"We seem to have arrived too early..."
Kinoshita Mai stretched her neck and looked around.
"It seems that Aomori and the others haven't arrived yet...Mr. Kiryu, what time is it now?"
Kiryu, who was sitting next to Kinoshita Mai, took out a pocket watch from his arms.
"It's exactly 9 o'clock. We did arrive too early. There is still a full hour before the game officially starts. It will take a while for Tachibana-kun and the others to arrive."
Kiryu and Kinoshita Mai, an old and young pair who have a close relationship with the Imperial Guard Hall and a close relationship with Aoto, naturally cannot miss this rare and grand game today.
Today's game is scheduled to start at 10 o'clock in the morning. The location is set on a river bank with quite beautiful scenery and fairly flat terrain on the outskirts of Edo, which is very suitable for use as a "red and white battle" competition venue.
This competition is not small in scale - each side has 20 disciples, and it is a 20vs20 melee.
In order to have enough space for all 40 players to play to their heart's content, the playing field was specially designed to be quite large - about the size of half a football field.
The west end of the competition venue is the "resting area for the Xuanwu Hall players", and it is also the "main formation" for the Xuanwu Hall players once the game starts.
Since the west end is the "main formation" of the Xuanwu Hall, the east end of the venue is naturally the "resting area for the test defense hall players" and the "main formation" of the entire army after the start of their game.
Relatives and friends from these two sword halls sat in the "audience seats" at the north and south ends of the venue to watch the game.
In order to facilitate the distinction, and to make this "red and white battle" feel more like a "battlefield", the two "main formations" each raised a flag high, with the Chiba family and the Kondo family respectively printed on the two flags. family pattern.
The "handsome flag" facing east and west is fluttering in the wind... It really has the atmosphere of a confrontation between large armies.
Because Kiryu and Kinoshita Mai arrived too early, Aomori and others have not yet arrived.
Considering that some disciples live in relatively remote areas, in order to save trouble, Zhouzhu did not engage in the "get together first, and then set off together" approach. Instead, we adopted the method of "Let's start each other, and the person who arrives first will warm up first. In short, just don't be late."
At this moment, when the core disciples such as Aoto, Kondo, and Souji have not arrived yet, only less than 10 people have arrived in the main formation of the Trial Guard Hall.
The gatekeepers of these trial defense halls who arrived in advance worked together to put up the "handsome flag" of their trial defense halls and started their warm-up in advance.
At this time, Kinoshita Mai suddenly noticed keenly: These people... are now looking at the other side with straight eyes.
To be more precise...he was looking at the faces in the main formation of the Xuanwu Hall.
There was obvious fear in his eyes and cheeks.
Upon seeing this, Kinoshita Mai couldn't help but wonder at Kiryu beside her:
"Mr. Kiryu, why do the people in the Trial Defense Hall look like this? Are all the contestants in the Genbu Hall very strong?"
"Well... how should I put it..." Kiryu showed a weird smile, "... In today's game, Tachibana-kun and the others will have a very hard time."
Kinoshita Mai widened her eyes in surprise.
"Even if Qingto is here, the fight will be very hard? Are the players in the Xuanwu Hall so strong?"
Kinoshita Mai didn't know much about the swordsmanship world in Edo. She only knew that the Xuanbukan, one of the "Three Great Halls of Edo", was very strong, but she didn't know how strong it was.
"The others are fine, but the main thing is that the man is difficult to deal with..."
Kiryu raised his eyebrows, and his eyes hidden behind the lenses cast a meaningful look at the tall young man standing in the center of the Genbukan main formation, holding two bamboo swords, one long and one short, in his hands.
Blah blah blah...
Suddenly, bursts of footsteps came from the southeast of the arena.
Kinoshita Mai followed the sound, and then let out a low exclamation: "Ah...it's the Little Chiba Sword Hall..."
In the direction from which the footsteps came, a group of people from Chiba Sword Hall, led by Chiba Nobuyoshi, were heading towards the arena in a mighty manner.
Among this group of people, there are many faces that are quite familiar to Aoto: Sanako, Chiba Jutaro, Shannan Keisuke...
