I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Since being discharged from Renyitang Hospital, Qingdeng has made an appearance at the Chiba Sword Hall every four or five days to visit Luobo.

His frequent visits to the Chiba Sword Hall led to Aoto becoming quite familiar with Sanako without him even realizing it.

In the past, the two had a rather distant relationship...

They were very polite to each other, and their conversation consisted mostly of ordinary small talk.

Their unfamiliarity with each other left Qing Deng unsure of what to talk about with Sanako.

Now, Aoto is able to chat with Sanako in a very relaxed mood about everyday things, topics that friends often talk about.

Even when they are alone together, they no longer feel awkward or restrained.

The changes in the relationship between the two sides... owe much to what happened that night two months ago.

He saved Sanako at the last minute, and Sanako helped Aoto rush to the settlement... Although the scenes that night were all very brief, they still fostered a special bond between the two of them.

If Aoto and Sanako could only be considered "acquaintances" before, their relationship is now strong enough to be called "friends".

Since it's a rare opportunity to visit the Chiba Sword Museum, it's impossible to come just to see Radish.

Out of courtesy, Chiba Sadakichi, Chiba Jutaro, and others were required to go and offer their greetings.

After exchanging a few simple pleasantries with Sanako, Aoto said:

"Miss Sanako, are your father and Mr. Jutaro at the kendo dojo now?"

“Father is away on business for the time being,” Sanako said. “My elder brother is teaching swordsmanship to his students at Otsuya.”

Knowing that Aoto wanted to go and greet Chiba Jutaro, Sanako continued the conversation:

"Tachibana-kun. Let me take you to meet your brother."

Qing Deng nodded in response.

Sanako led the radish back to the spacious courtyard of the Little Chiba Sword Hall, large enough for horses to run in, and then led Aoto toward the No. 2 arena of the Little Chiba Sword Hall.

As a major sword-making school that can rival the "Three Great Sword Schools of Edo" with its own Genbukan as the leader, Kochiba Sword School naturally boasts a luxurious set of facilities that perfectly match its name 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 "Advanced Class" or "Expert Class," where only apprentices who have reached a certain level and whose skills have been recognized can enter and exit.

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

On the way to Field B, Sanako turned to Aoto behind her and whispered something, as if she had just remembered something:

“By the way, Mr. Tachibana, my fourth cousin… Chiba Tamon Shiro happens to be here right now. He was sick a while ago, and my brother and I pooled our money to send him an expensive box of tonics. He came here today specifically to express his gratitude.”

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Chiba Tamon Shiro happens to be here right now..."

Qing Deng smiled calmly.

"Haha, it's been a while since I've seen him."

Chiba Tamon Shiro... Aoto's first encounter with this Genbukan instructor dates back to the "Plum Blossom Festival" nearly half a year ago.

Because he spoke rudely to Shieikan in public, Qing Deng had a minor disagreement with him.

Aoto guessed that the reason why Sanako suddenly told him "Chiba Tamonshiro is here" was probably to prepare Aoto, who had had a minor conflict with Chiba Tamonshiro, in advance.

Thinking of this, Qing Deng couldn't help but think to himself: Sanako's little scheme... is really overthinking it.

Although he did have a minor conflict with Chiba Tamon Shiro, it happened about half a year ago.

The incident between him and Chiba Tamon Shiro wasn't a big deal, so Aoto had long since stopped dwelling on the unpleasantness that had occurred between them.

Although Chiba Tamon Shiro is somewhat arrogant and holds a contemptuous attitude and a superior sense of superiority towards small and medium-sized sword schools like Shieikan, Chiba Tamon Shiro also has some virtues that Aoto admires.

For example, Chiba Tamon Shiro is very caring towards his family.

Aoto had heard from Chiba Jutaro that when Sanako was kidnapped by the Exile Group, Chiba Tamon Shiro was just as nervous as Chiba Sadakichi and Chiba Jutaro.

In his efforts to find Sanako, Chiba Tamon Shiro traveled far and wide, not sleeping for two consecutive days.

After Aoto successfully rescued Sanako, Chiba Tamonshiro, along with Chiba Sadakichi and others, came to Jin'i-do to express their sincere gratitude to Aoto, who had just been hospitalized at the time.

While some of Chiba Tamon Shiro's personality traits may not be very likable, his love for his family and his emphasis on kinship are commendable.

In the blink of an eye, Aoto and Sanako had arrived outside the gate of Field B.

As soon as the gate to Arena B came into view, Aoto could already hear Chiba Jutaro's loud voice emanating from inside Arena B—

……

"No energy! Morishita, your breathing is too weak! I can't hear you at all! Let's do it again!"

"Yes! Drink up!"

"Good! Very energetic! That's the spirit we need! Hey, Hirata, what's wrong with your posture? Is this the Hokushin Ittō-ryū style? After just a couple of moves, you're already so tired you can't even hold the sword steady? Straighten your back! Don't grip the sword so tightly! Give the blade some 'rhythm'! Relax your hands! Relax even more!"

"Yes!"

"Chongye, you've made the same mistake again! Your feet are planted so firmly, it makes your movements clumsy! You need to keep your feet firmly planted on the ground, but also maintain a certain degree of agility!"

