Chapter 272: Chapter 118: Calm Before the Storm [8,000 Words]

Nagakura, standing beside Harada, grinned and chimed in:

"Me too, I can’t wait either."

In today’s lunch conversation, Nagakura made it quite clear that he joined Aoto’s side because of the high salary offered by Aoto. He wanted to save enough money soon to continue traveling the land, honing his skills and covering his living expenses.

Therefore, for Nagakura, who is currently undergoing a martial artist’s cultivation, he naturally favors tasks that allow his swordsmanship to shine and to hone his skills.

The mission tonight, which involves directly confronting the Radical Anti-foreigner Faction, is just what Nagakura is eager for.

Saito maintained his usual aloof demeanor of "ah, the world could end, and it wouldn’t matter to me."

As a bodyguard for Aoto, Saito was also allowed to accompany Aoto on tonight’s action.

Compared to Nagakura, Saito, and Harada, Fujimura’s reaction was more typical—his face was pale, his lips constantly pressed together, showing evident anxiety. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"Nagakura, Harada, calm down," Aoto said helplessly, "We might not even encounter the Anti-foreigner Group tonight."

"Harada, put down your spear. There are many people here, don’t swing it around."

"Ah, right, I almost forgot. This is for you."

With that, Aoto took out three jitte from his lower back.

"Nagakura, Harada, Fujimura, each of you take one of these jitte. Hold onto them and don’t lose them."

"Oh, oh!" Harada took the jitte from Aoto with curiosity, "So this is the jitte that every undercover informant has? It’s a shame I don’t know how to use it..."

"It’s okay if you can’t use it," Aoto said calmly, "After all, the main function of the jitte is just to prove your identity as an undercover informant."

"If your jitte is damaged or lost, report to me immediately."

Every undercover informant receives a jitte from the government as a symbol of their identity.

As long as you wear this official jitte on your waist, others will recognize you as an undercover informant for some dōshin.

After Harada enthusiastically examined his new weapon, he suddenly noticed: their jitte are slightly different from Aoto’s.

The jitte on Aoto’s right waist had a red tassel tied to its handle.

Meanwhile, the jitte for Harada, Nagakura, and Fujimura had no decorations, completely bare.

"Mr. Tachibana, why don’t our jitte have red tassels on the handles?" Harada asked.

"To differentiate between dōshin and undercover informants, only the jitte handles of dōshin have red tassels," Aoto replied, "Don’t think it’s fun to tie red tassels on your jitte handles. Doing so will make you suspect of impersonating a dōshin, which is a serious offense."

"Oh, I see..." Harada nodded and, along with Nagakura and Fujimura, imitated Aoto’s way of wearing the jitte by fastening them to their right waists.

After distributing the jitte to his new subordinates and urging them to behave, Aoto scanned his surroundings.

Inagawa and Ushiyama, his predecessors, were not far from him.

Both were seriously speaking to their respective undercover informants.

Lord Arima was nowhere to be seen, and his whereabouts were unknown.

It was a rare occasion for the "Three Times" officials of the South and North Patrols to gather together for a joint mission...

In Aoto’s memory, the last time the South and North Patrols cooperated on a task, his father, Tachibana Ryuzo, was still alive.

At this moment, all the "Three Times" forces of the South and North Patrols were gathered in this large room, with a heavy atmosphere and an unpleasant smell of sweat hanging in the air.

Not everyone harbors the determination to "battle the Anti-foreigner Group courageously, ready to die."

The Anti-foreigner Group is notorious as a massive terror organization that dared to gather over two hundred people to attack and kill foreign merchants.

They are numerous, organized, and bold in combat.

In terms of danger, the usual "Anti-foreigner Warriors" dealt with by the Magistrate’s Office who prefer to bluff, engage in petty thefts, and abduct women cannot compare with the Anti-foreigner Group...

When pitted against large-scale terrorists versus mere rabble engaging in robbery, the psychological pressure from the former is greater, as one might expect.

Confronting the Anti-foreigner Group... could indeed result in serious casualties.

Aoto clearly saw that many people, including some dōshin, wore expressions of fright and worry.

He suspected many were secretly praying... praying that tonight would be peaceful in Edo, or at least hoping they could get through the night safely.

"Mr. Tachibana!"

At this moment, Aoto suddenly heard Arima calling him.

"Lord Arima," Aoto turned and greeted the suddenly appearing, briskly approaching Arima.

Arima was now fully equipped in yoriki attire—wearing an array hat on his head, chain armor and a chest plate on his torso, and a wild hakama around his waist.

Only officials of the yoriki level can wear chest plates; Aoto and the dōshin could only wear chain armor with the undercover informants.

Japan’s most prominent political culture: a stringent hierarchy system integrated into all aspects of daily life for the nation’s people.

Arima quickly arrived in front of Aoto: "Mr. Tachibana, how are your preparations here?"