I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

As he stood up, he silently reached into the lapel of his bathrobe and pulled out a hidden sword.

The so-called "hidden sword" is a short sword that is even shorter than a wakizashi.

Still wanting to fight Aoto again, Shimizu Gosaku roughly pushed aside his subordinates surrounding him and charged straight at Aoto once more.

Shimizu Gosaku's resilience was indeed somewhat beyond Aoto's expectations.

"Ha..." Qing Deng stared intently at the approaching cold light while slightly lowering his waist and slowly moving his naturally hanging right palm to the hilt of the Ghost-Stabilizing Blade.

Then--

choke!

The cold gleam of the sword obscured the moonlight!

The white blade that sprang from its sheath struck the tip of the sword in mid-air with pinpoint accuracy, knocking Shimizu Gosaku's sword away.

The sword, which had been flying "soaring into the sky," flew nearly three stories high before crashing heavily into the roof of a nearby shop with its tip pointing downwards.

Aoto's swift and decisive strike seemed to have finally sobered Shimizu Gosaku up a bit.

A look of fear flashed across his face as he took several steps back and returned to the embrace of his men.

If Aoto had wanted to, Shimizu Gosaku and his men would have been corpses long ago.

The reason he hesitated to kill was not because he was afraid of trouble, but because if he were to use the murderous knife tonight, he and Kinoshita Mai would definitely miss the fireworks display.

The brief battle has finally quieted down.

Startled by Qing Deng's skill, Shimizu Gosaku and the others did not rush forward recklessly. Instead, they stood facing Qing Deng from a distance of about seven steps.

At that moment, Tsuneji and the others, who had been staring at Aoto with horrified eyes since earlier, slowly turned their gaze to Ootsuki Minoru.

Is this the one named Tachibana Aoto?

You call this "Dumbhead"?

Didn't you say he was a mediocre person who couldn't do anything right and had only average talent?

……

Their gazes conveyed this message intensely.

Ignoring the signals from Tsuneji and the others, Ootsuki Minoru paid them no heed.

"He...he actually won...?" Ōtsuki Minoru muttered to himself, looking as if he had seen a ghost.

At this moment, she was completely immersed in a fierce "brainstorming" session.

Why? What happened? These questions kept flashing through Ootsuki Minoru's mind.

She simply couldn't reconcile the "dumb Deng" in her mind with the Qing Deng in front of her who was displaying incredible power, defeating five opponents single-handedly and completely.

When did that silly boy who used to just follow her around like a little puppy become so amazing?

Qing Deng's sudden appearance and action provided the surrounding onlookers with a wonderful spectacle.

Some people who were watching with great interest looked at Shimizu Gosaku and his group with expressions of amusement, as if they were watching a good show.

Shimizu Gosaku and his group are now in a predicament where they can't back down.

He fought Qingdeng again? He was no match for him at all.

Leaving like this? It's embarrassing.

Shimizu Gosaku's men were all unintelligent, roughnecks who only knew how to solve problems with force.

Therefore, not knowing what to do, they could only look to Shimizu Gosaku for help.

But when they looked at Shimizu Gosaku, who was surrounded by them, they were horrified to find that Shimizu Gosaku looked... very strange.

"Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu! Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...! Huuuuuu...!!"

Shimizu Gosaku, who was covering his face with his hands, was breathing increasingly heavily.

Even Aoto noticed Shimizu Gosaku's unusual behavior at this moment.

—Is he...drinking too much? Or is some kind of illness acting up?

Just as Aoto was wondering what was going on, Shimizu Gosaku suddenly let out a roar like a tiger or leopard.

"Get out! Get out!"

Shimizu Gosaku spread his hands wide, making it seem as if he wanted to push aside his subordinates and continue fighting with Aoto.

His men were terrified at the sight.

Qing Deng has already drawn his sword... In this era, a samurai drawing his real sword is a very serious signal.

This means the other party no longer hesitates to kill...

Fearing that Shimizu Gosaku would be killed by Aoto if he continued to rush forward recklessly, his subordinates quickly grabbed him and held him back tightly.

"Let go! Let go of them all! Kid! Give me your name!"

As Shimizu Gosaku shouted, he swung his arms and shook his head in an extremely exaggerated manner, his bloodshot eyes flashing with a ferocious light like that of a long-starved carnivorous beast.

Outspoken and hysterical.

"How dare you throw me to the ground! Let me tell you, you're dead!"

"I'm the nephew of the leader of the 'Clear Water Clan'! You wait! I'll go get my men right now and have them deal with you!"

Shimizu Gosaku's remarks immediately changed the atmosphere at the scene.

