I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

In contrast, Kondo Isami and others, who had lived under the same roof as Aoto since the "Shieikan era," seemed to take it all in stride and were not surprised at all.

Although Qing Deng usually presents a gentle, approachable and friendly image, those who know him well know that he has never been a nice guy.

Anyone who provokes him never ends well. Given the chance, he will retaliate with the utmost speed and force!

At best, one might be injured; at worst, one might die… the examples are too numerous to mention.

If Aoto had chosen to remain silent, Kondo Isami and the others would have been surprised.

About three seconds later, the scene returned to its previous noise.

"A fight broke out! That guy started it!"

"That punch was really hard!"

"This is bad, things are really going to get out of hand..."

"Let's go quickly, so we don't get involved."

Excitement, regret, worry... all sorts of shouts came from the surroundings.

One of the Seven Guns roared:

"Hey! You brat! What are you doing?!"

Another person shouted:

"Which domain are you from?! Don't you know we are the 'Seven Spears of Sendai Domain'?"

Just as the Seven Guns were getting into a heated argument, Hashimoto Shozo hurriedly interjected:

"Calm down, everyone! Don't let this escalate any further!"

He went to great lengths to mediate and try to de-escalate the sudden situation.

However, the others completely ignored him and continued to glare angrily at Qingdeng.

Qing Deng finally understood: of the seven people, only Hashimoto Shozo was rational; the other six... well, let's not talk about them.

Kondo Isami said calmly:

"What business is it of yours which domain we come from? It doesn't affect our teaching those arrogant fools a lesson."

His words brought the atmosphere to an unprecedented level of tension.

At that moment, Date Renshichiro returned.

Although this guy spoke rudely, he didn't deserve to die.

If Qingdeng kills someone with a single punch, then he will become the one in the wrong.

Therefore, Qingdeng held back when he beat him.

Otherwise, with his monstrous strength like a bull, he could easily smash the opponent's brains out!

Of course, even though it was a punch that was deliberately held back, it was still enough to make the opponent feel pain for several days.

But then Date Renshichiro, clutching his swollen left cheek, returned to the shop, leaning on the threshold.

Looking at Qing Deng, who had brought him immense humiliation, his eyes widened in fury, the whites of his eyes bloodshot, and he gritted his teeth:

"You...you...you..."

He was so angry that his lips trembled and his tongue seemed to be tied in knots, making it difficult for him to utter a complete sentence.

As Qing Deng approached Fujiwara, he said in a detached tone:

"Stop talking nonsense. Things have come to this point, is there any need to argue? Let's go outside, let's 'communicate' outside. I quite like this store, so don't damage its things."

Having said that, he beckoned to the Seven Spears with a flippant gesture.

Immediately afterwards, Kondo Isami and the others stood up abruptly and stood behind him.

……

……

Qingdeng and his group, along with the seven guns, filed out and arrived at the main street outside the shop.

The other customers in the store followed suit, not wanting to miss this rare treat.

Before long, a crowd of onlookers gathered around Qingdeng and his group, along with the seven guns.

Date Renshichiro stepped forward, glanced at Qing Deng and the others, and said coldly:

"All of you, come at me together!"

Qingdeng shrugged, saying with a mix of seriousness and sarcasm:

"There are more than a dozen of us here. If we all attack at once, wouldn't that just give you an easy excuse to get away with it?"

“I don’t want to hear you use ‘being outnumbered’ as an excuse for defeat later.”

"We're only sending 7 people, the same number as you."

His words, seemingly polite, were actually sarcastic.

Date Renshichiro's facial features gradually contorted as he gritted his teeth.

"Hmph! I was just careless for a moment, which allowed you to successfully launch a sneak attack."

"Just wait and see how I deal with you!"

After saying that, he vigorously moved his wrists, cracking his knuckles and making a teeth-grinding sound.

Qingdeng ignored him, turned his head, and began to assign tasks.

Vice-captains such as Nakazawa Satag and Nakazawa Koto all expressed their willingness to serve Aoto.

However, considering that this was a battle with the main purpose of "teaching a lesson" and pursuing a "one-sided complete victory", Qing Deng did not choose people from the "juniors".