"Yes!"

……

Inside Arena B, more than fifty apprentices were fighting in pairs.

The thud of feet hitting the ground, the clash of bamboo swords, the resounding breaths... all these sounds mingled together, deafeningly loud.

Chiba Jutaro, the instructor, walks around the dojo with a bamboo sword in hand, supervising the students' movements and posture to ensure they are up to standard.

If anyone's movements are not up to standard, Chiba Jutaro will immediately rush to that person like a cat smelling fish and "reward" them with a stern reprimand.

"Hmm? Tachibana-kun?"

At that moment, Chiba Jutaro spotted Aoto standing side by side with Sanako outside the dojo gate.

In the next instant, Chiba Jutaro performed a rather vivid "Sichuan opera face-changing" act.

Chiba Jutaro, who had been wearing a stern face and looking particularly fierce until just now, now showed a bright and cheerful expression.

"Hahaha! Tachibana-kun! You're here!"

Chiba Jutaro, carrying the bamboo sword on his shoulder, laughed as he strode straight up to Aoto and began a warm greeting.

At this moment, some of the people in the dojo also stopped what they were doing.

"Mr. Tachibana?"

"Orange-kun, you're here again."

Good morning, Orange.

……

Aoto's frequent appearances at the Chiba Sword Hall these days are not just because he's gotten to know Sanako and Chiba Jutaro better.

He took the opportunity to make many friends and get to know the apprentices of the Chiba Sword Hall.

Aotoshi greeted and spoke to each of the people he knew, led by Chiba Jutaro.

Among the people he knew, Qingdeng quickly spotted a familiar old face.

"Mr. Orange, have you come to visit your cow again?"

A gentle male voice, as warm as a spring breeze, reached Qingdeng's ears... A tall young man standing not far from Qingdeng slowly took off his protective mask.

Beneath the mask was a delicate face with two beauty marks near the corner of the right eye.

"South of the mountain?" Qingdeng asked in surprise.

"Tachibana-kun." Yamanami Keisuke, with a refined smile on his lips, nodded gently to Aoto. "Good morning. It's been a while since we last met. If I remember correctly, we haven't seen each other since the beginning of August."

Recently, Aoto has been frequently visiting the Chiba Sword Academy, so naturally, he has been spending more time with his old friend, Yamanami Keisuke, who has been studying swordsmanship at the Chiba Sword Academy.

"Yamanami." Qingdeng smiled and congratulated Yamanami in an unpretentious and sincere tone, "I've already heard that you successfully received the full mastery of the Hokushin Itto-ryu at the end of last month. Congratulations!"

"Thank you." Yamanami chuckled modestly. "Tachibana-kun, I think with your talent and strength, it won't be long before it's my turn to congratulate you on obtaining the highest seal of the Natural Rishin-ryu school."

"Hahaha, thank you for your kind words."

The value of a licensed disciple is closely related to which school or lineage you studied under.

The Hokushin Itto-ryu Menkyoku (a type of Japanese swordsmanship) awarded to you by Chiba Sadakichi of the Chiba Sword Academy, versus the Menkyoku of an unknown style awarded to you by an obscure swordsmanship master from a rural dojo... it's obvious which one is more valuable.

This is also a major reason why samurai like to go to those great sword-making schools to learn swordsmanship.

Therefore, Yamanami Keisuke's ability to obtain the full mastery of the Hokushin Itto-ryu style at the Chiba Sword Hall is quite an achievement, one that would make countless samurai extremely envious.

Qingdeng wanted to chat with Shannan a little longer, but suddenly he sensed someone's presence behind him.

Just as he turned around to look behind him, a familiar young male voice rang out from behind Qingdeng.

"Tachibana-kun?"

Standing behind Aoto was a young man whose face bore a resemblance to Chiba Jutaro and Sanako... It was none other than Chiba Tamon Shiro.

Chiba Tamon Shiro's hands were quite wet, and Aoto guessed that he had just come back from the toilet.

The young swordsman, who was only in his early twenties, raised an eyebrow and then looked Qingdeng up and down a few times with an expressionless face.

"Are you... here to visit that big black cow you're keeping here again?"

"Hmm." Qing Deng smiled faintly. "Chiba-kun, it's been a long time."

"Hmm...long time no see." Chiba Tamon Shiro hesitated for a moment before nodding slightly in response to Aoto's greeting.

Chiba Jutaro needed to continue teaching swordsmanship, and Yamanami also needed to continue practicing swordsmanship, so they naturally couldn't chat with Aoto for long.

Therefore, after exchanging a few brief greetings with Qingdeng, they refocused on their business and continued with their own tasks.

So, Aoto could only stand on the edge of the dojo with Sanako, who didn't have anything important to do at the moment, and Chiba Tamonshiro, who was also very free, and chat idly.

“...Tachibana-kun”.

During their casual conversation, Chiba Tamon Shiro suddenly asked Aoto a question with a very serious expression.

"How are your preparations going for the Red vs. White battle in eight days? How is the Shieikan Academy doing?"

"Let's say we've gathered our strongest fighting force," Qing Deng replied in a half-joking tone. "Uncle Yuan... oh, no, Inoue Genzaburo returned to Edo a few days ago."