Could it be...
Is the only path left really to be against Oden?
Or has he really been taken over by a demon, which is why he's acting so strange?
Hyougoro gritted his teeth and swung his sword, fighting with the samurai.
Right now, the Daimyo's forces are still strong, but they are even stronger. Although they are outnumbered, Hyougoro is much stronger than those samurai, so in a short time, they've managed to fight to a fifty-fifty situation.
However, as time goes on, Hyougoro is using more and more energy, and he's starting to struggle.
Because there are strong people on the other side too, and strong people can hold back other strong people.
And once someone is being held back, that's when the weaker ones can be useful.
*Thump!*
Someone stabbed Hyougoro in the back, and Hyougoro immediately felt a burning pain. He already had many wounds on his body.
He endured the pain, turned around, and stabbed the person behind him. He was breathing heavily.
This is where the advantage of Conqueror's Haki comes in. Even a very basic user of Conqueror's Haki can easily clear out the weaker enemies.
But in Wano Country, no one has that ability yet.
Just as Hyougoro was thinking this, suddenly a blade pierced through his body?!
?!
Hyougoro's pupils shrank. He clearly confirmed that there was no one behind him nearby, so how…?
"Hyougoro of the Flower, since you're so dedicated to protecting Himura Kenshin, then you can fall into the afterlife with him."
A very hoarse sound came from behind, like an old, broken bellows. He struggled to turn his head and only saw a...
Black Shadow?!
Yes!
A black shadow!
It had a human shape, but basically its whole body was covered in darkness, with only a pair of eyes showing. In its hand was a black long sword, and that sword was piercing through his body right now!
"You..."
Hyougoro looked at the battlefield. Many of Shimotsuki Ushimaru's men had fallen, seemingly killed by this black shadow. Even Shimotsuki Ushimaru was badly injured.
The ground was covered in corpses and blood. The government's samurai had also stopped, because they had received reinforcements. The sudden appearance of the black shadow gave the rebels an unexpected and powerful blow.
"Who are you people?"
Hyougoro said in pain.
"By our master's order, we are here to wipe out you rebels," the black shadow said.
Master...
"Is it Oden?" Hyougoro couldn't help but ask.
"How dare you speak Oden's name so casually?" the black shadow continued.
So it really is you...
Hyougoro took a long breath, and even that was extremely painful. He finally understood that Kozuki Oden had become a monster.
Not only can he control other people, but he can also create these black shadow monsters. He's not human anymore. He's not the Kozuki Oden he used to be!
It's a pity he was so foolish. It was obvious, but he only realized it now. Even Shimotsuki Ushimaru, who didn't have as much information, came to the same conclusion, but he, who was in the middle of the controversy, only understood now.
But...
It's not too late yet.
Because he won't die!
At least not now.
Because just as the black shadow was about to finish Hyougoro off, a sword light was faster than it. Although it was from a distance, it was even faster than it and chopped off its head.
"Too bad, I don't have any interest in going there before your master enters the afterlife."
In an instant, Himura Kenshin appeared.
He stood next to the black shadow. The black shadow's head fell down as if it was in slow motion, and then its whole body turned into darkness and disappeared.
He looked at the remaining black shadows, and at the stunned government soldiers, and said coldly, "Kozuki Oden is just a kid who barely escaped my sword. There's only one way I'll go to the afterlife, and that's if he runs to the afterlife to escape me."
"Himura Kenshin?!"
The government soldiers recognized Kenshin. Oden had already sent his image to all the villages, so they knew who he was!
"He actually dares to show up in front of us!"
His appearance made the government soldiers eager to move. If they could catch Kenshin, they would be rich and powerful for life. They rushed toward Kenshin like madmen.
"Kenshin, run!" Hyougoro shouted when he saw Kenshin suddenly appear.
He knew Kenshin was strong, but how could Kenshin fight a thousand people by himself?
Although there weren't a thousand enemies, there were still hundreds, including those black shadows, who became even more eager to attack Kenshin after seeing him.
But Kenshin didn't answer. He just posed to draw his sword, and said softly,
"Uncle Hyougoro, please close your eyes."
Then, in the next instant, a demon descended.
Hyougoro didn't close his eyes as Kenshin asked, so he saw that scene with his own eyes. Kenshin made the pose to draw his sword, and then in an instant, he himself was like a blade being drawn, or like a shocking thunderbolt, going into a flock of sheep and starting a slaughter.
Every single sword strike of his was accurate as he brought forth a wound upon his enemies' necks, then pointing the blade towards the next one. No one could catch Kenshin's figure, so this was just a slaughter carried out by Himura Kenshin alone!
Limbs broke apart, blood splattered, bodies fell one after another, and black shadows disappeared one after another. It felt like the slaughter had been going on for a long time, but maybe it was only a moment. Himura Kenshin moved past all of them.
And then...
He left behind a pile of corpses!
The blood dyed the earth bright red, ten times more than the blood they had shed when they were fighting back. It made the world look like an afterlife blood-hell, sending chills down people's spines!
"Himura..."
Shimotsuki Ushimaru, who was still standing, stared blankly at the scene. He looked at Himura Kenshin, whose face still had blood on it, but it wasn't his own, it was the enemies'.
He couldn't help but murmur his name.
"Himura... Kenshin?"
He couldn't believe that there was such a powerful person in this world?
So powerful that he didn't care about the army?
One person and one sword easily killed hundreds of soldiers, and it didn't even take long. It was as if so many things happened in that one moment.
So...
So scary.
Is this the swordsman who almost killed Kozuki Oden?
He really does have that strength, that courage!
If...
Shimotsuki Ushimaru looked at Himura Kenshin, who was like a killing demon, and a thought suddenly came to his mind.
If he could get Himura Kenshin to help...
Then he could overthrow the Kozuki clan's rule with just one person, right?!
Because he's too strong!
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