I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Kondo, who bore such a heavy responsibility, glanced at the crowd whose faces were filled with resentment and displeasure, and took a deep breath:

"Everyone, focus! Ignore their nonsense!"

In order to boost morale and also to ease the tension, Kondo delivered a short but inspiring mobilization speech.

Kondo's "mobilization speech" had a significant effect; many people's expressions improved considerably after listening to it.

Qing Deng also suppressed his displeasure.

At that moment, Qing Deng suddenly noticed that Sanako was still warming up in the main camp of the opposite Chiba Sword Hall.

She wielded a bamboo wakizashi, sometimes slashing heavily at the air in front of her, sometimes twisting the blade and thrusting forward.

His expression was serious and meticulous.

Qing Deng felt that even if he went to call Sanako now, she would be extremely focused on warming up and wouldn't be able to hear any sound other than the sound of his sword swinging.

Looking at Sanako's extremely focused face... Aoto couldn't help but turn his head and whisper to Okita beside him:

"Miss Sanako seems to be very motivated..."

Okita glanced at Sanako across from him and smiled, "Miss Sanako is a very strong-willed person."

"Because of her strong personality, she is exceptionally serious, focused, and energetic in whatever she does."

"Because of her strong personality, Miss Sanako... cares a lot about winning and losing."

"Tachibana-kun, do you remember when I told you that our Shieikan won against Chiba Kenkan twice in the 'Red and White Battle'?"

"I remember it very well. Whenever we beat Chiba Kenkan, Ms. Sanako would show a very unwilling expression."

At this point, Okita suddenly licked his lips.

Ah... I think I'm a little thirsty.

Okita looked up and glanced behind him.

"Hey, I remember there's a dessert stall not far behind here. Would you like to come with me for a bowl of dessert?"

After hearing what Okita said, Aoto realized that he was also a little thirsty.

Without much thought, Aoto nodded to Okita.

There was still some time, enough for Aoto and Okita to go for a bowl of sweet soup nearby and come back, so Kondo didn't stop them, only reminding them to "come back soon".

Aoto and Okita ran one after the other to the dessert stall that Okita had mentioned, which was very close to the competition venue.

There weren't many customers at the dessert stall at the time, so Qing and Deng each ordered a bowl of dessert and drank it all in one gulp.

"Ha... After drinking what I like, I definitely don't feel so nervous anymore." Okita remarked as he handed the empty bowl, which he had finished drinking, back to the dessert stall owner.

"Okita-kun, are you nervous right now?" Aoto slurped the last mouthful of sugar water into his mouth.

"I was quite nervous just now," Okita chuckled, "but after drinking my favorite sweet soup, I feel much better."

"That's good." Qing Deng returned the empty bowl to the dessert stall owner, and then continued in a joking tone, "Okita-kun, you are the absolute main force of our Shieikan. If you are too nervous and perform poorly, that would be troublesome."

"...Actually, no matter what my current state is, the result won't be any different—we definitely can't beat the Chiba Sword Hall today. All we can do today is to do our best to show the spectators around us the power of our Natural Rishin-ryu."

Aoto paused, then turned to look at Okita, who was pursing his lips tightly.

"Our two mainstays of the Shieikan Academy, Uncle Gen and Mr. Hijikata, are both absent today."

Genjiro and Hijikata... After a moment of thought, Aoto remembered that the two people Okita mentioned were important members of the Shieikan, whom he had never met until now: Inoue Genzaburo and Hijikata Toshizo.

"The only two matches we won against the Chiba Kendo Hall were only won by our Shieikan Hall when all of our main players were present."

"Both Uncle Gen and Mr. Hijikata are absent today. No matter how you look at it, our chances of winning at Shieikan are slim..."

At this point, Okita suddenly stopped, then shook her head violently, her slender ponytail flying wildly.

"No, no, no! How can we say such unlucky things before the competition has even started..."

Okita raised his hands and vigorously rubbed his cheeks.

After he lowered his hands, his expression returned to a bright smile.

"Alright, Tachibana-kun, let's go back! If we get back too late, Kondo-nii will definitely scold me again."

"……Um."

Okita led the way, guiding Aoto back along the original route.

At that moment, without any prior warning, a conversation that came from not far away made Aoto and Okita stop in their tracks.

……

"Tsk... I'm so nervous... This is the first time I've ever competed in swordsmanship in front of so many people..."

"Me too... Look, my whole hand is shaking from nervousness."

"I feel fine. When I think about how our opponent today is Shieikan, and that this 'Red and White Battle' will be an easy match, I immediately feel less nervous."

"Ha... I wonder who gave the Shieikan the courage to challenge us to a swordsmanship competition at the 'Plum Blossom Festival'. In the past, when their four mainstays—Kondo Isami, Okita Souji, Hijikata Toshizo, and Inoue Genzaburo—were all present, they were no match for us. Today, Hijikata Toshizo and Inoue Genzaburo are both absent. What do they have to offer us?"

"Sigh, I hate fighting the 'Red and White Battle' with Shieikan the most. There's no point in competing with them in swordsmanship. Only Kondo, Okita, Hijikata, and Inoue have strong skills. The rest... ha."

