Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes.

Chapter 157, Section 155: History Repeats Itself (Happy May Day!)
All is silent.

The two knife-wielders could only see each other.

Just like the duels between samurai in sword-fighting films, the psychological battle before the battle is also part of the fight.

Leaves drifted between the two, and their gazes sharpened simultaneously.

Hey.

The leaves fell, making a barely audible sound, yet clearly discernible in the silence.

Hattori Masashi was the first to make a move. Muramasa's sword shot forward like a white dolphin, piercing the air and heading straight for Taki's wrist.

Clang——

The two swords, both bearing the name of Muramasa, crossed diagonally, and sparks flew and disappeared in an instant.

"break!"

Thanks to her rapidly improving swordsmanship skills from playing games these past few days, Taki easily discovered the flaws Hattori Masashi had been trying to conceal.

Aiming at the white light that only she could see, she used her magic to deflect the attack and thrust it towards Hattori's shoulder.

"Ah."

When the white spot was punctured, Hattori showed no sign of injury; instead, he let out a triumphant chuckle.

Swah——

His wrist suddenly changed direction at an unbelievable angle, stabbing diagonally towards Taki's throat.

Takii managed to dodge with her remaining strength, only to discover that her opponent had hidden a kunai. With a powerful flick at close range, the kunai pierced right next to her heart.

This guy acted so much like a samurai that Takii subconsciously forgot that the Hattori Hanzo family was originally from the ninja clan.

Taki immediately drew his kunai and quickly retreated to create distance, but Hattori Masashi pressed his advantage and refused to let go of his superior position.

"Excellent! As expected of the son of Oni Hanzo, his father was the shield of Mikawa, and his son can also be the shield of Edo!"

Seeing Hattori gain the upper hand, Tokugawa Ieyasu clapped lightly and waved his hand, signaling the samurai blocking his way to move aside so he wouldn't be obstructed from appreciating this exciting duel.

As the metal clashed repeatedly, Takii gradually fell into a disadvantageous position, and his vision began to blur.

This kunai is indeed poisonous!
Wasn't Hattori Hanzo, the third generation, an incompetent figure in history?

The year after Tokugawa Ieyasu became Shogun and established the shogunate in Edo, his lack of leadership led to the Iga Doshin Rebellion, causing him to lose all power and be squeezed out of the core Tokugawa power circle.

Is there another reason why he was sidelined from core power?
A beam of white light slowly flowed into her wounds through her hands, gradually healing them, but at the same time, the knife-shaped progress bar also diminished considerably.

The effect is basically the same as the Demon Blade, the difference being that the more people the Demon Blade kills, the stronger it becomes, while this blade becomes weaker the more it is used.

You cannot kill anyone yet. If you kill even one person, all the white light will be immediately cleared.

Seeing that Taki's injuries had healed, Hattori deliberately distanced himself, and the two entered a standoff again.

Taki calmed himself down and pondered the possibility of victory.

We must take the initiative and strive for a swift victory to have any chance; otherwise, we will waste all the energy of our magical exorcism techniques on this person.

If there are further battles, they simply cannot hold out.

She wasn't sure if Tokugawa Ieyasu would honor the duel agreement, but given Tokugawa's reputation as a cunning and shrewd old man, she was more inclined to believe he would renege on the agreement.

However, if she couldn't even defeat the person in front of her, she wouldn't have the chance to directly kill Tokugawa.

Tokugawa has quite a few samurai around him now, so there's no chance of him abandoning Hattori and going straight for the kill.

Hattori was clearly uncomfortable with Taki's sudden change in style, as he was also more adept at offense than defense.

Moreover, Taki's outburst was so powerful that he was momentarily unable to cope.

After repeatedly puncturing half of Hattori's weak points in the white light, Taki's offensive began to falter.

At this moment, both of Takii's progress bars were empty. As another thrust was blocked, she watched as the humanoid progress bar was completely cleared and the knife-shaped progress bar was filled. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead.

"The third generation of Muramasa is nothing special! The name of the demon sword is undeserved!"

Hattori Masashi keenly sensed Takii's momentary loss of strength, and the Muramasa sword in his hand seemed to be covered with a hazy mist and a faint moonlight.

"Oboro-zan!"

He then slashed fiercely, and a crescent-shaped arc of light swept across Taki's neck. Blood splattered onto the inscription on the hilt of the sword, and the white light on it slowly faded and dimmed. Myoho Exorcism transformed back into Myoho Muramasa.

“There are differences even among the three generations.” Tokugawa Ieyasu on the stage clapped his hands and chuckled.

"Namo Myoho Renge Kyo." At the edge of the training field, Fa Cheng shook his head, clasped his hands, and sighed.

Taki slowly knelt down in the pool of blood, still holding the demon sword in his hand.

She wasn't too frustrated; at least in her first attempt, she had already broken through half of the other person's defenses and wasn't easily defeated on the first meeting.

