Chapter 327 Ogata: Attack Nijo Castle! [Today has 30,000 words
"A-Machi, what's wrong with you?"
Looking at Omachi's pale face and his hands and feet shaking uncontrollably, Ogata felt a tightness in his chest for some reason.
Ogata had never experienced this kind of chest tightness before.
"I, I'm fine..."
Not only were his hands and feet trembling, but Omachi's voice was also trembling.
"I'm sorry...Ayi...I let you see how embarrassed I am..."
A-Machi raised his right hand and grabbed his left wrist forcefully, as if to stop his wrist from shaking.
But no matter how hard A-Machi tried, he couldn't stop his hands from shaking. Instead, they started to shake even more violently.
"A-Machi...you don't have to worry about what that guy just said." Ogata tried his best to comfort A-Machi.
However, as soon as Ogata finished speaking, Atachi's head lowered slightly.
"... Heitaro, what he said just now is right... I also know that the sentence I just said, 'Kill as many as you come', was just a ridiculous and shameless statement..."
Bitterness and uneasiness appeared on A-Machi's face.
"How can I, a genin of ten thousand years, be able to fight against the entire Shiranui, who has already cooperated with the shogunate..."
"Not to mention the entire Shiranui, just one Kotaro can easily kill me..."
"Kotaro, he is our 'Four Heavenly Kings' in Shiranui."
"Besides the leader, he is one of the four strongest ninjas in Shiranui..."
"Even if I use Sosakura and Kasumi Nagi, I still can't defeat Kotaro..."
"Ayi, you should have heard Heitaro mention the name 'Atake' just now, right?"
"Yes." Ogata nodded lightly, "I heard it."
"Atake is a kunoichi who defected from Shiranui in the middle of last year."
"She is different from me, a dabbler like me who has been a genin for ten thousand years. Atake is a real jounin."
"Atake, who is so strong, was unfortunately captured after he defected to Shiranui."
"Ayi, guess what kind of punishment Azhu received?"
"I don't want to know." Ogata said without hesitation, "Stop talking."
Ogata noticed that Atachi's body was shaking even more violently, so he quickly signaled that Atachi didn't need to say any more.
But Amachi seemed not to have heard Ogata's words and continued:
"Shiranui has a set of punishments specifically used to deal with defectors, called 'peeling off'."
"This is a set of punishments very similar to Tang Tu's 'Ling Chi'."
"The executioner will use a knife to peel off all your skin and flesh bit by bit, and then hang your skin and skeleton on a tree to warn others not to think of defecting from Shiranui..."
"A terrible punishment, right?"
"The defecting kunoichi will suffer even greater pain when he is captured, because when he is captured, the ninjas responsible for capturing the kunoichi can torture the kunoichi to their heart's content, as long as they do not
Just kill this kunoichi..."
"At that time, when I decided to defect to Shiranui, I told myself over and over again, 'Don't be afraid' and 'I'm mentally prepared'..."
"But, but..."
Atachi bit his lower lip.
The eye sockets started to turn red.
"When Shiranui sent out a steady stream of soldiers to chase me, I was still so frightened that I shivered..."
A-Machi slumped his shoulders, lifted his waist, put his forehead on the tiger's eyes of his hands, and said to his hands in a prayer-like tone with a cry:
"Please... stop shaking..."
Atachi's prayers had no effect.
Her hands were still "beating" violently like a fish jumping out of the water.
Looking at Omachi, who seemed to have shrunk in size, Ogata felt that the tightness in his chest became even stronger.
…
…
Atachi is always smiling, but occasionally shows off a cute and sly smile.
Amachi is a bit clumsy and even does embarrassing things like peeing his pants on Ogata's back, which is unspeakable.
Even after landing on Butterfly Island and encountering the cannibal who only violated common sense, Atachi did not show any timidity.
When faced with monsters like "Yao Monk" Isshun, Atachi bravely attacked them without taking even a step back.
Such A-Machi is so uneasy and scared right now. He is so afraid of the sound that his whole body is trembling...
…
…
Ogata wanted to say something to comfort Amachi.
But after much searching, Ogata realized that at this moment, no matter what he said, it would be impossible to suppress the fear in Omachi's heart.
Ogata slowly turned around and looked at the towering Nijo Castle in the distance.
A bold idea popped up in Ogata's mind.
