I assembled the strongest swordsman group

Sanako, Mai, Kondo Isami, Kiryu, Kinoshita Rin... everyone came.

Their faces bore the marks of exhaustion from the fierce battle, as well as the joy of having utterly defeated the enemy.

Qing Deng turned his gaze and quickly scanned the area, soon finding the swordsmen of the Chiba family, the seniors of the Northern Frontier, and other old acquaintances.

Long-lost relatives and friends rushed to Otsu's aid despite their own safety... Even if all the words in human language were exhausted, they could not describe Aoto's emotions at that moment.

In the end, Qingdeng channeled his emotions into a heartfelt thank you and a deep bow.

"Thank you so much, everyone."

Upon seeing this, the crowd either hurriedly returned the greeting or stepped aside, not daring to accept it.

"Orange-kun".

Mr. Kiryu walked forward with a smile on his face as he spoke.

"This long war is finally over. As the commander-in-chief, you should have something to say, shouldn't you?"

Qing Deng Wan Er:

"Yeah, that makes sense."

After scanning the crowd once more, Qingdeng took a deep breath, gathered his strength, and then raised his right fist high, shouting at the loudest volume he could muster:

"This battle is our victory!"

The instant he finished shouting, the crowd, who had been waiting in advance, cheered in unison, creating a surging and enormous wave of sound that reached far beyond sight.

……

……

Toba, the garrison position—

"We win!"

"We've held off Otsu!"

"Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh!"

When the news of the victory, "The enemy has been defeated and Otsu is safe," arrived, the garrison in Toba instantly turned into a sea of ​​joy and excitement.

From captains Nagakura Shinpachi and Shinmi Nishiki to ordinary members, everyone was overjoyed, some embracing each other tightly, others shedding tears of excitement.

Hijikata Toshizo sat on a stool, gazing towards Ōtsu, and exclaimed excitedly:

"Well done, everyone!"

……

……

West of Toba, the Southern Army's main camp—

Coincidentally, at the same time on the same day, the Southern Army also received the final results from the Otsu side.

Ecstasy and grief, excitement and despair... two completely different emotions and two different scenes appeared in the two camps of Toba East and West respectively.

Katsura Kogoro, Goto Shojiro, and the others all lowered their heads, remaining silent and refusing to look at the others, as if they could detect evil in each other's faces.

After an unknown amount of time, Saigo Kinosuke, seated at the head of the table, finally broke the silence with a hoarse voice.

"So, in the end... I just can't defeat Tachibana Aoto...?"

After saying this to himself, Saigo Kinosuke let out a long sigh... At that moment, he seemed to have aged ten years.

"...retreat, a full retreat."

This time, no one objected to Saigo Kichinosuke's order.

*******

*******

The next chapter, the final chapter.

Please be sure to check out the author's new book—"America: The Hunt for 1924"

Chapter 1196: The Legend of Niou Comes to an End!

Two months after the Battle of Otsu—

Qinjin Fan, Dajin—

"Make way! A caravan of timber is coming!"

"One, two, three, lift! Very good, one more time! One, two, three, lift!"

"Barley tea! Barley tea that's just been chilled in well water! One penny a bowl!"

……

Looking up, Otsu was bustling with activity.

A constant stream of convoys, crowds thronging the streets... everyone is working enthusiastically to rebuild Dajin.

Qing Deng kept his promise and rebuilt Otsu at any cost after the war ended.

Now that Aoto has completely taken control of the eastern country, he has mobilized manpower and resources from all over the eastern country to rebuild Otsu with the strength of half of Japan.

Once the Western Kingdom is pacified, Qingdeng will have even more resources at his disposal.

With the support of its financial power, Otsu is changing at a rate that can be described as changing every day.

Everyone firmly believes that this resilient town will regain its vitality in less than a year!

……

……

Qinjin Domain, Ojin, Ojin Castle, main castle, a certain room——

Kazuya knelt beside Tokugawa Iemochi's bed and recounted the various events that had occurred recently.

"Mr. Tachibana is preparing to launch the 'Western Expedition' in September to completely wipe out the remnants of the 'Southern Dynasty'."

"This time, no matter how capable the Sa and Chang tribes are, they will not be able to escape disaster."

"The world, which has been in turmoil for so long, is finally about to return to peace."

"So, Jiamao, please wake up soon."

"The peaceful world you have been longing for is about to come. It would be a great pity if you missed it."

After saying that, Kazuya leaned over and carefully observed Tokugawa Iemochi's facial expression.

