I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Although some time has passed, Souji still feels as if those words someone said to her that night are still ringing in her ears.

The worry disappeared.

The commander could still hear his own heavy breathing.

I could still feel my heart pounding violently, almost leaping out of my throat.

Every inch of his body was covered in sweat, and every part of him was radiating heat from the intense battle he had just fought.

Although the body temperature was extremely high, the "heart" was quite cool.

His emotions were remarkably calm.

Until just now, my mind was disturbed by worries and anxieties, and the tip of the bamboo sword was uncontrollably entangled with a burning sensation, but this was no longer the case at this moment.

—That was close, that was close…

A peaceful smile gradually appeared in the commander's eyes.

—So preoccupied with trivial matters like "whether the move can be executed successfully" and "whether the match can be won," I almost forgot the most important thing.

There's absolutely no need to overthink about whether something exists or not.

—All I need to do is… focus on enjoying the pleasure of wielding my sword!

The commander's eyes, as if cleansed, shone with a bright and strange light.

At the same instant, within Souji's body... correction. To be more precise, within Souji's "spirit," something shattered...

However, Souji did not notice this subtle change occurring within her "spirit".

At that moment, Souji noticed the questioning look that Aoto was giving him.

"I will do my best."

Sensing and understanding the gaze Qingdeng was giving her, and the information contained within it, she immediately gave Qingdeng a bright smile.

"Therefore, you shouldn't slack off either, Tachibana-kun."

Let's give it our all together and win together!

The commander, whose mental state had been swiftly adjusted in the blink of an eye, spoke with an unpretentious and infectious optimism and positivity in his tone and smile.

Humans can only show this kind of heartfelt smile when they are in a very good emotional state.

It's like ice and snow meeting the bright sun.

When Qing Deng's gaze fell upon Souji's smiling face, which was reminiscent of the sun, the worry and doubt in his eyes slowly melted away.

“…Okita-kun, you seem to be in a really good mood and physical condition lately.”

Aoto, who had laughed along with Souji, suddenly had this thought and blurted it out.

Qing Deng never imagined that he would be inspired by the carefree and childlike Souji.

"Hehehe~~"

The commander let out a strange, intriguing laugh.

The next moment, the two of them simultaneously and perfectly positioned their swords!

Souji lowered his center of gravity further, pointing the tip of his sword forward with the stance of the blue eye!

Qingdeng gently placed the fingertips of his right hand on the hilt of the bamboo sword, his taut waist gathering strength!

"Okita-kun, let's go!"

"Mmm!"

The instant that Souji nodded vigorously in agreement, an unbelievable scene unfolded on the field, and happened to Souji!

At that moment, Souji felt his body and mind suddenly enter a strange state.

The "thing" that had just shattered within the "spirit" has completely broken into thousands of fragments.

These fragments dissolved little by little, and then merged with her "spirit".

The commander sensed something and his mind stirred—

A powerful, invisible wave of energy erupted from Souji's body! It pressed down on Chiba Michizaburo opposite him like a mountain!

Although Souji is only 1.55 meters tall, at this moment, her figure seemed to be taller than Chiba Michizaburo, who is 1.8 meters tall!

At this moment, everyone, including Aoto standing next to Souji, Chiba Dosaburo opposite him, and the old monsters in the "audience" outside the arena, such as Kiryu, Chiba Sadakichi, Saito Yakuro, and Shusuke, all showed expressions of shock.

"Souji...!" Overwhelmed with emotion, Shusuke suddenly stood up, his fingers trembling slightly with excitement. "You've finally reached this level...?"

It won't go wrong.

These "invisible waves of energy" emanating from the Souji's body are precisely the "momentum"!

Seeing Souji suddenly unleash his "power," Chiba Michizaburo, after a brief moment of surprise, revealed an excited and elated expression.

"Good timing!"

After saying that, a powerful surge of energy erupted from Chiba Michizaburo as the center.

Two waves of energy collided fiercely in mid-air! The atmosphere around them instantly changed! A tense and turbulent atmosphere coalesced into a wild storm, raging across every corner of the arena!

This is a spectacle that can only be witnessed in a duel between top martial arts masters.

A clash of forces!

Chiba Michizaburo's "momentum" is clearly much stronger than Souji's, and in this clash of "momentum," the situation is gradually showing that "the west wind is about to be overwhelmed by the east wind."

But Chiba Michizaburo did not show any carelessness.

At the center of this chaotic "storm," he braced himself, tensing every nerve and muscle in his body, ready for anything!

The commander, also at the center of this "storm," spoke solemnly, enunciating each word with a reverent tone:

"Secret Technique—"

The commander stomped his hind leg and shot forward!

In the blink of an eye, Souji rushed to Chiba Dosaburo's side and, taking advantage of the momentum of his speed, thrust out his sword with the speed of a white rainbow piercing the sun!