Whether it is with the Shiwei Hall or the Xuanwu Hall, the Xiao Qianba Sword Hall has a deep friendship that is constantly cutting things off and turning them into chaos.
Therefore, in the "auditorium" of today's game, everyone may not be present, but it is impossible for the people from Xiaoqianba Sword Hall to be absent.
What's more, Chiba Sadayoshi is still the referee of this competition.
No one would be dissatisfied with Chiba Sadayoshi, who is highly capable, highly respected and known as the "living legend", as the referee of the game.
After discovering the arrival of the people from the Little Chiba Sword Hall, Kinoshita Mai immediately felt like a kitten meeting a big vicious dog. She lowered her head and tightened her shoulders and neck in fear.
His eyes were fixed on the ground in front of his knees as he lowered his head...
But after a while, as if she was unwilling to "hide" herself like this, she stubbornly and cautiously slowly raised her gaze to look at Sanako, who was walking beside Chiba Nobuyoshi and standing at the front of the team... …
——Chiba Sanako... She's really beautiful... I can't compare to her at all...
Kinoshita Mai's gaze was uncontrollably staring straight at Sanako's pretty face... There were complex emotions in her eyes that were difficult to describe in detail...
At this time, Sanako was keenly aware that there seemed to be a kind of... "heavy" eyes locked on her.
With confusion on her face, she raised her elegant swan neck and looked around. In a blink of an eye, she spotted Kinoshita Mai.
The eyes of the two women collided and entangled in mid-air...
The moment her eyes met Sanako's, Kinoshita Mai subconsciously wanted to look away.
But suddenly, as if she thought of something, she stopped the timidity in her heart, took a deep breath with a "ha" sound, then tensed her muscles, opened her eyes wide, and spoke to Zuo without giving in. The two looked at each other.
——This child is...?
Sanako's brows furrowed with a shadow of doubt. After his consciousness passed through the "Sea of Memory", he finally remembered who this cute girl who looked very familiar was.
——This child... is the girl in red who previously assisted Mr. Ju in dealing with the anti-barbarian group...
The scene of her first encounter with Mai Kinoshita in the settlement that was engulfed by fire flashed quickly before Sanako's eyes.
——Look carefully...this child looks really cute.
Sanako blinked a few times, and after leaving this plain comment in her heart, she slowly withdrew her gaze and voluntarily withdrew from looking at Kinoshita Mai.
Seeing Sanako look away first, traces of pure joy appeared on Kinoshita Mai's cute face.
——I won! Great! \(≥▽≤)/
It was obvious that they were not engaging in any "glaring contest" with Sanako, and Sanako's active avoidance of gaze did not mean anything, but Kinoshita Mai felt inexplicably happy, as if she had won a big victory.
…
…
Trial Guard Hall, second floor, in front of the General Secretary's room——
"Miss Okita, haven't you changed your clothes yet?"
Qingto stood in front of the General Secretary's room and shouted into the room.
"Move quickly! Master and the others are already urging us! If we wait too long, we may not be able to catch up with the competition!"
"Come on, come on!"
Dong Dong Dong... The sound of the tatami being stepped on quickly came from behind the door.
A moment later, with the sound of the sliding door being pushed open, a slender ponytail that swayed with the owner's figure appeared in front of Qingden's eyes.
The slender high ponytail hanging down to the shoulders, the purple ribbon used to tie the hair, the white kimono, the lavender hakama, and that bright smiling face like the sun... an outfit that is so familiar that it is so familiar. 's smile.
"I've changed my clothes! Let's go!"
As Souji spoke, he walked with a cute pace that swayed from side to side like a penguin walking, swaying the ponytail on the back of his head. He passed by Aomori and headed straight towards the first floor and the test guard. Go to the entrance of the museum.
The time now is 9:10... If I go out now, I can arrive at the stadium without being late and allowing enough warm-up time.
"...Miss Okita."
Aoto is now able to switch between the two titles of "Okita-kun" and "Okita-san" very skillfully.
In public, he calls the general manager "Okita-kun", and in private without any outsiders present, he calls him "Miss Okita".
"Huh? What's wrong?" Souji turned around and gave Qingto, who suddenly called her, a bold look that said, "If you have anything to say, just say it quickly."
