Aoto and others, forced to retreat by Chiba Daisaburo’s Big Windmill, happened to line up in a straight line.
“Hey... if this keeps going, we might lose.”
Hijikata wiped away the sweat about to drip from his chin with the back of his left hand, and in a low voice that only they could hear, he spoke.
“Let’s work together.”
“Asheng, you attack from the left, I’ll attack from the right, force this guy to make a mistake.”
“Tachibana and Toshisuke, you two with fast footwork, seize the moment, and as soon as you see this guy make a mistake, strike at the bowl on his head.”
The task division by Hijikata was simple and clear.
At this stage, compared to charging mindlessly, dividing work based on each person’s personality and favored battle strategy is undoubtedly much more efficient.
Therefore, without overthinking, Aoto, Toshisuke, and Kondo nodded in agreement.
Kondo and Hijikata moved first.
Following Hijikata’s earlier instructions, they launched a pincer attack on Chiba Daisaburo, one from the left and one from the right.
Aoto and Toshisuke followed half a step later, ready to launch a decisive strike on Chiba Daisaburo the moment Kondo and Hijikata’s attack caused him to make a mistake.
Facing Kondo and Hijikata’s aggressive charge, Chiba Daisaburo did not dodge.
He positioned his sword, ready for a head-on confrontation!
At this moment, Chiba Daisaburo’s passive skill of “multitasking” was once again demonstrated in its overwhelming might.
He wielded two swords, each carrying out its duty— the wakizashi in his left hand taking on Kondo, the tachi in his right hand dealing with Hijikata.
His eyes swiftly moved, his gaze constantly shifting across the “battlefield” on both sides of his body.
After glancing at the direction Kondo’s sword was coming from on the left, he immediately shifted his gaze to observe what Hijikata was planning on the right...
He never lingered his gaze on anyone for more than a second.
Handling the pincer attack from two people simultaneously, he remained unfazed, exuding a demeanor of effortless skill!
During this, Aoto and Toshisuke didn’t stay idle. They kept looking for opportunities to launch surprise attacks on Chiba Daisaburo.
But their swords, without exception, were all either blocked or dodged by Chiba Daisaburo.
Not only handling Kondo and Hijikata’s fierce pincer attack, but also sparing the focus to deal with Aoto and Toshisuke’s ambushes... such observational skills, such brain information processing ability, such reaction speed, truly awe-inspiring.
Aoto was certain: Chiba Daisaburo must be a super genius with multiple powerful talents.
Mere brain information processing ability for multitasking could never unleash such overwhelming sword skill.
No matter what level the battle is, victory or defeat often hinges on minor details.
Hijikata wasn’t someone with ample physical strength.
This moment, perhaps due to prolonged high-intensity combat, his body and mind were weary, causing his movement to retract his sword to be half a beat slow.
Just a blink of an eye would let this fleeting opportunity slip away... yet Chiba Daisaburo, with ridiculously swift bodily reaction speed, seized it!
Whoosh—!
Chiba Daisaburo suddenly lifted the tachi, and in the instant when its tip was raised to its highest, “aligned” with the sun climbing to the zenith, the sword slashed out fiercely!
Hijikata’s pupils shrank instantly.
Instinctively, he wanted to lift the sword to respond— but the bamboo sword he’d just swung wasn’t back yet.
However much Hijikata might be an experienced “Thorny Evil Child” in battle.
The bodily instincts cultivated from rich combat experience aided Hijikata to avert disaster at this moment.
Realizing it was too late to defend, Hijikata’s body reacted ahead of his mind— he kicked the ground with both feet, leaping backward with force to create distance from Chiba Daisaburo.
The tip of the tachi grazed along Hijikata’s shirt front... Hijikata’s timely move successfully evaded Chiba Daisaburo’s strike, yet the hasty dodge left Hijikata’s balance and posture extremely unstable.
Chiba Daisaburo only needed to launch a follow-up strike to send Hijikata off the field for a rest.
Aoto, Toshisuke, and Kondo saw Hijikata in danger at this moment and quickly rushed forward, attempting to cover for Hijikata.
But with Chiba Daisaburo, who grasped battle opportunities so well, obviously wouldn’t let Aoto and others rescue Hijikata so easily.
His eyes angled slightly, instantly recognizing Aoto and others’ positions, and then raised his left-hand wakizashi... the wakizashi swiftly swung, building an invisible solid wall.
A wall blocking Aoto and the others outside, making it hard to advance further.
Using just one wakizashi to hold back the trio of Aoto... at most, it could delay them for only about 2 seconds.
However, for Chiba Daisaburo, 2 seconds was enough!
Seizing this gap while Aoto, Toshisuke, and Kondo were held back, Chiba Daisaburo thrust forward, closing in on the still-unaligned Hijikata.
His unsteady posture made him unable to lift the sword to defend or move his feet to dodge... truly helpless.
Bang!
Following Inoue, Hijikata’s porcelain bowl was shattered...
The reality of defeat turned the proud and fiery-tempered Hijikata’s face pale.
But Hijikata wasn’t one to be a sore loser.
Although the harsh reality was difficult for him to accept, Hijikata remained expressionless, carrying his bamboo sword, silently retreating off the field.

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