HIGHLIGHTS:
Entering the dojo disguised as a policeman, Saito tells Kaoru and Yahiko that Kenshin is being targeted. Kaoru offers to let him stay and wait. Believing he has won, Akamatsu tells Kenshin that he is being targeted by someone for a special reason, but Kenshin rises up and defeats him. Kaoru sees him as he is walking home, telling him of the "policeman" at the dojo sent to protect him. Coming face to face with his old foe, Kenshin tells them who Saito truly is. They duel but Kenshin quickly sustains several wounds. To Kaoru's shock, Kenshin reverts into his Hitokiri Battosai persona and begins to fight more viciously. Sanosuke notes that with both fighters now intent on killing the other, the only one who can stop them is someone who has fought their war. After Kenshin and Saito lose each other's weapons, they prepare to deliver the final blow, but the clash are interrupted by the arrival of Okubo.During the Revolution, the Shinsengumi were the elite swordsmen fighting on the side of the Tokugawa regime. Known as the Wolves of Mibu, they were often referred to as the arch-rivals of the Imperialists. The Shinsengumi was divided into three squads. The leader of the 3rd Squad, Hajime Saitou, was reputed to be the greatest swordsman among them, even greater than Okita Souji (leader of the 1st Squad and the most well known member). In Kyoto, Kenshin fought with the leader of the three squads more than once. None of those battles ever had a decisive outcome. Of those three, Saitou is the only survivor. After the revolution, Saitou went to work for the new government as an undercover agent for the department of Internal Affairs. His cover identity is that of Goro Fujita, an assistant inspector in the police force. Even though he works in the police Saitou has not traded in his katana for a saber, finding such western swords too brittle to serve his purposes. In the eleventh year of the Meiji era, Saitou once again confronted his old rival, Kenshin Himura. Inside the Kamiya Dojo, an epic battle ensued. However, this time Saitou’s agenda was much different than it was during the Revolution. His coming was just the prelude to a much greater conflict, which, if not stopped, would plunge Japan into another era of chaos even greater than that of the Meiji Revolution. Even though he fought for the Shogunate and later the Meiji, Saitou owes allegiance to no specific person or authority figure. Rather, he is driven by the philosophy that has governed the Shinsengumi since its creation. Aku Soku Zan. Slay evil immediately. Without regard for whomever the victim might be, Saitou does not hesitate to kill anyone who becomes the focus of this lethal code. No one, not even those in the highest levels of the government are immune to Saitou’s blade. Even the peaceful times of the Meiji Era have not dulled the wolf’s fangs. And Saitou works to this day, from the inside, ferreting out and destroying corruption, greed and evil wherever it may arise.