I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Kimura, I won't beat around the bush with you. Let's speak frankly and directly."

Qing Deng pressed the tip of the sword that had been used to subdue ghosts back to the scabbard on his left waist, and with a "whoosh," she sheathed the sword.

Keep your little schemes to yourself. Don't think I don't know what you're up to.

"To be honest, I prefer 'peace and tranquility' to 'thrilling and exciting'."

“I don’t care what you think of me. Whether you think I’m a ‘former member’ whose bloodline isn’t high enough, or you feel ashamed to be associated with me, these are your personal feelings, and I can’t and don’t want to care.”

"If you don't bother me, I'm happy to keep to myself and avoid conflict."

"We all live peacefully together, each doing our own thing in our respective positions."

"But if you insist on coming after me and making me unhappy, then I will not hesitate to fight back."

"My counterattacks against the enemy have always been aggressive and fierce."

"I sincerely hope you never have to experience firsthand how I treat those I consider enemies."

After saying that, Qingdeng got up, opened the door, and went out.

The council chamber fell silent again.

Tsuchida, Kazama, and Hisaka stared at each other, dumbfounded, as if they had lost their souls.

Kimura stood frozen in place, his face alternating between pale and flushed, his eyes and nostrils bulging to their limit due to the intense fluctuations in his emotions.

My grandson, with a cheerful smile on his face, silently observed the changes in Kimura and the others' expressions for a moment, then took half a step out of the council hall and caught up with Aoto in the corridor outside the hall.

"Orange-kun".

My grandson walked briskly alongside Qingdeng.

"I thought you would be the kind of person with a gentler personality~~"

"I do have a very gentle personality. If you don't believe me, you can ask around; my good nature is widely recognized."

Qing Deng smiled.

"I simply reserved my peaceful nature and attitude for my relatives, friends, and all those who were kind to me, leaving no room for my enemies or those who were hostile to me."

"Haha, that last strike of yours was truly amazing! My eyes couldn't even keep up with the speed of your blade!"

After my grandson laughed a few times, he said quietly:

"In the blink of an eye, Kimura went from standing to sitting~~"

"I don't really like Kimura either, but I've seen some pretty good things today!"

"Just seeing Kimura so terrified that he collapsed to the ground is enough to put my whole day in a good mood~~"

"However... isn't it a bit too extreme of you, Tachibana-kun, to directly draw your sword and threaten Kimura?"

“Not at all excessive.” Qing Deng said without hesitation, “If we don’t make a move, we don’t make a move at all. But when we do, we’ll go straight for the kill and intimidate them in one fell swoop. So that if they ever try to do anything wrong to me again, they’ll have to be careful.”

“If I had chosen to give in or hadn’t taken drastic measures, they would have been even more brazen in taking advantage of me.”

If you had to describe Qingdeng's character in one sentence, it would be "to repay kindness with kindness and injustice with justice"—he treats those who are good to him well, and those who are bad to him badly.

Ever since Aoto followed my grandson into the council chamber, Kimura has barely given Aoto a second glance.

Moreover, Qing Deng frequently noticed blatant contempt on Kimura's face.

When Aoto took his seat, Kimura even moved away from Aoto with a look of disgust.

Kimura treated him so badly that Aoto had no interest in trying to win him over.

Therefore, when Aoto spoke with Kimura, he did not use honorifics or titles.

Kimura came with an air of authority to lecture Aoto, demanding that he respect his elders... Anyone with eyes could see that the "lecture" was fake! His real purpose was to pick a fight with Aoto and establish his authority in front of him!

It was obvious that Kimura had come to make things difficult for Aoto.

It just so happened that he seized on the fact that "Qing Deng didn't use honorifics with him."

Even though Aoto treated Kimura with great respect and politeness from the beginning, Kimura still managed to find other ways to cause trouble for Aoto.

If Aoto hadn't drawn his sword directly and displayed his superb swordsmanship in public, but instead had chosen to back down and give in, then one can imagine that Kimura and the others would have thought Aoto was weak and easy to bully, and that he only had the title of "Niou"!

Looking back, "bullying" has always been a hot topic in society.

News of people taking extreme actions such as suicide due to being unable to tolerate bullying is constantly emerging.

Regarding how to deal with bullying... the method is both difficult and simple in some ways—it is to actively and proactively show your fangs!

This method works at home, school, and workplace.

Whether you seek help from others or bravely raise your fist, any method will do, the key is to make the bullies fear you! Make them realize that you are not someone to be trifled with!

Don't delude yourself into thinking that your tolerance and backing down will make the bullies go easy on you—they will only bully you even more!

"Be patient, and the storm will pass; take a step back, and the sky will be clear." "I am a civilized person, and there is no need for me to resort to violence against people just because they bully me." Such thoughts are just wishful thinking and self-pity.

Qingdengcai wouldn't do something so foolish as to "make the enemy happy while moving himself."

I, Ju Qingdeng, am someone who repays evil with justice!

Kimura and the others have already witnessed Aoto's sharp fangs.

They'll have to think twice before trying to mess with a swordsman whose speed is so fast he can take their lives in an instant.

As soon as Qingdeng finished speaking, my grandson nodded in agreement and chuckled:

"Haha, you're right~ Blindly tolerating it will only embolden the abuser~ However, based on my understanding of Kimura, he definitely won't let it go so easily~ So you shouldn't let your guard down~~"

“Yes, I will.” Qingdeng nodded.

During their conversation, the two were almost out of the government office.

"Tachibana-kun, are you preparing to set off for the Third Division's base immediately?" Abiko asked.

“Hmm.” Qing Deng nodded. “It’s still early. I plan to memorize and recognize the faces and names of all the members of the Third Division today.”

"Oh, I see..." My grandson pursed his lips as if he was thinking about something. "Tachibana-kun, if I may ask, how much do you know about the various infamy that this unit, which is now under your command, has?"

"Notoriety?" Qing Deng raised an eyebrow. "I really don't know about that..."

"Ah..." My grandson chuckled, "You didn't know the Third Division had such a bad reputation... Oh well, I'll just give you a brief explanation then~~"

"In short—the Third Division has quite a few arrogant and fierce soldiers who, while not particularly skilled, possess exceptionally eccentric personalities."

"I've never managed the Third Division before, so I'm not entirely clear on its current situation."

"I only know that some members of the Third Division, Yori and Doshin, are extremely unruly and difficult to manage."

"The previous captains of the Third Division were all driven crazy by these arrogant subordinates."

“Tachibana-kun, you were previously the comrade of the Hokuban-sho-sada-cho-kai, and you have no experience in managing such a large force. Therefore, you may encounter many troubles that you do not know how to handle when you first start managing the Third Division.”

"If you have any questions or need any help, feel free to come to me!"

“I will do my best to help you with your brainpower.”

My grandson, with a mysterious smile on his face, raised his right index and middle fingers and poked his right temple.

Qingdeng's lips curled up slightly when he heard my grandson's words, "all of his brainpower."

Thank you for your kindness and reminder.

He thanked my grandson softly, nodding slightly as if deep in thought.

……

……

About an hour later—

Edo, outskirts, the training ground of the Third Division of the Fire-Taken Thieves—

The Fire Thieves Third Division, which is concurrently the unit of the First-Hand Archers Seventh Division, has a spacious archery range and training ground in its base to meet the daily training requirements.

At this moment, all the officers and soldiers of the Third Division—10 Yori and 50 Toshi, a total of 60 people—had gathered on the training ground, waiting for the arrival of their new division captain.

"Hiss... Damn it!" A fat man with a face full of scars tightened his haori. "It's so cold today! Why hasn't that bastard's new captain arrived yet? I'm freezing! Hey! Aoi! Can I borrow your haori for a bit?"

"Huh?" A short, thin young man with a fair complexion hesitated. "This... Mr. Akabane, this is a new garment my wife sewed for me... and you probably can't wear this haori..."

"Stop talking nonsense! I told you to lend me your clothes, so hurry up and take them off and lend them to me!"

After roaring, Akabane Koichiro raised his large, fan-like hand and roughly ripped off Aoi Osamu's haori.

Although Akabane Koichiro's name contains the word "small," his physique is completely unrelated to "small"—his height, chest circumference, and waist circumference are all 1.6 meters.

With his build, how could he possibly fit into Lan Jingyang's clothes?

But he completely ignored it.

After forcefully snatching Aoi Osamu's haori, Akabane Koichiro draped it over his back and slipped his arms into the sleeves—rip—the sound of tearing fabric and snapping threads rang out.

Seeing this, Lan Jingyang wanted to cry but had no tears.

But he didn't say a word, didn't do anything, and just kept his head down...

"Phew... Much warmer! Aoi, your wife's handiwork is pretty good! She can actually sew such a high-quality haori!" Akabane grinned.

"Haha..." Lan Jing chuckled awkwardly a few times, "Thank you for the compliment..."

"Midori!" Akabane turned around and shouted at a young man beside him, "What time is it now?"

Midorikawa Gosaburo pulled a pocket watch from his pocket: "Just past 10 a.m."

"Tsk! Damn it! How much longer are we going to stand here like idiots in the training ground? If we keep waiting like this, the sun will be high in the sky! Is that son of a bitch, Tachibana Bitten, not coming today?"

At this moment, a middle-aged man with mostly white hair and eyebrows said calmly:

“Red Feather, it’s ‘Orange Blue’, not ‘Orange Green’.”

"I don't care if he's 'Qingdeng' or 'Bideng'!" Akabane gritted his teeth. "Damn it... sending an 18-year-old kid who hasn't even grown his first hair to lead us... are you kidding me!"

“Akaba, your life shouldn’t be so isolated that you don’t even know who Tachibana Aoto is, right?” Shirasaki Heijiro shrugged.

"Of course I know who Tachibana Aoto is!"

Akabane frowned impatiently.

"Isn't he just 'Niou,' who has become famous recently because of his superb swordsmanship and has killed many traitors?"

"So? So what?"