Not Everything Can Be Decisively Decided!

Shinsengumi, in front of Ito's house.

It was dusk. Yamazaki was hiding in a corner, eavesdropping on the conversation between Ito and his subordinates. This was what Toshiro had secretly told Yamazaki before he was forced to leave Shinsengumi.

After hearing Ito say, "Assassinate Kondo Isao! Make Shinsengumi my own!" Afterward, Yamazaki, who was hiding at the side, was shocked. 'That man is indeed as the deputy chief said! No, I have to tell the deputy chief and chief! If I don't hurry up...'

At this moment, Ito looked at the corner where Yamazaki was hiding and revealed an incomparably bloody smile... At the same time, Yamazaki also felt a chill behind his back. Before he could turn around to look, he was slashed down from behind by a sword! However, due to his quick reaction, Yamazaki quickly rolled to the side to avoid fatal injuries.

This sword hit Yamazaki's arm. Looking at the crowd of strangers gathered around him, Yamazaki did not have time to think. He turned around and ran toward the wall. He gritted his teeth and jumped hard out of the wall.

...

"Those strangers are definitely rebels!" Yamazaki covered the injured part and ran into the forest, "I didn't expect that Ito would actually join hands with those people! I have to tell the deputy chief quickly..."

Before Yamazaki could finish speaking, a figure suddenly flashed out from the side and arrived in front of Yamazaki. Without any explanation, he stabbed Yamazaki's chest.

"You... you are..." Yamazaki spat out a large mouthful of blood. Then, he looked at the person and muttered, "Kiheitai... Manslayer... Kawakami Bansai..."

Bansai did not answer. After pulling out his sword, he slowly walked to the side while Yamazaki fell to the ground.

Hearing the footsteps behind him, Yamazaki struggled to turn his head to look at the person. He gritted his teeth and said, "Ito, you bastard! Have you joined forces with the enemy?!"

"Yamazaki, if you are an idiot who only knows how to swing your sword, the world will not change." Ito, who came behind Yamazaki, pushed up the glasses on his face and said, "We must be smarter. No matter how you swing your sword, evil will never be extinct. To put it bluntly, if there is no crime, there is no need for us police to exist. "We" should communicate more as partners to maintain the greatest interests of both sides."

"It is impossible for Shinsengumi to become stronger with the way your boss does it. Therefore, let Shinsengumi be reborn in my hands. Stronger... even more powerful... This way, I, Kamotaro Ito, will become the ark to guide the world!"

"Do what you want!" Yamazaki struggled to crawl forward bit by bit, "If you want to do it, do it... But let me say this... We may be uneducated and... Uh... can't tell how skilled you are... But no one will follow an empty vessel with no bushido or principles... I will follow them...until the end..."

Looking at the long blood trail Yamazaki dragged on the ground, Ito pushed his glasses again and chuckled twice, "Hehe, before you died, you wanted to report to them. Is that your bushido as a spy?"

As he spoke, Ito directly turned around and led his subordinates away. He said lightly, "Bansai-dono, I'll leave the rest to you."

After hearing this, Bansai turned around and slowly followed in the direction Yamazaki had moved.

After a pause, Ito's voice which was a few degrees higher, came again, but this time, it should be directed to Yamazaki.

"I will give you the honor of fighting to the death with the Jouishishi member. Aren't you glad? You can maintain that bushido you love so much. I'll be sure to tell your superior that... No... I suppose there's no need for that. They'll be headed to where you're going soon enough... Hahahaha..."

Listening to Ito's voice getting further and further away, as well as the footsteps of Bansai, who was gradually approaching behind him, Yamazaki finally reached his limit...

Yamazaki turned around and looked at Bansai, who was raising his sword toward him. He made up his mind and closed his eyes, ready to meet his death, 'I can't accept this! To die without getting rid of my virginity! I really can't accept this!!'

However, after half a minute.

Yamazaki did not feel any pain. Finally, he could not help but open his eyes to take a look. He saw Bansai wipe the blade with his clothes and put it away.

"My mood has changed, and I want to listen to your song again." After saying that, Bansai turned around and left, "Live on, I'm looking forward to... the day when I hear the song's sequel..."

...

In the evening, Yoshiwara.

Kawaki leaned against the window of Tsukuyo's room and looked up at the bright moon in the night sky.

"It seems that it has already begun," Takasugi's playful voice came from behind Kawaki, "The night when the blood-colored flowers bloom."

"Takaji..." Kawaki muttered without turning his head, "The next time we meet... we might be enemies."

"Have you finally made up your mind?" Takasugi leaned against the door and asked softly.

"I don't know, but..." Kawaki replied, "I am indeed not suitable for preaching. The person who is suitable to preach to us is long gone... I know that no matter how much I imitate that person, I am not qualified to preach to you."

"If, if your heart really only wants to destroy this world, then before that, I will stop you. If that person is still alive, he will definitely do the same."

"Hehehehe..." Takasugi laughed, "I see; that's really something to look forward to..."

"But... if you still have the soul of that innocent evil brat named "Takasugi Shinsuke", I will never give up on finding him..." Kawaki turned around and looked straight into Takasugi's eyes, "Indeed, neither you nor I can save everyone, but if we keep hesitating, we can't save anyone. Once upon a time, I was just as confused as you, but... now I am different from you... And you are still confused. In your confusion, you chose another path: to destroy everything..."

"Who are you speaking for?"

"For me," Kawaki replied.

