The breakfast was sumptuous.

Once one's status reaches a certain level, unless resources are extremely scarce, the quality of food will never be poor.

Aozawa enjoyed this breakfast alone, as Ayatsuki Ayaka and the others didn't have time to come by.

After learning of the end of the Different World expedition, their parents immediately requested their daughters to return home for a good look.

Some emotions cannot be replaced by video.

Even if officials wanted to hold a grand triumphant ceremony, it couldn't overpower the parents' urge for their children's return.

The Treasure Users had the power to refuse the triumph ceremony.

True power is not about how many meetings one attends, but whether one can refuse to attend meetings.

After finishing breakfast, Aozawa directly requested the military to dispatch a fighter jet to take him back to Tokyo.

The commander had to remind him, "Mr. Aozawa, a fighter jet is not a passenger plane and has limited capacity."

"No problem, I can sit on the shell of the jet," Aozawa waved his hand, considering the commander's words not an issue.

Even if there wasn't space inside the jet, he could stay outside on the fuselage. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

The commander felt he wasn't fully awake; how could a Treasure User be measured by common logic?

Aozawa successfully boarded an F22 fighter jet and quickly returned to the skies above Adachi District in Tokyo.

With a glance at the location of the Morimoto Family, he leaped off the top of the fighter jet right in front of the pilot.

Whoosh!

The fierce wind roared past his ears. Just as he was about to land, he pushed off the air with his foot.

The booming sonic boom merged with the sound of the receding jet in the sky.

A small crater formed in the ground beneath his feet as he landed. He used smart unlocking to enter the house.

Shutting the door, the shadows at Aozawa's feet suddenly surged, manifesting into Shadow Soldiers.

They swiftly cleaned the house.

Unhurriedly, Aozawa took off his shoes and stepped onto the corridor, with no dust visible inside.

Once the Shadow Soldiers finished cleaning, they retracted into the shadows, leaving only one to respectfully take his phone and retreat to the bedroom.

As soon as someone sent a message, it would immediately notify him.

Once everything was settled, Aozawa opted to use Parallel Shuttle.

The first parallel world he wanted to visit was naturally the past, to save Morimoto Chiyoda's parents.

So that the Morimoto Chiyoda in the parallel space wouldn't be alone.

As for himself, Aozawa believed there was a high chance he wouldn't exist in the parallel world.

Because he didn't belong to this world in the first place; he was a variable.

Hence, it's unlikely for him to exist in the parallel worlds of this world.

Specifically, he still needed to enter the parallel worlds to have a look.

...

As Aozawa expected, there was no Aozawa in the parallel worlds.

But what surprised him was even Morimoto Chiyoda didn't exist in the parallel worlds.

Not just one parallel world.

He visited five of them but couldn't find her.

Additionally, after he entered a parallel world, time passed in the exact same way as it did in the original world.

He couldn't jump to a minute after he initially entered the parallel world.

The time Aozawa could return to in the original world must match the time spent in the parallel world.

Moreover, Parallel Shuttle had no cooldown time.

Once he returned here, he could immediately choose a new parallel world to traverse to.

This time he chose the Bakumatsu period.

To change the history of that parallel world.

If the Emperor's bloodline ceased to exist entirely, and the Meiji family was completely wiped out.

Without the Meiji Restoration, what would Japan's future be?

Aozawa was very curious about this.

He used his ability, took a step forward, and his body seemed to dissolve into the air.

...

1864.

For Japan, three major events occurred this year, enough to be recorded in history books.

The first was the Ikedaya Incident on June 5th, which gave the Shinsengumi their notorious "Mibu Wolf" reputation.

It also gave later anime creators and manga artists a hot topic. Stories about the Shinsengumi appeared in films, anime, manga, and novels.

The second event was the Forbidden Gate Incident, influenced by the Ikedaya Incident.

The Choshu Domain, targeting the Aizu Domain Lord, Kyoto Shugoshoku Matsudaira Katamori, and others, dispatched troops to Kyoto, engaging in street battles with the Shogunate allied forces within the city.

The conflict ended in defeat, with Kyoto set ablaze. However, it further weakened the Shogunate's ruling power, creating conditions for the subsequent Meiji Restoration and the like.

The third event occurred in September when the Shikoku Allied Fleet bombarded Shimonoseki.

Upon learning that the Shogunate intended to subjugate the Choshu Domain, the UK, France, the US, and the Netherlands sent warships to first display the power of ironclad ships and powerful cannons, making the Shogunate's subsequent conquest much easier.

The time Aozawa chose was June 4th, and the location was not Kyoto but Edo Castle.

The time was night, unrelated to the time flow of the parallel world.

Simply put, Aozawa chose to enter Edo Castle at night.

He wanted to first participate in the Ikedaya Incident and have some fun, so he naturally needed to acquire an identity.

...

The exquisite paper lamps illuminated the study.

It was late at night, but as the highest ruler of the Shogunate, Tokugawa Iemochi couldn't sleep.

The domestic situation was deteriorating, and the authority of the Shogunate was being gradually eroded.

Emperor Komei was unwilling to continue being a puppet, wanting to reclaim power from the Shogunate.

Of course, Tokugawa Iemochi wasn't worried about Emperor Komei.

Though he desired power, he greatly advocated the Koubu Gattai policy.

Fundamentally, it still retained the Shogunate's ruling power.

What truly worried Tokugawa Iemochi was the Sonnō Jōi policy.

This policy would grant the Emperor significant power, essentially requiring the Shogunate to yield actual power to the Emperor and order the Shogunate to expel foreigners.

The benefits and reputation would be reaped by the Emperor and those in the xenophobic faction, leaving the Shogunate unfairly as the scapegoat, and failure would lead to losing ruling authority.