To become a king and a magician

Tomoe Gozen was somewhat impressed by this princess, who actually wanted a commoner man to marry into the shogunate, which was impossible from any perspective.

(Sigh, Lord Tiger, when are you going to change this habit of attracting women everywhere?)

Tomoe Gozen, thinking this way, didn't realize that she was also one of the people attracted to him.

And at that very moment—

"Bang----!"

Suddenly, a loud bang came from the main entrance, and then a huge black snake shot into the sky and appeared in the eyes of Miyamoto Musashi and Tomoe Gozen!

The enemy is coming!

"I'll leave this to you, Lord Tomoe. I'll go and face the enemy head-on, Musashi!"

"Ok!"

——————————————————————————————————

Katori Shrine.

Hearing the sounds coming from the direction of Tuqi City, Natsukawa Tora glanced over and said, "They've started over there... In terms of timing, it's certainly about time."

Ninjas usually act in the dead of night, and even after Mochizuki Chiyome became a heroic swordswoman, this habit remained unchanged. And now it was indeed time for her to act.

"With Musashi and Aba there, I don't need to worry about the battle situation. The worst-case scenario is that Tsuchiki Castle will be completely destroyed. As for my side—"

Natsukawa Tora looked at the Katori Shrine in front of him.

Now it appears to be just an ordinary shrine, deserted and lifeless, with no sign whatsoever of evil spirits lurking there.

But Natsukawa Torato could sense it—

"The concealment is not bad, but the smell is too strong. If you want to completely hide it, it would be best to set up a barrier to conceal the smell."

With his hand placed in empty air, Xia Chuanhu gently tore open the space in front of him with his fingers, creating a crack large enough for a person to pass through.

The moment he stepped through the crack, the already intense stench of blood, which had made Xia Chuanhu frown, instantly intensified to an even higher level.

"The night of the blood moon..."

Looking up at the crimson moon above, Natsukawa Tiger smiled: "Looks like I've hit the jackpot. Judging from the results of my perception... one, two, three, four—there are only four people here. Not everyone. Did someone go out?"

"Although it's a bit of a shame we couldn't take them all at once, but—"

Light gathered in Natsukawa Tiger's hand, and facing the shrine shrouded in blood-red mist, Natsukawa Tiger suddenly swung out a hand chop, and golden light condensed into a huge crescent moon, slashing forward as if it were about to break through the sky!

Just as this attack was about to hit the shrine...

"Crack!"

Three sword lights flashed through Natsukawa Tora's vision. Then, the golden crescent moon that was slashing towards the shrine was actually cut in two during the slash, flying to both sides and swallowing and pulverizing the two parts of the shrine's edge!

"Oh dear, what a pity, we couldn't completely block it."

On the steps leading to the shrine, a figure in pale purple held a broken blade, looking somewhat helpless.

"I originally intended to strike once you took a step forward, but I did not expect you to unleash such a stunning attack without uttering a sound. I tried my best but could only barely manage to deflect its trajectory, and my beloved sword even broke as a result."

"Do you need me to apologize to you?" Xia Chuanhu laughed. "Or would you like me to buy you a new knife?"

The refined man smiled slightly: "You seem quite adept at this. Do you believe that even with my new sword, I would still be no match for your attack?"

"Boom—!"

The man was met with a second strike from Natsukawa Tora, a crescent-shaped strike of light.

This is not a special move; it's simply gathering immense magical power in one's hand and swinging it out—a pure, powerful brick-throwing strike.

This time, the elegant man, now unarmed, did not stop him. The golden crescent moon grazed past him and cleaved Katori Shrine in two!

Lowering his gleaming hand, Natsukawa Tora said, "I'm not here to deal with you. You're going to fight someone else, so I won't kill you here."

"The people I'm going to kill are those three people inside the shrine—come out, Bantenren sorcerer, Black Rope Hell, Limbo."

"Or do you want me to reveal your real names before you'll come out?"

"Amakusa Shiro, Minamoto Yorimitsu, Ashiya Michimitsu."

20. One-Sword Man!

Natsukawa Tora's voice echoed through the now-ruined Katori Shrine.

Soon after, three figures emerged from the ruins.

"That really surprised me."

Speaking in a voice familiar to Natsukawa Torama, but with eyes now completely bloodshot, Amakusa Shiro stood before him: "I didn't expect you to launch a surprise attack on our base, stranger."

"After all, this is a great opportunity to wipe you all out in one fell swoop. There's no reason not to seize it, is there?"

Xia Chuanhu laughed, and at the same time, the Holy Sword appeared in his hand.

"It's a pity that one or two people are missing, otherwise this farce of heroic swordsmen that you guys put on could have come to a complete end tonight."

Seven Heroic Swordsmen.

One rider was killed by Miyamoto Musashi, another was subdued and restored to normal by Natsukawa Torata, and of the remaining five riders, only two remained here, while the other three gathered in Tuki Castle.

"However, it doesn't matter in the end. After we deal with you all here, it's the same to head to Tuqi City. It won't take much time."

"Aiya ya ya~~~~"

Upon hearing Natsukawa Tora's dismissive words, the burly man with both black and white hair behind Amakusa Shiro let out an unpleasant laugh.

