I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Shuten-dōji shouted at his retreating figure:

"Mr. Takasugi! I'm counting on you for Sekigahara!"

"..."

Takasugi Shinsaku ignored the other party and disappeared from his sight in no time.

Not long after, a troop of cavalry galloped out of the camp—the leader of which was none other than Takasugi Shinsaku.

The cavalry, personally led by Shinsaku Takasugi, marched straight west along the Tokai Street with overwhelming momentum.

As he galloped away on horseback, Takasugi Shinsaku glanced down at his hand—the hand he had used to cover his mouth when he coughed earlier—and after he finished coughing, he secretly hid the hand when Katsura Kogoro wasn't looking, carefully making sure the other man didn't notice.

A layer of bright, glaring blood was splattered on the palm of the hand.

Looking at the bloodstains covering half of his palm, Shinsaku Takasugi twitched the corners of his mouth, revealing a strange expression that was neither a smile nor a frown.

Then, in a self-deprecating tone, he repeated Katsura Kogoro's earlier instructions:

"'Remember to protect yourself'..."

……

……

Qinjin Fan, Dajin, Hijifangdi——

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

Hijikata Toshiro strode briskly down his own corridor.

He was not wearing the light blue haori that symbolized the Shinsengumi, but rather the Western-style outfit he had painstakingly acquired—a black suit, a black overcoat—and his hair was specially cut short and combed back.

It's easy to see that he really likes this outfit.

Since buying this outfit, he has rarely been seen wearing the light blue haori.

However, to show his identity as the vice-commander of the Shinsengumi, he specially tied a light blue armband on his right arm with the character "诚" (chéng, meaning sincerity) embroidered on it.

At that moment, a handsome young man of short stature, with a youthful face and carrying a small bag darted out from the adjacent corridor:

"Mr. Hijikata, I'm ready!"

This person was none other than Ichimura Tetsunosuke, the son of Hijikata Toshizo.

Hijikata Toshizo stopped and looked Ichimura Tetsunosuke up and down a few times:

"Tetsunosuke, this should be the first major battle you've personally experienced. Are you scared?"

"Not afraid!"

Ichimura Tetsunosuke shook his head and, without hesitation, loudly proclaimed:

"If I were afraid of dying, I wouldn't have chosen to join the Shinsengumi!"

Hijikata Toshizo smiled and nodded:

"Not bad, commendable courage!"

"It's a pity you didn't get the chance to go to the battlefield."

"Once we reach the Eighth Prince, your task will be no different from usual. You will only be responsible for taking care of my daily life, and you don't need to get involved in anything else."

Upon hearing this, Ichimura Tetsunosuke's face immediately fell:

"Mr. Hijikata! Please let me go to the battlefield! I will definitely not let you down!"

"Let's talk about it after you shave your bangs."

[Note: Shaving the forehead hair: According to Edo-period custom, boys would grow forehead hair before adulthood, but the hair on the top of their heads would often be shaved off. This can be understood as a "quasi-chonmage" (a type of shaved head). Once they reached adulthood, the forehead hair would be shaved off, and they would begin to grow a proper chonmage. Therefore, "shaving the forehead hair" signifies a boy's coming of age.]

Ichimura Tetsunosuke continued to appeal, but Hijikata Toshizo completely ignored his claims.

"Alright, stop yelling, it's time to get going."

Just as Hijikata Toshizo was about to step forward, he suddenly seemed to remember something and turned to look at Ichimura Tetsunosuke.

"Tetsunosuke, did you bring what I asked you to bring?"

Upon hearing this, Ichimura Tetsunosuke immediately stopped his "appeal" and got back to work.

"Yes, I brought it!"

As he spoke, he took out a small cloth bag from his pocket and handed it to Hijikata Toshizo with both hands.

Hijikata Toshizo took the cloth bag and quickly opened it, taking out the contents—a small stack of photographs.

These photos were commemorative photos that he had previously commissioned photographer Kenzo Takamoto to take for them.

From his own solo photos to photos of him with Aoto, and then to a group photo of the "Shieikan faction"... the stack of photos that Hijikata Toshizo was holding in his hand at this moment contained more than twenty photos.

On the eve of the official launch of the "Changzhou Conquest" and the march on the Changzhou and Zhou kingdoms, these photos were developed and distributed to the public.

Looking at the photos in his hand, Hijikata Toshizo's gaze softened, and the corners of his lips unconsciously turned up slightly.

