I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Only this Harada Sanosuke... Although he is proficient in the Hozoin-ryu spear technique, he is really not very bright.

To put it bluntly—this guy is incredibly stupid! He's all brute strength and has absolutely no suitability to be a commander.

A wise man values ​​intelligence more than courage.

Based on Harada Sanosuke's low intelligence—he could confuse Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and couldn't write any Chinese characters other than his own name—Kiyokawa Hachiro strongly doubted... no, he firmly believed: this man was only fit to be a foot soldier! He was simply not up to the responsibility of "captain of the 10th Division"!

Even if you look down on the other person, you must not show your contempt on your face.

"Harada-kun, what's wrong?"

Kiyokawa Hachiro put on a gentle smile.

Harada Sanosuke answered quickly:

"Kiyokawa-kun, I'm here to inform you: Mr. Tachibana is holding an emergency meeting, and all officers of the Battaku Squad captain level and above must attend immediately."

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Food and women represent humanity's two fundamental desires: survival and reproduction. It is no exaggeration to say that these two are the origin of all desires and ambitions.

P.S.: If all goes well, there will be a massive fight scene before the end of this month, so stay tuned! I'm finally able to write about killing people, I've been holding back for so long!

Chapter 623 The Wise Man, the Fool, and the Establishment of the New Selection Chamber of Commerce! [4300]

"An emergency meeting?"

Kiyokawa Hachiro raised his eyebrows sharply.

"Why so suddenly... Did something happen?"

With his mouth stuffed full of grilled squid, Harada Sanosuke mumbled incoherently:

"Well, I'm not too sure either. Anyway, let's hurry up and get to the conference room."

"..."

Kiyokawa Hachiro lowered his eyelids, a flash of wariness crossing his eyes.

For an "insider" like him, "staying sensitive" and "keeping one's nerves constantly on edge" are essential survival skills.

Any slight movement around him could make him extremely wary.

After glancing subconsciously at the sword at his left hip, he gave a harmless smile and nodded.

"Yeah, you're right, let's go!"

As he spoke, he strode off.

Harada Sanosuke followed closely behind.

The two walked side by side.

The aroma of grilled squid lingered around Kiyokawa Hachiro's nose... Harada Sanosuke took big bites of the grilled squid, his mouth glistening with oil.

Kiyokawa Hachiro had never liked greasy food, so he involuntarily held his breath and struggled to suppress the urge to frown.

—Hmph! What an ill-mannered wild monkey!

Kiyokawa Hachiro sneered inwardly.

Everyone has their own preferences. Whether he eats grilled squid or eats excrement is Harada Sanosuke's freedom.

Even if he didn't like these foods, Kiyokawa Hachiro wouldn't say anything about them.

However... he really couldn't stand the other person's rude behavior of "eating while walking".

Kiyokawa Hachiro detested nothing more than violating samurai etiquette—eating in situations unrelated to food and drink was one such violation.

His contempt for Harada Sanosuke had reached its peak.

After much anticipation, Harada Sanosuke finally finished eating the grilled squid... and then, as if by magic, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a brand new bag of dried persimmons, which must have just been bought.

"Qinghe-kun, would you like some?"

—Tsk! Haven't you had enough yet?

Kiyokawa Hachiro suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and shook his head calmly.

"Thank you for your kindness, but I'm not hungry right now, so I won't eat."

Harada Sanosuke looked regretful.

"Oh, that's a shame! These dried persimmons taste really good!"

After saying that, he impatiently tore open the packaging, grabbed a dried persimmon, and stuffed it into his mouth like a starving ghost.

Instantly, his cheeks were filled with happiness, and the muscles on his face relaxed as well.

While enjoying his meal, he also expressed simple, straightforward, yet emotionally rich sentiments:

"Delicious! So delicious!"

Kiyokawa Hachiro glanced sideways at Harada Sanosuke, who was immersed in the gluttonous pleasure.

—Eat, eat, eat...all you ever do is eat!

He suddenly realized that Harada Sanosuke's tastes were terribly low-class.

Simply put, Sanosuke Harada only cares about two things: "food" and "sex".

