Chapter Summaries

At Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Zhang Heng and Koyama Akane met Okita Soshi at a teahouse, where Okita nervously watched a young woman he admired. Zhang Heng recognized the famed Shinsengumi swordsman and invited him to spar, while reflecting that Okita’s tuberculosis would soon claim his life.

• Koyama Akane and Zhang Heng stopped at the teahouse beside Otowa Waterfall, where they encountered Okita Soshi.
• Okita Soshi denied that he was there on Shinsengumi business and nervously watched a young woman enter to buy rice cakes.
• After the young woman left, Okita admitted he had met her at Doctor Tezuka's house but had not asked her name.
• Okita Soshi mistook Zhang Heng and Koyama Akane for a couple, prompting Koyama Akane to angrily deny it.
• Zhang Heng recognized Okita Soshi and invited him to spar at the dojo, and Okita agreed to come after finishing important business.

Zhang Heng learned that Nakamura Hanjirō had entered Kyoto with Juzumaru Tsunetsugu, giving him a chance to pursue the famous blade. He accepted Gabriel’s invitation to interpret at a secret banquet, hoping the French merchant’s anti-shogunate contacts could reveal Nakamura’s whereabouts.

• Zhang Heng learned that Takasugi Shinsaku had died of tuberculosis, leaving the Choshu Domain men in Kyoto occupied with their loss.
• Zhang Heng heard that Nakamura Hanjirō had entered Kyoto carrying Juzumaru Tsunetsugu, and he resolved to find Nakamura before the Shinsengumi did.
• Gabriel asked Zhang Heng to interpret at an important banquet the following night and offered him ten koban.
• Zhang Heng accepted Gabriel’s invitation because he hoped the people at the banquet could lead him to Nakamura Hanjirō.

Koyama Akane struggled to keep Koyama Dojo afloat while confronting a strange prospective disciple. Meanwhile, Zhang Heng accompanied Gabriel to a covert Tozambatsu stronghold in Gion for a banquet, where he refused to surrender his sword.

• Koyama Akane suspected a visitor at the dojo and threatened him with a Bokken when he criticized the place.
• The visitor told Koyama Akane he wanted to become the world's greatest swordsman and join Koyama Dojo, but she thought he was mocking her and raised her Bokken again.
• Gabriel told Zhang Heng that they were going to Gion, and they headed there after eating by the roadside.
• Zhang Heng recognized that the teahouse Ukichi was a secret Tozambatsu stronghold staffed by people skilled in martial arts.
• A maid asked Zhang Heng to surrender his sword, but he refused, claiming it was an ancestral heirloom.

Zhang Heng and Gabriel attended a gathering at Ukichi, where Zhang Heng recognized Takeuchi Shinji among the Chōshū and Satsuma warriors. The host had not yet arrived, and the guests began eating venison hot pot while waiting to discuss the business deal.

• The maid offered to let Zhang Heng keep the Wakizashi but required him to leave the Dōtanuki; when she tried to stab herself in apology, Zhang Heng stopped her with the Wakizashi.
• The proprietress led Zhang Heng and Gabriel into a banquet room, where Zhang Heng spotted Takeuchi Shinji and Takeuchi acknowledged knowing him.
• Zhang Heng translated as Gabriel exchanged polite conversation with the gathered warriors, who said their host would arrive later.
• The teahouse served Maple Pot, and the older warrior told Gabriel that the guests could begin eating before the host arrived.

Zhang Heng attended a teahouse gathering where the supposedly dead Takasugi Shinsaku secretly arrived to meet French merchant Gabriel. Takasugi declared his intention to shatter Japan’s existing order and build a new world, and Gabriel asked what he wanted and what Gabriel would gain in return.

• After the geisha withdrew, Nakamura Hanjirō entered the gathering, and Zhang Heng focused on the Juzumaru Tsunetsugu sword at his waist.
• Nakamura admitted Takasugi Shinsaku, whose reported death had concealed his survival and presence in Kyoto.
• Takasugi greeted Gabriel and explained that extraordinary times required overturning the old order to build a new world.
• Gabriel asked what Takasugi wanted from him and what he could gain from Takasugi’s new world.

Takasugi Shinsaku sought Gabriel’s help to smuggle weapons and a samurai unit into Kyoto for a coup against the shogunate, but Gabriel drove a hard bargain. As negotiations continued, Zhang Heng realized that the conspirators could not let him leave alive once his usefulness as an interpreter ended.

