...the two ships...seem to have collided."
The two ships continued to move deeper into the sea, farther and farther away from the coast. In addition, the thick rain curtain blocked their vision, so from just now on, Asai and others who stayed on the coast could no longer see the situation of the two ships clearly - except for Atachi.
Ating, who had excellent eyesight, could still barely see the current status of the two ships.
Therefore, Asai and his companions could only ask Atachi about the battle situation on the second ship.
After learning that the two ships had collided, Asai pursed his lips and said, "The Hikari Maru didn't even dodge the impact of the Hulu Maru..."
A-Machi had just reported to everyone that the Hulu Maru suddenly rushed straight towards the Hikari Maru. So when the people on the shore learned that the two ships had collided, they were not very surprised.
"Ms. A-machi, did you see anything else besides the two ships colliding?" Asai asked.
A-Machi shook her head slightly and answered Asai with her actions.
After Ating shook his head, silence fell on the shore and no one spoke anymore.
They could only stay on the shore, and there was nothing else they could do except watching the two ships on the sea from afar.
Everyone, at this moment, looked at the two ships in the distance that were about to sink into the sea level with different expressions.
Even though they couldn't see the specific battle situation, just from the various currently known information such as "two ships collided", they could roughly imagine how fierce the battle was out to sea.
Standing on the coast, Ating had a calm expression on her face, but her fists, which were hanging naturally and now clenched together, betrayed her current mood.
The same was true for Asai - although he looked normal at first glance, his tightly pursed lips had already exposed his true inner thoughts.
If A-machi and Asai were still able to maintain their composure on the surface, then Shimada, Shibata and Azuki could not hide the worries on their faces.
Especially Hatsumitsu's follower: Shibata.
Ever since Hatsumitsu followed Ogata and others to attack the second ship, he has been pacing on the spot with a worried look on his face, without stopping.
Among all the people, only Xuan Zheng was still smiling.
Xuanzheng, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground, immediately smiled when he heard from Ating that "the two ships collided."
He assisted Ogata and others just to cause trouble for Toyotomi and see him get into trouble .
For him, the news of "two ships colliding", which seemed to mean that Toyotomi was in bad luck, was the best news.
"…Asai-senpai."
"What?" Asai turned his head to look at Shimada who was standing behind him and calling him quietly.
"I see you've been massaging your waist and abdomen...Does the injury on your waist and abdomen hurt now?" Shimada cast a worried look at Asai.
Both Asai and Shimada were injured in the battle in Osaka last night and cannot move around for a short period of time.
Asai's waist and abdomen were injured by the explosion, and Shimada's legs were crushed by the collapsed beams . Both of their waists and legs are now wrapped in a thick layer of linen.
"It's okay..." Asai said in a deep voice, "Maybe it's because you didn't get enough rest since last night, so the wound is just a little uncomfortable now, it's nothing serious, you won't die. On the contrary, isn't your leg injured? Don't stand there like an idiot, find a place to sit down."
"…Asai-senpai."
"What again?" Asai turned his head again to look at this young junior who had never experienced any storms and was far from being able to stand on his own.
"I... am so nervous..."
"Why are you so nervous?"
"After I tell you, don't be mean to me... I'm really worried that something unexpected might happen to the Lord and Master Genichi..."
"You're so annoying. Can't you think more positively..."
Click!
Asai had just said half of his words when his face suddenly changed. He straightened his waist, raised his left hand abruptly and grabbed the sword hanging on his left waist with a crisp "click" sound.
Asai suddenly raised his hand to grab the handle of the knife and his expression changed, which scared Shimada who was standing up.
"I, I just said that I'm worried about my lord and the others. You don't have to draw your sword to kill me, do you?" Shimada hurriedly said with a stuttering tone that sounded aggrieved.
"Asai?" Ating's eyes were also attracted by the sudden noise made by Asai. She asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"
"...There's a strange noise coming from over there." Asai frowned and turned his head to look west of the coast.
Ah-Ming: “Noise?”
Hearing what Asai said, A-Machi, A-Tsuku and the others pricked up their ears to listen.
However - no matter how hard they listened, they could only hear the sound of wind and rain.
"… Asai-senpai," Shimada said, "I didn't hear any strange noises."
"No..." He stood up with a chuckle, "I didn't hear wrongly... There was indeed a strange sound coming from that direction."
After saying that, Asai held the sword at his waist and ran towards the west coast.
Upon seeing this, A-Ming and the others looked at each other for a while, then hurriedly followed - also following closely was Xuan Zheng, who was confused as to what was going on.
The group searched westward along the coastline.
After searching westward for a while, the expressions on Ating and his friends' faces finally changed slowly - they also gradually heard strange noises.
Shuala, shuala... It sounds like something is being dragged...
After confirming that Asai was not wrong and that there was indeed a strange sound, everyone immediately opened their eyes wide and looked around.
