I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"It has neither a strong army nor superior equipment. Its only commendable feature is its abundance of talent, including fierce generals such as Kondo Isami, Saito Hajime, and Hattori Takeo."

"To be honest, there are far too many people who want to join us nowadays, including some scoundrels who are trying to take advantage of the chaos."

"We can't let those freeloaders take over our precious resources."

"In short, only if you produce substantial results will we consider forming an alliance with you."

Imuta's words were indeed quite harsh, showing no mercy and pointing out the differences in their cooperation without any euphemism.

Ito Kashitaro had anticipated the other party's assertive attitude.

However... despite being mentally prepared, a hint of resentment flashed deep in his eyes when he heard the part about "acting as our inside man will be of greater and more attractive value to us".

He left the Shinsengumi precisely because he was no longer willing to be subordinate to Seito and wanted to prove to the world that he was far superior to Seito!

If he continued to stay in the Shinsengumi and act as an inside agent for the "Western Alliance," he would only be a dog of the "Western Alliance"... which was by no means what he wanted.

In his mind, he was on the same level as Saigo Kichinosuke, Katsura Kogoro, and others.

If we had to rank them, his status should be above everyone else's!

Saigo Kinosuke, Katsura Kogoro, Sakamoto Ryoma, Okubo Ichizo… what are these guys! How could they possibly compare to me!

Of course, none of the above could be clearly explained to Imuta Naohira.

Ito Kashitaro steadied himself slightly, showing no stage fright whatsoever.

No sooner had the other person finished speaking than he declared in a resounding voice:

"You can rest assured about the value of the alliance."

Who do you think we are?

"Before leaving the Shinsengumi, I was an assistant to the General Affairs Department, while Mr. Kondo was the director of the Metropolitan Police Bureau."

"As for the rest, such as Saito Hajime, Suzuki Mikisaburo, Hattori Takeo, they all hold important positions in the various squads of the Shinsengumi!"

"You can imagine just how much important intelligence we have!"

As Ito Kashitaro spoke, a confident smile curled at the corners of his lips:

"We are happy to share intelligence with our allies—but is that 'value' enough?"

"And how do you know I led all my comrades away from the Shinsengumi?"

"To show my sincerity, I will be frank tonight: I have not taken all my comrades away from the Shinsengumi; I have left many spies within the Shinsengumi."

"So, you still think we have no value as allies?"

“Imuta-kun, you just said that we are very weak, and that it is even a problem whether we can escape Tachibana Aoto’s massive retaliation.”

"Yes, you're absolutely right."

"It is precisely because Tachibana Seido is so powerful that we need the assistance of the 'Western Alliance' even more!"

"With the support of the 'Western Alliance,' getting rid of Tachibana Seidon's retaliation is just a trivial matter!"

Naohira Imuta listened intently, pursing his lips and remaining silent for a long time.

About half a minute later, he let out a long breath.

"Intelligence... If you are willing to share intelligence, and you have also planted many spies within the Shinsengumi, then you do indeed have considerable value as allies."

"Personally, I am already interested in forming an alliance with you."

"What a pity... such important matters are not up to me to decide."

Imuta Naohira gave a few wry smiles, then switched to a serious tone:

"Whether or not to accept you is up to Lord Saigo's decision."

"Although I am of lowly status and have no influence over the will of those above, I will do my best to offer my advice to Lord Saigo."

"That's all I can do, please forgive me."

Ito Kashitaro nodded solemnly and bowed respectfully.

"Imuta-kun, thank you for your help!"

Kondo Isami immediately bowed in greeting.

……

……

After saying goodbye to Naohira Imuta, Koshitaro Ito and Isami Kondo left the unassuming inn side by side.

As soon as they stepped out of the entrance hall, they saw a familiar figure.

Ito Kashitaro raised an eyebrow:

"Huh? Hattori-kun? What are you doing here?"

Hattori Takeo stepped forward and said in a deep, serious voice:

"Teacher Ito, the Shinsengumi has recently strengthened the defenses of Kyoto, and there are many more patrols. I was very worried about your safety, so I came here to pick you up."

Ito Koshitaro laughed dumbly:

"Hattori-kun, thank you for your hard work."

"While your attentiveness is commendable, you are too nervous."

"You think you can take me down with just one or two patrol squads from the Shinsengumi?"

Takeo Hattori shook his head:

"Mr. Ito, it's best to be careful."

