I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Of course!" Teshiro smiled warmly. "You can tell us what kind of noodles you want!"

"How much would it cost to add two extra tempura strips to the miso soba noodles?"

Okita and Teshiro discussed his "custom-made soba noodles" in detail.

While waiting, Qing Deng, to kill time while waiting for Okita to order his noodles, opened the system interface he hadn't checked in detail for some time—

Name: Tachibana Aoto (?)

[Currently possessed talents:]

Night vision, swordsmanship genius, sleep god, lone wolf, eagle eye, left-handed, physique, skillful hands, eloquent tongue, iron waist, steel bones, strong muscles, cat turn, photographic memory.

Qingdeng's system interface is finally no longer the "desolate" state it was when he first transmigrated.

He now possesses a total of 14 talents, all of which are highly practical.

Qingdeng's gaze shifted to the very end of the "Talent List," looking at the three talents he had copied from the match a few days ago: "Strength," "Cat Turn," and "Photographic Memory." He couldn't help but sigh inwardly:

—These three new talents are all incredibly overpowered...

The "strong muscle" that makes muscles less prone to fatigue... its usefulness is self-evident.

The "cat turn" copied from Sanako has the effect of "excellent body balance".

This talent may seem useless at first glance, but it is actually very useful.

Knowing how to fall down in a fight is an art.

In martial arts, there is a technique that specifically teaches you how to take a fall: the fall technique.

"Recovery": In short, it is the ability to adjust one's posture using inertia when being attacked and about to fall, thereby reducing the impact and preventing injury on rocks or uneven ground, and quickly regaining one's posture.

If you have a good sense of balance, it means that you are less likely to lose your balance when fighting with others, and if you do lose your balance, you can quickly adjust your center of gravity and recover.

Having exceptional balance will give you a significant advantage in battle.

As for the final "photographic memory"... needless to say.

An exceptional memory – this is probably one of the most coveted talents for most people in the world.

In his previous life, when Qingdeng was still in school, he had longed for this talent of "photographic memory" countless times. As long as one has extraordinary memory, one can achieve twice the result with half the effort, whether it is to cope with school exams or to learn other talents.

And now—Qingdeng's fantasy has come true.

That Shan Nan actually possesses such a divine talent... Qing Deng wasn't too surprised by this, after all, Shan Nan looked like the kind of cultured person who was very good at learning and studying.

After Qing Deng roughly reviewed his increasingly "growing" list of talents, Okita finally finished ordering his "custom noodles" with the help of the tailor.

"Those two sitting next to us are so noisy..." After Teshiro returned to the kitchen with the paper listing the noodles ordered by Aoto and his three companions, Okita chuckled wryly and whispered to Aoto sitting next to him, "They're chattering away..."

Aoto smiled helplessly, then nodded, gesturing his agreement with what Okita had just said.

Sitting at the table next to Qing Deng and the others were two middle-aged samurai with swords at their waists.

They had slurped up all the noodles on the table, and their cheeks were flushed from drinking some alcohol.

Throughout history, regardless of the era or country, there have always been three topics that men love most: military affairs, politics, and women.

The two middle-aged men were having a very passionate conversation about one of the three main topics: politics.

Although they were trying to control the volume of their conversation, perhaps due to their intoxication causing a loss of control over their bodies, the noise they made still disturbed Qingdeng and the others.

Fortunately, after exchanging a few more words, the rather noisy middle-aged couple staggered out of the noodle shop.

"I heard... hiccup... that Lord Ii has recently had another argument with Prince Tenshōin..."

"Oh dear, it's not uncommon for Lord Ii and Prince Tenshōin to quarrel. Their argument is pointless; how could Prince Tenshōin possibly win against Lord Ii?"

"That's right. Princess Tenshōin is merely the principal wife of Lord Iesada and the nominal mother of Lord Iemochi. In terms of power, how can a young widow who is only 24 years old this year compare to the all-powerful Lord Ii?"

"I suspect that Lord Ii usually treats Prince Tenshōin with a 'playing with a child' attitude."

