Ogata Ittosai, Kinoshita Genichi and their accomplices, and Shibata, a traitor who obviously betrayed him along with Hatsumitsu... No matter what, Yoshihisa could not think of a reason to turn a blind eye to these people.
Yoshihisa was not at all surprised that Shibata was here - this man and Hatsumitsu had always been partners, and the sight of Shibata standing together with Ogata's companions was only within Yoshihisa's expectations.
For Yoshihisa, the most important thing at the moment is to rush back to Hikari Maru and provide assistance to Toyotomi - there is no doubt about this.
If he jumped back into the sea and swam back to Hikigumi Maru without "cleaning up" these companions of Ogata Ittosai and Kinoshita Genichi on the shore, he would most likely be attacked from behind by these people.
Last night at Ryusui Temple in Osaka, Yoshihisa saw it clearly - the well-developed woman in Kumabe, wearing the Shiranui ninja outfit, had very sophisticated skills in the use of firearms and was able to carry out long-range accurate shooting.
Although the current rain did not seem like the right weather for the use of firearms, Yoshihisa decided to be cautious - he had to "clean up" all of Ogata Ittosai and Kinoshita Genichi's companions before he could safely jump back into the sea and return to Hikari Maru.
The enemy has drawn their weapons - no more words are needed.
Asai, who was standing at the front, quietly raised the knife in his hand to the upper right, ready to perform the demonstration flow.
"Shimada, Shibata." He whispered to his companions behind him, "I will be responsible for the frontal containment, and you two will wait for opportunities to attack on the left and right sides."
"Ms. Azuki and... Ms. A-Machi. The two of you will be responsible for standing at a distance and providing support."
"Ms. Atachi, you have to cheer up. I will do my best to get you the best shooting opportunity."
When calling out Atachi's name, Asai emphasized his tone.
The attentive Atachi naturally noticed the subtle change in Asai's tone when he called her name.
Thinking of Asai's last words, "I will try my best to get the best shooting opportunities for you," A-Machi understood and nodded slightly.
"Asai, Asai-senpai" At this time, after Asai gave this series of instructions, Shimada, the "defeatist strategist", swallowed hard, "This guy... isn't he the leader of Iga-no-Sato who has the 'power of immortality'? Can we win?"
"Shimada." Asai raised the corner of his mouth, a faint smile appeared on his handsome face, "Do you know an ancient precept that has been passed down from generation to generation in our Satsuma Shigen-ryu?"
"When you're fighting someone, you don't have to think about winning or losing."
Having said this, Asai paused.
Take a deep breath.
Gather up enough strength.
Then, he shouted in the Satsuma dialect:
"Just go for it!" (Translation: Just go for it with your life!)
[Note: The dialect of the Satsuma region of Japan is very different from the standard Japanese language. The difference between the two is similar to the difference between Wenzhou dialect and Mandarin. In order to make you understand the difference between the Satsuma dialect and standard Japanese more intuitively, this book decided to use Cantonese, which the author is more familiar with, to express the Satsuma dialect.]
After shouting "Go for it" which no one present understood, Asai, without any fear on his face, raised his sword high and rushed towards Yoshihisa fearlessly with the momentum of a single man blocking the pass!
“Wa ...
While running towards Yoshihisa, Asai opened his mouth wide and made the core technique of the Shigen-ryu: "Monkey Call".
The huge roar drowned out the sounds of wind, rain, and waves around it.
[Note: A monkey cry is a special sound in the Satsuma Shikken-ryu style. It is extremely loud and terrifying. Often, timid people will wet their pants when they are facing off against a master of Shikken-ryu style because of the monkey cry from the opponent.]
After Asai launched the charge, Shimada and Shibata were stunned for a few moments before they finally came to their senses. They gritted their teeth, raised their weapons, and followed Asai in the charge.
Hearing Asai's words "go for it" just now, and now the classic "monkey cry", Yoshihisa immediately recognized Asai's identity as a Satsuma.
