Kozure Ookami Chapter 53 Discussion

It's so satisfying to see Retsudo get hurt.

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                        Phenomenal chapter. Itto is looking for Diagoro and on his path he finds the Kurokuwa ninjas that went after his son. He was able to discern what happened there, so out of respect and gratefulness, he gives the man a proper funeral. He also does the same for his enemies out of respect for them being samurai as well. The Yagyu see the blazing fire and assume that it was Itto, so they make their way toward it. Retsudō sees that Itto has done a courtesy for his men and offers him a courtesy as well. If Itto returns the package, he'll leave him alone and won't go after his life anymore, but Itto refuses. Instead he welcomes the challenge. Retsudō tells him he'll give him 3 days to sharpen his sword and find his son, but as Itto leaves, Retsudō signals the archers to fire their arrows. I honestly thought he would let him walk away this one time so that the Yagyu could regroup and go after Itto when they were more prepared, but I guess not. Retsudō wanted to go after Itto and it costed him an eye. For being an old man and not even using a katana, he's an amazing swordsman. He's able to fight Itto on an even standing, but he also has his archers shooting arrows at Itto, making it all the more difficult for him. One of the arrows hits Itto in the shoulder, which he ends up using after throwing his sword at Retsudō to knock him off balance and then plunges it into his eye. That was brutal. Retsudō got too arrogant and he paid for it. Itto said the Yagyu never run from their enemies, so it came as a surprise when Retsudō fled after Itto stabbed him in the eye. But he went to get patched up and came right back only to find Itto already on a boat in the middle of a river making his escape. Unable to do anything further, Retsudō calls off the hunt and praises Itto for being the Yagyu's greatest opponent. I look forward to seeing more of this fight, but for now I would like to enjoy the story for a bit longer before they end their feud.