Makimura held Boji's hand and ran through the streets of Kyoto, followed closely by Shimada and Hasegawa.
When he ran to an intersection, Porgy stopped, put his nose to the ground and sniffed, then turned around and ran towards the east intersection without any hesitation.
Poji spread his paws and ran wildly, stopping from time to time to smell the ground, and after confirming that the direction was correct, he led Makimura and others along the way.
Shimada, who was following behind, couldn't help but asked Makimura:
"Makimura-senpai, is this dog reliable?"
"Don't worry. This dog is very reliable." Makimura said loudly without looking back, "If it is an ordinary dog, it would be fine, but Poji has been specially trained. It is very powerful."
Unknowingly, three people and one dog rushed into a busy street.
Pedestrians on this street were crowded shoulder to shoulder, and Makimura and his group had to push forward hard and use their hands and feet to squeeze out a way.
"What is happening on this street..." Shimada said in an unhappy tone, "Why are there so many people?"
Hasegawa raised his head and looked around and said:
"...This is Shijo Street, no wonder there are so many people."
"Shijo Street?" Shimada repeated the unfamiliar term.
"This is the street where Yamabokos pass through when the Yamaboko Parade is held."
Hasegawa replied.
"The Yamabokos will set off from Shijo-dori Street. Counting the time, it's almost time for the 'Yamaboko Parade' to start."
"No wonder there are so many people..." Shimada muttered, "Are these people all here to see the Yamaboko Parade?"
"It should be." Hasegawa nodded, "The 'Shanboko Parade' is the highlight of the Gion Festival."
"Every year when the Yamaboko Parade is held, the streets are packed with ordinary people in Kyoto."
Makimura also raised his head at this time and looked around.
Looking at the familiar scenery around him, Makimura muttered softly at a volume that only he could hear clearly:
"Is there a four-way street... This place is quite close to that damn place on Sanjiji Street..."
…
…
Even though he was walking through such a crowded street and was disturbed by various smells such as human sweat, horse manure, and powder, Poggy's four paws did not hesitate for a moment.
Boji led Makimura and others through an intersection and left Shijo Street.
After leaving Shijo Street, the flow of people suddenly decreased a lot. Makimura and others immediately felt like "jumping out of the pond", and their breathing became easier.
Under Boji's guidance, Makimura and others gradually moved away from Shijo Street and away from the flow of people.
The crowd around Makimura and others slowly changed from a dense crowd to a complete absence of people.
After entering a new street, as far as the eye could see, almost no one could be seen.
"...What's going on in this place..." Shimada said softly, "Just now there were too many people on Shijo-dori Street, and now there are too few people here..."
"...This is Sanoji Street." Makimura answered abruptly, "Sanjiji Street was originally a gathering place for Yakuza in Kyoto."
“This place used to be very ‘prosperous’.”
"Of course - it's not as prosperous as Shijo Street."
"Seven years ago, under the auspices of Lord Kamiyama, and with the help of... two 'former Yakuza', Kyoto Prefecture organized a large-scale 'clean-up' operation of Yakuza against Sanoji Street.
"
"During this operation 7 years ago, Sanjizi Street was completely wiped out by Li Ting."
"The Yakuza who are entrenched in Three Princes Street are dead and injured."
"The Yakuza who survived either fled Kyoto, or they stayed anonymous in Kyoto, tucked their tail between their legs and became ordinary people."
"But because the people of Kyoto think this area is unlucky, even after seven years, no one is willing to move to this street."
"So after seven years, this Sanjizi Street is still very deserted. No one wants to live here. Because no one wants to live here, no businesses will open stores here."
After quietly listening to Makimura's explanation, Shimada was stunned for a moment, and then asked:
"Senior Makimura...the two 'former Yakuza' you just mentioned who assisted Kamiyama in pacifying Sanjiji Street...could one of them be you?"
"Yes, it's me." Makimura admitted readily, "So do you understand why Yakuza, who came to find trouble at noon today, hates me so much? Okay, let's stop chatting here, look at Poji's appearance
, we should be almost reaching our destination..."
What Makimura said was not wrong.
Porgy, who put his nose to the ground more and more frequently to sniff wildly, was moving slower and slower.
Finally——Porgy turned his head towards a small building with a height of three floors.
"Why doesn't Poji leave?" Shimada asked.
"Because we have arrived at our destination." Makimura followed Poji and turned his attention to the three-story building not far away. "It seems... the bald man hid in that building..."
From the outside, the small building seemed to have been a hotel.
But no one is running the hotel anymore, and it looks dilapidated.
Makimura picked up Pochi and then put Pochi into Shimada's arms.
"Shimada, you are responsible for looking after Poji and providing security outside the house."
"Huh?" Shimada looked stunned, "Wait a minute, Makimura-senpai, I want to be with you..."
