I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Damn it! How could this happen!"

The current head of the Akabane family, Akabane Sōtarō, took a big gulp of sake and said indignantly.

Opposite him, his trusted retainer, Kentaro Suzumura, a burly man with a strong and imposing build, arms as thick as elephant legs, and calloused palms, offered words of comfort:

"Master Zong, you've already drunk too much tonight, please don't drink anymore."

Akabane Sōtarō ignored Suzumura Kentaro's advice.

"Damn it... how could this happen... how could this happen!"

He refilled his glass with wine while muttering under his breath, his eyes wide and his beard bristling.

If one were to use precise language to summarize Akabane Soutarō's feelings these days—

They successfully rallied many hatamoto and gokenin members of the Akabane family who were willing to support them... and sent that damned Tachibana Aoto to prison... Two happy things overlapped, and these two happinesses brought me even more happiness. What I received should have been a dreamlike blissful time... But why did it turn out like this?

Akabane Koichiro's beloved son was killed by Aoto—having suffered such humiliation and encountered such hatred, Akabane Sōtarō could not possibly let it go.

He vowed that he would not be human until he avenged his beloved son and vented the anger in his heart!

Of course, having lived in the world for over forty years and spent so much time navigating the complexities of the shogunate's officialdom, Akabane Sōtarō, who had become more cunning than a fox, was not a reckless person who would lose his mind and act blindly when his blood boiled.

He knew that Qingdeng, who possessed both exceptional personal abilities and extraordinary prestige, was not someone he could easily manipulate.

Therefore, he did not act rashly.

Akabane dared to launch a scathing attack on Aoto because he was confident that he could defeat Aoto with the power and connections of his family. If he had known that on New Year's Day, Itakura Katsutora would have been extremely respectful to Aoto and even publicly reprimanded his son Itakura Hirahiko, he might not have had that confidence.

On the very night that "Itakura Hirahiko confronted Aoto and Tenshōin's group," Tokugawa Iemochi secretly summoned Itakura Katsutora and told him: "You must not spread the word that I was traveling incognito with Aoto, Tenshōin, and others."

Tokugawa Iemochi is currently only being targeted by the powerful Hitotsubashi faction. He is not the kind of ruler who has no real power and is being sidelined by his subordinates. His words carry weight—at least to Itakura Katsutora.

How could Itakura Katsutora dare disobey Tokugawa Iemochi's order?

He immediately kowtowed, promising that he would never reveal a single word about what happened today.

Katsutora Itakura remained silent, and the number of onlookers who witnessed the entire process of "Katsutora Itakura's courteous treatment of Seido" was not large enough for the news to spread throughout Edo and beyond in a short period of time.

Therefore, due to this information gap, Akabane Sōtarō was unaware that Aoto's personal influence was so great that even Wakatsuki in the present day had to give him some face.

Otherwise, the whole affair of Aoto being falsely accused and imprisoned might never have happened—no matter how confident Akabane Sōtarō was, he wouldn't be so confident as to think he could bring down a man that even Wakatsuki had to treat with utmost respect.

From the moment he learned of his daughter's death, Akabane Sōtarō lay low, searching for allies while waiting for the perfect opportunity to take revenge.

The hatamoto and goken, who possessed numerous political and social privileges, were already high-ranking figures under the rule of the Edo shogunate.

After nearly three hundred years of development, this group of "superior people" has long since formed a political group with intricate and intertwined relationships.

To murder a member of the Hatamoto clan in broad daylight—in the eyes of these parasites who had long been corrupted by their comfortable lives, Qing Deng's actions were a blatant challenge to their authority! It was intolerable!

Moreover, there are already quite a few people among the hatamoto and gokenin who dislike or even hate Aoto.

Qing Deng's ancestral home was that of a lowly servant whose family stipend was no more than 100 koku.

In less than a year, he transformed himself into a bannerman with a family stipend of over a thousand... For people who valued bloodline and social standing, they simply could not accept someone of such low blood as Qing Deng joining the ranks of bannermen.

Therefore, Akabane Sōtarō has no trouble finding allies.

The Akabane family has always had good connections, and Akabane Sōtarō happens to be the kind of person who is eloquent and persuasive. After his persuasion and incitement, a large number of people responded to him, and soon a group of people willing to help the Akabane family fight against Aōdō formed the "Direct Advisors Alliance". (Direct Advisors is a general term for hatamoto and gokenin).

After months of preparation, feeling that everything was ready, Akabane Sōtarō immediately launched his revenge against Aoto!

It must be said that the initial stages of the revenge operation went so smoothly that even Akabane Soutaro was surprised.

He reported Qingdeng on the grounds of "abuse of power and wrongful killing of loyal officials," and together with his allies, he put pressure on government departments such as the Fengxing Office.

Hatamoto and Gokenin, as a group of samurai directly under the shogun, occupied almost all the official positions in the shogunate.

Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that they were the cornerstones of the Edo Shogunate.

Without them, the entire Edo Shogunate would have to come to a standstill.

Therefore, the influence of the "Direct Advisory Alliance" formed by Akabane Sōtarō should not be underestimated.

Under intense pressure from Akabane Sōtarō and others, the government could not withstand the pressure and imprisoned Aoto in the Kodenma-chō jail.

The initial battle was a success... According to Akabane Sōtarō's plan, the next step is to continue to put pressure on the government and convict Aoto!

Although he knew it was unlikely, Akabane Sōtarō still sincerely hoped that Aoto would be sentenced to death!

Whether he's ordered to commit seppuku, sentenced to beheading, or made a practice target for the swordsmen of the Yamada Asaemon family, the "executioner family," Akabane Sōtarō will be satisfied as long as Aoto dies.