As soon as this idea popped up in Ogata's mind, Ogata dismissed it.
Because this idea is too crazy.
He was so crazy that even Ogata, who had done such a feat as "killing the feudal lord with one against a hundred", felt that the person who would put this idea into practice was definitely not a normal person.
Feng Mo, who had been silent since just now, said softly:
"...I finally understand what's going on...Komachi, you defected to Shiranui..."
After listening for so long just now, Fuuma also heard from the mouths of Atachi, Ogata and others what exactly happened to Atachi.
After sighing softly, Fuma turned his head, looked at Ogata, and said seriously:
"Brother Ogata, please take Amachi and leave Kyoto."
"That guy just said that - Kotaro will stay in Nijo Castle until the banquet ends tonight."
"So as long as we leave Kyoto as soon as possible before the banquet ends, maybe we can get rid of that Kotaro."
"As far as I know, it seems that there are still officials in Kyoto who have been converted into thieves."
"The Huofu Thieves are also the security forces of the shogunate after all. After encountering you, a criminal who is being hunted by the whole city of Kyoto Prefecture, there is no reason to let you go."
"It's obvious that the Nixiang Town is the Ichihongmen Banquet. The disciples of the Six Great Sword Halls must have been prepared to meet you."
"Brother Ogata, the people of Kyoto, the officials who have been reformed as thieves, all the samurai in the six major sword halls, and the common people in Kyoto... these people are all your enemies now.
We are all enemies, you'd better leave Kyoto as soon as possible."
"Leaving with A-Machi will only be good for you and A-Machi, and there will be no harm."
After quietly listening to Fuma's advice, Ogata did not respond to Fuma.
He just pursed his lips.
Escape? Escape to where?
Ogata asked himself this in his heart.
He has no relatives in Japan and has nowhere to go.
Where is he taking Atachi?
Will you lead A-Machi into a life where he is constantly being chased by the government and Shiranui?
It's all about him. Even if these two major forces come to pursue him, Ogata is not afraid at all.
But what should Atachi do?
Looking at Omachi's current state, I'm afraid that he won't even be able to sleep well in the future, for fear that Shiranui's pursuers will come and kill him again...
What Fuma said just now made the feeling of annoyance in Ogata's chest become even heavier.
He came to Kyoto this time just to find a pair of master and disciple who might be able to cure the immortal poison in his body.
As a result, he was inexplicably involved in one trouble after another.
He just wanted to find the master and disciple.
After meeting A-Machi by chance, I had a small goal to go watch the Yamaboko parade with him.
He only wanted to do these two trivial things in Kyoto.
However, due to the interference of various people, he has fallen to the point where the whole city is now an enemy, and he is advised by his elders to leave Kyoto as soon as possible.
First there was a group of madmen who tried to burn down Kyoto, but now for some unknown reason they targeted him and forced him to go to the Hongmen Banquet.
Later, a group of Shiranui ninjas chased Atachi.
——It’s these guys who make A-Machi and I have no peace...
Ogata's eyes once again turned uncontrollably to the towering Nijo Castle in the distance.
The crazy thoughts that he had suppressed just now resurfaced in Ogata's mind.
However, as soon as this idea emerged, Ogata pushed it back.
Even Ogata couldn't imagine what kind of retaliation he would face in the future if he put this idea into practice.
If this crazy idea is put into practice, there is no doubt that the sensation it will cause will far exceed that of the "Forced Killing of Matsudaira Gennai" half a year ago.
The properties of the two are completely different from each other.
Because this idea was too crazy, Ogata had to suppress this crazy idea again.
But this crazy idea seemed to have its own consciousness. As soon as Ogata suppressed it, it popped up in Ogata's mind.
"Brother Ogata!"
Seeing that Ogata didn't respond to him for a long time, Feng Mo couldn't help but speak out again.
"Did you hear what I just said? Please take Amachi out of Kyoto quickly! I know a secret way out of Kyoto! I will take you there!"
"...Is escaping...useful?"
"What did you say?" Fuma looked at Ogata in surprise.
"Atachi's enemies...are there."
Ogata turned his attention back to Nijo Castle in the distance.
"If we run away, the enemy will chase us...it will never end."
That crazy thought once again occupied Ogata's mind.
——Give it a try...!
