I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 818 I, Ju Qingdeng, just like to show off! [4600]

When this order came out, everyone was shocked.

Everyone looked at Qing Deng in surprise.

The outspoken Harada Sanosuke asked directly:

"Mr. Tachibana, where are you going?"

"I have something very important to do. Time is of the essence. I will explain it to you in detail later."

Such an ambiguous reply naturally failed to convince everyone.

Fortunately, after a brief moment of surprise, Hijikata Toshizo had regained his calm demeanor as the "Demon's Vice-Captain".

He looked at Qing Deng deeply and thoughtfully:

"...I understand. Leave it to me."

He turned to look at the others.
"Did you all hear the general's order? Move quickly! Rescue Ikedaya!"

Everyone looked at each other - although they were full of questions, since Qing Deng and Hijikata Toshizo had already spoken, they could only obey their orders.

They immediately formed a team, and then, led by Yamazaki Cheng, ran at full speed towards Ikeda-ya - Yamazaki Cheng knew a convenient shortcut.

Saito Ichi was the vanguard and Hijikata Toshizo was the rear guard.

When it was time to set off, Hijikata Toshizo, who was at the end of the queue, did not leave immediately.

He had already taken a step forward, but he seemed to remember something and retracted his foot. Then he turned his head, looked at Qing Deng, and said softly:

"Ju, I wish you good luck in martial arts."

Qing Deng was stunned for a moment, then smiled slightly:
"Well, I wish you good luck in martial arts!"

Hijikata Toshizo slightly curled the corners of his mouth, waved his hand casually, then took another step and caught up with the main force.

Qing Deng stood where he was, watching the generals leave.

After they were completely far away and their figures disappeared around the corner, Miss Jin's voice rang out from behind Qing Deng:

"...Tachibana Aki, I really envy you."

Miss Sumire and Ebina Ye Zong walked out of the alley one after another, and then stood on Qing Deng's left and right sides respectively.

"'Envy'? What do you mean?"

Miss Sumire looked in the direction that Hijikata Toshizo and the others had just left, with an undisguised look of envy on her face:
"You have a good group of subordinates. Especially that Hijikata Toshizo."

"He clearly didn't know why you suddenly 'left the team', and his heart was filled with confusion, but he still chose to trust you and resolutely took over the command."

"I really envy you for having such a good subordinate who completely trusts you and can also stand on his own."

After hearing this, Qing Deng chuckled a few times:

"When I have time later, I will introduce to you in detail how excellent my subordinates are."

"As for now, let's work together to win this battle!"

At this point, Qing Deng put on a serious expression:
"Ms. Jin, please take me to the warehouse where a large amount of fuel is stored."

Ms. Sumire also returned to her serious and solemn look.

"Of course. But before that, please wait for my subordinates...ah, speak of the devil, here he comes."

Suddenly, Qing Deng heard dense footsteps approaching from far away.

He subconsciously raised his hand and grasped the Vairocana at his waist.

"Don't worry, Tachibana Aki. My capable subordinates are here."

As Miss Jin finished her words, seven beautiful figures rushed out from the darkness in the distance.

They ran quickly along the roof, then jumped down nimbly and landed steadily around Miss Jin.

Qing Deng looked closely and saw that all seven of them were young women in their teens or twenties, and they were all wearing the same "female ninja outfit" as Miss Sumire.

"Tachibana Aki, let me introduce you briefly."

"They are all my capable subordinates."

"Just think of them as well-trained and agile female ninjas."

"Their job is to gather intelligence, not to fight people, so their combat capabilities are not outstanding."

"However, they are all very good at using hidden weapons such as hidden arrows, shurikens, and kunai."

"Although they cannot fight the enemy head-on, they are more than capable of harassing the enemy from the side."

"We are very short of manpower right now, so I decided to bring them along as well."

"A little more help is always better than nothing."

Ms. Sumire said this and turned her head to look at the female ninjas.

"Gentlemen, this is the 'Nio' Tachibana Aoto. Please be polite in front of him."

As soon as these words were spoken, the two girls in the lead - one was a little sister with a petite figure and a childish face; the other was an older sister with a plump figure and a mature face - immediately stopped and introduced themselves to Qing Deng.

The petite little girl stammered:

"Lord Niou! Nice to meet you! My name is Tao!"

The plump older sister said calmly:

"Nice to meet you. I'm A-Mei."

Following these two, several other female kunoichi gave their names.

The talent "Photographic Memory" was activated - Qing Deng remembered their names while scanning their faces and observing their expressions.

It’s better not to look closely. If you look closely, you will find that they are all beautiful women with pretty faces.

There are both beautiful girls like A Tao and cold and beautiful older sisters like A Mei.

However, what’s interesting is that they don’t get stars in their eyes or look at him with admiration just because the man in front of them is the famous “Nioh”.

Qing Deng noticed keenly that when they looked at him, there was a hint of cold vigilance in their eyes.

Some of them - such as Ah Tao and Ah Mei - even had a hint of hostility on their pretty faces.

