Chapter 430 The man born for the sword 【Explosion 1W】
With an expression of disbelief, Eitaro stared at Ogata who had severely wounded him with a knife.
A large amount of blood surged into his mouth, but Eitaro still resisted the blood that surged into his mouth, and asked Ogata vaguely:
"what have you done……?"
No matter what, Eitaro couldn't believe what just happened in front of him.
Ogata, who was already covered with bruises and could not even breathe evenly, suddenly ran in front of Eitaro at a speed that was too fast for him to react, and gave him a fatal wound.
This feeling is like seeing a mouse suddenly fly.
"I didn't do anything." Ogata said softly, "I saw that your spirit was a little slack just now, so I ran over and killed you with a knife - it's that simple."
"You..." Eitaro seemed to want to say something more.
But more and more blood poured out of his throat, and the remaining strength in his body became weaker and weaker, leaving Eitaro without the strength to speak.
After vomiting several more mouthfuls of blood, Eitaro finally fell heavily to the ground.
After Eitaro fell to the ground, Ogata couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
And this magical state disappeared after Eitaro fell to the ground.
I can no longer perceive myself or everything around me.
As soon as this magical state disappeared, Ogata had to exit the "selfless state" due to exhaustion of physical strength.
As soon as he exited the state of "selflessness", a strong feeling of exhaustion spread throughout Ogata's body, as if his whole body was covered with a towel that had absorbed enough water.
——I don’t know how Amachi and Miss Lin are doing now...
While Ogata wiped the sweat and blood from his face, he cast his gaze to the distance where the sound of cannon fire was no longer heard.
…
…
Time goes back to when Lin and others had just separated from Genichi——
After Genichi pulled out his Yang Shen and Flame Fusion, the Iga ninjas headed by Hannosuke spread out and surrounded Genichi in a strange formation.
The people in the circle closest to Genichi were armed with ninja swords and other melee weapons.
The people in the circle closest to Yuan Yi are holding scythes, shurikens and other weapons that can carry out long-range attacks.
There was no need for Hannosuke to issue any orders or instructions. After completing the siege of Genichi, the Iga ninjas immediately launched an attack on Genichi.
The first to attack were the ninjas armed with long-range weapons.
The ninjas standing at the outermost edge of the formation threw out their scythes and shurikens.
Each scythe and shuriken shot towards Source One through different trajectories.
There were scythes and shurikens coming from all directions, but Genichi's expression did not change.
With his feet sliding, he relied on his superb footwork to dodge all the incoming scythes and shurikens.
However, while Genichi was dodging the scythes and shurikens that were attacking him, the ninjas who were closer to Genichi and were armed with ninja swords and other melee weapons stepped forward and launched an attack.
These ninjas responsible for close combat took advantage of every opportunity to attack, and attacked Genichi who was dodging scythes, shurikens and other objects.
For these melee ninjas who were attacking him, Genichi only dodged or defended, but did not launch a counterattack against them.
Genichi just dodged the continuous attacks launched against him by the Iga ninjas, while observing the formation of the Iga ninjas.
--I see……
Yuan Yi thought to himself.
——They must have been training this formation for a long time.
There were more than 20 people, some of whom stood on the outermost perimeter to conduct long-range attacks, while others stood on the innermost side to engage in close combat against the enemies trapped in the formation.
Yuan Yi also learned weapons like the lock sickle.
As a strange weapon, there is no doubt that the locking sickle is extremely difficult to master.
To throw such a heavy sickle or hammer out hard and then retract it steadily - just by reading this description, you can feel how difficult it is to use a weapon like a locking sickle.
For those who use the locking sickle for the first time, let alone hitting the target, it is very good to not injure themselves when retracting the thrown sickle and hammer.
According to source 1's visual inspection, there are a total of 8 people standing on the outermost side of the formation using lock scythes to conduct long-range attacks.
These 8 people used the scythe at the same time, a weapon with a wide attack range and easy to accidentally injure one's own people. However, until now, they have never accidentally injured their companions, or let their scythes accidentally collide with other people's scythes in mid-air.
