I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Tokaido, Shinagawa-juku—

As the closest post town to Edo on the Tokaido, Shinagawa-juku has been influenced by the influence of Edo, a megacity with a population of one million, and its post town has developed into a sizable town.

With Ao and Sai hurrying along, they finally managed to enter the post town of Shinagawa-juku before it got completely dark.

These post towns basically rely on "tourism" to survive.

So as soon as Aoto and Saito entered the post town of Shinagawa-juku, a dozen or so figures, like cats smelling fish, immediately surrounded them, asking if they wanted to sit in their teahouse or izakaya or if they wanted some young girls.

Ignoring their advances, Qing Deng politely declined their solicitations and headed straight for the Shinagawa-juku inn.

The organization responsible for managing the post stations and providing services such as "the establishment of personnel and horses" for officials was called the "inquiry post station".

The head of the inquiries area is called the "inquiry house," and he has permanent staff such as annual postage, account payment, horse control, and human foot staff under his command.

Aoto led Saito into the Shinagawa-juku inn, where a local staff member, Hitoshi, immediately came to greet them.

Upon seeing the Edo Magistrate's inro hanging on Aoto's right waist, and the jitte with red tassels that proved his "three-time" sworn brotherhood, this man dared not slack off and quickened his pace again.

“I am Tachibana Aoto, the head of the town of Hokuban-sho, Edo.” Aoto took out the document from his pocket that proved he was an official on duty and handed it to the man. “Prepare my room, food, bath water… oh, and wash my clothes.”

Qingdeng shook the cloak he had worn earlier that day to protect himself from the blood.

"Then arrange for a swift footman to deliver my message."

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Chapter 58 The Expeditionary Force (Part 2)

After checking into the room that the magistrate had arranged for him, Aoto borrowed paper and pen from the magistrate and prepared to report the attack he had suffered that day to the Edo magistrate's office by sending a letter.

Today, he was besieged by eight "radical anti-foreigners"—Qing Deng had no reason, nor could he not, report this to the magistrate's office immediately.

After all, it would also benefit Aoto if the magistrate's office, which is currently cracking down on the "radical anti-foreign faction," could learn about these lunatics as soon as possible and in as much detail.

In the letter, he detailed exactly when and where he was attacked that day, how many people attacked him, how he fought back and killed them, and asked the magistrate for further instructions. After that, Qing Deng handed the letter to Fei Jia, who worked in the questioning area and was employed by the government, and asked him to deliver it to the Hokuban-sho in Edo as soon as possible.

[Note: Hikatsu (飛脚): A courier during the Edo period. His main services included delivering letters, money, remittances, and goods; his service area covered major cities throughout Japan.]

While Qingdeng was busy giving a report to the Northern Barbarians—

……

……

Not far from Shinagawa-juku, in a mountain forest, there is a solitary cave that can accommodate three adults walking side by side.

This cave looks ordinary, but it is actually quite extraordinary.

A dozen or so samurai with swords at their waists were scattered in various shadowy spots outside the cave, keeping watch and preventing any unauthorized persons from approaching.

At this point, if you walk all the way to the end of the not-so-long cave passage, you will see some lights.

On the rock wall at the deepest part of the cave, several oil lamps were hanging for lighting.

Under the oil lamp, there were faces with different expressions.

Deep inside the cave, a dozen or so warriors were gathered.

The dozen or so people sat on either side of the cave.

A very muscular young man sat imposingly on the head seat, overlooking the warriors seated on either side of the cave.

This young man was much taller than the average person of his time, not inferior to Saito. Standing at just over 1.8 meters tall, he was incredibly imposing compared to the other samurai in the cave, whose heights were mostly around 1.5 meters.

Of course—even more imposing was the large scar on his face.

A large, centipede-like scar stretched from the left corner of the young man's mouth to the right corner of his eye, as if it were about to tear his entire face apart.

The young man, who was sitting on a large rock, placed his hands on his knees and tapped his right kneecap rhythmically with his right index finger.

A cold, emotionless gaze fell upon a short warrior kneeling before him, his body trembling slightly.

If Saito were here now, he would surely find this short samurai familiar—this is the same short man who escaped from his blade.

"...So...Oumae-kun, are you deserting your post?"

As soon as the young man finished speaking, the dwarf, who was trembling even more violently, hurriedly said:

"Mr. Kamino! I...I...I..."

The dwarf seemed to want to defend himself, but he stammered for a long time without uttering a complete sentence, and his face gradually turned a strange dark red.

The young man, whom the dwarf called "Kano," took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.

"So... that traitor Tachibana Aoto hired himself a very skilled bodyguard...?"

"You said you surrounded Ju Qingdeng and his bodyguard from both sides. Before you deserted, did you see what happened to the other four people who were blocking Ju Qingdeng and his men?"

