As soon as this statement came out, the whole place suddenly became unobtrusively commotion.

Surprised eyes, vigilant expressions, whispers...the information combined by these sights and sounds strengthened Qingdeng's thoughts.

No, it should be said - after discovering that Yanagawa Zumon was Empress Dowager Hanpei of Takeshi, Aoto was convinced that his idea was correct, so there was no question of whether he was firm or not.

At this moment, Yanagawa Zuomon's expression underwent an interesting change.

His eyebrows were raised, and his eyes shone with curiosity.

"Lord Nioh, can I ask you a question? Why do you think I am Hanheita Takeichi?"

Qingden Wan'er:

"Because of your smell."

Yanagawa Zuomen's eyebrows were raised even higher.

For a moment, he seemed to be relieved, his facial lines softened, his raised eyebrows gradually relaxed, and the corners of his mouth were slightly raised:

"Haha! Awesome!"

After laughing loudly and applauding vigorously several times, he straightened up, clasped his hands at his sides, and bowed to Qingdeng in a way that could not be faulted.

"Your inference is absolutely correct. I am none other than Takeichi Hanheita, leader of the Tosa Kinou Party!"

Yanagawa Zumon... Correction, now it must be said that it is Takeichi Hanheita.

After a pause, he changed into an apologetic tone:

"Lord Nioh, please forgive me for my rude behavior in concealing my identity."

"Since I devoted myself to the great cause of protecting the country, I have spent more time with my writing brush than with my sword."

"But no matter how you say it, I will always be a swordsman."

"After I learned that the brave King Niou has arrived, I couldn't hold back my inner impulse to compete with you."

"So, I entrusted the students to take the lead in this 'making friends with force'."

Having said this, he turned his head and glanced at the person not far away who was the first to challenge Aoto (Noguchi Zentaro).

"I apologize if it has caused you any trouble."

After that, he bent down and gave another salute, and it was a 90-degree gift.

Qingdeng stepped aside and humbly avoided the other party's courtesy.

"Wu Shijun, you're welcome."

"I've been obsessed with everything lately and haven't moved my muscles for a long time."

"I feel very happy to be able to stretch my muscles for the first time in a long time and compete with the famous Tosa Kinnobu."

At this point, Qingdeng's conversation changed.

"It's just...there is one regret."

Before Takeshi Hanheita could raise any questions, Qingto continued on his own:

"What about your 'Hitoko Izo'? In addition to 'Nioh', I also have the nickname 'Hitoko Ayoto'. I am also a Hidden Killer, so I really want to learn Okada Izo's skills."

As soon as Qingdeng finished asking, a weird scene slowly unfolded in front of his eyes.

I saw that the originally noisy hall gradually became quiet, and with just a snap of my fingers, I could hear a pin drop.

Those whispering voices and whispering movements all stopped.

A bunch of eyes with different emotions wandered in the air.

Qingden swept his eyes without leaving a trace, observing the entire scene.

After hearing the name "Okada Izo", the Qinwang party members present showed various expressions.

Some people look like they don't care.

Some people looked disdainful.

Some people looked nervous.

Human Slayer - a title that can only be held by swordsmen who are highly skilled and have killed countless people.

For example, Qingdeng was nicknamed "People Kill Qingdeng" because he killed Yingye.

Since time traveling, at least five or six hundred people have been killed by his sword. The title of "Human Killer" is truly deserved.

At first glance, this title sounds particularly majestic.

But in fact, it is not a compliment.

After all, another term for "human killing" is "murderous maniac".

As long as it is a society with normal social customs and public morality, "killing many people" will not be regarded as a commendable merit.

Therefore, everyone who admires and is close to Qingdeng regards "People Kill Qingdeng" as an unspeakable nickname.

The assassination of Naomi Ii three years ago (Sakurada Gate Incident) was a very bad start. It made all the people with lofty ideals in the world realize one thing - the highest level of political struggle often ends

Only the simplest means are needed!

As a result, after the incident outside Sakurada Gate, assassinations occurred frequently.

As Kyoto became the center of the anti-protest movement, this thousand-year-old city became a hot spot for assassinations.