Collide together.
The same is true for these ninjas who are responsible for close combat. After they launched an attack on Yuanyi, until now, they have not accidentally injured their companions or accidentally hindered their companions' attacks.
"Ninja 1" and "Ninja 2" came forward together to attack the source. The two attacks were full of tacit understanding, and their advance and retreat were well-founded. There would never be a situation where "Ninja 1" hindered "Ninja 2".
The Iga ninjas in this formation cooperated seamlessly, and the more than twenty ninjas seemed to have become one body.
"Hello!"
While Genichi dodged and defended himself against the waves of attacks launched by the Iga ninjas, he turned to Hannosuke who was standing not far away and looked at him coldly and asked.
"Is this formation specifically used by you to target me?"
"...That's right." Hannosuke said solemnly, "This formation with both range and close attack was designed by me myself!"
"I spent countless years designing this formation!"
"Then it took me countless years for my subordinates to practice and get used to this formation!"
"Then I used this formation to defeat countless military masters, and accumulated sufficient experience against the enemy!"
"Although it cost a lot to get this formation into shape, it was all worth it!"
Hannosuke became more and more excited as he talked.
There was not a single lie in what he just said, they were all true.
Since the demise of Iga no Sato, Hannosuke has been thinking about ways to defeat Kinoshita Genichi.
He had seen with his own eyes what Kinoshita Genichi looked like with two swords in his hands, going all out - like an evil ghost.
Although he was very reluctant to admit it, Hannosuke had to face this cruel fact: He alone, even if he had practiced hard for a hundred years, was by no means a match for Kinoshita Genichi.
If he wanted to kill Kinoshita Genichi, the only way Hannosuke could think of was to use the human sea tactic.
And you can't simply pile up the number of people, you need a formation to maximize the advantage of the number of people.
So Hannosuke spent many years studying the formation that can maximize combat power.
Then he went around looking for seedlings with potential that were worth cultivating, taught them the ninjutsu of Iga, and trained them into ninjas of Iga. Then he let them learn and practice the formation designed by Hannosuke.
Back and forth, I don’t know how many years it took.
Although it took many, many years, as Hannosuke said just now - although it cost a lot, it was all worth it.
Hannosuke felt that his heart was beating very fast now.
It was so fast that it felt like his heart was about to jump out of his throat.
After waiting for 40 years, they finally saw Yuan Yi again, and finally allowed the formation they had worked so hard to hone to deal with Yuan Yi.
If possible, Hannosuke would like to directly raise his sword and join the formation.
It's a pity that Hannosuke's physical strength no longer allows him to do this.
Hannosuke is now an old man over 60 years old. Now he can't even hold a knife firmly.
In his current state, raising a sword and joining the formation would only hinder him. Therefore, Hannosuke could only resist the idea of stepping forward to avenge Iga no Sato in person, standing outside the formation, far away
He looked at Genichi who was being surrounded by his subordinates.
Looking at Genichi, whose steps were slowly becoming less nimble in the center of the formation, a look of pride appeared along with the slightly upward corners of Hannosuke's mouth.
Hannosuke is determined to take Genichi's head today.
Not only because he has great confidence in the strength of his men and his formation.
It's because Yuan Yi is no longer the young man in his prime 40 years ago.
Now Genichi is just like him - his hair and beard are all gray, and his skin is wrinkled like a piece of dried orange peel.
——Yuanyi...
Hannosuke said excitedly in his heart.
——No matter how strong you are, you are only a mortal body. Even you cannot escape the aging of your body...!
…
…
Just now, Genichi had been dodging the continuous attacks coming towards him from all directions, while quietly listening to Hannosuke introduce the formation specially designed to deal with him.
After Hannosuke finished speaking, Genichi smiled slightly.
"I see, in order to defeat me, a formation was specially designed..."
"This formation is indeed very powerful."
"Both close and long range attacks."
"Even if I just dodge or defend, I won't be able to stay in this formation for too long."
"so what……"
Yuan Yi took a deep breath.
A ninja standing on the side of Yuan just raised his ninja sword high and struck at Yuan.
