I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

The further north you go... that is, the closer you get to the side where Qingdeng and the "Erzhong" sisters are currently standing, the wider the cross-section of the wooden stake becomes and the shorter it is.

The shortest and widest stake is about 2 meters high and about the width of an adult man's foot.

The further south you go, the taller the wooden stakes become and the narrower their cross-sections.

The tallest and narrowest wooden stakes are nearly 5 meters high, so narrow that even a child standing on one leg might not be able to maintain their balance.

“Mr. Tachibana, this is where we, the new soldiers of the Oniwaban, train our ‘body techniques’.”

After saying that, Sae reached her two fair hands inside the front of her blouse and pulled out a blue scroll.

At the same time, Yae also reached into his clothes and pulled out a ten-handed weapon.

I have no idea how these two little guys, who are both under 1.4 meters tall, managed to fit such a large item inside their clothes...

According to Tenshōin this morning, although the two sisters look like "How can anyone tell I'm a primary school student?", they are actually both 18-year-old adults, the same age as Aoto.

Since they are the same age... then out of politeness, Qingdeng decided to use honorifics when addressing the two sisters, adding the suffix "Miss" to their titles.

"Miss Sae..."

"Listen up, junior! Before we officially begin today's training, I have something important to tell you!"

...Junior?

Aoto, whose conversation was interrupted by Yae, belatedly realized that Yae was referring to him as a "junior".

Qingdeng turned to look at Yae.

"Miss Yae, what's wrong?"

"You need to change how you address me and my sister!"

Yae hoisted his right hand onto his shoulder, placed his left hand on his hip, and displayed a smug expression.

"Our new Imperial Guard is an organization that highly values ​​seniority and hierarchy!"

"My sister and I joined the new Oniwabanshu before you! So we're your seniors! You have to call my sister and me 'senpai'!"

Yae put down the jitte he was carrying on his shoulder and pointed the tip of the jitte at Qing Deng's face.

Although she had a fierce expression with slightly furrowed brows and pursed red lips, she didn't look scary or fierce at all because of her cute appearance and petite figure.

"Yae, don't point at people like that, it's rude."

Sae slapped away the jitte from Yae's hand, then bent down and gave Aoto a slight bow.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ju, please forgive my sister's rudeness."

"My younger sister has become a bit too proud of herself."

"Before you joined the new Oniwaban, my younger sister and I were the youngest members of the new Oniwaban."

"It's not easy for a newcomer who's even newer than herself to come along, which makes my younger sister, who's always wanted a junior to take charge of, very excited and looking forward to it."

"This morning, my younger sister secretly hid in the grove behind the shrine, quietly practicing how to act like a senior to the new juniors."

"As a result, the practice results were not shown at all."

"When I arrived at your rest room and called you to the training ground, my younger sister was so embarrassed and nervous that she couldn't say the words she had practiced countless times beforehand, such as 'Junior! Your happy rest time is over!' and 'Junior! As your strict senior, I will train you rigorously from today onwards!'... Ah, no, she was too embarrassed to say them out loud."

Saeshige seemed to want to continue speaking.

"Wa ...

But Yae's roar... or rather, a wail tinged with despair, cut off Sae's words.

Yae, with her head bowed low, clutched her head with both hands and let out a piercing scream.

His gaze darted around frantically, his eyes clouded.

Her small face, barely the size of a palm, suddenly turned bright red, so red that it looked as if a gentle pinch would draw blood.

"Stop talking! Stop talking! You're going to ruin my dignity as a senior!"

Yae pounced on Sage, like a hungry tiger... or rather, a short-legged tiger pouncing on its prey, trying to shut Sage up.

However, Saejiro, who seemed to have anticipated her movements, easily dodged the attack.

The instant Yae lunged forward, Saeju subtly shifted her lotus-like feet, clad in clean white socks and red-buttoned straw sandals, and dodged out of Yae's reach.

Qing Deng wasn't sure if he was seeing things, but he vaguely noticed that Sae's expressionless, usually calm face seemed to have a faint smile on it.

A mischievous smile after a successful prank...

“…Kukukukukuku…~~”

Not only did I vaguely see a wicked grin, but I also vaguely heard a malicious, gleeful laugh...

Yae, whose face was still bright red, made a move to launch a second attack.

But Saeshige stopped her with a single sentence:

"Yae, your childish behavior will only shatter your senior's dignity even further."

"Gurgle...!"

Yae's body suddenly stiffened.

While Yae was quiet, Sae raised her hand and gently stroked Yae's hair, as if she were soothing her own pet.

“Mr. Tachibana, the new Oniwaban does indeed place great emphasis on seniority and hierarchy, but it does not require all newcomers to call those who arrived earlier ‘senpai’.”

"Therefore, you can address us more casually, without being so formal."

Upon hearing Sae say that, Yae immediately looked like she had something to say but hesitated to speak.

