I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Seeing that Shintaro Toujou was alright, Ms. Sumire breathed a sigh of relief.

Qingdeng asked:

"Ajin, have all the people evacuated?"

Miss Violet nodded slightly:

"Yes, they've almost all evacuated. Luckily, there wasn't any major chaos."

She paused here, then adopted a tone filled with deep emotion:

"The civilians haven't even completely evacuated yet, and you've already wiped out the enemy... Isn't your killing speed a bit too fast?"

She had barely finished speaking when Shintaro Higashijo immediately interjected:

"It has nothing to do with me. I was just an assistant. These corpses all over the ground were basically An Yi's doing."

These words immediately created a subtle atmosphere.

Atao, Amei... these female ninjas, who had shown vigilance and hostility ever since meeting Qingdeng, all cast complicated glances at him.

Regardless of their feelings towards Qingdeng, they have to admit that without Qingdeng's help tonight, even if they could win, it would not have been so easy!

From storming the warehouse single-handedly to just now using Yoshida Toshima and the others as punching bags... Aoto perfectly demonstrated the dominant strength of "Nioh"!

Thanks to his overwhelming force, tonight's series of operations went incredibly smoothly.

Not only did they thwart the plot of the pro-imperial faction, but not a single one of their own died! Only Shintaro Toujou was burned and suffered a few blisters!

As a result, Miss Sumire and the female ninjas couldn't help but feel as if they were in a dream.

Perhaps Amei and the others didn't even realize it themselves—when they looked at Qingdeng now, the wariness and hostility in their eyes had diminished considerably.

A very few people even showed a hint of admiration, longing, and other emotions in their eyes.

Qing Deng didn't notice the changes in the female ninjas' eyes. He half-jokingly asked A Jin:

"Ah Jin, I thought you weren't coming."

Miss Violet sighed silently:

"To be honest, I didn't want to come."

"But... I have to admit that your deduction makes a lot of sense."

"So I left Mr. Ebina and some others behind and let them continue to interrogate those guys."

"The rest of you will follow me to help you."

Qing Deng smiled slightly after hearing this:

"Thank you for coming. Thanks to your assistance, we were able to evacuate the people quickly and minimize the damage. You have been a great help."

Miss Jin smiled, revealing a smile that could launch a thousand ships—as long as she didn't speak, she was an impeccably beautiful woman.

"No need to be so polite. We are allies, aren't we? As allies, it is only right that we help each other."

Qing Deng continued, in a half-joking tone:

"Unfortunately, our alliance only lasted until tonight."

Miss Violet smiled again:

Well... that's hard to say.

At that moment, Qingdeng suddenly heard a series of rapid footsteps approaching from behind.

He turned his head to look—it was the town fire that had been extinguished.

"Machikasho" refers to firefighters during the Edo period.

Seeing this, Miss Jin said softly:

"The town fire has died down... We should probably go now."

As members of the Great Shio Party, Ms. Sumire and her companions naturally tried their best to avoid getting involved with officials of the shogunate.

Qingdeng nodded:

"Then let's part ways for now."

"I'm very concerned about the situation at Ikedaya, so I need to head there now."

Miss Violet nodded slightly:

"Goodbye, Aki."

"I believe we will meet again soon—and I hope we will still be friends then."

After saying that, she led Shintaro Toujou and the female ninjas eastward.

Just as the two were about to part ways... Qing Deng suddenly opened his eyes wide.

He hadn't been paying close attention to Shintaro Tojo.

After removing his burning upper body clothing, Shintaro Toujou remained shirtless, revealing his round belly resembling that of Pigsy from Journey to the West.

Only now did he realize with shock that there was a large burn scar on Shintaro Toujou's right abdomen...!

The wound is very old; it looks like a long-standing injury.

Burns on his right abdomen, skill with a long spear, strength... all sorts of information swirled and merged in Qing Deng's mind.

Past memories resurfaced in his mind.

He suddenly recalled the old man he had met in Osaka:

(Have you ever seen a samurai with gruesome burn scars on his right abdomen who is skilled with a long spear?)

When Qing Deng stopped in his tracks, stunned, Miss Sumire, Shintaro Toujou, and the others had already disappeared into the dark alley...

……

……

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

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The resounding clang of steel blades clashing was awe-inspiring, soaring into the sky.

The battle between Souji and the others and Hannya has clearly reached a fever pitch!

Although Prajna made the "Newly Selected Three Heroes" suffer a lot, he himself was not having an easy time either.

His hair and clothes were disheveled, and his breathing became rapid.

The battle has continued to this point, with neither side gaining a clear advantage.

Prajna's physical abilities are truly terrifying.

Although its breathing was disordered, it was far from being "unable to fight".

Judging from his condition, he seemed to have the spirit of "I can fight another three hundred rounds".

On the other hand, the "newly elected three heroes"... are not in good condition.

Nagakura Shinpachi and Saito Ichiro were alright, but Souji...

Her cheeks were pale, her red lips were slightly parted, and she was greedily inhaling air, her chest heaving rapidly like a bellows.

Physical stamina is Souji's weakness; she is not good at attrition warfare.

Hannya is still handling things with ease, but Souji, the main fighting force of the "Shinsen Three Heroes", is running out of steam... This doesn't seem like good news at all!

Hijikata Toshizo, Serizawa Kamo, and others who were watching the battle silently gripped the swords in their hands.

At this very moment, the "New Three Heroes" stood in a row, staring intently at Hannya opposite them, devising new battle strategies.

The commander wiped the sweat from his chin, swallowed, and looked thoughtful.

After a short while, she said softly:

"...Shinpachi, Saito, help me create an opening."

As she spoke, she spread her legs, lowered her waist, raised the tip of her knife, and adopted the stance of "Cai Qingyan".

*******

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Chapter 830 The Commander's Broken Blade! The Brothers Finally Reunite! [4800]

Seeing that Souji was showing favor, Nagakura Shinpachi and Saito both had knowing looks on their faces.

"Hirōgan" is the signature stance of the commander-in-chief.

Although she didn't say anything and only made a gesture, Nagakura Shinpachi and Saito Hajime already understood—she planned to use her unique technique, "Hirakame Three-Stage Thrust," before she ran out of energy, and take down Hannya in one fell swoop!

They were well aware of just how powerful the commander's "Three-Stage Thrust with Blue Eyes" was.

To put it simply... her move is a powerful technique that can "kill enemies of a higher level"!

This move was first used in the Red and White Battle between the Shieikan and Genbukan.

When Souji unleashed this incredibly stunning triple thrust, he directly defeated Chiba Michizaburo, whose strength was far superior to that of Aoto and Souji at the time, astonishing everyone present.

Furthermore, Shinpachi Nagakura and the others also knew that Souji was preparing to place all his hopes for victory on the next blow!

The longer the back-and-forth tug-of-war drags on, the more advantageous it is for Prajna, who has the physical advantage.

If this fight continues, it's not optimistic that either side will be able to determine a winner or even win.

Therefore, if the commander and his men want to win, they will have no choice but to use their strongest moves to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop!

The commander-in-chief had very little strength left.

Therefore... this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Nagakura Shinpachi and Saito exchanged a glance.

The friendship and tacit understanding accumulated over the years erupted at this moment!