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

He found his teammates and breathed a sigh of relief; as expected, these teammates had not been killed by Izo or Samura.

After waking up his team members, Inoue Genzaburo led his men back to Kyoto, limping along.

In Kyoto, the Shinsengumi is stationed.

"You're being ridiculous!" Kondo Isami glared at him, his eyes wide. "To execute these prisoners without prior notification would be an outright atrocity! This is absolutely unacceptable!"

"Why not!"

bang——

Serizawa slammed his fist on the table, equally furious: "The prisons are already overflowing, and these people were already considered to be guilty of capital crimes before they were even arrested. What difference does it make whether they are executed a day earlier or a day later?"

"Kondo, you must remember that we are an institution of violence, and the shogunate has given us the right to 'execute first and report later when necessary.' These people must be executed!"

"He must not be executed! I said it!"

"you!"

Outside the director's office, several other leaders of the Shinsengumi were gathered together.

"How many times have these two argued already..." Saito Hajime squatted on the ground, drawing circles with a twig, looking very nonchalant.

Okita Souji sighed: "This is the seventeenth time this month. We argued three times yesterday alone."

Yamanami Keisuke covered his head and remained silent, while Hijikata Toshizo's eyes flickered, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

"Captain—" a team member ran over.

"My lords, Captain Inoue has returned," the team member reported. "And he is seriously injured. The team members that Captain Inoue led were also seriously injured."

The group exchanged glances and then ran towards the infirmary.

"Inoue!"

Inoue Genzaburo and several wounded team members were lying in bed, and a doctor was bandaging Inoue Genzaburo.

"What happened to you? How did you get so badly injured?" Okita Souji asked, frowning.

Inoue Genzaburo chuckled self-deprecatingly: "...I ran into Samura."

Everyone froze.

"Samura? Are you sure?" Okita Souji asked seriously.

Inoue nodded: "I'm sure, apart from Samura... there aren't many people who could shoot me like this without a gun."

"You should say it's quite impressive that you came back alive," Saito Hajime suddenly remarked from the side.

Inoue Genzaburo was silent for a few seconds, then shook his head: "I was spared by Samura...".

“He said she was just keeping her promise, and next time… she would kill me.”

Everyone fell silent.

Okita Souji looked dejected and didn't stay any longer, turning around and walking out of the infirmary.

The others looked at each other, wondering what they were thinking.

As soon as Okita Souji stepped out of the infirmary, he saw Serizawa Kamo angrily slam the door and leave.

Kondo stood at the office door and let out a long sigh.

......

Samura brought Izo to the hut in Mibu Village.

Knock on the door, Kanna opened it a crack, and only after seeing that it was Samura did she happily open the door: "Mr. Samura, welcome back."

Zuocun patted Kanna's head.

"Kana, we may have to leave here for a while."

Zuocun helped Yizang into the house and made him lie down.

"If we leave here, where do we go?" Kanna handed a glass of water to Samura, somewhat puzzled.

"Go to Satsuma, go to Sakamoto."

"At Mr. Sakamoto and Ms. Aryu's place?" Kanna thought for a moment about the two people who had been very kind to her.

Perhaps it's because they're both women, but Kanna really likes Ms. Aryu.

Zuocun nodded: "We'll set off once Mr. Okada's injuries have healed."

"I understand. Kanna, you can pack your things first." Kanna smiled and went out to pack her things.

Izo watched Kanna's retreating figure and said, "Kanna isn't young anymore."

"Yes, she's not young anymore, she's old enough to get married." Zuo Cun said with a slight smile as he treated Yi Zang's wounds again.

“She’s already so big… When you first adopted her, she was just a little girl.” Okada Izo chatted casually with Samura.

Zuocun took a jar of liquor and poured some onto Yizang's wound.

"Uh-"

Zuocun took a sip himself, then continued to treat Yizang's wounds.

"We're out of liquor at home... I'll go out and buy some. You have a bit of a fever, why don't you take a nap?" Zuo Cun tossed a wet towel onto Yi Zang's head and rubbed his wrist.

"You actually know how to take care of people... That's rare." Okada Izo lay obediently, muttering softly.

"I just learned it from someone else; it's just some very simple methods." Zuo Cun didn't say much, put on his black and white haori, and went out.

When Zuocun arrived at the izakaya, he lifted the curtain and saw a burly man slumped over the table, grumbling.

"Seriously, isn't the point of a violent organization to instill fear?" Serizawa Kamo, drunk, let out a burp.

"...Serizawa? What are you doing here?" Samura frowned as he looked at Serizawa, who was slumped over the table. "Ugh, the smell of alcohol is so strong."

"Huh? Samura? You're here for a drink too?" Serizawa was a little tipsy, and looked up at Samura.