"Compared to Princess Tenshōin, who is just a woman with little power, the Mito Domain is the real threat to Lord Ii right now."

"Yes, even if one day in the future a group of Mito Domain samurai suddenly appeared and hacked Ii Tairo to death in the street, I wouldn't be surprised at all..."

"Hiccup... Hmm? We've finished our drinks... Shall we order two more?"

"No, no, let's just go to the next place and drink there."

"Okay, let's go."

After watching the middle-aged couple leave the noodle shop, Okita, who had been forced to listen to their entire conversation, suddenly turned to Aoto and asked:

"Tachibana-kun, isn't the Mito Domain one of the three domains closest to the shogunate: the 'Gosanke'? Why did those two just say that the Mito Domain was a major thorn in Ii Taishi's side?"

Qing Deng couldn't help but raise an eyebrow: "You don't know?"

Okita shook his head: "I rarely pay attention to these national and familial affairs..."

"Well..." Qing Deng stroked his chin, "Where should I begin to explain this to you..."

Aoto was quite familiar with the feud between Ii Naosuke and the Mito Domain—because Hara Tachibana Aoto's memories contained quite detailed information about it.

Generally speaking, anyone with even a slight interest in current Japanese politics is aware of the complex relationship between Ii Naosuke and the Mito Domain.

Just as Qing Deng was racking his brains trying to figure out how to explain this slightly complicated issue to Okita in the simplest terms possible, a refined male voice suddenly came from behind them:

"If you don't mind... I can help explain it."

"Yanami-kun?" Aoto turned his head in surprise to look at Yamanami Keisuke, who was sitting back to back at the dining table behind him, turning his head to give them a polite smile.

……

……

Qingdeng and his group were sitting at a table for six, with plenty of room for Shannan to come and sit down.

After inviting Shannan to sit down and join them at the same table, Qingdeng immediately asked his refined old friend in surprise, "Shannan-kun, what are you doing here?"

"I've encountered some troubles these past two days," Yamanami said casually. "To relieve my depression, I went to Yushima Tenmangu Shrine again today to admire the white plum blossoms that are still in full bloom."

"I got so engrossed in watching it that when I came to my senses, it was already dark."

"Even if I rush home to cook dinner, it will be too late."

"This noodle shop is a restaurant I always pass by on my way back home."

"So I decided to just come here and have a simple dinner tonight."

"To my utter surprise, after I entered the noodle shop and sat down at a seat that was still empty, I heard a familiar voice behind me."

"Something bothering you?" Qing Deng scanned Shan Nan's face, carefully examining it several times. Sure enough, he noticed a faint look of worry between Shan Nan's brows. "Shan Nan-kun, what's bothering you?"

"Haha." Shan Nan smiled calmly. "It's just a trivial matter, let's not talk about it."

Qingdeng is the kind of person who has a strong sense of privacy.

He doesn't like people forcefully prying into his privacy.

Conversely, he wouldn't casually pry into other people's privacy.

Since his old friend was unwilling to talk about his "troubles," Qingdeng did not delve any further into the matter.

"Ah... speaking of which, Yamanami-kun, I think I still owe you a drink."

Qing Deng suddenly remembered that a little over a month ago, the day after he traveled to this Edo period, after he asked Yamanami about the relationship between Shieikan, Genbukan, and Kochiba Kenkan, he promised Yamanami that he would treat him to a drink as a thank you.

"Hahaha." Shan Nan smiled and said, "Then let's make up for the drinks you owe now. I'm feeling a bit hungry myself."

After Qing Deng laughed heartily, he repeatedly said that it was no problem. He called out to Tedai, who happened to be passing by their table, and ordered two more bottles of sake.

“Okita-kun.” At this moment, Yamanami shifted his gaze to Okita. “Are you very interested in the feud between the Ii clan chief and the Mito domain?”

“I suppose so.” Okita made a small gap with his right thumb and forefinger. “I’m mainly curious why the Mito Domain, one of the ‘Three Great Families,’ has such a bad relationship with the Ii clan leader.”

