I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Kondo was not annoyed by Todo's refusal. He laughed heartily a few times and said "It's okay" to Todo several times.

“Speaking of which, Toudou-kun, I’ve heard of you a long time ago.” Kondo grinned, revealing a mouth that could fit an adult’s fist, and then changed the subject. “I heard a long time ago that the famous Ito Dojo produced a young man named Toudou Heisuke, whose swordsmanship talent and skill were both superb.”

"You're much more handsome than I imagined! Hahaha!"

"Thank you for the compliment..." Toudou smiled shyly.

Kondo's sudden remark, "I've heard of you a long time ago," left Todo feeling flattered, and a distinct look of joy appeared in his eyes.

At only 16 years old, Toudou exudes a youthful naiveté and impetuosity in every gesture, and his emotions are always on full display.

At this moment, Yongcang, who was sitting in the middle of the three and had been deep in thought, suddenly spoke up:

"Um... forgive my bluntness."

Nagakura crossed his arms over his chest, met Kondo's gaze without fear, and spoke in a deep, muffled voice.

"Bringing famous people into the sword-fighting school to attract outsiders... Isn't it a bit too dishonest to develop a sword-fighting school using such petty tricks?"

Upon hearing Nagakura's somewhat sharp question, Aoto, sitting to his left and right, couldn't help but give a wry smile.

Although he hadn't worked with Yongcang and the others for a particularly long time, Qing Deng had already gained a certain understanding of the personalities of his three subordinates.

As for Nagakura... in short, he was extremely straightforward, to the point of being stubborn and a bit naive. He said whatever came to mind, never beating around the bush, and his bluntness often made people feel that he was somewhat unrestrained in his speech.

He was extremely disgusted by people or things that were not aboveboard. Whether it was fighting or doing anything else, Nagakura preferred to be open and aboveboard. Therefore, Nagakura's usual style of doing things was "direct and forceful".

Who cares about all that! Just face it head-on—this sentence perfectly encapsulates Nagakura's style of dealing with people and things.

Nagakura's fighting style was the same—who cares about anything else! He just went for it head-on! He just kept hacking away!

Although he was used to Nagakura's outspokenness, Aoto couldn't help but smile wryly when he heard Nagakura directly question Kondo and the others, whom he had only just met.

Upon hearing Nagakura's question, Kondo paused, and just as he was about to say something, Hijikata, standing beside him, preemptively smiled and said:

“Nagakura-kun, you’re wrong about that.”

"Our plan to develop the fencing school is precisely the most aboveboard and honest one."

"Huh?" Nagakura's eyes widened as he cast a questioning glance at Hijikata.

"Look, have we been hiding anything from you about our plan?" Hijikata said with a smirk, spreading his hands. "We invited you here openly and honestly, and then told you our plan in detail without any concealment."

“We extend this invitation to you openly and honestly. If you are willing to join our Shieikan, we will then openly and honestly proclaim that our Shieikan has successfully recruited several very powerful warriors to join us.”

"Isn't this open and aboveboard enough? Isn't this honest and straightforward enough?"

Upon hearing Hijikata's explanation, Nagakura's expression froze.

Then he lowered his head, raised his hand to pinch his chin, and pondered and racked his brains to digest Hijikata's explanation.

Judging from his furrowed brow... he's having a hard time digesting this.

Nagakura has a weakness, which is that he's not very bright.

Perhaps because he was too straightforward, Nagakura was very dull-witted and inflexible in his thinking.

Nagakura's dull mind and rigid thinking are also one of the important reasons why he often does things in a simple, crude, and head-on manner.

At the same time, because of his rigid thinking and poor problem-solving skills, he is often easily fooled by others and persuaded by them.

Sure enough—after thinking seriously for a while, he nodded slightly, seemingly understanding but not quite: "Hmm...it does seem to make sense..."

Just as Nagakura finished muttering this—

"...I only want to specialize in my marksmanship, so I will refrain from becoming your disciple."

Harada, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up.

With his legs casually crossed, he rested his right elbow on his right thigh, propped his chin up with his right arm, and continued with a grin:

"However, I would be very happy to have you as a customer of your establishment."

Harada's words immediately energized Kondo and the others.

Kondo asked in surprise, "Would you like to join our Shieikan as a diner?"

"They'll provide me with accommodation and food, and I won't have to do any work. All I need to do is stay here as a 'Shieikan diner'—it's such a wonderful job, I can't think of any reason to refuse." Harada grinned sheepishly, poked his head with his right index finger, and said, "I'm not one to use my brain."

"So I didn't really understand why you invited us to join Shieikan."

"But it doesn't matter, as long as you can provide me with accommodation and meals, I'm willing to be your customer!"

After saying that, Harada reached out and patted Nagakura on the shoulder.

"Yongcang, why don't you stay here too?"

"Aren't you currently saving money to continue your travels and 'martial arts training'?"

"Now is a great opportunity to save money!"

"Once you become a diner here, you no longer need to spend money on accommodation and cooking every day."

"It saves a lot of money every day."

Money—Upon hearing Harada mention this word, Nagakura's expression changed slightly.

He pursed his lips, then crossed his arms back to his chest, lowered his head slightly, and once again appeared deep in thought.

The others present were not in a hurry and quietly waited for Nagakura, the only one who had not yet expressed his opinion, to think and answer.

