Ogata was galloping along a deserted street in Edo with melons on his back.
Because Guasheng was injured and could not run fast, Ogata ran with Guasheng on his back.
Guasheng is not only petite, but also weighs very little.
For Ogata, whose strength is now up to 14 points, carrying a melon on his back is no different than carrying a cat.
"Are your feet cold?"
Ogata lowered his eyes and glanced at the melon's feet behind him.
Because Guaou was only wearing a thin white yukata, before Ogata left Yoshihara with Guaou on his back, he took off the dark blue haori he was wearing and lent it to Guaou.
But Haori could only protect Gua Sheng's upper body, but could not protect Gua Sheng's feet without socks.
"Well...fortunately, it's not very cold." Gua Sheng said softly.
Guasheng turned her gaze sideways and glanced at Ogata's profile, who was very close to her.
"Mashima-kun...why did you come to my house just now?" Gua Sheng said slowly in a hesitant tone.
"I just met an injured uncle by chance." Ogata told the truth, "He said that a girl named Xiu Guashou who works at Yoshiwara Shirobei Club is in danger and asked me to rescue you quickly."
"So I came."
"Are you injured?" Gua Sheng's eyes widened. She had instantly guessed who this uncle was, "Mashima-kun, is he okay?"
"My friend should have taken him to a safe place by now and called a doctor to treat his injuries."
Speaking of this, Ogata turned his head and looked at Gua Sheng lying on his back.
"Miss Guasheng, tell me how you got into trouble with the ninjas in Shiranui."
"Did you know that the group of people just now were ninjas from Shiranui?" Surprise appeared on Gua Sheng's face.
"For some complicated reasons, I am quite familiar with Shiranui. Like Enma, Shintaro and Jitaro of the 'Four Heavenly Kings', etc. I have heard of their names."
"...You actually know Ji Tairou." Gua Sheng bit his lower lip and remained silent.
After being silent for a while, Guasheng said softly in a calm tone:
"I used to be... the daughter of a swordsman in Kamakura..."
"I have a pair of kind parents and a gentle brother."
"Although life is not rich, I still have enough food and clothing."
"Then... four years ago, when I was 12 years old, something happened..."
"My father is a very helpful and enthusiastic person."
"When he went out one day four years ago, he met two young men who were chasing an old man."
"My father, who hated evil so much, fought off the two young men and saved the old man."
"I found out afterwards... those two young men... were ninjas from Shiranui."
"That old man was an assassination target who was entrusted by someone to assassinate the ninjas in Shiranui."
"My father fought off their ninjas and saved the old man, causing their mission to fail, which angered Shiranui..."
"In order to retaliate, they decided to kill this ungrateful guy and all his family members."
Although Gua Sheng's tone was still calm, Ogata could feel Gua Sheng's arms around his neck slowly tightening.
"The person sent by Shiranui to take revenge is Jitarō, one of the 'Four Heavenly Kings'."
"Jutarou is famous for his bloodthirsty. The other three of the 'Four Heavenly Kings' may not have killed as many people together as he did."
"That night...Gokutaro broke into his father's sword hall alone."
"My father and my brother... are no match for Kitaro."
"While my father and brother were holding Kitaro, my mother stuffed me into a cabinet."
"It was a special cabinet. There was a tunnel hidden at the bottom of the cabinet. It was an escape tunnel that my father had commissioned a friend to create out of fun."
"My mother told me at that time: 'You go first, I will follow you later'."
"But I could tell at that time that my mother was completely lying. After stuffing me into the cabinet, she also wanted to do her best to hold back Ji Tairou and buy me time to escape like my father and brother did..."
"As soon as my mother stuffed me into the cabinet, I passed through the gap in the cabinet and saw Kitaro walking into the room with a bleeding knife..."
"I saw with my own eyes how Ji Taro killed my mother..."
"I was completely shocked..."
"After seeing my mother being killed, I was completely stupid and got into the escape passage in the cupboard and ran for my life..."
Ogata clearly felt Gua Sheng's arms around his neck trembling slightly.
"After I ran away until I had no strength to run anymore, I realized belatedly that I had no family anymore..."
"But maybe it's because I shouldn't have taken my life... Not long after I saved my life, I happened to meet Mr. Shirobei who was on a business trip to Kamakura for some official business."