• Takasugi Shinsaku and Ōkubo Toshimichi planned to lure Tokugawa Yoshinobu to Kyoto and seize him in a small-scale coup.
• Takasugi Shinsaku asked Gabriel to smuggle weapons and three hundred samurai into Kyoto under cover of cotton-yarn shipments, offering ten thousand taels of gold.
• Gabriel withheld agreement, signaling that he wanted more money, while Takasugi Shinsaku refused to offer anything beyond payment.
• Zhang Heng reflected that Takasugi Shinsaku’s survival and declining health could alter the course of events.
• As the negotiations continued, Zhang Heng focused on taking Juzumaru Tsunetsugu from Nakamura Hanjirō and escaping before the conspirators killed him.

Zhang Heng tried to leave Miyokichi Teahouse before the Tozambatsu faction could trap him, but a hidden assassin attacked him in the courtyard. After killing her, he prepared to face the teahouse’s other trained fighters and fight his way out.

• Zhang Heng weighed the danger of escaping and decided to retreat into the open courtyard rather than risk being surrounded inside.
• Zhang Heng claimed he needed to relieve himself and left the room while the negotiations with Takasugi Shinsaku continued.
• The maid warned Zhang Heng to return, but he ignored her and walked into the courtyard.
• A masked assassin leapt from the roof and attacked Zhang Heng, who killed her with his Wakizashi.
• Zhang Heng recognized the assassin as one of the geisha and drew the Dōtanuki as he prepared to fight his way out of Miyokichi Teahouse.

Zhang Heng fought off the Tozambatsu faction’s death warriors at the teahouse, setting its woodshed ablaze as he prepared to escape. Okita Soshi arrived with the Shinsengumi and charged into the teahouse alone, relieving some of the pressure on Zhang Heng.

• Zhang Heng used Niten Ichi-ryū with the Dōtanuki and Wakizashi to cut down attackers, though the death warriors’ relentless assaults left him with several light wounds.
• Zhang Heng killed the maid he had earlier saved after she wounded him, then continued fighting the death warriors without hesitation.
• Zhang Heng threw a burning lantern into the woodshed and guarded it, planning to escape over the rooftops once the fire grew.
• Okita Soshi announced his arrival outside the gate, but the death warriors intensified their attacks rather than surrendering.
• Okita Soshi charged into the teahouse alone and cut down everyone who stood in his way.

Zhang Heng and Okita Soshi fought their way through the teahouse’s defenders, killing the proprietress and breaking the attackers’ command. As the Choshu samurai withdrew, Zhang Heng admitted he wanted Juzumaru Tsunetsugu, leaving Okita surprised by his reason for being there.

• Okita Soshi joined Zhang Heng in the woodshed and admitted he had rushed in without notifying reinforcements.
• Zhang Heng spotted the proprietress preparing her Tanegashima and charged through the defenders while Okita evaded her gunfire.
• The proprietress retreated, opening a gap that Zhang Heng and Okita exploited to reach and kill her.
• With the proprietress dead, the remaining fighters lost coordination, while Takasugi Shinsaku, Gabriel, and other Choshu samurai began withdrawing.
• Zhang Heng considered pursuing the retreating samurai for Juzumaru Tsunetsugu, then told Okita that the sword was his reason for coming.

Zhang Heng persuaded Okita Soshi to join him in pursuing Takasugi Shinsaku, offering to help Okita avenge the Shinsengumi’s failure at Ikedaya while pursuing Juzumaru Tsunetsugu himself. They fought their way out through the side entrance, and Zhang Heng spotted the retreating samurai splitting into two groups, leaving Takasugi’s location uncertain.

• Zhang Heng told Okita Soshi that Takasugi Shinsaku was alive and cooperating with Nakamura Hanjirō, who supposedly had Juzumaru Tsunetsugu.
• Okita Soshi agreed to pursue Takasugi Shinsaku with Zhang Heng, and they turned toward the teahouse’s side entrance.
• Okita Soshi and Zhang Heng killed the samurai covering the retreat and forced their way through the remaining fighters.
• Zhang Heng and Okita Soshi emerged into the alley, where Zhang Heng killed an ambusher and Okita dealt with the pursuers despite coughing.
• Zhang Heng climbed onto a machiya and saw the escaped samurai split into groups heading west and east, with Takasugi Shinsaku hidden among them.

