Zuo Cun has turned twenty this year.
He should have been full of vigor at his age, but his brows were furrowed.
People in twos and threes on the road looked frightened when they saw the two knives hanging on Zuo Cun's waist.
During this period, the samurai class was more unscrupulous than before, and the people avoided the samurai as if they were avoiding evil spirits.
Zuo Cun no longer cared about such looks. He moved towards Edo in a hurry.
...
Okita Souji held his sword with sharp eyes.
"One step beyond the sound..."
"Two steps without a break...!"
"Three steps - the ultimate sword!!!"
Disappear and reappear.
Flashing three times in a row, Okita's famous sword "California Clear Light" pierced the straw man in front of him.
Okita's eyes were clear, he shook his wrist and sheathed California's clear light.
Sighing slightly, Okita turned around and walked away without looking at the straw man broken on the ground. Servants would clean up these things.
Souji Okita has become increasingly anxious recently.
These troubled times will put pressure on everyone.
Passing through the front hall, Okita happened to see a figure standing in front of the door of the trial defense hall, about to knock on the door.
"Mr. Zuo Cun?" She froze on the spot and muttered softly.
Zuo Cun forced out a smile: "Long time no see, Miss Okita."
...
"Are you the only one in the trial hall?" Zuo Cun sat not far from Okita and took a sip of tea, not daring to look at Okita.
Okita nodded: "Master took Shimazaki and Hijikata out. For now, I am the only one here."
She was also a little afraid to go see Zuo Cun.
Mr. Samura has become more mature, and his smile seems to have completely disappeared.
Only the stiff facial features and the aura of keeping strangers away were left.
She knew what kind of feelings she had for Zuo Cun before. After Zuo Cun left Mibuji Temple, she was lost for a long time.
...Is that a good impression of Zuo Cun, or is it just a brief admiration during girlhood?
Okita couldn't think clearly.
She is not a smart girl, she is just a girl who is good at using a sword. If there are too many and complicated problems, her brain will not be able to think clearly.
And just after that goodbye, Samura completely lost news around Edo.
until today.
After secretly glancing at Zuo Cun's serious face, Okita's mouth corners rose uncontrollably.
She couldn't clearly see her current feelings for Zuo Cun, but she knew that looking at Zuo Cun made her very happy.
"Mr. Samura, where have you been during the two years you left?" Miss Okita asked with a little smile.
"Tosa, Nagasu, and Anonatsu also spent a long time in Shimoda Port." Samura had no intention of hiding it from Okita.
Zuo Cun would not lie to Okita at all. If there was no Okita that day, there would be no Yuuki Zhan, and Zuo Cun might have died in some turmoil.
"That's it." Okita also knew that Zuo Cun would not lie to her, so he kept a smile on his face, "Then will you stay here this time?"
Zuocun's hand holding the teacup froze.
"...I don't know, I probably...won't keep it." Zuocun sighed slightly and drank all the tea in the cup.
"Huh? Is that so?" Although Okita has gotten older, taller, and stronger, his dull personality when getting along with people close to him has not changed at all.
Samura rarely felt a little relaxed: "The main thing when I come to Edo this time is to visit Mr. Kondo Shusuke and you, and then... tell you something, and that's it?"
Okita tilted his head: "Tell me something? What thing?"
Zuomura's heart suddenly tightened and he pondered for a few seconds: "Let's wait until...Shimazaki and Hijikata come back."
"...By the way, Okita, I haven't seen you for a long time. I wonder how your swordsmanship is?" Zuo Cun touched the handle of Hehe's sword and suddenly looked at Okita.
Okita looked at Zuomura, who was showing his fighting spirit towards him, and smiled.
"Don't underestimate me now... Mr. Samura."
...
"Hundori-ryu, Zuo Cun Annuo." Zuo Cun finally had a smile on his cold face.
Only the feeling brought by the battle can make Zuo Cun's heavy heart feel a little lighter.
"Tenurishin-ryu, Souji Okita." Miss Okita excitedly pulled California Kiyomitsu out of the sheath.
"Mr. Samura, let's try it! Now, who's swordsmanship is stronger!"
"...Oh!" Zuo Cun agreed.
Zheng——
He He took out his sheath, and two famous swords faced their masters.
Okita moved first, not using Shuchi, but a simple straight thrust.
Even so, Zuo Cun still felt that Okita was striking towards Zuo Cun like lightning.
Standing with his sword sideways, Zuomura had no intention of jumping up to dodge. He couldn't dodge at this speed. Speed was not Hyakori-ryu's strong point.
Ping——!
The blades of Hehe and California Qingguang's blades intersected. Okita did not continue to use force, but staggered the blades and quickly swung the blade at Zuomura at a very close distance.
In an instant, several knife shadows stabbed towards Zuocun.
Zuo Cun just chuckled.
A fierce confrontation ensued between the two.
Samura's reaction speed and counterattack speed were completely comparable to Okita's.
After stabbing dozens of times in a row, he still couldn't gain an advantage, so Okita had no choice but to distance himself.
But now it was Zuo Cun's turn.
Bullying him, Zuomura didn't give Okita a chance to distance himself.
Okita's swordsmanship is mainly based on thrusting, while Samura's swordsmanship is mainly based on slashing.
Opening and closing widely, the distance of each knife is very long.
Snap!
Okita grabbed an opening and tried to retreat.
Zuo Cun was extremely focused, jumped up, and his whole body fell directly in the air——
The knife struck Okita from an unexpected position.
Okita knew the swordsmanship of Samura's Hyakutori-ryu and was already prepared for this move.
Stand the California Qingguang horizontally above your head, and the two knives intersect!
——
As the distance widened, the two people exchanged positions and stood there, breathing heavily.
"I've made a lot of progress, Okita." There has been some snow in the past two days, but Zuocun is sweating.
He smiled and looked at Souji Okita across from him: "Can we continue? We have to use our true skills."
Souji Okita laughed twice: "Miss Okita - I'm going to do something real!"
Neither of them planned to stop.
The seemingly dangerous battle just now was just an appetizer.
The real battle begins now.
Zuocun took a deep breath and tightened the muscles in his legs.
Okita closed his eyes, and then opened them again, only seriousness and solemnity remained.
Zuocun jumped up high, and Okita also disappeared.
The final secret showdown between Hyakutori-ryu and Natural Rishin-ryu——
...
On the road leading to the Trial Guard Hall.
A skinny old man who looked a little twilight, with four young men behind him, headed towards the trial defense hall.
"I don't know what Okita is doing now." Shimazaki Isamu took a bite of the steamed bun in his hand.
"She must be practicing her sword. After Zuo Cun disappeared, it felt like she was in a state of only having swords." Hijikata Tobizo shook his head.
