I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Today marks the 12th consecutive day that the author has updated at 10 AM sharp! (Laughing emoji)

This is the first time in this book that a "real harem fire" has occurred.

Based on the quality of today's chapter, it would be really unfair not to give this book a monthly vote! (Leopard crying.jpg)

求月票！求推荐票！QAQ

In today's chapter, through the inner thoughts of Kinoshita Mai and Sanako, everyone should be able to intuitively understand what kind of personalities the two women have.

Just guessing: In real life, everyone would probably prefer to live with a soft, gentle girl like Kinoshita Mai, even if she's not as pretty or as tall as Sanako.

Chapter 264 The Eternal Sword Saint, Ogata Itsei, makes his debut! [6400]

Aoto, Sanako, and Mai Kinoshita: "?!!"

In that instant, the atmosphere around Qing Deng and the others changed.

A cool sensation came from my neck.

I felt warm breath on my left cheek.

"Okita-kun?!"

As if he had been electrocuted, Qing Deng's face changed instantly, and he quickly moved to his right... away from Souji. Then, while looking at Souji who had just caught him off guard with a look of astonishment, he raised his hand to touch the left side of his neck where Souji had just licked him.

At this moment, Souji was lying on all fours like a cat, squinting at Aoto and smiling, his flushed face full of laughter.

Not only was Aoto staring at Souji in astonishment... At the moment, Sanako and Kinoshita Mai both temporarily stopped their "standoff" and turned their heads at the same time with great tacit understanding, casting their gazes, each with different emotions, onto Souji.

Although the emotions they conveyed on their faces were not exactly the same, their wide-open eyes and slightly parted red lips were remarkably similar.

Sanako was simply surprised.

It was common knowledge that Aoto and Souji had a very good relationship, so Sanako didn't think there was anything wrong with Souji's actions just now. She just thought that Tachibana and Okita were really close, and that Okita was too drunk.

As for Kinoshita Mai... her mind is not as "simple" as Sanako's.

—It's him again...

Kinoshita Mai's eyes and expression flickered intensely.

At that moment, a series of memories flooded Kinoshita Mai's mind.

At the celebration banquet for Shieikan's victory over Genbukan, Aoto and Souji chatted intimately...

On the last day of the fireworks festival, although all the young people from Shieikan came to watch the fireworks, in the end, only Souji stayed by Aoto's side the entire time until the festival ended...

What exactly is the relationship between Aoto and Souji? Kinoshita Mai has been consciously avoiding this question.

The reason is that Kinoshita Mai has never dared to delve into the answer to this question...

Seeing Souji once again making intimate gestures with Aoto in front of her, a sense of crisis, different from when she faced Sanako directly, rose in Kinoshita Mai's heart.

Especially after noticing Qing Deng's expression at that moment, this new sense of crisis flared up like a flame that had been touched by oil, and quickly expanded!

If it were Saito or Nagakura who used their tongues to wipe the sauce off Aoto's neck, Aoto would only feel a little disgusted amidst his astonishment.

But the Chief is different...

For Aoto, who already knew Souji's true gender, Souji's behavior just now... made him feel somewhat embarrassed.

This was the first time he had been touched so intimately by a girl.

For a moment, Aoto's gaze, which had been locked with the grinning Souji, unconsciously shifted away—his expression and his subtle movements were keenly observed by Kinoshita Mai.

—Qingdeng...?

Kinoshita Mai's blank gaze darted back and forth between Aoto and Souji...

At the center of the vortex, Souji, the instigator of this series of "storms," ​​appeared completely detached—after all, she probably didn't even know what she had just done.

She yawned loudly, then smacked her lips and curled up, lying back down on the ground.

"Konpeito is so delicious..."

In a short while, the commander's breathing returned to normal—she had fallen asleep again.

Just then, a loud shout drew the attention of everyone in the hall.

"Yong! You are now a man with a family! Please be sure to work hand in hand with your wife to carry forward the great school of Shieikan and Tennen Rishin-ryu!"

Turning around, I saw that the voice belonged to Hijikata's brother-in-law: Sato Hikogoro.

Reeking of alcohol, his face no longer flushed but a dark red, Sato Hikogoro squatted in front of Kondo and Matsui Tsune, holding a bottle and a glass of sake, and toasted the newlyweds.

Kondo had an enormous capacity for alcohol, and after the formal start of the banquet, people kept bringing him drinks to toast him. Kondo had already drunk at least a liter of alcohol, but apart from a slightly swollen belly and a slightly flushed face, he showed no other abnormalities.

"Mr. Sato, don't worry!"

Kondo raised the wine glass beside his knee and clinked it with Sato Hikogoro with great pride.

"It is my dream to promote and develop Shieikan and Genn Ryū! I will do everything in my power to realize this dream!"

Kondo's words were met with cheers from all sides.

After raising his glass with Kondo and downing the drinks in one gulp, Sato Hikogoro stood up unsteadily, letting out a hearty laugh.

"Yo... hiccup... the future of the Natural Rishin-ryu school... hiccup... is entrusted to you... hiccup... please don't let this great school be disgraced... don't let the names of our ancestors like Ogata Ittosai and Kondo Naizōsuke be tarnished...!"

Sato Hikogoro's words immediately drew the attention of many people around him.

"Ogata Ittosai?" Upon hearing this name, one of the woman's relatives looked at Sato Hikogoro with a shocked expression. "The Eternal Sword Saint, Ogata Hayase?"

"Hehehe... Yes!"

Sato Hikogoro chuckled meaningfully a few times, then cleared his throat forcefully.

"Many of you may not know this, but our Natural Reasoning School is a school of thought that has a lot to say about it, both in terms of its practicality and its origins!"

“Mr. Sato…” Kondo gave Sato Hikogoro a helpless smile, “The fact that Ogata Ittosai is our ancestor… is just an anecdote of unknown veracity, not worth mentioning.”

Kondo's advice had no effect whatsoever—Sato Hikogoro continued speaking as if nothing had happened:

"To explain in detail the relationship between Ogata Ittosai and our Tennen Rishin-ryu, we must first start with the ancestor of the Kondo family and the founder of Tennen Rishin-ryu: Kondo Naizōsuke!"

"My ancestor, Uchizura, was originally a successor of the Katori Shinto-ryu school. After mastering the Katori Shinto-ryu swordsmanship to its pinnacle, he added his own understanding to the Katori Shinto-ryu school and finally founded a brand new school 71 years ago in the first year of Kansei (1789): Tennen Rishin-ryu!"

"Legend has it that our ancestor, Nakaizosuke, was taught by Ogata Itsei, one of the 'Twin Saints of Itgen,' also known as Shura, Ittosai, and the Eternal Sword Saint!"

"It is said that when our ancestor, Naizosuke, founded the Tennen Rishin-ryu school, Ogata Ittosai provided him with a great deal of guidance. Without Ogata Ittosai's guidance, there would be no Tennen Rishin-ryu school as we know it today."

"Therefore, Ogata Ittosai can be considered the founder of our Tennen Rishin-ryu!"

As he spoke, Sato Hikogoro became more and more excited. He raised the bottle in his hand, took a big gulp, and then wiped the remaining wine from his lips while letting out another meaningful chuckle.

“Back when I was still studying Tennen Rishin-ryu under my master, I heard a rumor that Ogata Ittosai was still alive! And that he would occasionally visit the successors of Tennen Rishin-ryu to see how this school, which was so closely related to him, was doing!”

"Alright, alright, darling, you've had way too much to drink..."

At this moment, Sato Hikogoro's wife... who is also Hijikata's older sister, Oshin, walked over with a speechless expression and helped Sato Hikogoro down to rest.

"I'm not drunk... hiccup... I'm really enjoying myself...!"

The crowd, including Aoto, watched with amusement as Sato Hikogoro delivered his classic drunken rant.

After Sato Hikogoro's figure, supported by O-Shin, disappeared into the crowd of guests not far away, Aoto withdrew his gaze and murmured:

"So, the Natural Rishin-ryu style has such a past..."

The Natural Rishin-ryu school has a very close connection with Ogata Itsuki, the eternal sword saint who was famous throughout the land 70 years ago, made history, and was ranked among the "Twin Saints of Itsukigen"... This is the first time Aoto has ever known such a thing.

The "Two Saints of Ichigen" mentioned by Sato Hikogoro is a collective term used by the world to refer to two swordsmen whose swordsmanship had reached a state of unparalleled mastery more than 70 years ago.

Eternal Sword Saint - Ogata Itsei.

The reclusive swordsman, Kinoshita Genichi.

Although their names are mentioned side by side, their ages are actually quite different—it is said that when Ogata Itsun was still a young man in his early twenties, Kinoshita Genichi was already a white-haired old man in his sixties or seventies.

The reason why the two, who are so far apart in age, are listed together is because their active periods overlapped to some extent—both of them were quite active during the Kansei era 70 years ago.

Ogata Hayanari did all sorts of earth-shattering things.

He killed his lord with a hundred kills, single-handedly breached Nijo Castle in Kyoto, destroyed the "last ninja village" Shiranui, defeated the shogunate army that was suppressing the Emishi, and ventured alone into the "sacred Buddhist site" of Mount Koya...

Because he did all sorts of things that would permanently etch his name in history books, there is a vast amount of historical material about Ogata no Hayanari.

However, there are very few official historical records about Kinoshita Genichi.

The reason is that Kinoshita Genichi basically didn't do any eye-catching major events... or he did, but the deeds were not passed down, so Kinoshita Genichi's name mostly appears in various unofficial histories and rumors.

According to these unofficial historical records, Kinoshita Genichi was a peerless talent whose swordsmanship was so high that it seemed as if he had been favored by the gods.

He defeated the senior swordsman on his first try.

At the age of 16, he left his hometown and traveled around, fighting and exchanging skills with masters from all over the world.

There are far too many rumors, both true and false, about Kinoshita Genichi.

The only thing that can be confirmed about this person is that he does exist, and his swordsmanship is indeed extremely strong.

He rarely made headlines like Ogata Hayanari, living like a recluse... Therefore, later generations gave Kinoshita Gen a title: the reclusive sword saint.

No sooner had Qing Deng uttered these words than Sanako suddenly interjected:

"This is just a rumor, the truth of which is unknown."

Sanako put down her chopsticks and continued in a calm tone:

"'Ogata Ittosai was Kondo Naizōsuke's teacher' - there is indeed such a saying... but the truth of this matter can no longer be verified."

"Ogata Ittōsai's reputation is so great that over the past 70 years, a whole host of anecdotes about him, whether true or false, have been circulating throughout the country."

“'Ogata Ittosai once passed through this area and wiped out all the bandit strongholds nearby…'”

“'Ogata Ittosai once gave me swordsmanship instruction'…”

"'I was once rescued by Ogata Ittosai'..."

"There are all sorts of rumors, and they come in all shapes and sizes. It's impossible to tell which of these anecdotes are true and which are false."

“I think Mr. Kondo and the others probably felt that it was hard to tell whether Ogata Ittosai had a close relationship with Tennen Rishin-ryu, so they didn’t tell you juniors.”

After listening attentively to Sanako's words, Qing Deng nodded gently:

“I see…that makes sense. Hahaha, speaking of the ‘Twin Saints of Yiyuan’…Amai, that reclusive swordsman who is on par with Ogata Ittosai shares the same surname as you.”