"Hasegawa and I are responsible for entering." Before Shimada could finish his words, Makimura interrupted, "If too many people enter together, they will hinder each other."
"And there needs to be one person standing outside to guard the outside of the house."
"If enemy reinforcements approach, you have to call us loudly, do you understand?"
"...I understand." Shimada, who hugged Bochi tightly, nodded gently, "Senior Makimura, Lord Hasegawa, I wish you good luck in martial arts."
"Yes." Makimura said as he tore off the cloth on the Odachi wrapped around his back and slowly pulled out the Odachi, "I also wish you good luck in martial arts."
…
…
"Makimura-kun, how do you plan to capture this small building?" Hasegawa asked Makimura in a calm tone while slowly pulling out the knife from his waist.
The cold light reflected from the sword in Hasegawa's hand complemented the cold light emitted by the Odachi being held by Makimura on his shoulder.
"I plan to attack directly from the front." Makimura replied without hesitation, "Hasegawa-sama, what do you think?"
"I feel great."
"Then let's go!"
After saying that, Makimura suddenly accelerated.
Hasegawa, who was walking beside Makimura, also sped up.
Bang!
Makimura, who was at the forefront, hit the door on the first floor of the small building like a cannonball, smashing the wooden door that had become fragile due to its age into pieces.
…
…
"what happened?!"
The bald man who was dozing off on the third floor was awakened by the loud noise coming from the first floor, and he stood up from the ground in a panic.
Boom, boom, boom.
There were footsteps outside the door.
The paper sliding door was opened, and a subordinate knelt on the ground and shouted to the bald head:
"Lord Ichizaburo! There is an invasion!"
"Invasion? Is it an official from Kyoto Prefecture? How many people came?"
"They are not official servants of Kyoto Prefecture! Only, there are only two of them!"
"Two people?" Baldhead suspected that his ears heard wrongly.
"Yes!" His subordinates responded loudly, "There are only two of them!"
"Then why don't you hurry up and kill those two people!"
"Yes Yes!"
"Wait!" Before the subordinate left, the bald man suddenly stopped him, "Go tell the people responsible for assembling it! Move all the remaining raw materials away quickly! We must not let outsiders discover the secrets of this place!"
"yes!"
…
…
After rushing into the building, Makimura immediately sensed the sound of a large number of footsteps approaching him and Hasegawa.
Not long after, a figure holding a sword appeared in front of Makimura and Hasegawa, charging toward them with great force.
"Ha..." Makimura handed the knife-grabbing right hand to his lips, breathed lightly into his palm, and rushed towards the enemy in front of him one step ahead of Hasegawa.
The corridor Makimura and the others are currently in is quite spacious.
Its spaciousness is enough for Makimura to wield the Odachi in his hand freely.
Due to the attack distance, Makimura's sword was one step ahead of his enemies.
Makimura's horizontal slash knocked three people to the ground.
Hasegawa, who was following Makimura, was killing all the enemies that came within his attack range while quietly observing Makimura who was struggling to kill the enemy.
Looking at Makimura's great sword skills, Hasegawa couldn't help but sigh:
"What a beautiful swordsmanship... the sword opens and closes wide... it's like a dragon flying in the sky."
"...Thank you for the compliment." Makimura's reaction to Hasegawa's compliment was very dull. He just casually said "Thank you for the compliment" and smiled slightly.
…
…
Even though there was a considerable distance, Shimada, who was on guard outside the house, could hear the shouts of death coming from the third-floor hut.
Listening to the killing cry, Shimada felt secretly anxious.
If possible, he would also like to draw his sword and step forward to help Makimura and the others.
However, the order Makimura had just given him to "stay outside the house" kept echoing in his mind, making Shimada want to move but dare not move.
At this moment, Shimada suddenly heard a strange noise coming from behind him.
Shimada's pupils shrank suddenly, he touched the handle of the knife on his left waist with his right hand, and quickly drew the knife while turning around.
However - before his sword was completely pulled out, a strong hand pressed on his right hand, pushing the half-drawn sword back into its sheath, making Shimada unable to draw it anymore.
knife.
"Shimada, don't be nervous, it's me."
"Is it you?" Shimada looked shocked, "Why are you here?"
"This is a long story. I'll tell you later when I have time. Is Makimura in that building now?"
…
…
The battlefield moved from the first floor to the second floor unconsciously.
After reaching the second floor, Makimura's enemy-killing efficiency dropped significantly.
There is no other reason - the space on the second floor is much narrower than that on the first floor, which greatly limits the ability of Makimura to use the Odachi.
Because the space was narrow, swinging was not as effective as stabbing, so after climbing to the second floor, Makimura changed his tactics and used the Odachi in his hand as a short spear.
"Hasegawa-sama, are you okay?" After Makimura stabbed another enemy to the ground, he asked Hasegawa, who was already breathing rapidly.