A moment later, Yae's "hesitation" turned into a pout and a look of disappointment—all of these little expressions were taken in by Qing Deng.

As for how to address someone... in Qingdeng's eyes, such things were completely insignificant.

Since Yae likes to be called "senpai," it wouldn't hurt to grant her this small wish.

In any case, in terms of the order in which they joined the new Imperial Guard, Yae is indeed Aoto's senior, so it's reasonable to call her senior.

Thinking of this, Qingdeng cleared his throat:

"Then I'll just call you two seniors, since you are indeed veterans of the new Oniwaban."

As soon as Qingdeng finished speaking, Yae suddenly raised her head and straightened her back as if an electric current had surged through her body, staring intently at Qingdeng with her eyes flashing intensely.

Immediately afterwards, she put her hands on her hips, her chest puffed out without any distortion of the lines of her clothes, her eyes half-closed, and the corners of her mouth curved into a smile as if she had heard some kind of flattering praise.

"That would be wonderful!"

“Mr. Tachibana, please call me ‘Ms. Sae’.”

Unlike Yae, who showed a happy expression, Sae shook her head slightly.

"I'm not used to being addressed as 'senior'."

"Hmm... okay, I understand." Qingdeng nodded.

"Before we knew it, we wasted a lot of time. Let's get back to the main topic."

Sae turned around and faced the large, dense cluster of wooden stakes again.

"Mr. Ju, before we begin our practice, please allow me to introduce myself."

"The core members of my new Oniwaban all practice a ninjutsu called 'Cloud Flow'."

Qingdeng: "Yunliu?"

A style I've never even heard of...

Qing Deng knew nothing about ninjutsu. He had only heard of the Iga and Koga ninja groups, which had shone brightly during the Warring States period 300 years ago.

The Warring States period, marked by war and turmoil, was the golden age for the development of ninja power, and also the period when their power reached its zenith.

Back then, ninjas were more like mercenaries; whoever paid them, they would risk their lives for them.

The tasks that ninjas specialize in... to put it nicely, are secret missions.

To put it bluntly, it's some shady, underhanded work that can't be done in the light of day.

For example: gathering intelligence, spreading rumors in enemy territory, setting fire to enemy military strongholds...

The Warring States period, which lasted for over a hundred years, gave rise to countless ninja groups.

Among these numerous ninja groups, the five most famous are: Iga Village, Koga Village, Fuma Village, Togakushi Village, and Banten Village.

Of these five great ninjas, the most famous and well-known are Iga and Koga.

Legend has it that the Iga were skilled in combat, while the Koga were skilled in infiltration, intelligence gathering, and drug use.

Choosing sides has always been an art.

Even if you don't have great skills, as long as you know how to choose sides, you still have the opportunity to achieve extraordinary success.

Most of these five great ninjas perished because they chose the wrong side... Only Iga Village survived the Warring States period because it chose the right side.

During the late Sengoku period, Iga no Satoshi (Iga Village) steadfastly supported the Tokugawa clan. After Tokugawa Ieyasu pacified the entire country and established the Edo Shogunate, Iga no Satoshi was incorporated into the Shogunate's "official ninja."

With the official recognition from the Edo Shogunate, Iga no Sato, now formally established, officially entered its golden age.

Unfortunately, more than a hundred years ago, Iga no Sato suddenly perished for unknown reasons.

Some say that the Edo Shogunate discarded the ninjas after they had served their purpose, feeling that in the peaceful world they had no use for them and that they were a double-edged sword that could potentially harm them. Therefore, they secretly sent people to destroy Iga no Sato.

Some say that Iga no Sato (Iga Village) was destroyed by its own internal divisions and infighting due to differing survival philosophies.

Some say that Iga no Sato accidentally offended someone he shouldn't have, and that person slaughtered his entire family.

There are many different opinions, and no one knows the truth of history.

Today, the so-called "Five Great Ninja Villages" are all history.

To be honest, when Aoto learned from Tenshōin this morning that the two sisters, Sae and Yae, were female ninjas trained by the new Oniwaban with a lot of effort and dedication, he was so shocked for two reasons. First, he didn't know the twins' real age at the time. Second, he was shocked that there were still ninjas in this era.

Since his transmigration, Qing Deng had always believed that the "ninja" group was a thing of the past.

Unexpectedly, this group not only did not disappear, but also had a ninjutsu school that they had never even heard of.

"Yunliu is a new ninjutsu style created by Lord Yudu to enhance the combat power of the new Imperial Guard. He gathered a group of martial arts masters, led by Tianye, who were proficient in various martial arts such as ninjutsu, jutsu, Tang Shou, and bone techniques, and combined the strengths of various styles."

Sage's emotionless, flat-toned explanation pulled Aoto's consciousness back to reality from his slight daze.

When Qing Deng heard this title, he blinked in confusion, but he quickly remembered that the "Tianye" mentioned by Sha Chong was Tian Cangxiao, whom he had fought with this morning.