Ke Xue: He mastered the steel-cutting divine skill at the start.

She just included Hattori among the six people, which was clearly not a random statement, but a conclusion drawn from a lot of collected information.

She was well aware of Hattori Heiji's strength.

When this guy wields his sword, his swordsmanship is so powerful it's like a demon's. No one in the entire Gaifang High School Kendo Club has ever been able to withstand his sword for more than five minutes!

That's why he became the ace captain of the Kendo Club and the hope for the team to win the championship this time.

Her curiosity was immediately piqued.

"Sonoko-kun, tell me quickly, who else are the experts? I'm so curious!"

Sonoko smiled smugly; all her hard work in collecting information had paid off.

"Besides Hattori Heiji from your school, the second notable expert is Ikugoshi Kurahiko. It is said that he once fought Hattori Heiji and although he narrowly lost, his strength is still very formidable, making him a noteworthy expert as well!"

"Uh-huh!"

Kazuha couldn't help but nod. As a big fan of Hattori, she knew everything about him.

This Ikkoshi Kurahiko is indeed a very strong guy. He is very fast and good at changing moves and footwork. He once caused Hattori a lot of trouble in the competition.

It seems that Ms. Sonoko's information is indeed quite authoritative!

"Then the third person, his name is Okita Souji, you should have heard of him, right?"

"Okita from Kyoto Izumi Shin High School?"

Upon hearing this name, Kazuha's face became much more serious. She had also made a special effort to learn about the kendo masters in various high schools and to understand Hattori's potential rivals.

Okita is one of the most terrifying opponents. His five-stage thrusting attack is fierce, domineering, and swift as lightning. He can basically kill most opponents instantly.

"Looks like you've done your homework. It's this guy. He's skilled in five-stage thrusting and his speed is terrifying. When fighting him, avoiding head-on attacks is of utmost importance. And another thing, he looks a lot like Kudo!"

"what?"

Shinichi Kudo, who was listening nearby, was taken aback. What? She looks a lot like him?

What is this ghost?

"Sonoko, are you even seriously gathering information? You care so much about Miyazaki Yu, but you're not putting any effort into gathering information at all."

Sonoko raised an eyebrow: "You rascal, of course I've been seriously gathering intelligence, it's true, there's even a picture of him in the materials I've collected!"

He took out his phone, opened his photo album, and found a picture.

Everyone hissed.

"Hiss—, it really looks like him. With this level of similarity, Shinichi Kudo could be his stand-in. If Shinichi Kudo were to disappear one day, we could just bring Okita over to fill in."

Hattori Heiji said very cleverly.

Shinichi Kudo quickly retorted, "What? Who would do that? Don't you have any common sense?"

The two are still in a state of mutual dislike and are not yet the close friends they would later entrust with their lives to, so they can't help but undermine each other.

Kazuha couldn't help but speak up, "You two, stop interrupting! I want to hear important information, especially Heiji. You need to be a little more serious. These people are your opponents. The more information you have, the greater your chances of winning. Don't you understand that?"

Heiji Hattori knew that this made sense, so he put away his frivolous attitude and showed a serious expression.

He would straighten his hat as he went, a little habit he would do whenever a case occurred. However, there were exceptions, such as when he was particularly focused, he would also do the same thing.

Upon seeing this, Kazuha was taken aback.

He thought to himself, "Heiji only gets really into action when a case is happening. Is he really taking this so seriously just because he heard this little bit of information?"

Sonoko continued, "The fourth one is called Miyamoto Ryujin. This person is very mysterious. He rarely trains in public, but he has never lost a fight. It is rumored that he has mastered several secret sword techniques with terrifying power. His strength is probably on par with Okita, or even better."

Ran couldn't help but ask, "Sonoko, is the order you're giving based on your perception of their abilities?"

Sonoko hesitated for a moment, but still said, "Although I don't want to say it like this, apart from Hattori Heiji and Ikugoshi Kurahiko, the order of the others is based on the strength revealed in the intelligence."

Hattori Heiji said angrily, "What? You actually ranked my strength second to last? What does that mean?"

Sonoko put her hands on her hips and snorted, "I spent a lot of time compiling this intelligence information. It's based on the swordsmanship skills you've shown so far. If any of you are hiding your strength, there's nothing I can do about it. What I'm saying is just my hobby, not to make you happy."

Shinichi Kudo also agreed with Sonoko's statement: "According to Sonoko, it is indeed very well-founded, after all, it covers the entire country's high schools."

Sonoko suddenly chuckled: "But Miyamoto Tatsuhito is from the university group, so he won't be fighting you. You don't need to be nervous."

"what?"

Hattori Heiji was stunned for a moment, then said angrily, "Are you kidding me?"

Sonoko laughed and said, "Absolutely not. I just made it clear that I was talking about someone who can be Miyazaki's rival, not someone from that group."

"Alright, alright, I won't keep you in suspense any longer. Of the remaining two, one is from the university group, and the other one who might fight you is Onimaru Takeshi."

"Onimaru Takeshi? That's right, this guy is indeed a very troublesome fellow. His combat strength is even greater than that of Okita. He is tall and exceptionally strong, and his swordsmanship is incredibly fierce. His specialty is slashing techniques. Fighting against him head-on is definitely a disadvantageous strategy. It is said that he has never suffered a defeat."

