I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

She laughed until tears welled up in the corners of her eyes before finally stopping.

“Ogata-kun, if I may ask a question.”

Kiryu asked with a smile while stroking his hands.

"You beat Tachibana-kun so badly...you must have had some personal feelings involved, right?"

"..." Ogata gave a meaningful smile. "I didn't intend to bring any personal feelings into my sparring with Aoto."

Ogata emphasized the phrase "I didn't intend to" when he muttered it.

"But—every time I lift the branch, ready to lash out at Tachibana-kun, my whole hand suddenly goes out of control, uncontrollably increasing the force."

"Ah, Mamiya-kun, you know that too."

Ogata shrugged, looking helpless.

“I treat A-Wu as my own daughter.”

"Moreover, I am also considered to be A-Wu's ninjutsu teacher."

"My granddaughter and apprentice, whom I've watched grow up, suddenly had her heart stolen by a man... It's hard for me not to look at Tachibana Aoto with a strange eye and attitude."

As soon as Ogata finished speaking, Kiryu nodded slightly with a serious expression.

"I understand, I understand."

"I also regard the young master as my own son."

"When I first discovered that the young master had a strong affection for Tachibana-kun, it was also difficult for me to treat Tachibana-kun with a normal attitude."

"But now, I've come to terms with it."

Kiryu laughed heartily.

"On one side is the young master, who is no different from a granddaughter."

"The other side is the disciple I have been searching for for a long time, who is expected to inherit my mantle."

"Whichever side it is, they are both extremely important to me."

“Ju-kun is very outstanding. Since he and the young master are in love, we can entrust the young master to him with peace of mind.”

Ogata grinned.

"Mamiya-kun, your evaluation of Tachibana Aoto is really high."

"of course."

Kiryu waved his hand confidently.

"After all, he is my prized student, whom I have painstakingly searched for over decades to finally find!"

********

********

The author's sister has become a hysteriac... The author was affected by this yesterday, so today's word count is a little lower...

Although the author has done everything possible to protect themselves, with a new positive case in the home, whether infection can be completely avoided is entirely uncertain. So... please be prepared... the author may be unable to update this book for several days due to illness.

It might happen tomorrow, or it might never happen... I hope it's the latter... (leopard crying.jpg)

The author might not be able to update and ask for monthly tickets anymore as early as tomorrow, so please ask for more monthly tickets now!

Please, everyone, vote for this book with your monthly tickets! (Leopard crying.jpg)

Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets!

Chapter 269 Aoto Sanako and Kinoshita Mai's "Cohabitation" Life [5600]

"A-Wu will eventually get married," Kiryu continued. "Since she's going to get married eventually, wouldn't it be better for her to marry one of my outstanding disciples than some scoundrels?"

Ogata chuckled to himself.

"Indeed... Tachibana Aoto is indeed quite outstanding."

Even though they were far weaker than me and were beaten so badly by me that they were completely powerless to fight back, they were not discouraged at all and kept trying to think of ways to turn the tide.

"And in the end, he actually turned the tables on me."

"I only exchanged a dozen or so blows with him, yet he was able to roughly figure out my sword style in such a short time and successfully predict my sword path."

"That was close. If his counterattack had been two or three times faster, I would have been done for."

After hearing this, Kiryu smiled helplessly at Ogata:

"Ogata-kun, you're too modest."

"With a body like yours... even if you were slashed once or twice by a real knife, it wouldn't hurt you at all, would it?"

"Hahaha." Ogata chuckled, a meaningful glint in his eyes.

"Oh, I almost forgot to mention that."

"After teaching him a lesson... ah, no. After sparring with Tachibana Aoto, because Tachibana Aoto's performance was better than I expected, I also developed a bit of a fondness for his talent."

"Before leaving, I gave Tachibana Aoto a 'small gift'."

"A gift?" Kiryu asked, puzzled.

“I showed him the permanent scar that Genichi left on me when we fought at Mount Tenno, and the sword I used to send Genichi off on his final journey.”

After saying that, Ogata raised his hand and pulled at the collar of his shirt, revealing his lean and muscular body without an ounce of excess fat.

On Ogata's upper body, there was a horrifying scar, both in length and shape.

The scar, with its slightly discolored surrounding skin, started from Ogata's right shoulder, went straight down, through his right chest and right abdomen, and finally reached Ogata's right pelvis—if this wound had been any longer or deeper, it could have completely cut Ogata in half vertically.

"What move did you show Tachibana-kun?"

Kiryu was startled.

"Ogata-kun, that move must have taken a lot of toll on you, right?"

Ogata smiled wryly and poked his forehead with his finger.

"To be honest, my head is still throbbing."

"Upon closer reflection, I realized that I haven't shown this move to anyone since the 'Battle of Tianwang Mountain'."

"Whether Ju Qingdeng will have the opportunity to reach this level in the future, which Genichi and I have barely achieved after exhausting countless efforts... I can't say for sure."

"But it wouldn't hurt to show him a glimpse of this level of light and rain."

"I hope he can learn something from this little gift I gave him."

“…Ogata-kun, thank you.” Kiryu nodded slightly to Ogata, then said half-jokingly, “This ‘gift’ of yours…is so precious that I don’t know how to repay it.”

"Haha, it was nothing at all."

Ogata waved his hand dismissively.

"Anyway, it was just a passing fancy."

"However... speaking of Origin Master..."

Ogata paused, remained silent for a moment as if deep in thought, and then said:

“Mamiya-kun, I don’t know if you feel the same way… Don’t you think Tachibana Aoto is a bit like Genichi? Especially that look in his eyes when he’s been defeated but keeps fighting.”

"..."

Kiryu did not respond.

He simply smiled, then nodded silently, and said calmly:

"One of the reasons I chose Tachibana-kun is that his personality reminds me of Genichi."

"I have always firmly believed that someone whose personality is very similar to that of Genichi... will not be far behind in terms of future achievements."

Ogata and Kiryu exchanged a knowing glance, then both smiled.

"In short—I now understand why you, with your extremely strict criteria for accepting disciples, chose to take Ju Qingdeng as your last disciple."

"I also understand why A-Mai has such a strong liking for Tachibana Aoto."

"This talented young man, who exudes a strong aura of confidence and is also quite handsome, is indeed extremely attractive to a young girl like A-Wu who is just beginning to experience romantic feelings..."

After saying that, Ogata let out a long sigh.

“Mamiya-kun, you’re right… Mai will eventually get married.”

"If she could marry someone as exceptional as Ju Qingdeng, it would certainly be a fortunate thing."

With that, Ogata, a teasing smile on his face, raised his hand and lightly punched Kiryu in the chest.

"For you, if A-Wu and Ju Qingdeng could get married, that would be a double blessing."

"On one side is the girl I've always treated like my own granddaughter. On the other side is my proud, closed-door disciple...tsk tsk tsk."

As soon as Ogata finished speaking, Kiryu, who always treated people with humility and gentleness, revealed a rare smug expression.

"Now that you are Ju Qingdeng's master, you must properly polish this rough gem."

Ogata continued.

"His current martial arts skills are still very poor, but he has a lot of room for growth."

"With proper nurturing, the future is promising."

"At the same time... Mamiya-kun, let me remind you—you'd better keep a close eye on Tachibana Aoto."

A meaningful smile appeared on Ogata's cheeks.

"A talented young man like Tachibana Seiden, who has achieved so much at such a young age, must be surrounded by outstanding girls, right?"

"At yesterday's wedding banquet, wasn't there a very pretty girl who seemed quite familiar with Tachibana Aoto? I remember that girl was Chiba Kōemon's granddaughter, right? What was her name again?"

“Chiba Sanako,” Kiryu replied.

"Ah, right, that's the name." Ogata slapped his forehead. "Mamiya-kun, since you intend to matchmake Mai and Tachibana Aoto, you'd better be careful. Don't let Tachibana Aoto be snatched away by another girl."

Kiryu chuckled after hearing Ogata's reminder.

“Ogata-kun, you don’t need to worry about this.”