On Kagoshima in March, there is a lot of rain.

The rain kept falling like a hole in the sky. Sometimes it was drizzling, sometimes it was pouring down, and the land on the hillside was soaked with rainwater, and it became wet and loose, and there was mud everywhere, and after a few steps, you would slip and fall.

If you try to reach out and grab the tree next to you when you fall, the result may be worse - a man did this a few days ago, but the roots of the little tree were full of water, and the soil was much softer than the rain of the past few days, and the fellow from the old Satsuma clan was wide and fat, and in a hurry he pulled the little tree, and as a result, he lost his center of gravity and pulled it up with the roots, and rolled down the hill with the tree.

This non-combat attrition method made the commander and commander-in-chief of Brigade No. 4 on Satsuma's side, Kirino Toshiaki, even more upset and irritable.

This is Taharazaka, east of Takase, and it is a mountainous area with steep roads and cliffs on both sides. Since the beginning of the army, the Satsuma army, which had been fighting in a bad way, had aimed at Kumamoto Castle, but it had not been able to capture it for a long time, and the advantage of attacking first was exhausted. Initially a little caught off guard, the government forces quickly reacted, reorganized the Levy Corps, and upon arrival in Takase they engaged in a fierce battle with Satsuma's army, which ended in Satsuma's defeat.

As a result, the Satsuma army retreated all the way to Taharasaka, and seeing that the terrain was easy to defend and difficult to attack, they finally regained their strength, held the hillside, and prepared to fight the government army to the death here.

However, the continuous rain came to disturb the situation, and in this weather, not only was the visibility very poor, the mountain roads were muddy and difficult to walk, but even the rifles and artillery used by both sides, and the gunpowder was almost damp to the point that most of them could not be used.

It seems that the armies of both sides are stuck in a huge quagmire. In the rain, both sides were fired lavishly and willfully, as if guns and bullets were not for money, and bullets rained down on the slopes of Taharasaka.

Kirino Toshiaki angrily walked around in circles in one of his dilapidated houses as Honjin, with a map spread out on the table in front of him. There is a bunch of small flags on the map, blue and red flags almost intertwined.

Suddenly, he stopped anxiously, turned his head and shouted outside, "Go and call that kid from Kujou!"

Someone outside quickly answered, and after a while, a quick footstep sounded.

In contrast to the annoying, unending spring rain, the footsteps sounded rhythmic and gave the impression of agility and calmness, and the footsteps soon stopped in front of the door, followed by a polite knock on the door.

Toshiaki Kirino said impatiently, "Come in," and the door was gently opened.

It was a teenager-like man who came in. He stood by the door and closed it softly with his backhand. Without Kirino Toshiaki's call, he stayed by the door for the time being, standing there straight, standing with his back light, his face not very clear.

Toshiaki Kirino didn't seem to mean to call him to his side immediately. He was still standing at the table, staring at the spread map with a look of irritation on his face, and after a moment he suddenly spoke:

"Those...... The guys sent by Okubo, have you been spying on anything?"

The boy didn't answer immediately, but lowered his head and chuckled softly.

This laugh seemed to make Kirino Toshiaki's anger even more high, and he turned his head in displeasure and stared sternly at the boy standing by the door.

"What's so funny about that?!What do you think?!"

The boy calmly raised his head and looked at Toshiaki Kirino. Outside the house, it was raining heavily and the sky was dark. The house had to be lit early. Under the beating of the candle flame, his handsome face, which was almost indistinguishable, also looked a little deep and unfathomable.

"Where. I just suddenly had some wonderful associations—" He dragged out his final note slightly, and his tone was meaningful.

"You always seem to have an opponent with the surname 'Okubo' - now, it's Okubo-sama. In the past, there was a great opponent called 'Okubo Yamato', right?"

Kirino Toshiaki was stunned. "Okubo Yamato ?!......"

He thought for a moment before realizing who the boy was referring to. The person to whom the name refers has long since disappeared in the tide of the times for ten years, but the headache and anger that that person brought to him at that time did not seem to disappear at all, and the moment he realized who that person's name was, it all returned to his mind.

Toshiaki Kirino frowned unhappily, feeling that this young man was indeed as annoying as the family he came from. But now, as the war progressed, Satsuma's talent became less and less than one day, and although the boy was disgusting, his dazzling abilities were more than enough to offset much of this disgust.

So he coughed and replied in a stiff tone, "...... Isamu Kondo: What are you mentioning him? Didn't you spy on any news to prevaricate with the names of these news that have been outdated for ten years?"

He said it very politely, but fortunately the young man seemed to have seen his bad temper and did not mind much, and replied with a smile:

"No, it was because I got some news related to Isamu Kondo that I specifically mentioned him. ”

Kirino Toshiaki froze for a moment.

“...... What's the news?" he asked rhetorically, looking ugly.

The boy seemed to curl the corners of his lips slightly in the shadow by the door. But when he looked at it, he seemed to have no expression at all, and his tone was very calm.

