I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Although Aoto tried his best to control his expression and remain expressionless, Ogata had already seen through his inner thoughts.

He smiled and then gestured to the side for someone to sit down.

Seeing this, Qingdeng hurriedly moved his buttocks closer, adopting a serious expression of listening attentively.

Ogata didn't keep him waiting long. After a moment's thought, he said calmly:

"Her name is Isshiki Hana. She is a samurai from Osaka and also the only daughter of a founding member of the Fa-ju-dō (Buddhist Extermination Party).

The very first sentence is already so explosive!

The only daughter of a founding member of the Party who was executed by law... Upon hearing this, Qing Deng unconsciously narrowed his eyes, a solemn expression appearing on his face.

Ogata ignored Aoto's changing expression and continued speaking:

"Thinking back on it, my first meeting with her was on a boat... It's really something to reminisce about."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and lightly touched the window in front of him, as if he were about to touch the sea outside the window.

"Although this happened more than 70 years ago, I still remember the scenes vividly."

"She is a good girl."

"Beautiful, gentle, kind, and strong."

I will skip over the details.

"In short, a lot happened between her and me."

“If I hadn’t met Atachi, or if I had met Atachi a little later, she would have been my wife.”

"Unfortunately... when I met her, I was already married to Atachi."

"And she happened to be a proud and proud woman who was unwilling to share a husband with other women."

"So...we were destined to be apart."

"Twenty years ago, she quietly closed her eyes on her bed and died peacefully. She never married."

"When she first passed away, some relatives and friends would go to sweep her grave."

"But as time went by, fewer and fewer people visited his grave because he had no descendants of his own."

"Now that things have come to this, the only people who still remember her and still visit her grave are me and A-Machi."

“Every time I come to Osaka, no matter how busy I am, I will visit her.”

"Because we were to set sail at noon, I got up very early today to go to her cemetery."

"I don't know why... maybe it's because I haven't seen her in a long time... I feel inexplicably sad today, and I can't calm down for a long time."

"I thought you wouldn't notice anything unusual about me, but you still found out... I'm sorry, you must have found this amusing."

"What a cruel twist of fate. That lonely tombstone, and the notorious Fazha Party, have become the only two pieces of evidence that she once existed... It's truly a complex feeling."

After speaking, Ogata half-closed his eyes and took several deep breaths.

Qingdeng did not urge him, but quietly accompanied him and waited.

About half a minute later, Ogata resumed speaking:

"As I just said, Hua is the only daughter of the elder of the Fa-Zhu Party."

"Because of her connection, I have a special connection with the Fa-Zhu Party."

"Ju-kun, I don't know if you know, but the original name of the Law Extermination Party was 'Law Extermination Group'."

“From its very inception, it was a secret society dedicated to overthrowing the Tokugawa shogunate.”

"Hua's father was one of the founders of the Fazhu Group."

"To be honest, since the Kansei era (1789-1800), when I was very active, secret societies aimed at 'overthrowing the shogunate' have been emerging one after another."

"Where there is oppression, there is resistance."

"Although I shouldn't say such things in front of you, a retainer of the shogunate, the Edo shogunate is truly rotten to the core."

Aoto did not refute Ogata's extremely sharp comment.

In fact, he completely agreed with Ogata's assessment—the Edo Shogunate was indeed rotten to the core!

As a high-ranking member of the shogunate, he knew better than anyone the corruption and incompetence of the Edo shogunate!

He had no goodwill toward the shogunate, purely because he started as a "shogunate official" and, by a twist of fate, rose higher and higher in rank and status.

When he came to his senses, it was already difficult for him to disembark—because he had become an important part of this "ship"!

If it weren't for the circumstances, Qingdeng would have really wanted to quit.

Whenever those good-for-nothings started dragging him down again, Qingdeng wanted to point his finger at them and yell, "What right do you have to tell me what to do? The responsibility for the five capitals, seven circuits, and sixty-six kingdoms rests on my shoulders! The words 'the people of the world' are not for you to say!"

Just as Aoto was silently reflecting on this, Ogata continued speaking:

"Hua's father once invited me to join the Law Enforcement Group."

"I'm used to being lazy and don't want to rely on any power, so I politely declined his invitation."

"However, influenced by Hua, I have been paying close attention to the actions and development of the Fazhu Group."

"Despite its resounding reputation, the Fazhu Group was no different from other anti-shogunate organizations of the time—full of enthusiasm but without any real achievements."

"Since its inception, the Legal Extermination Group has been in a predicament of repeated defeats."

"After yet another failed operation, the Legal Extermination Group is on the verge of collapse."

