I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Hisaka initially wanted to decline, but considering that it was Kimura who had taken the initiative to invite him, he felt bad about refusing. In addition, he was also curious as to why Kimura would suddenly invite him fishing, so he reluctantly accepted the invitation.

Led by Kimura, the two of them arrived at this small river on the outskirts of Edo.

Kimura had remained silent since they started fishing, which made Himaka increasingly confused.

What exactly is Kimura-sama trying to do? Could it be that he just wants to go fishing with me?

Kimura remained silent.

However, due to his many doubts, Hisaka couldn't find a suitable topic to talk about for a while.

The two sides remained silent.

Time passed, and it was only when a refreshing breeze rippled the surface of the river that Kimura finally spoke his first words after casting the fishing line into the water:

"...Hisaka-kun, what do you think of Tachibana Aoto?"

"what?"

Himaka turned his head and blinked hard at Kimura, asking him with his gesture: "Kimura-sama, why are you asking this?"

Kimura, his gaze still fixed on the river ahead, seemed oblivious to the look that Hisaka was giving him, and continued speaking to himself:

"Hisaka-kun, it's just the two of us here, there's no one else here. And you should also know that I hate Tachibana Aoto, so don't hold back, feel free to speak your mind."

Hisaka raised an eyebrow slightly.

He silently withdrew his gaze from Kimura, pursing his lips thoughtfully. After a moment, he said softly:

“I… hate Tachibana Aoto.”

A gloomy cloud of sorrow drifted across Hisaka's brow.

“I, Hisaka Genzo, began serving the Tokugawa family at the age of 16. Through decades of self-discipline, dedication, and hard work, I have accumulated countless merits and toil, and it was only with great difficulty that I have climbed to my current high position.”

"And that Tachibana Seiden, he only killed a few crazy people who kept spouting 'expelling the barbarians,' and he went from being a mere 'Three-times' loyalist to becoming the captain of the Third Division, on par with me... It's outrageous!"

At this point, Hisaka's hand holding the fishing rod trembled slightly like a withered leaf in the wind, and his eyes blazed with jealousy that seemed to solidify into a physical flame.

As if he wanted to pour out all the private things that had been bottled up inside him, he opened his mouth without any hesitation or reservation:

"Ju Qingdeng's rise to power is disrespectful and blasphemous to a veteran like me who has worked diligently day and night!"

When Hisaka began to speak, Kimura listened quietly the entire time.

He seemed to have anticipated that Hisaka would loudly express his dissatisfaction with Aoto; his expression remained calm, with a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Hisaka-kun, I knew you must hate Tachibana Aoto just as much as I do."

After saying that, Kimura put down his fishing rod, turned around, and looked at Hisaka with a serious expression.

"Hisaka-kun, the reason I invited you out fishing today is actually to discuss an important matter with you: would you like to join hands with me and work together to make Tachibana Aoto suffer?"

The moment the words "May Tachibana Aoto suffer misfortune" entered his ears, a bright light flashed deep within Hisaka's pupils.

However, the light was fleeting, disappearing almost instantly after it appeared.

"Of course I'd be happy to see Tachibana Aoto living an uncomfortable life, but... is that even possible?"

Hisaka slumped his shoulders, his expression darkening.

"Although I hate to admit it... that young boy does have some talent."

"Superb swordsmanship, fearless and daring. He made a great contribution on his very first day here... Damn it...!"

Although Hisaka's expression darkened, the fire of jealousy in his eyes did not die out—in fact, it burned even brighter.

Upon hearing Hisaka's words, "He made a great contribution on his first day here," Kimura's expression immediately turned sour—in a sense, this new achievement of Aoto's was actually a gift from him.

Kimura had intended to pass on a difficult task to Aoto to embarrass him, but instead, it only enhanced Aoto's reputation... Even now, Kimura is still so frustrated by this incident that he feels like he's going to vomit blood.

Kimura took several deep breaths, barely managing to compose himself, before letting out a cold laugh:

"Hisaka-kun, you can't say that."

“I admit: that ‘former servant’ is indeed quite capable—but that doesn’t mean he’s really able to live a peaceful life in the Fire Thief Modified.”

"Both of us are captains of the Fire Thieves Division, so you should know very well how difficult it is to manage the soldiers in the division."

"There are plenty of arrogant soldiers in the army who are more delicate than porcelain and can't be hit or scolded."

"Let alone commanding these arrogant soldiers, just keeping them from causing trouble and hindering him is enough to keep Ju Qingdeng extremely busy and overwhelmed."

"Hmm..." Hisaka nodded in agreement, and the gloom on his face immediately faded a bit.

As a military government, the Edo Shogunate consisted of samurai who were the ruling class, who were essentially a group of "hereditary soldiers."

They each do their own thing on weekdays.

Kaijian Hall.

Those who pursue scholarship should pursue scholarship.

Those who work in the government are doing official duties.

However, if war breaks out and the shogunate issues a mobilization order, then all samurai are obligated to put down all their affairs and work, put on their own armor, swords and spears, and join the army.

In other words, the samurai were a group of "professional soldiers who were always ready to be called upon."

