I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Uncle Sadakichi, would you like me to give you a massage? After I joined the Mito Domain, I learned a massage technique from a colleague that can effectively relieve joint pain."

"No need, no need." Chiba Sadakichi waved his hand again. "I already asked Jutaro to get the medicine for me."

"The medicine I asked Jutaro to get for me is very effective. As long as I apply it to my lower back, my old back pain will be relieved immediately."

"Judging by the time, Jutaro should be back soon with the medicine."

……

……

Edo, Okemachi, somewhere—

"Oh? Mr. Jutaro? What a coincidence, good afternoon." An elderly woman carrying a basket of vegetables greeted Chiba Jutaro warmly as he walked towards her.

"Ah, Grandma Le, good afternoon." Chiba Jutaro responded to the old lady with the same enthusiasm.

The old lady, whom Chiba Jutaro calls "Grandma Raku," is the owner of a shop called Yaoya in Okemachi.

The so-called "Yabai House" is a vegetable shop.

In the early Edo period, vegetable vendors were initially divided into two categories: "appetizer stalls" that sold only eggplants or one or two kinds of leafy green vegetables, and "yahya" that sold a variety of vegetables.

But as time went on, this distinction was gradually stopped, and all vegetable shops were collectively called "Yaboya".

The shop run by this old woman, Yaoya, is next to the Chiba Sword Hall, so Chiba Jutaro and his family have always been regular customers of her shop.

Over time, the two developed a deep friendship.

After exchanging a few simple pleasantries with Chiba Jutaro, Granny Le cast a curious glance at the large paper bag that Chiba Jutaro was carrying.

"Mr. Jutaro, what is that paper bag in your hand?"

"Oh, this." Jutaro glanced at the paper bag he was carrying in his right hand and gave a helpless wry smile. "This is the medicine I just got for my father from the pharmacy."

"Medicine?" Granny Le was taken aback, then asked urgently, "Mr. Jutaro, what happened to your father?"

“No need to worry, nothing serious,” Jutaro replied. “It’s just that my back hurts again.”

“My father’s back started hurting suddenly last night.”

"I thought the pain would lessen after a short rest, but as of noon today, my condition has not improved."

"There's no other way but to go to the pharmacy and get my father this medicine that can effectively treat his back injury."

"Has Mr. Dingji's back problem flared up again...?" Granny Le looked worried. "It shouldn't be serious, right?"

"It's not serious, it's not serious." Jutaro put away his wry smile and waved his hand. "Grandma Le, you know this is my father's old ailment."

"His lower back would ache every now and then."

Chiba Jutaro shook the large paper bag containing the medicine in his hand.

“As long as this medicine is applied and he lies quietly in bed for one or two hours, his father’s old ailment will be suppressed again.”

Having said that, Chiba Jutaro looked up at the sky above, then smiled apologetically at Granny Yue:

"Grandma Le, I need to hurry back to apply medicine to my father, so I have to go ahead now."

"Okay, good." Grandma Le nodded vigorously. "Go home quickly and give my regards to your father and Miss Sanako."

"Okay." Chiba Jutaro grinned. "I will."

After waving goodbye to Granny Yue, Chiba Jutaro tightened his grip on the medicine bag and continued walking briskly back to the Little Chiba Sword Hall.

However, suddenly—a slightly high-pitched young voice sounded beside Chiba Jutaro:

"Hmm? Mr. Chiba?"

The moment he heard that shrill voice... Chiba Jutaro's expression changed slightly, and he stopped in his tracks, turning his head to look at the owner of that shrill voice.

The owner of that high-pitched voice was a very young and handsome samurai.

With a broad, enthusiastic smile that stretched from his lips to his ears, he rushed over to Chiba Jutaro.

"Mr. Chiba, what a coincidence! I never expected to run into you here!"

"My dear new wife," Chiba Jutaro replied in a flat, emotionless tone, "what are you doing here?"

The young samurai smiled and then said softly, "...I'm here to prepare for the swordsmanship competition for the Lord of Aizu tomorrow."

Shinzuma Hiroshi—the name of this young samurai.

Those who have been closely following the swordsmanship world of Edo will certainly find the name "Hiroshi Niizuma" familiar.

After all, the new wife is one of the "Three Heroes" whose reputation has been rising recently!

The Genbu School, which teaches the Hokushin Itto-ryu style.

The Shigakukan (a school for scholars) teaches the Jingxin Mingzhi School.

The training hall that teaches the Shinto Munen-ryu style.

These three sword-making schools are collectively known as the "Three Great Sword-Making Schools of Edo" because they surpass all other sword-making schools in Edo in terms of scale, teaching staff, and other factors.

With the most resounding reputation, one naturally attracts the most attention.

Who among the three major sword-making schools received the "Menkyo Kaiden" (a title for all swordsmen to master), which skilled veterans left the schools after completing their apprenticeships, and which outstanding new talents emerged... These are all topics that sword enthusiasts in Edo enjoyed discussing the most.

Just two years ago, a very interesting coincidence occurred—the three major sword clubs each produced a newcomer with outstanding talent and strength at almost the same time.

The three newcomers are—

Heiji Osaki of the Genbukan.

Morishita Tōtarō of the Shigakukan.

And the young man standing in front of Chiba Jutaro now: Niizuma Hiroshi of the training hall.

All three of them began learning swordsmanship in 1858, and after putting on protective gear and picking up bamboo swords, they quickly displayed their dazzling swordsmanship talent!

……

On his very first day at the Xuanwu Hall, Tsurugi's talent earned him high praise from the hall master and his fellow disciples...

After practicing swordsmanship for only two months, Morishita defeated a senior student who had been practicing for many years...

Just over a year after she entered the sect, the new wife fought against three senior brothers who had been immersed in swordsmanship for many years in a sparring match, and finally defeated all three of them...

……

The three of them seemed to be competing with each other, constantly producing one amazing news story after another that amazed and envied swordsmanship enthusiasts in Edo.

In less than two years, the three of them gradually made a name for themselves with one outstanding performance after another.

As these three men gained fame, some enthusiasts began to refer to them collectively as the "Three Heroes of the Three Great Sword Schools".

This title originally circulated only among a few people in a small circle, but gradually, it became widely known.

Chiba Jutaro met Niizuma Hiroshi, one of the "Three Heroes," by chance.

If we're talking about the "Three Heroes," who is the most enviable... it would undoubtedly be the new wife.

Although Osaki and Morishita are both as famous as Niizuma, there is one area where they are far inferior to Niizuma.

Morishita has a face that... to put it nicely, is unremarkable; to put it bluntly, it's like a pig turned into a human.

Osaki, on the other hand, came from a very poor background; he was a low-ranking samurai of the Sano Domain.

Sano Domain was a poor little domain with a meager total koku of only 16000 koku. As a lower-ranking samurai in this poor little domain, Osaki was naturally so poor that the idiom "shocking" could be used to describe his situation.

He borrowed money from all his family and friends to finally scrape together the tuition and travel expenses for his studies and sword training in Edo.

Compared to Osaki and Morishita, Shinzaki has the best and most comprehensive qualities—he comes from a hatamoto family with a stipend of 700 koku and has a handsome face.

With her outstanding looks and family background, coupled with her exceptional swordsmanship talent... as long as she continues to cultivate steadily, her future will surely be bright!

However—such an outstanding talent… Chiba Jutaro just couldn't bring himself to like him.

Chiba Jutaro always felt that Shinzaki was... a bit too arrogant.

Although his new wife always appeared polite, his words always revealed a sense of superiority that made him feel like he was the only one who mattered.

Chiba Jutaro has always disliked people who are not humble enough, so he has always been lukewarm in his attitude towards his new wife.

Normally, Chiba Jutaro would never take the initiative to communicate with his new wife, whom he was not familiar with and who did not particularly like him.

But what his new wife had just said piqued Chiba Jutaro's interest, prompting him to unusually ask her a question:

"Preparing for tomorrow's match...?" Chiba Jutaro looked Niizuma up and down several times. "Preparing for what? Taking a walk in the streets to relax?"

The renowned Lord Aizu is going to hold a swordsmanship competition specifically for newcomers from various sword schools... This is a rare and grand event.

Such a high-level competition naturally holds immense appeal for those aspiring to master swordsmanship.

According to Chiba Jutaro, almost every sword-fighting school in Edo with a little reputation had signed up for this sword-fighting tournament, with nearly a hundred participants.

The long list of names includes many that are very familiar to sword enthusiasts.

For example, Tachibana Aoto, who was recently hailed as the "strongest martial arts fighter in the Northern Frontier."

For example, the "Three Heroes"!

Osaki, Morishita, and Niizuma have all been learning swordsmanship for less than three years, and they are all qualified to participate in this competition.

When Chiba Jutaro first learned that the "Three Heroes" would be participating in the competition, even he couldn't help but let out a low gasp of surprise.

This competition... looks like it's going to be exceptionally exciting.

When Chiba Jutaro asked, "What are you here to prepare for?", the new wife was silent for a moment, then smiled gently.

"Well... I'm sorry, I'm not in a position to say more."

After saying that, the new wife glanced at the medicine bag in Chiba Jutaro's hand.

"Mr. Chiba, I noticed you were walking in a hurry just now. Where were you rushing off to?"

"Ah, my father's back pain has flared up again." Chiba Jutaro shook the bag of medicine in his hand. "I'm rushing home to apply this freshly prepared medicine to my father."

"Lord Chiba Sadakichi's back pain has relapsed?" The new wife looked surprised, then her surprise turned into apology. "I'm so sorry... I'm bothering you when you're in such a hurry."

The new wife spoke while stepping to the side.

"Mr. Chiba, I won't bother you any longer. Please go home now."

"Mm." Chiba Jutaro nodded, then said politely, "See you sometime, Niizuma-kun."

Although he couldn't get the answer from Niizuma about what he meant by "preparing for tomorrow's match," Chiba Jutaro wasn't particularly concerned about the question.