As the saying went, concern bred confusion. It was known that getting stronger made you go bald, and going bald first was the shortcut to becoming stronger. Even if it had come from the unreliable Sogo, seeing how he had laid out both facts and reasoning, Toshiro Hijikata found it hard not to believe him.
If those idiot squad members all took shortcuts and became stronger than him, their vice-chief, would Toshiro Hijikata still be qualified to lead them?
Was he supposed to rely on the members' respect and self-discipline alone? Though managing an organization required not brute force but social finesse, Hijikata couldn't accept that... After all, the reason he, the vice-chief, was so highly regarded by the members was partly due to his people skills, but also partly due to his own strength.
Even though he had established many harsh rules and doctrines, because of his own self-discipline and the strength he had gained from it, the members naturally obeyed him without exception. But if he became the weakest person in the group, wouldn't the members think that even self-discipline would only get them as far as he had?
He wouldn't be able to command respect! Or was he supposed to go from the Demon Vice-Chief to some smiling Buddha in the future? At that thought, Toshiro Hijikata shuddered. It seemed he couldn't keep this hair anymore. "Sogo, since you said I'm only one or two years away from going bald, rather than watch my hair fall out right before my eyes, I might as well shave it off now and be done with it..." There was no helping it. He couldn't stop it anyway, so since he couldn't beat it, he could only join it...
"Are you sure?" Sogo Doma glanced at him, his feelings rather complicated.