Living in Tokyo, all I want to do is laze around.

"But I understand—you crave to prove yourself, to prove you have the strength to break free from the nightmare that haunts you. Remember, what propels you to victory is not just—"

Sakakibara Isshin, with his eyes closed, rambled on and on, his deep, middle-aged voice belying his age, with an extremely childish tone and manner of speaking.

Okay, Kai Uesugi now fully understands that this guy is a complete chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) sufferer.

He bent down and grabbed Ah Chai, who was swaying incessantly at his feet.

“Kai-kun…” Hanabi Hanamaru, who was hiding behind him, glanced at the Shiba Inu he had caught.

Uesugi Kai squatted down and patted Shiba Inu's extremely happy head, then lifted it by the neck with one hand and walked forward, placing it next to Sakakibara Isshin's feet.

After Ah Chai's four paws touched the ground, it turned around, raised its head, twitched its two triangular furry ears, and barked excitedly at him twice.

"Wang Wang!"

Ah Chai's face looked like he was smiling.

She looks rather well-behaved.

Uesugi Kai patted its head again and gave a command:

"sit."

Ah Chai immediately sat down on the grass with his round bottom, wagging his tail vigorously.

"Wang Wang!"

"So obedient..." Hanabi, who had been chased by it for a long time, blinked.

"Yes, she is very obedient."

Kai Uesugi looked down and saw the Shiba Inu's bright eyes.

"Right hand."

Ah Chai extended his right paw.

"Left hand."

Ah Chai extended his left paw.

"As long as I can nurture a flower, I won't be a decaying weed! Sometimes even I, a heartless swordsman, have no choice but to—" The middle-aged man with a chuunibyou complexion, whose face was turned green by the shade, was still indulging in self-admiration.

"Stand up," Uesugi Kai said to the dog in front of him.

Ah Chai stood up.

"sit down."

Ah Chai obediently sat back down.

Kai Uesugi turned around and said to Hanabi Hanamaru, who was looking somewhat curious:

"Although Shiba Inus like to show their teeth, this one is clearly not, so there's no need to be so afraid."

"And we, even more so—"

Sakakibara caught a glimpse of Uesugi Kai teasing Shiba out of the corner of his eye. "Hey, are you even listening to me?"

Uesugi Kai put down Shiba's paw, stood up, clapped his hands, and said, "I'm sorry, no."

"No? You didn't even listen to my Sword Saint Wuxin's insights on swordsmanship? Do you know that this is a peerless secret manual that others can't buy even for 500 million yen?"

Although Uesugi Kai recognized the words as those of Tagore and Lu Xun, he still refused the offer from the middle-aged man who wanted to recruit him as a disciple on their first meeting.

"I am not interested in kendo."

"...Not interested?"

Sakakibara Isshin's brows gradually furrowed, his facial expression no longer exaggerated, and his nose and face formed very serious lines.

"Become my disciple, and I will teach you the way of the sword."

"This is our first meeting, sir. Anyone would be afraid you're trying to scam me out of my money, right?"

Kai Uesugi realized that the older man seemed to genuinely want her to stay. "We've only exchanged a few words, and we don't know each other at all."

"Such a sudden request would make any normal person suspicious, rather than accept your invitation."

"You suddenly showed up at my house, and in exchange, you'll become my disciple." Uncle Sakakibara smiled憨厚ly again.

"This Sakura Hill is under the jurisdiction of the Matsuyama City Government, right? I'm just here on a free trip."

"Hehe, this is my home." Uncle Sakakibara pointed at the shrine and grinned, showing his teeth. "You've trespassed, so you're mine now."

Even if it's your home, this is still a shrine where people can worship, okay?

Kai Uesugi took a step back and touched the wooden sword behind him: "I have no talent for swordsmanship."

Uncle Sakakibara's smile widened. He bent down, picked up a thin piece of firewood he had just gathered, and held it in one hand: "You might fool a novice, but you think you can fool a heartless swordsman like me? Hmph, no way."

He waved his hand dramatically, making what he thought was an extremely cool gesture:

"Little girl! Hold onto Ah Chai and go a little further away, now your uncle is going to have a contest with your little boyfriend!"

"ah...?"

Hanabi Hanamaru, who was patting Ashiba's head, hadn't even realized what was going on. How did they suddenly start fighting?

Uesugi Kai had already drawn a wooden sword from his back, and his expression gradually became serious.