*Snap*—Chiba Michizaburo blocked Souji's thrust with his left-hand wakizashi.

The reaction force transmitted back to his palm along the sword made Chiba Dozaburo secretly click his tongue in amazement.

Chiba Michizaburo felt... no, he concluded that Souji's attack had gathered all the strength in her body, which was why it was so powerful.

Chiba Michizaburo instinctively wanted to use his right-hand katana to counterattack Souji.

But at that moment, Chiba Michizaburo's pupils shrank to the size of pinholes from the sight before him.

At that moment, Souji in front of him with incredible speed withdrew her thrusting sword back to her front, returning to her stance of Hirai Blue Eyes... The speed at which she regained her stance was as if she had never launched any attack on Chiba Dosaburo!

Om-!

Souji thrust the bamboo sword out again!

The sword tip pierced the air, and the hissing sound of the sword cutting through the air approached Chiba Dosaburo once again!

Counterattack was out of the question! Chiba Michizaburo quickly raised the katana he had prepared to use to retaliate against Souji, ready to receive the heavy blow that was about to come.

Snap!

The grating scraping sound of the bamboo sword blade was so grating that it made you want to cover your ears.

Because Souji's second attack came so quickly and suddenly, with almost no interval between the first and second attacks, Chiba Michizaburo, who was neither mentally nor physically prepared for it, was barely able to defend himself.

With Chiba Michizaburo gritting his teeth and blocking with all his might, he finally managed to deflect Souji's sword and narrowly escaped danger.

At that moment, that incredible scene appeared before Chiba Dosaburo's eyes once again—Souji with lightning speed withdrew his thrusting sword, returning to the Hirai-gan stance, ready to launch a new attack at any time, and the tip of his sword was once again aimed at his body!

Unlike before, this time, Chiba Michizaburo clearly saw how Souji regrouped.

Her body was bent into an arc suitable for exerting force, her delicate toes, which were not wearing socks, gripped her shoes tightly, and her feet were firmly planted on the ground. Even through a layer of clothing, Chiba Michizaburo could clearly feel Souji's calves, thighs, waist... in short, almost every muscle in her body was exerting force and working.

Muscles pull on and influence each other.

It's like there's an invisible rope. One end of the rope connects to every muscle in Souji's body, and the other end is connected to the sword in Souji's hand—by exerting all the muscles in his body, the rope tightens, and with a movement like pulling a cow stuck in the mud back, the sword is "dragged" back to in front of him, "dragged" back to the best attack position!

This is a skill that no ordinary person can achieve... To replicate such a skill, one must possess swordsmanship that has reached a state of divine perfection and powerful muscle explosiveness; neither can be lacking.

Upon witnessing Souji's sword-drawing and sheathing movements, which could be hailed as "divine skills," those familiar with the Tennen Rishin-ryu school and Souji, led by Aoto, understood that this was a technique that only Souji, who had mastered the Tennen Rishin-ryu swordsmanship to perfection and possessed extremely strong physical explosiveness and reaction speed, could use!

The ultimate technique unique to the Souji!

In that split second, Souji's sword struck for the third time!

Like the clear, melodious song of a lark, the sharp, piercing sound of the third blast echoed throughout the stadium and the clear sky above.

After narrowly deflecting Souji's second sword strike, Chiba Michizaburo was now in a rather precarious position.

His body was half-open, and neither of his two swords were in the optimal defensive position...

We're going to lose if this continues...!

The moment this thought flashed through Chiba Michizaburo's mind, a desire to win burst forth in his heart and instantly filled every corner of his body.

Driven by his desire to win, Chiba Michizaburo gritted his teeth, roared, and, disregarding the difficulty of his stance, struggled to raise his two swords, crossing them in front of his chest.

Snapped--! !

The three swords clashed.

The tip of Souji's sword struck the point where Chiba Michizaburo's two swords intersected.

"Haa ...

Even less prone to shouting during battle than Qing Deng, the Souji let out a rare, resounding cry.

Bang-!

The crossed swords were pushed aside!

While breaking through the defense, it knocked away the wakizashi in Chiba Dosaburo's left palm, which had become extremely "fragile" due to the unfavorable defensive position!

Unfortunately... Souji's offensive can only go so far.

After breaking through Chiba Michizaburo's defense and successfully knocking away his wakizashi, Souji's bamboo sword was affected by the reaction force, causing the sword's path to become erratic.

The sword, which had the opportunity to shatter Chiba Dosaburo's porcelain bowl, grazed past Chiba Dosaburo's side profile, its tip missing its mark.

Having completed this incredible feat, Souji seemed to have all his strength drained away. He could no longer hold his sword and collapsed limply to the ground.