I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Tonight's battle is not a contest against the strong, but a fight to severely damage the Zunran faction! To wipe out Miyabe Teizō, Katsura Kogoro, and the others in one fell swoop!

Before engaging in combat with Hannya, Nagakura Shinpachi had already glanced around at his surroundings out of the corner of his eye.

Souji versus Katsura Kogoro.

Inoue Genzaburo was busy dealing with the siege of several patriots.

Kondo Isami focuses on dealing with Miyabe Teizo and his bodyguards.

Despite his reluctance, Nagakura Shinpachi had to admit: this strange-looking guy in front of him was very strong! Strong enough to make him deeply wary!

With his strength alone, he could turn the tide of battle in any battlefield!

It's like an overweight weight; no matter which side of the scale it lands on, it can cause the entire scale to become unbalanced!

Therefore, Nagakura Shinpachi quickly made up his mind—to no longer hope to defeat his opponent, but to fight him to the death! To keep him here!

Compared to the bigger picture, the outcome of a one-on-one fight and one's own life are utterly insignificant!

With this thought in mind, Nagakura Shinpachi took a short breath adjustment and then switched his stance to a mid-range stance that was both offensive and defensive, preparing to fight a protracted battle with his opponent.

However... it seemed that Hannya had seen through Nagakura Shinpachi's thoughts.

After Nagakura Shinpachi decided to fight a protracted war, he also changed his tactics.

He leaped back two steps to widen the distance, then raised his left foot and stood on his right foot, assuming the "Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg" posture.

Immediately afterwards, as if relaxing his leg muscles, he hopped twice on his standing right foot, making two soft "slap" sounds.

When he jumped for the third time... at that moment, the "golden rooster" stopped jumping in place and leaped like a spring towards Nagakura Shinpachi!

In the blink of an eye, he had already closed in on Nagakura Shinpachi!

The strange footwork of the Prajna and his lightning-fast movement caused Nagakura Shinpachi's expression to change drastically, his pupils to shrink, and he subconsciously held his sword to his chest, preparing to defend himself.

Unfortunately... Prajna's attack was faster!

This time, Prajna no longer simply defended, but took the initiative to launch an offensive!

Just like before, Hannya swung his sword, sheath and all, and unleashed a standard kasaya slash, striking Nagakura Shinpachi squarely in the left shoulder.

Although the scabbard is not lethal, its hard body is not easy to handle!

Nagakura Shinpachi immediately felt a burning pain in his shoulder, and couldn't help but frown, his features contorted.

Prajna's attack was not over yet.

He took a small step forward, controlling the entire space with his feet, adjusting his body position and the direction of the knife in his hand, and swung the knife from the lower right to the upper left, performing a reverse kasaya slash.

Nagakura Shinpachi tried his best to block, but he was still a beat too slow.

In the blink of an eye, Prajna unleashed his third attack—he used the bottom of his scabbard to stab Nagakura Shinpachi, striking him squarely in the chest.

Nagakura Shinpachi stumbled backward, nearly falling to the ground...

At this point, the positions of both sides were completely reversed.

A person who attacks relentlessly, hacking and slashing, transforms into Prajna (wisdom).

In contrast, Nagakura Shinpachi... instead of dodging left and right, he was "wounded on the left and injured on the right".

In just a few rounds, he was forced to retreat in defeat.

Faced with Prajna's rapid attacks, he had no power to fight back, let alone parry.

It's not hard to imagine that if Hannya were to draw his sword and attack, even if Nagakura Shinpachi had 10 lives, he wouldn't be enough to withstand the blows...!

After defeating Nagakura Shinpachi once again, Hannya adjusted his top hat, pursed his lips, and spoke in a nonchalant tone:

"The third strongest fighter in the Shinsengumi... is nothing special."

He had barely finished speaking when, as if he had discovered something, he changed his tone to a teasing one:

"Oh dear, I was so busy competing with you that I almost forgot my job..."

After speaking, he suddenly turned around and ran towards the corridor outside the room.

Upon seeing this, Nagakura Shinpachi's face darkened. He disregarded his own pain, gritted his teeth, and took off after him.

The reason he was so nervous was that the place Prajna was rushing to was the battlefield in the corridor.

The people fighting there are none other than Souji and Katsura Kogoro!

……

Today, Kogoro Katsura has largely transitioned into a politician and rarely draws his sword to fight anymore.

However, even so, the once-famous "sword master Kogoro" of Edo still retains his former glory!

Shinto Munen-ryu is a school of thought that pursues "power" and "momentum".

As the prized disciple of Saito Yakuro, known as "Saito of Power," Katsura Kogoro has brought the "fierce" characteristics of Shinto Munen-ryu to their fullest potential!