So he named Kondo Isami, Nagakura Shinpachi, Saito Hajime, Serizawa Kamo, Inoue Genzaburo, and Harada Sanosuke—these seven would face off against the "Seven Spears of Senshu"!

Despite the tense atmosphere, both sides maintained basic rationality.

They all knew that no matter how fierce the argument or how brutal the fight, as long as weapons weren't drawn, there was still room for maneuver.

Conversely, if someone pulls out a weapon, then things will get very serious.

Thus, although no one said it outright, both sides reached a basic understanding: no weapons were used, only fists were used to "communicate"!

There were a total of fourteen people on both sides, each occupying one side, facing each other, 3 meters apart.

Perhaps it was for revenge, but Date Renshichiro deliberately stood in the position opposite Aoto.

He exuded a murderous aura... but unfortunately, his severely swollen cheeks looked rather comical, which diminished his imposing presence considerably.

This was an encounter battle without referees or time limits.

Even though no one shouted "start" and there was no prior agreement, both sides rushed forward without any distinction between them!

In the blink of an eye, the two sides were already locked in combat!

Driven by a burning desire for revenge, the Seven Spears launched a fierce attack right from the start.

Although Kondo Isami and others are all swordsmen who can take on a thousand men, they are not good at hand-to-hand combat.

This was actually a common phenomenon in the Edo period, where samurai generally valued swordsmanship over hand-to-hand combat.

[Note: "Bai Da" refers to hand-to-hand combat.]

However, the "combat awareness" honed through actual combat will not change due to changes in weapons.

Faced with the fierce attack of the seven guns, Kondo Isami and the others remained calm and skillfully dodged.

Thus, thanks to his outstanding "combat awareness," the Seven Spears' offensive was completely neutralized.

However... before Kondo Isami and the others could turn the tables and launch an attack, the battle ended prematurely due to someone's excessive activity.

The instant the battle began, Date Renshichiro yelled and threw a right jab, aiming hard at Aoto's face.

"Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!"

His punch was very powerful; if it had landed, it would have broken Qingdeng's nose at the very least.

However, his punches lacked any technique and were simply an abuse of brute force, clearly showing that he was a complete novice.

The long-awaited hand-to-hand combat made Qing Deng eager to try it out.

Before he began practicing swordsmanship, he was already a skilled fighter proficient in grappling.

He took a half step to the right, turned his body to the side, and effortlessly dodged Date Nimichiro's fist.

Then, he slid forward and closed in on Date Shichiro in one breath.

If he wanted to, he could easily subdue his opponent with dazzling moves.

However, Qing Deng did not do so—because there was no need.

He threw three punches in quick succession, hitting Date Renshichiro in the abdomen, ribs, and his intact right cheek.

Simple and unadorned boxing... yet it is also a powerful and heavy boxing!

After being struck three times, Date Renshichiro's eyes bulged forward, his face contorted with intense pain, and his previous arrogance vanished completely.

The abdomen, ribs, cheeks... these are all areas that can cause pain for half a day.

"Ho...ho...hoho...!"

He emitted intermittent groans from his throat.

To make himself feel better, he had to lie on his side, curled up like a shrimp.

After easily defeating Date Shichiro, Aoto quickly turned his gaze to find his next opponent.

Soon, Hashimoto Shozo, ranked third among the Seven Guns, came into his view.

Shozo Hashimoto kept trying to persuade his companions to de-escalate the situation and avoid conflict.

Only when things became truly out of control did they have no choice but to stand aside with their companions.

Since the other party was a rare sage, Qing Deng didn't make things too difficult for him—he took a step forward and punched him squarely in the shoulder, knocking Hashimoto Shozo to the ground.

His talent "Lone Wolf +3" has been active since just now.

After defeating Date Renshichiro and Hashimoto Shozo in succession, Aoto became more and more courageous in battle, charging towards the third person like a bull. He used his right shoulder as the "horn tip" and directly knocked the third person away.

Immediately afterwards, he spun around like a top, using centrifugal force to launch a kick that struck the fourth person in the chest.