Shinsaku Takasugi and Gabriel were attempting to work out a major deal.
While the feudal lords were still bickering if they should make Tokugawa Yoshinobu carry out the Taisei Hokan and hold him responsible for the series of mistakes he committed before, Shinsaku Takasugi had made a decision to overthrow the shogunate in Kyoto. His main purpose was to come to Kyoto to meet up with Ōkubo Toshimichi and Saigo Nakamori and cook up a plan to overthrow the shogunate.