Living in Tokyo, all I want to do is laze around.

“Girls still prefer healing things like flower arranging and tea ceremony,” said Eiyoshi Kanei.

Fuko Sakurai said with a smile, "Actually, before joining the archery club, I really wanted to join the gardening club or the cheerleading dance club."

Her words were actually quite suggestive.

Because of her large breasts.

When others hear this, they'll start imagining the cheerleading seniors who bring sound, smiles, and energy.

However, the boys in the archery club are all men who have been baptized by "hitting the target with every shot", so their mentality is very positive and they are completely unfazed.

The archery club is actually a sports club, but it has no connection with cheerleading.

You can't expect the cheerleading girls to dance and cheer you on every time an arrow hits the mark.

The atmosphere is so strange.

“Actually, I’ve always felt it’s really unfair,” Chitose Mayi said, chewing her gum restlessly. “Why can’t cheerleading be just girls cheering for boys? There are women’s volleyball and women’s soccer teams in sports meets, so there should be male cheerleading teams too.”

“Yes,” Sakurai Fuko said with a smile.

"Really!?" Chitose Mai was so surprised she couldn't even chew her gum.

"Yes, our school has them."

"Our school actually has one?!" Chitose Mai was shocked again.

"The Uniform Research Club, huh? They cheered for the women's basketball team at last year's sports meet. Well...they were pretty cute, weren't they..."

The word "cute" is a bit ambiguous.

Uniform Research Department?

If Uesugi Kai remembers correctly, it seems that it was Tsubokawa who joined the club.

"Is that the weird club that likes to collect female high school uniforms?" Chitose Mai followed behind the group, looking curious.

“They were so famous that the whole school knew just how eccentric they were,” Masanobu Hirata said, turning around. “Their illustrated guides were so detailed that they even analyzed and described the zippers on the skirts and the matching underwear.”

"Ok?"

Upon hearing this, Kanai Eiji's gaze turned strange. "You've seen it?"

Hirata Masanobu quickly shook his head, rubbing the back of his head with his right hand and chuckling, "No, no, haha... why would I look at something like that?"

"I trust you?"

Whether you've seen it or not, everyone knows the answer.

Uesugi Kai didn't listen to their conversation much; instead, he focused his attention on the approaching group.

Dressed in the same haori and hakama, Kazeya Tei led four people behind him as they walked slowly forward.

When facing Sugita Sohei, his face was full of elegant smiles.

"We meet again." The voice was as gentle as a spring breeze.

"It's a pleasure to face you again, Sohei."

Two distinctive figures under the wooden corridor attracted the attention of the surrounding crowd, who all knew who they were.

"How is Grandpa Kyoichiro's health?" Kazeya asked in a calm tone, as if reminiscing with an old friend.

"Thank you for your concern. My grandfather is doing well." Sugita Sohei seemed to know him as well, and they exchanged a few pleasantries.

Suddenly, Shimokawa Akirou stepped out from the group with an indelible smile on his face: "Hello everyone, you must be from the Kanzaki-Eshito Archery Club? It's nice to meet you all."

Seeing his actions, Yagi Ryūjin behind him frowned.

After everyone from Kamikoshi introduced themselves, Shimokawa Akirou extended his right hand to Uesugi Kai, his eyes narrowing with a smile: "Shimokawa Akirou, a first-year student in the archery club at Michi High School. As a fellow newcomer and the team's front-row player, I hope you'll take good care of me, senior."

People with squinty eyes are never good people.

Kai Uesugi silently labeled him in his mind and extended his hand: "Kai Uesugi."

"Hello, senior. I heard you've just started learning archery, right?" Shimokawa Akirou shook hands with him.

"Correct."

"I wonder what rank they are?"

Asking a question you already know the answer to.

"No rank." Uesugi Kai firmly labeled him with the tag "squinty-eyed people are not good people."

"What a coincidence! I just advanced one rank too. The archery instructors are so strict. Even though my accuracy is far superior to my peers, they only gave me a barely passing grade."

"Oh."

Shimokawa Akirou opened his narrowed eyes and said, "I'm saying this to give you some experience in dealing with those teachers. I'm really looking forward to you shining in this competition."

"Alright, go down to the river."

Feng Yeti spoke up to stop him, "You should be slow to speak but quick to act. I hope you can take today's preliminary rounds seriously."

After saying that, he nodded slightly to Sugita Sohei, then turned and left with the others.

"That person seemed... weird," Chitose May said, peering in the direction they had left.

“It’s very strange,” said Masanobu Hirata.

"A standard villain with squinty eyes, nothing strange about that." Uesugi Kai's tone was flat, revealing no deep meaning.

"I believe everyone knows the strength of Yuzhi. Let's do our best. Our goal is to win the championship."

Kazeya Tei left, but many eyes remained focused on Sugita Sohei.