The outspoken Nagakura didn't keep everyone waiting for long.

In just a short moment, he quietly raised his eyes and, with a barely perceptible movement that no one noticed, secretly glanced at Qingdeng beside him.

“…I understand.” Nagakura let out a sigh of relief, then placed his hands on the tatami mats and bowed to Kondo opposite him. “Then, I’ll be troubling you!”

Upon hearing Nagakura's more tactful reply than Harada's, Kondo was momentarily taken aback, but his expression quickly turned to joy.

While overjoyed, Kondo couldn't help but be surprised at how easily he had persuaded Nagakura and Harada to join their Shieikan.

Qing Deng was also surprised by this.

"Have you all thought it through?" Qing Deng turned his gaze, scanning back and forth between Nagakura and Harada.

"I've thought it through." After chuckling a few times and shrugging his shoulders vigorously, Harada replied without hesitation, "I'd be happy to have a place to stay and food to eat."

"Anyway, I have legs. If I'm not comfortable staying here, I can just leave."

Nagakura didn't say as much as Harada.

He simply nodded firmly at Aoto and Kondo.

……

……

Originally, it was just a trial period that led to Aoto bringing Nagakura and the other two, and extending an invitation to them to "join the Shieikan".

Unexpectedly, their invitation went so smoothly that Nagakura and Harada, two of the three, agreed to become part of Shieikan as diners.

To welcome the two new members of the kendo club, Kondo decided to hold a lively celebration tonight.

Therefore, Kondo slipped Okita some money, telling him to take advantage of the fact that the market was still open and buy as much good wine and food as possible.

As a core member of the Shieikan, Hijikata was naturally suggested by Kondo to stay at the Shieikan tonight and celebrate the addition of Nagakura and Harada with them.

But to everyone's surprise, Hijikata announced that he would not be attending the celebration that night.

"Ah Sheng, I won't be attending this celebration. You guys have fun tonight."

"Why?" Kondo asked, puzzled. "A-Sui, is there something you need to do tonight?"

“…Indeed, I have important things to do.” After saying that, Hijikata smiled meaningfully, then raised his hand and patted Kondo on the shoulder. “Katsu, you have successfully recruited a famous person. This is only the first step.”

"Next, we need to find a way to let as many people as possible know that 'a famous person has willingly joined our Shiwei Hall'."

"In short, I will take charge of handling this matter."

"Ah Sheng, you guys just have fun tonight."

After saying these words, Tsuchibara waved to Kondo and walked away, leaving Kondo bewildered.

When Hijikata left the Shieikan, it was dusk, when the sky was half dark and half bright.

After taking a deep breath of the increasingly stuffy air due to the gradually warming weather, Hijikata adjusted his wakizashi at his waist and strode eastward.

Hijikata, being a farmer rather than a samurai, was not qualified to carry a katana, so he usually only carried a wakizashi at his waist.

The Edo Shogunate had a clear rule that only samurai could carry katana, but there was no such prohibition on wakizashi. Therefore, many ordinary people would keep a wakizashi at home or on their person for self-defense.

After turning the corner of a deserted alley, Hijikata suddenly noticed a cherry blossom tree on the roadside ahead.

It's currently late April, and the cherry blossoms are still in full bloom.

Hijikata quickened his pace slightly and stood beside the roots of the cherry blossom tree he had discovered by chance.

He looked up, gazing thoughtfully at the delicate blossoms on the cherry tree for a few moments, then looked around to his left and right.

After confirming that no one was around, Hijikata tiptoed and skillfully plucked nine of the most beautiful flowers from the branch, carefully stuffing them all into his arms before fleeing from under the tree.

After turning through several streets and alleys, Hijikata stopped in front of a teahouse of moderate size. He then swaggered out, lifted the curtain, and entered the teahouse.

"Welcome... Ah, Mr. Hijikata!"

The teahouse owner, a young woman in her prime, instinctively shouted "Welcome!" and turned her gaze toward the door upon hearing someone enter.

Upon discovering that the visitor standing at the door was Tufang, her "Welcome!" quickly turned into an excited shout.

"Chikata, it's been a long time." Hijikata smiled gently at the girl and casually found an empty seat to sit down. "The usual, give me a cup of iced tea."

"Okay!" With a joyful smile on her face, A-Qian flew back to the kitchen like a butterfly.

Before long, she brought over a cup of the herbal tea that Hijikata had ordered and hopped over to Hijikata's table.

"Mr. Hijikata! Your tea!"

"Yes, thank you."

Hijikata reached out to take the tea that A-Chi handed him. As he held the teacup in his palm, he secretly reached out and scratched A-Chi's palm with his finger.

Feeling the tingling sensation in her palms, a blush crept onto A-Qian's cheeks. She gazed at Hijikata with tender eyes before quickly leaving his table and returning to the kitchen.

Hijikata watched A-Chi leave with tender eyes, then picked up his iced tea, gulped it down in one go, sprinkled the tea money on the table, and left the teahouse.

At the same time, back in the kitchen, Qian told her boss that her stomach was upset and she needed to use the restroom.

After getting permission from the boss to use the restroom, A-Qian took off her apron and rushed out of the teahouse. She then skillfully turned into a secluded dark alley not far from the teahouse.