I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

This single question left Katsura Kogoro speechless, as if he had choked on his own words.

Takasugi Shinsaku’s words continued:

"Also, stop bringing up things like classmates and classmates!"

"You consider Kusaka Genzui and Yoshida Toshima as classmates, but do they even respect you?!"

"I don't need to elaborate on how they treated you that night at the Ikedaya shop, do I?"

Upon hearing this, Katsura Kogoro's expression changed several times.

Shortly after escaping from Ikedaya and returning to Choshu, Katsura Kogoro learned the whole truth.

It turns out that all of this was a carefully orchestrated scheme for him by Miyabe Teizō, Yoshida Toshima, and others.

They deliberately tricked him into coming to the Ikedaya meeting in order to stall him and buy time for the "burning down of Kyoto and kidnapping of the Emperor".

If the Shinsengumi hadn't arrived in time to thwart their plot, a human tragedy would have unfolded right under Katsura Kogoro's nose.

Whenever he thought of this, Katsura Kogoro couldn't help but feel grateful to the Shinsengumi.

Whether Kusaka Genzui was involved in this plot is now difficult to say.

After learning the truth, Katsura Kogoro didn't say a word. He just locked himself in his room and didn't come out for a long time...

Seeing the change in Katsura Kogoro's expression, Takasugi Shinsaku's face showed a hint of reluctance.

After a few seconds of silence, he gritted his teeth and continued:

"Gui, I don't want to say anything too harsh... but please wake up!"

"Teacher Songyin is dead!"

"This village school is now abandoned!"

"Hisaka has parted ways with us!"

"The days of studying together as classmates are gone forever!"

After Takasugi Shinsaku finished shouting, an eerie silence descended between the two of them.

"..."

Katsura Kogoro remained silent, only lowering his head and resting it on his chest.

About 10 seconds later, he silently loosened his grip on Takasugi Shinsaku's collar, stood up, and turned to leave without a word.

As Takasugi Shinsaku straightened his tangled clothes, he coldly watched Katsura Kogoro walk out of the school.

Just as his figure was about to disappear from his sight, a low, dejected voice drifted over:

"...After all this time, it turns out I'm the only one who still cherishes the friendship we shared as classmates..."

After leaving those words, Katsura Kogoro quickened his pace slightly.

His weak, feeble steps... seemed to float.

……

……

Changzhou, a certain mountain forest—

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

The sound of metal clashing was incessant.

The crisscrossing strikes severed the mountain wind.

Prajna held a knife in his hand, his eyes scanning left and right.

Two figures moved rapidly around him, sometimes lunging forward, sometimes feinting and deceiving.

These two were none other than Umibozu and Sukuna!

Prajna snorted coldly and took the initiative to attack.

In the blink of an eye, the three of them were locked in combat.

Umibozu swung his greatsword and slashed at Hannya's head—Hannya raised his sword to parry and deflected the blow.

Su Nuo spread his arms wide, and the two katanas cut through the air with streaks of silver light, weaving a large silver net—Banruo shattered this "silver net" with a single strike.

In the blink of an eye, Hannya lowered his upper body and pounced on Umibozu like a whirlwind.

Umibozu instinctively raised his greatsword and slashed it down, attempting to force Hannya back.

Unexpectedly, instead of retreating, Prajna advanced. Just as the blade was about to strike his crown, he nimbly twisted his body, dodging the attack by a fraction of a second, and continued forward, closing in on Umibozu in one breath.

He raised his left elbow, aimed at the sea monk's abdomen, and delivered a powerful elbow strike.

Elbow strikes are one of the most brutal and powerful attack methods that the human body can employ.

Therefore, the Sea Monk who was hit immediately cried out in pain, his legs went weak, and his body bent over like a shrimp.

To make himself feel better, he had to turn over and lie on his side.

After defeating Umibozu, Hannya immediately turned and rushed towards Sukuna, who was not far away.

Su Nuo lowered his face, raised his twin swords like a praying mantis, and assumed a fighting stance.

With a wave of her hand, Prajna's blade traced a breathtaking arc in mid-air, sweeping diagonally towards Su Nuo.