This time, Yuan Yi did not dodge or defend.
Instead, after slowly exhaling the air sucked into the lungs by the lever, Yogami waved his right hand at a speed that was so fast that Hannosuke standing on the outside of the formation opened his eyes wide.
Yang Shen took the shortest route across the ninja's throat.
"I have to show some real skills." Yuan Yi announced to everyone present in a calm tone.
After killing the ninja next to him with one sword, Yuan Yi quickly pressed his body weight, and then his whole body turned into an afterimage of the sword and dodged towards the ninja closest to him.
When Genichi was dodging towards this ninja, a scythe flew towards him from his left rear.
But Yuan Yi seemed to have eyes on his back. With a wave of Yanrong with his left hand, he knocked down the scythe and then steadily arrived in front of the ninja closest to him.
Step in, bend and stretch your upper body, and chop the knife vertically from bottom to top.
Another ninja was beheaded to death by Genichi.
Because Genichi's speed was so fast, the ninja didn't have time to defend or counterattack until he was killed.
If someone with profound knowledge in swordsmanship were to watch the two slashes made by Yuan Yi just now, he might be shocked from ear to ear by the power of these two slashes made by Yuan Yi.
The two slashes that Yuan Yi just made were not so powerful.
But it's just too accurate.
Hit the enemy's vital point very accurately, and the force used is just enough to take away the enemy's life, no more, no less.
This extremely precise slash can not only kill the enemy with the highest efficiency, but also save one's own physical strength to the greatest extent.
Hannosuke is naturally the kind of person who can understand how exquisite Genichi's swordsmanship is.
At this moment, Hannosuke's expression... was hard to describe in words.
After seeing Genichi kill two of his subordinates with extremely fast speed compared to before, Hannosuke's pupils suddenly shrank, his mouth opened wide, and his jaw seemed to be about to drop at any moment.
.
Genichi was currently focusing all his energy and attention on dealing with the ninjas around him, so he didn't see Hannosuke's wonderful expression.
Yuan's foot slipped and the ground made a sound.
After dodging again and again, Genichi's body flashed flexibly, dodging all the swords, sickles and shurikens thrown at him by the ninjas.
He rushed in front of the two ninjas, dodged once, and then dodged again. Balrog's sword silently dodged twice. The bodies of the two ninjas raised a mist of blood, and then they fell heavily to the ground.
Genichi waved the Yang Shen and Yan Rong in his hand, harvesting the lives of one Iga ninja after another.
Not a moment later, this formation that Hannosuke had high hopes for was torn open by Genichi.
After forcibly tearing a hole in the formation, Genichi ignored the ninjas responsible for melee combat who had not yet fallen. Instead, he followed the hole he tore and rushed straight towards a group of people standing on the periphery of the formation.
A famous ninja holding a scythe.
The ninja standing at the outermost edge of the formation with a scythe in his hand naturally saw how Yuan Yi killed his companions one by one with overwhelming force.
After seeing Yuan running straight towards him, he couldn't help but panic, and with a slightly messy posture, he waved the sickle in his hand and drove the sickle to cut towards Yuan.
Yuan Yi just tilted his head to avoid the sickle flying towards him.
After getting close to the ninja, Genichi killed him without swinging his sword.
Instead, he used jujitsu to bring the ninja down.
While breaking the ninja's neck, he also took away the ninja's scythe.
"The lock sickle... I haven't used it for a long time..."
After muttering like this, Yuan Yi bit Yan Rong in his mouth, then swung the scythe with his left arm, and threw the scythe heavily towards another ninja in the distance who also used the scythe, and then accurately
The ground scratched his neck.
He is obviously an old man with gray hair, and he only uses one arm to control the scythe, but the strength, speed and accuracy of the scythe thrown by Genichi are far superior to the scythes thrown by these Iga ninjas.
sickle.
"Don't be afraid! Don't panic!" Hannosuke shouted, encouraging his subordinates who were still alive, "Don't panic! Surround him again!"
Hannosuke's encouragement is still effective.
After hearing Hannosuke's shouts, the ninjas who were already panic-stricken regained their composure.