"I see you have been in a good mood these past few days."
Qingteng continued to speak while watching the bouncing and energetic steps of Souji.
"Did anything good happen to you recently?"
Recently, for some reason, Souji suddenly changed his dejected appearance, where he was in a trance and bumped into the wall when he walked. His face was filled with a bright and warm smile every day, he jumped up and down when he walked, and he exuded an energy that could make anyone It was obvious that she was in a good mood now.
Perhaps influenced by this good mood, the General Secretary has been in excellent condition recently.
The daily swordsmanship training is both serious and hard-working, and the whole body seems to have endless energy. You will not feel tired after practicing swordsmanship in the dojo for a whole day.
The condition was so good that Zhousuke, who was always strict in swordsmanship training, couldn't help but feel dumbfounded.
Qingto turned his head and thought about it carefully - it seemed that since the night Souji's daughter was discovered five days ago... Souji's mood had inexplicably become extremely good.
Why is this happening? The only explanation Qingto can think of is that something great has happened to her recently.
"Hoho~~"
Souji laughed strangely at Aomori who suddenly asked her this question.
Immediately afterwards, she responded with a leisurely and contented attitude and a tone of voice that was mixed with a bit of teasing:
"I did encounter a good thing recently...but I won't tell you what it was~~"
After saying that, she closed one eye with a mischievous expression, raised her right index finger to her red lips, and her eyes shone with a childish and cunning look.
Looking at Souji's cheerful and malicious expression, Qingto couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"Miss Okita, you are really good at teasing people... Could it be that your sister finally agreed to let you continue to explore the way of the sword?"
The first half of the sentence is a helpless emotion, and the second half is a tentative cliché.
A happy event that makes Souji happy every day these days... The only possibility Aomori can think of is that the conflict between her and her sister has finally been resolved.
However, as soon as he finished speaking, the director-general said:
"No way. I know my sister's character best, and she doesn't change her mind so easily."
Speaking of this, the Souji seemed to be recalling something, his voice paused for a moment, and then continued:
"Speaking of this...Tachibana-kun, do you think my sister has been acting weird lately?"
"Huh? Weird? What should I say?"
"It's just...she often comes to the dojo to watch me practice swordsmanship in the past few days. She also comes over from time to time and asks me if I'm practicing hard and if I've had a good drink of water and rest..."
"Isn't this pretty good?" Qingden smiled.
"It's good... but she's so abnormal, which makes me feel weird... Because she opposes my continued practice of swordsmanship, my sister has never liked to watch me practice swordsmanship."
As Souji spoke, he rubbed his arms alternately as if he felt cold.
"To be honest - sister, she suddenly behaved uncharacteristically, which made me feel a little nervous... Could she be having some strange idea..."
"Well... who knows." Qingden smiled and shrugged lightly.
The talent "Trickster" is quietly activated at this moment.
Souji probably never would have imagined that Aoto, who was walking side by side with her at this moment, was the only person in the entire Imperial Guard who knew why Okita Hikaru suddenly became so abnormal.
——It seems... Mrs. Aguang has really listened to my suggestion and is more attentive to "watching" Miss Okita...
Thinking of this, Qingden unconsciously had a faint smile on his face.
While talking and laughing, Qingto and Souji finally arrived at the gate on the first floor of the Trial Guard Hall.
At the entrance, Shusuke, Abi, Kondo, Hijikata, Inoue, Saito, Nagakura, Harada, Kubei, Okita Hikaru, Okita Rintaro... everyone was ready to go.
Okita Hikaru and Okita Rintaro are the couple who are relatives of the Souji and distinguished guests of the trial defense hall. It is impossible for the Kondo family to forget to invite them to watch today's game.
Faced with the invitation from the Kondo family, Hikaru Okita and his wife agreed without hesitation, saying repeatedly, "They will definitely come to watch the game by then."
After seeing Aoto and Souji finally arriving from a distance, Okita Hikaru first nodded to Souji, then squinted his eyes and looked at Aoto deeply with an intriguing look... Hers The gaze was fleeting, and in just a moment, she withdrew her gaze from Qingdeng.
"You two are too slow." Hijikata, who has always had a bad temper, curled his lips vigorously, "My butt is almost integrated with the floor."
"That floor is too pitiful. It's even connected to Mr. Hijikata's butt." Souji pulled the corner of his mouth, showing a "sad" expression.
"Hey, it would be an honor for this floor to be connected to my butt." Hijikata grinned, "Do you know how many people who are obsessed with the Way covet my butt?"
"Don't say such dirty words naturally!" Souji switched to the "T-Rex Roaring Mode" of "Ouch, Ouch, Ouch, Ouch".
"Hoo ho ho, okay, okay, if you have any questions, we'll chat on the road." Zhou Assistant clapped his hands, "Now that everyone is here, let's set off!"
"Brothers, let's go!" Kondo raised his fists with a righteous look on his face, "Let's go defeat the Genbukan!"
…
…
It takes nearly 30 minutes to travel from the trial gymnasium to the competition ground on the outskirts of Edo.
After successfully arriving at the arena, which was adjacent to a spacious river and the air around it was quite cool, Qingdeng and his team were instantly surrounded by sights from all directions.
"Ah, Mr. Kiryu, look! Aoto and the others are here."
Kinoshita Mai's whole face turned a light pink happily.
I saw her with her legs still kneeling on the ground, forcefully straightening her body above the knees. Her plump "peach" left the soles of her overlapping feet, facing Qingdeng, and her right arm raised high like a car wiper. Swinging from side to side just as fast and wildly.
Kiryu looked at Mai Kinoshita with a complicated expression, who in his mind had never treated him with such a warm attitude since he was over 10 years old, and let out a long, long sigh filled with various emotions...
Aoto immediately noticed Kiryu sitting in the "auditorium" on the south side, and Kinoshita Mai waving to him.
Perhaps in the eyes of others, Kinoshita Mai's behavior of swinging her arms like car windshield wipers was quite funny.
But in Qingto's eyes, he only thought that Mai Kinoshita doing this action was so cute.
Qingto, who was amused by Kinoshita Mai's cuteness, felt warm in his heart and couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth.
He raised his arms and waved towards Kinoshita Mai from a distance, expressing "I see you!" with his movements.
At the same time, Aonto discovered the Chiba Kenkan group who happened to be sitting directly opposite Kiryu and Mai Kinoshita, sitting in the "auditorium" on the north side of the arena.
Chiba Jutaro, Shannan Keisuke and others noticed that Aoto was looking towards them, and they quickly smiled and waved to Aoto.
Sitting next to Chiba Jutaro, Sanako maintained her usual "Yamato Nadeshiko" elegant style.
She didn't wave her hands as excitedly as Kinoshita Mai. She only put her eyes with a faint smile on Qingden's face and nodded to Qingden.
If we say - at this moment, who is receiving the most and densest attention... then there is no doubt that it is Qingdeng.
…
"Hey, look, it's 'Nioh', 'Nioh' is here!"
"Which one is the 'Nioh'?"
"He's very tall and doesn't have a shaved head."
"You are as young as the rumors..."
"You have a pretty good physique. You can tell that he is someone who exercises regularly."
"Is he the one who selected 18 disciples of Xiao Qianba Sword Hall a while ago..."
…
In the "main formation" of Xuanwu Hall, sharp sight lines pierced Qingdeng like arrows.
With very few exceptions, these sightlines all have one thing in common - they are all filled with a militant light as strong as flames!
"... Third brother, everyone from the trial defense hall is here... Mr. Ju is here."
Chiba Tamonshiro walked slowly to the bottom of their "handsome flag" and spoke slowly to a tall young man who was sitting cross-legged under the flagpole with his eyes closed and meditating.
"..." The tall young man who sat like a bell slowly opened his eyes, raised his eyebrows, and looked at Qingdeng opposite him from afar...
…
…
"Young Master, please don't rush over to say hello to Mr. Ju. The game is about to start. If you rush to their 'main formation' as an outsider, you will cause trouble for others."
"I know this kind of thing." Kinoshita Mai lowered her body and returned to a kneeling posture, with "Peach" resting on her folded feet again, "Mr. Kiryu, what time is it now?"
"9:50." Kiryu glanced at his pocket watch.
