I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

The dream shattered instantly.

After his consciousness returned to reality from the dream that brought back memories of the past, Arimura Jizaemon slowly opened his eyes.

The moment he opened his eyes, the orange blossom pattern of the Ii family came into view.

Looking at the Ii family's ranks not far away, Arimura Jizaemon, who was hiding in a dark alley with Kurosawa Tadazaburo, let out a long breath, then reached out his hands, which he had been keeping warm in his arms, and unsheathed the katana at his waist...

In this chapter, Ii Naosuke writes a waka poem, "The fragrance still fills the universe," the day before the Shangsi Festival; on the day of the festival, he receives an anonymous letter warning him of assassination attempts; Ii Naosuke refuses to increase guards on the Shangsi Festival, citing the need not break the established rules… [All of the above events are based on historical facts; the author has not added any original content.]

So please don't make nitpicking comments like "the plot is weird" or "why did Ii Naosuke do something so reckless?" This is the historical fact, and the author is simply writing down the true history.

The scene where Tokugawa Iemochi persuades Ii Naosuke to temporarily step down from his position as chief elder is a plot point adapted by the author based on historical facts.

In historical fact, it was Ii Naosuke's confidants who advised him to temporarily avoid confrontation, but Ii Naosuke refused.

By the way—[Although Ajiu is an original character in this book, she is actually based on a historical figure.]

Her historical prototype was one of Ii Naosuke's lovers who helped him through the lowest point in his life. That's why I designed Ii Naosuke and Aku to be so deeply in love. I will talk about Aku's prototype in more detail later.

Chapter 106 The Incident Outside Sakurada Gate! Demons and monsters appear!

"Arimura-kun," Kurosawa Tadazaburo exhaled a puff of white mist, "are you nervous...?"

"It's a little embarrassing to admit," Arimura Jizaemon said with a wry smile, showing Kurosawa Tadazaburo his right hand. "I'm so nervous... Look, my hand is shaking nonstop."

Arimura Jizaemon's right hand trembled violently as if in a spasm.

He raised his left hand and gripped his right hand tightly, trying to stop it from shaking.

But because his left hand was also shaking, when his left hand grabbed his right wrist, the two palms pulled each other, and both palms shook even more violently.

“I see… I’m nervous too.” Kurosawa Tadazaburo also showed Arimura Jizaemon his two hands—his hands were also trembling.

Although their hands and feet were trembling violently from tension and fear, the determination and resolve in their eyes did not fade in the slightest.

call!

The wind and snow intensified.

The Ii family's column was rapidly advancing towards their designated battle location.

After exhaling another puff of white smoke, Kurosawa Tadazaburo, who was in charge of leading the left wing, reached into his pocket with his right hand and pulled out a gleaming revolver...

……

……

“Okabe Sanjuro was responsible for staying behind and had to witness the successful assassination of Ii Naosuke, so he did not participate in the assassination.”

"After the assassination was successful, Saito Kenmon delivered the 'Letter of Execution' to the senior councilor, so he stayed behind with Okabe Sanjuro and did not participate in the assassination."

After saying that, Seki Tetsunosuke opened a brocade box beside him.

Inside the brocade box lay five brand-new revolvers, lying quietly.

"These five short guns were given to me by Lord Jinzi."

"I'll take one; the remaining four—"

Seki Tetsunosuke took a pistol out of the brocade box.

“Saito Kenmono”.

"Yes!" Saito Kenmono respectfully took the pistol from Seki Tetsunosuke's hands with both hands.

“Inada Shigezo.” Seki Tetsunosuke took out another pistol from the brocade box.

"Yes!" Inada Shigezo mimicked Saito Kenmon's earlier action, taking the gun from Seki Tetsunosuke's hands with both hands.

"Gorokuro Mori."

"Yes!"

"Kurosawa Tadazaburo".

"Yes!"

After distributing the four pistols to the four men led by Saito Kenmono, Seki Tetsunosuke resumed his serious, upright sitting posture.

"After Mori-kun killed the vanguard of Ii's group, he took advantage of the weakened defenses around the palanquin..."

Seki Tetsunosuke turned his gaze to Kurosawa Tadazaburo.

"Kurosawa-kun, you are in charge of shooting at the palanquin with the pistol."

"Shoot at Ii Naosuke's palanquin?"

“Yes.” Seki Tetsunosuke nodded solemnly. “If we could just shoot him dead on the spot with a pistol, that would be the best.”

"If we can't kill him outright, we should at least injure him."

“Ii Naosuke was a master of Iaido who pioneered the ‘Shin Shinryu’ (New Heart, New Style).”

"In terms of personal strength, he might be stronger than most of his guards."

"If we can injure him before the battle officially begins, it will greatly increase our chances of winning."