"Over there, the so-called 'New Election Brigade' was formed. ...... As you can guess from the name, it's the former Aizu Domain...... Also, the members of the Shinsengumi are the main force of the army. ”

If you listened closely, you could hear the faint smile that underneath the young man's calm tone. However, at this time, the distraught Kirino Toshiaki did not notice this.

"In this case, Satsuma's swordsmanship advantage will be wiped out in an instant—after all, the members of the Shinsengumi ...... That's no joke. Everyone has excellent swordsmanship that can defeat many ......."

The boy said slowly.

"No matter how you say it, it's Yukazu Kondo...... Hijikata is three years old, an elite swordsman who has been strictly trained~"

This time the end of his words was clearly picked up, and it was impossible to tell whether it was pleasure or sarcasm. When he said the two names that had been lost to the world for ten years—especially the latter name—there was something inexplicable in his tone that made Kirino Toshiaki frown deeply for a moment.

Although he knew that this young man was just because the family bet on the wrong treasure for a while, and he was too close to Saigo-sama because he was in a hurry to tie up in the past, so when Saigo-sama went into the wilderness, he was also affected when he went into the wilderness, and he could no longer turn over on the side of those courtiers to continue to follow Saigo-sama-sama, and the loyalty of his compatriots who were born in Satsuma was completely incomparable, but at this moment, he completely disregarded his own position and was a "rural murder group" raised by the shogunate who had disappeared from the world ten years ago The act of actually using such an appreciative tone still made Kirino Toshiaki feel a burst of anger.

"Watch your words and actions!" he warned in a cold tone, but the panic that welled up in his heart didn't go away so easily.

Reason told him that in a place like Taharasaka, if the two sides could not decide the victory with firearms, their own swordsmanship would be a great advantage—after all, many of the troops sent by the Imperial Court were civilians and poor people who had no knowledge of swordsmanship before, and were not at all on the same level as the combat power of their samurai; Those people's swordsmanship was tempered by real blood and fire, and if they really pulled out their swords, they wouldn't be ambiguous at all!

"Don't you have much to say other than that?!...... What about the other brigades and formations?!I don't see anything to be happy about...... You know, we're tied to the same boat now! If Saigo-sama's ship sinks, we'll all die......."

The boy chuckled suddenly. His smile had been subtle before, just a short laugh or two, but this time he had laughed a little longer, as if the topic was really that interesting.

"The 1st Brigade, the 2nd Brigade, and the Newly Selected Brigade...... What part of the story would you like to hear?Oh, and besides, they were outclassed in swordsmanship, so they formed a 'sword drawing team'. The boy's voice was clear, and his tone rose carelessly in the daylight that seemed like night because of the rainstorm.

"The elites of the Aizu Domain who survived the Boshin War...... They have been waiting for such an opportunity for revenge for a long time. His voice suddenly became meaningful.

"Oh, by the way, even you should remember the battle of Nyorado in Aizu, right? After all, at the opening ceremony of Aizu-Wakamatsu Castle, you served as a representative of the official army to receive it...... Even the tragic battle of Nyorado failed to completely extinguish the fire of the Shinsengumi-"

In the gloomy sky, the boy's cheerful tune danced in the low room.

"Now, they're back—back to you, to fight to the death with the Satsuma......"

"Shut up!!" Kirino Toshiaki finally couldn't bear the strange atmosphere that the boy had deliberately created with words and tones, and he slammed his fist on the table, shaking the pile of small flags placed on the map.

"I know you've been here reluctantly...... But how do you think the Kujo family got to be where it is today? Have you forgotten that you're also a member of the Satsuma Army? The remnants of the Shinsengumi, if they can come to take revenge on Satsuma, can take revenge on you—why don't you think about it for yourself?"

The boy looked a little surprised. After a pause, he blinked his eyes and actually smiled bitterly twice.

"I don't need you to remind you, I'll help Satsuma too," he confessed his loyalty without warning.

"After all, this is not the time for Satsuma to fail. He said.

Kirino Toshiaki is angry and doesn't fight in one place. However, this young man has a lot of skills, and it is said that he was also expected to inherit the Matsuden family. However, in the end, the branch of the Kujo family, which failed to make a single move, had been trained well enough to be in charge of the game, and although Kirino Toshiaki was angry, his sanity had not been lost, which was enough for him to weigh and come to the conclusion that even if he put this guy in the private school established by Saigo-sama, he would be the best among them, and now that his own talents were gradually withering in the heat of war, this guy still had a lot of room to use - compared to this, his perverse style of painting was not so intolerable. What's more, if it weren't for him this time, I'm afraid that the information on what "newly selected brigades" and "sword drawing teams" had been established on the official and military side would not be so easy to obtain. He also has a lot of use.

Toshiaki Kirino cleared his throat and waved at him in annoyance.

"I need more details...... Which of them do you think will attack us first, and what kind of 'knife drawer' is it? Will it cause us a lot of trouble?—— I want you to give me a more precise report before the next military meeting. ”

The boy nodded as if he didn't care, and said, "If it's okay, I'll take my leave," as if he was going to leave.

