I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Page 2197

After a short while, as if he had made up his mind, he turned his head and stared intently at Saito Hajime.

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!"

In the blink of an eye, he shouted and charged at Saito Hajime with a heart full of rage.

Ordinary swordsmanship, ordinary speed... Suzuki Mikisaburo was never known for his swordsmanship.

It would be alright to send him to kill ordinary people with mediocre skills.

Facing Saito Hajime... even if ten of them attacked together, the outcome was already predetermined!

In his anger, he completely forgot the vast difference between himself and Saito Hajime.

Saito Hajime first sidestepped, effortlessly dodging Suzuki Mikisaburo's desperate attack, then swung his sword diagonally—the latter couldn't even react in time and could only watch helplessly as the silvery-white blade light filled his vision.

call out!

Saito Hajime assumed his attack stance, and behind him, a large, sharpened head flew into the sky.

The severed head and the headless body, which had flown into the air, fell to the ground almost simultaneously.

Suzuki Mikisaburo, former member of the Shinsengumi and vice leader of the Goryo Guard, died in battle!

At that moment, two team members rushed in from outside the door.

"Captain Saito! Captain Inoue! The first floor has been completely cleared!"

Another person then reported:

"The second floor is also cleared!"

Inoue Genzaburo nodded:

"Okay, thank you for your hard work. Take all the bodies away! Let's call it a day!"

After giving the brief order, Inoue Genzaburo turned to look at Saito Hajime—who was wiping away the bloodstains on his sword and sheathing it.

"Saito-kun, it's so good that you're back."

Inoue Genzaburo walked over and patted Saito Hajime on the shoulder, a smile of satisfaction on his face.

Saito Hajime was taken aback when he heard this.

Suddenly, a rare smile appeared on his usually expressionless face:

“I have never left, and there is no such thing as ‘coming back’.”

……

Somewhere in Kyoto—

Naoto Imuta hurriedly jumped from one dark alley to another.

Kyoto may not have much else, but it has an abundance of messy, chaotic alleyways that resemble "Shit Mountain Code".

Thanks to Kyoto's complex terrain, the loyalists were always able to evade the Shinsengumi's searches.

At this moment, Imuta Naohira once again plunged headlong into a dark, damp alley.

He navigated the terrain with ease, effortlessly avoiding potholes and drainage ditches even without lighting.

Just then—

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Without any warning... a sudden burst of incredibly noisy footsteps!

In the blink of an eye, a dense wall of people blocked both ends of the alley, trapping Imuta Naohira inside.

Imuta Naohira was startled; his rapidly beating heart sounded an alarm bell.

"We are the Shinsengumi under the command of the Left Office!"

Imuta Naohira looked in the direction of the voice—behind him, Nagakura Shinpachi stood with his hands on his hips, continuing to shout with an imposing air:

"Satsuma's trusted deputy commander of thieves, Imuta Naohira, you're under arrest!"

Naohira Imuta swallowed hard, trying to appear calm:

“You’ve mistaken me for someone else. I’m not Imuta Naohira, my name is Ariji Hiiragi.”

Nagakura Shinpachi was too lazy to argue with him and just snorted coldly:

"Don't give me that! I advise you to just give in obediently, that way you'll suffer less!"

After saying that, he waved his hand, and several team members around him immediately stepped forward, carrying ropes, shackles and other catching tools to approach the other party.

Seeing that he couldn't fool him, a ruthless glint flashed in Imuta Naohira's eyes.

call!

He suddenly ripped off his haori and threw it like a net at the soldiers who came to capture him.

Taking advantage of the moment when "Ibu was staring at him," he fled forward, away from Nagakura Shinpachi.

He had heard of Nagakura Shinpachi's name before, and he had no desire to have a direct confrontation with the Shinsengumi's top forces!

His plan was brilliant, but unfortunately... he probably never imagined that running away in the direction of Nagakura Shinpachi would have been a much better option.

Because there was a terrifying fellow, far more brutal than Nagakura Shinpachi, guarding right in front of him!

In a split second, Imuta Shohei drew his sword and slashed fiercely at the burly man blocking his way.

Unexpectedly, the opponent didn't even draw his sword; he merely twisted his body slightly, causing Imuta Shohei's slash to miss.

The next moment, the burly man reached out with his two iron-like hands and tightly gripped Imuta Naohira's wrists.

The burly man stared at the terrified Imuta Naohira, who was standing close at hand, a hint of mockery in his eyes:

"I forgot to introduce myself. I am Serizawa Kamo, the captain of the fourth division of the Shinsengumi."

The instant he finished speaking, Serizawa Kamo forcefully thrust his right knee high, striking Imuta Naohira squarely in the stomach.

Naohira Imuta felt as if a wild horse had crashed into him, and his internal organs seemed to have shifted.

With a loud "whoosh," he vomited everything in his stomach, then arched his body like a shrimp and collapsed onto the ground, right on the puddle of vomit, and passed out.

Nagakura Shinpachi walked over with a helpless expression, glanced at the unconscious Imuta Naohira, and then at Serizawa Kamo in front of him:

"Hey, Serizawa, you went too far! Mr. Tachibana said he was going to keep him alive, you didn't kill him, did you?"

Serizawa Kamo said calmly:

"Don't worry, I left him with half a breath."

……

Otsu, Shinsengumi Garrison —

The two soldiers walked side by side on their way back to the barracks.

Suddenly, a dozen or so soldiers, also dressed in light blue haori but with black headbands tied around their foreheads, appeared from the side and surrounded them from both sides.

Upon seeing the newcomer's appearance, both men showed expressions of fear.

A black cloth strip is tied around his forehead...this is the insignia of the Censorate!

The Metropolitan Police Department was the "military police" of the newly formed military unit, responsible for maintaining discipline within the troops.

For this reason, the Shinsengumi members were terrified of the Metropolitan Police Department, and would consciously take a detour whenever they saw a black headband.

While the two men were at a loss, the leader of this group of "Mufu" (low-ranking officers of the Censorate) stepped forward with his hands behind his back and said without any emotion:

“Saburo Sato, Susumu Aizawa, please come with us.”

There was no discussion, no negotiation, just the delivery of cold, hard orders.

The two men, addressed as "Sato Saburo" and "Aizawa Susumu," immediately argued:

"What crime have we committed? Why are we being arrested?!"

"Yes! Even the Censorate can't just arrest people arbitrarily!"

The man just now chuckled:

"Are you sufficient grounds to claim that you are Ito Kashitaro's spies and have violated Article 5 of the Shinsengumi Law?"

Upon hearing this, Sato Saburo and Aizawa Susumu could no longer remain calm, their faces filled with intense fear.

They instinctively tried to escape, but the guards were prepared and swarmed them, pinning them to the ground.

Similar scenarios occurred at other bases such as Kyoto and Osaka.

The inspectors launched a large-scale operation—the first of its kind since the establishment of the Shinsengumi—to eliminate the "spies" that Ito Kashitaro had planted within the Shinsengumi, and to execute any who resisted on the spot!

……

That night, the three towns of Kyoto, Otsu, and Osaka were exceptionally "lively".

……

"We are the newly formed group under the command of the Left Office! We are here on official duty to conduct a search!"

……

"The Shinsengumi are here! Run!"

……

"Damn it! Why was our base exposed?"

……

"The captain has ordered that no mercy be shown and all of them be killed!"

……

"Fifth Division! Follow me and kill them all! Don't let a single one escape!"