Chihaya Aine is a member of the team Zero

Volume 1: Chapter 223: Spinning Top

Just as Goto Ichiri was wondering why the Shinsengumi soldiers threw so many bamboo tubes at him, Tani Sanjuro suddenly praised Goto Ichiri, whether sincerely or insincerely:

"Amazing! You have great skills. You can dodge so many bamboo tubes in one breath."

As Tani Sanjuro spoke, he slowly stepped out of the line.

As he stepped out of the line, he slowly drew the knife from his waist.

Tani Sanjuro's move aroused suspicion among his subordinates behind him.

"Lord Tani Sanjuro! What are you doing..." Tachibana said loudly.

Before Tachibana could finish his words, Tani Sanjuro spoke first:

"Don't move! And don't provide me with any messy assistance later!"

"I want to meet 'The Executioner Ittosai' in person!"

"Let's see how powerful the executioner who can kill a hundred people is!"

"Hey, Captain of the Seventh Division. As the leader of the Shinsengumi, are you planning to go into battle yourself?" Goto Ichiri looked Tani Sanjuro up and down.

"This is what I often do. Those who don't have enough skills and can't stand at the front of the battlefield are not qualified to be team leaders." Tani Sanjuro smiled slightly.

"Focus yourself, Hundred Man Executioner. I... am very strong."

Although I don't know if what Tani Sanjuro said just now was just a bluff.

However, regardless of whether he was bluffing or not, Goto Ichiri had no intention of underestimating the enemy.

The two men held their knives tightly and stood facing each other.

The first person to move was Tani Sanjuro.

Tani Sanjuro's timing of attack was so precise that it was breathtaking.

He picked the moment when Goto Ichiri was blinking and rushed forward with a knife.

Tani Sanjuro's first round of attack was a simple horizontal slash.

The knife flashed towards her from Goto Ichiri's left.

Although Tani Sanjuro's movements were fast, they were not so fast that Goto Ichiri could not react.

Goto Ichiri blocked the knife to the left in time, blocking Tani Sanjuro's horizontal slash.

Ugh...! This guy...

Just by using this ordinary horizontal slash, Goto Ichiri judged that what Tani Sanjuro had just said was not a bluff.

He is indeed quite strong.

Pushing away Tani Sanjuro's knife, Goto Ichiri quickly launched a counterattack.

clang!

clang!

clang!

……

The two swords collided several times in mid-air.

In the end, it was Tani Sanjuro who pushed back first, ending the seemingly endless clash of swords.

Goto Ichiri glanced at the new notches on his blade.

I really want a sword that can cut through things with absolute decisiveness...

After muttering this in his heart, Goto Ichiri refocused his attention on Tani Sanjuro in front of him.

"As expected of the leader of the Shinsengumi... His swordsmanship is truly remarkable."

"Thank you for the compliment. Your swordsmanship is not bad either."

"Although you are strong, you are not yet at the point where you can kill a hundred people."

"If you want to defeat a hundred people alone, you need to be at least as strong as Souji."

"Hmm? You mean Okita Souji?"

Goto Ichiri is also quite interested in this name, which is often mentioned in various works in later generations.

Tani Sanjuro lowered his stance and slowly put the knife in his hand back into the scabbard.

"What's wrong? You don't want to continue fighting with me?"

Goto Ichiri's eyes turned cold.

"Or...are you planning to have your subordinates attack me in droves?"

"I don't want to fight you anymore, and I won't let my men attack you in droves."

"Because there is absolutely no need for that anymore."

"Hundred-Man Executioner, don't you feel dizzy now?"

? !

"Well……"

Goto Ichiri covered his head with his free left hand.

After hearing what Tani Sanjuro said, Goto Ichiri suddenly realized that her head was indeed dizzy just as Tani Sanjuro had just said.

And the dizziness is getting worse.

"what happened……!"

"Have I been... drugged...?"

"But... when was the drug administered..."

"Just now, when I was fighting with Tani Sanjuro, I clearly wasn't pricked by any poisonous needles, let alone injured by his blade?!"

“Is it a bamboo tube?!”

Goto Ichiri suddenly turned her head and looked at the bamboo tubes lying not far away that she had just avoided.

It was not until this time that Goto Ichiri discovered that there was a round hole of medium size on the top of these bamboo tubes.

Looking at Goto Ichiri who was looking at the bamboo tubes in astonishment, Tani Sanjuro smiled slightly:

"This is a new weapon that our Shinsengumi has just started to equip."

"The bamboo tube is filled with a colorless and odorless 'qi' that can make people unconscious after just a few breaths."

"When you want to use it, just pull out the plug and throw it away."

"Unfortunately, due to its high cost, we can only use this new weapon against troublesome thieves."

"You've inhaled so much of the 'qi' contained in the bamboo tube, it's enough for you to sleep for a while."

"Do you really think I just wanted to test your skills?"