She was full of hope.

Unfortunately... her hopes turned into disappointment once again.

Tokugawa Iemochi's eyes remained closed, showing no signs of waking up.

A hint of disappointment lingered between He Gong's brows.

Just as she slowly stood up, preparing to leave—

"And...the palace..."

The unfamiliar and long-lost voice made He Gong stop in his tracks, his whole body stiffening.

She turned her head both eagerly and cautiously—because she was afraid she had misheard, afraid she was dreaming.

After turning her gaze to the bed, she saw Tokugawa Iemochi struggle to lift his eyelids and meet her gaze weakly yet resolutely.

The couple, who had endured so much hardship, gazed at each other, gazed at each other, gazed at each other... until tears rolled down their cheeks, blurring their vision.

……

……

Qinjin Fan, Dajin, somewhere in the suburbs——

"That bullet hit me right in the stomach! The pain was no less than being cut open..."

Before Harada Sanosuke could finish speaking, Nagakura Shinpachi interrupted him with a look of annoyance:

"Zanosuke, stop! You've told this 'surviving a gunshot wound' story thousands of times already!"

Kondo Isami smiled and took over the conversation.

"Zanosuke, you really have a lucky life. You were shot in the stomach and you still survived."

Harada Sanosuke chuckled:

"I'm immortal! How could mere bullets possibly harm me!"

The weather is excellent today, making it a perfect time for an outing.

At Souji's call, the Shinsengumi's high-ranking members, along with many acquaintances such as Iwasaki Yataro, Oshio Heihachiro, Shiyo, Sagara Sozo, and Kazami Kazuma, held a grand picnic at a scenic spot on the outskirts of Otsu.

Not long after the Battle of Ōtsu ended, Ōshio Heihachirō declared that "as long as Tachibana Seito does not betray the ideal of 'universal harmony,' all the patriots of the Ōshio Party will always be his most loyal comrades-in-arms."

His proposal was agreed upon by almost all members of the Great Salt Party.

Since the Battle of Otsu, everyone has not had a proper chance to relax for a long time.

Therefore, the picnic had only just begun when everyone was already having a blast.

Nagakura Shinpachi took off his shirt and started dancing his favorite comical dance.

Harada Sanosuke, who had just calmed down, is now endlessly recounting his "heroic deeds."

"Back in the day, before I became a ronin and was still an official in the Matsuyama Domain of Iyo, some annoying guy slandered me as a 'lowly clerk who didn't even know how to commit seppuku.' I'm the kind of person who likes to take things seriously. He said I didn't even know how to commit seppuku, so I immediately pulled out my wakizashi, stabbed it into my stomach, and performed seppuku right there and then! I didn't die even after cutting my stomach open! Now I'm even stronger, and I won't die even if a bullet pierces my stomach! I'm truly immortal!"

Kondo Isami demonstrated his "swallowing fists" trick to the crowd.

Yamanami Keisuke, Todo Heisuke, and Serizawa Kamo took out paper and pens and began to write waka poems and lyrics.

As expected, the souji, who is known for his love of drinking, drank too much again.

“Mmm…mm…mm…mm…mm…”

She groaned, her petite body swaying like a roly-poly toy.

Sanako, standing to the side, said helplessly:

"Shogun, please stop drinking."

As soon as she finished speaking, Souji collapsed, leaning against Sanako's right leg, and fell into a deep sleep.

Coincidentally, at almost the same time, Ah Wu and Elodie, who were also drunk, also passed out.

They could have leaned on Sanako, but instead they fell in the opposite direction, one after the other, onto Tenshōin's legs.

Tenshoin covered his mouth and chuckled softly.

"Oh dear, it seems I'm more popular with A-Wu and little Elodie~~"

Sanako pouted, revealing an adorable, sulky expression.

Both being well-off Yamato Nadeshiko (ideal Japanese women), Sanako and Tenshōin always find themselves competing in strange ways.

After finishing another bottle of sake, Hijikata Toshizo raised his eyes, scanned his surroundings, and looked for something.

After searching unsuccessfully, he turned to Sanako and asked:

"Has the orange arrived yet?"

Sanako stroked Souji's hair like she was petting a cat, and said with a wry smile:

"He went to Osaka to see off a friend, and he won't be back for a while."

……

……

Osaka, Osaka Port——

"Mr. Ogata, take care."

Aoto held Ogata's hand tightly.

Ogata smiled:

"Well, take care of yourself too."