"Satsuma Hayato?... Humph, Satsuma's bravery is truly well-deserved." Looking at Asai who was actively attacking him, Yoshihisa's lips curled up slightly, and there was a bit more admiration in his eyes when he looked at Asai.
[Note: Satsuma Hayato: A compliment for Satsuma men. Satsuma people are famous for their bravery and aggressiveness. In the eyes of people from other regions of ancient Japan, Satsuma people are synonymous with a fighting nation. This is one of the important reasons why the Edo Shogunate has always been so wary of Satsuma.]
Asai, who was rushing towards them while making monkey calls, was indeed very imposing - but Yoshihisa, who had been through many battles, immediately saw that Asai was just a show-off.
Although Asai had been enduring the pain in his waist and abdomen and trying to make his movements look more normal, Yoshihisa could still see at a glance that Asai had serious injuries in his waist and abdomen.
At the same time, he also noticed that Shimada had a leg injury.
——Among the five people, two of them are seriously injured...
The opponent in front of him was much weaker than Jijiu had imagined.
However, Yoshikyu did not show any carelessness.
With a tense face and a solemn expression, Yoshijiu shook his hands, quickly assembled the gun in his palm, lowered his body center of gravity, and got into position.
The white blade flashed - after stepping into the distance where his sword could hit Yoshihisa, Asai immediately used the momentum of the forward rush to chop down heavily on Yoshihisa's crown with his sword.
Although Yoshihisa had consumed a lot of physical strength in the battle with Genichi on Hikari Maru and later in rescuing Hatsumitsu in the sea, it was still more than enough to deal with the injured Asai.
Yoshihisa dodged and attacked at the same time - he dodged Asai's knife by half a step to the side and launched a counterattack, swinging the butt of the gun and hitting Asai's vital points.
Asai wanted to step back and dodge, but Yoshihisa's attack was too fast and it was difficult to avoid.
In desperation, Asai could only retract his sword and raise it upright, holding his breath, gathering all his strength, and preparing to take Yoshihisa's attack head-on.
Although Asai has a handsome face and a very tall figure, he uses the Shigen-ryu style and is actually a "power-type" swordsman like Makimura.
Although he was known for his strength, his expression changed drastically when the butt of Yoshihisa's spear hit his sword.
Asai felt as if a mad bull had bumped into him.
His arms went numb, and the blade of the expensive sword in his hand was slightly tilted. Asai held the sword that was knocked back and retreated several steps before he finally stopped retreating.
It is normal that Asai couldn't catch Yoshihisa's gun, it would be abnormal if he did.
After all, the former is just an ordinary person, without the extraordinary skills like Yuanyi and Mamiya, and he is injured on his body, while the latter is a monster with "immortal power" in his body.
Yoshihisa originally wanted to add another blow to kill Asai directly, but fortunately - Shimada and Shibata's swords arrived in time.
Although Shimada usually looks timid because he has rarely seen the storms of the secular world, he is not lacking in blood and bravery when fighting with others.
He endured the pain in his leg, gritted his teeth, and swung his knife into Yoshihisa's forehead.
Shibata, who was Hatsumi's follower, suppressed his fear of his former "boss" and grasped his most powerful weapon: wakizashi, and cooperated with Shimada to attack Yoshihisa.
Yoshihisa originally wanted to use the gun to block the attacks of the two men, but just as he held the pistol horizontally in front of him, his pupils suddenly shrank slightly.
Afterwards, he made an urgent change of tactics and no longer chose to block the attacks of Shimada and Yoshihisa. Instead, he jumped hard one after another and used dodging methods to resolve the attacks of Shimada and Shibata.
He had just jumped back when a loud gunshot rang out, and a hot bullet brushed past the tip of Yoshihisa's nose as he jumped back.
——That woman... actually has a short gun that can be used in such a rainy day...
Yoshihisa frowned and glanced at Ating not far away.
——Among this group of people, that woman is the biggest threat...
