Chapter 27

At dusk, Kenshin and the others finally returned to the dojo. Shin was already waiting there, growing impatient. As soon as Kenshin entered the dojo, he noticed the broken sword on the ground, the medicine box placed on the floor, and the sword marks on the dojo walls. He quickly rushed in to check. Shin stood in the middle of the dojo, clearly in a bad mood, holding the sword Kikusen Sanjigetsu in his right hand.

"Master...?" Seeing the mark of the Shinsengumi on the medicine box, Kenshin roughly guessed that the Shinsengumi had been there, but he couldn't figure out what Shin was thinking. Kenshin could only guess that Master had thought of something bad again.

Clearly, Kenshin's guess was accurate. Seeing Kenshin return, Shin said, "Kenshin, do you know? Today, someone from the Shinsengumi came looking for you, probably wanting to have a heart-to-heart talk with you using swords."

"Using swords to talk... Master, why don't you just tell me what happened first..."

The group returned to the inner room, and Shin described the events in detail. After listening, Kenshin fell into thought, but before he could think for long, Shin interrupted him.

"Stupid disciple, I have to say, with your current strength, it's almost impossible to beat Saito Hajime unless you revert to your Bakumatsu-era state."

"Eh?" Both Kamiya Kaoru and Yahiko were surprised. In their minds, Kenshin was the strongest man of the Bakumatsu era, and they never thought he could lose.

"Can't be, then isn't Kenshin in great danger?" Kaoru asked worriedly.

"Danger? It shouldn't be. After all, I'll be there to keep things under control, and I won't let anything serious happen to either of them. However, this is Kenshin's matter, and I think the stupid disciple wants to settle this grudge personally..." Shin took a sip of tea and looked at Kenshin.

"Yes, I will face Saito Hajime. This is something I must do myself. Although Master is incredibly strong and could easily deal with Saito Hajime, I can't rely on Master for everything."

"Ha ha ha, just as I expected from my stupid disciple. Although your strength isn't much, your resolve is commendable." Shin patted Kenshin's shoulder hard, and the smile on his face made Kenshin feel a bit uneasy. Indeed, Kenshin's premonition came true.

"Saito Hajime is one of the top swordsmen. With your current state, going up against him is like courting death. So..." Shin stood up and picked up Kenshin with his right hand. "For the next few days, your great Master will personally train you. Be grateful; a master who works so hard for his disciple is rare in this world."

For the next few days, the Kamiya Dojo in the small town often echoed with screams, making the neighbors think something terrible had happened at the dojo. Even the police came to investigate. Fortunately, Shin was prepared and managed to explain it away as the sounds of disciples training. Of course, he had to pay the neighbors to calm them down, which he found somewhat annoying. As a result, Kenshin's life became even more miserable.

After five days, Kenshin had been rigorously trained by Shin. Every night after finishing his chores, Kenshin was dragged to the dojo to practice. The number of practice swords, equivalent to mid-level samurai swords, that the two broke was over ten, meaning they broke at least two per day, showing the intensity of their training. As a result, Kenshin's reaction speed and strength improved, though still not up to his Bakumatsu-era level, it was the best he could achieve in a few days. Although Shin had considered teaching Kenshin the secret techniques, he decided against it because Kenshin's resolve was still lacking, and he didn't want to be cut by the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. Even though his clothes could withstand the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, Kenshin's reverse-blade sword could cause blunt force trauma. So, Shin decided to leave the teaching of the secret techniques to Hiko and not interfere with the plot. On the sixth day, when Kenshin returned to the dojo after buying ingredients, he found a letter left by Saito Hajime at the dojo entrance. He quickly made up an excuse to sneak out and head to the location mentioned in the letter.

After Kenshin left, Shin arrived at the Kamiya Dojo. Upon hearing that Kenshin had suddenly left, Shin was not worried. He knew that the person waiting for Kenshin at the location mentioned in the letter was not Saito Hajime but a third-rate assassin. Saito Hajime himself would arrive at the dojo later. So, Shin walked into the dojo, asked Kaoru for some tea utensils, and used the Infinite Heart to take out some top-grade tea leaves to pass the time. Sure enough, not long after, Saito Hajime's voice was heard at the door. Saito Hajime, in his role as a police officer, informed Kaoru and Yahiko that someone wanted to kill Kenshin. Since Kenshin was not there, they invited Saito Hajime into the dojo.

As soon as Saito Hajime entered the dojo, he was surprised to see Shin. However, Shin invited Saito Hajime to have tea. After both had a cup of tea, they began to talk.

"This time, you came for Kenshin, Saito Hajime." What should have been a question came out as a statement from Shin. Saito Hajime did not deny it, but Kaoru and Yahiko were stunned.

"Saito Hajime? Isn't that the captain of the Shinsengumi's third unit during the Bakumatsu era?" Kaoru, the quickest to react, immediately remembered the Shinsengumi's top swordsmen that Kenshin had mentioned before.

"Yes, that's him." Saito Hajime did not answer Kaoru, so Shin provided the answer.

After that, there was a moment of chaos. In Kaoru and Yahiko's eyes, Saito Hajime was the one who wanted to kill Kenshin, so they were extremely tense. Thanks to Shin's reassurance, they calmed down but still dared not get too close to Saito Hajime. About half an hour later, Kenshin finally returned, his clothes slightly torn. As soon as he entered the dojo, he was surprised to see Shin and Saito Hajime drinking tea.

"Don't just stand there, Kenshin. Your old rival is here. Shouldn't you say something?"

As Shin finished speaking, Saito Hajime stood up and approached Kenshin. After a conversation, neither could convince the other. When words failed, swordsmen resorted to their swords. At first, Kenshin, in his normal state, was pushed back by Saito Hajime but was not injured. However, after Saito Hajime's Yatotsu technique grazed Kenshin's left shoulder, Kenshin's Battōjutsu mode was triggered by the injury, Saito Hajime's killing intent, and the smell of blood. As expected of the strongest man of the Bakumatsu era, Kenshin's Battōjutsu was ruthless, fast, accurate, and fierce, fully demonstrating the power of a swordsman. After a clash between Saito Hajime's Shin Yatotsu and Kenshin's Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, Saito Hajime's sword, which was at a disadvantage, was broken by Kenshin's reverse-blade sword. However, Saito Hajime cleverly used a belt to knock the reverse-blade sword out of Kenshin's hand, and the two exchanged blows with their fists and sword scabbards. Just as they were about to deliver their final blows, Shin stepped in to stop them. At that moment, a carriage pulled up outside, and one of the Three Heroes of the Restoration, Okubo, arrived. Okubo asked Kenshin to assassinate Shishio Makoto, a former shadow assassin like Kenshin who was now plotting to overthrow the government. However, everyone at the Kamiya Dojo opposed this, and Shin remained neutral. Okubo decided to return in a week to hear Kenshin's final decision. However, Okubo never got the chance to ask again. A week later, Okubo's body was found in the street. When Kenshin went to pay his respects to Okubo, Shishio's strongest Ten Swords, Sōjirō, warned Kenshin not to interfere with Shishio. This only fueled Kenshin's anger, and that night, he packed his bags and said goodbye to Kaoru. Of course, using the excuse of looking after his incompetent disciple, Shin also left with Kenshin, and the two disappeared into the night.

PS: I'm visiting my hometown for the National Day holiday and won't be back until the 6th, so I'm updating five times today.

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