"Then the game will start soon." Mai Kinoshita put her two little hands on her legs, grabbing them excitedly.
Even if she doesn't talk about her admiration for Qingdou, Kinoshita Mai herself likes to watch this kind of martial arts competition where warriors fight fiercely.
"Mr. Kiryu, you just said that Aoto and the others will have a very hard time in today's game... Does this mean that Aoto and the others do not have a high winning rate in this game?"
There was a hint of worry in Kinoshita Mai's tone.
With her feelings for Qingdeng, she certainly likes the object of her affection to win.
"...I can't say for sure." Kiryu smiled mysteriously, "There are many masters of the Xuanwu Hall, and there are also geniuses like Chiba Doisaburo who are rare in 10 years. Normally speaking, the Trial Guard Hall The probability of winning is not high.”
"but--"
Kiryu suddenly changed the subject.
"Here at the Trial Guard Hall... there happen to be two 'abnormal' people."
Kiryu squinted his eyes and looked at the "main formation" of the Imperial Guard Hall, and at Aomori and Souji who were standing side by side.
"I can't say how this game will turn out... I can't say."
…
…
"Tsk, tsk, darling, there are so many masters here." Hijikata's lips almost reached his ears.
"It's the same as what we heard before." The Souji tilted his face and said with a smile to Qingden beside him, "In order to be able to fight against 'Nioh', a large number of masters from Xuanbu Hall actively participated."
Qingto laughed dumbly: "Are there many masters on the other side? I am not very familiar with the Xuanbu Hall... In the whole Xuanbu Hall, I only recognize the faces of Chiba Dosaburo and Chiba Tamonshiro."
"Hahaha. Mr. Tachibana, the lineup of the Xuanwu Hall opposite is really a gathering of heroes." Inoue, who was standing behind Qingden, laughed a few times, "Did you see that thin man? ? That person is the headmaster of Genbukan: Kikuchi Takejiro; and that guy with a very ferocious face is Kawashima Hatsuzo, known as "Oni Hazo"; the baby-faced man next to him is a young man At the age of 20, I worshiped Sennosuke Senda, the leader of Beichen Itto-ryu, Hoshiden..."
"It doesn't matter how many masters come!" Kondo crossed his arms in front of his chest, showing a smug expression, "Anyway, no matter who is participating in the Xuanwu Hall and what strategies are used, what we should do remains the same - just Act according to the tactics we decided on the day before yesterday!"
It's strange to say that the contestants in the test hall standing at the east end of the stadium have two completely different mental outlooks at this moment.
Most people, after seeing the "all-star" lineup on the opposite side, showed nervousness, panic, fear, etc. on their faces.
But Aoto, Kondo, Hijikata, Souji, and Inoue, the core members and top combat forces of the five trial guards, were calm and chatting and laughing, with a thick or thin smile on everyone's face.
It's as if he doesn't worry about losing the next battle at all.
Some are timid, some are excited, some are sad and some are excited... Generally speaking, the mental outlook of the contestants in the trial hall shows such a polarized situation.
There were less than 5 minutes left before the start of the game... It was time for Zhou Zhu and the rest of the idle staff to leave the "main formation" and take their seats in the "auditorium".
"Hohoho, everyone, please don't be too nervous." Before leaving, Zhouzhu encouraged everyone while stroking his bare chin, "It's not a real sword duel that can kill people. You don't need to be too nervous." If you are too nervous or scared, just treat it as an ordinary swordsmanship exercise."
"Everyone! Don't lose!" Harada waved a flag with the Kondo family crest on it vigorously.
"Oh, it would be great if I could also participate... I really want to compete with Chiba Michizaburo." Nagakura sighed.
Saito: "...Everyone works hard."
"Young Master..." Jiubei held Qingto's hand firmly, "You must not get hurt."
…
Basically, everyone left a message of encouragement before leaving.
"Souji! You have to pay attention to your safety." Souji's brother-in-law, Rintaro Okita, stood in front of Souji and said earnestly, "It doesn't matter if you lose, it's just a game anyway, so don't get hurt. "
"Brother-in-law, don't worry!" Souji patted her chest hard, "I... no, we will win the game unscathed!"