At this moment, Atachi, who was standing not far away, was holding Suying tightly in both hands, and the muzzle of the gun, with smoke still wafting out, was pointing directly in the direction of Yoshihisa.
Although Asai just shouted "fight hard", he is not a reckless man who only knows how to "fight hard".
He knew very well that it was simply a fantasy for a group of "old, weak, sick and disabled" like them to defeat Jijiu, a true "non-human", through head-on combat.
Therefore, he regarded Ating, who possessed powerful firearms and superb shooting skills, as the most important factor in their victory.
Asai knew that Atachi had a firearm that could be fired even in the rain.
The only way to win is to let Ating take advantage of the opportunity to launch a surprise attack with a musket.
Therefore, when he issued the "combat instructions" just now, he emphasized to Ating that he would try his best to get her the best shooting opportunity.
Therefore, he took the initiative to rush towards Yoshihisa, in order to prevent Yoshihisa from launching the first attack and getting close to A-Machi, forcing Yoshihisa to fight with them from a distance, keeping the battlefield away from A-Machi, making it easier for A-Machi to start shooting.
After listening to Asai's "combat instructions" just now, Atachi instantly understood what Asai meant, so after Asai, Shimada and others rushed towards Yoshihisa, she silently prepared to launch shooting support at any time.
Atachi currently only has a few firearms: 5 Kentucky long rifles, 2 short guns: Suying and Feiying, and Kasumiganagi and Umezen, which Ogata temporarily gave to her for safekeeping before crossing the sea to chase the two ships, because the pistols would be damaged by the sea water if she brought them with her and would be completely useless.
Feiying, Meiran and the five Kentucky long rifles were all flintlock firearms, which could not fire in such a rainy day.
Anyway, they were of no use for the time being, so Ating thought that the five Kentucky long rifles were in the way and temporarily threw them aside.
Therefore, the only firearms that Atachi can use are the two revolver pistols made by her and her father, which can be fired normally as long as the gun body is not thrown into the water: Motozakura and Kasumi.
After Asai and others engaged Yoshihisa in hand-to-hand combat, Atachi had been observing and searching.
Wait for the best shooting opportunity to appear.
Atachi did not have to wait too long - Yoshihisa, who was preparing to block Shimada and Shibata's swords, held the pistol horizontally in front of him and stood still without any obstacles around him that would hinder his aiming.
There is no better time to shoot.
Seeing that the precious moment had arrived, Atachi did not hesitate at all - he immediately took out the Suying from his arms, aimed at Yoshihisa's head, and pulled the trigger.
Her choice of timing, as well as the speed with which she drew her gun, aimed, and fired, were all impeccable.
Unfortunately... she didn't expect that since the beginning of the war, Jijiu has regarded her as the "potential biggest threat" and has been closely observing all her actions.
Last night's "Battle of Ryusui Temple", the precise shooting launched by Atachi while squatting on the beam, really left a very deep impression on Yoshihisa.
Yoshihisa , who had served the Toyotomi clan for many years , was naturally accustomed to the powerful power and terrifying threat of muskets.
Although common sense in his mind told Yoshihisa that firearms could not be used in such a rainy day, Yoshihisa still chose to be cautious. While fighting against Asai and others who rushed over, he kept observing everything that Atachi did with the corner of his eye.
It was also because of this that Yoshihisa was able to dodge the shot from Atachi just now - after seeing Atachi suddenly put his hand into his arms, he relied on the extraordinary agility and reaction speed granted by the "immortal power" to withdraw his body in time and avoid Atachi's sniper.
Feeling the slightly burning tip of his nose after the bullet brushed past him, Yoshihisa was secretly thankful in his heart - fortunately he had been paying attention to Ating's every move, otherwise, he might have really been hit by Ating's surprise attack just now.
Asai, who had just been pushed back several steps by Yoshihisa, had now completely recovered.
After relaxing his numb arms a little, he raised his sword again and attacked Yoshihisa from the front.
