My personal opinion on Gensokyo

After taking another puff of his cigarette and throwing the butt on the ground, Hijikata Toshiro raised his head and roared fiercely.

"Hey! Ordinary citizen up there! The guy in your hand is my prey! If you take his life, I won't let you go!"

"understood."

Hearing Hijikata Toshiro's angry roar, Shang Yang shrugged as expected, and still spoke calmly in a calm tone.

"Then the price for me saving your life will be calculated separately. As for the arms smuggler."

As he spoke, Shang Yang once again lifted up Zang Chang Dang Ma, who was being strangled by the throat, with bulging eyes and a look of extreme pain, and spoke in an extremely cold tone.

"Goods that cannot be traded in the market are simply waste to merchants."

"Since it's waste, there's no need to keep it. Just throw it away."

As soon as he finished speaking, the terrifying young man with gray and white hair swung his hand and threw Zang Chang as a horse into the distance.

A fall from this height won't kill you. Let's see if you can escape the hunt of the Shinsengumi's deputy director.

After throwing Kuranga out like a horse, Shang Yang glanced at the anti-foreign ronin who were still surrounding Hijikata Toshiro but were extremely panicked, sighed, and reminded him slowly.

"My fellow anti-barbarian warriors, the situation is clear now. If you capture the exhausted Shinsengumi Vice Director now, I will be cautious and you will have a chance to survive. You can even use your captured Vice Director to demand a high ransom from the Shinsengumi, or even the shogunate."

Hearing the reminder from the scary young man with gray and white messy hair on the container, Hijikata Toshiro and many other Ronin were stunned at the same time, but some of the Ronin who were quick-witted reacted instantly.

"Yes, that's right! If we can capture the Shinsengumi's vice-captain, we can survive!"

"That's right! Catch him!"

"Charge! Catch him alive!"

Several small leaders of the radical anti-foreigner ronin were instantly cheered up and shouted loudly. The anti-foreigner ronin who were originally panicked became noisy again and rushed towards Hijikata Toshiro who was surrounded by them.

"hateful!"

Cursing inwardly, Hijikata Toshiro subconsciously raised his samurai sword and chopped down a madly attacking ronin. Veins bulged at the corners of his eyes and he roared angrily at the gray-haired young man standing on the container.

"You bastard! I will never let you go!"

Just as Hijikata Toshiro chopped down several crazy Ronin who surrounded him and was gritting his teeth to fight them to the death, something strange happened.

boom! ! !

A rocket landed not far ahead, where the anti-foreignation ronin were gathering. In an instant, a huge explosion swept in a group of anti-foreignation ronin and killed them.

Staring at the anti-foreignation ronin who had become panicked again, Hijikata Toshiro seized the opportunity and chopped down several more of them. Then he leaned against the container and looked at the place where the rocket had just exploded. Listening to the sound of police cars and countless noisy shouts coming from not far away, Hijikata Toshiro snorted in dissatisfaction.

Reinforcements?... Seriously, what are Kondo-san and the others doing here? If this continues, won't everyone know that Okita Sougo's sister's husband is our enemy?

"Don't worry, Mr. Hijikata."

Shang Yang, who had arrived beside Hijikata Jushiro at some point, interrupted Hijikata Jushiro's worries and gave him some advice.

"Have a little more faith in your colleagues. No one in the Shinsengumi wants to expel Okita Sougo from the Shinsengumi."

Volume 4: Edo Chronicles: Chapter 223: True Courage

"...Tsk, you must have known that Kondo-san and the others would be coming."

Glancing at the dozens of ronin who had survived the rocket explosion and were fleeing in panic because of the shouts and sirens of police cars in the distance, Hijikata Toshiro sheathed his sword, took out his lighter again, lit a cigarette, turned his head, and asked calmly.

"Then why did you instigate those guys to attack me just now?"

Hearing the question asked by Hijikata Toshiro casually, the young man with gray hair shrugged and explained slowly.

"Two reasons."

"First: If so many of those ronin had panicked and scattered before the rest of your Shinsengumi arrived, it would have been very troublesome to deal with. So, we're using you to hold them back and buy some time so that the Shinsengumi can wipe out the remaining ones."

"Second: Assaulting a shogunate law enforcement officer is illegal, but I really wanted to beat you up, so I instigated others to beat you up."

"...Are you looking for a beating?! You bastard!"

Hearing the matter-of-fact explanation from the young man with gray hair, a big crossroads suddenly appeared on Hijikata Toshiro's forehead, and his face became ferocious, as if he would draw out his sword and chop the young man with gray hair beside him at any time.

"fool."

