I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Aizu consistently fulfilled this duty perfectly, using its formidable military strength to severely suppress the northeastern domains, preventing them from rebelling.

The current lord of the Aizu Domain—the 9th lord Matsudaira Katamori—is one of the most prominent political figures at present.

It is said that Matsudaira Katamori, who is only 24 years old this year, is a wise and virtuous ruler with a heroic appearance.

At a time when the country was in turmoil due to the invasion of foreign powers, most of the domains were acting as opportunists without any independent will. The Aizu Domain, led by Matsudaira Katamori, was one of the very few domains that fully supported the Edo Shogunate.

The Edo Shogunate now relies heavily on the Aizu Domain, and the Aizu Domain's current actions are enough to earn it the title of "pillar of the Shogunate".

At this moment, Kondo suddenly interjected:

"...I don't know why the Aizu Domain, which never participated in these activities before, would suddenly prepare to hold a sword competition."

"But no matter what, this is a good thing."

"It's true that there was a period of time when Edo didn't have any powerful feudal lords holding martial arts competitions."

"It's been a long time since we've had any exciting matches."

"In my memory... the competition that really impressed me can be traced back to the sword competition held at the Tosa-goyama Yokaido Hall three years ago in Ansei 3 (1857).

“Ah,” Okita chimed in, “I remember that match too; it was indeed a very exciting one.”

Tosahou - the lord of Tosa Domain.

The Tosa Domain was a powerful daimyo located on Shikoku Island, with a total koku of 24 koku.

"The swordsmanship competition three years ago?" Qing Deng, who had become somewhat interested in Kondo and Okita's conversation, pressed on, "Were there many very skilled swordsmen participating in that competition you mentioned three years ago?"

“It’s not that there were many very skilled players participating,” Okita replied. “It’s just that one very skilled and eye-catching player emerged in that competition.”

"That man won the competition almost effortlessly."

"Ah, he's from the Chiba Sword Hall!"

"I remember this person's name was... something like... something like Saka?"

Okita frowned, looking deep in thought.

After a moment, his furrowed brows relaxed.

"I remember now!"

"Sakamoto Ryoma".

"That person's name is Sakamoto Ryoma."

“Sakamoto Ryoma…” Qing Deng murmured the name softly, “To name someone ‘Ryoma’ directly…what a majestic name.”

“This man used to be a celebrity at the Kochiba Sword Academy.” Okita nodded. “If I remember correctly… Sakamoto Ryoma was from the Tosa Domain and was recommended to study at the Kochiba Sword Academy because of his outstanding swordsmanship.”

"Although I have never directly fought this person, I have personally witnessed several of his sparring matches with others, and he is indeed a talented young man with great swordsmanship and skill."

"It's a pity that such a promising talent didn't stay at the Chiba Sword Academy for long. Otherwise, I think with his strength, it wouldn't be impossible for him to become the instructor of the Chiba Sword Academy or even open his own sword academy in Edo."

"Three years ago, after winning the swordsmanship competition held by the Tosa Marquis, he received the Menkyo Kaiden of the Hokushin Itto-ryu school."

"Then, not long after, he left Edo and returned to his hometown of Tosa Domain, never to return again."

After listening quietly to Okita finish telling the story of Sakamoto Ryoma, Aoto nodded slightly: "So the Chiba Sword Hall once produced such a powerful swordsman."

Qing Deng simply listened to Okita recount the various aspects of Sakamoto Ryoma with the mindset of listening to a story.

So—after returning to the Shieikan with Kondo and the others, Aoto, who hadn't paid any attention to Sakamoto Ryoma, had already cast that name deep into the depths of his memory.

……

……

Chiba Jutaro is in a very good mood right now.

He was in such a good mood that he started humming a tune that was out of tune.

