I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Kyoto, Nawate-dori (east of the Kamo River), a certain inn—

"Routine search!"

Nishiki Shinmi was in charge of lifting the curtain, while Kamo Serizawa was in charge of pushing open the door—the two worked together very well.

They barged into the store with the air of "debt collection," and like two raging bulls, they reached out and yanked open every door they could see.

A moment later, a young man—the owner of the shop—burst out angrily from the back room, carrying a naginata.

"Hey! You... Oh, gentlemen! What brings you here?"

In the blink of an eye... really just in the blink of an eye, the boss personally demonstrated what it means to "change face".

Upon seeing the light blue haori worn by Serizawa Kamo and the others, the anger on his face instantly vanished, replaced by a vivid expression of flattery.

As he concealed the naginata behind his back, he eagerly asked, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Serizawa Kamo's response to the boss's enthusiasm was brief:

"Get out of here."

Serizawa Duck remained vigilant, on high alert, and ready for battle.

They didn't miss a single room in the hotel; whenever they encountered a room, they would barge in and inspect it.

Interestingly, this process is like "Schrödinger's cat"—you never know what the room will look like until you open the door.

You might encounter a ronin drinking alone in silence.

You might meet traveling merchants from afar.

It's also possible... you might stumble upon a steamy scene.

Although it was only early in the night, men and women of varying ages were already doing some intimate things in bed.

When Serizawa Kamo pushed open the innermost room, she was shocked to find a woman and two men.

The two men looked poor and looked like ordinary townspeople.

As for the woman, although she was a bit older, she still retained her charm.

She glanced at Serizawa Kamo, who had suddenly barged in, then at the two men in front of her, her expression calm, as if she were used to it:

"Another one? Oh well, as long as you've paid enough money."

……

……

Kyoto, Kiyamachi (west of Kamogawa), Izakaya——

Nakazawa Koto swallowed hard, mustered her courage, and pushed open the door to enter.

"Routine check!"

She could still pronounce the first two words clearly.

But when she got to the last two words, she bit her tongue and made a mistake.

Despite having experience as a former member of the New Expeditionary Force, patrolling Edo, Nakazawa Koto is only good at jobs that don't require showing her face or speaking.

She was really not used to this kind of "public appearance" work.

For a moment, everyone in the izakaya—staff and customers alike—turned to look at Nakazawa Koto, who stood frozen in place, feeling ashamed for making a mistake.

No one dared to laugh after seeing the light blue haori worn by Nakazawa Koto.

However, the teasing in their eyes was unmistakable.

As if she were being steamed, Nakazawa Koto's delicate face flushed red at a visible speed.

……

……

Kyoto, Nawate-dori (east of the Kamo River), a certain inn—

Saitoichi: "..."

Nakazawa Sadayoshi: "..."

The former assumed the latter would be responsible for announcing "routine search".

The latter, however, believed that such a cool job should be done by the team leader.

And so, the two of them, maintaining a strange tacit understanding, barged into the shop without saying a word.

Because both of them had stern faces and didn't say a word, the shop owner was terrified.

……

……

It's called a "Yamahoko patrol," but Kyoto is so big, it's impossible for the Yamahoko to patrol every corner of Edo.

In fact, the Yamahoko only patrols "central Kyoto" and does not go "outside Kyoto"—which is in line with the values ​​of "old Kyoto".

In the eyes of the "old Kyoto" people, only "Rakuchu" is the real Kyoto, while "Rakugai" and the like are considered stinking outsiders.

To witness the annual "Yamahoko Jungo" (mountain boat procession), tens of thousands of Kyoto residents flock to Rakuchu.

As a result, the number of people visiting Luowai has decreased significantly.

The entire area from Gion to Sanjo Bridge falls under the jurisdiction of "Rakugai".

Therefore, there weren't many pedestrians on the street at this time—which was a great advantage for Qing Deng and the others.

If the streets are crowded with people, it will definitely cause great inconvenience to the search operation.

