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

"The eyes of an eagle."

"The eyes of a wolf."

Zuocun and Tufang.

Two disillusioned individuals who have lived to this day, driven by their will.

They stood in front of each other.

It finally regained its initial brilliance.

"Hyakucho-ryū, Samura Anno." Samura exuded a sharp aura—the last time he exuded such a sharp aura.

"Natural Rishin-ryu, Hijikata Toshizo." Hijikata Toshizo lowered his body slightly, as if preparing to pounce on a hunting wolf.

Zheng—

bang——

Hijikata Toshizo drew his gun and fired a shot directly at Samura.

Zuocun split the bullet in two.

"Come on, let's see how many bullets you can cut through!" Hijikata Toshizo roared, pulling the trigger repeatedly.

bang——

bang——

Zuocun jumped up.

Dodging the bullets, Zuocun charged forward.

Ping Pong —

The crane was stopped.

Zuo Cun's eyes narrowed slightly.

Hijikata Toshizo laughed.

Ping—smack—

The two men swung their swords rapidly at close range, the clash of their blades producing a crisp and rapid sound.

"Again, again!" Hijikata Toshizo shouted with a laugh.

"You've improved so much, Hijikata!" Samura laughed as well.

Ping! Ping!

The violent collision separated the two people temporarily.

Without hesitation, Tu Fang drew his gun and fired.

Zuocun turned his head to dodge the bullet.

"Tch, so guns really can't do anything to you?" Hijikata Toshizo threw the gun aside and stomped on it, breaking it in two.

“Then what follows is a pure battle between swordsmen, right?” Zuocun did not deny it, but simply smiled.

"Yes, definitely."

-

Zuocun jumped up.

Hijikata squinted as he looked at Samura high in the sky.

"New Feather Wheel - Wing One!"

Zuocun raised the crane's wings high above his head.

"Is this your ultimate move? — Watch me block it!"

Hijikata Toshizo's lips curled into a manic smile.

"He Liu!"

boom--

Chop—

"Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh!!!"

hum-

Ping!

Samura and Tsuru were stopped by Hijikata Toshizo.

Tu Fang turned his knife to one side.

Samura was very strong and couldn't be pulled back instantly. Tsurugi was directly guided by Hijikata to slide to the side.

Taking advantage of Samura's forward lean, Hijikata Toshizo swung his sword at Samura's face.

Zuocun immediately lay down to dodge Hijikata Toshizo's thrust, then quickly stood up and drew his sword—

Ping Pong —

This time, it was Samura who blocked Hijikata's slash.

"Uh--"

With his eyes bloodshot, Zuocun kicked Hijikata Toshizo in the ankle and took the opportunity to stand up.

In that instant, both of them felt it—

Chance--

Zuocun thrust the crane wings straight at Hijikata.

Hijikata didn't even think about defending himself; he simply turned his sword and slashed at Samura's body from below.

puff-

An arm flew up.

Samura... narrowly avoided Hijikata Toshizo's fatal strike.

But Tsurugi's hilt... had already touched Hijikata's chest.

"—Pfft—Haa—" Hijikata Toshizo spat out a mouthful of blood and looked down.

The crane's wings had already disappeared into Hijikata Toshizo's chest.

pat.

The sword fell from Hijikata Toshizo's hand, and he slumped to the ground.

Zuocun's left arm was severed at the root by Hijikata, and he sat helplessly on the ground.

"Heh... I still can't beat you..." Hijikata's eyes regained their weariness, he chuckled twice, and fell to the side.

Zuo Cun looked at the fallen earthen mound, his eyes returning to their lifeless state.

"So what if you can't beat me..." Zuo Cun sat on the ground, muttering to himself, "I didn't win..."

“We’ve both lost, Hijikata and Kondo.”

He let out a long sigh.

There are no winners.

Samura sat beside Hijikata Toshizo's body, gazing at the distant sea, seemingly moved.

In their final showdown, the eagle killed the wolf with its peck, but the wolf tore off one of its wings.

......

Early March.

After collecting and burying the excavated earth, Zuocun returned to Mibu Village.

Kanna was quite happy to see Samura return.

Then he saw Zuocun holding his left arm in his right hand, which terrified him.

Zuocun spent a month recovering from his injuries.

One day, he came to Inoue Genzaburo's tombstone and rested for a while.

Suddenly, he walked into the river and lay down.

Looking at the sky, Zuo Cun thought that dying like this wouldn't be so bad.

It wasn't until Kanna realized something was wrong that she ran over and pulled Samura out of the water.

Kanna lost her temper with Samura for the second time, leaving the one-armed Samura stunned with her scolding.

......

The war ended not long afterward.

The new government forces recaptured Ezo (Hokkaido), then moved the capital to Edo, formally establishing their status.

Not long after the capital was moved, Yamanami Keisuke was assassinated for unknown reasons. Fortunately, Samura was unaware of this.

The new government wanted to invite Samura, the true hero of the Meiji Restoration who laid the foundation for the overthrow of the Shogunate, to serve as a diplomat in the new government, but Samura refused. Not only did he refuse, he also gave the official who came to invite Samura to take the position a good scolding.

And so, with Kanna by his side, Samura lived in Mibu Village—no, Mibu Ward—next to Kyoto.

Time passed slowly.

Saito Hajime, as the last Mibu wolf, joined the new government and returned to his old profession—serving as the police chief of Kyoto City.

His scarred face is indeed very suitable for being the police chief.

Zuocun just fished and swept the floor every day, oblivious to worldly affairs.

Until 1871.

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

Chapter 423 The Departure of the Eagle