I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

No matter how much money he can make, he doesn't have the ability to "create wealth out of thin air".

Cavalry was not only costly, but also very difficult to train.

Due to the lack of conditions for riding horses, even wealthy samurai rarely had the opportunity to practice their riding skills.

Most of the soldiers in the 7th and 10th Divisions didn't even know how to mount their horses.

In other words, at this stage, the Shinsengumi cavalrymen are still in the process of "learning to ride horses".

We are still a long way from "practicing mounted combat and forming a considerable fighting force"!

The Ninth Division is in the same situation.

Training cavalry is difficult, but training ninjas is even more difficult!

For modern Japanese people, "ninja" is an incredibly ancient word.

Since ancient times, ninjas have been a special type of soldier who are not respectable and are like "rats in the gutter".

No matter where or when, unless they were desperate, samurai would never stoop to becoming ninjas.

Even in the chaotic Warring States period, ninjas were still able to make a living.

Once the world is at peace, the ninjas will naturally have no use for their skills.

Ninjas became scarce.

The transmission of ninjutsu was a complete mess.

Nowadays, ninjutsu basically exists in only two states: lost or on the verge of being lost.

Some people have at least some experience with equestrian sports.

As for ninjutsu, I've never even seen it before!

Training ninjas from scratch...that's a huge undertaking!

Qing Deng doesn't have high expectations for the Ninth Division.

He doesn't need the Naruto who spews flames and water.

There is no need for female ninjas who seduce enemy generals or whisper sweet nothings in their pillows.

Being able to scale walls and infiltrate hidden facilities—Qingdeng would be content with that level of skill.

After being specially selected by Qingdeng, the members of the Ninth Division all had bodies that were very suitable for training ninjutsu—they were small and unremarkable in appearance, and could be easily lost in a busy city.

Aoto entrusted Kinoshita Mai with the important task of "training ninjas and building the Ninth Division into a qualified ninja force".

Despite feeling immense pressure, Kinoshita Mai resolutely accepted the appointment.

I must say, Kinoshita Mai is quite good at teaching.

Under her careful guidance, the members of the Ninth Division have shown remarkable growth.

If all goes well, it should only take about a year for Qingdeng to see a fully formed ninja force!

It's worth mentioning that because she became a teacher and had to spend long hours interacting with people every day, Kinoshita Mai's shy nature improved considerably.

It seems that it won't be long before Kinoshita Mai will be able to completely shed the labels of "afraid of strangers" and "gloomy girl".

Although the Shinsengumi has grown in size, there are still many internal problems that need to be addressed.

The work that Qingdeng will have to deal with next is still arduous.

The road to building a strong military is long and arduous!

……

……

After Aoto returned to the capital, no major news occurred in either the eastern or western provinces, or between the pro-shogunate or pro-imperial factions.

Everything was peaceful... so peaceful that it felt unnatural.

However, a small thing did happen—a small thing for others, but a big thing for Qingdeng!

In short, Qingdeng underestimated the impact of the talent "Elephant Core" after it reached its highest level.

Therefore... this displeased the commander-in-chief.

Recently, the commander has been avoiding Aoto.

Anyone who saw this would probably think that Aoto and Souji had a fight.

In fact, that is not the case.

The story begins when Qing Deng returned to the capital.

As soon as he returned to Kyoto, Aoto, who missed Souji terribly, took advantage of the night and excitedly sneaked into her room.

The next day, the commander's face turned very pale, and his legs would uncontrollably sway when he walked...

From that day on, whenever Souji saw Aoto, he would instinctively shrink his neck, just like a mouse that had encountered a cat, and then hurriedly turn around and take a detour to avoid Aoto.

The commander's disregard and retreat left Qing Deng speechless with despair.

Fortunately, Souji is a girl who is easily influenced and easy to talk to.

Qing Deng used every trick in the book to finally coax the commander back.

However... on the very second day after the two "made up," Souji became pale and unsteady on his feet again, and once again ignored and avoided Aoto.

This is the first time Qingdeng has ever hated a certain talent so much...

……

……

Wenjiu three years (1863), August 15, night——

Kyoto, Mibu Village, Shinsengumi Headquarters, Kiyokawa Hachiro's room—

Kiyokawa Hachiro bent over his desk, intently reading Mito Seki's classic work, "Dai Nihon Shi" (Great History of Japan).

Suddenly, a voice came from outside the door:

"Mr. Qinghe, it's me."

Kiyokawa Hachiro replied without looking up:

"Come in."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a burly man pushed open the door and rushed to Qinghe Hachiro's side, kneeling on one knee and whispering something in his ear.

A moment later, Kiyokawa Hachiro's pupils suddenly contracted, and his face was filled with a mixture of surprise and delight.

"Sugiura, is this really true?"

The big man... that is, Sugiura, nodded vigorously.

“‘Over there’ said: Tonight at 9 o’clock (12 o’clock), meet at the Omiya in Ushikyu-cho.”

"..."

Kiyokawa Hachiro lowered his eyelids, remaining silent as he pondered silently.

……

……

That night, at nine o'clock in the evening—

Xinxuanzu Village, somewhere—

A rustling sound... a furtive figure cautiously made its way through the dense bushes.

It was Kiyokawa Hachiro!

Using the bushes for cover, he moved inch by inch to the wall.

Then, he looked around, not missing a single corner.

After confirming that no one was following him, he leaped up like a spring, grabbed the edge of the wall, and then flipped over like a folding piece of paper, nimbly escaping the village.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, he grabbed the sword at his waist and hurriedly darted into a nearby alley, heading towards Ushi-no-machi.

About twenty minutes later, he arrived at Ushikyu-cho without incident and then found an izakaya called "Omi-ya".

He stepped forward and knocked on the shop door.

A deep voice immediately came from behind the door:

When will the curtain fall?

Kiyokawa Hachiro immediately replied:

"It'll be soon, it'll be soon, it'll be soon."

As soon as he finished speaking, the old shop door creaked open slowly, revealing a gap large enough for an adult to squeeze through.

Kiyokawa Hachiro, holding the sword he had taken off in his right hand, stepped inside without a second thought.

The shop door was closed again.

The store was very dimly lit.

As soon as he entered, Kiyokawa Hachiro felt a sharp, knife-like gaze—several imposing samurai stood in the darkness, staring intently at him.

Kiyokawa Hachiro glanced at the samurai briefly, then fixed his gaze on the table directly in front of him.

On the table in front of him sat an oil lamp—the only light source in the area—and opposite the table sat a dashing young man.

The flickering flame of the oil lamp cast an inverted light on the young man's face.

The young man smiled and slowly raised his gaze to meet Kiyokawa Hachiro's eyes.

"Kiyokawa-kun, it's a pleasure to meet you. I am Takechi Hanpeita, the leader of the Tosa Loyalist Party."

As he spoke, Takeshi Hanpeita gestured for him to sit down.

As Kiyokawa Hachiro sat down, he nodded respectfully without being servile or arrogant.

"I am Kiyokawa Hachiro, Mr. Takeichi. I have long admired your name."

The two sat facing each other.

After both of them finished their brief self-introductions, Takeshi Hanpeita suddenly raised his voice and said seriously: