Chapter 224: Chapter 105: Sakurada Gate Incident! The Monsters Reveal Themselves!

When he regained consciousness, he happened to witness the scene of Ii Naosuke’s head being severed and taken away.

Their own lord was killed, and his head was taken... Such humiliation, Kohagihara Hideyoshi could never tolerate!

Driven by this surge of grief and indignation, Kohagihara Hideyoshi felt a new strength welling up within him.

With this newfound strength, Kohagihara Hideyoshi, ignoring his own injuries, stubbornly pursued Arimura Jisaburo and Hirooka Sonosuke.

His footsteps were muffled by the wind and snow.

Furthermore, Arimura Jisaburo and his companions were heavily injured and in an extremely poor state, so they completely failed to notice the pursuer behind them...

Kohagihara Hideyoshi successfully closed in on Arimura Jisaburo from behind and, without hesitation, raised his sword and slashed!

The blade struck the back of Arimura Jisaburo’s head, cutting open an extraordinarily horrifying gash.

Blood trickled incessantly from the large wound, and in the blink of an eye, it stained the entire back of Arimura Jisaburo’s clothing red.

Noticing the pursuer, Hirooka Sonosuke swiftly turned around and cut down Kohagihara Hideyoshi, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Lying on his back, Kohagihara Hideyoshi struggled a few times... then moved no more.

"Ugh...!" The intense dizziness and agony made Arimura Jisaburo feel as if his body were about to be twisted and torn apart.

After staggeringly taking a few steps forward, Arimura Jisaburo could no longer hold on and fell to the ground.

"Mr. Hirooka... I think I... can’t make it..."

"Haha..." Hirooka Sonosuke let out a few bitter laughs, "I can’t make it either... I’m about to collapse..."

Arimura Jisaburo lifted his head and found that he had fallen right at the main gate of the residence of Junior Councillor Endo Danmamori.

"I shall meet my end and uphold justice here...!"

Arimura Jisaburo, straining his body and mind, assumed a formal sitting posture.

He placed the head of Ii Naosuke beside him and pulled open his kimono, exposing his abdomen.

Hirooka Sonosuke, observing Arimura Jisaburo’s stance, grinned a few times and then wobbled forward a few more steps, reaching the main gate of the Sakai family’s mansion: "Then I... shall meet my end here..."

With that, Hirooka Sonosuke knelt on the ground, pulled open his kimono, exposing his abdomen.

Arimura Jisaburo drew the wakizashi from his left waist and pointed the tip of the sword at his left abdomen.

About to die soon—yet Arimura Jisaburo felt no fear or regret.

His face was filled with an expression of pride, and the corners of his mouth curled into a grin of pride and optimism.

We have succeeded in slaying the treacherous villain who brought disaster to the nation, Ii Naosuke!

With this traitor gone, this country can surely get back on track and thrive!

Our swords—have successfully opened a new era!

With this immense sense of pride and honor, Arimura Jisaburo stabbed the wakizashi into his left abdomen and sliced across to the right...

...

...

At the Ii family’s residence—

After sending Ii Naosuke off, Ajiuu returned to their bedroom.

In an instant, she noticed a piece of paper lying alone at a corner of Ii Naosuke’s desk.

Picking up the paper and glancing at it—was precisely the waka poem Ii Naosuke mentioned last night. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Fallen sakura petals crushed into dust... yet their fragrance fills the universe..."

Sigh...

A gentle breeze suddenly blew in from outside the window, ruffling the hair at Ajiuu’s temples.

Seeming to have sensed something, Ajiuu put down the poem in her hand and stared blankly at the sky outside the window...

"Lord Ii..."

...

...

Edo, Little Ishikawa Hoshimura Willow Street, Shiwei Hall—

The sudden snowstorm had also dampened Chokata’s enthusiasm for viewing peach blossoms.

Since it was still early and the weather was bad today, no apprentices came to practice swordsmanship at Shiwei Hall, allowing Aoto to share the spacious dojo with Chokata.

While Aoto was fully focused on sparring with Chokata in the dojo, Mr. Kondo suddenly entered the room.

"Mr. Tachibana, there’s someone claiming to be a servant from the North Guard Station looking for you; he’s waiting for you at the gate."

"A servant from the North Guard Station?" Aoto raised an eyebrow.

—A servant from the North Guard Station? Looking for me?

Aoto, filled with confusion, put down the bamboo sword in his hand and quickly headed towards the gate of Shiwei Hall.

Upon reaching the gate, Aoto met with a hurried-looking young man outside.

"Ah, Lord Tachibana!" The young man hurriedly stepped forward upon seeing Aoto, "Lord Hosoi has issued an emergency summons, requiring all Yoriki and Dōshin from Fixed Town Patrols and Temporary Patrols to immediately proceed to Sakurada Gate!"

"Sakurada Gate?" Aoto was taken aback, "What happened? Is something going on?"

"The specific details, I am unaware of..."

"I understand," Aoto nodded, "Thank you for delivering the message."

An emergency summons issued during a holiday... The only reason Aoto could think of was that something happened at Sakurada Gate.

And it must be significant...

Requiring all the Yoriki and Dōshin from Fixed Town Patrol and Temporary Patrol to head to a specific location immediately... In Aoto’s memory, such an order had never appeared before at this level...

Returning to Shiwei Hall, Aoto quickly changed his clothes, donned a hat and cloak to protect against the snow, equipped the Jitte, Seal Cage, and the Treasure Sword Demon-God Subduing that Ii Naosuke had bestowed the day before, and after informing Mr. Kondo and Chokata, hurriedly headed towards Sakurada Gate with Saito.

Running toward a junction a short distance away from Sakurada Gate, Aoto saw a large crowd of citizens gathered ahead.

They were crowded outside the cordon formed by the Magistrate’s Office and Jishinban servants, stretching their necks to keep peering beyond the line.