Shang Yang, who didn't take Hijikata Toshiro's threat seriously at all, glanced at the angry deputy director speechlessly and reminded him lightly in a nonchalant tone.

"Shogunate law enforcement officers attacking ordinary citizens is a violation of shogunate law. If it were done by Shinsengumi samurai, who are direct retainers of the shogun, it would be a serious crime of disobeying the shogun's orders. What's the matter, Mr. Hijikata, you don't want to be a police officer anymore?"

"I don't think the dangerous person who could break dozens of people's necks without batting an eyelid would be an ordinary citizen."

After taking another puff of his cigarette, Hijikata Toshiro glanced at Shang Yang, who didn't care, paused, and asked calmly.

"Did you hear all those words?"

"of course."

Shang Yang turned his gaze and glanced at Hijikata Toshiro who was smoking calmly, and said slowly.

"Now it seems that the 'heartless' Mr. Hijikata is not as calm as he seems regarding the impending death of his first love."

Boom! ! !

Blades clashed.

"Shut up!"

Hijikata Toshiro, with a ferocious look on his face, instantly drew out his katana, growled like a wounded beast, and swung his sword towards Shang Yang, but Shang Yang, who had drawn his sword at the same time, blocked it with a pure white single-edged sword tied around his waist, which shone with pure white light and looked like jade.

"very good."

Shang Yang was not surprised when he drew out the Liang Yi sword in its original form with his left hand and held it against Hijikata Toshiro's blade.

"In that case, my beating you up can be considered self-defense."

As soon as he finished speaking, the young man with gray hair took advantage of the situation, clenched his palm into a fist, and punched Hijikata Jushiro, knocking him flying.

Bang!

The deputy director of the Shinsengumi flew backwards and hit the container hard.

"A samurai's sword exists to protect what it is meant to protect."

Taking two steps forward, the young man with gray and white hair pointed the tip of his sword at Hijikata Jushiro, who was leaning on his katana and struggling to get up from the ground, and asked a question indifferently.

"Then, Mr. Hijikata, you handed your beloved lover, whom you should have protected for the rest of your life, over to someone else, ultimately leading to the disastrous consequences of today."

"Hijikata-sama, do you hear the mournful cry of your sword?"

"whispering sound……"

With an unhappy tut, Hijikata Jushiro did not answer, nor did he pay attention to the sharp sword tip pointed at him. He just took out another cigarette, lit it with a lighter, and took a deep puff.

"Give up Miss Mitsuha, let her marry an ordinary man and live an ordinary life. If that's all, will you be satisfied?"

He casually put the Liangyi Sword back into its scabbard. The usually easy-going young man showed a rare expression of indifference and sarcasm, and spoke leisurely.

"Mr. Hijikata, you are so arrogant. Miss Mitsuha should decide what kind of life she wants to live, not for you to decide for her. You have been avoiding this relationship, so you are not qualified to decide her life."

"Even if Lord Hijikata is an emotional idiot, you can see that the figure of the man named Hijikata Jushiro has taken deep root in the heart of Miss Okita Mitsuha. If she hadn't lived with a fool like you, how could Miss Mitsuha grasp true happiness?"

Looking at Hijikata Jushiro who was still smoking silently, Shang Yang sighed and continued to persuade him slowly in a leisurely tone.

"...Mr. Hijikata, I understand your perspective."

"A long time ago, I was just like you."

Looking up at the night sky, there was not a single star in the sky, only dense rain clouds. The rain kept falling. Whether it was Shang Yang who was standing or Hijikata Toshiro who was still sitting on the ground smoking, their clothes had already been soaked by the heavy rain.

Although no stars could be seen, in Shang Yang's eyes, the night filled with rain clouds had transformed into a magnificent starry sky.

That was the brilliant starry sky that the young man with gray hair had gazed at hundreds of years ago.

"It was a long time ago when I first met her. From the very beginning, she and I were from different worlds. In the beginning, I also thought that it would be enough for me to protect her and let her live her life in her own world, happier than anyone else."

"In the past, I had difficulty protecting myself in my own world. The future is full of unknowns, and I don't have the confidence that I can protect her in my own world."

"However, thanks to a reminder from an important person, I realized that such arrogant thoughts were nothing but self-satisfaction."

Having said that, Shang Yang turned his head and looked at Hijikata Toshiro who was still smoking silently, shook his head, and continued slowly.

"Mr. Hijikata, the only omission in your wish is that you don't take into account the wishes of your beloved lover."

"It seems that you consider Miss Mitsuha in everything, but you have never listened to Miss Mitsuha's wishes once."

"Miss Mitsuha's greatest wish in this life is to change her name to 'Hijikata Mitsuha' and live with you."

