Chapter 20

It has been several days since the duel between Kenshin and Rin Ei. During these days, Shin has used money to smooth things over, barely managing to cover up the incident involving Rin Ei. Now, with his right arm joint broken, Rin Ei can no longer engage in the business of killing with a sword. Currently, Shin has employed Rin Ei to watch the shop in his absence, as ensuring the prosperity of his business is still very important to Shin, to avoid raising suspicions about the source of his money.

At first, Rin Ei was unable to accept his situation and wanted to commit suicide, but under Shin's surveillance, it was difficult for Rin Ei to die, even when he tried to bite his tongue, Shin stopped him by stuffing a cloth in his mouth first. After three days of such treatment, Rin Ei finally gave in. After all, not being able to eat and having a cloth stuffed in his mouth was unbearable, while agreeing to live would allow him to lead a relatively normal life. Rin Ei chose to survive.

"Kenshin, what do you think the dice show?" Sano asked, listening to the dice.

"Five, six and a half." Kenshin shamelessly used the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu's technique to read the moves in gambling, easily predicting the outcome of the dice.

The lid was lifted, revealing a five and a six. "As expected of the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, your eyesight is truly sharp," Sano praised. With Kenshin's help, Sano won repeatedly, and soon a considerable number of chips were piled up beside him.

"Hey, Sano, can you go easy on us?" Others, unaware of the situation, were surprised by Sano's luck.

"I'm ready for a big fight. By the way, where's Shou? He always comes when there's gambling."

"Don't you know? Shou died a few days ago."

Hearing this, Sano immediately stood up and asked loudly, "What happened? Was it illness or an accident?"

"It was poisoning; Shou ingested a large amount of poison and died."

At that moment, the sliding door at the entrance was pulled open, and a girl with long black hair and a beautiful face burst in. "Please help me, there are evil people chasing me." Before she could finish speaking, several pursuers had already caught up. Initially, they thought it would be easy to catch a weak woman, but they didn't expect to run into Sano, who was filled with anger over the death of his friend. The pursuers couldn't withstand Sano's casual punches and all fell to the ground. After a brief interrogation, they revealed that they were underlings of Takeda Karyu, sent to capture a woman named Takako Ei.

After being punched by Sano, the pursuers were too weak to move. At this moment, several spiral darts interrupted Sano's questioning. A short person was sitting in the corner of the room, holding spiral darts in both hands. "Takako Ei, you can't run. You are being watched at all times. Come back with me."

Takako Ei naturally refused to return to Takeda Karyu. Upon hearing her refusal, the man, named Akuma, launched a spiral dart, and Sano's two friends immediately fell to the ground, bleeding profusely.

"I'll break your legs as punishment."

Akuma launched two more spiral darts, but this time they missed. Kenshin quickly rushed in front of Takako Ei, using his right hand to slap the edge of a tatami mat, which flew up and blocked the darts, preventing them from hitting Takako Ei.

"Although I don't know the details, I won't stand by if someone is hurt in front of me."

Kenshin placed his right hand on the hilt of his sakabatou, while Akuma slowly retreated and prepared to launch another dart. However, Akuma underestimated Sano, and Kenshin's speed exceeded Akuma's expectations. Before Akuma could launch the dart, Kenshin and Sano's punches had already landed on his face, sending him flying through the paper door and two walls before landing.

After seeing the skills of the two, Takako Ei wanted to recruit them, but Kenshin discovered drugs hidden in her sleeve. After a thorough interrogation, they took Takako Ei back to the Kamiya Dojo. Of course, Kenshin was beaten by Kamiya Kaoru for bringing Takako Ei back.

The next day, Kenshin and the others found the pursuers who had tried to capture Takako Ei by the river. They had already been dealt with by Takeda Karyu. Shin and Rin Ei, with his injured arm, were also present, and Takeda Karyu and Shishio Makoto were watching Takako Ei from a distance. Takako Ei saw them and quickly informed the others.

Back at the Kamiya Dojo, Takako Ei detailed Shishio's situation to Kenshin. It turned out that Shishio was the leader of the Oniwabanshu, and his subordinates were all highly skilled. Shishio himself was even more terrifying, having become the leader of the Oniwabanshu at a young age due to his incredible talent, which was comparable to Kenshin's. That night, with the sound of the outer wall of the Kamiya Dojo breaking, a large figure rushed in. Since the enemy had come to their doorstep, Kenshin and the others had no choice but to fight. A man about two meters tall, with well-developed arms and an unusually fat body, stood in the dojo's courtyard.

"Bring out Takako Ei, and I might go easy on you."

"Are you from the Oniwabanshu?" Sano asked.

"Yes, I am a mid-level spy of the Oniwabanshu, Ugly Man," the spy proudly answered.

Ugly Man then challenged them to a fight, and after a discussion, Sano stepped forward. Seeing Sano charge, Ugly Man punched, but due to his large size, his punch was slow. Sano easily dodged and delivered a powerful right hook to Ugly Man's stomach, causing stomach acid to spray out over a meter.

"Even if your attacks are powerful, they are useless if they miss." Sano maintained his punching stance, smirking. However, his smile soon faded. Ugly Man took a deep breath, and sparks flew as his remaining four teeth collided. A flame shot out from Ugly Man's mouth, hitting Sano. Fortunately, Sano reacted quickly, using his clothes as a shield to block the flames and escape.