Ogata said this to himself in his heart.
——This kind of crazy thing... It's not like I haven't done it before!
More than half a year ago, the battle of "forcibly killing Matsudaira Gennai" was also an extremely crazy thing.
It's not like Ogata has never experienced the danger of dying.
Although...the crazy idea in my mind is far more crazy than the murder of Matsudaira Gennai half a year ago...
Thinking of this, Oufang felt a little flinched again.
He couldn't imagine what would be waiting for him in the future after he implemented this crazy idea in his mind...
The shogunate and Shiranui might go crazy and launch an unprecedentedly violent revenge on him and A-Machi...
Ogata is not afraid of death.
He was just afraid that he would not be able to protect A-Machi in the future...
…
…
Ogata felt that he was only missing one opportunity now.
An opportunity... that could make him completely determined and decide to risk everything...
…
…
at this time……
"Atachi...? What's wrong?"
Because Ogata has been facing Nijo Castle from just now, Ogata's back has always been facing Amachi.
At this moment, Omachi suddenly walked up, stretched out his still trembling hands, grabbed Ogata Haori's back, and buried his face in Ogata's back.
Because A-Machi buried his entire face in his back, Ogata couldn't see A-Machi's face even if he turned his head.
No matter what Ogata said, Atachi remained silent and just buried his face in the feather fabric on Ogata's back.
"That's enough for you..." Ogata had to turn his head back, and then said with a helpless smile, "At least say something..."
However——Ahachi remained silent.
After an unknown amount of time passed, Atachi finally said softly:
"Ayi..."
Atachi called out her unique name for Ogata and slowly raised her head.
Realizing that Atachi no longer buried his face in his back, Ogata turned his gaze to his own back again.
Because A-Machi finally raised his head, Ogata finally saw what A-Machi looked like now.
Atachi, who usually always had a smile on his face, and occasionally showed a sly smile that Ogata liked very much, was looking at Ogata pitifully at this moment.
The expression on his face was still full of fear and anxiety.
Rather - the fear and anxiety on Atachi's face at this time became even more intense than before.
Atachi tightly grasped the clothes on Ogata's back and said to Ogata in a voice that sounded like he was about to burst into tears at any moment——
"Will I... also be caught by the pursuers one day in the future, and then tortured to death...?"
…
…
"Atachi, let go."
…
…
Ogata declared to Omachi in a calm tone.
Although he didn't know what Ogata was planning to do, Amachi obediently let go of the clothes on Ogata's back.
Ogata slowly turned around and glanced at Atachi with an expressionless expression.
Then--
Bang.
Ogata struck the back of Omachi's neck with his knife.
Amachi, who was unexpected by Ogata's blow, slowly closed his eyes and fainted.
The moment before he closed his eyes, Amachi's eyes flashed with confusion.
After knocking Amachi unconscious, Ogata gently hugged him and then put him into Fuma's arms.
"Brother Ogata!" Fuma looked at Ogata in shock, "What are you doing?"
"Lord Fuuma, I will leave Amachi to your care for the time being."
Ogata's tone and expression were so calm.
Fuma realized something and shouted at Ogata in a shocked tone:
"Brother Ogata, do you plan to enter the Six Great Sword Halls alone?"
"That's right." Ogata responded without any hesitation.
"They must have laid a dragnet now. If you go to challenge, you will play into their hands."
"So what?"
"You may not come back if you go!"
"Then I won't come back!"
Ogata lifted the Daishiten and Daizizuo around his waist.
"The bald head is on Makimura's side. Only Makimura and the others know where those explosive bombs are placed."
"Leave the bomb to Makimura and the others to deal with."
"If we leave those lunatics who burned Kyoto unchecked, God knows what they will do next."
"These lunatics first planned to burn down Kyoto, and now they are targeting me for no reason... let me deal with them!"
"Just tonight, defeat all my enemies in Kyoto! And Amachi's enemies!"
After saying that, Ogata turned around and strode outside.
"Lord Fuuma, I have one more thing to do for you. Please go to Nimiang Town and tell the lunatics in Nixiang Town that if you want to find me, go to Nijo Castle!"
"Nijo Castle?" Fuuma repeated the name, a strong shock flashed in his eyes.
At this moment, Feng Mo finally realized something.
I realized...what exactly Ogata was planning to do.
