Cold. Compassionate. These two words describe the Okashira, or leader, of the Oniwaban-shu. A tactical genius and master of the kodachi, Aoshi Shinomori was given the role of Okashira at the age of fifteen, in time to prepare the Edo Castle Oniwaban-shu for the defense of their capital. Unfortunately, that time never came for them, as the last Shogun simply gave up Edo and fled for his life. Since then, all but four of the Oniwaban-shu have left to settle into new lives in the Meiji era. However, his latest employer betrayed him and the last of his comrades died for him, and for this, Aoshi has decided to grace their graves with the title of "The Strongest." To him, this means defeating the strongest Ishin patriot of the Bakumatsu, a man named Himura Battousai...