He turned his head, glanced in the direction where the Imperial Guard Hall was located, and let out a strange laugh:

"Hahaha, Tachibana-kun has agreed to participate in the Aizu-gun's swordsmanship competition, hehehe~~"

Ever since their Chiba Sword Hall lost to Shieikan, led by Aoto, in the "Red and White Battle" of the "Plum Blossom Festival," Chiba Jutaro had made up his mind to seriously consider Tachibana Aoto as a "prospective brother-in-law"!

Chiba Jutaro's first consideration was Aoto's character.

During these nearly two months, Chiba Jutaro searched everywhere for "information" about Aoto.

They could either ask a friend or personally inquire with the apprentices at the examination hall, the officials at the magistrate's office, and all those associated with Qingdeng, seeking their opinions on Qingdeng's character.

Almost everyone praised Qingdeng's character.

It is said that Aoto is a very humble person who never adopts an arrogant or complacent attitude towards others because he is now a celebrity in Edo or has made great achievements.

He was also an extremely diligent person. According to some of the apprentices at the Shiwei Hall, Qingdeng would get up before dawn every day to practice swordsmanship, and at night he would focus on training his physical strength. He almost never slacked off.

After getting to know Aoto personally, Chiba Jutaro also felt that Aoto was indeed a very good person, and being with him was like being bathed in a spring breeze.

The more Chiba Jutaro investigated, the more satisfied he became with this "prospective brother-in-law".

He has excellent character, and apart from his ugly hairstyle (not having a shaved head), his appearance is acceptable. He is exceptionally talented and has a promising future.

He found out that the Ju family still owes more than 500 taels of gold in gambling debts... but so what?

First of all, the 500-plus taels of gold were not owed by Qingdeng, but by his father, Ju Longzhi.

Secondly, Chiba Jutaro didn't think that the gambling debt of over 500 taels of gold was such a big deal.

He felt that with Qingdeng's current abilities, it was only a matter of time before he could pay off the gambling debt of more than 500 taels of gold.

Moreover, if Qing Deng really does become the son-in-law of the Chiba family in the future, the Chiba family can help pay off this gambling debt in no time!

The Chiba family is one of the most famous martial arts families in Japan. They could easily pay off Qing Deng's gambling debt of just over 500 taels of gold with a flick of their finger.

Chiba Jutaro grew increasingly satisfied and pleased with Aoto the more he looked at him—Aoto's recent great achievement in protecting the Bureau of Foreign Documents was, in Chiba Jutaro's mind, "the last straw that broke the camel's back."

Upon learning that Aoto had performed another great service and that his rank had been increased by 400 koku, and that he was no longer a lower-ranking servant, Chiba Jutaro finally made up his mind—it was him!

From this moment forward, Aoto is my brother-in-law! Anyone who offends Aoto is offending Chiba Jutaro!

Of course—all of the above were decisions made by Chiba Jutaro on his own...

It's no use for him to believe that Aoto is his brother-in-law; it's only after Chiba Sanako believes that Aoto is her husband that it matters.

Therefore, in order to achieve this goal, Chiba Jutaro's current focus has shifted to "how to bring Aoto and Sanako together".

Chiba Jutaro knew exactly what kind of personality his younger sister had.

The fiercely competitive Sanako only respects the strong and has always looked down on the weak.

And so... Chiba Jutaro had a sudden inspiration.

If you want to bring Aoto and Sanako together and make Sanako fall in love with Aoto... the best way is naturally to let Sanako discover the attractive qualities in Aoto that will draw her in.

Since Sanako admires strength... then let her see how powerful Seito is!

And so... Chiba Jutaro, with his rather "meticulous" logical thinking, immediately ran to the Shieikan to tell Kondo and the others the news when he learned that the Lord of Aizu was going to hold a swordsmanship competition... Actually, he mainly wanted to tell Aoto.

To tell Aoto about this, and then to encourage Aoto to participate in the competition—this was the main purpose of Chiba Jutaro's "trip to the Shieikan" today.

Chiba Jutaro believes that with Aoto's current strength, it would be an easy thing for him to shine in this competition that is only open to sword novices.