Finally, Azhu, who was looking at a rocky beach in the distance that was adjacent to the sea, raised his eyebrows and pointed his hand over there: "It seems that something is moving over there!"
Looking in the direction that Azhu's hand was pointing, Asai frowned slightly, then ran towards the rocky beach in silence.
After approaching the rocky beach, everyone gradually saw clearly what the moving "thing" that Ating had just mentioned was.
I saw two figures on this rocky beach.
One of the figures fell to the ground, motionless, as if he had lost consciousness.
Another figure stood beside this person, looking at the sea in the distance.
After getting closer and taking a closer look at the two figures, everyone gradually saw their faces clearly.
The person lying unconscious on the pile of rocks was a girl who was quite familiar to A-Machi and the others.
The person standing next to the girl was an old man who looked familiar...
…
…
——What on earth am I doing…
Yoshihisa asked himself this question as he dragged the unconscious Hatsumi to the shore.
After asking himself this question in his mind, Yoshihisa released the hand that was pulling Chuguang and touched his neck.
The scene that just happened passed quickly before his eyes.
After subconsciously flying over to save Chuguang who had fallen into the sea, Chuguang showed him a smug smile of "the plan was successful", hugged him back, and then took out a shuriken and stabbed it at his head...
Even with the enhancement of "Immortality Power", a surprise attack at this distance... is still a huge threat to Yoshihisa.
Fortunately, after Hatsumitsu's shuriken stabbed at him, Yoshihisa quickly turned his head to the side and narrowly avoided Hatsumitsu's attack.
Because Yoshihisa dodged, Hatsumitsu's shuriken only pierced Yoshihisa's neck.
After both of them fell into the water, a fierce fight broke out.
In the sea with no place to gain leverage and with the sea water as resistance, Yoshihisa's strength was greatly weakened and all his actions were greatly restricted.
And he...didn't want to use any harsh methods against Chu Guang.
So, facing Hatsumitsu who kept struggling in his arms and trying to give him a second blow, Yoshikyu spent some effort and finally knocked Hatsumitsu unconscious, making him unable to resist.
And when he succeeded in knocking out Hatsumiku—he had already been pushed far away from Hikari Maru by the surging waves...
From the time he fell into the sea until he successfully eliminated Chu Guang's ability to resist, only 1 or 2 minutes had passed, but the wind and waves were too strong.
Even if it's only for 1 or 2 minutes, you will be tossed around by the wind and waves and lose your way.
Even Yoshihisa couldn't swim back to the Hikari Maru in such strong winds and waves while holding an unconscious adult woman.
Let Hatsumi go and let her die in the sea! She was just a traitor who betrayed me and wanted to kill me anyway, so she died. That was what Jijiu thought in his heart at that time.
As long as he let go of Hatsumitsu, without such a big burden, he could easily swim back to the Hikari Maru and continue to support Toyotomi.
At that time... Jijiu really thought about whether to let Chuguang go for a long time...
But in the end, he chose to hold Chuguang and swim back to the shore temporarily...
Compared to swimming back to the Hikari Maru, swimming towards the coast is undoubtedly much easier - because of the help of the waves.
The Hikari Maru had not yet completely moved away from the coast, so the waves in the sea area near the Hikari Maru were all hitting the coast. With the help of the waves, it could easily swim back to the coast.
After swimming to the shallows where his feet could touch the ground, Yoshihisa grabbed Hatsumitsu's collar with both hands and dragged him to the shore.
While dragging Hatsumi, Yoshihisa asked himself over and over again: "What am I doing?"
——Am I actually...saving Hatsumi...?
He jumped up and hugged Chu Guang who fell into the sea. He did not choose to kill Chu Guang in the sea, but dragged Chu Guang back to the shore... Recalling what he had just done... a wave of indescribable emotions emerged in Yoshihisa's mind.
——I am really... crazy...! I actually spent so much effort to save someone who has betrayed me...
After secretly cursing himself for being "crazy", Jijiu finally dragged Hatsumitsu out of the sea and onto safe land.
——Okay...from now on, let Chu Guang fend for himself here.
Jijiu lowered his eyes and stared at the first light at his feet with complicated eyes for a while, then raised his eyes and looked at the second ship in the distance that was about to disappear in the rain.
——We must find a way to get back to the ship as soon as possible...
——Lord Toyotomi...please don't die so easily.
A pair of hands that were hanging naturally were slowly clenched by Jijiu at this moment.
…
…
(How is it? Jijiu, what do you think about the proposal I made to you earlier?)
(…Toyotomi Nobuhide, you really are haunting me. I’ve told you many times: Don’t come, right?)
(Even if you drive me away 100 times, I will come the 101st time, because I really want you to lead all the people in Iga-no-Sato to cooperate with me.)
(Heh… In that case, let me reject you once again: Please go back, we will not cooperate with you.)