But this has no effect.
Regaining their composure does not help them defeat Yuan Yi.
Yuan Yi was still killing their companions one by one, like chopping melons and vegetables.
Soon, less than 8 of the Iga ninjas, including Hannosuke, were still standing.
As for the morale and fighting spirit of these Iga ninjas who were still alive, there was no doubt that they had collapsed.
The remaining people who are still alive are basically people who have just joined Hannosuke's command, or who are not strong enough in fighting will in the first place - because those who are loyal enough to Iga or strong enough in fighting will have just been very...
He bravely rushed forward to attack Yuan Yi, but was knocked down by Yuan Yi with his sword.
Facing the overwhelming power of Genichi, the fear of death in their hearts still overwhelmed their loyalty to Iga.
Even though Hannosuke shouted until his voice became hoarse, and even swung his sword to kill a ninja who tried to escape, he was unable to stop the rest of the group from fleeing.
In the end——only half-nosuke, all-nosuke, and new-nosuke remained.
The three of them, headed by Hannosuke, were all survivors after the destruction of Iga no Sato 40 years ago.
These three elderly people stared at Yuan Yi who was walking toward them with a knife.
His eyes were filled with anger, surprise and shock.
"Your subordinates are still very good." Yuan Yi said softly, "The skills are not bad, and the fighting will is not bad. They collapsed after beating only a few people. If it were another organization, I'm afraid they would have been knocked down by me.
After half of their companions, they fled in all directions."
After all, there are only a handful of organizations that can fight to the bitter end without retreating.
So just like what Genichi said just now - the performance of the Iga ninjas just now was considered to be excellent. After more than 20 people were beaten to less than 10 people, they began to collapse.
Although their subordinates had to flee to death, the three survivors after the destruction of Iga no Sato, led by Hannosuke, still stood firmly on the spot without any intention of escaping.
The three of them drew their respective ninja swords with dark faces.
"Kinoshita Genichi!" Hannosuke held the ninja sword in his hand tightly and roared at Genichi, "Why? Why is it that only you are always special?!"
There was a hint of crying in Hannosuke's voice.
"Obviously you are already a gray-haired old man, but you still possess such strong power!"
"Why?!"
"Why are you always the most special one?!"
Speaking of this, Hanosuke's eyes began to turn slightly red.
As of less than a stick of incense, Hannosuke was still full of confidence in his subordinates and their formation. He firmly believed that they would be able to kill Kinoshita Genichi this time and bring peace to the grudge that had lasted for 40 years.
A happy ending.
No matter how strong a person is, their body will still start to weaken with age. Hannosuke doesn't believe that they can't even cope with Kinoshita Genichi who is so old that he has no black hair.
However... just one stick of incense later, Hannosuke's self-confidence was completely shattered by Genichi with his two swords.
Hannosuke felt very angry and...unwilling.
He didn't understand why Yuan Yi had such strong power even at this age.
After Hannosuke and the others passed the age of 60, they began to become incapable of wielding a sword.
The agility of my steps has also been greatly weakened. Not only is my speed slow, but I often make stupid mistakes like accidentally tripping my right foot with my left foot.
If it weren't for their failing health, Hannosuke and the others would not have been standing at the outermost edge of the formation, leaving the important task of killing Genichi to their subordinates.
So Hanosuke was very reluctant.
I feel extremely unwilling that Yuan Yi will always be the special one.
40 years ago, Hannosuke witnessed with his own eyes the heroic fighting appearance of Genichi who was in his prime at that time.
Genichi, who was only 24 years old at the time, showed that he was far more powerful than his peers.
Now Genichi is 64 years old, but he is still far ahead of his peers.
People of his age like Hannosuke are no longer able to hold their swords steadily, but Genichi's steps are still agile and his cuts are still sharp.
This strong unwillingness made Hannosuke's eyes turn red involuntarily, and there was a cry in his voice.
As soon as Hannosuke finished crying, the expressionless Genichi said quietly without thinking:
"Because - I haven't aged at all."
After finishing speaking, Yuan Yi turned into an afterimage again.