The brother-in-law, who was going to great lengths to arrange his younger sister's marriage, had a simple plan: have Qing Deng participate in the competition, then let Sanako see Qing Deng's impressive record of defeating his opponents, and then be attracted by Qing Deng's talent.

Ah, what a perfect plan!

Chiba Jutaro was quite satisfied with his plan.

Now that Aoto has agreed to participate in the competition, Chiba Jutaro's plan can be considered half successful.

Feeling triumphant at the success of his plan, Chiba Jutaro returned to the Little Chiba Sword Hall.

The real name of the Chiba Kenkan is actually "Chiba Kenkan", but it is often referred to as "Chiba" by others in order to distinguish it from the main Genbu Kenkan.

As a top-tier kendo school whose scale and reputation are comparable to the "Three Great Kendo Schools" led by the Genbukan, Kochiba Kendo School boasts a set of luxurious facilities that perfectly match its fame and scale.

The Chiba Kendo Dojo has three dojos, which are named "Dojo A", "Dojo B", and "Dojo C" for easy differentiation and management.

Field C is specifically for apprentices who are still lacking in skill.

Class B is the "Expert Class," where only apprentices whose skills have been recognized can enter and exit.

Located at the deepest part of the sword hall, the Koba is the smallest dojo—it is Chiba Jutaro's private dojo, and only members of the Chiba family can use it.

Upon returning to the sword-making hall, Chiba Jutaro bumped into an elderly man who had been studying swordsmanship at their Little Chiba Sword-Making Hall for many years.

Upon seeing Chiba Jutaro, this person immediately said to him:

“Shifan Dai, you’re back just in time. Miss Sanako is looking for you. She wants you to go see her as soon as possible.”

"Is Sanako looking for me?" Chiba Jutaro raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, Miss Sanako is practicing her swordplay at the Koba area."

"Okay, thank you."

Chiba Jutaro unfastened the sword from his waist and headed straight for the armory, located at the deepest part of their sword-making hall.

As soon as Chiba Jutaro opened the wooden door of the booth, a beautiful figure appeared before his eyes.

Wearing a kendo uniform, Sanako stood alone in the center of the dojo, wielding her wooden katana like a fluttering butterfly.

A pair of small, white feet, bare of socks, slid across the clean floor.

Her glossy, waist-length black hair was tied into a neat high ponytail, and her long black hair swayed and flew as she danced.

She must have been practicing swordsmanship for a long time, as her cheeks were flushed red from the intense exercise, and her face was covered in sweat, which soaked through the fabric of her clothes.

Every now and then, a few beads of sweat would fall from her face, dripping onto her fair insteps with only a few faint blue veins, or onto her cute little toes, before trickling down her insteps or toes onto the floor.

"Brother." Noticing Chiba Jutaro's arrival, she immediately stopped wielding her wooden sword, then raised her left arm and elegantly wiped the sweat from her face with the back of her left hand. "You're finally back. Hmm? What's wrong? Why do you look so strange?"

"Uh... I look weird? Is that so?" Chiba Jutaro chuckled awkwardly, then raised his hands and vigorously rubbed his face.

Chiba Jutaro had already accepted Aoto as his brother-in-law and was encouraging Aoto to participate in the swordsmanship competition so that he could show his strength to Sanako... Of course, Chiba Jutaro could not and dared not tell Sanako such a thing.

Chiba Jutaro knows his sister best. This troublesome young lady always has a rebellious streak in her personality.

The more you ask her to do something, the more she tends to disobey, or even deliberately go against you.

If Chiba Jutaro were to tell her at this point, "I want to match you with Aoto," he felt that it would most likely offend Sanako, ultimately making the plan to "make Aoto their Chiba family husband" extremely difficult.

Therefore, Chiba Jutaro decided to take it slow, secretly helping Aoto and Sanako develop their relationship little by little before revealing his true feelings at the right time.