In crossover anime, who isn't a childhood friend?

In fact, before the finals, participating schools also need to go to the competition venues designated by the respective prefectural kendo federations for preliminary rounds.

Leaving aside special regions and special circumstances, generally only the champion of each region can represent that region to compete for the national championship.

Otherwise, it would be unrealistic for so many schools and students across the country to all rush to the final venue in such a chaotic manner.

Kawara Junior High School is located in Tokyo. Because Tokyo has a much larger population than other regions, the competition is more intense, so the champions, runners-up, and third-place winners of the regional competitions can go to the national competition together.

On July 23, the Tokyo Metropolitan Preliminary Round of the National Junior High School Kendo Championships officially began at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium in Shibuya Ward!

Yuan Qianye arrived at school early in the morning to gather and listened to the teacher explain the competition rules. After that, he and the other members of the Kendo Club boarded the school bus together.

He sat in the first row of the bus, and the seat next to him remained empty, but none of the other passengers who boarded the bus thought of sitting next to him.

It wasn't bullying or isolation, but rather the Kawalan Kendo Club had its own internal situation.

After confirming that everyone was accounted for, Saeko Busujima, the department head, boarded the bus last and sat down next to Chiya Minamoto quite naturally.

She said to the teacher, "We can go now."

She took out another candy from her pocket and handed it to Yuan Qianye with a gentle smile.

When I turned my gaze over, I noticed something amiss with his hairstyle: "Your hair at the back is sticking up from sleeping."

"Huh? Is that so..."

"Let me help you. You must be too excited and didn't sleep well last night."

"I wouldn't say I'm excited, but I am definitely looking forward to it..."

The male members of the kendo club, who were sitting at the back of the bus and witnessed the couple's interactions, were unwilling to be forced to watch their love first thing in the morning. All they could do was keep their mouths shut and silently repeat to themselves, "Kendo doesn't need women, kendo doesn't need women..."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Wow, this is my first time in such a big stadium!"

"Haha, this isn't my first time! When my sister participated in a gymnastics competition before, Qianye, my parents, and I all went to the venue to cheer her on!"

Unlike Eriri's overreaction, Rikka confidently demonstrated her extensive knowledge, subtly showing off her older sister's achievements while also making herself look good.

"Eri, look, this is a photo of us in the gymnasium. My sister is even holding her medal..."

"Wow……"

"Alright, that's enough!"

Toka was unable to hold down Rikka's head and snatch her phone to force the screen to lock.

Honestly, it's not like it's some great honor that's being mentioned all the time, especially in front of so many people. Rikka, that idiot, might not care, but she still has some self-respect.

Yang Nao, who was standing nearby, laughed and said, "Rikka-chan is just too excited, it's understandable."

Yukino said with displeasure, "Sister, you're laughing too loudly."

"What does it matter? A stadium isn't a library; there's no requirement to keep quiet."

Even so, you still have to be careful not to make loud noises in public places.

"Hey, Yukino, you do sometimes act like that. If you're too serious, you'll just be seen as boring by others."

"..."

The Takanashi sisters and the Yukinoshita sisters are in similar situations. The sisters constantly argue, but it's mostly just bickering and doesn't cause any real harm.

They came to the gymnasium today to cheer on the Private Kawalan Kendo Club... or more precisely, to support Minamoto Chiya.

His hard work over this period has been witnessed by his friends, the Takanashi sisters and Eriri, so naturally they wanted to come to the venue to cheer him on! Of course, it would be even better if they could see him win the championship in person!

As for the Yukinoshita sisters, one is abroad, and the other only knows that Minamoto Chiya has only been learning kendo for a little over a month, so they lack understanding of his specific strength and level of effort.

But both of them also had an inexplicable confidence in him!

Qingmei's approval is without any reason; she simply feels from the bottom of her heart that this boy, who has always been one step ahead of her since childhood, will achieve excellent results.

As for Qingmei's older sister, judging from Yuan Qianye's character, he wouldn't do something he wasn't sure of. Since he chose to participate in the competition, he must have a certain level of confidence!

Rikka looked at the message on her phone and informed the others, "Chiya has arrived here and said he's about to change into his kendo uniform for the entrance!"

Yang Nai glanced at the lively audience, lazily stretched with her hands raised, and said, "The atmosphere here is really exciting. I'm getting more and more excited."

Yukino glanced at her sister's chest out of the corner of her eye, and straightened her back without making a sound.

Unfortunately, there were no significant changes.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Inside the Tokyo Gymnasium, the president of the Kendo Federation delivered a speech.

To convey the spirit of Kendo, to thank all sponsors, friendship first, competition second... blah blah blah...

A crowd of eager people surrounded the stage, their cameras flashing incessantly!

