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

Those feudal lords who allowed their troops to rest yesterday are not even opening their city gates today.

"The Tokugawa family, the glory of the Tokugawa family—is it all going to be destroyed in my hands?"

A monarch who lost his country.

What an ironic word.

But now, Tokugawa Yoshinobu seemed to see those four words descend upon him.

"No, I—I absolutely cannot become the ruler of a fallen kingdom!"

"Set up an ambush ahead of Osaka and launch another counterattack!"

He thought frantically.

The glory of the Tokugawa family should not end!

......

Zuocun arrived at Liangshun's house alone.

It is now late at night, and Okita Souji has already gone to sleep.

Samura gently knocked on Okita Souji's door.

A weak voice came from inside the house: "Is that Masaki? What's wrong?"

“It’s me, Zuocun,” Zuocun said in a low voice.

Silence fell in the room, followed by rustling sounds.

"Come in."

Zuo Cun opened the door and went inside.

Okita Souji, dressed in his pajamas, sat in bed, staring blankly at Samura.

"Why...did you come here at this time?"

"I've come to take you away." Zuo Cun closed the door to keep out the cold wind, then sat down on the floor in front of the door. "This place... can no longer be stayed here."

"What happened?" Okita Souji asked, still a little confused.

"The shogunate army suffered a crushing defeat in Toba-Fushimi and has now retreated to Osaka, which is right here." Samura did not hide anything and told everything in detail.

“…What a crushing defeat…” Okita Souji sighed.

"Let me take you away from here. The war is about to reach this place, and it's no longer safe here."

“I…” Okita Souji wanted to refuse, but looking into Samura’s serious eyes, he subconsciously agreed, “Alright then.”

"Cough cough—cough cough cough—"

Samura quickly stepped forward and patted Okita Souji on the back.

"Your cough...you must keep warm." Zuo Cun looked at Okita's thin body with a pained expression.

"So where are you taking me...?" Okita Souji threw the handkerchief aside and asked in a hoarse voice.

“A… usual place.” A slight smile involuntarily crept onto Zuo Cun’s lips.

"......I see."

"Lie down," Samura said to Okita.

"Huh? Oh." Okita Souji crawled into bed and settled down.

Samura grabbed the mattress that was under Miss Okita's cup and tied it up with a rope.

"Huh? Zuocun? What are you doing?" Okita was startled.

"As I just said, you're sick and have trouble moving around, so I'll carry you on my back." Zuo Cun gave a thumbs-up with a slightly tired smile.

Okita Souji now looks like a rice dumpling, with only his face showing.

"Is there anything else you need to pack?" Zuocun asked.

"...Take my Kashuu Kiyomitsu with you, it's hanging on that wall over there." Okita couldn't reach out his hand, so he could only gesture with his lips.

“Okay.” Zamura took Kashuu Kiyomitsu off the wall, tucked it into his waistband, and then carried Ms. Okita on his back.

As soon as the door opened, the wind and snow outside seemed to have stopped, as if it had seen Ms. Okita on Zuocun's back.

"Wait a minute, Zuocun, there's one more thing."

Okita, lying on Samura's back, suddenly remembered something.

"what happened?"

"Go knock on the door of the room next to mine."

Zuocun nodded and knocked twice on the door of the room next to Ms. Okita's.

"Masaki, I'm leaving. This place is about to become a battlefield, so you should leave quickly too."

After saying this loudly, Ms. Okita coughed twice.

Zuocun smiled and shook his head.

With his legs gathering strength, Zuo Cun jumped up.

......

The next day, before dawn.

Okita Souji fell asleep on Samura's back because he was too tired.

Zuo Cun breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the familiar village.

The war did not reach this area.

Following the familiar road, Zuocun arrived at his small house.

Kanna was airing out the quilts. It had been snowing for the past few days, and today the weather had finally cleared up, so naturally she wanted to take the quilts out to air them.

As Kanna walked out of the room carrying her blanket, she saw Samura, carrying a huge white object, landing at the doorway.

Kanna was startled: "Mr. Samura?"

"Shina, help me—open the door." Samura felt his eyelids were so heavy, as if he could fall asleep at any moment.

He hadn't slept for three days straight, and during those days, he had been in a state of extreme distress.

He was very tired.

"Ah, okay!" Kanna didn't know what had happened, but she quickly opened the door.

As Samura entered the house, Kanna finally saw what Samura was carrying on his back.

Is it—a single person?

Mr. Samura brought someone back?! And a woman at that?!

Kanna stared wide-eyed at Samura with an incredulous expression.

and many more?

That woman's face... seems somewhat familiar?

Samura entered the guest room and carefully placed Okita Souji on the tatami mat.

Because of the vigorous movement, Ms. Okita woke up.

"Zuocun..."

"It's okay, we're here. If you're sleepy, you can go back to sleep for a while." Zuo Cun felt dizzy and lightheaded.

Before Okita Souji could answer, Samura staggered out of the room and bumped into Kana, who was lying by the door.

"Hmm? Kanna?" Zuocun subconsciously patted Kanna's head. "You... take care of this older sister... I'm sorry for troubling you."

"But right now... I'm really sleepy."

"Mr. Samura, you should go and rest." Kanna pushed Samura into his room.

She could tell that Zuocun was in very poor condition.

So, let's wait until Zuocun wakes up before asking anything.

Or you could ask Okita-nee?

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

Chapter 415 You are a swordsman, no matter what

It was unclear whether Zuocun was asleep or unconscious, but he was lying on the bedding that Kanna had laid out for him.

Kanna turned and went to the guest room. Okita Souji had just woken up and was still a little dazed.

"Okita-neechan, what happened? Why did you come here with Mr. Samura?" Kanna looked at Ms. Okita with confusion and bewilderment in her eyes.

Okita Souji looked somewhat sad, but didn't know where to begin.

"There's a war going on right now, and I... I'm unable to participate in the war, so Zuocun brought me here..."

She looked very disappointed.

Looking at Kashuu Kiyomitsu placed to the side, Okita Souji felt a sharp pain in his heart.

Kanna is quite good at reading people, and she immediately noticed that Okita seemed to lose control of his emotions when he saw Kashuu Kiyomitsu, so she quickly took Kashuu Kiyomitsu outside.

“I heard about the war from Mr. Samura. He even gave me a box of bullets for self-defense.” Kanna could tell that Okita Souji was in a bad mood, so she thought of a way to cheer him up.

......

When Zuo Cun woke up, it was already the morning of the next day.

Zuo Cun rubbed his head and sighed.

Before leaving the military camp, he told Saigo Moritaka that he would be away for a few days.

The Battle of Toba-Fushimi is not yet completely over. The shogunate army is currently trying to find a way to retreat, but Saigo Moritaka is a man that Samura knows very well and will definitely not let the shogunate army have their way.

The two sides are currently in a period of ambiguity.

Both sides were waiting. The shogunate was waiting for the Aizu Domain and the Kuwana Domain, the two "pillars of the pro-shogunate forces," to gather their troops and prepare to set up formations and defenses in front of Osaka to resist Saigo Moritaka's attack.