Shannan smiled and placed his folded hands on the dining table in front of him.

"The feud between Ii Tairo and the Mito Domain... In short, it was about three things Ii Tairo did that angered the Mito Domain's samurai."

"The first thing - Ii Daigo advocated 'opening the country,' which conflicted with the Mito Domain's advocacy of 'closed-door policy' and 'expelling the barbarians.'"

"In the Mito Domain, there is a school of thought that has a history of nearly two hundred years: Mito Gakuin."

"Mito School is a school of thought that takes the teachings of Zhu Shunshui, a great Confucian scholar of the Ming Dynasty who was unwilling to serve the Qing Dynasty and thus resided in my country, as its center and integrates the traditional Chinese learning."

"One of the core ideas of Mito School is to advocate the 'reverence for the emperor' ideology, which is to 'respect the emperor and protect the divine nation'."

"As the birthplace of Mito studies, the Mito Domain's samurai were all deeply influenced by Mito studies."

"Under the influence of Mito school, the samurai of the Mito domain generally had a strong sense of 'expelling barbarians and protecting the sacred land of the gods'."

"Seven years ago, after the Black Ships of America attacked, Tokugawa Nariaki, the current lord of the Mito Domain and a great admirer of Mito studies, took the lead in issuing a call to action—never to lift the 'isolation edict,' and to use the full strength of the nation to defeat the barbarians and protect the divine kingdom."

"After Tokugawa Nariaki issued this call, the samurai of the Mito Domain responded in droves."

"In the eyes of the samurai of the Mito Domain, Ii Naosuke, who advocated 'opening the country,' was a cowardly traitor who brought disaster to the country and its people."

"The second thing - without waiting for His Majesty the Emperor's consent, Ii Dairō signed the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between Japan and the United States and five other treaties."

"Two years ago, when the United States and other countries forced our country to sign a new treaty, the Kyoto court remained indecisive and did not give a definite answer regarding whether or not to sign the new treaty."

"Because of the military power of the Western countries, Ii Dairo had no choice but to sign these new treaties with the Western countries without the Emperor's consent."

"Although Ii Dairo had his own reasons for doing this, in the eyes of the Mito Domain samurai who were deeply influenced by the Mito school's 'respect for the emperor' ideology, Ii Dairo's act of disregarding the emperor was a great act of treason."

"As for... the last and third thing—after taking over the position of 'Daio,' Ii Dairo severely cracked down on all his political enemies, led by Tokugawa Nariaki."

"The Mito Domain lord, Tokugawa Nariaki, not only disagreed with Ii Tairo on the issue of 'opening the country to foreign trade or expelling the barbarians'."

"In the 'Hitotsubashi-Nanki Dispute' that decided whether Tokugawa Yoshifuku or Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu would be the shogun's successor, he had a very sharp conflict with Ii Tairo."

"Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu, who was highly regarded by the Hitotsubashi faction, was the son of Tokugawa Nariaki. In 1847, he was adopted by the childless Hitotsubashi family."

"Whether for the sake of his son's future or for the benefit of his family, Tokugawa Nariaki naturally hoped to make his own son the new shogun."

"Therefore, in the shogun succession dispute two years ago, Ii Tairo was the most steadfast Nanki faction, while Tokugawa Nariaki was the most steadfast Hitotsubashi faction."

"After Ii Tai-lung successfully took the position of 'Taigō' and the 'Nanki Faction' achieved a complete victory, Ii Tai-lung began to vigorously suppress all political enemies, led by the 'Hitotsubashi Faction'."

“Tokugawa Nariaki, who had always been at odds with him, was naturally treated seriously by Ii Taisho.”

"Ii Daigo has imposed a 'perpetual seclusion' order on Tokugawa Nariaki. Tokugawa Nariaki cannot leave his residence until this order is lifted."

"So—Okita-kun, can you understand why the Mito Domain is considered a major thorn in Ii-sama's side?"

"In the eyes of the Mito Domain samurai, Ii Dairo was a traitor who disrespected the Emperor, betrayed his country for personal gain, and caused their lord to suffer an injustice."