Yorii Tsugikuni was not merely standing by and watching. Though he had once abandoned sword training because he could not bear to strike others or see them suffer.
But now that he had returned to his physical prime.
Yorii Tsugikuni wanted to work even harder than before and improve his strength once more.
Holding a Nichirin Blade with a black hilt and sheath, a single engraved "Destroy" at the base of its black-and-red blade, and a broad black cross-shaped guard, Yorii Tsugikuni closed his eyes.
Though he made no movement, Sun Breathing - Thirteenth Form began to play out in his mind.
Dance, Clear Blue Sky, ... Flame Dance. Cycling through Forms One to Twelve once made the Thirteenth Form, but Yorii Tsugikuni was considering even more possibilities.
With only a moment's thought, countless ideas flooded his mind.
When he had created the Thirteenth Form, it had been to counter the Demon King's unique body structure.
In the end, the Demon King had turned himself into eighteen hundred pieces in order to escape.
Yorii Tsugikuni had cut down fifteen hundred of them.
But those three hundred pieces he had failed to cut were what allowed Muzan Kibutsuji to ultimately escape.
Perhaps I can increase the number of strikes.
Though there were many ideas in his mind, Yorii Tsugikuni decided to focus his training on increasing the number of slashes he could unleash.
It sounded simple enough.
But it was difficult to achieve. Every additional slash meant he had to be faster than before.
And to attain that kind of speed, his physical abilities needed to improve again.
Though it was somewhat difficult, now that Yorii Tsugikuni had returned to his youthful state, he did not think it would be all that hard.
Come to think of it, he had barely trained at all over the past few decades.
If he trained a little, he should see decent results.
Morning training soon came to an end.
After finishing his morning training, Yorii Tsugikuni returned to his office.
Unlike before, when he had been an ordinary member and needed to patrol the streets himself.
Most of his duties now involved dispatching personnel and making arrangements.
"Master, I found everything you asked for."
"There are also invitations sent by some wealthy merchants of the Imperial Capital."
Sayo entered from outside.
Besides appointing him as commander of the Imperial Capital Security Force, Yorii Tsugikuni's letter of appointment had also granted him five appointment slots.
Since he was more familiar with Sayo, Tatsumi, and Ieyasu.
He had transferred all three to his side. Compared to the other members of the Imperial Guard.
The three of them, along with Sayo, undoubtedly had the cleanest backgrounds.
Sayo's primary duty now was to assist him with receiving and sending documents and the like.
Tatsumi and Ieyasu, meanwhile, had become the Security Force's three squad captains alongside Sayo.
They were responsible for pursuing criminals and handling various daily affairs.
"Thank you for your hard work."
What Yorii Tsugikuni had asked her to find was naturally evidence of Oka accepting bribes. Night Raid's letters had contained all of it.
But he verified it again.
Looking at the testimonies before him, Yorii Tsugikuni could confirm that Oka truly was corrupt.
Though this matter would be a great shock to Sayo, after giving it some thought, Yorii Tsugikuni still decided to tell her.
From their time together, Yorii Tsugikuni had learned that Sayo was someone who deeply yearned for justice.
But many times, she was overly stubborn.
As Sayo's friend, Yorii Tsugikuni did not want her to become an extremist.
"Return all these invitations. In the future, there's no need to accept this sort of thing."
After reading the testimonies of the merchants who had worked with Oka.
Yorii Tsugikuni handed the invitations Sayo had brought back to her. Without needing to think much, he could roughly guess what those merchants wanted.
They wanted nothing more than to curry favor with him or bribe him.
One should fulfill one's duties in one's position. Since he held the position of Security Force commander, he would naturally do his job well.
Until the day he left office.
"Return them, return them."
Adai spun in circles at the side, imitating Yorii Tsugikuni's words.
Yorii Tsugikuni glanced at Adai, who looked like a child and did not seem particularly intelligent.
He could not help but wonder whether the Imperial Arm he had found was defective.
"Then I'll have someone return them now."
"But what should we do with these things?"
Sayo gently patted Adai's head on the floor and covered her mouth as she laughed.