Most high school students who practice archery have heard of this peer who has shone brightly in national competitions.

"Let's go to the opening ceremony first."

At the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Shinjuku Kyudo Federation's main tournament, members of the Kangoshi Kyudo Club sat in the audience to watch the arrow-passing ceremony in the dojo.

"Sorry I'm late." A cool voice came from behind, and Ogata Asaka, with her long ponytail tied up, sat down next to Uesugi Kai.

The steady middle-aged man on the dojo below, with his left chest exposed, accepted a white-feathered arrow handed to him by someone behind him.

"Why are you so late, senior?" Chitose Mayi asked Ogata Asaka, who had just sat down.

"Let's wrap up my sister's matter a little while longer." Ogata Asaka was sitting in her seat, quietly watching the arrow-passing ceremony at the dojo.

Her sister's situation is related to Goto Iwakatsu.

Uesugi Kai hasn't been paying attention to Goto lately, but now that Ogata Asaka has gotten involved, he has no choice but to accept it.

###Chapter 121 Opening Ceremony###

"Passing the arrow" refers to a ritual performed before the start of a major competition, in which the archer prays to the gods for safety.

The arrow-passing ceremony is performed by three people. The person who shoots the arrow must be a person of prestige, while the other two are responsible for passing and receiving the arrow.

The passing of arrows requires strict etiquette, and every action must be performed in strict accordance with the procedure.

In the venue, the hand that was playing the string drew everyone's attention.

His gaze was sharp, and his mind was calm.

The hearts of the crowd trembled with the gentle swaying of the urn.

This is the charm of archery competitions; the focused posture of drawing the bowstring captivates everyone's curiosity and evokes a sense of beauty.

Junior year, meeting, leaving.

With a resounding twang of the bowstring, a white-feathered arrow flew out and, with a thud, struck the bullseye in everyone's hearts.

then,

The middle-aged man in a black kimono, with his left chest exposed, took the arrow from the person who took it, turned around and bowed to the audience. After performing a smooth exit ceremony, he disappeared from the dojo.

“Akazawa Yuuki, sixth-dan Renju, member of the Shinjuku Ward Archery Federation.” Ogata Asaka watched the middle-aged man walking towards the outer perimeter.

"Is it that impressive?" Chitose Mai noticed many people with cameras nearby.

“He’s fifty-six years old this year,” Ogata Asaka said in her usual indifferent tone, “‘Broken,’ I’ll catch up to him soon.”

"Broken? What does that mean?" Chitose Mayu didn't understand that strange word.

Masanobu Hirata turned around and explained, "'Shu, Ha, Ri' is a concept in archery, but I've only ever heard of it."

"I don't know either." Sakurai Fuko shook her head at Chitose Mai.

Hearing the crowd's questions, Sugita Sohei explained calmly, "'Guardian' refers to the imitation of archery techniques. All movements should adhere to the rules and textbooks as closely as possible, practicing the basic skills from archery books until you are proficient."

"Many teachers have told me that people at this stage should focus on theory, supplemented by practical training."

"Once you've perfected the imitation and developed your own understanding, the next step is what's called 'breaking' it."

Asaka Ogata chimed in, "Kenki Akazawa is over fifty and still in the 'broken' stage. Although people always say he's amazing, I don't think it's anything special."

“That’s not quite right,” Sugita Sohei smiled. “Fearlessness, certainty, indifference, lack of intention, lack of skill, freedom, stillness, impartiality—the so-called ‘detachment’—is very difficult to achieve.”

"Sutita-senpai, why is this getting more and more mysterious?" Chitose Mai was getting more and more confused.

Sugita Sohei looked up at the blue sky: "The development of archery to this day has also involved many concepts and systems, which is the result of everyone's joint efforts."

Amidst the sounds of camera shutters and voices, the opening ceremony came to an end.

Staff members summoned the students participating in the individual competition to wait in the waiting room.

Kai Uesugi picked up his phone and went to the entrance of the venue to pick up Hanabi Hanamaru, who had just arrived.

A gentle breeze swayed the tender green leaves, and in the morning sunlight, the girl's violet eyes shone especially brightly.

Behind Uesugi Kai is a sign advertising the "Tokyo Shinjuku Archery Federation Main Tournament".

"Kai-kun...why don't you wake Hanabi up?"

She had a light blue handbag slung around her waist, with a cartoon shark on it.

Today I'm wearing a snow-white dress.

"Hanabi likes to sleep in, so it's not good to wake her up." Uesugi Kai smiled at her little face.

Hanabi Hanabi stared blankly at him and whispered, "Today is Kai-kun's match. As long as Kai-kun calls Hanabi, Hanabi will definitely get up."

"It's just a preliminary round, nothing important. Besides, didn't you participate in a painting competition a couple of days ago? It's good for you to rest more."