The steel-bodied Ginkotsu rushed over, using his body to block the strike.
*Clang!*
Muramasa struck Ginkotsu's body, leaving only a shallow mark.
"Humph, my body is—"
Before Ginkotsu's mechanical voice could finish...
Kanbe Hikaru's knee slammed into his chest, and a thick Bone Spike erupted from the knee, piercing straight through Ginkotsu's torso.
"Gah!"
Ginkotsu made a final sound as the mechanisms in his chest began to smoke.
"Not good!"
Bankotsu's face changed drastically. "Ginkotsu is going to explode!"
Kanbe Hikaru sensed it too; he released Ginkotsu and retreated.
The next second.
Boom!
A massive explosion erupted in the center of the battlefield.
Ginkotsu's steel-forged, monolithic body suddenly disintegrated from within; amidst the sky-filling fragments, a burst of crimson split open like a blooming flower.
Flames immediately shot into the sky, and the shockwave sent nearby corpses flying.
Kanbe Hikaru was knocked back a dozen steps, and slight cracks appeared on his bone armor, but [Bloodthirsty Immortality] was still active.
Those cracks were rapidly mending.
Soon, the dust and smoke quickly dissipated, leaving only four figures on the battlefield.
Bankotsu, Jakotsu, Suikotsu, and Renkotsu, who lay on the ground.
Most of Renkotsu's left shoulder had been blown away, and blood was flowing profusely.
"Retreat—"
Bankotsu gritted his teeth.
He knew they couldn't win.
Mukotsu was dead, Kyokotsu was dead, and Ginkotsu had exploded.
The remaining members were simply no match for this Oni Samurai.
This demon's strength wasn't much greater than his own, and his speed wasn't an absolute advantage, yet he seemed to have no weaknesses. Furthermore, those bones were ever-changing, making it impossible to defend against.
"Thinking of running?"
Kanbe Hikaru held Muramasa, instinctively preparing to give chase... but just then, Ginkotsu's fragments scattered across the ground actually began a secondary disintegration—a secondary explosion!
!!?
Although the scale of the explosions was smaller than before, there were more of them. Clusters of sparks bloomed once again, and the rising black smoke forced Kanbe Hikaru to halt his steps and retreat, barely managing to evade them—
By the time the explosions stopped and the black smoke spread, Bankotsu and the other two had already vanished.
He only had time to spread his blood mist at the last moment.
But even if he wanted to chase, he could no longer catch up.
Kanbe Hikaru stopped and looked around.
As the black smoke settled, a thick aura of resentment still permeated the air.
The resentment of those who died at the hands of the Band of Seven was continuously condensing.
"Forget it."
He gave up the pursuit.
Ginkotsu's secondary explosion had been unexpected, and the remaining three members of the Band of Seven fled very quickly. If they were determined to run, he certainly wouldn't catch them now, and he might instead lose his only chance for 'interrogation'... Moreover, Kanbe Hikaru was well aware and could feel that Bankotsu's Banryu was quite talented, possessing the potential to grow into a demon weapon—it just needed to be fed.
Leaving him alive to let him grow might lead to a 'harvest' later on.
In any case, he had already left 'blood' on that guy—using blood as an eye and sensing through blood, he could monitor and even control the other's actions to a certain extent, preventing him from doing evil. He could even set restrictions, limiting the other to only killing wicked people to nourish the blade—on this basis, he feared no accidents.
Kanbe Hikaru walked over to Renkotsu.
This guy wasn't dead yet; although heavily injured, he was still breathing.
"Now."
Kanbe Hikaru crouched down, the tip of Muramasa pressed against Renkotsu's throat, and interrogated: "Speak. What did you come here for, and who sent you?"
Renkotsu looked into those crimson eyes, his whole body trembling.
"I... I'll talk... I'll tell you everything..."
His desire to survive was very strong.
"Don't kill me... please don't kill me..."
Kanbe Hikaru didn't speak, merely using the tip of the blade to make a shallow cut on his neck.
Blood flowed out.
"Speak quickly."
"It's... it's Kyoto..."
Renkotsu's voice was shaking: "A noble... hired us..."
"Told us to take advantage of the war between the Hojo Clan and the Imagawa Clan to cause slaughter in this area..."
"To create resentment..."
"It's... it's Kyoto..."
"Why?"
Kanbe Hikaru's voice was cold.
"We... we don't know... that noble didn't say..."
Renkotsu swallowed: "But our boss said that guy might not be human, but a demon—an incredibly powerful Great Yokai!"
Kanbe Hikaru's eyes narrowed.
A demon from Kyoto.
Resentment created in advance.
It was hard for him not to associate this with himself—or rather, with the object in Kikyo's possession.
"The Shikon Jewel."
He uttered those three words.
This thing had already been exposed, and it would indeed attract the covetous eyes of demons from all sides.
Before they had demonstrated enough power to protect its existence!
Renkotsu's body shook even more violently.
Although they weren't entirely sure, they had guessed as much—the Band of Seven had their own intelligence network as well.
Kanbe Hikaru stood up.
He already knew what he wanted to know.
"Anything else to say?"
He asked.
Renkotsu opened his mouth, wanting to say something.
But Kanbe Hikaru no longer wanted to listen.
Muramasa slashed down, clean and decisive.
[Bloodthirsty Immortality] activated one last time.
Renkotsu's blood was absorbed, and all the injuries on Kanbe Hikaru's body were healed.
Kanbe Hikaru sheathed his blade and turned to walk toward Kikyo.
The priestess stood not far away, watching it all with a calm expression.
"Let's go."
Kanbe Hikaru said: "Back to Kaede Village."
If that demon from Kyoto was after the Shikon Jewel.
Then they certainly wouldn't spare the village Kikyo originally protected.
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