If Toshiro Hijikata found out that the so-called blacklisting was actually just Sogo pulling strings behind the scenes to scare him, perhaps... Well, no perhaps about it!
"..." Toshiro Hijikata felt helpless, but he had nothing to say. He could only remain silent.
"Heh, hehehe..." Although Gan'an Shinomiya had once asked whether he could call Hijikata by his given name, Hijikata had not agreed to it, had he?
Thus, he continued with a smile, addressing him as, "Sir Hijikata, in this old man's view, you are a dutiful swordsman possessed of bushido."
"You flatter me..." Toshiro Hijikata's eye twitched. He already understood what the other man was trying to coax him into saying, so he promptly denied it. "This era has no need for samurai."
"No, no, no..." Just as he had expected, Gan'an Shinomiya shook his head as soon as the words left his mouth. "How could someone capable of saying that a retainer must die when his lord is dishonored lack the spirit of a samurai? And among samurai, those willing to target an enemy without hesitation for their lord's sake would likely be limited to the retainers of that loyal minister. Even if this age no longer needs samurai, such samurai spirit is still worthy of praise. As a swordsman with the spirit of a samurai, I trust that Sir Hijikata will not begrudge offering some guidance to my sworn brother?"
"Blades have no eyes..." The other man had already said everything for him. What could Toshiro Hijikata do? He could not exactly say, I just don't like the look of you; it has nothing to do with loyalty, right?
Still, to avoid trouble, he struggled on. "If I were to harm the goodwill between the Doma Family and the Shinomiya Family..."
"Eh..." Gan'an Shinomiya shook his