I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Takeshi Hanpeita remained silent.

Feeling like he was communicating with a wooden doll, Goto Shojiro gritted his teeth in displeasure.

"Keep at it! Keep at it! I'll play along to the very end!"

……

……

Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap!

Goto Shojiro strode away, his footsteps making a dull, resounding "tap, tap, tap" sound on the ground.

Even though the sound of his footsteps had faded into the distance, Takeshi Hanpeita remained frozen in place, his body motionless and his face expressionless.

Suddenly, a voice came from outside the cell door:

"Teacher Wu, are you... alright?"

A young samurai dressed as a jailer was seen squatting outside the cell door, looking at Takechi Hanpeita with a worried expression.

The jailer's name was Oishi Yataro.

Although he was not a member of the Tosa Loyalist Party, he had always admired the talented Takechi Hanpeita.

Therefore, during his time in prison in Wushi Banpingtai, he did his best to take care of the other person.

Sometimes they would deliver nutritional supplements, sometimes they would relay news from the outside world, and sometimes they would help let Wu Shihanpingtai's family know that he was safe.

The arrival of Oishi Yataro finally made Takechi Hanpeita react and stop being "petrified".

"Oishi-kun, you're here."

"Teacher Wu, are you... alright?"

Takeshi Hanpeita smiled slightly:

“I’m fine, don’t worry. I’ve heard enough of Goto’s clichés over the past year, I’m sick of them.”

After making a small joke, Takeshi Hanpeita paused.

After a moment, he asked softly:

"How is Yizangta...?"

Oishi Yataro paused, a troubled expression on his face:

“Izang…it’s so tragic…”

"After fainting from the pain, I was awakened by being doused with water. After waking up, I continued to be tortured, then fainted from the pain again, and was then awakened again... This repeated several times, every day..."

"If it were me, I wouldn't be able to hold on for more than a few days."

"They were able to hide and hold out for over a year..."

"It's really...so tragic...so tragic..."

In the end, he couldn't continue, let out a long sigh, and his face was filled with sympathy.

Upon hearing this, Takeshi Hanpeita pursed his lips, a hint of struggle flashing in his eyes.

Then, he stared intently at the empty space in front of him, as if he were thinking about something.

"...Oishi-kun, can you do me a favor?"

Yataro Oishi responded instinctively:

"Hmm? Mr. Wu, please speak."

Takeshi Hanpeita slid his knees, closing the distance between them, and pressed his body close to the cell door.

Then, he took out a snow-white steamed bun from his pocket.

Japanese steamed buns are more like Chinese baozi, with fillings inside.

Looking at the steamed bun, Oishi Yataro's eyes widened in surprise.

"Steamed buns? Teacher Wu, where did you get these steamed buns from?"

It's not surprising that there are steamed buns in Banpingtai, Wushi.

The "prison meal" prepared for Takeshi Hanpeita has always been quite good.

Steamed buns, glutinous rice balls, and other snacks often appear on their tables.

However, as the jailer specifically in charge of Takechi Hanpeita, Oishi Yataro was certain that there were no steamed buns in the meals recently delivered to Takechi Hanpeita.

Wu Shi Banpingtai said in a deep voice:

"Don't worry about where I got these steamed buns."

“Oishi-kun, this is my last request—give this steamed bun to Izou.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Oishi Yataro was struck as if by lightning. His pupils shrank to pinpoints, and his mouth opened uncontrollably into an "O" shape.

Unidentified steamed buns... specifically requested to be given to Okada Izou... Even the dim-witted Oishi Yataro understood what this meant.

"Teacher Wu, could it be... this... this steamed bun is...?"

Takeshi Hanpeita nodded solemnly:

"That's right, this steamed bun is laced with poison. Anyone who eats it will vomit blood and die within 10 breaths."

Despite having prepared himself mentally, Oishi Yataro was still terrified after hearing the other party's confirmation.

In an instant, his face turned deathly pale, as if it had been bleached.

Oishi Yataro, who had always been a law-abiding citizen and had never killed a dog, never even killed a human, saw a poisoned steamed bun for the first time, and was also asked to kill someone for the first time.

He was so frightened that his body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground, retreating backward on all fours, away from Wu Shi Banpingtai.

"No, no, no... I can't... I can't... Teacher Wu Shi... I can't kill people... I'm just a prison guard... How could I kill people...!"

Seeing that Oishi Yataro was about to escape, Takechi Hanpeita panicked. He grabbed the bars of the cell door and shouted:

"Oishi-kun, you're wrong. This isn't murder; it's helping Izang find liberation!"

"You saw it too, didn't you? Izo is so miserable! Even alive, he suffers! Endless suffering!"

"As long as he eats this steamed bun, he won't have to suffer anymore!"

Please, please!

"This is my lifelong request!"

The usually arrogant Takeshi Hanpeita lowered his head for once and earnestly pleaded with others.

Oishi Yataro glanced at Takechi Hanpeita, then at the steamed bun in his hand, his face contorted with intense hesitation and fear.

An eerie silence fell over the cell and its surroundings... The sound of the wind outside seemed unusually jarring.

About 10 seconds later, Oishi Yataro shakily reached out and took the steamed bun...

……

……

Okada Izo's cell—

Compared to Takeshi Hanpeita's luxurious cell, Okada Izo's cell was worse than a pigsty.

Forget about tatami mats and desks.

The floor was a cold, uneven stone slope.

The only thing that could be considered furniture was a chamber pot.

However, even this single piece of furniture is purely decorative and serves no practical purpose.

Because Okada Izo was too weak to move his body, he sat on the chamber pot to relieve himself.

The cell was filled with a pungent, unpleasant odor, making it difficult to breathe deeply.

At this moment, Okada Izo, who had finally endured today's interrogation, was leaning against the corner of the wall, closing his eyes and resting.

Suddenly, a trembling sound came from outside the cell:

"Um... Yizang... do you eat steamed buns?"

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P.S.: The story of Takechi Hanpeita sending poisoned steamed buns to Okada Izo is a fabrication by later writers. However, this plot point is quite plausible, as it seems very much like something Takechi Hanpeita would do.

The title of this chapter is a tribute to "Rurouni Kenshin". Shishio's real-life counterpart is likely Okada Izo, the tragically abandoned "executioner".

Chapter 873 The story of the executioner continues! [5400]

The sudden sound made Okada Izo's brow twitch slightly.

He struggled to open his eyes, turned his head, and looked in the direction of the sound.

After seeing the person's face clearly, he grinned, revealing a joyful and expectant smile.

"Oishi...kun...it's been so long...not long...Takeichi-sensei...did you bring any message...?"

Okada Izo met Oishi Yataro.

The other party had relayed messages for Takeshi Hanpeita on several occasions.

They either offered their condolences to Okada Izo or encouraged him to persevere.

Although the content was mostly trivial, whenever Oishi Yataro relayed a message from Takechi Hanpeita, Okada Izo would feel a surge of new energy within him, enabling him to persevere once more.

Upon seeing Oishi Yataro arrive, Okada Izo subconsciously assumed that Takechi Hanpeita had sent another message.

Faced with Okada Izo's question, Oishi Yataro suddenly shuddered, his eyes darting around, his gaze darting in and out of his head, before he stammered:

"Teachers Wu Wu and Wu Shi didn't ask me to pass on a message. I just came here on a whim to visit you..."

Upon hearing this, Okada Izo's face immediately showed disappointment.

"I see... But... thank you anyway... Besides you... there will be no one else in this world... to visit me..."