Gotō Mototsugu vs. Kikkawa Motoharu

Sporting Event / Competition

As the previous match's gory finale was cleaned up, the two next combatants were called to the arena. Gotō Mototsugu, on one side, was a curious samurai ghost who lingered in this world thanks to a bad encounter with Honda Tadakatsu. The battle had ended with Mototsugu cut in half, at the waist, and so her spirit was now able to move her torso and legs independently of each other. She seemed to be able to keep high spirits despite this strange physiological situation. On the other side, Kikkawa Motoharu was one of the three famed daughters of Mōri Motonari, on the Kikkawa line. Though not as physically imposing as her sisters, she had put up a good showing in the preliminaries by slaying Yagyū Jūbei. Here, Motonari made sure to mention again that those of her blood were not to receive any special treatment in the battles ahead.

As the start of the battle was called, Gotō Mototsugu seized the initiative by detaching her torso from her legs and floating it about fifty feet in the air, far out of reach. She hovered lazily over to a spot just above her opponent, taunting her in a good-natured sort of way. Motoharu did not rise to the challenge, however, and simply concentrated on harnessing her own ki.   Seeing that the oni girl wasn't going to come to her (or her legs), Mototsugu descended until she was floating just behind Motoharu. The other turned to face her, of course, but wasn't prepared for Mototsugu's legs to sprint up behind her and let loose with a pair of kicks. Suddenly assailed on all sides, Motoharu found it difficult to defend herself, and received a solid blow from the ghost's naginata.   It was looking poor for the Kikkawa daughter just then, but she had one last opportunity. Channeling her accumulated ki into the ground, Motoharu created a pair of rose branches that rose from the ground behind her opponent. Sharp and thorny, they coiled like snakes before thrusting into Mototsugu's back. The ghost winced with pain at the pair of accurate strikes, but was otherwise not slowed. Even in death, it seemed, she had a warrior's hearty constitution.   A few more kicks left Motoharu on the defensive, and then Mototsugu ended it with another blow from her naginata. The strike was not fatal, but Kikkawa Motoharu was pushed to unconsciousness from her pain and injuries. With a disappointed click of her tongue, Mōri Motonari declared Gotō Mototsugu to be the victor.