Gintoki picked his ear.
As if he had not heard that trademark retort.
His gaze fell on Katsura's unusually grave face, and he reined in some of his usual laziness.
"So, during this extraordinary time when even 'Kizaru' has come down here to punch in."
"Why did a troublemaker like you suddenly jump onto my balcony?"
Shinpachi retorted, "Gin-san, what are you talking about? This isn't your home!"
Then he looked at Katsura. "And you, this is the ninth floor. How did you even get up here?"
Katsura Kotaro straightened up.
He dusted off nonexistent dirt from his kimono.
Ignoring both of their complaints.
The indoor light cast sharp shadows across his handsome but tense face.
His cool gaze swept across everyone in the room.
Then he looked at Sakata Gintoki.
"I need to speak with you. The situation is urgent."
"We just received confirmed news..."
Katsura's voice was low, yet every word struck clearly against everyone's hearts.
"The entire upper echelon of Kyoto's central government died mysteriously last night."
"What?"
Shinpachi sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes widening behind his glasses.
"An assassination? Or...?"
"According to several Samurai patrolling outside the Kyoto Imperial Palace."
Katsura spoke faster, his eyes sharpening.
"They saw several 'black-clad men' under the moonlight, leaving across the rooftops at a speed beyond human comprehension before vanishing into the night."
"Black-clad men..."
Gintoki and Shinpachi repeated it in low voices almost simultaneously, then instinctively exchanged a glance.
Three days ago, those two figures who had appeared out of nowhere, stuffed Hosen, the Night King, into a black box, and easily repelled Kamui before leaving, immediately surfaced in Gintoki's mind.
"Black suits, tall hats, pigeons..." Shinpachi murmured unconsciously.
Gintoki added, "That croissant hair, and that damned magic box."
Katsura noticed their reaction. "Have you encountered people