"Drink up! Drink up!"

He roared, lunged forward with overwhelming force! The blade in his hand slashed diagonally towards the commander with a "whoosh"!

In terms of speed of slashing alone, Nagakura Shinpachi, Saito Hajime, and others are probably not as good as him!

Of course, while its cutting speed is fast, it is not enough to threaten the commander-in-chief.

Her light ponytail swayed suddenly—and there she was, Souji crouching low, taking light, delicate steps, and slipping to hide beside Katsura Kogoro.

The next instant, a cold blade flashed from under his ribs! Kaga Kiyomitsu hurtled toward Katsura Kogoro's head!

Although Katsura Kogoro managed to lean back in time and dodge the fatal blow, a small cut was still made on his forehead by the tip of the knife, and blood oozed out.

They sidestepped, landed firmly, steadied themselves, turned around and fought again... their hurried footsteps pounded on the floor.

In the blink of an eye, the commander unexpectedly drew his sword to his chest, assuming a defensive stance.

The opponent didn't care about anything else. Seeing that the commander-in-chief wasn't attacking, he immediately raised his sword overhead and slashed fiercely.

His relentless, attacking style, which seizes every opportunity, is reminiscent of the Shinto Munen-ryu school of martial arts.

Of course, no matter how fierce the attack, you still have to hit the opponent.

The "defensive stance" adopted by the commander-in-chief was merely a deception.

Sure enough, as soon as Katsura Kogoro swung his sword, she ducked a split second in advance, focusing her strength on her waist—the two actions of "dodging" and "charging up" were performed simultaneously.

In an instant, the offensive and defensive forces shifted—Kaga Kiyomitsu leaped up and slashed diagonally toward Katsura Kogoro's waist.

At the critical moment, Katsura Kogoro narrowly jumped aside, dodging the tricky attack.

After the blade flashed, the door behind him was split in two, revealing the corridor outside.

In order to regroup and take the opportunity to move and catch his breath, Katsura Kogoro took the opportunity to retreat, leave the room, and move to the corridor outside the door.

Without hesitation, the commander burst through the dust and gave chase.

And so, the two fought their way from the room to the hallway.

Shinto Munen-ryu encourages offense—and so does Tennen Rishin-ryu!

Souji concentrated his power on the toes of his feet, using his unpredictable and fast movements to confuse his opponent, while swinging his sword like a whirlwind!

She clearly only had one knife in her hand, yet she managed to make it look like she had more than a dozen knives!

From cunning slashes to insidious stabbings... the walls and floors of the corridor were covered with deep knife marks!

Katsura Kogoro proved with his own actions that "Sword Master Kogoro" is still as sharp as ever.

Even when facing the "top general of the Shinsengumi," he was in no way at a disadvantage.

However... their evenly matched strength did not last long.

"Sword Master" is showing signs of decline, but "Heavenly Sword" is becoming stronger with each battle!

One strike!

Another blow!

One more blow!

Her petite frame, seemingly too small for the title "Heavenly Sword," darted and weaved through the not-so-spacious corridor.

Her figure sometimes stood in front of the other person, and sometimes appeared behind them, just like a ghost.

Using the famous quote from Sun Tzu's Art of War—"Swift as the wind, silent as the forest, aggressive as fire, unpredictable as the shadows"—to describe her strikes is absolutely fitting.

Soon, Katsura Kogoro lost his previous ease and gradually fell into a disadvantageous position.

In the dim light, you could see sweat dripping down his face and chin, while steam rose from his head.

It's not hard to see that after a few more rounds, Katsura Kogoro will surely be defeated!

Just as Souji held his breath, preparing to strike hard and kill Katsura Kogoro in one fell swoop—

call out!

A sheathed sword suddenly swung out from the side! It slashed diagonally towards the commander's head!

The sudden attack startled the commander.

At the critical moment, his body acted before his brain, leaping back more than two feet to create space.

Taking advantage of the sudden appearance, Hannya stepped to the side and stood in front of Katsura Kogoro, separating Souji from Katsura Kogoro.

"Katsura Kogoro, you got beaten up really badly."

Prajna said this in a mocking and teasing tone.

"The mighty 'Sword Master Kogoro' was actually beaten like this by a little girl. It's really embarrassing."

"If it weren't for my timely rescue, you would probably be meeting the King of Hell by now."

Katsura Kogoro ignored him, glancing at him indifferently before wiping the sweat from his face and regulating his breathing.

Nagakura Shinpachi slowly approached Souji's side.

"Sōji, I'm sorry, I couldn't hold him off. Be careful, that guy in the Western hat is strong!"

He said this while steadying the knife, his expression solemn.

The commander nodded slightly with a serious expression.

"Yes, I can see that."