I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Of course I'm serious."

As he spoke, he opened the small wooden cabinet beside his legs—inside lay dozens of neatly wrapped letters…

……

……

The next day, early morning—

Edo, Seigakukan —

"Haaaaaaah~"

The headmaster of the Seigakukan school, Ichiro Nakamura, yawned widely and stretched as he strode into his yard.

When the warm sunlight shone on him, he felt instantly refreshed and shook his body a few times.

"The weather is nice today!"

Seigakukan—a sword school that teaches the Katori Shinto style, neither too big nor too small, with just the right number of students, making it a mid-level dojo that can be found everywhere in Edo.

Aside from its long history, Jingxuekan has no obvious advantages over other kendo schools.

As the current head of the Seigakukan, Ichiro Nakamura has no greedy ambition to "wield a three-foot sword and achieve unparalleled feats," nor does he have any grand dream of making the sword-making school famous.

His life goals were very simple—to run the sword-making school passed down from his ancestors well and keep it from closing down! To ensure his family had enough to eat and wear! And if possible, to take a few more concubines!

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he will have another very ordinary day today.

However, the beauty of life lies in the fact that you can never predict what will happen next.

"Father! Father!"

The shouts of Nakamura Ichiro's son, Nakamura Heisuke, suddenly grew louder as they approached.

He stumbled and ran hurriedly to his father's side, looking flustered.

"Heisuke! What are you doing?!"

Nakamura Ichiro shouted.

"As a samurai, how can you be so flustered? What kind of behavior is this? If you are a samurai, you should..."

Before Nakamura Ichiro could launch into his long-winded speech, Nakamura Heisuke pulled an envelope from his pocket and interrupted:

"Father! Look at this!"

"Huh? What's this?"

"I just found this through the crack in the door of the fencing hall!"

"A crack in the door? Hmph, so it's a challenge!"

A letter was slipped under the door of the sword-fighting hall—the only possibility Nakamura Ichiro could think of was a challenge letter.

Slipping a challenge letter under the door of a sword-fighting dojo, arranging a time for the challenger to arrive and make a move—this was one of the most common ways to challenge a dojo during the Edo period.

"It's just someone coming to challenge us! There's no need to panic!"

"Heisuke, you still need more training!"

"No matter who the challenger is, we will calmly face the challenge!"

While lecturing his son with an air of superiority, Ichiro Nakamura accepted the challenge letter from his son.

"Father! No, no!"

Heisuke Nakamura had a look on his face that said he was about to cry but had no tears.

"The reason I am like this is not because 'someone came to challenge me,' but rather, it is because of the person who came to challenge me..."

He was about to explain.

However, it was no longer necessary to explain—Ichiro Nakamura had already seen the front of the envelope.

Because Heisuke Nakamura delivered the letter with the back facing up, Ichiro Nakamura could only see the white back of the envelope.

He only saw the whole letter when he turned the envelope right side out.

On the front of the envelope, in the very center, were three large characters: Challenge Letter.

—Hmph! They really are here to challenge us!

Nakamura Ichiro sneered, then shifted his gaze to see who the letter writer was.

In the lower left corner of the three large characters "Challenge Letter," there was a name that was very familiar to every Edo resident.

"Ju Qing Deng"—that's what it says above.

In an instant... truly in an instant, Nakamura Ichiro's expression froze.

Then, the area of ​​stiffness continued to expand.

The expression expands to the neck, then from the neck to the chest, and finally to the entire body.

then……

"Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!"

He let out a shriek like a cat whose tail has been stepped on.

"Father! Please calm down!"

……

……

Similar scenes appeared throughout Edo.

……

……

Edo, an unnamed sword-fighting hall—

"What? Niou's challenge?"

The shopkeeper stopped wielding his bamboo sword and stared in astonishment.

"Yes, yes! Master, please take a look!"

The apprentice nervously handed over the letter he had just picked up from under the door.

……

……

Edo, the Shigakukan, one of the three major religious schools—

"…Interesting! Bring it on!"

After reading Qing Deng's challenge letter, Momoi Haruzou, known as "the Momoi of Positions," chuckled and let out a straightforward laugh without any pretense.

……

……

Edo, the training ground of one of the three major military training grounds—

"Hehehe, you won't even spare an old man like me?"

Saito Yakuro, the "Power Saito" who is over sixty years old, looked at the challenge letter in his hand with great interest.

……

……

Genbukan, one of the three major religious sites in Edo.

"Our brother-in-law is really a troublemaker..."

After reading Qing Deng's challenge, Chiba Michizaburo shook his head and gave a helpless, bitter smile.

……

……

Edo, Little Chiba Sword Hall—

"Hahaha! Even we've received a challenge!"

As if he had heard a funny joke, Chiba Sadakichi clapped his hands and laughed.

Chiba Jutaro continued with a strange expression:

"I've heard that all the sword-making schools, jujutsu schools, tango schools... in short, all the martial arts schools in Edo have received challenges from Tachibana-kun. And apparently... the Kobujo also received a challenge from him!"

Chiba Sadakichi raised his eyebrows, which were covered in white frost.

"Oh? Tachibana-kun even wants to challenge the 'Sword Saint'... Commendable courage!"

Chiba Jutaro gently shook his head.

“It’s not just the Sword Saint… Sanako just told me: Tachibana-kun sent a letter to Mito…”

Sending a letter to Mito—the implications of which are self-evident.

Chiba Sadakichi was silent for a moment, then murmured with a playful tone:

"...Edo is going to be lively again."

……

……

Edo, Military Academy—

"Mr. Otani, what do you think? Should you accept the challenge?"

A burly man, 2.1 meters tall—none other than "Seven-Foot Unrivaled" Oishi Susumu—crossed his arms and asked in a deep voice to Oya Seiichiro, who was reading the challenge letter.

Susumu Oishi, Kiyone Kuboda, Nobuo Imai, Kenkichi Sakakibara, Hideaki Iba, Tadamichi Toda, Tadashiro Sasaki... The swordsmen of the Kobujo gathered together, standing in a circle around Seiichiro Otani, quietly waiting for the "Sword Saint's" instructions.

"Is that even a question?"

Otani Seiichiro put away the challenge letter in his hand and smiled slightly.

"Open the gates of the Military Academy! We await the arrival of the King of Military Affairs at any time!"