The nine individuals suddenly blocking Aoto's path formed a solid human wall, cutting him off from the bearded man.
All of them, whether the nine halting Aoto's way forward or the nine obstructing his rear, without exception, wore a long and short sword at their waists.
Seeing this, Aoto's face darkened, and he paused, his straw sandals scraping out two white streaks on the dust-covered ground.
In the blink of an eye as he steadied himself, Aoto raised his left hand to secure the Ghost-Slaying at his left waist.
His gaze, traveling from back to front, swept over the faces of the eighteen samurai boxing him into this alley with a pincer-like formation.
Aoto wasn't very familiar with this neighborhood, only vaguely noticing during the chase that it was a samurai-populated district, sparsely peopled and quite desolate.
In Edo, many samurai districts were similarly deserted.
