Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

"Please bring my lunchbox tomorrow, Higashiyama-kun."

"Okay, stir-fried green peppers with pork, and mulberry leaves."

When Chiba Shion, who had been expressionless, heard this term, she seemed to see something terrifying. Her eyes widened slightly, and a rare hint of panic appeared on her face.

"I heard that green peppers in Tokyo have recently been found to have excessive pesticide residues." Chiba Shion was serious; she even opened her phone, went to her favorites, and found the news article.

She must have been overjoyed when she saw that news.

"Oh, I see. Then let's make bitter melon stir-fried with pork."

Chiba Shion opened and closed her rosy lips, but ultimately said nothing, and left looking somewhat lost and dejected.

Higashiyama Shin put away his playful smile, picked up his bag, and walked towards the old teaching building.

During the day, people still occasionally pass by the old teaching building. Perhaps it's because the greenery here is so lush that you can feel a cool breeze whenever you walk nearby.

Even in summer, it was still the same. He hadn't paid much attention to it before, but now, feeling it again, he wondered if it was because he had the Spirit-Nourishing Fire Eye. He found it to be an uncomfortable coolness, and it was much stronger than before.

As the flames ignited in Higashiyama Shin's eyes, the unpleasant chill was instantly dispelled.

He looked up at the old teaching building and saw wisps of black, eerie energy that seemed to be burning, covering and enveloping the entire building, seeping out in all directions even under the bright sun.

"No, this is a formation."

With the help of the Three Nine Secrets and the Spirit-Nourishing Fire Eye he inherited, Dongshan Shen saw through the strangeness of this place.

"It's still a damaged formation that hasn't been activated for a long time."

The Three-Nine Secret Abode has some knowledge of formations, but not much, so he can only tell that it is a formation, but he doesn't know what the formation does or how to destroy it.

Perfect timing, isn't someone going to scout things out for him tonight?

With a flick of his wrist, a small paper figure, about the size of a palm, appeared in his hand.

He took out a needle, pricked his fingertip, and used it to draw blood from the paper figure's face.

"go."

With a flick of its wrist, the paper figure darted into the canopy of a nearby locust tree and disappeared without a trace.

Without lingering, Higashiyama Shin turned a corner and headed towards the archery club's location.

Chapter 7: Kyudo Condor (bushi)

He didn't need to take care of his younger brother. Even brothers need to have their own free time to participate in different club activities, so they usually went home separately after school.

Upon arriving at the archery club, most of the members were maintaining their bows and arrows, while the club president and a senior seemed to be arguing about something in a corner.

"Imagawa-senpai, Minamikawa-go-minister, it's been a long time."

Higashiyama Shin walked over and greeted him.

"Ah, Higashiyama-kun is finally here! Quick, come and put down Imagawa's arrogance! Now he's taking advantage of his power and doesn't even respect me, the department head! Waaah, he actually dared to defy me in broad daylight! I'm so heartbroken, waaaah!" Haruko Minamikawa saw Higashiyama Shin as if she had seen a savior and quickly grabbed his arm to complain.

The person being accused was none other than Takaya Imagawa, a strong player in the archery club. At this moment, he stood upright in front of the wall of honor with his arms crossed, calmly watching Haruko Minamikawa's actions.

"Minister, what we should be comparing in archery is individual skill." Takaya Imagawa and Shin Higashiyama nodded, continuing to stare at Haruko Minamikawa, "not so-called archery etiquette, and Higashiyama-kun is not part of your skill."

"Higashiyama-kun, tell me, aren't you a loyal retainer of my archery club?" Haruko Minami looked at Shin Higashiyama with teary eyes, tugged at his sleeve, and hid half of her body behind him.

"Loyalty!" Higashiyama Shin sighed and chanted a slogan to appease the drama queen minister.

Haruko Minamikawa is usually very dramatic, so it's nothing unusual for her.

He's also a fan of anime and manga, and he'll occasionally practice archery while dressed in a meticulously crafted cosplay outfit. That's not all; when he gets into the mood, he'll say things like, "Bonds and friendships, witness my demon-sealing power!"—lines that are incredibly awkward.

She's wearing a green and white outfit with a red bow tie, which is clearly not a Komagome Academy uniform. I wonder which anime character she's cosplaying.

