Emperor Komei furrowed his brow slightly, feeling a rising impatience towards Prince Sanehito of the Arisugawa-no-miya, yet he still glanced in the direction the other pointed, where towering flames suddenly rose dozens of yards high.

Is this reasonable?

While Emperor Komei had initially only been urgent, he was now extremely anxious.

"What is the Choshu Domain trying to do?!"

His face was full of anger.

If there had been just one side of attacking, it could be said that they wanted to kidnap him, but even the back was set ablaze!

The entire Imperial Residence was surrounded by flames, this was no simple attempt to hold Emperor Komei hostage, it seemed more like an attempt to annihilate them!

Annihilate him? 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Emperor Komei considered this possibility, his complexion changed several times, and he murmured, "Impossible, how could the Choshu Domain do such a thing!"

Upon hearing this, Prince Sanehito of the Arisugawa-no-miya quickly spun his eyes, cleverness surged within him, and he hastily said, "Your Majesty! Lord Mori would never commit such a treacherous act, then what about the Shogunate?"

"What are you saying?!"

Emperor Komei gripped his hands tightly in anger, turning his head like an enraged lion.

He glared viciously at Prince Sanehito of the Arisugawa-no-miya.

Frightened, the prince stepped back several paces, yet halted himself, gritting his teeth and saying, "I am in contact with the Choshu Domain.

They could never directly launch an attack on the Imperial Residence in one go; it must be the act of a rogue faction.

But if it were just a rogue faction, how could Tokugawa Yoshinobu fail to repel them?

Moreover, it is midsummer, the weather is dry, and Kyoto is indeed prone to fires.

Yet, for the fire to encircle the entire Imperial Residence in such a short time is clearly abnormal."

Prince Sanehito of the Arisugawa-no-miya gritted his teeth and spoke these words.

He knew very well that if he didn't want his political career to end, he must not let this uprising be too closely associated with the Choshu Domain.

He had to implicate the Shogunate.

No minister advised against this.

At this critical moment, any slight misstep in positioning could lead to eternal damnation.

Undercurrents surged within the crowd.

Mutsuhito was full of anxiety, feeling these men truly were no match for a thirteen-year-old child.

If they wanted political confrontation, they should at least wait until they were out of danger.

Surrounded by a sea of fire, speaking such words only delayed their escape!

"Father, our top priority is to leave the Imperial Residence; once outside, everything will be safe!"

Mutsuhito paused slightly, and then said, "We can discuss the intentions of the Shogunate later, as long as we meet up with the Satsuma Domain."

"No! Meet up with the Aizu Domain."

Emperor Komei shook his head; at that moment, his trust for others was limited, only Matsudaira Katamori, who served as the Kyoto Shugoshoku, was the most trustworthy loyal minister in his eyes.

His prior decision to repel the Choshu Domain was based on the belief that the Aizu Domain was more trustworthy.

"Understood."

Mutsuhito quickly corrected himself.

Seeing Emperor Komei decide on a route, the ministers also began heading west.

Since they were to meet up with the Kyoto Shugoshoku, naturally they needed to head in the direction of his office.

Emperor Komei couldn't wait for the palanquin and directly arranged for a tall guard to carry him while running.

The group hadn't run far when a sudden strong wind blew up, lifting sand from the ground.

Mutsuhito instinctively raised his hand to block the sand, and when he lowered it, the wind stopped, bright sunlight fell on the gravel path ahead, where a black-haired youth stood.

The advancing steps of the group suddenly halted.

"Who are you?"

The leading guard shouted, gripping his weapon handle and slowly moving forward.

Aozawa glanced sharply, his shadow on the ground suddenly stretching forward, then rebounding off the ground, the sharp shadow blade directly severing the guard.

The angle went from right to left, splitting the heart in half.

The guard was split in two, the bloody scene leaving the ministers pale-faced.

Emperor Komei's pupils contracted, he trembled and said, "Who sent you to assassinate me?!"

"Blame it on yourselves for insisting on expelling foreigners."

Aozawa replied and found Mutsuhito among the crowd.

According to his age, the future Emperor Meiji should be this young man in front of him, with quite ordinary looks.

No one would know that the boy now, in the future, would become Japan's most famous emperor.

Although Japan's Meiji Restoration involved efforts from others, Emperor Meiji played many important roles in it.

He transformed Japan into a complete war machine.

"Does the Shogunate really dare commit such an open crime against the world?"

"If I kill you all, the world will only know the Choshu Domain rebelled, unrelated to the Shogunate."

Aozawa replied leisurely.

The shadow blade swayed in the air, like a lazy cat, transforming in the next moment into a tiger pouncing on its prey, severing several heads.

"Ah!"

Seeing this, the ministers and Emperor Komei nearly wet themselves; they could comment on the realm and lead wars only when the wars were beyond their sight, sparing themselves.

Facing death, they were just like ordinary people, afraid and screaming in fright.

Among the crowd, Mutsuhito's eyes flickered with fear, but without a word, he turned around and ran with a limp.

The guards were no hope; only by fleeing separately was there a chance to survive.

...

"Ah!"

Mutsuhito hadn't run far when he heard the uniform screams behind.

He instinctively looked back and saw a scene that weakened his legs.

With just one strike, the shadow blade, black as a sickle, beheaded dozens of imperial ministers and the emperor, severing the guards!

Splattered blood fell among the road's stones.

With a thud, his legs weakened and he fell to the ground, a burning pain in his palm from a cut by the shards.

Yet Mutsuhito didn't care, loudly shouting, "I am willing to be loyal to the Conquer Barbarian General, I am willing to be his puppet!"