AI Model: moonshotai/kimi-k2-instruct-0905
Chapter 9 – Returning to the Rescue
"Is… that monster dead?"
A Bandit, seeing Roland blasted away by Misyama-in Enshin's spear, scrambled to the edge of the bridge to check if he was truly gone.
Every Bandit held his breath, staring at the spot, while Nogami Gensai and the others cast worried glances.
The battlefield sank into an eerie silence.
After a long moment, the Bandit who still saw no figure beneath the surface muttered,
"Can't see him—maybe he really drowned…"
Before the words faded, a huge hand shot up from under the bridge and clamped around his throat.
Soaked hair hung over the attacker's brow; below it, two pitch-black eyes stared without a sound—like a vengeful spirit pulled from the depths.
Using the Bandit's body as leverage, Roland hauled himself up, hooked an arm over the rail, and vaulted back onto the bridge.
He kicked the Bandit off the side, looked around, grinned, and charged the rest with his blade.
The Bandits scattered as if they'd seen a ghost; some even leapt into the river rather than face him.
Roland reached the spot where he'd fought Misyama-in Enshin, pried the green treasure chest from the corpse, and kept moving.
At a measured pace he could have taken Enshin cleanly, but time was bleeding away and the main estate needed them now; only a brutal trade of wounds would end it fast.
His samurai plate and the Ashina Style technique "Flowing Water" to bleed off force kept the damage within bounds—some pills on the run back would patch the rest.
By the time they regained the barricade, the obstacles had been doused in oil. Roland met Nogami Gensai's eyes, nodded, and flipped several torches onto the pile.
Flames roared skyward, driving everyone back a pace; in their glare the Ryūsen River itself seemed unsure whether it reflected firelight or blood.
They sprinted for the manor, but on Bamboo Slope a pack of purple-clad ninja barred the way.
"Sorry—I still need a few heads for my promotion. Be good enough to stay?"
Nogami Gensai glared at the Lone Shadows blocking the path and roared,
"If you want them—come and take them!"
He turned to Roland.
"Lord Blackday, we'll open the road. Leave Lord Kuro and the master to you!"
Roland said nothing; he simply dipped his head.
Nogami looked to the three other samurai and the young retainers.
"Then let's go!"
"Yeah!"
The Hirata Clan retainers charged the Lone Shadows, steel ringing and killing intent flaring.
In moments, through sheer reckless courage, they carved an opening.
Roland shot through the gap like an arrow loosed from a bow.
A Lone Shadow tried to stop him; Roland lopped off an arm, split the ninja's chest, and left the corpse behind.
His hurrying figure vanished into the distance.
Nogami parried the leader's kick, rolled his wrist for a reverse cut—and missed as the man danced aside.
"So you're one of those Ashina soldiers? That all you've got?"
Nogami answered with a textbook Ashina One-Stringer, the stroke he drilled hundreds of times each day.
He lacked Black Day's sword genius; only rote repetition had burned the move into his muscles.
Lord Isshin had warned him not to mimic others—Ashina Style should flow like the source-water, changing with the moment—but Nogami's heart shackled his blade, making his swordsmanship as stiff as the man himself.
Yet even a rigid edge can kill; his path still served the Hirata Clan by cutting down invaders.
The slash hurled the Lone Shadow away, blood spraying from the ninja's mouth.
"You—!"
The ninja crashed down, trembling finger raised toward the advancing Nogami, unable to speak.
Fear gripped him—while, not far off, Roland reached the manor gate.
"Oh, only you?"
Kiba Tadamasa lounged on a garden rock, head cocked, puzzled.
Beside him, his Ninja Dogs harried the last two warriors, darting in to bite whenever concentration lapsed, then leaping back.
Already the pair bled from a dozen wounds.
Roland assessed the scene and replied,
"To finish you, one is plenty."
Six dogs, four Lone Shadows—one an elite—with his current stamina it would be tight.
Time for a buff.
He drew a red Mibu-Buddha candy from his storage space, popped it into his mouth, and struck the "Vajra Warrior" posture.
Crimson light blazed, swirling over his body and condensing into the kanji for "Attack" across his torso.
["Haven't" Buddha Candy]
Origin: sekiro
Quality: White·Rare
Type: Consumable
Effect: +15% attack power and torso damage for 30 seconds.
Rating: 10 (Note: White items top at 10; a perfect score marks them 'Rare'.)
Description: Crush the candy, assume the "Haven't" stance, and a non-human spirit lends its aid.
Price: 500 paradise coins
…Pain lanced through his muscles as strength surged into his katana.
"Thirty seconds—enough to finish the lot of you!"
Ashina Cross-Slash!
He flashed forward; the crossing arcs bisected two dogs and tore a hole in the circle.
Pivoting, he whipped the blade overhead and slashed downward.
One stunned Lone Shadow fell; Roland sprang, landing with his full weight to drive the point through another ninja's chest.
A rip, a carve—one more down.