Chapter 610: Host Arc (1/2)

At this moment, Kyourou slowly approached and praised, "As I thought, you all are perfect for this. My judgment was not wrong."

He bowed slightly toward Hijikata and Sougo, "I'm counting on you. To protect this street from the Lady, we'll need your help."

"What kind of nonsense is this?" Hijikata responded with disdain, glancing at Kyourou, "How can a samurai stoop to such ridiculousness?"

"Be-be-be!" Kondou, fully immersed in his role as the Harley Gorilla Bike, crossed his arms with a serious expression, "If protecting this street is part of our Shinsengumi mission, then isn't this also a grand duty?"

Hijikata immediately retorted, "I've never heard of a duty where you grow handlebars out of your head!"

"This is an order from the chief, just for tonight. Let's 'Party'!"

"Your brain's been 'partying' all year round!" Hijikata angrily shot back.

"Come on, let's all calm down." Sougo, sitting in a booth with two girls fawning over him, tried to mediate, "Why don't you have a drink, TOSHI?"

"Who the hell is TOSHI?!" Hijikata turned around, veins bulging in frustration as he glared at Sougo. "And why are you already entertaining customers?!"

"Even though I don't fully understand the situation, I've already figured out the trick," Sougo responded with a fresh smile. "Basically, just toy with these dumb pigs, take their money, and enjoy the free drinks, right?"

He said this with a perfectly innocent expression.

"Oh, you're so bad~" the girl on Sougo's left side blushed and giggled, "Sougo, you're such a tease~."

"You're so naughty~" the girl on his right side coyly rubbed against his chest.

"Sorry, I wasn't talking about you two," Sougo apologized, looking down at the girls in his arms. "You two are... special."

"Eek—!" the two girls shrieked in delight and immediately called out, "Excuse me, can we get another bottle of Dom Pérignon!"

Seeing the two girls completely smitten, Hijikata couldn't help but mutter, "He's a genius! He's found his true calling! That guy's radiating a dark, evil glow!"

"Alright, I'll take care of the Lady," Kyourou addressed everyone except Sougo, who was busy with his customers. "You two will provide support for me, and the rest of you will be support for the supporters."

"What the hell is 'support for the supporters'?!" Shinpachi immediately protested. "Even The Beatles didn't need that much backup!"

"What a joke!" Gintoki snapped, glaring at Hijikata. "Who wants to support someone like that?! He looks just like Shinpachi without glasses!"

"Exactly, aru!" Kagura agreed. "If you dyed your hair black, Gin-san, you'd look almost exactly the same!"

Gintoki and Hijikata, both now red-faced, glared at each other and shouted in unison, "Who looks like this idiot?!"

Sandwiched between them, Shinpachi's face twitched as a vein bulged on his forehead. "You both need to knock it off!"

At that moment, Ayame, expressionless, lifted her leg and brought it down hard on Shinpachi's head.

Ignoring the now unconscious Shinpachi, who lay on the floor with smoke rising from his head, Ayame sighed and scolded, "Seriously, stop fighting. How can you not get along? Teamwork is the most important thing for hosts."

"Exactly." Kyourou nodded, clenching his right fist with determination. "Let's work together to entertain the Lady. Follow my lead, and there will be no problems. I usually don't ask for help, but tonight, I want to go all out against the Lady."

"Huh? You're going to reserve the entire place just to entertain her?" Ayame blinked in surprise.

"Yes, is there an issue with that?"

"Sorry," Ayame propped her chin on her hand, looking slightly apologetic, "I thought it would be better if it were more lively, so I invited a lot of people..."

Before Ayame could finish her sentence, Saigou and the group of Okama burst through the doors of Takamagahara, immediately surrounding Kyourou.

Before Kyourou could even turn around, he was caught in a chokehold by the massive arms of Saigou from behind.

"Ah, it's been a while, Kyourou-sama~" the Okama swarmed around the expressionless Kyourou, all striking coquettish poses.

As Kyourou struggled in vain, now foaming at the mouth while Saigou continued to choke him, Gintoki and the others stood there with dark expressions, their faces blank.

"Thank you for inviting us," Saigou growled menacingly as he grinned at the helpless Kyourou in his arms. "You really wanted to see us, didn't you? Well, I just got out of a bad breakup, but if you really want to comfort me... I guess I could let you~."

"Kyourou-sama is so happy he's bubbling over~"

"Yes, he really is~."