The patriots waved their butcher knives as they pleased and killed every "national traitor" in their eyes.

The scope of victims ranges from court ministers and shogunate officials to petty officials and ordinary people with no power.

Among these many assassins, four are the most famous.

Because these four people were all given the title of "People Killed XX", they were collectively referred to as the "Four Great People Killed" by the world.

First, Nakamura Hanjiro of the Satsuma Domain is said to be a talented man in both literature and martial arts.

The second is Tanaka Shinbei, who is also from Satsuma Domain.

Thirdly, there is very little information about Kawagami Hikosai of the Kumamoto Domain. We only know that he is very skilled in swordsmanship and is very short in stature. He is currently serving the Choshu Domain.

As for the last one, it was Okada Izo of Tosa Domain.

Among the "Four Great Masters", Okada Izo is the most famous and has the most information.

It is reported that Okada Izo was born in the ninth year of Tenpo (1838). His hometown is Enoguchi Village, north of Tosa County, and his status is an ashigaru, which is worse than a country scholar.

Ashigaru is a class that exists widely in the shogunate and various feudal states, and is the lowest rank among samurai.

Just from the name, you can see how humble this class is.

Ashigaru - insignificant.

In the Tosa Domain, countrymen were already a discriminated class that suffered from abuse.

The ashigaru, who are lower than the country warriors...their treatment can be imagined.

Let's put it this way - Okada Izo, who was born in Ashigaru, doesn't even have a serious name.

Generally speaking, the full name of a warrior is "Miao character + common name + real name".

For example, Aoto's full name is "Tachibana Aoto Moriharu", Kondo Isamu's full name is "Kondo Isamu Masaki", and Chiba Jutaro's real name is "Chiba Jutaro Ichin".

Due to his low status, Okada Izo did not even have the right to use his full name, so his name was only "Okada Izo".

If nothing unexpected happens, with his miserable family situation, he will only be able to work as a mule for the rest of his life.

Fortunately, he met a noble man, Takeshi Hanheita.

Takeshi Hanping Taishang Okada Izo took him into the dojo under his command and taught him swordsmanship carefully.

During the period of studying at Hanheita's dojo in Takeshi, Okada Izo gradually showed his extraordinary swordsmanship talent, and his physical strength improved by leaps and bounds.

Later, when Takeichi Hanheita established the Tosa Kinou Party, Okada Izo naturally became a member of it.

In the feudal era, especially in this kind of society with very solidified classes, the kindness of knowing and meeting someone was a very important kindness, the kindness of reinvention in the true sense.

It's just that... since Hanheita of Takeshi took control of the real power in the domain and led the domain soldiers to Luo, the relationship between him and Okada Izo was no longer a simple "master and apprentice", "benefactor and beneficiary".

Nowadays, Kyoto is a land of "full of vitality and everything is flourishing", where various factions gather here to exchange opinions enthusiastically.

Whether it is the Zunhu Faction promoting their idea of ​​respecting the king and repelling the foreigners, or the Zuomu Faction promoting their theory of the integration of public and military forces, they will encounter considerable pressure.

According to legend, in order to reduce enemies and potential enemies, Takeichi Hanpei frequently ordered Okada Izo, an excellent swordsman, to assassinate people he considered an eyesore.

Just like that, Kyoto gained a touch of terrifying blood.

Okada Izo spared no effort to kill people for Takeichi Hanheita.

The list of victims can be listed in a long list, including Seiichiro Honma, Ikeuchi University, Moroku, Okawahara Juzo, Watanabe Kinzo, Ueda Sukenojo... There are hundreds of people, which is really terrifying.

Even Watanabe Kinsaburo, the leader of Kyoto Town in the previous generation, was killed by him.

It is said that in addition to following Takeichi Hanheita's instructions to kill people, Okada Izo would also use his own subjective initiative to kill "national thieves" according to his own ideas.

For example: Anyone who dares to speak ill of Wu Shi Banping will be treated as a heinous scum by him, and then be brutally killed by him.

Although we are now in a troubled world where rituals and music are ruined, no matter what, assassinating others is still a shameful and shameless thing.
To be continued...