"I told Lord Shirobei what happened to me. Lord Shirobei sympathized with me for becoming an orphan, so he brought me to Edo."
"So I started working at the Shirobei Club..."
"Shirobei-sama changed my name for me in order to protect me from possible pursuit."
“The original ‘Gua Shenghui’ was changed to the current ‘Gua Shengxiu’.”
"Although I managed to survive in secret, I have never forgotten the hatred of my family being killed."
"I was practicing my sword skills while investigating who was the person who killed my family."
"The weapons used by the people who killed my whole family were two swords. Very few people use these weapons. In addition, I clearly remember the appearance of the murderer. It took me nearly three years until the end of last year to find out.
I finally found out that the person who killed my family was the 'Four Heavenly Kings' Gokutaro in Shiranui..."
"After learning that my enemy was a behemoth like Shiranui... To be honest, I was very desperate at the time."
A wry smile slowly appeared on Guasheng's face.
Melon's eye sockets were also slightly red at this time.
"Not long after I learned that my enemy was Shiranui, I met Gokutaro again."
"A few months ago, after Shiranui moved his base to Edo, Kitaro would come to Yoshiwara every night to have fun."
"I recognized this person at first sight as the enemy who killed my parents and brother."
"Every time I see him in Yoshiwara, I want to go up with a knife and kill him..."
"But I know this is just wishful thinking."
"I understand very well that even after four years of hard training, I still can't be the opponent of Kitaro who could easily kill his father."
"If you rush forward with a sword to take revenge, you will definitely die."
"While I was holding back, I was thinking about ways to take revenge on Kitaro and Shiranui."
"Then...I met someone by chance."
"A... shinobi from Shiranui who happened to be on a mission near Yoshiwara."
"Although he is a ninja in Shiranui, he hates Shiranui extremely."
"I met him by chance. After we got to know each other, he proposed to me that we should work together to help the 'Ku' in Shiranui escape from Shiranui."
"He always wanted to help those poor dirt."
"But he suffers from the lack of support from people outside the village, and it is difficult to completely send 'Ku' away from under Shiranui's nose."
"So he hopes that I, who also has a grudge against Shiranui, can help."
"Thanks to him, I found a way to take revenge on Shiranui."
A smile finally appeared on Guasheng's face.
"'Ku' is an important labor force in Shiranui."
"Once the number of 'Ku' decreases, the daily operations of Shiranui will be greatly affected."
"To reduce the labor force in Shiranui, destroy the daily operations of Shiranui, and free the people who are oppressed by Shiranui - this is the only revenge that I, who have no strength, can carry out."
"So that person and I started to cooperate and started our own unique way of revenge."
"That person found an extremely secret passage out of the village in Shiranui."
"He will first help Kuu take this passage out of the village and leave Shiranui."
"Then I, who is familiar with Edo and can move freely outside Shiranui, will help Kuu leave Edo."
"That person and I have helped a lot of 'Ku' escape in the past few months."
"It's a pity that the fact that we helped 'Zu' escape was exposed."
"After that person got wind of it, he defected from Shiranui before he was arrested, and then found me."
"He told me to run away quickly."
"With Shiranui's ability, it's just a matter of time before he finds out that I am his helper."
"But I refused."
"I don't want to run away."
"I was forced to leave my home once four years ago."
"And now...I would rather die than leave my home again."
"So I decided to stay."
"Silently waiting for the ninjas from Shiranui who may come to your door at any time, and then fight them to the death."
Speaking of this, Gua Sheng changed into a half-joking tone.
"When the ninjas from Shiranui come to my door, I will definitely die."
"So in the past few days, I have quietly prepared the funeral arrangements."
"I told the trustworthy Wind Chime Master the location of the money I have saved over the years."
"Let me take out this money after my death and use it in useful ways."
Ogata has been listening quietly.
After Gua Sheng's words fell, Ogata said softly:
"...I'm sorry. I seem to have made you recall some not-so-good past..."
"It's okay." Gua Sheng smiled, "I'm not a child anymore. I won't be in a bad mood or look depressed just because I recall some unhappy past."
call--!
Just then, a strong wind blew.
My hair was blown wildly.
A piece of paper tucked into the lapel of her yukata was blown away by the sudden strong wind.
"ah!"
