Perhaps influenced by a certain Sougo, the Kondo Group had practically made protecting their own into a traditional specialty. Maybe that was precisely why the idiot members turned a blind eye to Captain Sougo's unreliable behavior and voluntarily followed the rules Vice-Chief Hijikata had laid down. They did not even care that their own commander was a gorilla...
To put it in one sentence: "Both the captain and vice-chief are good guys to follow—when trouble comes, they really dare to step up!"
"Still, Ozawa..." Of course, protecting their own was one thing, but neither Hijikata nor Sougo would lower their standards for the members because of it. Just like Hijikata now, after offering a few comforting words, he changed the subject. "Although you failed to react because you were ambushed, it also exposed shortcomings in your training. From now on, add another half hour to your training time. Any objections?"
"..." He had objections. Huge objections. The current training intensity had already left them exhausted; adding another half hour would make them collapse! Vice-Chief! Ozawa, who had been deeply moved just moments ago, immediately felt awful. "N-No objections!"
Yet Ozawa did not dare voice the wail in his heart. Still, he asked, "Vice-Chief, what about everyone else?"
"They'll be adding extra training too!"
"Yes!" For some reason, Ozawa's response did not sound quite as tragic as before.
Another member who had witnessed everything and been innocently caught in the blast: "..."
Heh. Hehehe. That bastard Ozawa was dragging everyone into hell with him!
Ozawa seemed to sense what his companion was thinking and shot him a look. Their years of cultivated rapport allowed that member to understand the meaning Ozawa was trying to convey through his eyes: "Don't dream of making me stay in hell alone. I, Ozawa, even if