My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 8: Chapter 5: Have You Ever Seen a Hellish Start Like This?

Seven years ago in Kaei 6 (1853), the American fleet knocked on Japan’s door and subsequently signed the first unequal treaty in Japanese history: the Japan-US Amity Treaty.

Since then, the great powers like England and France were drawn in like cats smelling fish, each coming to Japan to sign various agreements.

Two years ago in Year 5 of Ansei (1858), Japan signed a new treaty with the United States: the Japan-US Treaty of Amity and Commerce.

In this treaty, Japan agreed to allow the United States to station an envoy in Edo, thus officially establishing the United States Embassy in Japan.

These foreign embassies naturally became the focal points of the ”Radical Anti-foreigner Faction.”

They launched countless large and small harassment campaigns against the embassies and the people working there.

Currently, the ideas of ”expelling the foreigners” are spreading further, with more people joining the anti-foreigner movement, making the attacks on embassies more intense and frequent.

If the envoys and others in the embassy were to be killed by people from the ”Radical Anti-foreigner Faction”, it would certainly be a major international issue. Thus, the Shogunate decided to increase guards around the embassies.

But recruiting guards takes time.

Therefore, while waiting for the recruitment of guards to be completed, the ”Original Tachibana Aoto” was dispatched to the United States Embassy a month ago as a ”temporary guard.”

The ”Original Tachibana Aoto” was a temporary guard at the United States Embassy for a total of seven days, during which time he did nothing significant.

Every day, he merely patrolled the embassy, but still caught the attention and hatred of the ”Radical Anti-foreigner Faction.”

They believed such behavior of aiding foreigners was unforgivable.

A national traitor! Deserving of Celestial Punishment!

This was not the first attempt on Aoto’s life by the ”Radical Anti-foreigner Faction.”

Ten days ago, they launched their first assassination attempt on the ”Original Tachibana Aoto.”

The ”Original Tachibana Aoto” was very fortunate.

Surrounded by four assassins at the time and on the brink of being beheaded, a group of uninterested onlookers suddenly appeared, much like tonight.

The assassins, not wanting to reveal their identities, quickly fled.

That time, the ”Original Tachibana Aoto” truly came close to dying.

While holding up knives, the assassins loudly recited the ”crimes” of the ”Original Tachibana Aoto.”

If it weren’t for the ”meticulous actions” of these assassins, the ”Original Tachibana Aoto” wouldn’t even know why he was targeted by the ”Radical Anti-foreigner Faction.”

”Alright.” Kyūbē carefully inspected the bandage he wrapped around Aoto’s wound, nodded in satisfaction and said, ”The bandage is done. Young Master, see if it’s wrapped too tightly or too loosely.”

”It’s wrapped perfectly, Kyūbē, you’ve worked hard.”

”Huh?” Kyūbē, looking confused, leaned his right ear toward Aoto.

Seeing this, Aoto helplessly smiled and moved his mouth closer to Kyūbē.

”I said! It’s wrapped perfectly! Kyūbē! You’ve worked hard!”

”Oh...” Kyūbē, as if waking from a dream, nodded slightly, ”As long as you’re not uncomfortable, it’s good.”

This elderly man, who has served the Tachibana Family for over thirty years, has increasingly poor hearing and a failing memory with age.

Speaking to Kyūbē in a volume as if shouting at an enemy—this was part of the daily life in the Tachibana household.

Aoto stood up, jumped in place a few times.

After confirming that the bandage on his leg wouldn’t interfere with his movement, he raised his head and sighed deeply.

Seeing this, Kyūbē quickly came forward.

”Young Master, this night must have been exhausting for you. Attacked by the ’Anti-foreigner Faction’ again, you must have been frightened.”

”Yes, indeed...” Aoto sighed deeply again and scratched his head, ”I was truly terrified...”

—I almost got killed right after crossing over...

—So what’s with my current situation... Just crossed over and targeted by a bunch of terrorists...

These ”Radical Anti-foreigner Faction” members, by any definition, were unmistakable terrorists.

Moreover, they’re the kind that can’t be reasoned with; they single-mindedly want to kill you.

While Aoto was lamenting his current predicament—

Thud, thud, thud!

An abrupt, violent knocking sounded at the door.

The sudden knocking seemed to have magic, instantly turning Kyūbē’s face pale.

”Coming, coming!”

Kyūbē answered hurriedly as he rushed to the door.

Aoto, not understanding, followed Kyūbē with a puzzled expression.

Whoosh...

The wooden door slid open.

Outside the door stood three young men.

The leader wore rather plain-colored clothing and a low-brimmed straw hat.

As Kyūbē opened the door, he immediately lifted the hat, revealing a face whose handsome features were marred by a large scar running from the left ear to the right ear.

”Good evening, Lord Tachibana.”

The scar-faced man smiled warmly, greeting Aoto who stood behind Kyūbē.

”As you can see, I’ve returned. Have you saved enough money this time?”

—Saving money? Who are these people?

Aoto, even more bewildered, hurriedly accessed the memory of the ”Original Tachibana Aoto.”

As Aoto strained to search the ”Original Tachibana Aoto’s” memory, the panicked Kyūbē hurriedly returned to the back room and then quickly came back.

When he returned, Kyūbē held a small paper parcel in his hand.

”Here you go.” Kyūbē stuffed the paper parcel into the scar-faced man’s arms.

The scar-faced man opened the parcel—to find it filled with money.

”This is all this time...” the scar-faced man grimaced, ”Isn’t this too little?”

”Please be lenient,” Kyūbē pleaded hastily.

The scar-faced man glanced at Kyūbē.