Guasheng let out a small scream and hurriedly reached out to grab the piece of paper, which almost flew away.
"What a risk..." Gua Sheng muttered, "I almost got blown away."
Take a look at the thread direction.
"Why are you still carrying this thing?" Ogata raised his eyebrows.
The piece of paper in Guasheng's hand that was almost blown away was Ogata's portrait.
After being kicked away by Gokutaro and hit the wall, causing the unglued portrait of Ogata to fall off, Kuazo picked up the portrait and stuffed it into the lapel of his yukata.
"This is my treasure..."
Gua Sheng looked at the portrait of Ogata in his hand, and his eyes slowly softened.
"It was Ogata-sama's story that inspired me."
"At the end of last year, after I finally found out that my enemy was Shiranui, I was so desperate that I didn't know what to do."
"How can I take revenge on such a behemoth..."
"When I was desperate, I heard Ogata-sama's story."
"Ogata-sama is going through something similar to me."
"The master's family was massacred, and the enemy was the lord of a vassal."
"If you fail, you will die; if you succeed, you will be wanted nationwide."
"Even so, Ogata-sama still raised his sword to avenge himself and those who were harmed by the tyrant Matsudaira Gennai."
"It may be an exaggeration to say this, but after hearing Ogata-sama's story, I really feel that the whole world has become brighter."
"I respect you very much... and at the same time I envy Lord Ogata for his successful revenge."
"In order to motivate myself, I posted Ogata-sama's portrait on the wall of my house."
"If it hadn't been for Ogata-sama, I might still be living in despair now. I wouldn't be like now, resolutely doing everything I can to take revenge on Shiranui."
"In addition to motivating myself, I also make wishes to Ogata-sama's portrait from time to time."
"...Make a wish?" Ogata asked doubtfully.
"Yes." Gua Sheng nodded gently, "I will make a wish to Ogata's portrait every day: I hope Lord Ogata can help me get revenge."
"Ogata-sama is very powerful and can do things that I can't do. Even the 'Four Heavenly Kings' in Shiranui may not be his opponent."
"So I have been looking forward to the day in the future that Ogata-sama will appear in Edo just like he suddenly appeared in Kyoto a few months ago."
"Then, just like the tyrant who killed the Hirose Domain, kill Shiranui Sato."
"Just like you helped a lot of people who had grudges against Matsudaira Gennai to avenge you, you also helped me avenge..."
"But I also know that this is wishful thinking."
Guasheng smiled, with a hint of helplessness in his smile.
"The world is so big, how could Lord Ogata happen to appear in Edo by such a coincidence, and then happen to help me take revenge..."
A faint smile slowly appeared at the corner of Ogata's slightly upturned mouth.
"'Executioner Ittosai' is actually just an ordinary person."
"He is not a god."
"There is no need to respect and worship him as a 'god'."
"There is no need to call him 'sir'."
"Ogata-sama may have many strange problems, and you may be disillusioned with him after knowing about them."
"For example: He is actually a very lustful person. When he sees a girl with big breasts, he can't help but glance at her breasts, or he just falls in love with her at first sight because of her big breasts and good looks.
"
"Hey! Don't speak ill of Ogata-sama! Don't make Ogata-sama so superficial!"
Because one hand was holding Ogata's portrait and the other was around Ogata's neck, it was inconvenient for Gua Sheng to teach Ogata a lesson for daring to speak ill of her idol.
So, she buried her head and bit Ogata's neck with her teeth like a vampire.
Guasheng didn't use any force, but it still gave Ogata the feeling of being pricked by a small needle.
Just when Ogata was about to say something, he suddenly heard a sharp sound of breaking wind coming from behind him.
Hearing this breaking sound, Ogata's pupils shrank suddenly.
Carrying the melon on his back, he quickly jumped to the side.
As soon as he jumped away, there was a kunai with huge power, cutting the air where Ogata was standing just now.
The next moment after jumping away, Ogata immediately looked in the direction where the kunai had just flown.
I saw a blurry figure slowly walking out of the shadows not far away.
After stepping out of the shadows and the moonlight shining on the figure, Ogata and Gua Sheng finally saw the true face of the figure.
It's Gokutaro.
Jitaro is holding two swords, and his current appearance is quite strange.
The veins exposed outside the clothes popped out.
The skin appears dark red.