This made Qing Deng feel a little confused and curious.

In recent years, he has become accustomed to the admiration, respect, and love of others.

Crack down on bandits, quell wars, protect the country and the people, restore production, keep oneself clean and do not take a penny.

Even if we ignore the ideas of the pro-shogunate faction, from the perspective of ordinary people, Qing Deng is a rare outstanding person and good official who appears once in a century.

Even those who don't like him have to acknowledge Qing Deng's abilities and achievements, and they can't help but show admiration when talking about him.

Apart from the Sonnō faction and those jealous people who couldn't stand others doing well, Qing Deng really couldn't understand why a group of female ninjas, who had no grudges against him in the past or today, would reject him so much.

Under normal circumstances, Qing Deng might have been interested in exploring the reasons behind this.

But obviously, now is not the time to do that.

He turned his head to look at Miss Jin and asked:
"You, me, Mr. Ebina, and these seven female ninjas - is this our total combat strength?"

Ms. Jin shook her head.
"No, there is one more person. Tachibana Aki, do you remember what I just said? In addition to Mr. Ebina, there is another martial arts master who specializes in combat that I can immediately call upon."

Qing Deng nodded when he heard this - Ebina Ye Zong also said this.

"The more people the better, so I transferred that person to reinforce."

At this point, Ms. Jin paused, then put on a confident smile:
"That man is different from us half-baked people who only know how to use hidden weapons. He is a true combat expert!"

"His moves are superb and his experience is vast. His only flaw is his personality... due to some complicated reasons."

"His participation in the war will surely give us even greater strength!"

As soon as Miss Jin finished speaking, Qing Deng asked:

"So...what about others?"

Qing Deng asked, looking around.

"Ms. Jin, please don't tell me to wait here foolishly until that person arrives."

Ms. Sumire immediately replied:

"How is that possible!"

"For some reason, he couldn't come here right away."

"But I've asked him to rush to the warehouse."

"He joined us at the warehouse, and then we rushed into the warehouse together!"

After hearing this, Qing Deng nodded slightly:
"Is that so? That's good. I just want to rush to the warehouse right now. Anything else is beyond my scope of consent." Ms. Jin nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, same here! Now, let's get going!"

Before she finished her words, she jumped up lightly like pulling up an onion in dry land, reached out to grab the rafters under the eaves, and then flipped up like origami, and stood steadily on the roof.

"Tachibana Aki, follow me!"

The next moment after she finished speaking, she ran wildly, and the wooden boards and tiles on the roof creaked under her feet.

In just two breaths, his figure disappeared into the boundless night.

……

……

From a certain perspective, Qing Deng can also be considered a ninja.

After joining Shin Oniwaban, he received extremely strict ninja training.

From jumping over houses and roofs to sneaking through doors and picking locks, to indoor fighting, Qing Deng has mastered all the skills that a ninja should have, except for a few random moves such as throwing hidden weapons and seduction.

Therefore, he easily caught up with Miss Sumire without any effort.

Several female ninjas including Ebina Ye Zong, A Tao, A Mei and others followed closely.

Qing Deng and Haibina Ye Zong were running on the ground.

The female ninjas, led by Ms. Sumire, were all moving on the roof.

Frankly speaking, Qing Deng really didn't understand why the female ninjas were so fond of "climbing walls and climbing roofs".

This might be acceptable if you were chasing someone or running diagonally across the block.

But now this section of road can be moved on a flat street, but Miss Jin and others insisted on staying on the roof.

The same is true for Mai Kinoshita. She would jump onto the roof if she disagreed with something, and she would not change her preference even if there was a wide road to take.

Just as the group was busy on their way, Qing Deng suddenly heard Miss Jin shouting:

"A Tao! Is there anything to eat? I haven't eaten tonight and I'm starving!"

"Ah! Yes, yes! I just happened to have a rice ball with me."

As Ah Tao spoke, she took out a paper bag from her bosom and threw it to Miss Jin.

Miss Jin waved her hand, caught the paper package steadily, and tore it open with her teeth, revealing a fist-sized rice ball wrapped in seaweed.

She continued to run, eating voraciously, taking big bites of the rice balls, her cheeks puffed up, like a squirrel collecting supplies for the winter.

The way she eats... to put it nicely, it's heroic; to put it bluntly, it's unladylike.

As she was eating, she suddenly frowned slightly:

"Why are there plums in the rice balls... Damn it, I really want to eat rice balls with salmon in them...!"

After hearing this, Ah Tao quickly apologized:
“No, no, no action!”

"Oh, no need to apologize. I was just grumbling."

Even when she was talking to people, she didn't slow down at all in eating the rice balls.

She quickly stuffed the remaining rice ball into her mouth, and then licked her fingers with satisfaction.

Qing Deng, who saw all these scenes from the corner of his eye, couldn't help but think to himself:

——Is this Sumire-san’s true character…

After learning that Zi Yang is Miss Jin, Qing Deng experiences disillusionment for the first time in his life.