It is said that before going to Kyoto, he often traveled to Yoshiwara with Hijikata Toshizo and Nagakura Shinpachi.

Upon arriving in Kyoto, Qing Deng issued a strict order prohibiting people from entering brothels. Unable to find women, he devoted all his energy to eating.

In his spare time outside of training, whenever Kiyokawa Hachiro saw him, he was either eating or on his way to eat.

Aside from eating and drinking, Kiyokawa Hachiro was never seen engaging in any other recreational activities, let alone refined pursuits such as appreciating fragrances, brewing tea, or listening to the rain.

—Besides food and sex, did he have no other pursuits?

At this thought, he couldn't help but feel a bit curious about the psychological state of this creature that he didn't understand at all.

And so, on a whim, he suddenly asked:

"Harada-kun, do you have ambitions?"

Harada Sanosuke paused for a moment, then chewed faster, quickly swallowing the persimmon in his mouth, and asked in return:

"ambition?"

Considering the other party's low intelligence, Kiyokawa Hachiro patiently explained:

"Do you have any grand ambitions? Like becoming a high-ranking official, making a lot of money, and living a glamorous life with women on both sides, or something like that."

Harada Sanosuke blinked a few times, looked up at the ceiling, and began to think seriously.

"A grand goal... Hey, you know what, I really do have one! I do have a very grand goal!"

Kiyokawa Hachiro raised an eyebrow, then immediately asked:

"If it's convenient, could you tell me a little bit about it?"

Harada Sanosuke chuckled.

"Kiyotaya's eel rice is so delicious! I've never eaten such delicious eel rice in my life! My current ambition is to live a happy life where I can eat Kiyotaya's eel rice every day!"

At this point, Harada Sanosuke paused, then muttered to himself thoughtfully:

"Hmm, thinking about it carefully... it seems I'm almost there to fulfill this ambition."

"Although Kiyotaya's eel rice is expensive, and I'm not exactly rich right now, Mr. Tachibana's salary for me is still quite considerable."

“‘Going to eat every day, every single day’—that’s definitely not something we can expect.”

"However, it's more than enough to have a meal every two or three days."

Qinghe Hachiro: "..."

An eerie silence hung between the two of them...

About five seconds later, Kiyokawa Hachiro, finally regaining his senses, turned his astonishment into a voice, looking completely dumbfounded:

"...Huh? Kiyotaya's eel rice bowl?"

Harada Sanosuke chuckled a few times.

"Kiyokawa-kun, what's wrong? Why do you look like you've seen a ghost? Don't you know Kiyotaya? It's a restaurant not far from here, only two streets away. When you have time, I'll invite you to Kiyotaya for a meal..."

Before Harada Sanosuke could finish speaking, Kiyokawa Hachiro rudely interrupted:

"You can eat eel rice every day? Is that all? Is this all you aspire to?"

His voice cracked slightly due to his emotional state.

Upon hearing this, Harada Sanosuke pondered for a moment, then spoke with unwavering certainty and resolute clarity:

"That's right! Exactly! I have no other desires right now except for Kiyotaya's eel rice bowl!"

He paused, as if remembering something, and then changed the subject:

"If I had to say what else I need... it would be that I hope Mr. Tachibana can lift the ban on 'not entering or leaving entertainment venues' as soon as possible."

As he said this, he let out a low, vulgar laugh and grinned, his lips almost touching his ears.

"Although the people of Kyoto are all incredibly arrogant and annoying, I have to admit that the women of Kyoto do have a unique charm!"

"Ah... Because I can't go to Shimabara, I've been able to release my desires by masturbating lately... It's really driving me crazy!"

"I really want to experience the differences between Kyoto women and Edo women as soon as possible!"

Qinghe Hachiro: "..."

Even without a mirror, Kiyokawa Hachiro could imagine his current expression—dumbfounded, practically with "speechless" written all over his face.

—Eel rice... His ambition is simply to eat eel rice...!

To him, Harada Sanosuke's reply was absolutely explosive!

This was even more unbelievable to him than the blunt statement, "I have no ambition, I just want to live a life of leisure and wait to die."

A grown man, standing seven feet tall, only seeks to eat eel rice...