"However, you avoided this feeling."

"In this long yet short life, people can only strive to pursue their dreams and be with their beloved ones. However, people's lives are like unpredictable rivers; people never know what unexpected events will happen in the next moment."

"Beautiful flowers will wither in the wind and rain, and beloved lovers will pass away in accidents. This is the impermanence of life."

"Mr. Hijikata, Miss Mitsuha is actually braver than you think. Long ago, when you were still living in the remote countryside, when she confessed her love to you, she must have realized something. The man she loves is a man who is always in danger and fighting."

"She had long been prepared for the fact that Hijikata Jushiro might die at any time, but she still chose to confess to you."

"This is a courage even braver than yours, and it is also the 'fragile strength' that only women possess."

He grabbed Hijikata Toshiro's collar and lifted up the deputy director of the Shinsengumi. The young man with gray and white hair spoke in a calm tone.

"Mr. Hijikata, the woman lying on the dying bed is the one you love most and the one who loves you most. The person she wants to see most right now is a man named Hijikata Jushiro, who cruelly abandoned her in the past."

"In her final moments, the one who was able to bring the final happiness to the woman named Okita Mitsuha was a man named Hijikata Jushiro."

"Now, answer me, Mr. Hijikata, the Vice-Commander of the Shinsengumi, who is destined to spend his life in battle."

"Do you want to save her?"

Volume 4, Edo Chronicles: Chapter 224: Don't Be Indecisive

"...Tsk, what's the point of saying this now?"

After a moment of silence, Hijikata Toshiro threw the cigarette butt in his mouth to the ground, stood up, raised his foot and stomped the cigarette butt out, put his hands in his trouser pockets, suppressing the unbearable emotions.

"If it's something I can protect with my sword, I can do it no matter what."

"But, her current situation is beyond the reach of my sword. All I can do is vent my anger in vain. It won't help."

The man suppressed his surging emotions and said these words lightly. Then, the deputy director of the Shinsengumi propped up his tired body, tightly grasped his samurai sword, and walked towards the direction where Shangyang had thrown Zangba Tunduma just now, step by step, without looking back.

…But even if it doesn’t help, there’s only one guy I can’t let go of, no matter what.

Looking at Hijikata Toshiro, who was holding the blood-stained samurai sword tightly and disappearing in the misty rain, the young man with gray hair who remained in the same place shrugged his shoulders, turned around and disappeared in the rain as well.

At the port exit not far from the port, a black car that had been quietly parked at the intersection turned on its bright headlights and rushed out at high speed in the heavy rain.

Leaning against the car, Zang Chang Dang Ma covered his right shoulder which was bleeding profusely, gasping for breath.

Falling from such a height on the container would not cost him his life. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the arms smuggler, who wanted to escape at all costs, quickly escaped to the car he had arranged in advance to quickly escape from the port in case of emergency.

The arms smugglers carefully arranged several such vehicles in advance and parked them at various exits not far from the port to ensure that if any accidents occurred, the arms smugglers could escape from the port as quickly as possible.

"Heh... What a mistake! Is it really impossible to join forces with those savage monkeys?"

Kurama let out a long breath, regaining some composure, and muttered to himself.

Thinking of the anti-foreign ronin whose larynx and cervical vertebrae were crushed by the terrifying and unknown merchant owner just now, Kurangba Touma felt extremely frightened. He immediately thought of something and ordered the driver.

"...Drive to the hospital. Even though that woman is barely breathing, if we use her as a hostage, we might be able to escape this planet."

……puff!!!

"Uhhhhh!"

Before Kurama Touma could finish his order, suddenly, a samurai sword pierced through the roof of the car and accurately hit Kurama Touma's intact left shoulder.

Enduring great pain and extreme fear, Zang Chang Dang Ma looked up at the roof of the car, his tone full of resentment.

"You, you wild monkey!"

Half-kneeling on the roof of the car, Hijikata Toshiro smiled grimly when he heard the screams and curses coming from inside the car.

Zang Chang Touma, who was barely holding on, panicked and ordered the stunned bodyguards beside him.

"Quick, get him down! What are you still waiting for?! Quickly shoot him to death!"

Hearing this, the bodyguard gritted his teeth, leaned out of the car window, holding a pistol, and was about to shoot Hijikata Toshiro who was half-kneeling on the roof of the car.

Before the bodyguard could fire, a hand suddenly grabbed the bodyguard's hair, pulled the panicked bodyguard out of the car, and threw him from the speeding car to the side of the road.

Seeing this sudden situation, Hijikata Toshiro couldn't help but look towards the speeding car and was stunned.