Previously, Qingdeng's impression of Ziyang was no different from the public's impression of Ziyang - a beautiful woman with dignified manners, full of charm, and a well-deserved "No. 1 Geisha in Kyoto".

On the other hand, now she appears in the public as "Ms. Jin"... the so-called "two completely different people" is nothing more than this.

The face is still the same, but the temperament and behavior are completely different.

Take the rice balls just now as an example——

Not only did he have poor table manners, but after realizing that the rice ball was not to his taste, he cursed inwardly, "Damn it."

Also, after eating the rice ball, she did not forget to lick her fingers... Although her action of licking her fingers was very elegant and did not make people feel vulgar, it instead revealed a strange temptation.

If "Zi Yang's" fans saw this scene, I'm afraid they would never believe their eyes, let alone believe that the person before their eyes would be the perfect geisha that they are fascinated by.

If "Zi Yang" symbolizes perfection, it symbolizes "a man's ideal woman."

Then "Miss Jin"... Qing Deng thought about it and came up with a very appropriate description -

If "Ms. Jin" wore an ankle-length skirt and added some tongue-twisting sounds when she spoke, she would be a typical bad girl!
Her bold and unrestrained demeanor, as well as her superior attitude when talking to A Tao, A Mei and others, made her look like a big sister.

"Perfect geisha" and "bad girl", which one is the real her?
Qingdeng tends to favor the latter.

Just as Qing Deng was still secretly lamenting Miss Jin's "dual image", he suddenly heard Miss Jin's question:

"Tachibana Aki, your 'Tachibana' is really hard to pronounce, it has 4 syllables (Tachibara). For the sake of convenience, can I just call you 'Aki'?"

Qingdeng replied without hesitation:

"Please. But in exchange, can I just call you 'Ajin'? 'Miss Jin' is hard to pronounce."

As soon as he finished speaking, Tao, Mei and other female ninjas immediately turned their heads and cast displeased glances at him.

Although they expressed their dissatisfaction in a restrained manner, Miss Sumire herself nodded very straightforwardly:
"Sure. It's just a name, call me whatever you want."

She paused for a moment, then got down to business:
"Aki, although the current situation is urgent, if you think about it from another perspective, this may be a good opportunity to deal a heavy blow to the Sonjo faction."

"Your subordinates have successfully found the meeting place of Miyabe Teizo, Katsura Kogoro and others - this is a pleasant surprise for us!"

"As long as we take over that warehouse and deal with Yoshida Minoru and the others who set the city on fire, and then your subordinates can capture Miyabe Teizo and others from Ikedaya, it will be a perfect victory with the best of both worlds!"

"All of these guys gathered in Kyoto tonight are capable members of the Sonnō Faction."

"If all these people were to die... then what happened today and tonight would be recorded in history forever!"

Compared to Miss Jin's excitement, Qing Deng was exceptionally calm.

Even after listening to the other party's impassioned speech, he looked indifferent.

Maybe he was just worrying too much, but he always felt that... for tonight's action, the Sonnang Faction had prepared for a long time and mobilized countless manpower and material resources.

Can they really win easily?
When he thought of this, Qing Deng couldn't help but raise his left hand and grasp the Vairocana at his waist.

……

……

Kyoto, somewhere——

Led by Ms. Sumire, the group arrived at the outskirts of Kyoto.

A remote, shabby-looking warehouse came into Qing Deng's sight.

"This way."

Miss Jin turned a corner and led everyone into a dark alley near the warehouse.

Qing Deng pricked up his ears—his talent "Wind Perception +3" was activated—and as expected, there was a lot of noise coming from the warehouse, and there were quite a few people.

"A Tao, go check out the situation."

"Yes!"

After receiving the order, Ah Tao jumped out like a rabbit.

About 3 minutes later, she returned to everyone's attention.

"Ms. Jin, the situation...is not good..."

Ah Tao swallowed hard and continued with a grim expression.

"There are quite a few people in the warehouse, about thirty."

"The enemy's weapons are very sophisticated. In addition to katana and wakizashi, they also have short spears, naginata, and bows and arrows."

"I think we must take a long-term view and make detailed plans..."

Ah Tao hasn't finished speaking yet -

"What? Only 30 people? It turns out it's that simple."

As soon as these words came out, the warehouse suddenly fell silent...

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Asking for a monthly ticket! Please vote for recommendation! (Leopard head crying.jpg)

PS1: I really can't give up female ninjas... Although I already have the female ninja Wu, I still can't help creating a bunch of new female ninjas! The Tao and Mei in this chapter are the "Miss Tao" and "Miss Mei" who appeared in Chapter 3 of Volume 93. Please be aware of this.

PS2: Thanks to my book friend [女佳妍]! Thanks to his many suggestions, Baobaozi was able to create the character "Ms. Jin". He contributed to the birth of this character! (豹拍肚皮.jpg)

When I played Black Myth: Wukong yesterday, I was very moved - I never thought we could make such an amazing stand-alone game! It's really a milestone game!