Hannosuke and the other three, who were too old to hold the sword steadily, naturally had no chance of winning.
The three of them knew that they had no chance of winning.
But they still chose to fight Yuan Yi to the end.
While letting out an angry roar as if he wanted to let out the anger that had been accumulated in his chest for 40 years, he waved his sword towards Genichi who was charging towards them.
The swords of the three of them could not even touch the corner of Kata Genichi's clothes, so they were each hit in vital parts by three rays of sword light...
…
…
When Hannosuke and the others fell, their eyes were still wide with anger and unwillingness. They fell to the ground while staring at Genichi.
Until he died, he stared at Yuan Yi.
With this look, it was as if he wanted to remember Yuan Yi's face firmly in his eyes, and then go to hell with the memory of Yuan Yi's face.
Minamoto didn't care about Hannosuke and the others' behavior of glaring at him before dying.
After all - he has long been used to it.
"Okay..." Yuan Yi took a deep breath while sheathing the knife, "Where are Xiaolin and the others now..."
Yuan Yi turned his gaze to the direction where Lin and the others left just now.
However - just when Genichi was about to take off to chase Lin and the others, he suddenly heard a series of slow footsteps coming from behind him.
Following the sound, the figure appearing in Yuan Yi's eyes made Yuan Yi frown involuntarily.
"The Balrog...?"
"Genichi, am I right? As long as I see you, nothing good will happen. I only left Shiranui for half a day, and Shiranui has been tortured into what he is now."
The figure approaching from behind Yuan Yi and walking slowly towards Yuan Yi was none other than Enma.
Enma, who was wearing what looked like a newly purchased bamboo hat on his head, stopped when he was nearly 10 steps away from Yuan Yi.
The words Enma said to him in the early hours of this morning are still in Yuan Yi's ears.
After frowning and looking at Enma up and down for a while, Yuan Yi asked in a deep voice:
"...What are you doing back here? Didn't you say that you no longer intend to be Enma in Shiranui and no longer have anything to do with Shiranui?"
There was some confusion in Yuan Yi's tone.
I don’t understand what the fire demon is doing now that he has come back.
"yes……"
Enma's face was expressionless and his tone was very soft.
"I did tell you so..."
"And in fact, I did."
"Just now, I have bought all the items for the long journey, bought dry food for the road, and actually walked on the road leaving Edo."
"I... really want to leave Shiranui completely like this..."
"But..."
Balrog slowly lowered his head.
The wide brim of the bamboo hat on his head covered his face, making it difficult for Yuan Yi to see his current expression.
"Genichi...can you see it?"
"I saw...the ghosts entangled in me..."
"The Balrogs of the previous generation, my former partners, their faces full of expectations for me, keep appearing in my mind."
“The promise I made to them to ‘revitalize Shiranui’ echoed in my mind over and over again.”
"I... don't want to remember this."
"But the more I try not to think of these, the more frequently these memories appear..."
"When I came back to my senses..."
The Balrog raised his head again.
"I'm already back here..."
Enma's face was no longer as expressionless as before, but instead showed a look full of bitterness.
But in this bitter expression, the light of "firmness" gradually bloomed in Balrog's eyes.
Balrog raised his hand, untied the bamboo hat on his head, and continued to speak.
"The revitalization of Shiranui was the Enma of the previous generation... no, it was our long-cherished wish of Shiranui."
"As expected... I can't completely abandon this long-cherished wish that has lasted for 200 years..."
Balrog smiled bitterly.
There is a smile that abandons everything and sees through everything.
"I don't know, and I don't really want to know why you came to trouble me Shiranui this time."
"I just need to know that you are now my enemy in Shiranui."
"Draw your sword, Genichi."
Enma threw away the bamboo hat in his hand, raised his hand, pressed the hilt of the Ninja Sword on his left waist, and while drawing out his Ninja Sword inch by inch, he announced to Genichi word by word:
"I want to bring Shiranui back from hell!"
"...You can't bring it back." Yuan Yi's tone was very calm, "The era of ninjas has passed."