Just as Ugly Man was about to press his advantage, Kenshin stepped in. Ugly Man had planned to deal with Sano first, but Kenshin's words enraged him.

"Even if you stand still, your street performer's tricks can't even burn a single hair on my head." Kenshin drew his sakabatou.

Hearing this, Ugly Man became furious. Underestimating me? Watch this. A large ball of flame shot out from Ugly Man's mouth towards Kenshin. Seeing the flames approach, Kenshin held his sakabatou horizontally, and a pale blue sword energy beam shot out, colliding with the flames. Not a single flame could penetrate the sword energy to reach Kenshin.

'This is the Kekkai of the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, but it will probably be a strain on Kenshin's stamina,' Sano thought. Meanwhile, Takako Ei was trying to escape during the chaos but was stopped by Kamiya Kaoru.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kaoru asked.

"Ugly Man is a mid-level spy of the Oniwabanshu; they probably won't win," Takako Ei said, not knowing Kenshin's strength, but Kaoru did.

"No, Kenshin will win. He's not just any swordsman. Watch." Takako Ei turned around, her eyes widening. No matter how the flames shot out, the pale blue sword energy around Kenshin always deflected them. Soon, the flames stopped, and Kenshin remained unharmed.

"Now you know who the street performer is." Kenshin lowered his sakabatou and looked at Ugly Man.

'Even after using five liters of oil, I still can't hurt this person...' Seeing the situation, Ugly Man quickly removed the oil drum on his back to refill his fuel. Kenshin was about to stop him but was held back by Sano.

"Kenshin, didn't I say I'd take care of this guy?"

Seeing Sano's determination, Kenshin stepped back, and Ugly Man finished refilling his fuel. (How did he drink so much oil so quickly, and how did he get it into his stomach? -_-|||)

"Who would have thought there are such foolish people in the world. I, Ugly Man, will turn you to ashes."

A much larger flame shot out from Ugly Man's mouth. This time, Sano didn't retreat but charged through the flames, reaching into Ugly Man's mouth and pulling out the oil bag. Ugly Man, taking advantage of Sano's burned hand, tried to take a cheap shot but was kicked in the face by Sano, causing him to fall unconscious.

"No matter how much fat you have on your stomach, your head can't withstand a hit." Sano walked over to check on Ugly Man and decided to wake him up with water. At this moment, Akuma, hiding in a tree, saw Ugly Man's failure and, in a fit of anger, attacked Takako Ei. Kenshin sensed the danger but couldn't stop the spiral dart from being launched, which was about to hit Takako Ei...

At that moment, a slightly thicker but extremely sharp column of condensed sword energy shot out, hitting the tip of the spiral dart, breaking it and continuing to create a large hole in the branch where Akuma was standing. The branch couldn't support Akuma's weight and broke, causing him to fall.

Kenshin took advantage of Akuma's inability to move in mid-air and jumped towards him.

"Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu Dragon Flash!"

The Dragon Flash hit Akuma's chin, and he fell again. However, before Akuma hit the ground, a black figure rushed in and carried him away. Everyone looked at the black figure, a ninja with a white ghost mask and striped arms, holding Akuma and Ugly Man on the wall. Kenshin tried to stop them, but the masked man blocked his sakabatou with his hand, and a metallic sound echoed. The masked man then punched Kenshin with his left hand, sending him flying and escaping with the Oniwabanshu members.

"I am a high-level spy of the Oniwabanshu, Hannya. We will settle the matter of hiding Takako Ei later." The Oniwabanshu's speed was unmatched, and they disappeared in seconds.

"It seems you've gotten yourselves into a significant trouble." Shin appeared on the other side of the wall, but neither the Oniwabanshu nor Kenshin and the others had noticed his presence, demonstrating the effectiveness of his Kekkai technique.

"Master... were you watching the whole time?" Kenshin was speechless, "If you had intervened, that Oniwabanshu spy wouldn't have escaped."

"Take it easy, Kenshin. I only came over when I sensed a fire. Besides, the trouble is your doing. I had to come and take care of you in the middle of the night, and you don't even say thank you. Do you want me to give you a lesson?" Seeing Shin smiling, Kenshin backed away, "No, Master, please don't. o(>﹏<)o"

"Enough talk!"

"Oh no..."

(New skill: Ki Blade Slash - Piercing Insight. Ultimate Technique? Initiate, requires the user to understand it.)

Current status:

Heart Coins: 880

Rurouni Kenshin World

Name: Tenshin Shin

Gender: Male

Physical Attributes:

Physical strength is about nine times that of an average person.

Detailed Attributes:

Strength 90 (10) - Affects burst strength, pure strength, and strength beyond limits.

Agility 98 (10) - Affects speed, reaction time, and intuitive strength.

Stamina 94 (10) - Affects endurance, recovery speed, and the ability to withstand certain techniques.

Skills: Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu

No-sword style (costs 10 Heart Coins)

Mastery of all cold weapons (costs 200 Heart Coins)

Mastery of all firearms (costs 200 Heart Coins)

Martial arts master (costs 10 Heart Coins)

Acquired Heart Powers:

Killing Heart Level 2: Does not waver in most situations when killing others, has resistance to certain illusions, and gains minor recovery from killing.

Mercy Heart Level 1+: A necessary heart for a strong person, has resistance to certain illusions, and gains minor recovery from helping others.

Ordinary Heart Level 1: Daily life can cultivate one's character, has resistance to certain illusions, and can gain the favor of ordinary people.

Other powers not yet activated.

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