Upon hearing the name Onimaru Takeshi, Hattori Heiji also showed a serious expression.

Sonoko breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Alright, alright, I'm not going to chat with you anymore. We've already wasted so much time. If we keep wasting time, there won't be any good seats left."

However, Hattori clearly had no intention of ending it.

"Wait a minute, there's one more important person you haven't mentioned yet."

Sonoko said, "That guy is from the university group, you won't run into him, you don't need to worry about him."

However, Hattori Heiji shook his head and said, "I'm not talking about that person, but about Miyazaki Yu, whom you mentioned before. I want to know this guy's strength!"

Chapter Forty-Seven: The Essence of Internal Strength and the Road Ahead

"Yeah, we've never heard of Miyazaki Yu before. She doesn't seem to have participated in any national competitions, right?"

Kazuha immediately realized what was happening.

The premise of what Sonoko just said about those powerful guys is that these people might cause trouble for Miyazaki Hajime.

On the other hand, this guy named Miyazaki Yu is the truly terrifying one.

He immediately wanted to find out the truth. If Sonoko wasn't lying, then this person must be Heiji's formidable rival, someone who absolutely shouldn't be underestimated.

Garden smiled mysteriously.

"I can't say that. You just need to know that he's very powerful. Yesterday, I wanted to secretly tell Miyazaki the information I had gathered, but he refused. He wants to fight these powerful guys fair and square. That's true. In return, I can't leak his information. That wouldn't be fair to him."

These words filled Hattori Heiji with awe.

"He actually gave up the information that was within his grasp. I never expected this person to be so upright. Or perhaps, he was enjoying the whole battle!"

Kazuha, who was standing nearby, was startled. She suddenly felt that Hattori Heiji, who was standing next to her, seemed to be on fire. His dark skin turned slightly red.

This is the expression he only makes when he's extremely excited; it's the look he has only when he's deeply engrossed in something.

"Heiji..."

"Kazuha! I never expected to see so many interesting guys in this competition. It's so much fun! I definitely have to have a good match with this guy!"

Seeing his energetic demeanor, everyone's emotions were also infected, and they couldn't help but become serious.

Shinichi Kudo couldn't help but feel excited.

"Wow, this guy is so energetic! That's what makes things really exciting!"

The entire hall was now packed with people; the large stadium, which could hold tens of thousands of people, had no empty seats.

The teams from each school quickly located their respective school's area.

This is also one of the unique features of this place. Before the kendo competition, the area has already been divided into zones according to a general area.

Each school has its own designated area, including Teitan High School, Kaikata High School, Ekoda High School, Beika High School, and so on.

The entire kendo competition is divided into two parts: the high school group and the university group. The high school group competition will be held first, and the university group competition will be held later.

After the winners of both groups have been determined, the champions of the two groups will have an exchange match, bringing the entire competition to its climax.

"Ran, look! Miyazaki is over there!"

Sonoko quickly found Miyazaki Yu, who was already preparing at the sidelines of the competition.

At this moment, Miyazaki Yu was wearing protective gear and kneeling on the ground, resting with his eyes closed.

Although he knew that with his current strength, he was almost certain to win a match of this caliber.

Now that he has a conscious world, he can understand his own body extremely thoroughly. Using his own body as the origin, he can adjust the angle and force of his sword strikes to a perfect degree.

Of course, this perfection is his own perfection. Others who are different in height and strength from him, even if they use the same moves as him, cannot reach his level.

"What I need to do now is to make up for all the deficiencies in my body. After making up for all the deficiencies, my body will be able to develop again under my internal visual stimulation."

The year-long coma had a significant impact on Miyazaki Yu, causing internal weakness that is difficult to overcome, much like a congenital deficiency.

This deficit did not affect his power, and even after it was made up, it would not directly increase his power, but it did solidify his foundation.

Just like the decay of a large tree, it must start from the inside.

If a person has this kind of deficiency, it is equivalent to damaging their inner self. It may not be visible when they are young, but it is a fundamental weakness.

After a certain age, minor injuries that may not affect others can become fatal.

Although Miyazaki Yu began to slowly recover after undergoing internal vision and constant stimulation of her body, it took too long. With the medicinal bath, this recovery was much faster.

Legend has it that when Buddha was old, all his teeth had fallen out, but one day, he suddenly grew back teeth, and he had as many as forty teeth.

Although this is a legend, it is clear that even in old age, one still possesses vigorous vitality.

Therefore, Miyazaki Yu also imagined that if he could perfectly control his body, stimulate his body through introspection, and subtly control his inner self, he could possess internal strength.

This is the result of Miyazaki Yu's efforts over the past few days: internal energy!

In his understanding, so-called internal strength is the power generated within the body by controlling internal changes through strong control abilities.

He consulted a large amount of information and found many documents, including some methods for cultivating internal strength.

However, most of those things describe internal strength or internal power in a mysterious and esoteric way.

However, in summary, there are only a few methods.

The first method involves training the body through specific movements, whether forceful or gentle, to unleash inner power.

The second method involves breathing. By using a special breathing rhythm and meditation to clear one's mind of distractions, one can ultimately reduce external movements through sitting meditation, change internal bodily changes, and draw out inner strength.

Or it could be a combination of both, a combination of movement and stillness, and a harmony between the internal and external.

So Miyazaki Yu also figured out a question: why he could cut through steel with a wooden sword.