(Can you tell me the reason? Every time I asked you for the reason, you were vague. If you can't give me a convincing reason, I won't give up recruiting you so easily.)
(The reason I didn’t tell you the reason before was just to save your face… Well, since you want to know the reason so much, I’ll tell you why.)
(Please speak up. I'm all ears.)
(Don’t you think that ‘overthrow the Edo shogunate and rebuild the Toyotomi Empire’ is ridiculous? Do you know how powerful the Edo shogunate was? Do you know how many troops and money the Edo shogunate had? Do you see the small dead branch growing on the cliff over there?)
(Yeah, I see.)
(Do you think a person could put both feet on that tiny dead branch without breaking it?)
(Hmm... that's probably not possible.)
(That’s right! Defeating the Edo Shogunate is like trying to step on a dead branch with both feet without breaking it. It’s impossible to succeed! Do you think I would bring my subordinates to fight you with such an impossible task... Hey! What are you doing! Hey! Come back!)
(Oh my… As expected, when I put my two feet on the dead branch, it broke immediately.)
(Are you crazy?! Why did you suddenly step on that dead branch? If I hadn’t been quick to catch you, you would have fallen off the cliff and died!)
(Hahahaha, it really is that simple.)
(……ha?)
(Yoshiku, look, although it is indeed quite difficult to step on the dead branch without breaking it, but it is not that difficult to stand on the edge of the cliff, stretch your foot toward the dead branch, and take a step toward the sky.)
(…Hey, a lot of people must have told you that you’re mentally ill, right?)
(Hahaha, indeed many people have said that I am a crazy lunatic.)
(…You are such a strange person…It’s almost noon, come with me, I’ll treat you to lunch, and after lunch, please go back.)
…
…
Jijiu looked around, trying to see if there was any equipment around that could help him cross the sea.
But at this moment - out of the corner , he suddenly caught a glimpse: on his right side, there were human figures swaying.
Turning his head, a look of surprise immediately appeared in Yoshihisa's eyes.
"...Ha." Yoshihisa shook his shoulders and laughed softly, "I was wondering who it was. Turns out... it's Kinoshita Genichi's accomplice..."
…
…
After seeing the face of the old man...Yoshihisa, the expressions of Atachi and others suddenly changed.
Needless to say, Shibata, a former Iga ninja, and Genmasa, who was once an important member of the Toyotomi clan.
A-Machi, Azuki, Asai, and Shimada all participated in the "Battle of Ryusuidō" in Osaka last night.
They all remembered the old man in front of them.
Remember this old man... He is the leader of Iga Village who possesses the "power of immortality" in his body!
Their bodies moved subconsciously - Asai and Shimada quickly drew their katanas from their waists, and Azuki also drew her wakizashi.
And Ating also put his hands in her arms, ready to take out her pistol at any time.
"Ms. Hatsumitsu!" Shibata shouted in fear at Hatsumitsu who was lying at Yoshihisa's feet.
At the same time as they discovered Yoshihisa, Atachi and the others also noticed the girl lying at Yoshihisa's feet. It was Hatsumitsu who was supposed to be fighting against the Toyotomi clan on the battleship with Ogata and the others.
Although the distance was a little far and I couldn't get up close to take a closer look at Chu Guang's current condition, I could see that Chu Guang's breathing was still relatively stable, so I was sure that she was not in any serious trouble.
"Oh... who was I thinking..." Yoshihisa glanced at Shibata, "It's Shibata... Hum, besides you... there's another acquaintance."
Yoshihisa raised his eyes slightly and looked at Genzheng who was standing behind Shibata.
"...Xuanzheng, it was you who told the location of the dock to Ogata Ittosai and Kinoshita Genichi."
Just now, when Xuan Zheng saw that the old man standing on the shore was Yoshihisa, he was immediately surprised - but this surprise only lasted for a moment before turning into a meaningful smile.
"Long time no see, Yoshihisa." Xuanzheng shook his shoulders and smiled, "I remember I told Toyotomi Nobuhide before, right? 'No matter what, I can't accept stopping the research on the power of immortality.'"
“I gave up everything I had.”
"Status, money, identity... and apprentices. I gave up everything to study the 'power of immortality'."
"As a result, due to an order from Toyotomi, the research on the 'power of immortality' was completely stopped."
The meaningful smile on Xuan Zheng's face slowly disappeared and turned into anger and hideousness.
"After knowing that Toyotomi would not restart his research on the 'power of immortality', I made up my mind: I will never just swallow my anger no matter what!"
"...It seems that I should have killed you from the beginning. You are the guy who has nothing else in your eyes except 'research'." Yoshihisa's face sank slightly. He shifted his gaze from Xuanzheng to A-Ming and others, looking at their faces one by one.
"...Heh, they really are all... faces I saw at Longshui Temple last night."
After saying that, Jijiu put his hand into his arms.
He took out his pistol that could be folded into several sections from his arms.