He subconsciously looked up with difficulty, trying to see what was going on with Miss Kujo—no, the former member of the Shinsengumi. Under this dense rain of bullets, can the Rakshasa body still be able to withstand it?......

But, once again, he was disappointed.

Because, Miss Kujo is still standing there. Although there were indeed several more bloody spots on her clothes than before, her expression was still very calm, and she didn't even show any pain—the only thing that was unusual was probably her snow-white hair. The sunlight falling through the dense foliage in the forest cast stars on the snow-white hair, so that for a moment, the top of her hair even seemed to reflect a faint halo.

As if sensing his gaze, Miss Kujo slowly curled the corners of her lips, her gaze falling down to his face, and then to his wounded waist and legs. After seeing those injuries, she didn't show much smugness, but sighed faintly.

“...... It seems that your last wish will not be fulfilled. She said calmly.

Saigo was confused for a moment at first, and then he realized that she was referring to what he had just said about the hope of "going out of the avenue and calmly seppuku".

He couldn't help but smile bitterly, nodded, and replied with a sigh: "...... Is it. ”

Although he agreed with her, he still wanted to try to sit up and maintain a little bit of dignity and image at the last of his feet.

However, as he struggled to prop up his body a little with his uninjured arm, he felt the pain of the bullet in his waist, and the stinging pain was as sudden as if a sharp knife had suddenly swung down, cutting a long, deep wound there, and the sudden attack of this pain caused his arm to lose all strength, and his elbow bent, and he fell down again.

He fell to the ground, the ground uneven, the sand mixed with the sharp gravel that had been shattered by the bullets, grinding his skin painfully. He wheezed, his throat sounding like a tattered, old bellows.

He collapsed a few paces before her feet. He once had the land, his majesty, his ministers, and his undying ambitions, but now all that was left was the tattered leather boots stained with dust and blood on her feet.

He gasped for breath and stared at the boots, imagining how ten years ago, the man in the boots had bent his knees and fallen to his knees in the Benten Odaiba of Hakodate, with his shiny sword at his feet, bowing his head in humiliation towards the new government forces led by Sacho......

Then he heard her speak.

"Do you think you've defeated the Shinsengumi? Do you think that if you kill Mr. Kondo, the others will give in as you wish?"

Then, the boots in his field of vision moved slightly. He was amazed to see that she had bent one knee, half-crouched and half-kneeling—but only to bring her closer to him so that she could make out the expression on his face now—she was still carrying a rifle in her left hand, and her right elbow was bent over her knee, and she was staring at him so well.

"Even, you thought that the person in front of you had surrendered to Satsuma, and that would make you feel better, right?"

There was a smile in her voice.

"It's a shame that I'm not among the Shinsengumi who submitted in Bentendaiba. She unravel the mystery at a leisurely pace.

After a pause, a hint of malice rose in her voice.

“...... The deputy head of the Shinsengumi at the time—no, the director—Hijikata Toyozo, and he wasn't among those either. ”

"Because, he didn't die at all~"

Takamori Saigo: ?!

The news seemed to hit him in the nerve in an instant. A huge force that didn't know where it came from, made him prop up his body suddenly, raised his head, and glared fiercely at the pleasant smiling face of Miss Kujo in front of him.

"You say...... What?!" he gasped heavily, squeezing the words out of his throat.

"You're lying! I—Do you remember...... Hijikata is already dead in Hakodate...... Even, I didn't get there...... Bentendaiba!So...... You say he didn't submit there...... No problem—"

However, Miss Kujou shook her head slowly with a smile on her face, a look of high-minded, arrogant pity on her face. He was almost immediately sure that she had deliberately made such an irritating look!

"It's true that Mr. Hijikata is not in Bentendaiba. Because—"

She smiled suddenly, leaned forward, and lowered her voice, as if she were about to tell a huge secret.

“...... I saved him. She whispered a chuckle.

"Now, he should be here soon...... Let's take a look at Satsuma's end. This time, he's going to take the victory-"

“...... Together with the 'New Election Brigade' over there. ”

She smiled and said with a hint of exclamation, "How does this story end, Mr. Saigo?The Shinsengumi are still alive, and there is still a glimmer of fire in this world, but Satsuma, who was once so invincible, once insisted on exterminating the Shinsengumi—"

She snuffed out the last note and didn't continue.

Saigo's gaze darkened fiercely.

At this moment, strangely, he suddenly remembered some old things that he had forgotten about a long time ago.