The blade appeared to strike Su Nuo's body squarely, but in reality, it only cut his afterimage—the opponent used exquisite footwork to dodge to the side and behind Prajna and launch a fierce attack.

Prajna calmly and methodically launched a counterattack.

The four rapidly sliding feet kicked up clouds of dust.

Amidst the smoke and dust, the glint of swords and the clash of blades were both dazzling and overwhelming.

Before long, the smoke and dust dissipated—and at the same time, the fighting stopped.

After the smoke and dust had cleared, Su Nuo was seen lying on the ground in a spread-eagle position, his two katana flying into the air and falling into the distance.

Prajna stood upright, holding a knife in one hand, the tip of which was pointed diagonally at Su Nuo's throat.

If he so desired, he could take his life with a simple push of the knife.

"Surrender! Surrender!"

Su Nuo looked helpless as he raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

Seeing that the other party had raised his hands in surrender, Prajna habitually brandished his sword, shook off non-existent bloodstains on the blade, and then sheathed the sword.

Suddenly, a clear male voice came from behind Prajna:

"Fantastic! Brilliant!"

Cheers, applause, and footsteps followed.

With a blank expression, Hannya turned his head to look—Shuten-dōji was clapping his hands as he strode toward him.

"Prajna, you've become even stronger since I last saw you!"

Faced with Shuten-dōji's praise, Hannya remained unmoved, showing neither joy nor sorrow, and didn't even utter a word in response.

Shuten-dōji seemed accustomed to Hannya's indifference. After offering a brief compliment, he put his hands behind his back and said unhurriedly:

"Prajna, another job is coming up. Go and get ready."

Prajna frowned slightly.

"What do you want me to do now?"

"Same as always, go and be Katsura Kogoro's bodyguard."

"Huh? Why am I going to be that guy's bodyguard again? Where is he going this time?"

"Changzhou has decided to launch an eastern expedition to attack the capital region and fight a decisive battle with Qin Huisa. Katsura Kogoro is preparing to go east with Hisaka Genzui and others."

Upon hearing this, everyone present changed their expressions.

Umibozu raised an eyebrow:

"An eastern expedition? Isn't that far too reckless?"

Su Nuo picked up the conversation:

"Currently, Choshu has no advantage over the pro-shogunate faction. If we rashly attack the capital region, the outcome will likely be disastrous."

Shuten-dōji shrugged:

"For Changzhou, this eastern expedition is indeed fraught with peril. But for us, it may not be such a bad thing."

Umibozu and Sukuna stared intently at Shuten-dōji—their meaning was clear: they wanted Shuten-dōji to continue and explain in detail what this "good thing" meant.

After carefully choosing his words, Shuten-dōji slowly said:

“The radicals, led by Hisaka Genzui, firmly controlled the Choshu domain’s administration.”

"They are a bunch of lunatics who can't understand human language, and there is absolutely no value in cooperating with them."

"Therefore, I have high hopes for Choshu's eastern expedition this time—it would be wonderful if Kusaka Genzui and the others could be killed or wounded in this expedition."

At this point, Shuten-dōji curled the corners of his mouth.

"In this way, we can take advantage of the situation to push Katsura Kogoro to the top and make him the de facto leader of Choshu."

"This will be a huge benefit to our next 'plan'."

"In conclusion, Katsura Kogoro is extremely important. Anyone else in Choshu can die, but he cannot be allowed to fall into any danger."

"So, Prajna, I'll have to trouble you to make another trip."

As soon as Shuten-dōji finished speaking, Hannya spat forcefully.

"Couldn't you have found someone else? I don't get along with that guy; he's too rigid. I prefer someone more easygoing. To be honest, I really don't want to be his bodyguard anymore."

Shuten-dōji seemed to have anticipated Hannya's rejection.

He smiled slightly, then adopted a meaningful tone:

"Well then, to revitalize you from your lack of motivation, I'll give you a little reward—after this is done, I'll ask Ōtakemaru to have another match with you."

Upon hearing this, Prajna's eyes lit up.

Is this really true?