"Haha, see? You traitor! As long as 'Archery Hatchling' Higashiyama-kun is here, you can't take my ministerial position!" Minamikawa's expression changed instantly. He put his hands on his hips and arrogantly challenged Imagawa.

"."

Imagawa looked at her coldly, as if she were a madwoman.

This guy should be in the drama club.

After listening to their conversation for a while, Higashiyama Shin understood what was going on.

In archery competitions, there has always been a saying that etiquette is more important than hitting the target. It places great emphasis on so-called archery etiquette and "truth, goodness and beauty," which is a set of archery procedures full of ritual, leading to a neglect of the cultivation of real archery skills.

This has led some newcomers to become as skilled as robots at disassembling, assembling, and nocking bows, and to remember the eight-section shooting technique perfectly. However, it can't be said that all the arrows they shoot miss the target; they can only be said to barely hit the target.

Takaya Imagawa was never a talkative person; he was nicknamed "the silent, handsome man." He wouldn't have raised this issue with the minister unless he was truly at his wit's end.

Therefore, the two argued over differing opinions during discussions about recruiting new employees and developing training programs this year.

There are a few sayings in archery, such as "A straight shot will hit the target" and "An arrow shot out will not lie." These sayings emphasize the unity of the archery process with spirit and etiquette. As for the actual result, it is sometimes secondary.

The key is the etiquette and integrity learned through archery.

Of course, hitting the target is still quite important, but the number of rings is not that important, because the target doesn't have a ring number system.

Therefore, etiquette plays a very important role in the competition scoring.

He still remembered that Imagawa-senpai didn't get enough points for etiquette, and even though he hit the bullseye, he still couldn't pass the Kanto High School Selection Tournament.

In fact, all that rambling boils down to Higashiyama Shin's personal understanding that it's just like tea ceremony and flower arrangement—using elaborate etiquette to cultivate a so-called noble temperament.

Kendo and Judo are a bit better; they rely more on skill, and if you can't beat someone, you just can't beat them.

"In short, we are able to fill this wall of honor thanks to the experience accumulated by generations of predecessors! And even more importantly, we have received a lot of funding! Etiquette training must be the most important thing, and my instructors agree with this."

Perhaps having temporarily satisfied his acting urges, Nan Chuan regained some of his seriousness and gave an irrefutable reason.

Among the students participating in club activities, aside from personal interests, many are simply wasting their youth and vying for so-called glory with their peers. This concerns the entire club, and the interests of others should not be sacrificed for the sake of a few people's will.

On this point, Imagawa has nothing to say.

Seeing Imagawa remain silent, Minami wanted to press her advantage and change Imagawa's mindset, making him pay more attention to etiquette so that he wouldn't be eliminated because of etiquette points again.

Seeing this, Dongshan Station stepped forward and, taking the position of a reasonable person, spoke frankly and casually, making a few words to smooth things over, thus temporarily putting the pursuit of Nanchuan on hold.

On the first day of school, Minamikawa, as the minister, still had a lot of things to deal with. Seeing that Higashiyama was helping to keep Imagawa occupied, he left to do other things.

"Have a show?"

After Nanchuan left, Imagawa regained his composure, looked at Higashiyama, and asked.

"please."

Dongshan took out his bow, which he had left with the archery club, and weighed it in his hand. Due to the effects of the Transcendent Pill, it felt light and airy.

Neither of them liked the complicated etiquette; they preferred the satisfaction of hitting the target.

So they skipped the formalities, did some minor grooming, and stood together in the archery area.

The archery club's target is only 28 meters away, and the only opportunity to shoot further is during club training sessions.

"The target has been changed!"

A member who knew the two men well took the initiative to replace the traditional 36-centimeter black and white target with a 60-centimeter bullseye target.

The match between the two top archery players immediately attracted the attention of others, who spontaneously gathered around, whispering and watching the two.

"Three arrows." Imagawa nocked his bow, aimed, and released the string in two breaths. The string rang out, and the arrow pierced the target in an instant, its fletching swaying.

The test shot scored seven rings.

"it is good."