Shimada and Shibata, who were standing on the left and , also cooperated with Asai and launched an attack on Yoshihisa together.
Facing Asai and others who were attacking from three different directions, Yoshihisa only glanced at them calmly, then took a deep breath and lowered his body's center of gravity.
Bang!
Yoshihisa first raised his right foot and kicked Shibata who was on his right.
Shibata, whose eyes couldn't even follow Yoshihisa's kick, suddenly felt a sharp pain in his abdomen as if his intestines were broken - Yoshihisa's kick hit Shibata's abdomen solidly.
"Ahem!" Shibata's mouth stretched out uncontrollably, saliva flying everywhere. His body was bent into a bow shape with the part that was kicked as the center, and he flew backwards, and the wakizashi in his palm flew out.
While kicking Shibata away, Yoshihisa thrust his spear towards Asai in front of him.
The tip of Yoshihisa's spear was like a ferocious snake emerging from a cave.
Asai, who could only barely keep up with Yoshiku's speed and had no time to dodge, instinctively raised his knife and chopped at the spear tip that Yoshiku's attack was stabbing at, trying to block Yoshiku's attack. However, as he was not as strong as Yoshiku, he only succeeded in slightly deflecting the direction of the spear tip and failed to completely block Yoshiku's attack.
The stab that was originally heading straight for Asai's chest was blocked by Asai with all his might. The tip of the gun then lowered slightly, sticking to Asai's shoulder, passing through Asai's body and scraping off some flesh .
Under normal circumstances, this would be just an ordinary skin injury.
But as luck would have it - the part that Yoshihisa's gun tip scratched was... exactly the place where Asai was injured by the explosion in the battle of Ryusuidera last night.
The wound, which had been hot and red to begin with, was torn apart by Yoshihisa's blow. The severe pain instantly drained the color from Asai's face, and beads of cold sweat spurted out from his forehead. Most of his strength was dissipated by the severe pain, and he could hardly stand and fell to the ground.
After stabbing Asai to the ground with one blow, Yoshihisa took advantage of the situation and turned the gun like a windmill. The pistol drew a beautiful arc in a clockwise direction, and the tail of the gun used the centrifugal force brought by the rotation of the gun body to hit Shimada who was on Yoshihisa's left.
Even Asai found it difficult to cope with Yoshihisa's strength and speed, let alone Shimada who lacked strength and combat experience.
Facing the butt of the gun swung by Yoshihisa, Shimada could only switch from offense to defense and blocked the incoming gun butt with the blade.
As a member of the Gourd House, where the large gold is used as the basic unit of purchase, Shimada's sword is naturally not a cheap one. The sword in his hand is also sold on the market. It is a good sword that can only be bought at a price of 100 taels of gold.
So - when the butt of Yoshihisa's gun hit the blade of Shimada's sword, Shimada's sword did not break, only the blade was slightly tilted.
The butt of Yoshihisa's gun hit Shimada's left arm with the sword that was tilted by the impact. Then it hit Shimada's left arm again and hit his left ribs. Finally, it knocked Shimada to the ground like hitting a baseball.
Shimada's defense did play a significant role, successfully dissipating a lot of the force from Yoshihisa's gun butt, so when Yoshihisa's gun butt hit his left arm and left rib, only Shimada's left arm was broken and his left rib was cracked.
Although such injuries were not fatal, it was obvious that Shimada would not be able to launch any threatening attacks on Yoshihisa in the short term.
Yoshihisa used only three strikes to knock down Shibata, Asai and Shimada one after another.
Bang!
At this time, gunshots rang out again.
Not far away, Atachi pulled the trigger again at Yoshihisa.
Just now, when she saw Yoshihisa dodge her first surprise attack, Atachi was indeed a little panicked, but she quickly calmed herself, held the gun steady, and continued to calmly look for the best shooting opportunity.
However... after discovering that Atachi possessed a short gun that could be fired even in rainy days, Yoshihisa regarded Atachi as his biggest threat in this battle.