"Then I'll show you!!" Balrog took out a black pill and swallowed it in one gulp.
"...It seems that the Flame Demon is really back." Yuan Yi twitched the corner of his mouth, showing a faint smile with unknown meaning, then raised his hands and pulled out the Yang Shen and Yan Rong from his waist again.
As Yuan Yi unsheathed his sword, his chest began to rise and fall with a special rhythm.
Strange rays of light began to burst out from Yuan Yi's eyes.
After Yuan Yi entered the "selfless state", Enma's skin gradually turned dark red, and a thin, steam-like gas began to emerge from his skin.
"Come on...Juggernaut!"
"Come here! Balrog!"
Balrog was the first to strike.
He aimed the tip of his ninja sword at Genichi, and the tip of the knife struck Genichi straight on his shoulder.
Genichi stepped back, turned the sword to the side, and then swung the sun god in his right hand to slash at Enma.
Balrog also jumped back nimbly, dodging Yuan Yi's sword.
Then Balrog raised his sword and held eight pairs of them, and ran towards the source with a big stride.
This time, facing the Balrog attacking him, Yuan Yi did not dodge or defend. Instead, he lowered the tips of Yangshen and Yanrong's swords, adopted a lower sword stance, and faced the Balrog.
The two of them passed by each other.
At the moment when they intertwined, their bodies seemed to be tightly connected. The long sword in Yuan Yi's hand drew two streaks of white light.
The two of them staggered, and a cloud of blood mist spurted out from the Balrog's body.
Yuanyu had just succeeded in leaving a big gash in Balrog's chest.
After lowering his eyes and looking at the large gash on his chest, Enma's face showed a bit of astonishment and helplessness.
Just by the knife that Yuan Yi slashed on his chest just now, Enma could see that he was no longer a match for Yuan Yi.
——Genichi...Why are you still so powerful even at this age?
Balrog gritted his teeth.
Although he knew that he could not defeat Yuan Yi, he still resisted the stinging pain in his chest and turned around to fight with Yuan Yi again.
Genichi's Yang Shen and Enrong collided with Enma's ninja sword in mid-air.
The sparks erupted from the friction between the blades repeatedly illuminated the faces of the two old men, Genichi and Enma, illuminating their gray hair and beards.
Obviously both of them have gray hair, and both of them are at an age where most people can't even walk fast, but they can use extremely agile movements to fight fierce battles that would put all young people to shame.
.
Balrog used all he had learned throughout his life in this battle.
And Yuan Yi also tensed up every nerve in his body, neutralizing every attack from Balrog, and launched a counterattack that was far sharper than Balrog's attack.
The Balrog who has entered the "Yaksha Realm" is very powerful - there is no doubt about it.
But facing Yuan Yi who had entered the "selfless realm", Balrog was still suppressed by him.
Although Balrog still managed to inflict some wounds on Yuan Yi, the speed at which new injuries appeared on his body was much faster than the speed at which he inflicted injuries on Yuan Yi.
As the battle became increasingly fierce, more and more doubts began to emerge from the heart of Balrog.
He always felt that there was always a sense of disharmony in Yuan Yi.
An indescribable feeling of disharmony.
For some reason, Enma felt that the source in front of him was strange.
But I can’t say why it’s strange…
…
…
The two missed each other again.
Yang Shen's sword flashed across Balrog's flank, and Balrog hit the ground with one shoulder.
The high-intensity battle and massive blood loss had already made Balrog feel dizzy and unconscious.
But after falling to the ground, he gritted his teeth and stood up quickly again.
However, as soon as he stood up, Enma was so shocked by the sight in front of him that his pupils shrank.
"Genichi...?"
When he got up again and locked his eyes on Gen Yi again, for a moment, Enma saw that Gen Yi had changed into what he looked like when he was young.
His hair is jet black, his skin is tight, and every piece of flesh on his body seems to be full of vitality.
Enma raised his hand and rubbed his eyes vigorously. When he opened his eyes and looked at Yuan Yi, Yuan Yi changed back to his current gray-haired appearance.
Enma stared blankly at Yuanyi in front of him.