"I...I...I didn't notice..."

"I think so, after all, you were only focused on running away."

The dwarf lowered his head even further.

"Since Tachibana Seito has found himself a bodyguard with decent skills... I think the other four are probably doomed too."

After saying that, Kamino pursed his lips.

"That Tachibana Aoto is quite clever... he actually hired a bodyguard for himself."

"Tsk... There have been three assassination attempts against Tachibana Aoto, and all of them have failed... This traitor is really tenacious."

Jinno lowered his gaze, his eyes falling back on the dwarf who was still trembling.

"Ohmae-kun, I'm really disappointed in you."

"How can a dignified warrior desert his post in the face of battle?"

"Mr. Kamino!" the short man stammered, "That bodyguard that Tachibana Aoto hired is just too powerful! We can't beat him at all! So..."

"Can't win? So why can't you just fight and die a heroic death?"

Jinno slowly stood up.

"I have nothing more to say to you."

After saying that, Shinno pulled something from his waist and threw it in front of the dwarf.

The moment the dwarf's gaze fell upon the object that Jinno had thrown in front of him, his already pale face turned even paler than snow.

This is a short knife without a hilt.

A short sword... that every samurai would recognize, specifically used for a certain purpose...

Kamino spoke softly to the dwarf in a tone as if it were common sense:

"Omae-kun, just commit seppuku."

"Mr. Kamino!" The short man tilted his head back and shrieked in a broken voice, "Please give me another chance! I won't do it again..."

“There won’t be a next time,” Kamino said. “When our ‘Extermination Group’ was established, it was clearly stipulated that anyone who abandons their comrades and deserts during battle will commit seppuku!”

"Choose between committing seppuku with dignity like a samurai, or being hacked to death by us in a cowardly manner—the choice is yours."

Kamino's cold words were like invisible blades.

The dwarf, whose lips were beginning to turn grayish-white, looked around at himself and at his other companions sitting on either side of the cave.

Those companions who were caught in the dwarf's pleading gaze either quickly lowered their heads, pretending not to see his eyes, or kept their minds to themselves.

Or, he would meet the dwarf's gaze with the same cold indifference as Shinno.

"Ohmae-kun," Jinno's tone was clearly impatient, "decide quickly."

Kamino slowly placed his left hand on the hilt of the sword at his left waist.

"If you still consider yourself a warrior, then hurry up and cut open your belly beautifully."

Jinno's words... or more precisely, the first part of his sentence, "If you still consider yourself a samurai," seemed to possess some kind of magic, causing the dwarf to suddenly freeze.

He slowly turned his gaze, which was filled with entanglement, pain, and despair, to the short sword that Kanno had thrown in front of him.

Suddenly, a resolute and ruthless expression gradually rose on the dwarf's cheeks.

He ripped open his shirt, exposing his upper body, and then grabbed the short knife without a hilt.

"Hmph... at least you have some backbone." A hint of admiration appeared on Jinno's lips. "Since you finally stopped being so confused... I'll be your second."

Having said that, Jinno took a step to the side and stood behind the dwarf.

Seppuku (ritual suicide by disembowelment) is an extremely painful method of death.

After the abdomen is cut open, it often takes half an hour to an hour before the person dies from excessive bleeding.

To die from the extreme pain of having one's abdomen and intestines cut open, one must struggle for half an hour to an hour... very few people can endure it.

Thus, the second came into being.

The so-called "kaishakunin" is the act of someone else immediately cutting off the head of the person committing seppuku after they have cut open their abdomen, thus ending the person's suffering.

This act is called "kaishakunin" (or "second"), and the person who performs the "kaishakunin" is called "kaishakunin" (or "second").

The dwarf held the knife with both hands, pointing the tip at his left abdomen.

He straightened his back, raised his head, and tried his best to look dashing and fearless, but his short body trembled uncontrollably.

The dwarf gritted his teeth, let out a howl, and plunged the dagger into his own abdomen in one swift motion.

The dwarf's previous noble demeanor, undaunted in the face of danger, vanished instantly.

His eyes were wide open, the whites of his eyes were red, his nostrils were flared, his cheeks were flushed, and his jaw was clenched so tightly that two small mounds bulged out.

A low growl escaped from between its tightly clenched teeth.

His once straight body fell forward, his forehead pressing hard against the sandy, rocky ground, as if doing so would alleviate his pain.

"Kami...Kano...Mr..." The dwarf's voice seemed to have aged 50 years in an instant, "I...can't go on...please...give me...a second..."

Standing behind the dwarf, leaning on his sword, Kanna lowered his gaze, looking down at the dwarf who was looking up at him with pleading eyes.