Ichimura Tetsunosuke glanced at Hijikata Toshizo, then at the stack of photos in his hand, and asked in bewilderment:

"Mr. Hijikata, why did you specifically bring these photos?"

After a moment of silence, Hijikata Toshizo replied, half-jokingly:

"Nothing much, I just wanted to find something to pass the time while traveling."

He said he wrapped the stack of photos again with a cloth, carefully put them in his pocket, and then walked towards the entrance without the slightest hesitation.

"Tetsunosuke, let's go!"

"Yes!"

……

……

Qinjin Fan, Dajin, suburbs——

Kondo Isami, Souji... basically all the generals who were not currently on important missions and had the time to spare came to see Hijikata Toshizo off.

As for Harada Sanosuke and his men, who were leading the cavalry to seize the advantageous terrain of Sekigahara, they were too busy to spare any attention.

Looking at Qing Deng and the others who had come to see him off, Hijikata Toshizo said in a loud voice, half helpless and half sentimental:

"Such a stellar lineup... I'm truly flattered by this whole thing."

His playful tone eased the somber atmosphere slightly.

Looking up, one could see that almost everyone present had a somber expression and looked quite serious.

No one had intended to put on such a show during the farewell.

However... just thinking about the battlefield that Hijikata Toshizo was about to head to, they just couldn't show any enthusiasm!

Anyone with a modicum of common sense knows just how daunting the task that Hijikata Toshizo took on was!

Leading a militia that has not yet completed the necessary training to intercept a fierce and powerful army... it's not far from a life-or-death situation, if not a near-death experience!

Just as Hijikata Toshizo said in the military council, no one but him could do this task!

Therefore, although they were worried about Hijikata Toshizo, there was nothing anyone present could do to help him, and they could only pray for him in silence.

At this moment, Kondo Isami took half a step forward and looked at Hijikata Toshizo with a complicated expression.

"Ah Sui, you... don't push yourself too hard."

He stammered for a long time before finally managing to squeeze out, "Don't push yourself too hard."

For some reason, as he watched Hijikata Toshizo about to depart for the Hachioji region, he suddenly recalled the strange behavior the other man had exhibited recently—

He had a strange dream where he stayed where he was, while everyone else left him; influenced by this dream, he asked a photographer to take commemorative photos for them...

As these memories flashed through his mind one by one, Kondo Isami felt his heart pounding faster and heavier, like an alarm bell ringing...

Suddenly, following Kondo Isami, Souji also stepped forward, casting a similarly complicated gaze at Hijikata Toshizo.

"Mr. Hijikata, please don't do anything foolish..."

Perhaps this is the tacit understanding between sworn siblings.

At this moment, like Kondo Isami, Souji suddenly recalled Hijikata Toshizo's various unusual behaviors a while ago, and then felt inexplicably uneasy...

Hijikata Toshizo glanced around, giving Kondo Isami and Souji, whose expressions seemed unusual, a quick look, before chuckling as if to amuse them.

"Hey, don't you guys have a lot of faith in me?"

"The person standing before you is none other than the 'Demon Vice-Commander'!"

"I will neither force myself nor do anything foolish."

"I will only complete the mission beautifully and return in triumph!"

As he spoke, he reached out and patted Kondo Isami and Souji on the shoulder respectively.

After speaking, he turned his head and looked at Todo Heisuke, who was not far away.

"Toudou, did you bring the thing I asked you to bring for me?"

Hijikata Toshizo's sudden call to name startled Todo Heisuke, who hurriedly replied loudly:

"Yes! I brought it!"

"Bring it here."

"Yes!"

At the same moment the voice responded, he darted forward and handed over what he held—a rolled-up flag.

Hijikata Toshizo gripped the large banner tightly with his left hand and swung it upwards:

call!

The flag, rolled up tightly on the flagpole, unfurled layer by layer, slowly revealing its true form in the sunlight—a huge flag bearing the character "诚" (sincerity).

As a symbol of the Shinsengumi, Otsu's military storehouse naturally contained a large number of "Sincerity" flags.

Hijikata Toshizo looked up at the flag in his hand, nodded slightly, and smiled with satisfaction.

After handing over the large banner that Hijikata Toshizo had specifically requested, Todo Heisuke stood respectfully to the side and cleared his throat:

"Mr. Hijikata, Mr. Tachibana asked me to pass on a message to you."