"At that time, I heard that the Fazhu Group was already in decline, with members either dead or fleeing, leaving only one member in the entire group."

"I thought the Fazhu Group would be completely defeated and become an insignificant grain of sand in the long river of history."

"However... a few years later, the Fazhu Group was resurrected and became far more powerful than ever before."

“It was from that time that the ‘Law Extermination Group’ was renamed the ‘Law Extermination Party’.”

"At the same time, it was from that time on that the 'Law Extermination Group'... no, it should be called the 'Law Extermination Party' changed its previous steady style and began to act strangely and crazy."

"I bet the last member who survived when the 'Law Extermination Group' was about to disappear was Orochi, the current leader of the Law Extermination Party."

"To revive an organization on the verge of collapse and rapidly grow it into a behemoth capable of influencing the world's situation... I must say, that Yamata no Orochi is indeed quite capable."

"However, I simply cannot agree with his ideas and style."

“The original ‘Law Enforcement Group’ genuinely wanted to make this country a better place, so it would never take radical measures that would harm ordinary people.”

"In contrast, the current 'law-punishing party' is willing to use any means to achieve its goals, just like a pack of mad dogs."

"Hua was once a member of the Fazhu Group and contributed significantly to its early development."

"Therefore, strictly speaking, Hua is also one of the founding members of the Fa-Zhu Party."

"In a sense, this secret society bearing the name 'Fair Punishment' is the only legacy that Hua has left."

"This organization can naturally perish due to its lack of strength, but it must not be tainted by a bad reputation."

"Today, after seeing flowers again after so long, I am even more convinced of one thing: I simply cannot stand by and watch the legacy of flowers be trampled on like this...!"

Having said that, Ogata lowered his eyelids and slowly stroked the treasured sword, Daishiten, at his waist with his left hand.

*******

*******

It's already the beginning of the month again! Readers with monthly passes, please be sure to vote for this book! (crying leopard head.jpg)

Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets! (Leopard crying.jpg)

Chapter 1055 Aoto and Ogata's Clashing Journey [4200 words]

Although Ogata concealed it well, Aoto still sensed a faint killing intent emanating from him.

"...Mr. Ogata, how much do you know about the law to punish those who oppose the party?"

Ogata gently shook his head:

"To be honest, I don't know much about the law's punishment of the party."

"After the name change, this organization, which once had a great connection with me, became completely unrecognizable."

"I am a ronin, and I have nothing but killing people. I gather information entirely through my gourd house."

"Therefore, considering your close relationship with the Gourd House, you must have already obtained all the information I know."

"If I can find the headquarters of the Fa-Zhu Party, I can go straight there and turn this utterly corrupt secret society to dust."

"Unfortunately, the cunning of the law enforcement party is extraordinary."

"Hulu House invested a lot of resources and spent more than 20 years, but still failed to find the headquarters of the Fazhu Party."

"Based on my guess, the Law Extermination Party is mostly a starfish-shaped organizational structure, completely decentralized. Each stronghold is both a branch and a headquarters, so there is no such thing as a 'headquarters' at all."

"Interestingly, before I even found the Fazhu Party, they came looking for me first."

“A few years ago, I received definite intelligence that the Law Extermination Party had dispatched a large number of people to search for the ‘Eternal Sword Saint’ everywhere, and even once found Kyoto.”

"It must be said that the intelligence gathering capabilities of the Fazhu Party are truly remarkable."

Hearing this, Qing Deng couldn't help but interject:

“Mr. Ogata, I don’t think this has anything to do with the intelligence gathering capabilities of the Law Extermination Party; it’s purely because your ability to stay hidden is terrible!”

"To be honest, I've wanted to complain about this for a long time."

“‘Ogata Ittosai is still alive,’ ‘Ogata Ittosai is living in seclusion in Kyoto,’ ‘Ogata Ittosai is an immortal’… These rumors are all true! Your seclusion is nothing but a lonely retreat!”

"I've never seen a hermit like you before, one who would expose all the important information about his 'seclusion'!"

After being ridiculed by Aoto, Ogata chuckled helplessly a few times:

"Hahaha... I don't understand why either..."

"I consider myself to be very low-key, rarely using my real name, and moving every now and then, yet rumors still spread with incredibly high accuracy... It's really puzzling."

Qingdeng had been holding back this rant for a long time.

Finally having vented his frustrations, he let out a long sigh of relief and then pressed for an answer:

"The Law Extermination Party is searching for the 'Eternal Sword Saint'... That sounds intriguing. Mr. Ogata, why do you think the Law Extermination Party is going to such lengths to find you?"