Yoshihisa, who increased his vigilance against Atachi and observed his every move more carefully, once again dodged the flying bullet before Atachi pulled the trigger.
Ji Jiu frowned slightly and thought to himself:
——This woman...must be killed immediately.
Although the physical enhancement brought by the "immortal power" made Yoshihisa confident that he could dodge every bullet fired by Atachi, firearms are firearms after all. Yoshihisa will never be able to feel at ease if he keeps ignoring Atachi, who possesses such a powerful weapon.
Asai and the others who had been knocked down were no longer a threat for the time being. So - Yoshihisa turned around and rushed towards the direction of A-Machi and A-Tsuku like a tiger coming down from the mountain!
He decided to get rid of the big threat of Ating first, and then deal with the others slowly.
…
…
(That, that, that! Hatsu-hatsu-hatsu-hatsu-hatsu-Miss! Nice to meet you!)
(…Who are you?)
(My name is Shibata! You, you're so beautiful! I'm so glad to be able to go on a mission with you this time...ah, no, I'm honored!)
(…Although I feel a little uneasy when you excitedly say “You are so beautiful” to a 12-year-old girl, thank you for the compliment. You actually have a last name, which is rare. This is the first time I have seen an Iga ninja with his own last name. If your last name is Shibata, then what is your first name?)
(Um... My last name is not Shibata. I don't have a last name. Shibata is my name. My original name is actually 'Tanjiro'. I changed my name to this because I like Shiba Inus.)
(Oh…Shiba Inu, I like Shiba Inu too.)
(Woof woof woof!)
(…Even if you lie on the ground and learn to bark like a dog, you won’t turn into a Shiba Inu…Hurry up and stand up, this is so embarrassing.)
( Woof woof woof!)
…
——Am I...going to die...?
Shibata, who was lying on his back on the ground, holding his belly, looked at the sky where heavy rain was still falling, and asked himself this question in his heart.
For some reason, Shibata recalled the scene when he first met Hatsumitsu.
He had heard before that when people are about to die, they will recall some of their past life events.
Shibata, who had been kicked hard in the stomach by Yoshihisa, now felt as if his intestines were broken into countless sections.
——Now... it’s not the time to die... at least... I have to make sure Miss Chuguang is completely safe... before I can die.
Shibata gritted his teeth, encouraged himself in his heart, and tried to stand up.
But the severe pain in his abdomen made it difficult for him to just raise his upper body.
As soon as he looked up, he saw Yoshihisa holding his pistol and heading straight towards A-Machi and A-Tsuku.
——Damn it...! Is there no way...to defeat that bastard? !
Shibata pursed his lips, and slowly clenched his hands that were on the ground, with his fingers digging deep into his flesh.
--what else……?!
——Is there anything else I can do?
Shibata looked a bit confused as he looked around, trying to find something that could be useful in the current battle.
While Shibata was looking around for something useful—
--Um?
Shibata's expression suddenly froze, and his head, which was looking around, stopped.
His head was blank, and his eyes were fixed on... Chuguang who had fainted on the rocky beach not far away.
…
…
Seeing Yoshihisa running towards them, both Atachi and Azuki who was standing next to Atachi, their expressions changed.
A-Machi has been traveling with Ogata for so long, and has seen so many storms with him, that without realizing it, she has already developed a level of determination and courage that far exceeds that of ordinary people.
But even so, after seeing Yoshihisa running towards them with a murderous look on his face, Atachi's face turned pale uncontrollably.
If A-machi was like this, let alone A-tsuku who had never seen the world - not only did A-tsuku's face turn pale, but even his hands that were holding the wakizashi began to tremble slightly.
Asai and the others have been knocked down.
Xuan Zheng, this old fellow who doesn't have any weapons on him, has a combat power that is basically zero.
In other words... the only two female ninjas who are still capable of fighting Yoshihisa are A-machi and A-tsuku.
Under the misty rain, the battlefield now became a duel between the three ninjas: Yoshihisa, A-machi and A-zuki.