I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Author: Shumengshi

Summary:

They traveled back to modern Japan in 1860, during the turbulent late Edo period, also known as the Bakumatsu period.

The foreign powers that had completed the Industrial Revolution used steam warships to force open Japan's doors, bringing both turmoil and opportunity to the country.

"Born with a sword, die for a sword," the pro-shogunate samurai fought to the death to defend the old era; the Meiji Restorationists shouted "Expel the barbarians" and "Open the country," vowing to establish a new era; the ruthless killers who slaughtered countless people in the name of "Heaven's Punishment," sending chills down people's spines... Everyone raised their swords high for the justice they upheld.

In this turbulent era, Tachibana Aoto, who transmigrates into the body of an ordinary policeman in Edo (present-day Tokyo), possesses a "talent copying system." Whenever he competes with someone, regardless of victory or defeat, he can copy a talent from that person.

For example, after sparring with a handsome young man named Okita Souji, Tachibana Aoto copied the talent of "swordsmanship talent amplified 50 times by ordinary people".

This is the legend of a lowly policeman who, through a series of unexpected events in this turbulent era, gathered a large group of swordsmen and established a fearsome swordsman group.

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"Swordsmen should feel fortunate that in this era where guns have replaced swords, it was 'Niou' Tachibana Aoto who led the Shinsengumi to let the sword shine with its last light and heat."

—This is how historians describe Tachibana Aoto.

Chapter 1 Ju Qingden

He had many titles, such as "Niou", "Shogunate's Sword", "Pillar of the Nation", and "Friend of France". However, before receiving so many glorious titles, he was just a nobody in the government, who was contemptuously called "Dumbass".

—Preface to Volume 1, "Qingdeng Catching Records"

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January 12, 1860 (Ansei 1), nighttime—

Edo (the ancient name for Tokyo, which is present-day Tokyo), Kitamachi Magistrate's Office —

"When we rush in, those who surrender will not be killed, and those who resist will be executed on the spot. That's all."

The deep male voice reached Qin Deng's ears.

Qin Deng looked blankly at the owner of the male voice.

The owner of that male voice was a young man who was probably around 27 years old.

This man had thick eyebrows and big eyes, a righteous look on his face, and was wearing a kimono and a hat. The wide sleeves of his kimono were tied with a thin sash, and he had two samurai swords, one long and one short, tucked into his left waist.

Where am I?

Qin Deng turned his bewildered gaze around.

He found himself in a spacious room, which was fairly well lit by candles placed throughout the room, even though it was night.

Qin Dengxian looked down at himself and saw that he was sitting on a small stool, wearing a haori with wine red as the main color. The sleeves of the haori and the kimono underneath were tied together with a thin ribbon.

Two samurai swords, one long and one short, were tucked into his left waist, while a strange-looking weapon was tucked into his right waist.

Looking at the strange weapon tucked into his right waist, a term popped into Qin Deng's mind: Jitsu.

[Note: Jitte: A type of short weapon in Japan, which can be understood as a strangely shaped iron rod. It was the standard weapon of the "police" in the Edo period, similar to a police baton.]

Qin Deng felt incredibly heavy. He reached up and touched his chest, discovering that he was wearing chainmail under his kimono.

—What exactly happened...?

Qin Deng turned his bewildered gaze around.

On either side of him sat a young man dressed similarly to him. Both had samurai swords and jitte swords tucked into their waistbands.

An ordinary-looking person with half-closed eyes, appearing to be half asleep and half awake.

The other one was handsome, with wide eyes, looking as if he was in a daze.

In front of him stood a total of twenty-odd people. Unlike Qin Deng, they did not have stools to sit on; they were all standing, holding various kinds of weapons.

Qin Deng felt he was slowly figuring out what was going on.

—Am I... in ancient Japan?

His mouth gaped open little by little in shock.

"Tachibana-kun, what's wrong? Why do you look like you've seen a ghost?"

Orange-kun—a name that feels both unfamiliar and strangely familiar.

Upon hearing someone call his name, Qin Deng immediately turned to look in the direction of the sound.

The person who called out this name was the same young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, who had just shouted, "Those who surrender will not be killed, and those who resist will be executed on the spot."

Looking at the young man, a name popped into Qin Deng's mind: Arima Hideyuki. Yoriki, the head of the Kitamachi Magistrate's Office, was his direct superior.

[Note: "Yori" was an official title in the Edo period, which can be understood as a mid-level cadre in the government.]

"We're about to storm into the 'Jin-Yi-Shu's' lair," Arima said seriously. "Let's get our spirits up."

He spoke fluent Japanese, and Qin Deng, who had never studied Japanese before, could understand what he was saying.

"I'm sorry," Qin Deng said instinctively, "I'm sorry you had to see this."

Subconsciously, Qin Deng uttered the same fluent Japanese.