”...Alright then, I’ll let it pass this time.”

After speaking, he used his fingers to fiddle with the money in his hands, quickly counted the sum, and then took off a small abacus from his waist.

”Hmm... after deducting what you paid this time... Lord Tachibana, your father currently owes 520 gold pieces in gambling debt.”

The scar-faced man, after fiddling with the abacus, smiled and stuffed the money Kyūbē had just given him into his bosom.

”The debt is now down to just 520 gold pieces, congratulations, congratulations, keep up the good work, Lord Tachibana.”

The scar-faced man pressed the brim of his hat lower.

”The money has been received, so I won’t disturb you any longer.”

”I’ll come back in a while. Please make sure to prepare a more substantial amount by then.”

”The money you’ve prepared for tonight is really too little. Normally, I wouldn’t even bother to collect it.”

”But seeing that you’ve been consistently trying to repay, I’ll make an exception tonight.”

”Next time, please don’t try to fool me with such a small amount.”

”Otherwise...”

The scar-faced man gave Aoto an exceptionally sunny and warm smile, his eyes narrowed into slits.

”You wouldn’t want to live a life where you can’t even sleep, right?”

”I wish you a good night’s sleep tonight.”

With that, the scar-faced man pressed down the brim of his hat again, waved his hand, and swaggered away with two young men behind him.

Aoto stood dazed, watching the scar-faced man leave.

Just now, he finally processed the memories related to the ”debt” from the ”Original Tachibana Aoto” and figured out who this scar-faced man really was.

They are the ”Yakuza”!

In modern terms, that scar-faced man just now is what you’d call a member of the criminal underworld.

Aoto, who graduated from police school in a past life, is quite familiar with the underworld.

During his time at police school in a past life, a senior who specialized in researching criminal syndicates once educated Aoto about Japan’s gangs.

Japan’s gangs trace their origins back to the Edo Era—the era in which Aoto currently lives.

The predecessors of Japan’s gangs were a group of social outcasts from the Edo Era who banded together for survival.

But gradually, these organizations, which started as survival groups for low-ranking people, began to change. They started engaging in shady and highly profitable endeavors such as the sex trade, gambling, and lending to seek profit and expand their power.

In the Edo Era, there was no such thing as underworld or gangs. People at that time contemptuously referred to those engaging in these underworld activities as ”Yakuza.”

”Yakuza” is the transliteration of the Japanese word ”ヤクザ,” which means ”loser” or ”bum.”

By the 20th century, Japanese gang members sought to aggrandize themselves and named their group the ”Extreme Path.”

Why did the Yakuza come to demand money from Aoto?

That’s a long story.

It’s because of Aoto’s wretched father...

Aoto’s father, Tachibana Ryuzo, was originally a mentally sound, cheerful, and upright middle-aged man with no bad habits.

However, fate played a cruel trick—he unexpectedly got addicted to gambling a year ago.

People who get addicted to gambling all share a common trait: they always believe they’ll win the next round, and once they sit at the gambling table, they won’t leave until they’ve lost everything.

Tachibana Ryuzo kept gambling, kept gambling... until half a year ago, when he suddenly fell ill with an incurable disease and died, finally ending his gambling spree.

Though only half a year passed from the time he got addicted to gambling until his death, Aoto’s father still ended up with an enormous gambling debt—a total of 600 gold pieces!

In this era, the price of 1 gold piece is roughly equivalent to 1,288,000 yen in modern Japan.

gold pieces equals 77,280,000 yen...

Converted to RMB, that’s nearly 4 million...

[Note: Currency conversion between yen and RMB is based on the exchange rate at the time of writing this Chapter by the author.]

gold pieces is such an astronomical figure, to say the least.

In the Edo Era, only the Yakuza would open and operate casinos. Ordinary merchants would never dare to touch the casino business.

The casino where Aoto’s father incurred his gambling debt was backed by the Yakuza group commonly known as the ”Shimizu Clan.”

In the Edo Era, the Yakuza followed a family-centric organizational structure, so people would commonly refer to them as ”XX Clan” or ”XX Party.”

The ”Shimizu Clan” isn’t an ordinary Yakuza.

Their influence is vast, reaching and interfering in all walks of life in Edo. They are recognized as the ”largest Yakuza group in Edo.”

The scar-faced man just now is from the ”Shimizu Clan.”

Tachibana Ryuzo was actually well-liked. Even when he turned into a gambling addict, there were still a few who remained loyal to him.

After Tachibana Ryuzo died, these close friends immediately banded together and decided to find a position for Aoto so that the Tachibana Family wouldn’t fall into ruin without a source of income.

After some maneuvering, they successfully secured Aoto a position, allowing him to inherit Ryuzo’s title as the new Dōshin of the Edo North Guard Station Patrol District.

Aoto inheriting Ryuzo’s title was certainly a good thing.

But what Aoto inherited along with it... was also the enormous debt Ryuzo owed the ”Shimizu Clan.”

Aoto’s father died, and his gambling debt naturally fell onto Aoto’s shoulders.

Since Aoto’s father’s death half a year ago, people from the ”Shimizu Clan” have come to his door to collect the debt every few days.

Debt must be repaid, a father’s debt is a son’s responsibility, and it goes without saying, especially when the debtor is the law-disregarding Yakuza...

Enduring silently and repaying the debt for half a year, successfully reducing it from 600 gold pieces down to just... 520 gold pieces...

Bang!

Aoto slowly tilted his head back and suddenly raised both hands to press his cheeks.

——Not only is he being targeted by terrorists, but he’s also being targeted by the largest Yakuza group in the city...

——What kind of hellish starting point is this?!

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