"...I understand!" Kurosawa Tadazaburo nodded vigorously, gripping the short gun he was holding tightly. "Give it to me!"

Seki Tetsunosuke shifted his gaze, scanning his comrades around him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the day we have been waiting for has finally arrived!"

"Ii Naosuke's numerous crimes are too many to list."

"He disrespected His Majesty the Emperor. Without waiting for His Majesty the Emperor's consent, he unilaterally signed unequal treaties with five countries, including the United States and France, which were humiliating and detrimental to China's sovereignty."

"He brought disaster to the country and its people. He was obsequious to foreign powers, attempting to completely open the country's doors and abolish the 'closed-door policy' that had been in place for two hundred years, signing one unequal treaty after another with Western barbarians; at home, he cruelly persecuted patriots who harbored the ambition to expel foreigners, and countless people of noble character and integrity were harmed by him."

“He insulted our lord. Our lord is devoted to the country and the people, and has worked tirelessly to expel the barbarians, yet he has suffered unfair treatment from Ii Naosuke.”

"If we allow such traitors to continue committing evil deeds, our country will cease to exist!"

Seki Tetsunosuke stood up with a "whoosh," grabbing the sword resting on his right side as he did so.

"The day after tomorrow, take the sound of gunfire as the signal. Upon hearing Kurosawa's gunshot, attack from both flanks simultaneously and take the head of Ii Naosuke!"

Seki Tetsunosuke held his sword horizontally in front of him.

"Let us use our swords to slay the treacherous officials and villains!"

"Let us use our swords to usher in a new era!"

"May the traitor be punished by Heaven!"

Inspired by Tetsunosuke's words, everyone grabbed their swords and stood up with great excitement.

"May the traitors of the nation be punished! May the traitors of the nation be punished! May the traitors of the nation be punished!"

They raised their knives high and shouted in unison.

……

……

“God punish the traitors… God punish… the traitors…!” Arimura Tsujizaemon kept repeating this phrase, trying to draw strength from these simple words.

Mori Gorokuro, the vanguard of the Ii squad responsible for killing Ii's men, stood on the street.

Dressed as a ronin, he kept patting the "petition for redress" he had placed in his arms, which he would later use to pretend he was there to seek justice.

Inada Shigezo and others, who were in charge of launching the attack on the right wing, were now sitting around a tea stall.

Disguised as a group of country samurai visiting Edo, they sipped hot tea bought from a tea shop and pretended to whisper about the Ii troop that had already appeared outside Sakurada Gate.

"The palanquin is decorated with orange blossom patterns... This must be the Ii family's procession, right?"

"Yes, that's right. The orange blossom pattern is the Ii family crest."

"As for family crests, I still think the bellflower pattern and the gentian leaf pattern are the most beautiful."

It was perfectly normal for country warriors to come and see the processions of these famous families when these important figures ascended the city walls; no one would suspect a thing.

To make his performance more natural and less suspicious, he even used witty language to flirt with the young woman working at the tea stall, eliciting frequent giggles from her.

Seki Tetsunosuke, who was in charge of the overall command, Okabe Sanjuro, who was responsible for witnessing the death of Ii Naosuke, and Saito Kenmono, who was responsible for delivering the "Letter of Execution of Traitors" to the senior councilor after the war, held up oil-paper umbrellas, wore cloaks, and disguised themselves as passersby, following at the very back of Ii's procession at a distance.

The wind blew even harder.

More and more cold, silvery millet rolled down.

……

……

Inside the palanquin, Ii Naosuke breathed warm air onto his cold hands.

Just then, a gust of wind blew through the sedan chair window, bringing a glistening snowflake into the sedan chair.

As he watched the snowflake flutter before his eyes like a firefly, Ii Naosuke suddenly remembered the promise he had made to Aku earlier—to draw inspiration from today's rare heavy snowfall and write a waka poem with snow as its theme as soon as possible.

“Untimely snow…” Ii Naosuke tilted his head, looking at the sky filled with dark clouds outside the window, “Heh…it’s quite picturesque…”

Ii Naosuke gazed intently at the snow scene outside the window.

He pondered the content of the waka poem.

Every now and then, he would softly hum a satisfying verse.

……

……

"Arimura-kun, haven't you adjusted your state yet?" Kurosawa Tadazaburo glanced at Arimura Jizaemon's still trembling hands.

Arimura Tsuzuemon gave an awkward, sheepish laugh: "Sorry..."

"...Don't overthink it," Kurosawa Tadazaburo gently comforted him. "Once the war starts, you just need to keep moving forward."

"Aiming at the direction where Ii Naosuke's palanquin was, stride forward."

"There is no need to think about anything other than 'moving forward'."

After saying that, Kurosawa Tadazaburo turned his gaze back to the street outside the alley.

His gaze suddenly sharpened: "They're here...!"