I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Page 1718

Oishi Yataro blinked, a hint of sadness flashing across his eyes.

He forced a strained and awkward smile and repeated the question he had just asked:

"Yi-Zang, do you want to eat steamed buns?"

As he spoke, he pulled a snow-white steamed bun from his pocket.

"These are steamed buns I secretly brought you, eat them quickly."

Before he finished speaking, he stretched out his arms, his right hand, still holding the steamed bun, reached through the gap in the bars and into the cell, reaching towards Okada Izo, as if he couldn't wait to stuff the bun into the other's mouth.

Okada Izo stared at the snow-white steamed bun so close to his face, his expression freezing for a moment.

"……Steamed bun……?"

"Yes, yes! Steamed buns! With red bean paste filling! They're delicious!"

"..."

Okada Izou fell silent.

He neither made a sound nor reached out to take it; he just stared straight at the steamed bun.

Sadness, pain, confusion... a variety of emotions appeared on his face.

Ultimately, all the emotions turned into a self-deprecating laugh that filled his cheeks.

"Oishi-kun...you can't do this..."

"Your hands... are shaking like this... it's hard not to arouse suspicion..."

"This steamed bun...is something wrong with it...?

Yataro Oishi trembled even more violently.

"How...how could this be! These are fresh steamed buns I just bought, how...how could there be a problem!"

Okada Izo laughed—a laugh that looked like a cry.

“Oishi-kun…you don’t need to say anything…I understand…”

"I know this steamed bun... is a poisoned steamed bun..."

"And it was... poisoned steamed buns... sent by Teacher Wu Shi..."

"This day...it finally came..."

After saying that, Okada Izo raised his head, leaned against the corner of the wall behind him, and let out a long breath.

"Oishi-kun... put the steamed bun down... I'll eat it..."

"After you put down the steamed bun... you should leave quickly..."

"If someone discovers that you've secretly brought me food... you'll be implicated..."

Yataro Oishi had wanted to leave for a long time.

The thought that "I am killing someone" nearly drove him to the brink of collapse.

He barely managed to gain a foothold only through sheer willpower.

Upon hearing this, he reacted as if he had been burned, hastily dropping the poisoned bun in his hand and fleeing the scene as if escaping without saying a word.

The footsteps faded into the distance... and silence returned to Okada Izou's surroundings.

"..."

Okada Izo silently picked up the steamed bun, held it in his palm, and stared at it blankly.

Eat up!

He said to himself, word by word.

—Just eat it and you'll be free! You won't have to suffer anymore!

—If you eat it, you can keep your teacher's secret forever!

This is the last thing I can do for my teacher!

After a brief period of "ideological mobilization," he made up his mind and vowed to die to atone for his teacher's sins.

At that moment, he suddenly recalled his entire life.

From his miserable childhood to following Takechi Hanpeita, and then helping Takechi Hanpeita eliminate his political enemies, killing countless people, he became the infamous "Man-Killing Izo" who shook Kyoto.

As he reminisced, a satisfied expression appeared on his face, and a myriad of emotions welled up within him.

What a short life...

But thanks to my teacher, my life has become very meaningful!

I am a lowly "foot soldier," so poor that even the tenant farmers look down on me.

When I first met my teacher, he was already a renowned sage.

Despite being of such high status, he never looked down on me. He not only took me as his apprentice but also sponsored my studies in Edo.

It is thanks to my teacher's strong support that I have acquired this skill.

After I joined the Tosa Loyalist Party, my teacher never let me attend meetings.

Whenever there was a meeting, he would always exclude me and make me wait outside.

This is, of course, because my teacher wants me to focus on kendo and not waste my precious energy on other things.

No matter what, it couldn't be because he thought I was a rough, uncultured person with no knowledge or manners, and therefore unworthy of attending the meeting.

After arriving in Kyoto, I finally had my chance to show my skills.

Kyoto and its surroundings are teeming with the shogunate's lackeys.

There were quite a few people who, despite being patriots, disagreed with their teachers.

For the sake of the Tosa Loyalist Party's development and to realize the great cause of honoring the emperor and expelling the barbarians as soon as possible, my teacher ordered me to assassinate these traitors.

This is, of course, because my teacher trusts me and values me.

No matter what, it couldn't be because he thought I was simple-minded, loyal, and had good swordsmanship, making me a very useful tool, and therefore dumped all the dirty work on me.

After I was arrested and imprisoned, I knew that if my teacher had just frankly admitted the sins he had committed, I could have been spared from torture. But he remained silent, leaving me to struggle in hell.

This is, of course, because the teacher bears a great responsibility and therefore cannot yield to the thief.

No matter what, it couldn't be because he didn't care about my life and thought his own life was more important than mine.

Although I had a premonition, the teacher still gave me a poisoned steamed bun to eat.

This is, of course, because my teacher loves me so much! Unable to bear seeing me continue to suffer, she helped me escape this torment!

No matter what, it couldn't be because the teacher thought I knew too much and wanted me to shut up forever to prevent future trouble.

Thank you, teacher!

……

"...Waaah..."

Suddenly, large tears rolled down Okada Izo's cheeks.

First came a sob or two, then it turned into a wail.

"Waaaaaahh ...

He cried so hard he was heartbroken and couldn't control himself.

Her body went limp and she fell forward, sprawling on the ground, her body trembling violently from crying.

"I lack extensive knowledge..."

"I don't have any extraordinary charm..."

"The only things I possess... are swordsmanship... and unwavering loyalty to you...!"

"I will dedicate myself to you with all my might...!"

"It is because I admire you, it is because I believe in you, that I willingly take on all the dirty work...! That is why I willingly become 'Human Butcher Yizang'...!"

"Now that things have come to this... you're unwilling to protect me?!"

"Isn't this just a desperate attempt to cut your losses...?!"

"Traitor...you traitor...!"

"I don't want to die... I don't want to die...!"

"I don't want to die for nothing...!"

"Even someone as lowly as me does not wish to die in this way...!"

"Traitor...! Traitor...! Traitor...!"

Gradually, he stopped wailing.

Only low sobs and the repeated murmur of "traitor" remained in the cell.

……

Goto Shōjirō rushed towards Okada Izō's cell in three strides.

At this moment, a number of people had already arrived outside Okada Izo's cell.