"I'm fine." Hasegawa responded, taking a few deep breaths to smoothen his breathing. "It's just that I'm not young anymore, so my physical strength is not as strong as when I was young. Age is indeed the best for swordsmen like us.
My biggest natural enemy..."
"If you're tired, just retreat behind me and take a rest."
"Don't underestimate me." Hasegawa chuckled a few times, "I'm far from being 'tired' yet."
"That's good." Makimura agreed with a smile.
…
…
"Can't stop those two people?!" the bald head roared sharply.
"Sir Ichizaburo!" The bald subordinate was sweating profusely, "Well, those two are too strong! You can't stop them!"
"Tsk..." The bald man bit his right thumb, "...There is no other way, take out the Nanman's carcass!"
"Do you want to use Nanbaru carcasses? But...Ryuunosuke-sama said that Nanbaran carcasses are very expensive, and Nanbaran carcasses can only be used when necessary..."
Before his subordinate finished speaking, the bald man interrupted with an impatient expression:
"Now is the time when it is necessary! Go and let the remaining people wear Nanman trousers!"
…
…
Click, click...
As they were approaching the stairs leading to the third floor, a strange sound suddenly sounded from deep in the corridor in front of Makimura and Hasegawa.
Listening to this strange sound, Makimura and Hasegawa both frowned.
Both of them cast their sights forward.
I saw Man No. 12 wearing a strange white armor, holding a sword in his hand, and rushing towards the two of them.
Looking at the strange white armor on No. 12, Hasegawa's pupils shrank slightly and he reminded Makimura loudly:
"Be careful! It's Nanman's body!"
"Nanbarbarian body?" Makimura's face suddenly darkened.
In the blink of an eye - the enemy at the front wearing Nanman garb had already rushed in front of Makimura.
Regarding the enemy in front of him, Makimura subconsciously stabbed him with his knife.
clang!
A huge sound of gold and iron clashing was heard.
"Hmm..." The shock force transmitted back along the handle of the knife made Makimura subconsciously cry out in pain.
Makimura's powerful and heavy thrusts failed to kill the enemy, and only left a white mark and a string of sparks on the enemy's breastplate.
The uninjured enemy pushed Makimura's knife away, and then swung the knife towards Makimura's chest!
At this critical moment when Makimura was about to be struck by this enemy's sword——
Bang!
A loud bang suddenly sounded from the ceiling above Makimura.
A big hole was made in the ceiling above Makimura.
A figure jumped out along the big hole, and then accurately landed on the head of the enemy in front of Makimura.
The figure that landed on the enemy's head grabbed the enemy's head with both hands, and while dragging the enemy towards the ground, he twisted the enemy's head hard.
With a crisp sound of bone breaking, the enemy's life was cut off.
"Ogata?" After seeing clearly the appearance of this figure who appeared on the scene quite promptly, Makimura couldn't help but say the name of the figure's owner.
…
…
"Good evening, Makimura. I didn't expect us to meet again so soon." Ogata said casually, "Let's chat more later. Now let's get rid of all these guys..."
The sudden appearance of Ogata shocked the remaining 11 enemies wearing Nanman trousers, and they all stopped in their tracks, not daring to move forward.
Ogata also took the opportunity to count the number of enemies in front of him and calculate the best attack position and direction.
"Makimura, Lord Hasegawa, you two stand down."
As Ogata spoke, he slowly pulled out the great freedom from his waist.
"I'll kill them!"
"Be careful!" Hasegawa shouted, "They are wearing Nanman trousers! It is difficult for swords to break through their defenses!"
"Thank you for the reminder." Ogata said softly, "But a mere Nanman body can't stop my sword."
Having said that, Ogata stepped forward with his back foot, and the enemies approaching quickly were like arrows flying off the string.
The enemy closest to Ogata hurriedly raised the sword in his hand and struck at Ogata.
Ogata made a mistake in his steps and easily dodged the man's sword and dodged to the side of the enemy.
Ogata raised his left hand that was not holding the sword and grabbed the man's shoulder. He misplaced his feet and used Shiranui-ryu Jujutsu to throw the man heavily to the ground.
After using jujitsu to subdue the enemy to the ground, Ogata immediately waved his right hand and penetrated the man's chin along the gap under the man's helmet.
After Da Zi Zai's blade penetrated the man's head from the lower jaw, the system sound sounded in Ogata's mind:
[Ding! Use Shiranui-style ninjutsu and Shiranui-style jujutsu to kill the enemy]
[Acquire 110 personal experience points and 120 experience points for the Ninjutsu "Shiranui-ryu Ninjutsu"]
[Current personal level: LV25 (1710/3400)]
[Shiranui-ryu Ninjutsu Level: 3rd Stage (5/800)]
[Ding! When the experience points are full, the level of Shiranui-ryu ninjutsu will increase by 1 level, and you will gain 2 skill points]