My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 417: Chapter 152: Mukiwa: ”Mr. Tachibana, Are You Free Tonight?” [Massive 10k Update]

He never expected—after resolving the ”Man-Slayer Incident,” the Thief Cat Monk would send him a new commission so quickly!

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Since ”Boss Kiryu having something to discuss with him” was completely fabricated by Mukiwa, Aoto naturally didn’t need to head to the Thousand Affairs House.

After walking a while with Mukiwa, the two parted ways at an intersection, each heading home.

Passing through the familiar alleyways he’d traveled countless times these months, Aoto quickly returned to Little Ishikawa Hoshimura Willow Street.

Climbing the steep slope where Shiwei Hall was situated, the shadow of Shiwei Hall soon appeared in Aoto’s view.

Having lived together with Chokata, Kondo, and the others for so long in Shiwei Hall, Aoto had long developed familial feelings towards it.

Gazing at the massive shadow of Shiwei Hall from afar, a distinct sense of peace filled Aoto’s heart, lightening his physical fatigue slightly.

Yet at this moment, Aoto suddenly caught a glimpse of figures gathering outside Shiwei Hall’s main gate.

The closing time for Shiwei Hall had long passed.

At this hour, why were there so many people gathered outside Shiwei Hall’s main gate... Aoto furrowed his brows slightly and quickened his pace.

When he got closer to Shiwei Hall, voices reached Aoto’s ears—

”Excuse me, is Tachibana Aoto here?”

”Huh? Who are you? What’s your business with Mr. Tachibana?”

The latter voice, unmistakably Chokata’s.

And the former voice... Aoto found it familiar.

With a simple recall in his mind, Aoto quickly remembered whose voice it was.

With his face swiftly darkening, Aoto sped up further towards Shiwei Hall.

Before long, the scene outside Shiwei Hall’s main gate appeared clearly and completely before Aoto’s eyes.

Chokata stood somewhat isolated behind Shiwei Hall’s gate, one hand holding the door and the other on his hip, scanning the eight young men standing in front of the gate with vigilant eyes.

These eight young men all wore rather plain clothing, with no visible weapons on them.

At first glance, they seemed like ordinary young people you might find anywhere on the street.

But on closer inspection, one could notice—these eight young men had snarling tattoos on their necks, forearms, ankles, and other areas where the clothes could not cover.

In the Edo Era... no, it should be said, in Japan, throughout the ages, except for a few eccentric individuals, only one type of people would tattoo dragons and phoenixes onto their bodies—the Yakuza!

The leader of this group of Yakuza suddenly visiting Shiwei Hall was a very young man.

This young man had a relatively delicate face, but a large scar running from his left ear to his right ruined his facial elegance.

Aoto was much too familiar with this scar-faced individual—he was responsible for collecting gambling debts owed by his father Tachibana Ryuzo on behalf of the ”Shimizu Clan”!

Recalling the first night Aoto traveled to this era, he encountered this scar-faced man leading people to collect debts from him.

”Mr. Tachibana?” Seeing Aoto’s return, Chokata paused, then cast even more vigilant eyes towards these Yakuza daringly seeking out Aoto.

Immediately afterwards, Chokata took advantage of the focus on Aoto to stealthily slip back into Shiwei Hall...

Focused on Aoto, the scar-faced man and others didn’t notice Chokata’s departure, and Aoto, due to his viewing angle, didn’t realize Chokata was no longer behind Shiwei Hall’s gate.

”Ah, Mr. Tachibana.” The scar-faced man raised both corners of his mouth, showing Aoto a friendly smile and greeted him warmly, ”Mr. Tachibana, long time no see! Did you just return from the North Guard Station?”

Aoto couldn’t be bothered to respond to the scar-faced man’s greeting.

”...Quite rare.” Aoto said in a deep voice, ”You used to come to collect debts when it was dark.”

”And now, while it’s still daylight, you’ve come looking for me.”

After speaking, Aoto unconsciously glanced at the sky, which still held remnants of twilight.

The scar-faced man leading a large group gambling outside Shiwei Hall’s gate... Aoto couldn’t imagine any other reason for these scoundrels to suddenly appear here besides coming to collect the huge gambling debt owed by his father Tachibana Ryuzo!

”Mr. Tachibana, you’ve misunderstood.” The scar-faced man raised both hands to Aoto, ”We’re not here to collect debts, oh.”

Not here to collect debts... An unexpected look flashed in Aoto’s eyes.

Just as Aoto was about to question the scar-faced man further, a series of loud footsteps suddenly resounded from within Shiwei Hall.

Aoto and the scar-faced man and his group looked in the direction of the sound, then saw one tall figure after another appearing behind Shiwei Hall’s gate.

Upon seeing these tall figures clearly, Aoto couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows, a slight smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.

Chokata, who had just slipped back into Shiwei Hall, was actually bringing backup.

Today, Shiwei Hall was particularly well-staffed. Not only Zhouzhu was present, but Hijikata was there too.

Chokata had brought everyone over.

Zhouzhu, Kondo, Hijikata, the recently-returned Saito, Nagakura, Harada.