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Their weapons were sharpened and ready. The hooks were firmly attached to coils of rope. They would have Rokkaku and Sasaki throw them onto the iron trading vessel as they passed it, allowing them to secure a footing, and pull themselves closer, before they jumped decks and began their ruthless slaughter.

Rin and Akiko were nervous, but by now the adrenaline that pumped through their veins far outweighed the anxiety. They would choose to follow Togashi’s advice, and no matter what happened, strive to stay alive. That was the best they could hope for.

Their small ship crashed through the waves with an authority that it previously did not have, covering the distance quickly. The scenery around them changed, the rows of impassable cliffs gradually gave way to lengths of beach and open shores, before finally, they caught sight of Toyokawa bay, which had once been their destination.

As anticipated, the iron trading vessel was nowhere in sight. The only sh.i.p.s on the horizon seemed to be fishing boats, operated by simple fishermen, who would certainly not be able to get in their way, whatever might happen.

No doubt there were guards posted, monitoring the waters at all time. And said guards would have to report any anomalies to the town governor, or whoever was left in charge of keeping peace within Toyokawa.

The men they could mobilize had certainly dwindled ever since Imagawa had set out on campaign, but they still had to pay attention, as their numbers would be far superior to their own.

"Continue along the coast! We’ll catch the ship before it arrives!"

Morohira ordered, as they kept the sails up and continued to travel at full speed.

They rounded the port, passing all the sh.i.p.s that were docked, and it was very likely that their unusual looking ship caught a few eyes. But they were not suspicious enough for anyone to come in pursuit - they had not yet given them a reason to fear the black sailed ship.

Fishing boats continued to be commonplace, and it seemed that their attack would certainly not go unnoticed, proving that the effort spent in preparing their disguise was not wasted in the least.

Morohira stood at the front of his ship, with his foot on the side, and eyes firmly pinned to the horizon. He was on the lookout for any anomalies within the state of ocean affairs, and more importantly, he was on the lookout for the trading skiff that Isabella had mentioned.

They ended up travelling a good length along the shore, and they still had not caught sight of it. If they continued any further, they would end up in the waters of the Totomi province, which lay just before Suruga.

But he did not order that they slow, or simply wait - he ploughed forward. Once you lost momentum, that was when the fear started to set in. And though he did not consciously think that, he knew that inaction was bad for men who would soon be sent into battle.

"Is that it..?"

Togashi asked. He was one of the more eagle-eyed amongst them, and could differentiate small objects on the horizon from what the rest saw to simply be a mass of water.

"Hm?"

His words captured the attention of the rest, as they looked towards where he was referring to, squinting, trying to work out what he was seeing.

The object soon became larger, as they travelled forward at a great speed, and the ship he spotted was also travelling in their direction.

"That’s got to be it!"

He affirmed, louder this time. And soon the others started to see what he was seeing.

"Ah! Yes. I see it now."

Akiko seconded. It was most likely their quarry. The waters at this time of day were not dense with sh.i.p.s – only that of the easily identifiable fishing boats. It met all the requirements. The time. The location. The size. They closed in.

"PREPARE TO ROW!"

He called out. It might have been deemed unnecessary to prepare an extra bout of speed, considering both sh.i.p.s were closing in on each other rapidly, but he did not wish to miss the window of opportunity, only to circle round, and give chase, which would alert them to the peril that they were in.

They ran below deck, and claimed an oar each, leaving only Morohira and Togashi on the upper deck to give the orders.

They grew closer and closer.

"Togashi, angle the sails."

They were going quickly – likely too quickly for an accurate shot to be made with their hooks, but the main problem was that with the course they were on, the trading skiff would pass them by around 100 metres.

It grew closer and closer.

"ROKKAKU, SASAKI! IT’S TIME!"

He decided to call the two men up, so that they might attempt to land their hooks. But he left the rest below, in case they missed, and they needed to rapidly turn around and catch up once more.

It was 50 metres in front of them by now, and getting closer by the second. They could make out the men on the deck now, and they could likely be made out themselves.

It might prove entertaining for a spectator to wonder at what point the crew of the iron trading vessel realized they were in danger. Perhaps it was the moment they saw men donned in black. Or perhaps it was when they drew closer, and were able to make out the demon masks. But certainly, once they saw the large frames of Rokkaku and Sasaki begin to twirl around huge iron hooks, they knew they were in trouble.