Based on his recent experience with kendo training, the kendo stance of this middle-aged man with a delusional personality was definitely not fake.

Moreover, their rank... must be very high.

He was taller than everyone he had met before, except for Hanamaru Yuuki.

This momentum is completely different from any other aura.

Suddenly, a sound came to my mind.

[Didi...]

[New Event]

【Isshin Isshin Ryu·Sakakibara Isshin】

[Task Introduction: This middle-aged man with exaggerated expressions and a touch of chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) seems to have some reason why you must become his disciple. Deep down, he may have always harbored an unfulfilled wish.]

Accept him, or... defeat him?

[Quest Reward: Premium High-Level Card *1]

Kai Uesugi glanced at the words in his mind, then refocused his attention on the face of the middle-aged man in front of him.

Sakakibara Isshin smiled and said, "This invitation may be a bit abrupt for you, but I know you have some talent, and I happen to be looking for someone who can inherit my Menko no Kaiden."

"I don't care about your Mandate of Heaven." Uesugi Kai took a stance.

“Uncle will make you like it,” Sakakibara Isshin laughed heartily, his fairly handsome face full of smiles. “Obtaining this thing could allow you to start your own sect.”

"I'm lazy, I don't want to start a new genre."

Uesugi Kai gripped the wooden sword hilt with both hands and began pacing around the man opposite him, searching for any opening the man might make.

Sometimes, laziness cannot be an excuse for not wanting to keep trying.

Sakakibara Isshin laughed again, gripping the dry bark of the firewood with both hands, and slowly moving his legs in sync with the other's. His movements were all calm and composed, showing his ease and composure.

"Uncle, I must remind you, this isn't a kendo competition, it's a swordsmanship exchange—"

In an instant, Uesugi Kai completed a forward swing.

Uncle Sakakibara Isshin's pupils contracted slightly, and he immediately raised his hand to meet him.

With a loud bang, the firewood shavings were scattered finely in the sunlight.

The pieces of wood clashed together, and Uncle Sakakibara laughed again: "You've got some skill, young man. Luckily, I reacted in time, otherwise you would have hit me, which would have tarnished my title of Heartless Sword Saint."

Uesugi Kai remained silent, swinging his arm and shifting his body to the side. In an instant, he used his waist to forcefully strike the opponent's firewood stick several times with the tightly clenched wooden sword.

The sounds of fighting continued, and under the relentless pressure from his opponent, Isshin Sakakibara retreated continuously.

He understood his intentions.

He wanted to use his superior weapon to knock his wooden stick away.

"My beloved disciple, it seems you've truly grasped that this is a swordsmanship contest." Sakakibara Isshin, while being forced to retreat, couldn't resist making a sarcastic remark.

With a stomp of his foot and a flick of his arms, Uesugi Kai's movements suddenly became incredibly powerful. His entire body seemed to be stretched and pulled, and in an instant, the wooden sword slashed out horizontally!

Sakakibara Isshin, who had been smiling just moments before, suddenly froze.

This speed is...

Bang-!

The loud sound of wood striking wood instantly filled my ears.

The frail firewood snapped instantly.

Uesugi Kai pulled back from his stance, let out a soft sigh, and looked up at Sakakibara Isshin, whose weapon was now shorter than before, saying:

"Hey, you chuunibyou old man, shut up, you're no good."

###Chapter 205 Isshin Sakakibara (2)###

Living in Tokyo, all I want to do is laze around.

"Haha...hahaha...hahahaha!"

Sakakibara Isshin suddenly covered half of his face and began to laugh wildly.

He was wicked, arrogant, and haughty. It seemed that all the collapsed shrine ruins around him began to break and twist under his unruly actions, rising into the sky.

The sky darkened, the void shattered, and the whole world trembled at his maniacal laughter.

It's like...the end of the world...

.......

—Of course, this is just a picture in the middle-aged man's mind.

In reality, the surroundings were still a peaceful, lush green pine forest, with only the chirping of cicadas and insects, and his extremely embarrassing laughter and words.

After laughing wildly, Uncle Sakakibara kept rambling on about things like, "The Supreme and Strongest Heartless Sword Saint has high hopes for you," "You are worthy of forming a contract with me and inheriting the supreme swordsmanship," and "The Demon King who controls the present world needs the two of us, master and disciple, to slay him together."