Hearing this, Takasugi did not say anything else. Instead, he turned around and left.

"Don't deny it. In this world, the only one who understands you the most is me... You can only kill me if you want to cut everything off." Kawaki continued, "If you have the determination, then make your move. Similarly, I will make my move mercilessly in front of the determined you. This is our... no, the only thing I can do."

Kawaki did not receive any response, only the footsteps of Takasugi walking further and further away.

"Really, some things are really hard to make up your mind..." Kawaki laughed at himself and then turned to look out the window again.

Tsukuyo, who had been staying on the roof all this time, has never spoken.

...

On the other side, Kondo, on the train, was assassinated by Ito, who was traveling with him. Other than Sogo, the rest of the Shinsengumi members on the train were all from Ito's group.

However, after Sogo's effort and the Yorozuya trio who had accepted Toshiro's commission, as well as Toshiro who had regained himself, in the end, Ito failed.

Finally, with the help of Shinsengumi and the others, Ito finally woke up. He understood that what he needed was a companion. The companion he needed had always been by his side, but he had never realized it. Finally, when the sun rose, Toshiro challenged him. In the end, Ito died like a Samurai.

And Gintoki also fought with Bansai. After both received many scars, Bansai decisively retreated after he lost...

...

The next day, late at night.

Bansai, covered in wounds, came to Kawaki's room(which should now be called Takasugi's room).

"So that's how it is. Ito died, but Shinsengumi survived." Takasugi sat at the window with his head lowered and his eyes closed while Bansai gently flicked the shamisen in his hand, "I'm really surprised. It turns out that Bakufu is still so solid... No, Ito is too weak..."

"Or..." Takasugi opened his eyes as he spoke and looked at Bansai, sitting in the room playing the lute, "Bansai, are you too weak?"

"The original goal this time was to shift Shinsengumi's line of sight from the Bakufu. Since Harusame had successfully sneaked in, the secret treaty with the Bakufu could be reached, and there was no need to continue fighting." Bansai said without raising his head, "The purpose of containment has been achieved."

"I remember that I asked you to destroy Shinsengumi, right?"

"Everything still depends on the beat and rhythm. As long as you can master the beat and rhythm, everything will be smooth sailing." Bansai replied unhurriedly, "If you can't keep up with the rhythm, you will retreat. This is my working style."

"Bansai, can't you and I sing together?" Takasugi asked thoughtfully.

After a long silence, Bansai said, "The White Yaksha said that the things he wants to protect have never changed. Shinsuke, do you know what he is referring to? I'm fascinated by his song. I have indeed lost..."

Takasugi did not say anything...

"By the way, what about you, Shinsuke?" Bansai seemed to have suddenly thought of something, "Have you found the answer you want to know after meeting that person?"

"It's no longer important," Takasugi replied.

However, at this moment, Kawaki directly kicked open the door and rushed in. He then shouts at Takasugi and Bansai, "Can't the two of you be a little more self-conscious of being a guest?! Can't you see what time it is?! You kept playing that broken lute; it's so noisy, bastards! Believe it or not, I'll throw the two of you out, bastard! "

"Ah, I'm really sorry, Kawaki-dono." Bansai put down the lute in his hand and stood up. He looked at Kawaki and nodded slightly to express his apology.

"It's only been a day since we last met, but you have become like this." Kawaki asked Bansai with a sigh, "Could it be that you, like Zura, secretly entered the lion's territory in the zoo to observe the meatball up close?"

"Although the one I met was not a lion, it was a beast that was even more powerful than a lion." Bansai chuckled.

"I see..." Kawaki nodded, then patted Bansai on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Next time, don't go to such a dangerous place. When you go to the zoo, just stand outside the cage and watch from afar. Otherwise, you might not be so lucky next time. You might be directly eaten, hahaha..."

After saying that, Kawaki turned around, yawned, and waved his hand, "Remember, don't play anymore. After playing the game for a day, I also need to have a good rest now..."

After that, Kawaki left directly.

After Kawaki left, Bansai wiped the sweat off his face and muttered to himself, "Was what Kawaki-dono said just now a warning? What a terrifying aura..."

"Have you really... made up your mind? Kawaki..." Takasugi murmured...

...

The next day, Takasugi and Bansai left Yoshiwara.

It was worth mentioning that after Takasugi left, everything in Kawaki's room was thrown out. All the furniture, including the floor, was replaced with new ones.

Even Kawaki was not clear about the cause of this matter...

Just as Takasugi left, Gintoki, wrapped up like a mummy, came to Yoshiwara...

...

"Takasugi... has he been here before?" In Kawaki's room, Gintoki lay on the floor and asked without beating around the bush.

"Yes." Kawaki, who was constantly operating the game controller, replied without looking back, "Why are you asking this? Do you want to hold an old friend meeting with me? Sure, but it's best if you don't call me along. I just had a conflict with Takaji..."

"Is that so..." Gintoki murmured, "Have you made up your mind, Kawaki?"

Kawaki's hand paused for a moment, but then he focused all his attention on the game.

"Tell me, where are you looking at now?" Gintoki sat up and asked seriously.

Hearing this, Kawaki couldn't help but laugh. Then he put down the game controller and turned to look at Gintoki with a smile, "By the way, have you three already reconciled? Why do you ask the same questions?"

"Don't play dumb! Answer me!" Gintoki shouted.

Laughing, Kawaki pointed to his eyes and then pointed to the floor in front of him and in front of him, "All I see is my feet and front."

(This chapter is over.)