Fuuma carried Omachi on his back, quickly ran to the front of Ogata, and stopped Ogata.
"Brother Ogata, you said that you asked me to deliver a message to the people of Nijo Town and ask them to go to Nijo Castle. Are you... planning to attack Nijo Castle? Fight all the ninjas guarding Nijo Castle and the disciples of the six major sword halls in one go.
We...you...are the only one...?"
Ogata stared at Fuma without saying a word.
Then he walked away silently.
This time, Feng Mo did not catch up.
Instead, he looked at Ogata's retreating back with complicated eyes.
It wasn't until Ogata's back was completely out of sight that Fuma sighed:
"...I really feel more and more that Ogata brother and Genichi are very similar..."
…
…
Kyoto, Nijo Castle (Nijo Imperial Palace).
The two Shiranui ninjas guarding the only entrance to Nijo Castle were yawning out of boredom.
And they chatted one after another.
"It's so boring... When will this boring task of guarding Nijo Castle end?"
"It should be soon. In less than half an hour, the banquet will be over. When the banquet is over, our mission of guarding Nijo Castle will be over."
"It's great... Although this task is boring, it is also quite easy. This is the most relaxing task I have ever experienced in my life."
"After the mission of guarding Nijo Castle is over, we still have another mission! We still have to hunt down that traitorous ninja of Atachi."
"This mission is too easy! It's not easy to deal with Atachi, the guy who was demoted as 'Ku'... Huh? Who is he!"
After noticing someone approaching, the two ninjas immediately stopped their chat.
After looking forward intently, I found that there was only one person coming.
He is a young samurai wearing a light green haori with two swords hanging on his waist.
After appearing within the sight of the two ninjas, the young samurai said softly in a calm tone that seemed devoid of any emotion:
"Let me confirm - Nijo Castle is ahead, right?"
"That's right!" One of the two ninjas guarding the door said without thinking, "Nijō Castle is ahead! Now that you know that Nijo Castle is ahead, get out of here! This is not a place that idlers like you can approach.
Hey! Wait! You guy! What do you want to do?!"
The young warrior who was still walking slowly accelerated at an extremely fast speed!
While rushing straight to the Higashi Otemon gate, the young samurai pulled out the katana from his waist.
The cold light reflected from the snow-white blade made the pupils of the two ninjas shrink suddenly.
For this sudden change, the two ninjas who were not prepared were both shocked.
"Bastard! Do you know where this place is? How dare you draw a sword here?! Give me your name..."
"Give me your name?" Before the ninja finished speaking, the young samurai asked in return.
Then, the young samurai who was already only a short distance away from the two ninjas accelerated suddenly, turning into an afterimage and attacking towards the two ninjas.
Unexpectedly, Ogata's speed could increase. The two ninjas hurriedly pulled out their wakizashi from their lower backs.
clang!
The young samurai's katana collided heavily with the wakizashi of one of the ninjas who had just unsheathed it.
The ninja only held on for less than a second before he was unable to withstand the young samurai's huge force and flew backwards, slamming into the Todai Gate behind him.
Suddenly, sawdust flew everywhere.
The young warrior shouted loudly and forcefully amidst the flying sawdust:
Hota left the banquet and went to Kamiyama to propose a toast to Kamiyama.
Kamiyama had no reason to refuse Hota's toast and respectfully accepted Hota's toast.
After having a drink with Kamiyama, Hota sighed softly:
"It's a pity that what we did tonight can only disgust Tadahiro Toda, but it's not enough to trip him up..."
"Just being able to disgust him is enough." Kamiyama smiled helplessly, "Hotita-sama, people can't be too greedy."
"I understand." Hota smiled wryly and shrugged, then personally picked up the bottle and poured wine into Kamiyama's wine glass.
At this moment, the two of them saw a ninja running towards the banquet venue with a panicked expression.
Kamiyama recognized this ninja.
He remembered that this person was the leader of the group of ninjas responsible for guarding Nijo Castle tonight, and his name seemed to be Kotaro.
After Kotaro hurriedly rushed into the banquet, he shouted to everyone present:
"My lords! Please follow the secret passage and leave here! Nijo Castle is under attack!"
As soon as Kotaro finished speaking, everyone present looked panicked.
"Nijo Castle was attacked?!"
