### Chapter 12: Mahoraga, Everyone Can Slay Him
Late at night, dozens of torches were set up in various corners, illuminating the front of the Ryuma Shrine as brightly as day.
From day to night, the samurai took turns going into battle.
The fighting continued.
Marubu stood on the hotel balcony, a thoughtful light flickering in his eyes.
He noticed a key point:
Mahoraga's adaptation mechanism was mainly triggered by "visual observation" and "damage bearing."
Among them, adaptation just by "seeing" was slow and even difficult to initiate deep analysis.
While the adaptation brought by "getting injured" was much more direct and efficient.
This led to the fact that the vast majority of what Mahoraga adapted to were more aggressive killing moves.
In other words...
The combat experience Marubu absorbed carried a distinct extreme characteristic—all offense and no defense!
"The best defense is offense, seems not bad..."
Moreover.
The moves of all the samurai who had fought with Mahoraga had been analyzed and recorded, resulting in the "Experience Library" of the Shikigami Temple becoming as vast and complex as the sea, with no shortage of shallow and mediocre sword techniques.
Marubu would have to invest a lot of energy next to filter out the truly valuable essence of swordsmanship from it.
"Another big project..." He sighed softly.
Footsteps approached, and Kaido, with a childish look still on his face, walked over: "This restaurant is so noisy, can anyone even sleep? Brother, how about we go downstairs to get something to eat?"
...
At 3 AM, the Shimotsuki Restaurant was still brightly lit.
In the lobby, crowds surged.
The samurai who had rushed over successively gathered eagerly in a corner: "Miss Furin, what's the situation now?"
Shimotsuki Furin's beautiful face was full of fatigue.
She didn't know why Mahoraga appeared. She only knew that since this Demon God showed up, he had stationed himself at the entrance of the Ryuma Shrine, seemingly with no intention of leaving, just waiting for people to come forward and challenge him.
Lasting from 3 PM to 3 AM, the fighting here hadn't stopped for a moment.
Such fierce clashes, yet not a single building was damaged, and not a single person died.
What did this mean?
Shimotsuki Furin bit her lip lightly, her beautiful purple eyes flickering in the firelight.
She subconsciously reached out, wanting to hold the sword at her waist to seek a trace of peace of mind.
But she grasped nothing.
"Damn it..."
Shimotsuki Furin sighed, forcing herself to calm down. "Twelve hundred samurai have already fought Mahoraga, but none could defeat him. Instead, eight hundred were injured and had their swords confiscated. That guy knows no fatigue and shows no weakness."
She looked up at everyone, her voice clear but heavy: "We need more attempts to figure out his background. What is certain for now is... Mahoraga possesses endless stamina and undying recovery power."
Shimotsuki Furin had read in the classics recorded by her family that there were ghostly things in this country.
Like "Evil Dragons," or "Mountain Gods"... Mahoraga might be of the same kind.
But there was one thing she couldn't figure out.
These ghostly things usually leaned more towards beastly nature, without much intelligence, only acting on instinct to be angry and destroy.
But what about Mahoraga?
He seemed to possess humanity and reason, deliberately avoiding destruction and killing, showing only pure combative instinct.
Is it just for fighting...
If they deliberately didn't challenge him and left Mahoraga aside, would this matter end just like that?
As soon as this thought emerged, Shimotsuki Furin shook her head to deny it.
Because Wano Country's weakness was completely held by him.
How to retrieve the National Treasure Shusui without fighting?
If Shusui remained stuck in that guy's crotch forever, displayed to the public with him, swaggering through the market together...
Shimotsuki Furin didn't dare to imagine that scene.
"Understood, Miss Shimotsuki."
"We'll try a few more times; we will definitely find more of Mahoraga's patterns!"
A column of samurai strode out of the restaurant.
Meanwhile.
In another corner of the lobby, Marubu and Kaido were enjoying a sumptuous late-night snack.
He somewhat regretted booking this restaurant because he hadn't anticipated that it would become a temporary base for dealing with Mahoraga.
The aroma of food filled the entire hall, causing dissatisfaction among others.
A samurai with an empty scabbard and bumps all over his head questioned: "Hey hey hey, what time is it? Mahoraga is stomping on our faces, and you two stinking brats are still eating and eating!"
Kaido slammed the table violently and cursed: "Defeated rat, don't wow-wow at me, or I'll kill you."
Hit where it hurt, the samurai's face instantly flushed red like a sweet potato: "You!! ...There is such a rude person in this world!"
"Idiot!" Kaido raised a middle finger.
Hearing the noise, Shimotsuki Furin walked over: "Enough! Now is not the time for internal strife! Everyone think of a way to deal with Mahoraga."
"Hehehe..." Marubu suddenly chuckled aloud.
Shimotsuki Furin noticed the anomaly then: "Wait, you are not from my Shimotsuki family!"
"Coinciding with the Sword God Festival, we are just travelers here to pay respects to the Sword God, and we just happen to be staying at this hotel."
Marubu spread his hands: "I am also very angry. How dare someone insult the Sword God! However, I also thought of a way."
"Oh? What way?"
Shimotsuki Furin looked at the young man sitting on the side: "If it's effective, my Shimotsuki family will surely be grateful."
"No need for heavy thanks. As a swordsman, I also can't bear the Sword God's prestige being defiled by a god or demon."
"Mahoraga, everyone can slay him!!!"
Marubu stood up and drank the somewhat bland shochu in his cup in one gulp: "You can unite with the Daimyo families, or seek help from the Shogun's residence, or issue bounty notices to invite people with lofty ideals to join the crusade. In short, the entire Wano Country must be involved to maintain the dignity of Sword God Ryuma together!"
The young man in front of her spoke with awe-inspiring righteousness. Shimotsuki Furin listened and nodded in agreement.
Although the person opposite was young, looking only sixteen or seventeen.
His idea hit the nail on the head.
Although Ryuma was the ancestor of the Shimotsuki family, he was also the Sword God revered by all people and the spiritual totem of the entire Wano Country.
Objectively, the Sword God was already a symbol belonging to the entire Wano Country.
It was indeed not a matter for the Shimotsuki family alone.
"I understand..."
Shimotsuki Furin nodded and bowed to Marubu: "Thank you for your suggestion!"
...
In the following months.
Samurai from Udon, Hakumai, Kibi, Kuri, and other regions all gathered in Ringo. Even the Shogun's residence in the Flower Capital personally sent samurai to fight.
They used open spears and hidden arrows, arson and poisoning, and even launched small-scale wars...
Just to kill Mahoraga, wash away the national shame, and revitalize the soul of the samurai.
However.
No matter what methods were tried or how many sieges were launched, the outcome was invariably a disastrous defeat.
Mahoraga still appeared in front of the Ryuma Shrine on time every day.
When there were really no challengers, he would stroll leisurely with "Shusui in his crotch," grinning and mocking freely in front of samurai who only wore scabbards.
Or suddenly squat down to scare children playing by the street into tears.
Marubu would also let Kaido and Mahoraga go to the deep mountains for sparring.
During this period, he would also organize combat experience and share cultivation insights with Kaido.