Yuan Qianye yawned as he listened from below the stage, thinking to himself that it would be great if life were a game, so that he could skip all these unimportant cutscenes.

Fortunately, the schedule was tight today, so the opening ceremony didn't last very long.

After the referees and contestant representatives swore an oath of fairness and impartiality, the competition officially began.

This middle school kendo competition will be a team event.

Five people participated, regardless of gender.

Three official players and two substitute players.

The best-of-three format is used, with the winner advancing and the loser eliminated.

As a matter of course, Gen Chiya will appear as a formal player.

Speaking of this, when Saeko Busujima was selecting the official cast members...

Within the Kawalan Kendo Club, some members who were unaware of the situation were somewhat dissatisfied and had doubts about the fact that a newcomer like Gen Chiyo was chosen as the starting player.

Gen Chiya didn't make things difficult for Busujima Saeko. He chose to stand directly in the center of the kendo club's arena to accept the challenge. After he cleanly and efficiently dealt with the seven guys who came up to challenge him, no one questioned him anymore. Instead, there were cheers and support.

People only develop a competitive spirit when their strengths are roughly equal. In such cases, even if someone is defeated, they may still feel resentful despite outward appearances.

They might think that if it weren't for my mistakes, carelessness, foot pain, fever, and not wiping properly after using the toilet in the morning, which affected my performance, I might have been able to turn the tide and win. In short, there are many excuses.

However, if the difference in strength is too great, to the point that it is impossible to catch up...

That would lead to the situation we see now.

"Yuan-kun, how are you doing? Aren't you nervous about your first competition?"

"The minister has gone to draw lots. Yuan-kun, just play your usual way. We, Chuanlan, are guaranteed to pass the first round!"

"I'm not nervous about Senior Da Chuan. You really don't need to massage my arms. My arms aren't that sore."

And Sakamoto-senpai, I'm not hot anymore, so you don't need to fan me anymore, and you don't need water either, thank you.

I'll need to use the restroom later if I drink too much, but it's inconvenient since I'm already wearing protective gear.

Yuan Qianye sat in the waiting area, his face full of helplessness.

The two senior players surrounding him are the substitute players for this competition.

He was also one of the seven challengers who had previously questioned him and were then easily defeated by him.

Both of them are junior high school students, with good physical development and decent kendo skills. If Yuan Qianye hadn't participated, one of them would have had a high chance of appearing as a formal competitor.

But after officially fighting against Gen Chiyo and learning about his strength... these two people completely disregarded the concepts of regulars/substitutes, seniors/juniors!

If the gap in strength is too large, then there's absolutely no way to feel even the slightest bit of jealousy.

Ordinary people may envy other ordinary people of the same level, but they cannot envy geniuses, because envy is useless.

In their eyes, Gen Chiya is the second swordsmanship genius after Saeko Busujima!

I'm completely and utterly impressed!

They have a very positive outlook.

Anyway, this is a team competition based on schools. If they actually win an award, even if they are substitutes, they can still go to the podium and share in the glory. It will also be written into their student files. In the future, when they enter the workforce, this can be considered a shining resume!

Therefore, they couldn't wait for Yuan Qianye to unleash the same power he had shown in defeating them so easily before, and then descend upon the stage with divine might, slaughtering everyone in his path!

With this expectation in mind, although they stopped doing anything, they still sat beside Yuan Qianye and spoke to him with concern from time to time.

At that moment, Saeko Busujima, who had gone to draw lots, returned.

"Sorry everyone, I wasn't having much luck."

As soon as Saeko Busujima said this, everyone except Chiya Minamoto tensed up instantly.

Did they draw a top seed from one of the tournament favorites in the preliminary rounds?!

Surely I can't be that unlucky! Do I really have to go through a tough battle right from the start?

Saeko Busujima revealed the result: "National Meguro Junior High School is a weak team with no past achievements and no reputation."

"I see..." Minamoto Chiya and Busujima Saeko had the same expression, and both sighed with slight disappointment.

"I'm sorry, Chiyo-kun, I can't let you go all out from the start and enjoy the match."

"It's okay, senior, we'll have plenty of opportunities later."

The kendo club instructor, the remaining regular members, and other kendo club members: "(;?_?) ..."

Do you two want to hear what you're saying?!

…………

054: Why aren't you laughing? (8000)(3)

The kendo club advisor looked at the list of players from the upcoming match against Meguro Junior High School and couldn't help but shake his head slightly.

They were all first-year students, so it's likely that the school's kendo club had just been established.

Either they have absolutely no usable players, otherwise they wouldn't be fielding such a lineup.

Too immature!

Maybe they're just here to make up the numbers and experience the atmosphere of the competition. Maybe they even want to win, even just once, so they can go back and have something to celebrate, something to look back on as a passionate youth.