I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Such valuable talents are about to die for this reason...

Just as Tenshōin was rubbing his temples, pondering what to do, Sage's voice suddenly rang out from outside the door:

"Lord Yu Du, I have something urgent to tell you."

Tianzhangyuan: "Come in."

Sha Chong pushed open the door and entered.

"Lord Yudu, something has happened...!"

"what happened?"

"Mr. Tachibana has been arrested and imprisoned!"

"what?!"

Tianzhangyuan's eyebrows furrowed, and he cried out in a frenzy:

"Tachibana-kun is in jail too?!"

……

……

"Compared to Miyabe-kun, Tachibana-kun, your situation is much better. There is still a way to get you out of prison. However, before we could come up with a plan to get you out of prison, we were shocked to hear that the Kodenma Town prison house had caught fire."

Tensho-in sighed.

"At that time, I intended to send Sae and Yae to the fire scene to check if you and Miyabe had successfully escaped the inferno."

"As a result, before I could even give the order, I saw Miyabe carrying you, who was covered in wounds and unconscious, outside the torii gate of Tsukimiya Shrine."

No sooner had Tenshōin finished speaking than Miyabe Kyotaro picked up the conversation:

“When I saw that the lock-picking technique you used to open the cell door was a unique skill of the ‘Cloud Flow’, I knew: you and I are in the same profession, and you are also a member of the New Imperial Guard!”

“I went to prison before you, and to pass the time, I thoroughly studied the structure of the cell door lock beforehand.”

"While you were still struggling to figure out how to unlock it, I had already pried open the cell door with the iron ring on the toilet and made my escape."

At this point, Kyotaro Miyabe touched his nose with a guilty expression.

"To be honest, I never intended to save you at the time."

"With a fire this big, it's questionable whether I can even protect myself, let alone spare the resources to rescue others."

"but……"

Kyotaro Miyabe abruptly changed the subject.

"It would be a great pity to watch such an outstanding talent as you perish in the fire."

"Tachibana-kun, do you still remember what I told you?"

"I simply cannot stand the current state of affairs where the Direct Staff Samurai are riddled with corrupt elements."

"I am not content to spend my whole life as a mediocre sword-making school director. I want to do everything I can for the shogunate."

"Therefore, when His Highness Tenshōin selected me and invited me to join the new Imperial Guard, I accepted without hesitation."

"After arduous training, I have finally become a ninja who can stand on my own."

"Compared to ninjas like me, who can be mass-produced as long as enough time and money are spent, it's obvious—your life is much more valuable, Tachibana-kun!"

"You are a talent that appears only once in ten years... no, once in a century!"

"If you die, it will be a tremendous loss to the shogunate and to the entire world!"

"Besides..."

Miyabe's lips slowly parted into a wide grin.

"Even setting aside these grand reasons, just considering personal feelings, we have a bond that includes having served time in prison together."

"Whether for public or private reasons, I feel I cannot abandon you."

"Therefore, I retraced my steps to come back and rescue you. But when I returned to the cell, I found you were no longer there."

"After searching around, we found you lying in the fire by the last possible moment."

"That was close! By the time I found you, the flames were already at your hands."

"If I had arrived any later, you would have been burned alive."

"There's not much to say about what happened next. I carried you, who were on the verge of death, and barely escaped with my life, finally arriving at the Moon Shrine."

At this moment, Tenshōin brought the conversation back to the present:

"I found a reliable doctor as quickly as possible."

"Because you stayed in the fire for too long, the doctor said that the prolonged lack of oxygen has caused great damage to your body. He can only do his best, and whether you can survive depends entirely on your fate."

"I have to say, Tachibana-kun, you're really lucky. You survived such a serious injury."

After speaking, Tenshōin let out a long sigh of relief.

Qing Deng listened quietly to the explanations from Tenshōin and Miyabe Kyotaro.

"I see……"

He muttered to himself as he glanced back and forth between Tenshōin and Miyabe Kyotaro with a complicated expression.

This seemingly ordinary fellow inmate turned out to be a ninja from the new Oniwaban...

At first glance, it seems absurd.

But upon closer reflection, it seems that while it was unexpected, it was also quite reasonable.

What is the new Oniwaban?

An intelligence agency directly under Tokugawa Iemochi and Tenshōin!

To maintain intelligence security and the personal safety of its members, the identities of the new Oniwaban (military unit) members are naturally kept strictly confidential.

Even after Qing Deng had been a member of the new Oniwaban for so long, all he knew was that the two sisters and the old man Amakura Owl were his colleagues.

Who else were his colleagues?

Qingdeng didn't know.

Tenshōin never revealed this to him.

Another major characteristic of intelligence agencies is that anyone can be an intelligence agent!

Let alone hatamoto, even a beggar on the street could be a member of the new Oniwaban!

*******

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Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets! (Leopard crying.jpg)

The fact that Kyotaro Miyabe is a member of the new Oniwaban (Imperial Guard) has been foreshadowed for a long time. For example, his screen time is inexplicably large, and he shows a shocked expression when he sees Aoto prying open the door.

I highly recommend everyone review it.

At the end of this chapter, the author played a little narrative trick~~

In this chapter, when Tenshōin says, "How could this guy be imprisoned for such a reason?", and Saeshige says, "Something happened."

You all probably thought that the "this guy" Tenshōin was referring to was Aoto, and that Saeshige's "something happened" meant Aoto's death.

That's not actually the case; the author deliberately misled you.

The "this guy" in Tenshōin refers to Kyotaro Miyabe. The "trouble" in Sage refers to "Aoto's imprisonment".

Chapter 370 The Enemy is in Fire Thieves' Den! There's a traitor within Fire Thieves' Den! [5000]

"Thinking about it carefully, it's really unbelievable."

Kyotaro Miyabe grinned.

"We just happened to be soldiers of the new Imperial Guard, and we just happened to be imprisoned at almost the same time, and then we just happened to live across from each other... If any one of these 'just's' were not true, it would very likely lead to us being separated by death."

"Haha, although it sounds like I'm bragging, I genuinely feel like a god is guiding me to save you! Haha!"

Qingdeng smiled, then took a deep breath, sat up straight, and adopted a solemn expression.

"Miyabe-kun, thank you so much. I will never forget your life-saving grace."

After speaking, Qing Deng bowed slightly to Miyabe Kyotaro and solemnly greeted him.

Kyotaro Miyabe was his savior.

Without his timely rescue, Qingdeng would probably have been a pile of charred remains under the rubble long ago.

Such a great kindness is truly difficult to repay.

"Ah, no need for such formalities, no need for such formalities."

Kyotaro Miyabe scratched his head, looking embarrassed.

"You're making me feel really embarrassed."

Whether others accept your kindness is one thing, but whether you are willing to express your gratitude is another.

Ignoring the kindness of others—that's not Qingdeng's style.

Therefore, despite Kyotaro Miyabe's repeated assurances that "you're welcome" and "there's no need for such formalities," Aoto still thanked him respectfully as always.

Then, Qing Deng turned to Yae and asked:

"Senior, what's the date today?"

"November 1."

"The 18th?!"

Qing Deng exclaimed in surprise.

"So... I was unconscious for a full eight days? Ha... This is the longest I've ever slept in my life..."

"After all, the injuries you suffered this time were mostly internal injuries."

Tenshōin took over the conversation.