Ogata could vaguely see some thin gas similar to steam spurting out from Kitaro's body.
Looking at Jitaro who had become like this, Ogata frowned and whispered in a low voice that only he could hear clearly:
"'Yaksha Realm'..."
It was the first time for Gua Sheng to see the appearance of a person who had entered the "Yaksha Realm", so he looked at Taro Ji in confusion and shock.
Of course, Gua Sheng also had hatred for Ji Tairou in his eyes.
After walking out of the shadow where he had just been hiding, Gokutaro showed a ferocious smile to Ogata and Guao.
"Finally let me find you."
Gokutaro fixed his gaze on Ogata.
"You bastard."
"Just because of you, I wasted a precious 'Yaksha Pill'!"
"I will definitely chop you up tonight!"
Faced with Ji Tairou's threat, Ogata remained unmoved. His expression didn't even change at all, and he just said calmly:
"It's a shame you found this place."
"Ah, I'm really lucky! It seems that you two are destined to die here tonight!"
In order to recover the escaped melons and ensure the success of the mission, Kitaro resolutely took the precious "Yaksha Pill".
After entering the "Yaksha Realm", Gokutaro relied on his soaring physical fitness, leaving Eitaro and others who could not keep up with his speed, and went to recover the escaped melons alone.
Since he had no idea which direction Gua Sheng escaped from, Ji Taro could only try his luck.
Ji Taro first followed the southeast direction to find it.
Because he entered the "Yaksha Realm", Kitaro ran extremely fast.
After quickly searching around the southeast and finding no trace of Gua Sheng, Gokutaro decisively changed the search direction and searched for the northeast.
Just like Jitaro said just now - he is very lucky.
After changing his search direction to the northeast, Gokutaro immediately saw Ogata running away with melons on his back.
Gua Sheng didn't know what was going on with Kitaro's appearance, but she instinctively felt that Kitaro was in danger now.
After biting his lower lip hard, Gua Sheng put his lips to Asa Ogata's ear and whispered:
"Mashima-kun, thank you for coming to save me. Put me down now and run away."
"You don't need to continue taking risks for me..."
"I'll help you buy time to escape."
After entering the "Yaksha Realm", Kitaro's senses became much sharper.
Ji Tairou heard these whispers between Gua Sheng and Ogata clearly.
"Neither of you two can escape!"
Ji Tairou's facial features became ferocious.
"Gua Shengxiu! You can't even block one of my moves! You still want to buy this guy time to escape!"
"It's better to talk less in your sleep."
Having said this, Gokutaro turned his attention to Ogata again.
"You have harmed Gua Shengxiu in disguise."
"I originally didn't want to do anything to Gua Shengxiu, I just wanted to kill her directly."
"But thanks to you, I'm so angry now."
"I won't let you two die so easily now."
"I've played so many Yoshihara girls, but I've never played Yoshihara's official servant."
"I'm going to take Gua Shengxiu back and kill him when I'm tired of playing with him!"
"As for you... I will also take you back, torture you until you are inhuman form, and then kill you!"
Ji Tairou's humiliation of not taking them seriously made Gua Sheng's face full of grief and anger.
The grief and anger are mixed with a little despair and unwillingness.
And a touch of fear.
The arms wrapped around Ogata's neck were also trembling slightly.
Just when Gua Sheng suppressed the fear and despair in his heart and was about to say to Ogata, "Run quickly, I will stop the queen"...
…
…
"Miss Guasheng, although it may be a little late to say this now, your wish just now... I did hear it."
…
…
As Ogata said this, he put down the melon on his back, and then walked slowly to the opposite side of Kitaro.
Gua Sheng, who realized what Ogata was going to do, let out a scream:
"Mashima-kun, what are you doing? Run away quickly!"
Ogata seemed not to have heard Gua Sheng's words, and stared expressionlessly at Gokutaro who was directly opposite him.
Looking at Ogata who did not run away, but walked directly opposite him, making it clear that he wanted to confront him, a hint of sarcasm appeared on Kitaro's face.
"Humph, you, a nobody, are not qualified to be my opponent!"
"Fine!"
Gokutaro sneered and raised the sword in both hands.
"Let you see the strength of the 'Four Heavenly Kings' in Shiranui!"
"...An unknown person?" Ogata, who had been expressionless just now, now had a strange smile on his face.