"It's true that I want to test your skills, but the main reason is to buy time for the 'bewildering energy' to take effect."

"Don't push yourself. You probably can't even stand up right now."

Although Goto Ichiri tried hard to stay awake, waves of dizziness continued to hit his brain.

At this time, Goto Ichiri could not even stand up, and could only use his sword as a staff to barely support his body.

His vision was already starting to deteriorate, and when Goto Ichiri looked around, he saw three Tani Sanjuro Heizo.

"One hundred men beheaded the executioner."

Tani Sanjuro whispered to Goto Ichiri, who was about to faint, "We are not 'duelists', but 'capturers'..."

Before Goto Ichiri was about to lose consciousness, he transformed all the light energy into a torrent that continuously washed through his body.

Finally, I managed to get out of my predicament before I fainted.

"What? How is it possible that someone could maintain consciousness after inhaling so much energy?!"

Seeing Goto Ichiri's eyes change from trance to clarity, Tani Sanjuro was a little bit unbelievable for a moment.

However, as soon as this feeling of disbelief appeared in Tani Sanjuro's mind, he no longer had the energy to worry.

Because he caught a glimpse of pink coming towards him from the corner of his eye.

Shooting towards me!

Tani Sanjuro was shocked by the flaw that appeared, and Goto Ichiri did not miss this rare opportunity.

Goto Ichiri moved very quickly. In just a blink of an eye, the distance between Goto Ichiri and Tani Sanjuro was just a few inches.

However, when Goto Ichiri suddenly rushed towards him at an extremely fast speed, the look of astonishment only flashed for a moment in Tani Sanjuro's eyes.

Tani Sanjuro calmly turned the large sword in his hand and slashed towards Goto Ichiri!

Looking at the blade of the large sword heading towards his waist, Goto Ichiri's face darkened.

If she didn't dodge or block, the large sword would definitely cut her in half.

The reason why Goto Ichiri's face darkened was not because he was surprised by Tani Sanjuro's quick reaction.

Instead, he was annoyed by the difference in attack distance between the two.

Tani Sanjuro's large sword was already able to cut her, while his sword couldn't even touch Tani Sanjuro.

Knowing that his attack had failed, Goto Ichisato paused, stopped his forward steps, and jumped back to avoid Tani Sanjuro's sword.

After missing the first attack, Tani Sanjuro did not stop at all. He waved the large sword in one arm and launched a continuous attack on Goto Ichiri in front of him.

Faced with Tani Sanjuro's series of sharp attacks, Goto Ichiri used stepping to dodge them one by one.

When he couldn't dodge, he used his blade to directly block Tani Sanjuro's sword.

Tani Sanjuro's strength was so great that Goto Ichiri was shocked. Every time Goto Ichiri tried to block Tani Sanjuro's sword, he would feel his hands numb from the shock.

"Tsk..."

Relying on stepping and blade counter, Goto Ichiri dodged or blocked Tani Sanjuro's attacks one by one, and Goto Ichiri said in his heart.

"The attack range difference is too big..."

While neutralizing each of Tani Sanjuro's attacks, Goto Ichiri was always looking for opportunities to counterattack.

However, due to the huge difference in attack distance between them, Goto Ichiri has not been able to launch a successful counterattack against Tani Sanjuro until now.

Every time he dodged or blocked Tani Sanjuro's attack and planned to rush forward to counterattack Tani Sanjuro, Tani Sanjuro would calmly retract his large sword before Goto Ichiri rushed to him and launch a new attack on Goto Ichiri.

With an attack range far exceeding that of Goto Ichiri, Ya Sanjuro can always hide calmly in a safe area where Goto Ichiri cannot reach him, and launch continuous attacks on Goto Ichiri.

Goto Ichiri could only keep busy dealing with all of Tani Sanjuro's attacks, and he couldn't even fight back.

This was the first time in Goto Ichiri's life that he hated his hands for being so short...

After once again wielding his sword to force Goto Ichiri away from him, Tani Sanjuro grinned:

"You are quite capable."

"You are one of the most capable opponents I have ever encountered."

"I didn't hold back on any of my moves just now, and you were able to dodge or block them all."

"And your sword-holding technique is also very exquisite. Your sword-wielding technique can minimize the damage to the blade."

"But... your sword-holding technique can minimize the damage to the sword, but it only reduces it. It doesn't mean that your sword will not be damaged at all."

After saying that, Tani Sanjuro raised the large sword in his hand to his upper right.

"I want to see how long these two broken swords in your hands can last."

call!

As soon as Tani Sanjuro finished speaking, the large sword in his hand, with enormous power and a sharp sound of breaking wind, slashed towards Goto Ichiri.

After quickly determining that Tani Sanjuro's horizontal slash was difficult to avoid, Goto Ichiri raised the two swords in his hands, ready to take Tani Sanjuro's attack head-on.

clang!

With the sound of metal clashing, Goto Ichiri successfully blocked Tani Sanjuro's knife.