It was a difficult shot to make, and timing was everything. Morohira spoke not a word, allowing them the fullest of concentration. Their bodies were tensed in anticipation – even those below deck, who could not see what was happening, but they could certainly hear it.

FWOOSH

Rokkaku released his first, sending it sailing through the air. His eyes met with one of the crewmen of the trading skiff, and he heard him curse aloud.

"WHAT THE F.U.C.K!"

They were words that would normally come off as aggressive, but these were laced in fear. Much to his relief, the hook was released too late, and it bounced off the rear of their ship as they passed, flowing harmlessly into the water.

The instant he saw Sasaki throw his, Morohira gave the order.

"EVERYONE ABOVE DECK, NOW! LOWER THE SAILS! PREPARE TO BOARD!"

His voice was roaring thunder above the ocean waves, and it rang into the trader’s ears like a death sentence. The single hook remaining swam through the air confidently, as though it was always meant to be this way.

THWAMP

And then, it landed on their deck. Time froze as they stared at it in blind panic, as a soldier might stare at a live grenade should it land beside him. Multiple thoughts passed through their head, but more than anything, an overwhelming sense of fear and dread flooded through them. One merely needed to look upon the enemy they had encountered for them to realize the chances of their survival were very slim.

Time resumed, and the sh.i.p.s seemed to be about to pass one another. But the hook was pulled tight, biting into the wood at the side of the ship. One end was attached to their own vessel, and the two sh.i.p.s exchanged momentum, rendering them momentarily paused, before they began to pull back towards each other.

The rest of their men flooded the deck, as Sasaki pulled them towards their target, with those massive arms of his. He let out a roar, as his biceps strained, and veins bulged. His upper back felt as though it was ready to detach itself. And then, Rokkaku came to the rescue, lending his power, and they were pulled gradually closer.

As per Morohira’s command, the sails were already lowered with a single pull of the rope. This ensured they would not damage their vessel from the aggressive winds as they attempted to remain stationary, attached to the trading skiff. It would do nothing to compromise their disguise, as it was simply a part of a normal ship’s functionality.

A second hook was thrown over by Morohira himself, and Togashi joined him in pulling them closer. A third was thrown, and the trading skiff was rendered immobile, gradually being pulled towards the black-armoured demons.

Rin and Akiko stood with their swords ready – swords were better suited to close-quarters fighting like this – alongside Ii, and Jikouji.

CREEEEEEQUE

The two vessels collided, and became stationary. Before the traders could even pause to catch their breaths, Morohira had leapt onto their deck fearlessly, brandishing his sword.

There were six men on the enemy vessel in total. They held their swords and axes out uselessly in front of them, as tears drifted down their faces, and they were completely consumed by fear.

Without mercy, Morohira drove his sword through the first man, before kicking him from his blade.

The rest followed behind him. Akiko and Rin stuck together and targeted a single man. It was not much of a fight, as the trader was quivering in fear, his sword shaking. But they took his life, as was their duty. The only thing that mattered in this raid was speed. Hostages would slow them down, and so they were slain. It was something they had discussed beforehand, and any remorse they felt would have to wait.

The traders were weak individuals, and hopelessly outnumbered. They were quickly slaughtered like cattle, staining their black armour with blood, and rendering the deck slick.

"LOAD THE CARGO, NOW!"

Morohira barked, quickly descending toward the lower deck. And there it was. Filling half of the space. Lumps of iron ore, bundled loosely into sacks. They were heavy, and had been loaded up by the muscular miners who were accustomed to such tasks. The majority of the men shouldered them without a problem, but Akiko and Rin had to work together in order to shift one bag. They merely placed the sacks on the upper deck of their vessel. They would be moved later, but speed was everything for now. They had to complete their task before one of the numerous fishing boats in the area alerted the local authorities, and caused them problems.

"FASTER, LET’S KEEP MOVING!"

He barked, the adrenaline taking over. No matter how fast they moved, it would never be fast enough for his liking. Or for any of their liking for that matter. They moved as fast as they possibly could.

It was ten minutes before the unloading was complete – far too long. But if one considered how long it had taken the miners, then it was an acceptable amount. So quick was their haste to leave, that rather than unhooking the hook, they simply sliced through the rope, before setting sail once more.

"MEN, TO THE OARS!"

He barked, giving them time to ready themselves, before calling out the pace. They needed to move as fast as possible, and could not care about anything else.

"ONE, TWO, ONE, TWO."

He barked. They gradually picked up speed as the wind took hold, and they barrelled their way past Toyokawa port.