"You're quite confident, aren't you, stranger? Do you think you can wipe out all of us here on the spot by yourself?"

"That--"

Natsukawa Tora beckoned to the three of them with his index finger: "Why don't you all try coming at me together?"

Arrogance, conceit, conceit... such thoughts swept through the minds of everyone present. Everyone present knew about Natsukawa Torama's instant kill of Tomoe Gozen a week ago, as well as Natsukawa Torama's instant kill of Yagyu Munenori's Stand during the day.

Natsukawa Tiger is very strong—all four people present knew this, but knowing it was true, they didn't think they were no match for him before they actually fought him. After all, they had all done things like defeating the strong with the weak before.

Therefore, at this moment, after hearing Xia Chuanhu's words...

"Then let me try you out first."

Black Rope Hell - Minamoto no Yorimitsu - emerged from behind Amakusa Shiro, wielding Dojigiri Yasutsuna. The instant he passed him, he transformed into a bolt of lightning and vanished from Natsukawa Torara's sight!

Then—

"Clang!"

Using his holy sword to block the slash coming from behind, Natsukawa Torara glanced coldly at Minamoto no Yorimitsu, who had arrived behind him at lightning speed. With a sudden burst of strength, he turned the sword around and sent her flying!

"Buzz~~~~~"

Particles of light gathered on the holy sword and flew towards the direction where Minamoto no Yorimitsu had flown. Natsukawa Torama slashed down with his sword!

"Boom————————————!"

The earth was torn apart by the slash of light, and the surging star breath destroyed everything in its path! Minamoto no Yorimitsu, who was in front of it, was also engulfed by this light in an instant!

Its radiance extended all the way to the mountainside at the edge of the field of vision before stopping, leaving a huge crater in the mountain.

"One."

Natsukawa Torama chuckled, "Well, that's what they say, but she's probably not dead yet, right? I don't think one strike is enough to take down the strongest mysterious assassin of the Heian period. She should be able to recover in a minute or two."

Just like the slash he had just unleashed with his hand, the light that Natsukawa Tora was slashing now did not have any special effects; it was merely a pure release of magic power. Although it was indeed aimed at the spirit core, he could sense that Minamoto no Yorimitsu's spirit core had not been shattered, and the karma within his body was also intact.

(I should have just used my hands... but I don't think I could fit into that size.)

That's what Natsukawa Tora thought.

Seeing Minamoto no Yorimitsu being slashed away by Natsukawa Torato's sword and the huge wound he had inflicted, Amakusa Shiro and Ashiya Michi finally lost their nonchalance and ease.

However, before the two could make a move, Xia Chuanhu's figure disappeared from the spot.

The next moment, both of them felt a piercing sensation in their chests!

"Bang! Bang!"

With two loud bangs, Amakusa Shiro and Ashiya Dōman were sent flying backward! In their original positions, Natsukawa Torara, still in a punching stance, raised his holy sword, and a storm of light once again gathered on it—

Aiming at Amakusa Shiro and Ashiya Doman, who had been sent flying into the air by his own attack, Natsukawa Torara unleashed a full-force sword strike!

"boom----------!"

The Light Slash erupted once more! A beam of light, like lava spewing from a volcanic eruption, shot into the sky in an instant! It blasted the already split top of the Katori Shrine into nothingness, leaving not even a fragment!

"Shh-"

A strange sound suddenly rang out, and then, just as they were about to be engulfed by the light, Ashiya Doman and Amakusa Shiro's figures vanished into thin air.

(Magic? Did he use his naturally formed arms to connect to some unknown magic system and use magic that could save his own life and Ashiya Dōman's?)

Natsukawa Tora, who knew Amakusa Shiro's methods inside and out, narrowed his eyes slightly.

The magic used by Amakusa Shiro is not spatial transfer, or rather, it is not pure spatial transfer; that is the realm of the Second Law. In reality, it should be a super-suppressed short-distance rapid movement with various restrictions.

It is similar to the "Yu Step" technique, which allows movement through spiritual veins.

(So, the next location will be—)

Sensing everything around him, Natsukawa Torama aimed at a spot that was completely empty and swung his sword again, unleashing a beam of light. The next second, Amakusa Shiro and Ashiya Doman appeared right there!

"Varied--"

“Pseudo-future vision—an ability built on experience and the perception of spirits—I can do that too,” Natsukawa Tora laughed.

This time, Amakusa Shiro and Ashiya Doman were unable to dodge. Even though Ashiya Doman had immediately set up a defensive Yin-Yang technique in front of him, the Yin-Yang technique was completely useless under the golden light, and the two of them were engulfed by the light at the same time!

—This is an overwhelming force.

The elegant swordsman watching from the sidelines felt somewhat helpless.

Natsukawa Tora did not show him any techniques that could be called the pinnacle of skill; he merely showed him a power that no human could ever catch up to in a lifetime, crushing everything in front of him with the purest power.

"Your fighting style is truly unpretentious."

"Is that so? I personally think this is better, a simple one-hit kill." Natsukawa Tora shouldered the holy sword. "That way all three would be taken care of—but it seems not."

“AAAAAAArrrrrrrrrrr————————————!!”