A cross slash followed by a jumping cross slash, then an upward sweep from below, finishing with a horizontal cut. The instantaneous assault covered over ten meters, hence the name Crossing the River—describing how beautifully it seemed to fly.
This technique worked perfectly against four-hundred-pound bruisers like Tokujiro. Against the monkey sword saints, Bella would never dare use such a gap-filled technique.
"Thwack thwack thwack"—sword light flashed in succession. Multiple cuts opened across Tokujiro's chest, the blade penetrating two finger-widths deep before stopping.
Tokujiro was covered in fat, seemingly all blubber, but beneath the fat lay solid muscle. By height he remained within normal human range, but by weight he exceeded three adult men combined.
His body appeared obese but possessed tremendous strength. Compared to someone like New York's future underworld kingpin, Kingpin, this was the same physique.
He'd used pure muscle to block the blade.
Before he could swing his sword, Bella leaped back, re-establishing combat distance.
"Don't kill him. He's useful for the upcoming war," she reminded Wolf while retreating.
Wolf was accustomed to following orders. If told not to kill, he wouldn't kill. He drew two shuriken and threw them at the enemy's eyes. Tokujiro raised his paddle-like hand to shield his eyes. The shuriken were blocked by fat on the back of his hand, penetrating only two centimeters.
"Die!" Somewhat enraged by the repeated attacks, he instinctively performed a famous sumo move—shiko stomping!
His leg, a couple sizes thicker than Bella's waist, slammed the ground hard. Terrifying weight combined with special force techniques—as that thick foot landed, massive impact spread in all directions as a shockwave.
Wolf bore the brunt. He threw his grappling hook, somewhat awkwardly dodging sideways, but was still caught by the aftershock. His breathing destabilized, taking over ten seconds to recover.
Tokujiro appeared large and powerful but was still flesh and blood. He only knew some sumo moves, poison wine, and two or three crude sword techniques. Not difficult to handle.
Stabbing would kill him. Decapitation would kill him. He wasn't like Pyramid Head—completely different creatures.
Like a trapped boar, he fought desperately and continuously.
The katana flashed repeatedly. Bella was like a nimble bird, using her speed advantage for continuous attacks. Each assault inflicted multiple wounds.
Within ten moves, Tokujiro's techniques became chaotic.
With Wolf's support, his situation grew increasingly dire.
Many bandits wanted to help, but after accidentally injuring several with poison wine, no one dared approach.
A few tried to flee, but Bella pursued them at extreme speed, knocking each one down.
"No one runs," she said coldly.
The bandits' wavering lasted less than a minute as they trembled, awaiting their fate. The battle had ended.
"I surrender! I surrender! Please, spare my life!" Tokujiro wailed like a slaughtered pig. Bella's katana borrowed from Isshin Ashina pressed against his throat from the left, and Wolf's Kusabimaru pressed from the right. Unable to maintain any dignity, he roared at the top of his lungs.
Bella approached, carefully observing Tokujiro's expression.
Seeming to realize she was in charge, the sumo-wrestler bandit displayed an ingratiating smile.
"You'll betray me again," Bella said lightly, words that chilled him to the bone.
"However... I truly have no interest in killing you. Take your men. Fight for Ashina."
Bella didn't need to collect Prayer Beads. Killing Tokujiro was completely unnecessary.
The bandits were dirt poor! Two broken armor sets, a dozen swords, some bamboo spears, and moldy rice, taro, wild vegetables, and radishes—that was their entire wealth.
Besides Tokujiro this sumo-wrestler who resembled a bandit less than a wrestler, she also recruited fifty-one bandits.
Seven could use katanas, five could use bows, one could use matchlocks, the rest wielded spears with zero technical skill.
Bella wouldn't incorporate these people. Bandits were base by nature—murderous arsonists without conscience. No discipline in battle, fastest to flee. Utterly worthless.
Her ship couldn't accommodate this many anyway. But these bandits could serve some purpose in the upcoming Ashina-Interior Ministry battle. As cannon fodder at least?
The only unexpected gain was the merchant Anayama. This guy looked shifty and untrustworthy at first glance.
"Hehehe, esteemed..." Merchant Anayama looked them both over carefully. Wolf's presence was minimal. Bella was female. He momentarily couldn't tell who was in charge.
Bella spoke first: "Give me one reason not to kill you."
She didn't want to kill anyone but wouldn't mind gaining some advantage.
Merchant Anayama smiled obsequiously: "Esteemed samurai, for just a hundred sen..."
Before he finished, Wolf's Kusabimaru was at his throat. He quickly changed his tune: "Fifty sen..."
This time Bella also held her blade to his neck.
Merchant Anayama felt his heart being wrung: "One sen—just give me one sen and I'll tell you absolutely secret intelligence!"
Money-grubber! That described this guy perfectly!
Bella picked a single sen from the nearby loot pile and tossed it to him.
"From my observations, both sides have too many wounded from battle. Salt is running low. If you invest in me, we'll definitely make huge profits!"
That's it?
Salt? Merchant Anayama's words gave Bella ideas. Not for profit—what use was money here? She wondered if she could use this opportunity to sabotage the Interior Ministry forces.
Ashina's situation was slightly better than in the original timeline but still extremely dangerous.
The Interior Ministry forces still maintained three thousand troops, well-equipped and trained, while the Ashina clan—main family, branch families, and retainers combined—fielded fewer than eight hundred warriors. Even fifty bandits represented significant strength they couldn't ignore.
The Ashina side was extremely cautious. With such disparate strength, one wrong decision could mean national destruction.
The best way to end the war remained negotiation. Four hundred years had passed in the outside world—there was no Interior Ministry or Edo shogunate anymore. The Tokugawa descendants still existed; the current Tokugawa family head apparently held some Japanese peerage position, but so what? These Interior Ministry warriors no longer had anyone to serve. Continuing the fight was meaningless.
But having chosen Ashina's side, Bella needed to give them enough advantage to begin negotiations.
She thought of several immature plans but needed some preparation work first.