"With so many people watching... if they lose before even an incense stick has burned, like in a competition six months ago... ha, that would be hilarious."

"I guess they never intended to win from the start. I guess they just wanted to take this opportunity to promote their Natural Rinpoche style. As long as they fight hard enough and show a spirit of 'honorable defeat,' they can at least spread the word about their Natural Rinpoche style."

"It's possible. I also think they probably never intended to win; they just wanted to take the opportunity to promote the Natural Rhythm Style."

"Alright, stop chatting. You've all eaten enough, haven't you? It's about time to head back. Let's go."

……

The speakers were six young men standing in front of a grilled squid stall.

These six young men... Qing Deng recognized them all very well.

I just saw these six people at the main camp of the Chiba Kendo Academy. They are all participants in today's competition at the Chiba Kendo Academy.

They probably wanted to grab a bite at the grilled squid stand before the game started to replenish their energy.

After enjoying the delicious grilled squid, they started talking about the Shieikan stadium and the upcoming competition.

Because they were so engrossed in their conversation, and also because of their positions and perspectives, they didn't realize until they were walking away that Aoto and Okita had overheard their conversation.

"Ah, haha. Their words weren't very pleasant, but they didn't say anything wrong."

Okita turned his head and gave Aoto a half-smile, feigning indifference.

"Our Shieikan's current strength is indeed far inferior to that of their Chiba Kenkan."

"They also guessed our Shieikan's purpose in participating in this competition. The reason we participated in the competition was indeed to promote the Tennen Rishin-ryu style. We never expected to beat the Chiba Kenkan with our main force missing."

"But it's okay. Although we can't compare to Chiba Sword Hall today, our Shiei Hall will become strong one day."

"Look, now we have another reliable combatant like you, Tachibana-kun."

"The strength of our test facility is steadily increasing."

"One day, we will definitely make everyone look at our test facility with new eyes."

Okita probably didn't want Aoto to worry, so despite a hint of disappointment, he still managed a smile.

"Alright, let's go, Tachibana-kun. If we don't hurry back, Kondo-nii is really going to scold us."

After saying that, Okita looked away and continued to stride towards the competition venue along the path he had come from.

However... he had only taken a few steps when he realized that Qing Deng, who was behind him, was not moving with him...

He stood there, expressionless and thoughtful, watching the direction in which the six contestants from the Chiba Kendo Club had left.

"Tachibana-kun?"

"...Okita-kun."

Qing Deng suddenly said.

"Let me confirm: in every match between our Shieikan and the Chiba Kenkan, the Chiba Kenkan always sends Mr. Jutaro and Ms. Sanako to deal with you, right?"

"Hmm?" Although he didn't know why Qing Deng suddenly brought this up, Okita nodded quickly. "Yes, every time there's a competition, the Chiba Kendo Club always sends Mr. Jutaro and Ms. Sanako to hold me back and prevent me from supporting others."

After speaking, Okita smiled confidently.

"After all, if they don't send Mr. Jutaro and Ms. Sanako to deal with me at the same time, they have no other means to suppress me."

"...Okita-kun, could you do me a small favor later?"

"A little favor? What kind of favor?"

"Come with me later to ask Kondo-kun to let me be the captain of our Shieikan team in this match. If you help me, the chances of persuading Kondo-kun will increase a bit."

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Another 8000-word chapter! Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets!

I'll try to write more tomorrow and hopefully finish the match in one chapter...

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Chapter 97 Qing Deng, Charge into Battle! Talent Acquired: Strong Muscles

A few days ago, Aoto asked and discussed with Kondo, Okita and the others what kind of battle tactics they used when they held the "Red and White Battle" with the Chiba Kenkan.

The Chiba Sword Hall boasts a wealth of elites, with a talent pool far exceeding that of the Shiei Hall.

In contrast, Shieikan only has four capable fighters: Kondo Isami, Okita Souji, Hijikata Toshizo, and Inoue Genzaburo.

Okita, who possesses extraordinary swordsmanship talent, is the strongest swordsman in the Shieikan, so he naturally receives the most lavish treatment from the Chiba Sword Hall. For a long time, the Chiba Sword Hall has sent their two strongest disciples, Chiba Jutaro and Sanako, to keep an eye on Okita.

Although Okita was strong, he was unable to break through the combined attack of the Chiba siblings, whose swordsmanship talent and skill were also far superior to their peers, in a short period of time.

While the strongest, Okita, was held back by the Chiba siblings, the rest of them seized the opportunity to attack the rest of the Shieikan members and defeat all the remaining swordsmen.

After most of the swordsmen of the Shieikan were defeated, Okita, no matter how strong he was, could not turn the tide.

The Chiba Sword Hall has always relied on this "Tian Ji's horse racing" strategy to deal with the Shieikan, without exception.

Faced with the Chiba Sword Hall's "Tian Ji's horse racing" strategy, the only countermeasure the Shieikan could take was to attack relentlessly.

Since the apprentices' average strength is not as good as that of the Chiba Kendo Academy, they can't withstand the fierce attacks of the Chiba Kendo Academy by simply defending. So let's stop defending and go all out to attack!