Zhang Heng and Okita Soshi pursued Takasugi Shinsaku’s fleeing group through Gion, while Takasugi’s failing health forced his men to carry him away in a palanquin. Zhang Heng confronted Nakamura Hanjirō and sent Okita after Takasugi, leaving himself to face the bodyguard.

• Zhang Heng joined Okita Soshi in fighting off the teahouse thugs and told him he had identified Takasugi Shinsaku’s group.
• Takasugi Shinsaku struggled to flee, collapsed, and was put into a palanquin by Nakamura Hanjirō and the Choshu Domain samurai.
• Nakamura Hanjirō stayed behind to confront Okita Soshi as the others chased after Takasugi’s palanquin.
• Zhang Heng appeared and told Okita Soshi to pursue Takasugi, claiming Nakamura Hanjirō as his own opponent.

Zhang Heng faced Nakamura Hanjirō in a duel while Okita Soshi confronted Takasugi Shinsaku’s samurai. Zhang Heng held his ground against Nakamura’s powerful swordsmanship, but their clash left his Dōtanuki badly nicked.

• Nakamura Hanjirō recognized Zhang Heng as a dangerous opponent and drew Juzumaru Tsunetsugu after Zhang jumped down from the roof.
• Nakamura Hanjirō introduced his sword and attacked Zhang Heng with a forceful Sekiguchi-ryū slash.
• Zhang Heng blocked Nakamura Hanjirō’s strike with his Dōtanuki and Wakizashi, then shifted to mobile footwork after realizing he was weaker in strength.
• Zhang Heng and Nakamura Hanjirō exchanged several more blows without either gaining the upper hand.
• Zhang Heng examined the nicks on his Dōtanuki and saw that Nakamura Hanjirō’s Juzumaru Tsunetsugu had damaged it in fewer than ten exchanges.

Okita Soshi fought through Takasugi Shinsaku’s remaining guards and caught up to his palanquin, only to find it empty. Meanwhile, Zhang Heng’s Dōtanuki broke against Nakamura Hanjirō’s Juzumaru Tsunetsugu, and Zhang Heng revealed a new style of swordsmanship.

• Takeuchi Shinji stayed beside Takasugi Shinsaku’s palanquin while three Choshu Domain samurai engaged Okita Soshi.
• Okita Soshi killed all three samurai despite suffering wounds, then chased after the palanquin.
• Okita Soshi found the palanquin empty after its bearers begged him for mercy, and Takasugi Shinsaku’s escort had vanished.
• Nakamura Hanjirō pressed Zhang Heng with a defensive style while their evenly matched fight continued through the street.
• Nakamura Hanjirō’s Juzumaru Tsunetsugu broke Zhang Heng’s battered Dōtanuki, but Zhang Heng switched styles and announced his Annie style.

Zhang Heng wounded Nakamura Hanjirō in their duel, while Okita Soshi pursued Takasugi Shinsaku to a Geishū Domain estate and killed his last guard. There, Okita unexpectedly encountered Miss Sayo, who recoiled in terror at his blood-covered appearance.

• Zhang Heng used shifting sword techniques and a feint to cut two fingers from Nakamura Hanjirō’s right hand.
• Nakamura Hanjirō moved Juzumaru Tsunetsugu to his left hand and asked Zhang Heng to kill him.
• Okita Soshi followed bloodstains to a Geishū Domain estate and entered by scaling its wall.
• Okita Soshi fought and killed the young samurai guarding Takasugi Shinsaku, then searched the estate for Takasugi.
• Okita Soshi turned at the sound of a fallen bucket and found Miss Sayo staring at him in terror.

Zhang Heng defeated Nakamura Hanjirō and claimed Juzumaru Tsunetsugu, then found Okita Soshi devastated after he killed Takasugi Shinsaku in front of Sayo. Zhang Heng offered no judgment and urged Okita to go home and rest.

• Nakamura Hanjirō fought on despite his wounds, but Zhang Heng killed him and took Juzumaru Tsunetsugu.
• Zhang Heng examined the undamaged blade and decided to check on Okita Soshi.
• Zhang Heng followed the signs of the fight and found Okita Soshi standing alone in the darkness.
• Okita Soshi told Zhang Heng that he had killed the unconscious Takasugi Shinsaku at Sayo's home and knocked out her father.
• Zhang Heng comforted the conflicted Okita Soshi and told him to go home, see a doctor, and rest.

