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

Page 243

Zuo Cun sighed and climbed up.

As long as he doesn't say anything, no one will ever know about this.

As for the possibility of spies on Payton's ship—let him handle it himself; Payton is no soft-hearted man.

......

"I heard you did something big at sea." Ryoma was writing something while leaning on the table, while Samura lay on the tatami mat, looking extremely tired.

“Yeah... I could never do something this big again in my life.” Zuocun didn’t hide anything from Ryoma, but he wanted to take a nap now.

He used Tsurugi with all his might; this was the first time he had used it, and it might also be the last.

"So how exactly did you manage to cut the warship in half? Even Miss Arlong might not be able to do it as fast as you." Ryoma looked at his close friend, who was as strong as a monster, with a strange expression in his eyes.

"I will never use that technique a second time in my life, really."

Because of his fatigue, Zuocun seemed much more relaxed.

"After all, no one would let me stay airborne for so long to accumulate strength, and there were also waves to cover me." Zuo Cun thought about that slash and couldn't help but smile, a smile like a child.

"...I understand. You should get some sleep. That strike must have taken a lot of energy." Ryoma smiled and shook his head. "By the time you wake up, it will be time for dinner."

"Did Ah Long make dinner?"

“Miss Ryoma also has Izou. You didn’t know that, did you? Izou can cook too.” Ryoma buried his head in his writing.

"I really don't know..." Zuocun muttered, in an exceptionally good mood. "I'm not in a hurry to go to sleep. When is Takasugi coming to get the gun?"

"Takasugi isn't coming, but Katsura is. He'll probably arrive tomorrow."

"That's good... Once this batch of weapons arrives... that's when we can truly unleash our power." He looked at the ceiling, quite emotional.

“Yes…” Ryoma sighed.

"A new era ushered in by us, which does not belong to the shogunate."

......

The New Year holidays have passed by in the blink of an eye.

This year has been full of exciting events.

But for the "alliance of four," the story has only just begun.

1 month 11 day.

Aside from Sakamoto Ryoma, who remained behind the scenes, the other three members of the quartet—Takasugi Shinsaku, Katsura Kogoro, and Samura Anno—gathered in a city in the Choshu Domain.

"Now, everything is ready," Katsura Kogoro said solemnly. "Now, it's time to get started."

Because he was absent from the Ikedaya Incident, because his voice was weak during the Kinmon Incident, and because he later fled to Satsuma during the shogunate's purge, he was ridiculed as "Kogoro the Runaway".

But from today onward, this nickname will vanish along with the power.

"Cough cough." Takasugi Shinsaku coughed a little, clutching a piece of cloth to cover his mouth and nose.

“We’ll take action on the 14th.” His eyes were sharp. “I’ll make sure to give you all the necessary notifications in the next couple of days.”

"At that time, all the samurai and ronin belonging to my 'various squads', as well as the four thousand modern troops equipped with guns and ammunition, will all act together."

"Zamura, come with me. We'll go straight into the domain office."

"The Choshu Domain—from now on, will be our base!"

Flames were reflected in Takasugi Shinsaku's eyes, as were those of Samura and Katsura.

That is—the flame called ambition.

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

Chapter 398 The Rise and Fall of Yamanami Keisuke

January 14th.

Shimonoseki.

A dangerous smile crept across Takasugi Shinsaku's lips, and his long, narrow eyes, when he smiled, made him look somewhat like a fox.

"It's time to begin."

Shimonoseki, Takane, Izuru, Yamamoto Matsu, Tomita Wakayama... and so on.

Starting with Shinsaku Takasugi, a group of "shotai" (merchants and villagers) composed mainly of lower-ranking samurai and townspeople began their operations in various cities.

The mutiny has begun.

Takasugi Shinsaku led his troops to join forces with the "Rikishi Corps" led by the patriot Itō Hirobumi, who was also in Shimonoseki. They then raided the Izaki Clubhouse, looting all the supplies inside, including firearms, ammunition, and other military supplies, and equipped their own troops with them.

