"Boom!"
The blast of air from Jinx Meow's Felyne (Fish-Man) Karate strike carried several strands of fur she had split off, slamming squarely into Owamusō, which Kawamatsu held in front of himself, before violently exploding.
Kawamatsu had never imagined that this young yet powerful member of the "Cat Mink Tribe" also knew "sorcery," and the blast left him covered in soot and dirt.
It was only because Jinx Meow had no intention of taking his life. Otherwise, that blow would have left Kawamatsu seriously injured, if not dead.
The samurai, however, did not know this. After all, the little madcat had been rather heavy-handed earlier, so they rushed forward to shield Kawamatsu, who had been blasted to the ground.
Jinx Meow, who had not had her fill of fighting, had offered no explanation before and was even less likely to offer one now. She pulled out Pow-Pow and Fishbones again, ready to begin round two.
But just then, hurried footsteps crunching through the snow came from the distance...
"Lord Kawamatsu! We're here to help... huh?!"
Hantaro arrived with a group of samurai, only to freeze in bewilderment when he saw the cats facing off against Kawamatsu and the others.
Jinx Meow's fighting had been anything but quiet, so Hantaro and the others stationed at the Northern Cemetery had naturally noticed. Yet despite the battle here, Kawamatsu had never sent Hantaro the signal to retreat.
After giving it some thought, Hantaro guessed that Kawamatsu and the others had encountered enemies they could still handle, which was why he had not told them to evacuate. Besides, these samurai were ultimately loyal and honorable men. Even if they had their criticisms of Kozuki Oden, they could not bring themselves to abandon Kawamatsu and the others.
Thus, after discussing it with the other samurai,