Ootsuki Minoru and his group are now in a state of shared honor and disgrace with Aoto, who rescued them.

They unconsciously scanned Aoto and Shimizu Gosaku back and forth with horrified eyes.

Yes, what good is it if Qing Deng is good at fighting? He's the nephew of the "Qingshui Clan," backed by a powerful family. What if he really brings a lot of helpers?

Qingdeng can take on 5 people by himself... but can he take on 15 people by himself?

The surrounding crowd began to discuss the matter.

"Hey, is this guy really Shimizu Eiichi's nephew?"

"It really is true... I once met Shimizu Eiichi's nephew... This person really is Shimizu Eiichi's nephew: Shimizu Gosaku."

"Tsk... In that case, that samurai is in trouble... He actually offended the 'Shimizu Clan'... Unless he escapes Edo, he will never have a peaceful day again."

"Sigh... I wonder if I'll live to see the 'Shimizu Clan' perish..."

"Shh...shh...you can't say things like that in public...if someone hears you, that would be troublesome..."

A large crowd of onlookers lamented Qingdeng's fate... However, some voices expressed a discordant note:

"Hey, doesn't that samurai look kind of familiar?"

"Yeah, I feel the same way... I think I've seen him somewhere before..."

……

Ootsuki Minoru and the onlookers were all worried about Aoto's safety after provoking the "Shimizu Clan"... but Aoto, as the person involved, remained quite calm.

"...'The Shimizu Clan'?"

Qing Deng raised an eyebrow slightly, and his expression turned strange at a speed visible to the naked eye.

This person turned out to be a member of the "Shimizu Clan"... This truly surprised Qing Deng.

"Surprised" in various ways...

Seeing Qing Deng's expression, Shimizu Gosaku assumed Qing Deng was frightened. After taking a few deep breaths, he raised his head high and roared in an even more arrogant and unrestrained manner and tone:

"Iijiro! Go back to our 'Shimizu Clan's' old camp and call for reinforcements! Call as many people as you can..."

"enough!"

Like a thunderclap from a clear sky... a loud shout, full of energy, came from the crowd behind Shimizu Gosaku, interrupting Shimizu Gosaku's arrogant words.

The sudden shout had a rather aged tone... The speaker was probably a middle-aged man.

Aoto didn't recognize the voice, but Shimizu Gosaku seemed to know the owner of the voice.

Because the moment that shout fell, Shimizu Gosaku's expression suddenly froze.

Immediately afterwards, his eyes, which had been filled with a fierce light, slowly regained their clarity, as if they had been washed with water.

Then, a look of terror crept into his eyes and cheeks...

Everyone present turned their attention to the direction from which the middle-aged man's voice came—a middle-aged man with his hands behind his back and wearing a low-brimmed straw hat was leading a young man, slowly walking towards Qing Deng and the others. All the onlookers blocking their way made way to the sides, clearing a wide one-way path.

Aoto didn't recognize the middle-aged man wearing a straw hat. But he did recognize the young man—it was Sasaki, whom he had just met.

Sasaki noticed Aoto's gaze, smiled, and nodded to him.

The middle-aged man, who had become the focus of attention due to his earlier shout, walked steadily to stand beside Shimizu Gosaku, completely unaffected by the surrounding gazes.

A bizarre situation then unfolds.

Just moments ago, Shimizu Gosaku was incredibly arrogant and hysterical like a madman, but upon the appearance of this middle-aged man, he suddenly shrank back like a mouse encountering a cat, his face filled with fear.

“叔……叔父……”

When Shimizu Go made these remarks, the scene immediately erupted in an uproar... Even Qing Deng couldn't help but show a look of surprise.

Being addressed as "Uncle" by Shimizu Gosaku... Many people murmured to themselves, "No way..."

……

……

After learning from Sasaki that his nephew was drinking nearby and was already intoxicated, Shimizu Eiichi stood up expressionlessly and ordered Sasaki:

"...Sasaki, help me find a job on a pleasure boat...Let's postpone that for now. You come with me to find my troublesome nephew first."

Whether giving orders to Sasaki or setting off to find Shimizu Gosaku, Shimizu Eiichi remained expressionless throughout, making it difficult to discern his thoughts.

For Sasaki, finding someone nearby was a piece of cake.

He mobilized all his subordinates and ordered them to search for Shimizu Gosaku's whereabouts.

A short while later, someone reported that Shimizu Gosaku was seen fighting with someone in XXX.

Shimizu Eiichi led Sasaki to the reporting location, and there he immediately saw his nephew spouting nonsense at Aoto...

In that instant, Shimizu Eiichi, who was usually unsmiling, had his pupils shrink slightly.