Samura walked out of Kondo Shusuke's guest room and sighed.
He knew that Kondo Shusuke meant something, and he also knew Kondo Shusuke's expectations and... suffering.
Therefore, Kondo Shusuke will not participate in this conversation, and he is too old and weak to participate.
Zuocun closed his eyes and leaned against the wall.
Although Hijikata and Shimazaki both welcomed him, underneath the welcome was the exact same emotion as Zuomura.
Hesitation, and fear.
I just don't know if they are ready for that possibility.
Opening his eyes, Zuo Cun's expression returned to determination.
This was the path he chose...the path he would not regret.
...
Samura heads to the dojo, where Hijikata Okita and the others are.
But halfway, I met another person.
"Hey." Saito greeted.
Zuocun nodded slightly.
He was not in a good mood now, and his whole body revealed an aura that was even more alienating than usual.
Saito waved his hand, he was not an ignorant person.
Looking at Zuo Cun's back, Saito felt...as if two more mountains were pressing on Zuo Cun's shoulders.
"Excuse me." Zuo Cun opened the door of the dojo and walked in.
The four disciples of Natural Rishinryu are here, but the atmosphere is also dull.
"Shimazaki, Hijikata, can I talk to you?" Zuomura asked directly to the two people without any unnecessary nonsense.
The two looked at each other and Shimazaki nodded: "Well, what are we talking about?"
Inoue smiled and raised a hand: "Do you need me to avoid it?"
"No need, Inoue, it's not a secret."
Inoue is a gentle and honest person who doesn't like to cause trouble, and closely follows the footsteps of Shimazaki and Hijikata.
Miss Okita also felt something was wrong, but she did not speak.
Samura walked directly in front of Shimazaki Isamu and sat down cross-legged.
"Shimazaki, Hijikata, I want to invite you... to resist the shogunate together." Zuomura lowered his head slightly and stated his purpose.
The air fell silent.
No one spoke.
Although Okita is the strongest, he is obsessed with swords; Inoue is not a person with independent opinions.
The ones who make the decision have always been Shimazaki Isamu and Hijikata Toshizo.
"Samura...Is this your choice..." After a long silence, Shimazaki Isamu spoke.
He looked into Zuo Cun's eyes, extremely calm.
"...Yes, I hope you will join me." Zuo Cun also looked at Shimazaki calmly.
Zuocun didn't have too many words.
Everyone has their own thinking. If the other party disagrees, unilaterally stating one's own ideas will only cause conflicts to break out in advance.
The suffocating atmosphere after the last conversation... Zuomura didn't want to experience it again.
"...What's the reason?" Shimazaki Isamu thought about it and asked Zuomura his own question.
"This is the way I chose to save the country, for... this country." Zuocun said word by word.
"Really?" Shimazaki Isamu said noncommittally.
The air fell into silence again.
"Zuocun, since you took the initiative to bring this up, I have something to say to you."
"I hope you will join us and help us."
"This is also... the path we choose to save the country."
Zuo Cun's face froze and he smiled bitterly.
"Is that so? I understand."
Samura and Shimazaki Isamu stood up at the same time and shook hands.
Then Zuo Cun turned around, his voice seemed to have lost all its strength.
"I hope we won't meet on the battlefield in the future."
Samura came to Miss Okita who was sitting on the ground.
"Mr. Samura..." Okita understood what happened.
She was at a loss and felt her heart aching.
Zuo Cun said nothing, just smiled and gently hugged Miss Okita.
"To repay Okita for his great kindness to me... in the future, if we really become enemies, I will let each of you go."
With these words left, Zuo Cun walked out of the dojo without looking at anyone in the room.
"Mr. Zuomura!" Okita's heart suddenly tightened and he chased after him.
Shimazaki and Hijikata let out a long sigh.
"Let each of us go just once... It's such a heavy promise..." Hijikata's eyes drooped.
Shimazaki, Hijikata and Inoue all know that their positions are at odds with each other, and in the future, nine times out of ten, they will stand on opposite sides.
Facing Zuo Cun, the three of them knew very well that they might be able to survive a few moves, but they were definitely no match for him.
Miss Okita chased her out the door, but only saw a figure jumping into the distance.
"Zuocun..."
...
Zuocun was silent and kept jumping.
Before I knew it, I had left Edo.
He knew that he would never be able to return to the trial gym again.
This era is a hell, a whirlpool, and a doomsday from which no one can escape.
The emperor, the general, the elder, the middle-aged man, the feudal lord, the townsman, the farmer, the wild samurai... No matter what your status is, you cannot escape the whirlpool.
Whether you are active or passive, you will be forced to enter this hell.
Zuo Cun chose to overthrow the curtain for his own beliefs.
Everyone in the Trial Guard Hall also chose to follow their own path and choose Samu.
The future...what will it look like?
Zuo Cun gritted his teeth, not knowing where he had arrived. He only knew that this place was an uninhabited mountain forest.
He usually has a cold face, just because he doesn't know how to express his emotions, it doesn't mean he has no emotions.
Not only does he have feelings, he also thinks further than anyone else.
Pheasant Yu and He He were unsheathed together and held in Zuocun's left and right hands respectively.
His teeth chattered, and Zuo Cun lost his mind a little.
He didn't say a word, but his eyes were blood red.
Zheng——
The big tree that the three of them were holding was cut off by Zuo Cun. Crane Hei and Pheasant Yu kept waving their hands, and the ancient tree of unknown age was chopped into pieces by Zuo Cun.
Zuocun stood there, breathing heavily.
Of course he knows very well what the future will look like.
Closing his eyes in pain, Zuocun just stood there, motionless.
After a long time, he opened his eyes and regained some clarity.
The crane and pheasant feathers returned to their sheaths, and with a sigh, Zuocun turned around and left without paying attention to the mess behind him.
Regardless, he had something to do.
...
Shimazaki's face was gray and his voice was low.
"Is Okita's situation... getting better?"
"No." Hijikata leaned against the wall, his eyes blank.
"Samura...is not from our side." Shimazaki said disappointedly, "We all have our own reasons, but our reasons lead us to different paths."
"So..." Hijikata also choked up, "Really... the only way is to become an enemy?"
Shimazaki was stunned.
For a long time.
He finally nodded slightly.
Hijikata closed his eyes in pain.
Finally, he seemed to have figured it all out.
"Then...don't let that guy from Zuo Village look down on us."
"We must prove that our path... is the right one."
...