As he opened the door, Kirino Toshiaki called out behind him again.

"Miss Kujou-"

The young man's hand on the handle of the door paused, then turned his head and browned.

“...... No. He said, "I'm no longer Miss Kujo." Has Kirino-sama forgotten my pseudonym?"

Kirino Toshiaki's brows were twisted together, and his face was ugly as if ink was about to drip down.

"I didn't forget. He replied in a terrible tone.

"Sometimes incarnated as Miss Noriko, the adopted daughter of the Kujo family, and sometimes incarnated as the adopted son of the Kujou family, Michikun-Kujou Tadashun couldn't give birth to a reliable son himself, and in the end, he had to rely on the adopted daughter to pretend to support him...... In the end, I ended up with Saigo-sama, and the title was taken away by that ruthless and unrighteous guy in Okubo, right?"

The boy whose identity he had revealed—no, "Miss Noriko, the adopted daughter of the Kujo family"—raised his eyebrows and laughed when he heard this, as if he wasn't at all annoyed by his bad comments about his family.

"Well, it's always good to have a little dream. ...... Just like you, Lord Kirino, when you entered Aizu Wakamatsu Castle ten years ago, I don't think you would be trapped outside Kumamoto Castle and stuck in the mud of Tahara Saka today~"

Toshiaki Kirino felt a fierce anger about to burst through his head.

There was an offensive tone in every word of this provocative rhetoric! It was not at all like her adoptive father, who hated to kneel down and hug the thighs of Lord Saigo! But by now she had a certain advantage in silence, and even if he wanted to punish her, she would have to think a little about it; not to mention that although she occasionally pricked his lungs, she was also first-class and reliable—a few days ago, she led a small group of men and horses to repel the attacking officers and soldiers who were superior in numbers!

Kirino Toshiaki decided that he might as well be more magnanimous—because Satsuma needs talent! Even if it is a person with a more disgusting personality, as long as it can bring victory to Satsuma, he can use it now! It is not too late to punish or something until Satsuma finally wins the victory—so he grimaced a grim face, showed a twisted smile at her, and said, "So what are you waiting for here, Michi-kun?"

The young girl, dressed as a teenager but undoubtedly a woman, grinned silently and opened the door.

"Saburo. She said before leaving.

Toshiaki Kirino: "...... What?"

She curled her eyebrows slightly, turned back and gave him a bright smile that was completely out of place.

"My name. She said, "Have you forgotten?—— here, you can call me 'Saburo.'" ”

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July 15:

Ah, I've written too much again!

Recently, JJ's comment area seems to be always pumping.,Whenever I want to reply, it's either I can't brush it out.,Or write a large paragraph of infinite loading [cry.

Hawkers,Everyone, please wait for me to reply slowly when I'm free.

This chapter is basically a background w

In short, the background of this volume is the Southwest War, which broke out ten years after the end of the Boshin War.

The two sides of the Southwest War were Saigo Takamori's Satsuma Domain vs the government army

In short, Satsuma lasted more than half a year before it was defeated.

During this war, the government army sent an army composed of members of the Aizu Domain and the Shinsengumi, the so-called "Shinsenkumi".

In addition, in the Battle of Taharasaka, which is mentioned in this chapter, the government army sent a "sword drawing team" composed mainly of police officers to engage the Satsuma army in a hand-to-hand battle.

Xiaoyi actually participated in this "knife drawing team" yo ww

Because the government army recruited many peasants to join the army, they were not good at swordsmanship, but it was raining at that time, and the gunpowder was ineffective, so they could only rely on swordsmanship.

Kirino Toshiaki, who appears in this chapter, is a die-hard fan of Saigo Takamori's lineage [Hey!

In short, it was he who captured Aizu Wakamatsu Castle in the first place. He's also thick in the small line!

I don't know if you still remember that there was a paragraph before that mentioned that Serizawa Ya's little surname Ibuki Ryunosuke ran to the mountains to find the deputy commander and told him that Satsuma was in rebellion and wanted to form a "new brigade" to resist the enemy.

That's the introduction to this volume

In addition, the sister is here to participate in the Satsuma Army, the reason is very simple, the plot derailment caused the Satsuma Army to be defeated too quickly, which is not in line with historical facts

So the girl had to forcibly renew her life for the loser [Hey!

Because of the march and fighting, the girl is pretending to be a man here again

In the end, the girl said that her pseudonym was "San Lang", do you know why, hhhh

PS. The "Okubo Yamato" mentioned in this chapter is a pseudonym given to the director after he was made a shogunate.

At that time, the deputy chief also had a pseudonym, called "Hayato Naito".

Knock on the blackboard! Everyone should remember the pseudonym of the deputy chief!

[Next update: It should be Wednesday, that is, the next day]

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

Thanks to the little angel who threw [Mine]: Immortal Limit 1;

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

Magical girl Chu Lingmeng. 17 bottles, 10 bottles of hushlight and huan, 1 bottle of magic ☆ Wang Yao;

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