In order to become a Heroic Spirit, I had no choice but to cause trouble in history.

After stretching his wrists, Zuocun Anuo moved away from where he stood.

Behind them were more than ten corpses.

A gang of mountain bandits, who specialized in robbing travelers on the road, were killed without hesitation.

After leaving the Shieikan, Samura Anno headed north.

Since there's no specific goal, just go in any direction.

It took Samura a month to travel from Mutsu to Echizen.

"This... is the Aizu Domain, right?" Samura showed no reaction to the corpses behind him, simply scratching his head and examining the simple map in his hand.

A bandit who wasn't completely dead looked at Zuocun Anuo's back with blurry eyes.

Fear, apprehension, regret.

The young samurai didn't turn around, but just scratched his head and moved forward, seemingly confused.

Why is it that such a person—after drawing his sword—can do so much...?

ruthless?

His face was expressionless, showing neither anger nor excitement.

He simply drew his emerald green knife, killed all those who had surrounded him, and then continued on his way without expression.

"What...what...monster is this...?"

The bandit, whose chest wound revealed his shattered heart, uttered his last words before collapsing to the ground with a soft thud.

Zuocun subconsciously turned around to look.

Blood flowed down the mountain path.

"Well, what you've done is enough to put you outside of humanity, so why should I judge you by the standards of murder?"

Turning his head back, Zuocun continued forward.

"brute."

Having no past, Anno Satomura has developed his own set of values ​​based on his current experiences.

In his view, these were not even human scum, not even worthy of his drawing of the katana used against humans, but merely the pheasant feathers he kept as a spare, to kill them in a few swift strokes.

Then just keep moving forward.

Two more months passed.

The New Year holidays have passed, and Zuocun walks in the wind and snow wrapped in a scarf.

"Ah, there's a village ahead."

In the depths of winter, only the leaves of the coniferous forest remained green, and through the gaps in the leaves, Zuocun saw a house.

"What? It's just a shrine." Zuocun sighed.

Where there are villages, there is a possibility of post stations.

With this shrine, at least we won't have to sleep in the snow today.

Meanwhile, as Zuocun was happily nestled in the dilapidated shrine, preparing for a peaceful night's sleep—

Edo.

Outside Edo Bay.

Nine large ships are anchoring.

"General, didn't we say we'd come back in April or May? Let's bring the ship here now..."

A few beads of cold sweat trickled down the side of a sergeant's face as he looked at the old man standing in front of him on the deck.

U.S. Navy Admiral, General Perry.

He had a sinister-looking hooked nose, which appeared particularly frightening against the backdrop of the night sky.

"It's one thing to say it, but it's another thing to do it."

General Perry's lips curled into a slight smile.

“The Japanese…” he said, puffing on his cigarette and looking at the seemingly prosperous Edo. “If I make the slightest concession, these people will think they have already won.”

"Therefore, the best approach is to eliminate all the cumbersome procedures."

"It shows the toughest and most stubborn side of us Americans."

Perry threw his cigarette butt into the sea and turned to walk into the cabin.

His words echoed across the deck.

"When dealing with these clever and deceitful people, the best approach is to eliminate all pretense and adopt our accustomed arrogance and disdain for everything."

......

"What do we do now? The American ships... have already reached Edo Bay, and judging from their movements, they even seem to be trying to break into Haneda Bay..." A man sat in his seat, looking flustered.

“Matsudaira-san… calm down.” From behind the curtain, a young voice spoke with difficulty, “The Americans’ purpose should be very clear.”

A moment of silence fell over the air.

"General..."

"Those despicable foreigners..."

“Mr. Abe, let’s not talk about these things now… We need to face reality.”

“But, Tokugawa Iesada Shogun…!” Abe Masahiro said urgently.

"Silence... We need to negotiate now," said General Tokugawa Iesada in a sorrowful tone.

“...Yes.” Abe Masahiro lowered his head, looking unwilling.

The other four elderly Chinese remained silent, accepting the fact that they would have to negotiate with the Americans again.

Masahiro Abe's fingernails were digging into his palms, and his teeth were grinding together.

"We will mobilize troops from the four domains of Kyoto, Sendai, Aizu, and Nagaoka to guard the negotiations." Tokugawa Iesada felt incredibly humiliated, and even through the curtain, the five senior officers could sense his resentment.

Everyone knows what the Americans' purpose is.

They wanted Japan to open its ports, using them as a springboard to reach the mainland across the Sea of ​​Japan.

This concerns Japan's policy, and even more so, Japan's... dignity.

However, things have come to this point, and the American ships are now stuck in Edo Bay.

The overwhelming force terrified this group of lazy bums who were used to a comfortable life.

If you're afraid, what dignity are you talking about?

......

Early the next morning.

Kondo Shusuke stood on the harbor, looking at the nine ships on the sea.

Although it looked far away, Kondo Shusuke had a vague feeling...

"Master, what happened?" Hijikata Toshizo's height had already surpassed that of Kondo Shusuke.

Kondo Shusuke did not answer Hijikata Toshizo's question, but simply stared at the nine large ships, lost in thought.

"My premonition is the same as Mr. Samura's... Chaos is coming, but I didn't expect it... to come so soon." Kondo Shusuke sighed slightly.

"Please tell everyone at the Shieikan Museum to stay home. We'll... close the museum for a while."

Kondo Shusuke's brows furrowed.

He looked at his disciples.

Okita Souji, Shimazaki Katsuta, Hijikata Toshizo, Inoue Genzaburo...

Besides these four, there are many more.

Chaos is approaching, and all I can do is take good care of your still-growing feathers before the great waves crash in.

"Let's go back first." Kondo Shusuke walked down the harbor towards the Shieikan.

Katsuta Shimazaki scratched his cheek: "Chaos is coming..."

"Well, I don't need to think too much. I just need to follow in your footsteps." Inoue Genzaburo smiled.

Everything he had was in this Shieikan; Hijikata Toshizo and Shimazaki Shota were his future paths.

"Yeah! If the flames of chaos reach us, let's call on that bastard Zuo Cun and form a team together!"

"Yes, yes!" Okita Souji nodded vigorously. "We must invite Samura too!"

"Speaking of which, that guy's been gone for months now..." Hijikata Toshizo muttered, "What is he doing now...?"

------------

Chapter 287 Hundred Birds Stream

Zuocun rubbed his eyes.

"Ah, is the sun already this high in the sky?"

A wandering samurai carries very little.

A little money for getting by, a change of clothes from Wu, and some dry food to fill my stomach—that's enough.

Wandering samurai are different from samurai who serve others. True wandering samurai, those who want to hone their skills, are like ascetics, honing their swordsmanship in harsh conditions and environments.

Swah——

Anno Zuomura drew his sword.

When he left Shieikan, he had a battle with Okita Souji.

Although the battle ended in a draw, it was clear to anyone with eyes that Samura had a slight advantage.

Of course, the gap between him and Okita Souji is very small, and if they fought again, the outcome would be hard to say.

But that final blow that determined the outcome...