No longer eager to attack Yuan Yi like before.
"What's wrong?" Yuan Yi asked, "Why are you looking at me like this?"
"...Hehe...hehe." After a moment of silence, Yan Mo let out a low laugh. A complicated look slowly appeared in the eyes of Yan Mo as he looked at him, "I have been thinking about it since just now."
Wondering."
"I wonder why you, Yuan Yi, are still so strong even though you are so old."
"Even I have to use only one ninja sword due to my weakened physical strength, but you can still wield the sword freely like a young man."
"It wasn't until just now that I finally knew the answer..."
Enma looked directly into Yuan Yi's eyes.
"Yuan Yi... Although your body has aged, the light in your eyes has never weakened."
"The light in your eyes is exactly the same as when you were young...it hasn't changed at all."
"Yuanyi, why doesn't the light in your eyes fade?"
There was a hint of urgency in Balrog's tone.
As if he couldn't wait to know the answer to this question.
Until just now, Enma finally knew what was going on with the sense of dissonance he felt from Yuan Yi - the current Yuan Yi and the young Yuan Yi, whether it was in temperament, eyes, or other aspects.
In every aspect, he is exactly the same as when he was young.
Except that his body has become old, everything else remains the same as when he was young.
That's why Enma felt that weird sense of dissonance from Yuan Yi.
It is precisely because of this that in the trance just now, Yuan Yi saw what he looked like when he was young.
Genichi calmly looked at Enma who was looking at him eagerly.
"My love for swordsmanship has never grown old."
Yuan Yi said quietly.
"The light in your eyes will naturally not fade away."
"A heart that loves swordsmanship?" Enma looked confused.
"That seems to have happened 51 years ago."
A faint look of reminiscence appeared on Yuan Yi's face.
"I don't come from a family of swordsmen, and I haven't practiced swordsmanship since I was a child."
"I actually never touched a sword until I was 13 years old."
"Before I was 13 years old, I had no interest in swords or swordsmanship, and had no desire to learn swordsmanship. I just played around and spent my days doing nothing."
"It wasn't until I was 13 years old that I met a girl by chance."
"That girl is the daughter of the owner of a sword gym that teaches unofficial swordsmanship."
"That girl is very beautiful and has nice feet. I fell in love with that girl at just one glance."
"In order to get close to this girl, I decided to enter this sword hall and learn swordsmanship that I had never been interested in before."
"In order to see more of the owner's daughter, I run to the sword hall every day."
"At that time, I went to the sword hall to learn swordsmanship purely because of the owner's daughter."
"It's a pity that nothing happened between me and the museum owner's daughter."
"One year after I joined the sword academy, the owner's daughter was betrothed to a rich and powerful samurai by him."
"After the owner's daughter married someone else, she was never seen again in the sword hall."
"However - although the owner's daughter is no longer here, I haven't stopped going to the sword gym because of this."
"I still go to the sword hall every day and continue to practice swordsmanship."
"I originally had no interest in swordsmanship, but after joining the swordsmanship hall to practice swordsmanship because of my daughter, I gradually started to like swords and swordsmanship."
"I originally wielded the sword for the owner's daughter, but gradually changed to swinging the sword for myself."
"Even if there is no way to see the owner's daughter in the sword hall again, even if more painful things happen than this, I still want to continue swinging the sword."
"Although I am an old man now, my love for swords has never diminished."
Speaking of this, a faint smile began to appear on Yuan Yi's face.
"As long as there is a sword in my waist, my weak heart will continue to beat vigorously, and the blood under my old skin will continue to burn like a prairie fire."
Balrog was stunned until he heard the end.
"……So this is ah."
A bitter look appeared on Balrog's eyes and cheeks.
"Yuanyi, you have never aged."
"And I...have become too old a long time ago."
After saying that, Enma slowly raised the ninja sword in his hand.
As the ninja sword was raised, the bitterness on Enma's face slowly dissipated and was replaced by a look of determination.
"Come on, Genichi."
"After suffering so many injuries, I almost have no strength left."
"In the next move - let's decide the winner!"