Therefore, ever since the Tokugawa family established the shogunate in Edo, there has never been such a thing as "recruiting soldiers," whether in the shogunate's territories or in the domains of the feudal states.

Commoners were not eligible to serve in the military; military affairs were entirely handled by samurai.

Whether it was the Fire-Taken Thieves or the other units like the "Sanbangu," all the standing armies of the shogunate, from generals to ordinary soldiers, were genuine samurai. Almost every one of them had ancestors who had been wounded, bled, and rendered meritorious service to Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Edo shogunate.

They were either selected or got in through connections. Among them were many wealthy families with powerful backers who sent their incompetent disciples in to gain prestige and experience.

Although Aoto, Abiko, and Kimura are the team leaders, they do not have the power to remove old team members or select new ones.

Let alone replacing a team member, even punishing a team member requires careful consideration. The Yu Li or Tong Xin in front of you may appear to have a lower rank than you, but the power of their family behind them might be so great that it could scare you to death.

Generally speaking, samurai did not intermarry with commoners. Samurai only intermarried with other samurai.

Over 300 years of evolution, the samurai community has long since developed an extremely complex network of interpersonal relationships, where a single move can have far-reaching consequences.

The military's reliance on powerful clans... This was one of the major reasons for the decline in the military strength of the Edo Shogunate and the "Three Hundred Princes".

Therefore, Qing Deng and his fellow officers had to be extremely careful and cautious when managing their troops. If they inadvertently offended someone they couldn't afford to provoke, they would be in serious trouble.

Therefore, Kimura had this feeling: just to subdue those arrogant and fierce soldiers in the Third Division and make the Third Division a force that "can obey his orders" would be enough to make Aoto suffer.

"Hisaka-kun, come closer to my ear."

Kimura beckoned to Hisaka with his finger.

“I despise that ‘former member of the Imperial Family’ far more than you realize! How dare such a lowly scumbag be on equal footing with us?”

"Seeing that guy make a name for himself and show off is more painful than having a knife cut into my heart."

Hisaka nodded vigorously in deep agreement.

Kimura continued:

"These past few days, I've been racking my brains trying to figure out how to stop that 'former member of the Imperial Guard' from being so smug—and I've actually come up with a solution."

"Now... I have a plan that, if successful, would have a very high chance of driving that 'go-in-waiting' out of the Fire Thief Bureau. Himaka-kun, would you be interested in hearing about it?"

Hisaka's expression changed slightly.

He hesitated for a moment, then slowly leaned forward, bringing his ear close to Kimura's lips...

……

……

Edo, the Third Battalion's headquarters, the drill ground—

As soon as Qingdeng finished speaking, a person walked out from behind a large tree next to Qingdeng with steady steps.

Thick hair not shaved into a chonmage style, temples slightly gray, a somewhat thin build, eyes as bright as stars, and a faint smile on the corners of his mouth—it was none other than Katsura Rintaro!

Instantly, the soldiers of the Third Division below Qingdeng erupted in chaos.

"Katsu Rintaro? Is that the famous Katsu-sama from recent years?"

"It really is him!"

Are you sure it's him?

“I’m certain! I had the honor of meeting Lord Katsu once. The middle-aged man standing next to Lord Tachibana right now is indeed Lord Katsu!”

“Katsu Rintaro…I remember he was about to be transferred to build the Navy, wasn’t he?”

"Lord Tachibana actually invited the future naval commander to speak to us?"

……

Whether it was Akabane, Shirasaki, Aoi, or the other members of the power group, or the members of the comrades who were at the grassroots level, they all stared wide-eyed in astonishment.

While everyone was still in shock, Katsura Rintaro spoke:

Greetings, everyone!

Katsura Rintaro smiled and spoke in a gentle tone.

"Mr. Ju has already introduced himself to me, so I won't go into detail about who I am."

"I am very honored to stand here and speak to you today."

"Fire-fighting thieves... I've long been curious about this unit that has achieved countless glorious feats since its formation!"

……

Following Aoto's instructions, Katsurin Taro gave a morale-boosting speech to the members of the Third Division.

He speaks with humor and is very knowledgeable, making his speeches interesting and never boring.

However, the only drawback was that not many people were paying attention.

Apart from Aoto, who was smiling and standing next to Katsura Rintaro, everyone present was in a daze to varying degrees.

Every member present is a member of the military family serving the government.

Since they are all public servants, who wouldn't know that the name of Katsura Rintaro is renowned far and wide, and even in the whole country, he is definitely a prominent figure?

Those with better connections and familiarity with every development in officialdom knew even more: Katsura Rintaro was a favorite of Tokugawa Iemochi! Under Tokugawa Iemochi's patronage, he would soon be transferred to the position of head of the naval training center, in charge of the training and establishment of the shogunate navy!

Tokugawa Iemochi always held an open-minded and supportive attitude towards advanced Western knowledge. Therefore, he greatly appreciated Katsu Rintaro, who was well-versed in Western learning, and often summoned Katsu Rintaro to the castle for an audience to seek his advice—a privilege that many people longed for.