Everyone has gone to the "auditorium"... The only people who have not left yet are Okita Hikaru and his wife.
"I sincerely wish you all good luck in martial arts."
Okita Hikaru folded his hands in front of him, bowed slightly without being humble or arrogant, and sent a plain blessing to everyone. Then, she led Okita Rintaro in the direction of leaving the "main formation".
At this moment, no one noticed—Okita Hikaru suddenly changed his walking trajectory slightly, his route deviated, and he came close to the Souji's back.
"...Xiao Si, please do."
After giving Souji such instructions at a volume that only she and Souji could hear clearly, Okita Hikaru left quickly without any hesitation.
"Huh?" The Souji turned around in surprise and stared blankly at the back of his sister as she strode away.
After a while, Souji breathed a sigh of relief as if he had recovered. Then, a bright smile slowly bloomed on Souji's face like a flower.
…
…
The victory rule of the red and white battle is to "kill" the opponent's general.
In order to make it easier for the contestants and the audience to identify themselves, the generals of both sides will wear conspicuous and gorgeous formation haori.
In a nutshell - if you want to win the red and white battle, you can defeat no one, but the porcelain bowl on the forehead of the general must be broken.
While Qingdeng and others were tying porcelain bowls to their foreheads, bursts of exclamation suddenly erupted from the "auditoriums" on the north and south sides of the stadium.
Everyone in the test hall raised their heads in confusion and looked around. In the blink of an eye, they knew why the exclamations in the "auditorium" were coming from.
In the "main formation" of Xuanbu Hall, a very tall young man was seen wearing a white and red formation haori that symbolized the status of "general general".
And this young man...is none other than Michizaburo Chiba!
In an instant, low exclamations rang out around Qingdeng and others.
"What's there to be afraid of?" Hijikata glanced displeasedly at the people around him who exclaimed, "'Chiba Michisaburo is very likely to serve as the general himself' - isn't this something we have expected a long time ago? "
"Dosaburo Chiba personally wears the General's Jinhaori... The worst case scenario we imagined before has happened." Souji smiled calmly and handed a piece of cloth in his hand to Qingnobo.
Qingdeng smiled and said nothing.
He silently reached out to take the ball of cloth from Souji, and then shook it vigorously - this ball of cloth was none other than the neatly stacked "General Jinhaori"!
The "auditoriums" on the north and south sides once again erupted in shocked exclamations.
Most of the spectators in the "auditorium", as well as all the contestants in the Xuanbu Hall opposite, all focused their eyes with different emotions on Aoden, who was wearing a jinhaori.
"Oh?" Chiba Jutaro's eyes lit up, "Is it Tachibana-kun as the general again?"
"..." Sanako didn't speak. She only watched everything on the field seriously.
Time flies.
Amid everyone's expectations, Chiba Sadayoshi, who served as the referee in this game, finally slowly came to the center of the field.
After Chiba Sadaki spoke some ordinary opening remarks and congratulations loudly, he waved vigorously to a young man standing in front of a small taiko drum not far away——
Boom...boom, boom! Boom——! Dong Dong——! !
The sound of drums, which changed from slow to rapid, pushed the atmosphere of the arena to a tense state in an instant!
The game officially begins!
The first one to start the battle of the competition... was the Trial Guard Hall!
"Follow me, everyone!"
A loud shout replaced the sound of taiko drums and shook the air of the arena.
Under the astonished gaze of everyone, Qingden led everyone and swarmed towards the main formation of the "Xuanwu Pavilion"!
*******
*******
The author took leave at home yesterday and slept all afternoon, from 1pm to 6pm... He is currently resurrected with full health! You can hang out again!
Asking for a monthly ticket! Please vote for recommendation! (Leopard head crying.jpg)
Some book friends may think that the author Jun has taken leave too frequently recently... Well, it is true, but it is all because of force majeure that the author has to take leave. It is not that the author Jun is lazy (Leopard Death.jpg)
--The world famous painting "Sanako and Mai Kinoshita looking at each other on the field".
——Why does the picture only show Aonto and Souji flirting? Where are Sanako and Kinoshita Mai?
——They are looking at each other on the field.
(End of chapter)