"Okay!" Yuan Yi re-arranged the posture of Wuwo Erdao style.
Genichi pointed the tip of his sword at Balrog.
And the tip of Balrog's sword was also aimed at Yuan Yi.
The two only faced each other for a moment, and then they seemed to have made an agreement in advance and shot towards each other like arrows from a string.
Just when they were about to miss each other, the two launched attacks at the same time.
In that flash of light, Yanrong of Yuanyi's left hand swung his sword upwards in the stance of the lower left hand.
The shock caused numbness in Yuan Yi's palm and spread throughout Yuan Yi's entire left palm.
After missing Enma, Genichi stepped forward, suddenly turned around, and Yang Shen, who was holding his right hand, swung his sword upward again in a lower right stance.
The feel of the blade cutting into flesh is quite sufficient.
Genichi's first sword deflected the sword that Balrog struck at him.
The second sword penetrated deeply into the body of the Balrog.
The two swords of Yuan Yi are like two flying swallows flying close to the ground and then soaring into the sky.
The second knife that penetrated Balrog's body directly hit Balrog's vital part, and an exaggerated blood mist spurted out from the wound.
"Cough... cough cough..."
Balrog coughed violently, coughing up handfuls of blood and fragments of internal organs.
He was still trying to stand firm.
But it was obvious that his body, which had been severely damaged, could no longer stand.
After several struggles, Balrog lay heavily on his back.
"Yuanyi...did I lose to you again..."
Balrog, lying on his back, half-opened his eyes, looking at the blue sky above.
"It's an unexpected pleasure..."
After saying that, Balrog let out a gentle laugh.
He was defeated by Yuan Yi again, but Enma didn't feel any resentment or unwillingness.
He had tried his best and used all the tricks he could use. All he felt was the long-lost pleasure of fighting with all his strength, and a sense of relief that... I don't know how to describe in words.
"...You actually never thought about really bringing Shiranui back from the underworld, right?" Genichi said to Enma in a neither sad nor happy tone, "You just can't stand the obsession in your heart.
I wanted to seek relief from your torture, so I returned to Shiranui. I wanted to give myself an explanation, and I also wanted to give an explanation to... those who have always placed high hopes on you. Am I right?"
Enma did not answer Yuan Yi's question.
Just...smiled.
Balrog began to see abyss-like darkness appear from all sides of his field of vision, and then spread from the four sides to the middle until it covered his entire field of vision...
…
——Balrog...Sir...?
Enma looked at the image that appeared in front of him in astonishment.
…
A few beams of light suddenly appeared in the originally dark field of vision.
These bright beams of light quickly expanded, merged, and then transformed into a picture - the previous generation Enma lying on the hospital bed turned his face to look at him, raised his hand and stretched out his somewhat withered hand in his direction.
: "From now on... you are the 12th Enma. Shiranui... I leave it to you..."
Balrog remembers this scene.
This was a scene he... always remembered.
In a daze, Balrog subconsciously raised his hand and tightly held the hand of the previous Balrog.
"Lord Enma, leave it to..."
…
"...I...let's..."
Lying on the ground, the demon's pupils had begun to expand. He raised his right hand tremblingly and stretched it towards the blue sky.
The movement of the right palm is as if it is holding something.
Snapped.
His right hand, which was still holding something, fell back to the ground.
The last trace of life remaining in Balrog's eyes dissipated.
Yuan Yi, who had sheathed his sword, quietly looked at Balrog, who was in a trance, suddenly stretched out his hand towards the sky, and whispered something.
"'Leave it to me'..." Genichi walked slowly, then knelt down on one knee beside Enma's body, and repeated in a low voice what Enma had just muttered.
After staring at Balrog for a while with still calm eyes, he said softly:
"This sentence...has tortured you all your life..."
"Until the last moment before you die, these are the words that appear in your mind..."
After saying that, Yuan Yi raised his hand and gently covered Balrog's eyes.
"Rest in peace, Ichitaro. I don't have to worry about things in Shiranui anymore."
Genichi gently slid the palm covering Enma's eyes downwards and closed Enma's eyes.