Ogata raised his left hand and touched the skin under the lobe of his right ear.
Like picking up dead skin, pinch the skin under the earlobe of your right ear, and then...
Hiss!
In front of Kitaro and Gua Sheng, Ogata tore off the human skin mask from his face.
Revealing his true face.
From "Mashima Goro" to "Ogata Issei"!
After Ogata tore off the human skin mask on his face, both Gokutaro and Guaou were stunned.
Ji Taro recognized this face.
After the mission to defend Nijo Castle failed, the wanted order for the culprit who caused their mission to fail spread throughout Shiranui.
Every ninja in Shiranui is required to remember this face and take revenge on this bastard who caused their important mission to fail.
The face that he had long been tired of seeing on the wanted poster appeared in front of Kitaro's eyes, causing his mouth to open involuntarily.
As for melon seeds...
After he saw Ogata tear off the "face" of "Mashima Goro" and reveal his true appearance under the human skin mask, he was as stunned as Gokutaro at first.
Then he quickly lowered his head to look at the portrait of Ogata in his hand.
He looked at Ogata's portrait for a while, then looked at Ogata's face in the distance.
Constantly comparing.
After comparing it countless times and confirming that the person in front of him was the person in the portrait, Guasheng's lips began to tremble slightly.
Guasheng couldn't help but raise his hands and cover his trembling red lips, covering his mouth that was about to scream.
A pair of beautiful big eyes began to become moist as the eye sockets turned red.
After tearing off the human skin mask, Ogata put the mask away in his arms while slowly adjusting his breathing rhythm.
Adjust your breathing to the breathing of the source.
The next moment when the breath becomes the breath of the source——
[Ding! The host enters the realm of selflessness!]
[Pain perception decreased by 70%]
[Fatigue perception reduced by 70%]
【Strength increased by 15 points!】
[Increase agility by 15 points!]
[Stamina increased by 15 points! 】
[Reflex nerves increased by 15 points!]
[All martial arts levels are upgraded!]
[Martial Arts Sakakihara Ittōryu·Suiraku, promoted to the master level!]
[Martial Arts Sakakihara Ichitōryu·Bird Thorn, promoted to Grandmaster level!]
[Martial Arts Sakakihara Itto-ryu: Climb the stairs and advance to a high level!]
[Martial Arts Sakakihara Ittōryu·Dragon Tail, upgraded to a high level!]
[Martial Arts Wuwo Two Swordsman Style·Step forward and be promoted to the master level!]
[Martial Arts Wuwo Two-sword Style: Blade Reverse, promoted to Grandmaster level!]
[Martial Arts Wuwo Two Swordsman Style: Circulation, promoted to Grandmaster level!]
[Martial Arts Wuwo Two-Sword Style: Raikiri, upgraded to the intermediate level!]
[Martial Arts Wuwo Two Sword Style·Cicada Rain, promoted to the intermediate level!]
[Martial Arts Shiranui-ryu Ninjutsu and Shiranui-ryu Jujutsu, upgrade to the master level!]
[Martial Arts Shiranui-ryu Ninjutsu and Shiranui-ryu Stealth Technique, upgraded to a high level!]
…
"How about it? Lord 'Four Heavenly Kings', is 'Executioner Ittousai' qualified to be your opponent?"
After saying that, without waiting for Gokutaro's response, Oburo rushed straight towards Gokutaro like an arrow from a string.
While rushing towards Gokutaro, Ogata pulled out the Daishiten and Daizizao from his waist.
Ogata's speed was far beyond Kitaro's imagination, making Kitaro's face full of horror.
clang!
He reluctantly raised the two swords in his hands and blocked Ogata's slashing blow.
But the next moment when he blocked Ogata's slash, Gokutaro suddenly felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. After the knife was held by Gokutaro, Ogata immediately flew up and hit Gokutaro's belly with his knee.
belly.
Gokutaro was pushed directly by Ogata's knee and flew backwards, hitting a willow tree behind him heavily.
"Cough, cough...!"
After the willow tree caught him firmly, Kitaro coughed violently.
While coughing, he raised his head - and saw Ogata holding two swords and slowly walking towards him with an expressionless face.
The ferocity and arrogance were gone from Ji Tairou's face at this time.
Instead of ferociousness and arrogance, there was shock and fear.