Koyama Akane learned that Zhang Heng and Okita Soshi had fought the Tozambatsu faction in Gion, then found Zhang Heng asleep and recovering from his wounds. After they spoke, Zhang Heng invited her to see the autumn leaves at Kiyomizu-dera, and she agreed.

• Takizawa Shota told Koyama Akane that Zhang Heng and Okita Soshi had defeated hundreds of Tozambatsu fighters in Gion, bringing new students to the Koyama Dojo.
• Koyama Akane closed the dojo, climbed into Zhang Heng's courtyard, and found him asleep with his wounds treated.
• Zhang Heng woke and asked Koyama Akane for water, and she admitted she had been worried about his injuries.
• Zhang Heng said he had no connection to the Shinsengumi and had met Okita Soshi by chance, but he did not explain the French merchant's plot.
• Koyama Akane advised Zhang Heng not to become too obsessed with swords, and he agreed to return the remaining borrowed swords.
• Zhang Heng invited Koyama Akane to visit Kiyomizu-dera in autumn, and she accepted.

Zhang Heng found Okita Soshi mourning his separation from Sayo and refused to fight him while he was overwhelmed by heartbreak. After Sayo was sent away, Okita fell seriously ill, and Zhang visited him as his health worsened.

• Zhang Heng found Okita Soshi at a Gion tea stall, where Okita watched Sayo’s closed household gate and admitted he only wanted to see her from afar.
• Zhang Heng told Okita that their sword match could wait until Okita had recovered his resolve, and Okita promised to meet him at Koyama Dojo later.
• Sayo’s family sent her away to their hometown, and Okita spent a day staring at the tea stall before learning she had left.
• A month later, Zhang Heng visited Okita, who had grown thin and feverish and was staring at an orchid in the courtyard.
• Okita recognized Zhang Heng and remarked that stories about Zhang’s dojo challenges had spread throughout Kyoto.

As Kyoto’s political situation worsened and Okita Soshi’s illness advanced, Zhang Heng prepared for the new regime and planned to leave Kyoto the following year. Okita arrived at Koyama Dojo, declaring that he was ready to fulfill his long-postponed duel with Zhang Heng.

• Okita Soshi told Zhang Heng that he doubted his illness could be cured, though he still intended to honor their agreement to duel.
• Zhang Heng contacted members of the Tozambatsu faction to protect Koyama Dojo after the new regime took power, and visited Kiyomizu Shrine with Koyama Akane.
• Zhang Heng told Koyama Akane that he would leave Kyoto the following year, leaving her conflicted despite the dojo’s recovery.
• After 270 days in the instance, Zhang Heng had brought his Blade Mastery close to Level 4 but could find no worthy opponent in Kyoto.
• Okita Soshi came to Koyama Dojo and told Koyama Akane he had prepared himself to battle Zhang Heng as they had agreed.

Okita Soshi visited Zhang Heng to ask him to protect Kondo Isami if the political situation turned against the Shinsengumi, and entrusted him with his famed sword, Kiku Ichimonji Norimune. The two then prepared to fight a private match, with Okita determined to make one final stand despite his illness.

• Okita Soshi asked Zhang Heng whether he was working with Satsuma and Choshu, and Zhang Heng admitted that he was.
• Okita Soshi explained his concerns about Commander Kondo and asked Zhang Heng to help Kondo return to his hometown alive if circumstances allowed.
• Zhang Heng said he would do his best to save Kondo but could not guarantee it.
• Okita Soshi entrusted Kiku Ichimonji Norimune to Zhang Heng, saying he could no longer wield the sword.
• Okita Soshi and Zhang Heng stood ready to begin their private match in Zhang Heng's courtyard.

Okita Soshi challenged Zhang Heng to a duel, showing how much his swordsmanship had improved despite his grave illness. Their intense battle ended when Okita’s presence vanished, leaving Zhang Heng and Koyama Akane to face the silence.

• Okita Soshi told Zhang Heng about his swordsmanship, past battles, and the improvements he had made while recuperating.
• Okita Soshi attacked Zhang Heng with a swift, unpredictable series of strikes, and Zhang Heng defended himself using his trained footwork.
• Koyama Akane watched as Zhang Heng and Okita Soshi fought with everything they had, moved by their skill and mutual understanding.
• Zhang Heng entered a focused state with his eyes closed and continued fighting Okita Soshi until Okita’s aura suddenly disappeared.
• Zhang Heng opened his eyes and saw Koyama Akane standing with her face drenched in tears.