He remembered that after Kondo's capture of Yuruyama, those feudal lords who were a bit old-fashioned and insisted on the style of a samurai—such as Satsuma Domain's Arima Tota—actually clamored that "even thieves have three points", and even agreed with Kondo's so-called "loyalty", and the former shoguns of the timid Tokugawa family all wrote back to deny Kondo's identity as a retainer of the Tokugawa family. And in order to protect Mingzhe, he also took the initiative to implore the chief to punish Kondo's sin as soon as possible, and then appealed to him on behalf of Kondo, hoping that he could open the net to pardon Kondo.

However, when he received a letter of complaint written by Arima on behalf of Kondo, how did he respond?

He said that the Tokugawa family's work made it impossible for the soldiers to vent their anger and hatred, and "I will ask Kondo to do this task."

Then, he went a step further and made it a little clearer.

His reply was, "Let Kondo bear the hatred of the soldiers who died in battle and the hatred of the soldiers who lived."

At that time, after he said it, he also put the matter behind him. Because in his opinion, both Isamu Kondo and Shinsengumi are dead. The era of the "Wolves of Mibu" roaming Kyoto and fighting bravely has passed. What will come next will be the era that Satsuma will dominate.

Ten years later, however, the phrase suddenly resurfaced in his mind. And, more and more distinct.

Now, the woman who was half-squatting in front of him had only one message to him, in the final analysis.

The hatred of the Shinsengumi and the Aizu clan back then is now back on Satsuma's body.

The hatred left behind by Kondo, who regretted his death, and the hatred that Hijikata still had, now brought by the woman in front of him, will be borne by him-

Saigo let out a long breath.

“...... Who else is nearby?" he asked abruptly.

"I don't want a Shinsengumi guy to do the wrong thing for me. ...... I don't think you want to do that, do you?"

Then, he heard her laugh softly.

"That's right. She replied, then answered his question.

"Bian Jian has already left, and said that he will bring someone to block it for you...... Probably won't be coming back. ”

"Kirino and Murata are separated from us. If you want someone else to do it for you...... I'm afraid you're going to have to hold on a little longer. ”

She uttered these words in a calm and unwavering tone, as if she were merely laying out an established fact, without any hatred or pleasure.

At that moment, Saigo suddenly learned something. That is—in her eyes, he seemed to be dead at the moment.

For a moment, Saigo wanted to laugh a little. He also wanted to question her, "Do you think that if I die, I will be gone?" Do you think that the hatred between Satsuma and Aizu will be eliminated from now on?

Then he heard her voice, and suddenly realized that he had actually spoken.

"Not really. She said.

"I'm not so naïve, believing in the principles that would only be shouted by children like 'unjust debtors' and other things that only children will cry out with gritted teeth......"

"I've been in the world for so many years...... Knowing the world of adults is definitely not that simple. Satsuma and Aizu...... The hatred between the Shinsengumi and Shinsengumi is something much deeper, and it cannot be described simply as 'different positions' or 'success or defeat'......"

"Like the Okubo-kun who is staying in Tokyo now, isn't he your old friend? Isn't he your best friend?

Saigo always felt as if he had heard some kind of mockery in the last few words, but when he barely opened his eyes to look, he only saw a calm look on the face of Miss Kujo in front of him.

But in the next second, her eyes bent slyly, revealing a childish and triumphant demeanor.

“...... However, even though he said it so sensibly, I was still very happy to see that Satsuma finally had such a day of play~" She said in a singing-like tone.

"Although this can only bring some psychological comfort to the living, and cannot bring any benefit to the deceased, but, in the final analysis, the 'comfort of the dead' is only to make the living feel better. ”

Before she could finish speaking, a loud roar suddenly came from behind them, as if they were shocked.

"This ...... What's going on?!Mr. Saigo...... Shot?!"

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October 28:

Because I have something to do on Tuesday, the next update will be on Wednesday~~

The tooth is defeated, and the calculation is wrong again......

Because I think I want to connect the end of Saigo with Kondo-san's original execution.

I swear that the next chapter or the next chapter will definitely let the deputy chief appear w

In this chapter, Saigo Takamori's final decision on Kondo-san's execution comes from the Taiga drama "Shinsengumi".

Thank you to the little angel who voted for me or irrigated the nutrient solution~

Thanks to the little angel who threw [mines]: 1 to the crane;

Thanks to the little angel who irrigated [the nutrient solution]:

Meow Meow 10 bottles;

Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!