Arima glanced at Qin Deng a few more times with a questioning look, then ignored Qin Deng, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes to rest.

Qin Deng was still in a state of confusion, not yet adapted to the current situation.

I took several deep breaths, trying to calm myself down.

Just as Qin Deng's emotions had calmed down a little, fragments of memories suddenly popped into his mind—

His name is Ju Qingdeng.

18 years old this year.

It was one of the fixed-town return alliances of the Kitamachi Magistrate's Office in Edo.

Kitamachi Magistrate's Office: also known as "Kitaban-sho", it can be understood as the municipal government of Edo.

Stable Town: A department specifically responsible for maintaining urban security.

Tongxin, on the other hand, is an official title, whose status is below that of Li, and refers to a low-level staff member in the government.

The so-called "Kitamachi Magistrate's Office Settlement and Return to the City" refers to the grassroots personnel responsible for urban security, which can be understood as grassroots police officers.

His mother died of illness when he was young.

His father was originally a dōshin (official in charge of the Edo government), but unfortunately died of illness six months ago. He then succeeded his father as the new dōshin of the Kitamachi Magistrate's Office.

At this very moment, he and his colleagues were preparing to storm into the lair of a bandit group that called themselves "Renyi Zhong" and wipe them out in one fell swoop.

Although this bandit group had a nice-sounding name like "Renyi Zhong" (meaning "benevolent and righteous people"), they were actually a bunch of thugs who committed arson, murder, robbery, and all sorts of evil deeds.

As early as a month ago, the government began to investigate the whereabouts of the "Renyi Clan". They finally found their hideout some time ago and then assembled troops tonight, preparing to wipe them out in one fell swoop.

Qin Deng was one of the people responsible for participating in tonight's operation.

While Qin Deng was still processing the fragments of memory that kept surfacing in his mind, the door to a room not far away was suddenly pulled open—a large, chubby man, accompanied by several waiters, entered the room through the opened door.

After the large, fat man appeared in the room, Arima suddenly opened his eyes, stood up, and bowed to him: "Lord Magistrate!"

The others in the room, like Arima, quickly stood up and bowed to the large, fat man. Qin Deng also subconsciously stood up and bowed as well.

Tadashi Usui—this is the name of the fat man. He was the town magistrate of Hokubansho, which can be understood as the mayor of Edo.

Bo Jing waved his hand, indicating that everyone should dispense with formalities.

"I'm counting on you all tonight!" Usui shouted. "According to intelligence from our informants, the traitors of the Righteous Clan are still at their stronghold..."

Usui rattled off a bunch of things, which, in essence, were meant to encourage everyone to work hard to catch the thief tonight and make the arrest operation a great success.

After this brief mobilization, Usui winked at a waiter beside him, who promptly handed him what he had been holding—bonito flakes, squid strips, kelp knots, and a jug of sake.

After receiving these items, Usui personally handed them over to Arima.

This was one of the rules of the Edo period: when organizing a large-scale arrest operation, the town magistrate would personally hand over snacks such as bonito flakes and sake to the officer in charge of the operation to boost morale.

Arima took the drinks and other items and ate them all in no time.

"Arima-kun, I wish you a triumphant return." Usui patted Arima's shoulders forcefully.

"We will risk our lives!" Arima responded loudly, then handed the bottle of sake he had just finished drinking back to Usui.

"It's time!" Arima shouted to Qin Deng and the others. "Follow me!"

Having said that, he gripped the sword at his left waist and charged out of the room.

The rest of the people in the room followed closely behind.

Still in a daze, Qin Deng could only jog along with the crowd.

They rushed out of the magistrate's office in one breath and, under the cover of night, sped towards the western suburbs of Edo.

After jogging for nearly 20 minutes, led by Arima, they finally arrived at an inconspicuous house.

At first glance, this house seems quite ordinary.

However, after an investigation by their government, it was found that this residence was the stronghold of the "Renyi Clan".

According to information provided by informants, the core members of "Renyi Zhong" will be holding a meeting in this residence tonight.

Upon arriving at the stronghold of the "Renyi Clan," Arima, the leader, drew his long sword from his waist without hesitation and then kicked open the door of the house.

"We are officers from the Edo North Garrison! We are conducting a search on official business!"

After Arima drew his sword and charged in, the others also drew their swords and rushed in en masse.

Shocked shouts and agonizing screams began to echo throughout the room. The foul stench of blood began to fill the air.

Qin Deng followed the crowd into the lair of the "Renyi Clan".

Not long after entering the hideout, Qin Deng saw a bald man frantically waving a knife, trying to break through the encirclement of his colleagues.

However, just as he broke through the encirclement, a knife suddenly slashed down from behind him, smashing his head.

The blood spurting from the bald man's wound splashed directly onto the ceiling.

The truly bloody scene shocked Qin Deng.