"How is that possible! Who in the whole world has the guts to attack Nijo Castle?!"
"What do you ninjas do for a living? Hurry up and repel the invading enemies!"
…
Kailash was the first to regain its composure.
"How many people are coming?" Shenshan asked in a deep voice.
"1,1!" Kotaro seemed to know that what he was going to say next would sound ridiculous, so he hesitated.
"One?!" Shenshan exclaimed.
Not only Kamiyama, but also Hota and other people present were full of horror.
"Since there is only one, why don't you kill that guy quickly!" Toda shouted with a pale face.
He is the chief minister of Kyoto.
Nijo Castle is a symbol of the power of the shogunate.
If something goes wrong in Nijo Castle, he, as the commissioner of Kyoto, will bear the first responsibility!
Tokugawa Munumu, who was sitting in the first seat, was also frightened and angry at this time. He scolded Kotaro and asked him to quickly repel the enemy.
"We have launched an attack!"
Kotaro gritted his teeth.
"My men are currently fighting the enemy at Tangmen!"
"But my subordinates...it seems they can't last long!"
"While my subordinates are fighting for time, my lords, please follow the secret passage and leave Nijo Castle as soon as possible!"
"Although this sentence is a bit hard to say...if you adults continue to stay here, we cannot guarantee that the next battle will not involve you!"
"Please get out of here as soon as possible!"
…
…
Kyoto, Futamicho.
"Ogata Ittousai still hasn't come..."
Hexian, who was still guarding Fumiang Town, had a hint of impatience flashing on his face.
He Xian was now standing in the middle of Ryunosuke's subordinates.
He raised his head and glanced at the night above his head.
Based on the darkness above his head, Hexian deduced that the half-hour time limit agreed between him and Ryunosuke was approaching.
The agreement he made with Ryunosuke was that he would only wait for half an hour in Futami Town.
If Ogata Ittosai cannot be forced here after half an hour, we will have to proceed according to the original plan and let Ryunosuke's subordinates disperse to various parts of Kyoto and burn Kyoto to the ground.
Seeing that the time limit was approaching, Hexian was thinking about whether to order Ryunosuke's subordinates present to act according to the original plan of "burning Kyoto", when a strange and sudden old male voice suddenly sounded from the darkness beside him.
:
"Hello."
After the sound fell, Hexian, who was startled by the sudden sound, quickly followed the sound and turned his head.
The owner of this male voice was an old man carrying a beautiful woman on his back.
Looking at the old man, He Xian's face sank.
I thought to myself:
——This guy...when and where did he appear just now?
He Xian was completely unaware of the presence of a person not far from him.
The surrounding Ryuunosuke's subordinates didn't seem to notice in advance that there was an old man in the area not far away, so they all reached for the knife on their left waist as if facing a formidable enemy.
"Don't be nervous." The old man waved his hand, "I'm just here to deliver a message. After delivering the message, I will leave immediately."
"Send a message?" Hexian asked doubtfully.
"If you want to find Ogata Ittosai, go to Nijo Castle." The old man said this word by word.
"Nijo Castle?" The doubt on Hexian's face became even more intense.
Not only He Xian looked puzzled, but the surrounding Ryuunosuke's subordinates also looked puzzled.
At this moment, someone yelled:
"Look! Look at Nijo Castle!"
As soon as the shout from someone unknown came to an end, He Xian quickly looked in the direction of Nijo Castle.
After casting his gaze in the direction of Nijo Castle, Hexian's pupils shrank suddenly.
I saw thick black smoke floating in the sky above Nijo Castle.
And all this black smoke comes from Nijo Castle.
While black smoke was rising, Hexian could vaguely see fire coming out of Nijo Castle.
"Nijo Castle...is on fire?!" Horror appeared on Hexian's face.
Looking at Nijo Castle with black smoke and fire, and thinking about what the man had just said to him, He Xian suddenly realized something.
"No way..." Hexian muttered absentmindedly, "Is that Ogata Ittosai... a lunatic?! Does he even know what it means to attack Nijo Castle?!"
The surrounding Ryunosuke's subordinates also panicked at this time.
"Master Hexian..." one of Ryunosuke's subordinates standing next to Hexian hesitated, "What...are we going to do now?"
"...Let's go!" Hexian shouted after a long moment of silence, "Go to Nijo Castle!"