Chapter 228: Chapter 106: Blonde Loli Comes Knocking [7200]_3

At that moment, the man with the big nose let out a bizarre qi union shout and fiercely swung the sword in his hand backward, slashing toward Aoto.

With such untrained swordsmanship and an astonishingly slow sword speed, how could he possibly escape Aoto’s "Eagle Eye"?

With a swift glance, after seeing clearly the trajectory of the slash, Aoto swiftly drew his sword, pulling out the Ghost-Slaying from his waist, and struck upward from below, directly knocking the big-nosed man’s tachi away.

In the next instant, Aoto freed his left hand and used the move he’s been fond of recently—grabbing the big nose’s right hand firmly with his left hand to prevent him from drawing another weapon with his dominant hand, then twisting his body to throw him over his shoulder to the ground.

When the big-nosed man regained his senses after being thrown, the servants of the Jishinban had already pounced on him like a fierce tiger descending the mountain...

... 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

...

"Dōshin-sama! Thank you so very much!"

The fabric shop owner, whose money had just been stolen, was holding the money taken back from the big nose and his group, bowing repeatedly to Aoto with a gratitude-filled face almost on the verge of tears.

The shop owner’s daughter also followed her father, bowing continuously to express her gratitude to Aoto.

Aoto, not particularly adept at handling such situations, could only offer self-deprecating words while urging the shop owner and his daughter to stand upright.

Seeing the shop owner and his daughter, relieved and almost moved to tears after the ordeal, Aoto felt deeply moved.

The fabric shop owner was also very lucky—Aoto happened to be patrolling nearby just then.

He had just received a report from the Jishinban in Mukiura Town: An official spotted four habitual criminals, who roamed around extorting with the "The rise and fall of the nation depends on every man" slogan, appeared in Mukiura Town.

Upon receiving this tip-off, Aoto immediately led Saito and the Jishinban servants, fully equipped, and rushed to where the four habitual criminals were spotted, catching them just in time before they could escape after robbing the money.

Ii Naosuke was assassinated outside the Sakurada Gate—this undoubtedly shocking event occurred more than half a month ago.

Even though it has only been half a month, a great many things have happened during this time.

Japan has a habit of changing the era name to ward off bad luck whenever something undesirable happens.

Just yesterday, exactly half a month after the assassination of Ii Naosuke, the Kyoto Court, on the proposal of the Edo Shogunate, changed the era name.

The era name was changed from "Year 7 of Ansei" to the current "Man’en 1".

The assassination of the Tairō... With such a heinous event occurring, the Shogunate certainly wouldn’t rest.

The Shogunate immediately organized a "Special Task Force" made up of trusted members to apprehend all the fugitives involved in the "Sakurada Gate Incident".

Unqualified to participate in this politically significant and must-succeed capture operation, Aoto and his fellow "Capital Police" have been responsible for maintaining the security of Edo during this time.

The assassination of Ii Naosuke... This incident greatly boosted the morale of the "Anti-foreigner Faction".

In the eyes of the "Anti-foreigner Faction," the vassals of the Mito Domain who managed to kill the persistent "open country" advocate Ii Naosuke were practically heroes.

See! The vassals of the Mito Domain were so courageous, daring to kill even the Tairō, so how could we remain cowardly?

The soaring morale of the "Anti-foreigner Faction" instantly deteriorated the security situation in Edo... No, nationwide...

A large number of "Anti-foreigner Warriors" emerged like mushrooms after rain.

They insulted or directly killed those they deemed "national traitors," coercing wealthy families to hand over military funds needed for "saving the nation and expelling the barbarians"...

This suddenly intensified anti-foreigner fervor also drove quite a few ruffians to imitate them; these ruffians disguised themselves as "Anti-foreigner Warriors," emulating their conduct, extorting money everywhere, and even forcibly seizing women under the pretense that "sacrificing for the anti-foreigner cause is your honor."

The number of cases related to "Anti-foreigner Warriors" has surged sharply in just this half month.

To reverse the deteriorating security situation in Edo, the Shogunate had to issue two directives to the Edo Magistrate’s Office.

The first directive: The "Monthly Turnover" system is temporarily suspended.

This means the South and North Governor’s Office will no longer take turns managing Edo each month. All officials from the two offices must remain on duty until Edo’s security situation is restored.

Due to this order, the officials from the South Division, who were supposed to enjoy a paid leave in March, had to reluctantly put on their Seal Cage and return to the government office.

The second directive: By any means necessary, suppress all criminals acting under the "Anti-foreigner" banner within Edo City!

Faced with this stern directive from the Shogunate, the South and North Governor’s Office had to divide the "Three Times" into two groups.

One group is responsible for handling cases unrelated to the "Anti-foreigner Warriors."

The other group is specifically tasked with quelling the surging anti-foreigner sentiment.

Aoto was assigned to the latter group.

During this time, Aoto’s daily task has been to patrol the streets of Edo, capturing the so-called "Anti-foreigner Warriors" causing trouble everywhere.

His achievements have been outstanding, especially with the capture of the big nose and his group just now, making it four groups of "Anti-foreigner Warriors" that have fallen into Aoto’s hands in just over half a month.

His colleagues who are also responsible for combating the "Anti-foreigner Warriors" have achieved remarkable results as well—but despite their current efforts to crack down on these madmen, there are still no signs of this rampant "anti-foreigner fervor" abating...