She, Tatsumi, and the others were all very fond of the little robot.
Besides practicing swordsmanship with it, it could also wipe the floors with a damp cloth while they cleaned their rooms.
It could even help repair things.
Though it looked rather dim-witted, it learned things very quickly.
It could learn many things after being taught only once.
"Give them to Sayo."
"She has the right to know about this."
After pondering for a moment, Yorii Tsugikuni made his decision.
The Ice Queen's News, Night Raid's Concerns
"We won! We won!"
"Long live the Empire! Long live the Empire!"
Just as Yorii Tsugikuni was considering how to comfort Sayo.
The previously quiet Security Force, along with many places outside the city, suddenly erupted with a thunderous roar.
The tremendous wave of noise rose from far to near and continued without end.
Did something happen?
Yorii Tsugikuni looked out the window in surprise. The Imperial Capital had suddenly become lively, and he did not understand why.
"Master, we won."
"Those Foreign Tribes were defeated by General Esdeath."
Just as Yorii Tsugikuni was wondering whether he should go outside to find out what had happened.
Tatsumi and Ieyasu rushed in from outside. Though Yorii Tsugikuni did not yet know the full story from the ecstatic expressions on their faces.
It had to be something worth celebrating.
"Can you tell me about it?"
Since he had not grown up in the Empire like Tatsumi and the others.
Yorii Tsugikuni's understanding of the Empire was very limited. The first time he had learned of the Foreign Tribes had been from markings on a map he had bought.
And this was also the first time he had heard the name Esdeath.
"I forgot Master doesn't know General Esdeath."
"General Esdeath is one of the Empire's two great generals, and she's also the Empire's strongest..."
Seeing Yorii Tsugikuni's puzzled expression, Ieyasu began telling him about Esdeath.
Though they had lived in a very poor rural village.
Esdeath's reputation was simply too resounding. They had heard many stories about the legendary female general from a very young age.
Though Ieyasu was usually careless, he was an excellent storyteller.
Under his account, an exceptionally gifted and powerful general of ice and snow gradually took shape in Yorii Tsugikuni's mind.
He also quickly learned some things about the Foreign Tribes.
He understood why the Imperial Capital's residents were so excited when they heard that Esdeath had crushed the Foreign Tribes' army at the border.
It had caused an enormous stir throughout the entire Imperial Capital.
"It would be great if I could meet General Esdeath someday."
"Ieyasu, can you stop acting like such a lovesick fool?"
After telling them everything he knew about Esdeath, Ieyasu began to fantasize.
Sayo rolled her eyes at him and quickly left.
It seems the Empire isn't beyond saving after all.
Though Yorii Tsugikuni was somewhat shocked by Ieyasu's news that Esdeath had buried four hundred thousand people alive.
He did not offer much judgment on it.
There was no right or wrong in wars between nations, nor was there any distinction between noble and ignoble methods.
Previously, he had seen many incompetent and corrupt people within the Empire. Now that he knew of Esdeath.
He became somewhat more optimistic about the Empire's dire state.
"That woman really is unexpected."
"She dealt with the Foreign Tribes so quickly."
Nadjeshda leaned against a tall tower of a castle, surrounded by the members of Night Raid.
Looking at the noisy scene within the city, her expression was complicated.
As one of the Empire's former generals, she had known Esdeath for a long time.
Night Raid had been so active over the past year not only because of the Revolutionary Army's high command's decisions.
Esdeath's resistance against the Foreign Tribes at the border was also part of the reason.
Her strength was enough to make any force hostile to the Empire wary.
"It's always a good thing that the border has been pacified."
"But if that woman returns, our actions will become rather troublesome."
Lubbock leaned beside Nadjeshda. Seeing her take out a cigarette, he skillfully lit it for her.
Though he was usually one of the more laid-back members of Night Raid.
And had joined the Revolutionary Army entirely to be with Nadjeshda, Lubbock had a very clear understanding of the current situation.
They had just suffered a blow from Yorii Tsugikuni. If Esdeath returned as well, there was no need to think about it—they would be in a very passive position.
"The border has only just been pacified. Esdeath probably won't return so quickly."
Before you continue