Contrary to her gentle appearance, Taki has always enjoyed high-difficulty action games.

In battles where fast and slow swords clash simultaneously, ranged and melee attacks unfold concurrently, and monsters swarm from all sides, death is commonplace.

Enemies like Hattori Masanari are so difficult they don't even rank in the top ten.

At most, they are considered elite monsters that are relatively difficult to deal with.

The difficulty lies not in how to deal with him, but in how to face the foreseeable beating after dealing with him.

The Demon Blade has an advantage in group battles, while the Magical Method of Exorcising Demons has the opposite effect, making it difficult to break through the stalemate.

Only a monk like Hosei would believe the nonsense about Tokugawa's samurai duels.

No wonder the historical records omitted this part of history; it turns out they felt it might be too disgraceful for the Nichiren sect.

As the scene gradually disappeared, Takii returned to reality.

She didn't open her eyes, but silently calculated and deduced in her mind.

After planning the next battle, I re-entered the game.

The scene shifts, and she returns to the moment when Hattori Masashige had just stepped off the stage, drawn his sword, and faced him.

"Using Senji Muramasa's sword to kill the third Muramasa, is that all?!"

Takii didn't have time to listen to his nonsense and launched the first attack.

The clanging sounds clashed, and Hattori suddenly felt strained.

He tried to change tactics, but found that his opponent was prepared. He threw out a kunai to buy time, but it was shot down in an instant, and his efforts were in vain.

His move had been seen through!

What's going on?! I've never fought her before, so why does she seem to know my attack frequency and methods so well?

Could her reaction really be that fast?! No, it must be the demon sword causing this!
Tokugawa sat cross-legged on the platform, his expression gradually turning displeased.

"If the miracle-working Hanzo were still alive, how could he not even be able to deal with such a petty scoundrel?"

His words were full of dissatisfaction with Hattori Masanari.

The samurai beside them exchanged glances, remained silent, and continued to perform their guard duties.

A little bit, a little bit worse!
Only the last two weaknesses of the white light were not broken.

However, due to the energy wasted during the battle, he now only has enough left to barely complete the kill.

However, she was more familiar with Hattori Masahiro's fighting style, and she was ready for another chance.
"Give me—die!"

Because of his diminished power, Takii was ultimately unable to defeat Hattori. "Alright!"

Through the blurry vision, Tokugawa stood up, pushed aside the samurai beside him, and clapped and cheered, completely forgetting his earlier displeasure.

Taki felt as if she had grabbed something, and her body went limp as she collapsed.

A sharp pain shot through my brain.

Taki continued to carefully recall Hattori's moves in reality, dismantled and countered them, and then re-entered the area.

"Use Qianzi Village—"

Enough talk, let's fight!

Hattori had barely begun to speak when he was forced to swallow his words and engage in a fierce exchange with Muramasa Taki.

How can it be!

During the battle, he seemed to see his deceased father.

This powerful suppressive force and insight made each of his attacks seem clumsy, like someone just starting to learn swordsmanship. With just a wave of his hand, his subsequent movements could be completely predicted.

One by one, the weak points of the white light were pierced, until the second to last one, clang—the Muramasa sword broke off, flew into the sky, and stuck diagonally into the ground.

Takii's magical sword tip was pointed at Hattori, whose face was filled with astonishment and fear, and it was only half a centimeter away from his last weakness.

Hattori felt a chill run down his spine; he knew all too well that if the knife were to strike even slightly, he would die instantly.

He was completely unable to match his father's fearlessness in the face of death. Under such fear, his survival instinct took over, and he threw down the broken hilt of his sword and surrendered.

"I...I lost."

On the stage, Tokugawa's face instantly darkened, becoming sinister and terrifying.

Hattori knew something was wrong the moment he said those words, but the knife was still pressed against him, making him unable to move and completely losing the courage to resist.

"Hattori Masanari, you really bring honor to the Hattori Hanzo family." Tokugawa squeezed out these disgusted words through gritted teeth.

Hattori Masashige's body trembled, he lowered his head dejectedly, and his whole body began to shake.

His life is over.

"Get back now, aren't you ashamed enough?"

".yes."

Hattori slowly retreated, moving out of the range of the blade and out of the fighting area.

"Namo Myoho Renge Kyo." Hosei walked up to Tokugawa, put his palms together and said, "Now that the outcome is decided, I would like to ask Lord Miyagata to personally step into the arena and have a duel between the three Muramasa."

"A duel between samurai," Tokugawa recalled. The last time he personally went into battle was more than ten years ago, during the Battle of Komaki-Nagakute.

The gloom on his face quickly faded, replaced by a calm smile: "Master Hosei, didn't I tell you that I would only agree to the contest if Muramasa killed Hattori?"

Fa Cheng's expression changed drastically: "If Muramasa had stabbed him just now, Hattori Masashi would have been dead without a doubt! Lord Muramasa's actions were merciful; he did not kill them all, so he should be considered to have achieved his goal of 'killing' them."

