I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

……

In today's 15-on-15 "Red vs. White" battle, Shieikan drew the "Red" side, while Kochiba Kenkan drew the "White" side.

At the Chiba Sword Hall, everyone had already put on white headbands to distinguish friend from foe, and tied a small porcelain bowl to their foreheads.

Chiba Jutaro beckoned to the crowd, signaling them to come closer.

"I have said everything I needed to say."

Chiba Jutaro addressed the crowd gathered around him in a circle.

"Shiekan will definitely use their usual 'aggressive' tactics."

"So we just need to use the old method to fight them—actively go over and confront them head-on!"

"Everyone, you need to be on your guard! There's a really strong new guy at the Shieikan, the one you've all probably heard about recently, Tachibana Aoto."

"You've all heard about his deeds, haven't you?"

"This is a hero who was able to lead a dozen or so samurai to kill more than two hundred 'radical anti-foreign' thugs."

"So everyone, cheer up! Don't underestimate the Shieikan just because Inoue Genzaburo and Hijikata Toshizo aren't here!"

No sooner had Chiba Jutaro finished speaking than a young man standing opposite him curled his lip in disapproval:

"Chiba-kun, there's no need to be so on high alert... Can the Shieikan be completely transformed just because they have a talented newcomer?"

If Aoto and Okita were here now, they would definitely recognize this young man—he was one of the six contestants they had encountered at the grilled squid stand who thought today's competition would be quite easy.

Upon hearing the young man's words, Chiba Jutaro's face instantly hardened.

"Sakurai, have you forgotten your master's constant admonitions? Never look down on anyone or anything!"

After being reprimanded by Chiba Jutaro, the young man immediately shrank back and dared not say another word.

Just then, Yamanami Keisuke, who was standing directly opposite the main camp of the Shieikan, suddenly opened his eyes slightly as if he had discovered something extraordinary, and shouted in astonishment:

"Chiba-kun! Look!"

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

Led by Chiba Jutaro, the group turned their heads in confusion, looking towards the opposite side, towards the Asashieikan.

As soon as their gazes fell upon them, everyone, like Shan Nan, showed uncontrollable astonishment on their faces.

The swordsmen of the Shieikan did not gather into a "wedge formation" as before, which facilitated the use of "fierce attack" tactics.

Instead, they scattered and formed a very strange defensive formation.

Six people are deployed on the left flank.

Six people are deployed on the right flank.

Mid-lane deployment... 1 person!

Kondo stood alone in the middle of the road, tightening the red headband on his head.

Their number one enemy at the Chiba Sword Hall: Okita Souji, resides in the "main camp" located far behind.

Aoto stood beside Okita.

He rested his bamboo sword on the ground in front of him, wearing a red battle robe symbolizing his status as the Supreme Commander, and gazed expressionlessly at the distant Chiba Sword Hall's position, exuding an imposing aura.

……

……

Seeing the strange formation of the Shieikan, not only were the contestants from the Chiba Sword Hall stunned, but the audience members in the stands were also stunned.

In an instant, the audience erupted in an uproar.

Even someone who knows nothing about swordsmanship can see that the formation of the Examination Hall is extremely strange.

Why deploy only one person in the middle lane? This way, if the opponent concentrates their forces to launch a fierce attack on your middle lane, your defense will be torn apart very quickly, won't it?

"Hey, Zhou Zhu." Abi's brows were so furrowed they looked like they could trap a fly. "What's going on here? Why are Yong and the others setting up this weird formation? Isn't this defensive line, thick on both sides and thin in the middle, going to break through with a single poke?"

"I-I don't know either..."

Zhou Zhu was completely bewildered.

He's also full of questions right now.

Why such a strange formation? Why is Okita, a crucial fighting force, stationed in the rear? And why is Tachibana-kun the commander-in-chief...?

Saito, standing to the side, frowned slightly.

Kinoshita Mai's red lips were slightly parted, her cheeks filled with confusion and bewilderment.

At the seats in the Chiba Sword Hall, Chiba Sadakichi and Chiba Tamon Shiro, the two Shiro, showed a rather unusual change in expression—their eyebrows were furrowed together.

"...What is Shieikan trying to do?" Chiba Tamon Shiro muttered.

"..." Chiba Sadakichi remained silent, staring intently and thoughtfully at the Shieikan's position.

Another person who showed a similar expression... was Kiryu.

Kiryu and Chiba Sadakichi—among all the spectators in the huge stands, they were the only two who stared thoughtfully at the Shieikan arena.

……

……

It arrived quietly at 8:00 AM (2:00 PM).

The shrine's main statue from Yushima Tenmangu Shrine appeared on the south side of the competition venue.

As the "primary sponsor" of the competition, after loudly reciting some ordinary opening remarks and congratulatory words, he waved to a shrine maiden standing in front of a taiko drum beside him—

Boom!Boom!Boom!Boom!Boom!