Instead of testing the shot, Dongshan Shen took a deep breath, assumed the correct posture, concentrated his mind, and activated his Spirit-Nourishing Fire Eye. The target twenty-eight meters away seemed to be right in front of him, and he could even predict the trajectory of the arrow, just like in a game.

Why did it automatically turn it on for him? It's really caused him a lot of trouble.

He forcefully suppressed this ability, aimed, and fired.

The first official arrow.

Imagawa: 8

Dongshan: 8

When the results came out, applause rang out in the dojo. After returning from spring break, he was able to maintain such a good touch right away, which made the other members quite envious.

A faint smile appeared on Imagawa's stiff expression; he enjoyed this kind of evenly matched contest.

The second arrow.

Imagawa: 9

Dongshan: 10

A commotion arose in the training hall. Let alone a bullseye, they wouldn't dare say they could hit the bullseye of a traditional target in the competition.

Imagawa was somewhat taken aback, his eyes growing increasingly intense.

The third arrow.

Imagawa: 9

Dongshan: 9

The outcome has been decided.

"Imagawa-senpai, it seems I'm in good form today, I won by a narrow margin."

Dongshan smiled.

Imagawa shook his head: "There's no need for me to do it."

Dongshan smiled but didn't say anything.

His previous strength was somewhat inferior to Imagawa's, and he lost more often than he won. But now, as long as the Spirit-Nourishing Fire Eye exists, he can easily defeat his opponent even without activating it.

The two played several more rounds, and Dongshan only "lost" one game.

"According to Article 72 of the departmental regulations, the minister has the authority to bestow honorary titles after the competition!"

After returning from Nanchuan, he learned the results of the competition from the other members who were watching. He then excitedly gave Higashiyama Shin's nickname "Archery Rookie" a super-evolution into "Archery Rayquaza".

What the heck? So there are Archery Groudon and Archery Kyogre?

"No, no, no, it's Judo Groudon and Swimming Club Georka!" Haruko Minamikawa corrected with a rare serious expression.

Finally, under pressure from Shin Higashiyama, Minamikawa had no choice but to reluctantly adopt the more low-key name "Gyudo Shin'yō" (Archery Divine Eagle) and bide his time.

P.S.: The information about archery is pure nonsense and doesn't make sense; it's from a parallel universe.

Chapter 8: The Test of Courage

He stayed at the archery club until nearly 5 p.m. before leaving the school, taking the subway back to Komagome Station, and then buying some fresh ingredients at a nearby supermarket before returning to his tower apartment.

"Shin, do you need any help from your older sister?" Natsuki Otsuka, who was in the butler's office, asked as she leaned out of the window with her hands behind her back.

"Thank you, Otsuka-neechan. I can carry it up myself."

Dongshan Shen politely declined.

"Shin-chan is such a good older brother, I'm so envious," Natsuki Otsuka exclaimed sincerely, her smile as warm as ever.

Higashiyama Shin didn't reply. Cooking was a hobby he carried over from his previous life, and he didn't see it as a burden.

To ensure his younger brother became a responsible brother, the older brother, having learned some martial arts, resorted to force to win over his younger brother, who hadn't even reached puberty yet, nipping the seed of rebellion in the bud.

After all, there is a big difference between being educated by parents and being educated by an older brother who is two years older than you.

The former will become more rebellious the more they are beaten, while the latter will use both soft and hard tactics, setting an example so that the latter has no choice but to obey.

This is why that adoptive father was so comfortable entrusting the family to him.

Back home, he started cooking. He made tomato and egg soup, hamburger patties, and braised chicken wings. He didn't like miso soup and had hardly ever made it before. He preferred seaweed and egg drop soup to miso soup.

"I'm back!"

Dongshan returned around 5 or 6 o'clock. He joined the badminton club and the soccer club, but his talent in soccer was not very good, unlike the national team in his previous life. Anyway, the soccer ball he bought was brand new, and he didn't play it at all when he took it out last night, just to cover it up.

On the contrary, he really enjoys badminton and occasionally goes to the badminton room in his apartment to play a few rounds.

"Hooray for hamburger patties!"

Dongshan hurriedly washed his hands, packed his food, and brought it to the table.

Once Dongshan Shen sat down, he couldn't wait to start eating, shouting "Let's dig in!"