The road was quiet and deserted... Swordsmen clad in light blue haori (feathered robes) hurried to and fro.

The "Aoto Team" and the "Kondo Team"—these two teams, searching northwards, visited every inn and izakaya along the way.

However... so far, both teams have come up empty-handed, achieving nothing...

Time slips away quietly... fatigue and anxiety accumulate.

The feeling of helplessness—"trying your best but getting no results"—is wearing down everyone's patience.

Apart from a very few people such as Aoto, Hijikata Toshizo, and Kondo Isami, everyone else looked anxious and uneasy.

At this moment, the same question arose in their minds:

Where exactly is the meeting location?!

……

……

Kyoto, Sanjo Bridge (west of Kamogawa), Ikedaya——

This three-bridge complex is one of the rest stops on the Tokaido route, which starts at Nihonbashi Bridge. Hotels are densely packed along the east-west road of the bridge.

Ikedaya is one of them.

The hotel is a two-story building with a front width of three and a half bays (about 6.4 meters) and a depth of fifteen bays (about 27.3 meters).

On the left side of the first floor are lattice doors and windows, and on the right side is a red painted wall. The second floor is surrounded by a fine lattice, allowing people to peek out from inside, but pedestrians outside cannot see what is inside.

"Retreat to the aid! Retreat to the aid!"

The owner of Ikedaya called out loudly for Yamazaki Susumu.

Yamazaki rushed out of the kitchen in three quick steps and darted to the boss's side.

"Boss, I'm here! What can I do for you?"

The boss stared intently at Yamazaki's face. After an eerie silence that lasted several seconds, he suddenly looked enlightened and said quickly:

"Tui-zhi-zhu! Big business! A generous guest has suddenly arrived, saying he wants to hold a banquet immediately! The guests will be arriving soon, about 30 people! This is a big job, go to the kitchen and lend a hand!"

Big business, immediate banquet, 30 people... Upon hearing these words, Yamazaki's eyes flickered slightly.

As one of the most outstanding ninjas in the Shinsengumi, he quickly suppressed his emotional fluctuations and returned to normal.

After loudly proclaiming "yes," he quietly retreated to the kitchen and joined the chefs and maids in cooking and preparing drinks.

He remained calm and collected, while simultaneously straining his ears to listen carefully to any sounds coming from outside the kitchen.

Suddenly, he heard a series of loud, hurried footsteps outside.

He immediately perked up, a serious expression creeping onto his brow.

After a moment's thought, he made up an excuse and quickly left the kitchen, heading straight for the entrance.

"Guests! Please come this way! Watch your step! Watch the stairs!"

Before even reaching the entrance, Yamazaki Susumu could hear the owner's enthusiastic voice.

Finally, he arrived at the entrance just in time to catch the group of guests up to the second floor—and there was a huge crowd of people, shoulder to shoulder.

Seeing Yamazaki Susumu suddenly appear, the shopkeeper, after another strange silence, asked in bewilderment:

"Oh, it's Tatsunosuke. What's wrong? Why are you here all of a sudden?"

Yamazaki Susumu skillfully plastered a smile on his face:

"Boss, so you've been here! I've been looking for you!"

"Looking for me? What happened?"

"It's nothing serious! I just wanted to let you know that we're almost out of salt! If we don't buy some more tomorrow, we won't be able to open for business!"

The boss patted his head.

"Oh, right, I forgot to buy salt again today! Reince, remember to remind me to buy salt tomorrow!"

"Okay, okay, no problem!"

Yamazaki deliberately slowed down his tone and rambled on with meaningless chatter in order to buy time.

Pretending to talk to someone or do something else while observing the surrounding environment—this is one of the compulsory courses in A-Mai's "Ninja Class".

While discussing with the boss, Yamazaki secretly glanced at the group of guests who had suddenly come to hold a banquet.

Thanks to his extremely low profile, no one noticed that this unassuming agent was secretly casting a hunter-like scrutinizing gaze at them.

Without exception, all of these people were samurai with swords at their waists.