Zuocun headed straight for the domain office; his swordsmanship meant he could not have a companion.

With ease, the lord of the Choshu Domain was bound, and Samura sat in the domain hall, waiting for Takasugi Shinsaku to arrive.

Everything seemed very simple.

However, given that the Choshu Domain had just undergone tremendous changes and the four-man alliance was actively planning and acting, this seemed quite logical.

Takasugi Shinsaku successfully seized control of the Choshu Domain.

The era of resisting foreign invaders is over.

After everyone realized that expelling the barbarians was impossible and foolish, only one enemy remained.

That was the corrupt shogunate.

......

Takasugi Shinsaku and Katsura Kogoro began to conserve their energy.

Although they successfully seized power from the Choshu Domain, it was clearly unrealistic to think they could destroy the shogunate with such a military force.

Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse; more preparations are needed to truly destroy the shogunate.

Although the shogunate was aware of the internal strife in the Choshu Domain, it had no time to attend to it. With Kyoto in distress, there were more important matters for the shogunate to deal with than the Choshu Domain.

After Ryoma took over, he became the link between the Satsuma and Tosa domains, and Kameyama Shachu was transformed into the "Tosa Kaientai" in 1865.

As usual, Zuocun disappeared silently on his way to Kyoto.

He will serve as the sharpest blade, lurking deep within enemy territory while searching for like-minded individuals.

He also had another matter to attend to before leaving.

That was the letter that Kanna had sent him, a letter written by Okita Souji to Samura.

......

February.

“…I heard about it from Mr. Kondo.” Okita Souji’s eyes were filled with anger and sorrow as he looked at the man kneeling on the ground. “Mr. Yamanami, do you…really want to choose me to be your second?”

Yamanami Keisuke, dressed in white, knelt before Okita Souji.

His expression was complicated as he nodded: "Yes... I'm sorry, Okita, as the vice-commander, the person I entrusted to you in the end turned out to be such a troublesome one."

He chuckled bitterly, seemingly mocking himself: "It seems I've been causing trouble all along."

"As the vice-commander, you lack both Saito's swordsmanship and Hijikata's decisiveness; you're simply... utterly useless..."

He said with a sigh.

"...Why didn't you run away back then?" Okita Souji asked, having calmed down.

"Hahaha, you're the pursuer, how could I possibly escape? Even if I resist, it'll be futile." Yamanami Keisuke scratched the back of his head and laughed twice.

He missed a crucial opportunity during the recent battle because... his advisor, Kashitaro Ito, and Ito had lost faith in the shogunate.

His fate, within a group like the Shinsengumi, was self-evident.

"You've really gone too far by sending me to be the pursuer."

"Didn't I tell you?! I'm not letting you escape like this!" Okita Souji grabbed Yamanami Keisuke by the collar and shouted angrily, accompanied by a violent cough. "Mr. Hijikata sent me to hunt you down because he knew I would do this, don't you know that?!"

"If you had run away then, I wouldn't have chased after you!"

Yamanami Keisuke lowered his eyes, his voice trembling slightly: "Yes...maybe...if I just leave like this, I might really go back to Edo."

"But...but..."

"How should I put it..." Yamanami Keisuke scratched his head, "I can't figure it out anymore."

"From Edo to Kyoto, from the Shinsengumi to the Shinsengumi, we marched forward relentlessly under Commander Kondo's leadership." Yamanami Keisuke looked at the silent Okita Souji, a tear welling in his eye. "Forward, forward..."

"But, Okita, one day, when I looked back at my past—"

"It won't work."

bang——

Yamanami Keisuke slammed his fist on the ground, tears streaming down his face.

“What floats in my mind are my hometown and things from the past. When I finally regained consciousness, I had already left the village.”

He took a few deep breaths and stopped crying.

After tidying himself up, Yamanami placed his hands on the wakizashi (a type of Japanese sword) on the white cloth in front of him.

"I should get going."

He glanced out the window.

"Hijikata, that's fine."

"That night, we had no other choice but to select Director Kondo."

Hijikata Toshizo stood outside the door, looking at the bright moon.