A person in Japan, a sword that soars to immortality.

Matsudaira Aoki samurai house.

As a daimyo of the royal family and a young shogun, Matsudaira Aoki not only lived in a large place, but also wielded considerable power.

The Fire and Thieves Bureau, a law enforcement agency specifically designed to deal with vicious criminals, was under his command.

On the road to Aizu 1-chome, Taichi and Rantaro walked side by side, followed by two fire thieves, Kaido.

"Brother Taiyi, you're really something! You actually sent me to meet Lord Aoki directly and made me say such arrogant things. Do you know how scared I was?"

Rantaro pursed his lips, closed his eyes, and clutched his heart as he spoke, as if he had experienced something terrible.

"Why be afraid? Shouldn't you be excited about getting promoted again soon?"

Taiichi shoved his hands into the haori, held it to his chest, and chuckled softly.

The fact that he could now walk so confidently down the street meant that what he had told Rantaro had worked on Aoki.

As for what it is about, the content is very simple: Taiichi can help the shogunate to capture those vicious criminals that people fear.

On the way back to Edo with Xuefeng Gobei, he obtained a piece of information through a conversation with Rantaro.

That explains why such an absurd order could be issued, allowing Rantaro to capture thieves without providing him with any support.

The shogunate is currently mobilizing the majority of its government resources to capture powerful thieves in various domains.

He also learned from Rantaro that, so far, things haven't been going smoothly.

Many people died, but not a single notorious criminal was caught.

Taiichi knew this and told Rantaro in advance.

If he himself is arrested and sentenced to death for some offense, he should tell him to go find Matsudaira Aoki.

As for the content of those words...

It means accepting the shogunate's employment, receiving information from them, and then Taiichi personally carrying out the arrest.

The large house of the Matsuki family and the Wu family.

Having changed out of her clothes and into a kimono, Matsuki Aoki was using chopsticks to pick up sashimi from a plate.

As he dipped the sliced ​​fish into the soy sauce dish, he looked at Taichi and Rantaro, who were sitting on the tatami mat, and slowly said:

"Taiyi, you've really given me a tough challenge. Pardoning a death row inmate who committed murder in full view of everyone is going to be very difficult."

Upon hearing this, Rantarō's expression immediately became extremely tense, and he turned to look at Taiichi with a worried gaze.

"My lord, I believe that I was simply exercising my right as a samurai to sacrifice myself."

"I implore you to consider this carefully, sir. After all, what I am about to do will not only save many lives, but also rekindle the awe of the restless domains for the shogunate."

Snapped!

Aoki's hand froze in mid-air, then he tossed the fish slice from his chopsticks back onto the plate and slammed it onto the table.

"My lord, please forgive Taiyi's arrogant words just now!"

Rantaro pressed his head firmly to the ground, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Taichi still sitting calmly, so he reached out and tugged at him.

Taiichi slapped his hand away and looked at Matsudaira Aoki with a smile, completely unaffected by the other's earlier slamming of the table.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment, and Rantaro felt that he must have gone mad today.

First, she forced her way to see Lord Aoki, then she disregarded Kenji Nakahashi's objections and forcibly took Taichi away from the dungeon. Now she's with Taichi, which has angered Lord Aoki.

Rannosuke, please remember, this day next year will be the anniversary of Otoko-san's death...

"Hahaha."

A hearty laugh came from above Rantaro's head.

Matsudaira Aoki slowly stood up, walked around the table, and looked down at Taiichi: "Well said, regain your reverence for the shogunate, but... can you really do that?"

He leaned down, his gaze fixed intently on Taiyi. The scar on his right eye, illuminated by the flickering light, resembled a wriggling centipede.

"Please rest assured, my lord, I will use my sword to extend the authority of the shogunate to the ends of the earth."

Taiyi narrowed his eyes and said, his voice filled with murderous intent.

Aoki's pupils contracted instantly, then he turned and strode back behind the table.

She straightened her kimono, then bent down and sat upright facing Taiichi.

At this moment, Xiao Xing, who had been waiting for a long time, bent over, held a scroll in both hands, and ran to Taiyi.

He took the scroll, opened it, and upon seeing its contents, a smile involuntarily crept onto Taiyi's lips.

[Investigation of Yoshiwara's Cannibalistic Courtesan - Hei-i]

[Heading to Yamaoka to capture the Bizen Giant—Rikurota]

[Capture the Izu Thief King - Azazu Tsurubei]

[Assisting the Himeji Domain in repelling the rebels]

[Heading to the Sagara Domain to capture "Sword Dragon" - Minagawa Gentetsuzai]

【...】

[Capture the most evil ninja—Galan's Eyebrow-Painting Pill]

"Heh, they really are all in here. If I catch them all..."

Doesn't that mean I've opened the path to hell on Paradise Island?

"So, this is the task you were tasked with. After seeing these names, do you still think you can do it?"

Aoki tilted his head back and looked down at Taiichi.

"Hehe, quite the opposite, Lord Aoki." Taichi clenched his fist, raised it to his chest, and grinned excitedly.

"Just seeing these names makes my blood boil!"

......

"Amitabha Buddha, Amitabha Buddha..."

On the way back, Taichi found it amusing to see Rantaro clasping his hands together and chanting the name of Buddha.

Recalling the information in the scroll, some of it was familiar to him, but some was completely incomprehensible.

For example, the message about going to Jilu Town to suppress rebels doesn't specify who the target is.

If they were just ordinary rebels, it would be nothing more than a peasant uprising.

Taiyi believed that even if Jilucheng's name was worthless, he could definitely suppress these rabble.

"That's true, there were quite a few other criminals in the execution scene depicted in the comics at the time."

"At worst, we'll just have to walk a bit further and catch them all at once."

"But it seems like all of these people were eventually killed. It's a pity I had enough Universal Points, otherwise I..."

As Taiyi muttered to himself, a bold idea suddenly popped into his head.

Anyway, I'm not a ronin anymore.

He never expected that not only would he regain his freedom, but he would also be promoted by Aoki just before leaving!

Taiichi's current identity is that of a fire thief who has been converted into a ninja, and his samurai rank is foot soldier.

It should be noted that the highest-ranking samurai in the Yamada family right now is Hakken, while he is merely an ashigaru (foot soldier).

He hadn't done anything yet, but he was rewarded just for talking. This made Taiyi feel that happiness had come too suddenly.

“But this happiness isn’t quite perfect.” As they reached a fork in the road, Taiichi suddenly stopped and casually placed his hand on Rantaro’s shoulder.

"Ami... Eh? Taiichi-nii, what's wrong?"

Rantaro asked doubtfully.

"It's nothing, let's part ways here. I have some errands to run."

Taiyi said gently.

"It's so late, where are you going?"

Rantaro asked instinctively.

"Nowhere else, but to the clean house in the castle town to inquire about some information."

"Oh, I see. I'll head back now. It's dark and the roads are slippery, please be careful."

Rantaro nodded to Tai, then turned and left.

Watching the other person's departing figure, Taiichi turned his gaze towards Asakusa.

"Since we're going to capture criminals, we should start with the most recent ones. The task of investigating the cannibalistic courtesan of Yoshiwara should be easy."

"Also... regarding the Red Scorpion family... you don't think this matter is over, do you?"