"But, realistically speaking, he wasn't killed, was he? Hattori Masanari is still alive and well, am I right?" Tokugawa stared at Hattori Masanari with a forced smile.

"Yes, yes." Hattori Masashi seemed to have had his backbone completely broken in this battle, lacking any of Hattori Hanzo's style, and full of cowardice.

"Guards, escort Master Facheng to rest. Muramasa Masaji has been controlled by the demon sword and has harmed countless people. Today, we will rid the world of this demon! This is an act of immeasurable merit!"

At Tokugawa's command, a large number of ninjas appeared from the surrounding eaves and walls, and groups of samurai, who seemed to have been waiting for a long time, appeared from the four exits, fully armed, and surrounded Muramasa Masatsugu, protecting Tokugawa Ieyasu on the platform.

Takii wasn't surprised at all; in fact, this was more in line with Tokugawa Ieyasu's character.

"Lord Tokugawa, you are breaking your promise and disregarding the honor and reputation of your family!" Hosei rebuked angrily.

"How laughable. My Manchiyo (Ii Naomasa) died of his injuries in Shiga Prefecture not long ago. This action is not only for the sake of the country, but also to avenge him. Family honor is incomparable to that of my beloved general." Tokugawa's gaze grew cold.

Upon hearing this, the samurai beside him felt honored, and their initial slight unease quickly solidified.

"Lord Ii died at the hands of the Onmyoji's shikigami. Since you have made up your mind, there is no point in saying more." Hosei sighed heavily and came to Takii's side. "Benefactor, I was wrong to trust others and became their accomplice. Now that things have come to this, I will do my best to help you get out of this predicament."

Tokugawa, looking down from his vantage point, sighed insincerely: "I have always admired the character of Master Hōchō and do not wish to oppose you. Remember, do not harm the Master. Go forth and rid the country of this demon!"

"To rid the country of demons!"

With a shout, the warriors charged toward the two men in the encirclement.

"Be careful, benefactor!"

The prayer beads in Facheng's hand split open, forming a golden light barrier.

Looking at the last glimmer of white light in the sword, Muramasa Takii roughly knew how to deal with Tokugawa.

But this time, the opportunity was gone.

Even so, he still charged out with his sword, trying his best to kill his way towards Tokugawa Ieyasu.

The latter stood on the stage, surrounded by his personal guards, and met his gaze indifferently.

Before long, Taki and Hosei were covered in injuries.

"Benefactor, leave! Let go of your obsessions. The world is still vast, and there is still a place for you to stand!" Fa Cheng pleaded earnestly during the battle.

Takii was exhausted, and the power of the Myoho exorcism was depleted, so he reverted to Myoho Muramasa.

The whispers of the demon sword took over his body.

Even so, a demon sword that has not accumulated any power through killing has no chance of turning the tables.

Finally, his hand holding the knife was severed, his body was riddled with countless blades and spears, and his breath slowly died.

This time, however, she wasn't kicked out of the game immediately.

Instead, it floats in mid-air, watching the plot unfold from the perspective of an observer.

"Stop it!"

Fa Cheng finally lost his temper, letting out a furious roar that transformed into a tangible sound wave, stirring up a large cloud of dust and causing nearby warriors to retreat in disarray, clearing a space for them.

He hurriedly supported Muramasa's body, which was riddled with swords, and looked at Tokugawa on the high platform—at this moment, a samurai had already picked up the sword that Taki had dropped, and presented it to Tokugawa with both hands.

"So this is the demon sword? It is indeed filled with evil energy. Master Facheng, it seems that you are not able to see through all evil spirits. Hahaha."

Tokugawa did not take the sword, but observed it from a certain distance.

Fa Cheng lowered his head in shame. He had indeed failed to see through the evil spirit, but it wasn't the demonic sword; rather, it was his failure to see through the evil spirit in Tokugawa's heart!
The demon sword is merely a tool; if one's heart is free of evil, even the demon sword can slay demons.

"Tokugawa Ieyasu, the demon sword is not the demon; the demon resides in your heart. You'd better watch yourself."

Facheng picked up Muramasa's body, left these words behind, and turned to leave.

"My lord," the trusted aide asked, leaning closer.

"No need, let him take the body. Consider it an effort to save face for the Nichiren Sect." Tokugawa waved his hand, signaling the archers to lower their bows.

He glanced sideways at Hattori Masanari, who kept his head down, and pointed at the cursed sword: "Destroy the cursed sword as soon as possible. I don't want to see this sword appear again. Select a death row inmate, take him to Kuwana, and next year when I officially issue the Muramasa ban, behead him as the third Muramasa as a warning to others."

"Yes!"

The scene ends there, lingering on the back of Hosei carrying the Third Muramasa as they leave, gradually fading from Taki's sight.

In the darkness, a notification box appeared in the center of his vision.

[You have successfully completed the ending - History repeats itself]

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(End of this chapter)