“It’s me.” Samura sighed and sat down next to Serizawa. “Shouldn’t you be maintaining order in Kyoto right now?”

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

Chapter 385 The Shinsengumi: The Good and the Bad

Inside a room at the Shinsengumi's headquarters.

“The Shinsengumi should never have had three directors in the first place.” Hijikata Toshizo touched his mouth, his eyes cold. “The Shinsengumi now is completely different from when it was first established. Although we were commended for the big incident a couple of days ago, our enthusiasm for missions is now incomparable to what it used to be.”

"The existence of two voices obviously affects enthusiasm," Inoue Genzaburo said, his voice still bandaged. "Many of Director Serizawa's opinions are too radical and violent; sometimes I even feel..."

“I feel like he’s deliberately trying to create a bad reputation for the Shinsengumi,” Saito said, waving his finger.

“Saito is right.” A bald man who was not very familiar with the situation seriously expressed his opinion. “I feel the same way. Although the Shinsengumi is there to maintain law and order, we have no reason to make people afraid.”

His name is Harada Sanosuke, the captain of the newly formed fifth division of the Shinsengumi. Unlike the other members, Harada Sanosuke is not a samurai. He was originally a warrior monk who practiced the spear technique of the Hozoin school.

"The actions that instilled fear were basically led by either Chief Serizawa or Chief Niimi personally. I think that speaks volumes about the problem," Hijikata Toshizo concluded. "Although Chief Niimi rarely expressed his opinions and seemed to be often away from home on Chief Serizawa's orders, there is no doubt... he was on Serizawa's side."

“But we can’t say anything right now.” Kondo Isami shook his head. “He didn’t actually do anything to seriously harm the Shinsengumi, so we can’t dismiss him. Besides, he has some connection with Matsudaira Kakuyoshi, so we can’t dismiss him either.”

“Perhaps… there are other ways.” A sliver of candlelight reflected in Yamanami Keisuke’s eyes.

A complex look flashed in Kondo's eyes: "Let's discuss this later."

Meanwhile, Okita Souji, huddled in the corner, remained silent.

......

Izakaya in Mibu Village outside Kyoto.

"So, you came here to drown your sorrows in alcohol because you had a fight with your colleagues?" Zuocun looked at Serizawa Kamo in surprise. "This doesn't seem like you."

Serizawa Kamo sighed heavily: "I didn't want it to be like this either, but... I should have thought these things through from the beginning."

He gripped the rim of the sake bowl, his voice filled with anger: "Now the Shinsengumi is almost entirely made up of their people, so my words have no effect whatsoever. Even when I lead the team to complete a mission, Kondo criticizes me... I feel like a wolf that has strayed into a pack of dogs, hmph."

Zuocun didn't speak, but just listened to Serizawa Kamo. After all, he wasn't involved and had no right to express any opinion.

"Where's Shinmi? Aren't you two together?" Samura asked.

“Niimi is in Osaka now.” Serizawa took a sip of his drink. “He went there after the big incident a couple of days ago.”

"..." Zuo Cun didn't know what to say.

He unscrewed a can of liquor and clinked glasses with Serizawa: "Although we're on different sides now, and could even be considered enemies, Serizawa-nii... I hope you can live a more comfortable life."

After saying that, Zuocun walked out of the izakaya carrying several cans of sake.

"Living...is it more comfortable...?" Serizawa Kamo gave a mocking smile and downed the wine in his bowl in one gulp.

......

Izang's fever subsided the next morning, and Zuocun and the other two, along with some necessities, set off for Satsuma.

Okada Izo was in low spirits. Takeshi Zuizan was still in prison awaiting trial, and he couldn't even rescue him, so naturally he was in a bad mood.

Zuocun really didn't know which route would get him to Satsuma the fastest, because he always moved quickly through the treetops and would rush through towns on the rooftops. When he was fast, he could reach Satsuma in two days.

Zuo Cun's leg is so badly injured that even a needle couldn't be inserted. The three of them are resting now.

Zuocun squatted on the treetop and gently stroked the head of a sparrow.

Even though Zuocun is stronger than before, his love for birds and his unique bird-loving constitution remain unchanged.

"Mr. Samura, would you like some rice balls?" Kanna called out to Samura from under the tree.

Zuo Cun gently touched the sparrow's forehead to his own, smiled, and released the sparrow. Zuo Cun jumped down from the tree and said, "Eat."

"Mr. Samura seems to be reminiscing about something," Kana said with a smile as she ate her rice ball.

Zuocun sighed softly: "It just reminded me of when I first embarked on my journey alone."

At that time, Zuocun did not know swordsmanship; he just slashed around blindly with brute force.

But now...

Kyoto.

Because of their outstanding performance in the coup on August 18, the Shinsengumi were given a new name by the shogunate.

"Shinsengumi"