At the very least, he should be sentenced to exile!

Jiudu Mountain, Bazhang Island... anywhere is fine, as long as it makes him wish he were dead!

Upon learning that he had successfully imprisoned Aoto, Akabane Sōtarō began to gleefully imagine the wonderful scenario of Aoto's death or exile. His upturned lips lingered on his face.

However... what happened next far exceeded his expectations...

First of all, he never expected that Qingdeng had such a rich network of connections!

Led by the Chiba family, the entire Hokushin Itto-ryu dojo in Edo, Katsura Rintaro and the other high-ranking officials of the shogunate he brought to help him gain support, scholars from the Banshu Institute, Westerners residing in the settlement, officers from the arson and thief bureau, "police" from the Hokuban-sho-sada-cho, and wealthy merchants who held a pivotal position in Edo's economic world...

People and forces from all walks of life, including martial arts, politics, academia, business, the military, and foreign powers, have joined together to seek justice for Qing Deng.

It's probably been 10 years since we've seen such a grand spectacle... It's truly astonishing.

If it were just a single force supporting Qingdeng, Akabane Sōtarō wouldn't be afraid. But with so many forces backing Qingdeng... this made Akabane Sōtarō swallow hard with unease.

It can be said that the strength and power of the "Support Orange Alliance" is no weaker than the "Direct Participation Alliance" formed by Akabane Soutaro!

Just as Akabane Soutaro was racking his brains, trying to figure out how to deal with the "Support Tachibana Alliance's" offensive... a new, unexpected event, the main reason why Akabane Soutaro was now drinking alone in silence, suddenly occurred.

That's when the prison in Kodenma Town suddenly caught fire! Aoto went missing!

The prison house in Kodenma Town hadn't been hit by a fire in a long time, but unfortunately, it caught fire on the very day Aoto was imprisoned!

Such a coincidence is hard not to make one think of something.

Naturally, all sorts of conspiracy theories have sprung up.

For example: "The fire at Kodenma Town Prison Residence was arson, set by the Akabane family! Their aim was to kill Aoto!"

For example: "The Akabane family burned down the Kodenma Town prison, and then took advantage of the chaos to kidnap Aoto, locking him in the Akabane family mansion's underground secret room or somewhere else, where they severely humiliated and tortured Aoto. This is the truth behind why Aoto disappeared and why the Kodenma Town prison burned down for no reason!"

Faced with these bizarre rumors and conspiracy theories, Akabane Sōtarō really wanted to shout: "Even if you're making it up, at least make it believable!"

Arson is a particularly serious crime that even a high-ranking official (a hatamoto with a family stipend of over 3000 koku) could not escape!

Yes. Akabane Sōtarō admitted that he did hate Aoto very much and wished he would die quickly, but he wasn't stupid. No matter what, he would never use such a foolish tactic of "killing a hundred enemies while losing eight thousand of his own"!

Akabane Sōtarō firmly believes that "rumors stop with the wise."

Anyone with a brain can tell that the fire at the prison house in Kodenma Town and the disappearance of Aoto have nothing to do with the Akabane family.

However... in this world, the vast majority of the population consists of fools who lack critical thinking and judgment and simply follow the crowd.

Recently, busybodies who love to join in the fun have been frequently seen loitering around the Akabane family's mansion.

Not to mention the clan's own members, even ordinary servants in the clan often receive strange looks from others when they go out on the street.

The Akabane family is now truly in a sorry state—even if they're not exactly shit, they're still shit.

If this continues, and these outrageous rumors continue to spread... it's not impossible that the shogunate will launch an investigation into the Akabane family.

He was inexplicably framed for "arson and murder"... How could Akabane Sōtarō not be angry and frustrated?

Drinking from a porcelain bowl no bigger than the palm of your hand was simply not satisfying enough. Akabane Sōtarō threw down the cup in his hand, picked up the bottle, and gulped it down.

"Master Zong..."

The village chief, steeling himself, tried to persuade him again.

"Please stop drinking..."

"So long-winded! So long-winded! So long-winded!"

Akabane Sōtarō rudely interrupted Ryōmura.

"I'll drink as much as I want!"

After shouting, Akabane Sōtarō leaned to the side, resting his elbow on the side, sipping his drink and muttering softly.

"Damn it... that damned Tachibana Aoto... he can't even let people have peace while he's missing... hiccup!"

Akabane Sōtarō let out a loud burp, his body jerked violently, and the bottle slipped from his hand.

Pulled by gravity, the bottle traced a straight line and fell onto the tatami mat next to Akabane Soutaro's knees.

Just as the sake bottle hit the tatami mat with a dull thud—

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

“哇啊啊啊啊啊啊啊啊——！”

*Pfft! Pfft!*

Outside the room, the sounds of doors being kicked open, screams of agony, and... the sound of blades cutting through flesh echoed...

Akabane Sōtarō's eyes suddenly widened, and his drunkenness vanished instantly.

"What's going on?! What happened?!"

Suzumura reacted slightly faster than Akabane Soutaro.

After a moment of stunned silence, he immediately grabbed the katana that was resting beside his right leg, and as he tucked the katana back into his waistband, he drew the blade from its sheath.

"Master Zong! Please stay close to me and don't leave my side!"

……

At this very moment—

Somewhere inside the Akabane mansion—

"Who goes there! Do you know where this place is?!"

A retainer of the Akabane clan, sword in hand, stopped a man in black whose clothes were covered in blood.

Just now, a group of men dressed in black with black face masks rushed into the Akabane family mansion from all directions. They violently broke into the mansion and killed anyone they saw, sparing neither retainers nor servants.

"..."

Ignoring the retainer's questions, the man in black remained silent and charged straight at the retainer in front of him!

"hateful!"