The weather is very good today.

The rising sun rises in the east, and thousands of rays of light stream out from the peaks of the distant mountains.

The golden-red dawn unveiled the last black veil of the night, dyeing the sky red and illuminating the earth.

The red clouds in the sky to the east are brilliant, with soft clouds scattered among them. Under the blue sky, on the vast temple land, the Shinsengumi team members are not neatly formed, but they are not out of order.

square array.

Deputy Chief Hijikata Toshizo, Director Isamu Kondo, Chief Keisuke Yamanan, and Staff Officer Hachiro Kiyokawa—the four of them stood at the forefront of the phalanx.

Immediately following are the 10 captains of the Ba Dao Team, who are lined up in order from 1 to 10.

"Haah...it's so cold..."

The Souji put his hands to his lips and took a breath, and the puff of air covered her pretty face.

Nagakura Shinpachi turned around and looked at Souji who had just returned from Aomori:

"Okita-kun, how's it going with Mr. Tachibana?"

The Director-General replied:

"He just put on his armor. That armor suits him very well. It's very powerful!"

"Is he nervous?"

"Nagakura-kun, for Tachibana-kun, today's mobilization ceremony is just a trivial scene. How could he be nervous?"

Nagakura Shinpachi laughed dumbly.

"Yeah, that's right."

"After all, Mr. Tachibana worked his way up from the bottom one step at a time."

"I have caught thieves, fought in battles, and even sat high in the temple."

"For him, such a scene is really not worth mentioning."

Speaking of this, Nagakura Shinpachi let out a long breath, with an expression filled with emotion.

"It's funny to say that I am the one who feels very nervous right now..."

"I didn't expect that I, a low-level samurai who came out of a remote village, would one day be able to stand upright with a sword."

Nagakura Shinpachi was born in the Matsumae Domain.

The Matsumae Domain is located on the Oshima Island of Ezo (modern-day Hokkaido), bordering the territory of Ezo (modern-day Ainu).

In the worldview of the people of the Edo period, the Ou region north of Kanto was a desolate and barren land - and this was indeed the case.

Because of its high latitude, the climate conditions in the Ou area are far from ideal.

In addition, its topography is also mediocre. It is a veritable mountain country with few plains and very little arable land.

There is no fertile land and no good harbor. The only thing worthy of praise is the geothermal resources - hot springs.

Even the Ou area is like this, let alone the Matsumae Clan, which is further north and even separated by the Tsugaru Strait.

The Matsumae Domain in the eyes of the Japanese is similar to the Great Wall in the eyes of the Chinese - a bitter cold place within a bitter cold place.

"Hahaha, Nagakura-kun, if you are nervous...I won't give in too much."

Souji raised his right arm and showed her palm to Nagakura Shinpachi - it was trembling slightly.

"This is the first time for me to stand in a venue where everyone is watching... I feel so nervous..."

As she spoke, she turned her eyes and scanned her surroundings.

The Shinsengumi's expedition ceremony - how could the people of Edo, who had nothing to do but were depressed due to the turmoil of the current situation, not come to join in the fun and have some fun?

The chirping voices and the tinny footsteps can be heard all the time.

Because in a while, the top officials of the shogunate headed by Tokugawa Iemo and Tenjoin Atsuhime will come here.

Therefore, in order to ensure the safety of the venue, the people who came to watch were isolated to far away places.

Even though the commander-in-chief has excellent eyesight, he can only see rows of moving heads in the distance.

"Humph, it's just child's play."

Abruptly, Captain Serizawa Kamo, the captain of the Fourth Squadron, took out the iron fan he carried around his waist, and while using the fan as a hammer, he beat his shoulders and continued:

"This army is simply child's play."

He squinted his eyes and looked at Isamu Kondo and Toshizo Hijikata standing in front of him, his eyes full of disdain.

“A ‘original farmer’ and a ‘current farmer’.”

He turned his head and glanced disdainfully at Sanako and Kinoshita Mai on the left.

"There are two women... Humph! How can such an army fight with an army of peasants and women? It's ridiculous, it's really ridiculous."

He did not lower his voice specially, but expressed his "high opinions" at a normal volume.

Because Kondo Isamu and others were standing very close to the front, they did not hear Serizawa Kamo's words.

Fortunately, Hijikata Suisan didn't hear it.

With his "wicked boy of thorns" bad temper, if he heard someone say such rude words, he would definitely come to him to settle the score.

However, it would not be a big deal even if Toshizo Hijikata didn't hear it.

Because someone has already come to help him find his place.

"Hey, kid, speak more clearly, or I'll kill you."

Having said that, Saitoichi - because he was the captain of the third team, so he stood on the right hand side of Serizawa Kame - moved half a step to the right, leaving enough space to create the most suitable distance for fighting, and then stretched out his hand to hold his right hand.

Ikeda Kijinmaru Kunishige who lives in Sheshu around the waist.

Among the newly selected members, Saito Kazuchi has the richest life experience.

To put it in modern terms... Saito Kazuichi is the person with the most social experience in the Shinsengumi, besides Aoto and Hijikata Tozo.

He rarely mentions his past to outsiders.

But since he was 16 years old... or earlier, he came out to join the society and earned money by working as a bodyguard, as well as his sharp knife skills when killing people... it can be imagined that he

He used to be such a hard-core ruthless person.

Rich experience, a taciturn and indifferent expression, and a capable style that can kill with one sword but never swing a second sword... This cold appearance often makes people forget: he is one of the youngest people in the Shinseng group.

, he is only 19 years old this year.

Facing Saitoichi's verbal warning and sharp gaze, Serizawa Kamo showed no fear.

He turned sideways and faced Saito Ichi directly. He continued to hold the iron fan in his left hand and raised his right hand to press the knife.

"Ah? Come here, Yakuza."

Click - Saito drew the knife without hesitation.

Just when he pulled out the tenon of the knife, a strong hand came out from the slant and held down his left wrist holding the knife.

At the same time, the captain of the fifth division, Niimi Nishiki, also stretched out his hand to restrain Serizawa Kamo.

"Saito-kun, Mr. Tachibana, Mr. Dashu is coming soon, put your sword away quickly."

Nagakura Shinpachi said solemnly.

"Brother Serizawa, calm down. Fighting in this situation is no joke."

On the other side, Niimi Nishiki was also comforting Serizawa Kamo.

Captain of the Sixth Squadron, Genzaburo Inoue, noticed the movement here and hurriedly said:

"Oh, don't quarrel."

"..."

Saitoichi was silent for a moment, and then - with a click - he put the knife back into its sheath.

Immediately afterwards, Serizawa Kamo also lowered his hand holding the knife.

Although it is not possible to carry out "physical criticism" here and now, it is not a problem to treat others with their own methods.

When it comes to verbal warfare, the Chief Secretary is not inferior to anyone else.

She clasped her hands behind her back and sneered, "Humph."

"You obviously look down on farmers and women, but your current status is no higher than theirs - you are not even as good as those two farmers, and you don't know who the person should be ashamed of?"

Hearing this, Serizawa Kamo immediately widened his eyes and glared at the Souji.

However, the other party didn't take it seriously at all. He didn't even look at him and continued to look straight ahead.

"What? Are you not convinced? If you are not convinced, just draw the sword. I can knock you down in five rounds for a guy like you. Do you want to give it a try?"

As soon as Souji finished speaking, before Serizawa Kamo had time to react, Shinami Nishiki grabbed his shoulder tightly.

He didn't say much, just whispered in a sincere tone:

"Brother Serizawa..."
To be continued...