Ito Kashitaro smiled again and waved his hand:

"Alright, let's go back quickly, it's terribly cold today."

He tucked his clothes in and turned east.

Kondo Isami and Hattori Takeo consciously lifted their feet to follow.

The three walked in a straight line, with Hattori Takeo leading the way carrying a lantern, Ito Kashitaro in the middle, and Kondo Isami bringing up the rear.

No one made a sound; the only sound was the soft slapping of straw sandals against the ground.

The place they were heading back to was the base that Ito Kashitaro had established in Kyoto—Kyoto Higashiyama Kodai-ji Geshin-in Temple.

In order to successfully break away from the Shinsengumi, Ito Kashitaro made every possible preparation.

Not only did they arrange the escape route from Otsu to Kyoto, but they also established this extremely well-hidden base in Kyoto long ago.

call!call!call!

The howling wind made people unconsciously quicken their pace.

Suddenly, Kondo Isami abruptly spoke up:

"...Teacher Ito, if we can get the assistance of the 'Western Alliance,' we will be even more powerful."

Ito Kashitaro nodded:

"Yes, that's right. However, it's still unknown whether the 'Western Alliance' is willing to form an alliance with us."

After a moment of silence, Kondo Isami asked again:

"What should we do if the 'Western Alliance' is unwilling to accept us?"

Ito Kashitaro turned his head and showed Kondo Isami a confident and optimistic smile:

"Then let's use the swords at our waists to carve out a place for ourselves in this chaotic world!"

"We are warriors who live by the sword and die for the sword."

"As long as we still have a sword at our waist and the strength to wield it in our hands, we have great potential!"

Ito Kashitaro wanted to say something more, but unfortunately, Hattori Takeo's stern warning interrupted him:

"Mr. Ito, watch out, someone's coming."

As soon as he finished speaking, a series of chaotic footsteps came from the end of the street ahead—a Shinsengumi patrol of ten men was walking straight toward them, and their lanterns were already faintly visible.

Although Ito Kashitaro and his group were not afraid of clashing with the Shinsengumi patrols, they still wanted to avoid trouble as much as possible.

So they had to change course and turn left onto an unfamiliar street.

Because they reacted early, they easily passed by the patrol team.

Ito Kashitaro unconsciously turned his head back to look at the light blue haori that were gradually receding into the distance.

As Hattori Takeo just mentioned, the number of Shinsengumi patrols traversing the streets of Kyoto has increased significantly recently.

As for the Shinsengumi spies lurking in the city, their numbers are even more difficult to count.

The ubiquitous light blue haori forced Ito Kashitaro and his companions to hide during the day and go out at night. Every time they went out, they had to be as cautious as rats crossing the street, keeping their eyes and ears open, and any slight movement could make them tremble with fear.

Although it was frustrating, fortunately, the Shinsengumi has not yet been able to track them down.

Aoto's recent actions were entirely in line with Ito Kashitaro's expectations.

On the one hand, they claimed that "the Shinsengumi has not split," while on the other hand, they tried to find Kondo Isami and others who had defected.

The increase in Shinsengumi patrols in Kyoto is the best proof that "Aoto is in a hurry"!

It seems that Aoto already knows that Kondo Isami and the others are currently in Kyoto—a fact that doesn't surprise Ito Kashitaro.

After all, their escape route was relatively easy to trace.

Kondo Isami and Saito Hajime were both Aoto's favorites and had extraordinary reputations.

At this critical juncture when the division of the country into two factions has reached a fever pitch, these two prominent figures of the Shinsengumi have defected... If the outside world were to learn of this, it would certainly deal a severe blow to the morale of the Northern Court's army and people!

Without a doubt, this is an absolutely unbearable price for Qingdeng!

Therefore, the best course of action to minimize the negative impact of this incident is to find the traitors, Kondo Isami and Saito Hajime, before the truth is exposed, and execute them quietly, then conclude that they died of illness.

In this way, the traitors could be eliminated, and the face of the "Northern Dynasty" could be preserved, achieving two goals at once.

However, if Kondo Isami and others are not found for a long time, and when they are forced to admit that the split is real due to the overwhelming public opinion, the backlash will be extremely terrifying!

With this thought in mind, Ito Kashitaro couldn't help but feel a surge of ambition and unconsciously began to imagine the future.

Twenty days ago, he was one of Qingdeng's countless subordinates.