Chapter 780: How Dare You! Show Respect to Lord Niō!

It’s no surprise what a drunken person might do.

Aoto simply regarded Shimizu Gosaku and his group, who attacked him without even the willingness to negotiate, as “drunk and disorderly”.

It wasn’t until now that Aoto belatedly noticed how bloodshot Shimizu Gosaku’s eyes were, the dense red veins almost filling his entire eyes.

At this moment, Aoto vaguely felt something strange… Does this person have some eye disease?

Back to Shimizu Gosaku—he tightly held his left elbow, which was just twisted by Aoto, and slowly got up, suddenly letting out heavy breathing.

“Huff… huff…! Huff…! Huff…!”

He released his left elbow and pressed his palms tightly against his forehead.

Clouds of turbid air were expelled from his tightly clenched teeth.

When he let go of his palms and slowly raised his face, Aoto suddenly realized: this person’s gaze was as muddy and “murky” as a dirt road in a rainstorm!

Swoosh!

Shimizu Gosaku suddenly drew the wakizashi hanging at his left waist.

The bright silver blade reflected a dazzling cold glint under the moonlight.

The crowd watching burst into exclamations.

Ugly expressions reappeared on the faces of Ozuki Minoru’s group.

“Lord Gosaku?”

Shimizu Gosaku’s underlings all showed frightened expressions.

A bare-handed fight and using a knife… these are two different nature of incidents!

Shimizu Gosaku ignored all the reactions from the outside world.

He just assumed a stance and charged towards Aoto’s chest like an arrow with both himself and his sword!

If this sword hit surely… Aoto would either be severely injured or dead.

Such a ruthless move from this guy… Aoto’s eyelids and complexion both sank.

Facing Shimizu Gosaku, who was swaying due to drunkenness, the attack he launched, with the two talents of “Eagle Eye” and “See Through,” Aoto naturally had no reason not to evade it.

Aoto calmly sidestepped a half step to the left, letting Shimizu Gosaku’s wakizashi stab into thin air.

Aoto was amazed to find that Shimizu Gosaku’s strength and speed seemed to have increased significantly compared to just now.

With the missed attack, Shimizu Gosaku quickly regained his stance, delivering the next strike towards Aoto.

This time, Shimizu Gosaku changed to a completely new attack approach—he reversed the grip on the wakizashi in his right hand, lowered his center of gravity, and his left hand formed a claw, striking towards Aoto’s left shoulder like a black tiger snatching a heart.

From Shimizu Gosaku’s actions, Aoto immediately recognized the martial art he was using—a variant of Jujutsu: Kogusoku-jutsu.

Kogusoku-jutsu is a martial art born on the battlefield, specifically designed to deal with enemies wearing armor.

First throw the opponent to the ground, then use the wakizashi to attack the neck, armpits, and other gaps in the armor.

Because of its strong lethality and its suitability for street fighting, Kogusoku-jutsu is one of the most popular martial arts among thieves and Yakuza.

Therefore, during the years working at the North Station Town Patrol, Kogusoku-jutsu was one of the martial arts Aoto most frequently encountered.

This time, Aoto did not dodge like before but stood firm with legs apart, allowing Shimizu Gosaku’s left claw to grab on.

The moment the hand gripped Aoto’s left shoulder tightly, Shimizu Gosaku exerted force from his waist, using all his strength as if trying to topple Aoto to the ground.

However, he was shocked to find that he couldn’t move Aoto’s body at all.

Aoto’s body was like it was rooted to the ground, flexible and stable, his feet seemingly growing roots into the earth.

Taking advantage of the situation, Aoto clenched the fingers of his left hand and delivered a karate chop to Shimizu Gosaku’s right wrist.

In an instant, Shimizu Gosaku cried out in pain, and the wakizashi in his right hand clattered to the ground with a clink.

The next moment, Aoto sank his waist, inserting both arms under Shimizu Gosaku’s armpits, and with a burst of effort, he hurled him out.

Shimizu Gosaku’s body, not heavy at all, was thrown several meters away like a rag, meeting the ground with his back in a close encounter.

“Lord Gosaku!”

The subordinates of Shimizu Gosaku struggled to stand up, despite their various pains, and ran towards the fallen Shimizu Gosaku.

However, before his subordinates reached him, Shimizu Gosaku got up by himself.

As he rose, he silently reached into the fold of his yukata and pulled out a waist sword.

The so-called waist sword is a short sword even smaller than a wakizashi.

Still wanting to continue fighting Aoto, Shimizu Gosaku rudely shoved aside his gathered subordinates and once again charged straight at Aoto.

Shimizu Gosaku’s resilience was somewhat beyond Aoto’s expectations.

“Ha…” Aoto, while closely watching the cold glint approaching closer and closer, slightly sank his waist, and his naturally hanging right hand slowly moved to the hilt of the Ghost-Slaying blade.

Then—

Clang!

The sword’s cold gleam eclipsed the moonlight!

The white blade that ejected from the sheath accurately hit the tip of the waist sword in mid-air, directly knocking Shimizu Gosaku’s waist sword flying.

The “soaring” waist sword flew to a height of nearly three stories before landing heavily roof-first on the roof of a nearby store.

This clean slash from Aoto seemed to sober up Shimizu Gosaku a bit.

A flash of fear crossed his face, causing him to retreat several steps back into the midst of his subordinates.

If Aoto wished, Shimizu Gosaku and his subordinates would have long become corpses.

The reason for his delayed lethal strike… was not due to fear, but because if he resorted to killing tonight, then he and Mukiwa would definitely miss watching fireworks tonight.