Kagura saw this and said no more.
Just as she had observed, Mahiru was once again blocked by the police forces. As an ordinary person, without the help of Sadaharu and Kagura, it would be extremely difficult for Mahiru to break through into the match arena.
Gintoki thought the same, but there was another meaning behind it. No matter how strong Kagura was, she was still a girl. Gintoki did not want her involved in this brutal fight any further. This was his own signature form of gentleness.
Gintoki smiled. No matter when or where, he always viewed Kagura as a child. Though not her biological parent, their bond had surpassed that; what father could bear to see his daughter plunge into a battlefield?
The logic was sound, but the consequence was that he now had to face Yujiro alone. He knew the man's reputation as the "Strongest Creature on Earth." However, that would not stop him from protecting the path of a woman who wanted to find her husband.
Gintoki stepped forward to face Yujiro, staring directly at the giant before him. He was shorter by two—no, three heads; the height difference was striking. Yujiro smirked cruelly.
"I've heard of you, the strongest and the last samurai in Japan. I heard you're quite something~" Yujiro spoke, full of provocation.
Gintoki casually picked his nose. "Not that great, but to hold you here, I think it's enough."
"Brat, you're quite arrogant!" Yujiro attacked immediately, but his arm was instantly struck away by the wooden sword Toyako.
Gintoki spoke seriously: "As long as I'm here, don't expect to take a single step away from this spot."
The two officially began their death match.
◆━⊰✿✧✿⊱━◆
On the other side.
Mahiru, who had managed to enter the arena, realized she was still too late. She pressed her lips together tightly, feeling as if fate were toying with her. Her husband had been right before her eyes, yet they had just missed each other without meeting.
The sky slowly let down a heavy rain, hiding the tears flowing from her eyes. Her desire to meet Ryunosuke burned even brighter.
"I want to meet him..."
"I really want to meet him..."
"Where are you, really?..."
Mahiru looked up at the pouring rain. Kagura, who had just arrived, immediately opened her umbrella, providing a sense of calm in the midst of the downpour.
Mahiru snapped back to reality and spoke softly: "Let's go home..."
She walked away with a hollow soul. For the sake of the big sister's safety, Kagura intended to escort her home first before returning to help that useless Gintoki.
◆━⊰✿✧✿⊱━◆
Meanwhile, the battle between Yujiro and Gintoki raged fiercely. Gintoki continued to swing his wooden sword, striking the Strongest Creature and sending him reeling back multiple times.
Even when Yujiro activated his Demon Back, he was still struck until he was covered in blood. However, he was not angry; instead, he laughed with glee.
"Interesting, very interesting! Sakata Gintoki, right? You really are very interesting!!!"
Gintoki ignored him and continued to swing the wooden sword. However, he underestimated just how tough this man's skin was. Every strike felt like hitting steel, making the base of his thumb go numb. Yet he did not dare to be careless for a single second; this person was too dangerous and had to be detained here.
Hijikata Toshiro, who had just arrived, felt incredibly unlucky. His head was wrapped in bandages from a previous incident that had left the entire Shinsengumi injured; he had been punished with directing traffic here.
Wonderful, truly magnificent; he had once again run into the uncle wearing Beijing cloth shoes making a scene. Hijikata lit a cigarette, his fingers trembling slightly. He doubted whether he could handle this.
Finally, Hijikata grit his teeth, threw his cigarette to the ground, and crushed it. He charged between the two with silver handcuffs in hand.
"You two!!! Fighting in public without a permit, I'm arresting you on charges of disturbing the peace!!!"
"HAH?!" Gintoki and Yujiro turned with annoyed faces at the same time. They each delivered a single punch toward Hijikata, sending him flying into the ruins of a building as they shouted in unison:
"Don't get in the way! (x2)"
Hijikata, sprawled in the rubble, had a vein popping on his forehead.
Dammit!
Even a dirt statue would get angry if it kept getting stepped on!
"You think I don't have feelings, hah?!"
Hijikata rolled up his sleeves and prepared to join the fray, but unfortunately, he was punched away again. In fact, the two intentionally cooperated to beat him up first so that this nuisance would be removed from the arena.
Yujiro and Gintoki, for the first time, reached a silent agreement. Hijikata finally gave up, lying limp in the ruins while smoking a cigarette, his face covered in blood. This scene felt very familiar; it seemed he had experienced something similar before.
Trembling, he pulled out his phone and contacted Shinsengumi headquarters. He truly couldn't hold them off alone. The call was picked up, and once again, the annoying voice of Okita Sougo was heard.
"Moshi, moshi. Why is it you again? What's the problem now?"
Hijikata answered in a resigned tone. "It's the same guy from back then, but this time he's joined by the white-haired perm guy..."
The call was disconnected. Hijikata's face instantly turned black.
On the other side of the line, Sougo's face was not much better. Last time, even though he managed to wound Yujiro, the man's skin was as hard as steel; bullets only caused minor scratches. To wound Yujiro then, the base of his thumb had torn from the vibration, and his right hand was still wrapped in bandages to this day. Why on earth would he want to interfere again?
The sun began to set. Yujiro and Gintoki didn't know how long they had been fighting. Both were drenched in blood, yet their gazes remained as sharp as knives—two beasts that refused to back down, choosing death over bowing their heads.
Yujiro spread his arms, feeling immensely satisfied. "You're great. To be able to push me this far, you... are the first."
Gintoki panted heavily, but remained sharp-tongued. "You're really pathetic. Are you malnourished? Your punches have no power at all."
A vein appeared on Yujiro's forehead. This was the first time he had been insulted like that; specifically, no one dared to insult him to his face. He put his hands in his pockets, then gave a calm smile that made Gintoki let down his guard slightly.
Suddenly, he acted dirty by kicking pebbles and dust from under his feet straight into Gintoki's eyes.
As Gintoki's vision was compromised, Yujiro pulled his hands from his pockets and slammed both palms against Gintoki's ears with immense force.
*BAM!*
Gintoki's vision suddenly went dark; he nearly fainted. His ears rang violently, even bleeding. Yujiro no longer cared about pride; to defeat his junior, he used a dirty trick. He spread his arms again, looking as if he wanted to give a grand hug, when in fact he intended to crush Gintoki to death in his embrace.
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