The shrine maiden, holding a drumstick, swung her slender arms and struck the taiko drum.

The sound of the taiko drum gradually increased in speed.

As the taiko drums began, the audience, which had just quieted down, suddenly became extremely noisy again.

The increasingly rapid drumbeats announced: Today's swordsmanship competition has officially begun!

However, neither the red nor the white team made any move until the drums that announced the start of the match stopped.

The members of the Red Team's Test Guard Hall stood motionless, completely determined to defend to the death.

The members of the White Side's Chiba Sword Hall gathered together, anxiously discussing strategies to counter their enemy.

"Chiba-kun!" someone shouted impatiently at Chiba Jutaro, "What are you hesitating about? What's there to hesitate about? Shieikan only has Kondo Isami in the middle, so let's concentrate our forces and launch a fierce attack on their middle lane, and we'll win, won't we?"

"Yes, although we don't know what Shieikan is trying to do, no matter how you look at it, launching a fierce attack on their middle lane now is definitely the right thing to do!"

Many people stood up and echoed this sentiment.

"..." Chiba Jutaro's tightly furrowed brows hadn't relaxed since the beginning.

Chiba Jutaro instinctively sensed that there was something fishy about the strange formation at the Testa Hall.

Several others, including Sanako and Keisuke Yamanami, shared the same idea as Chiba Jutaro.

Like Chiba Jutaro, they all felt that there must be something fishy about the formation at Shieikan.

But no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't figure out what kind of deadly intent was hidden in this strange formation.

After a moment's thought, Chiba Jutaro gritted his teeth—

Very well! Let's launch an attack first and probe their strength!

Although he felt that Shieikan's formation was problematic, he had to admit that no matter how you looked at it, the best strategy that they could think of for Chiba Sword Hall was to launch a fierce attack on Shieikan's vulnerable middle lane!

Having made up his mind, Chiba Jutaro quickly made a plan: the strong Yamanami would lead three other equally strong apprentices to attack the central route of the Shieikan.

Four people were sent to each of the left and right sides of the Shiwei Hall to deal with the situation.

Their commander-in-chief, a newcomer from their Chiba Kenkan named Asakura, remained at the "main camp".

He and Sanako defended the midfield.

Chiba Jutaro chose to guard the midfield with Sanako instead of going to the front line with Yamanami and the others, precisely to guard against Okita.

The top combat force of the Shieikan did not stand on the front line, but stayed in the rear... This made Chiba Jutaro feel like a sword was hanging over his head.

He and Sanako were ready to rush forward from the center and intercept Okita at any moment if he made any strange move.

"Forward!" Chiba Jutaro shouted with great momentum.

On a rare sunny winter afternoon, under the azure sky, Shannan and his team, divided into three groups, swept across the arena with shouts and full of momentum, heading straight for the Shiwei Hall's position!

"Tachibana-kun..." Looking at the four men from Yamanami charging straight at Kondo, Okita stammered slightly, his voice trembling with anxiety, "Can Kondo-nii... hold him off?"

"..." Qing Deng did not respond to Okita.

He simply watched quietly as Kondo, who had already placed his bamboo sword against the road in front of him, walked down the middle of the road.

Before they could think it through, the attacking Chiba Sword Hall and the defending Shiei Hall clashed like waves crashing against rocks, their armies colliding with a deafening roar!

The Chiba Kenkan sent a full four people, led by Yamanami Keisuke, to attack Kondo, who was guarding the middle lane all by himself...

Almost everyone in the audience believed that Kondo, who was able to fight four opponents at once, would soon be defeated, and then the defenses of Shieikan would be torn apart from the middle, and Shieikan would be instantly defeated.

However, a scene that shocked everyone unfolded.

The imagined scenario of Kondo being quickly defeated and the defenses of Shieikan being breached did not occur.

Kondo single-handedly blocked the attack from the four men from Yamanami!

"Drink up!"

Kondo let out a shout that sounded like a wild beast's howl.

Facing the four men from Yamanami who were attacking from four different directions, Kondo fearlessly swung his bamboo sword at them!

Kondo moved like a nimble bird, constantly flying to the right, running to the left, dashing forward, and leaping backward.

He could attack, defend, and dodge with incredible speed, as if he were two, three, or four people in one.

With a snap, he deflected the blade that Yamanami Keisuke was slashing at him, then dodged to the side to avoid another person's thrust. Taking advantage of the gap in his dodge, he struck at the person standing to his left front, forcing that person to retreat in a sorry state.

Kondo's offensive was so fierce, and his switching between offense and defense was so swift, it was truly breathtaking.

Despite having a numerical advantage, the four men from Yamanami couldn't gain any advantage and could only manage to fight Kondo to a standstill!