I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Do people with impeccable backgrounds, talents, and appearances really exist in reality...?

After listening to Okita's introduction of Sanako, Aoto couldn't help but feel more curious about this "chosen one" and was eager to see what this perfect woman looked like.

Because Aoto doesn't have a shaved chonmage like Kondo, it's a little more complicated for him to style his hair into a bun.

After tidying their hair and getting dressed, Aoto and Okita walked side by side behind Kondo, heading towards the main hall.

“Father, it is Isamu!” Kondo called out into the hall.

"Oh, Yong, you've finally finished combing your hair! Come on in!"

"Yes!"

wow...

The doors to the hall slowly opened.

After Kondo opened the door to the room, Aoto subconsciously turned his gaze to take in the scene inside.

Inside the hall, Zhou Zhu, as always with a cheerful expression, sat cross-legged on the west side of the hall in a carefree manner.

Opposite him, on the east side of the hall, sat a man and a woman side by side.

When Qing Deng's gaze fell on the woman in the couple, for a fleeting moment, he had the illusion of looking directly into the sunlight, and was momentarily dazzled.

This is a young woman who should be around 20 years old.

Her glossy black hair was neatly styled into a Shimada bun.

Fair and delicate skin, clear and elegant eyebrows, soft eyelash lines, a rounded and cute nose, and full lips.

Her facial features were so perfect that no one could find any flaws.

She was wearing a pale yellow kimono with a wide, peach-pink sash that went down to her chest.

Her face was already extremely beautiful, and besides her face, this woman's figure was also exceptionally outstanding.

The woman had a pair of... breasts that were quite disproportionate to her rather slender figure.

The soft weight pressed down on the peach-pink belt around her waist, which struggled to support the seemingly heavy objects.

Small feet clad in white socks were tucked under her buttocks, which looked like they were ready for childbirth.

Qing Deng couldn't help but scrutinize the woman.

The woman was also sizing up Qingdeng.

The woman blinked her eyes, which had extremely long eyelashes, a few times.

He cast a questioning, curious glance at Qingdeng.

*******

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Today's post contains a whopping 9000 words! The author wrote until 3 a.m. today.

Please be sure to vote for this book and recommend it! (Laughs) Your votes will greatly encourage the author.

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Chapter 89: A "Swordsmanship Battle" with the Chiba Sword Hall!

The glance that Sanako cast at Aoto... lasted only a moment.

She seemed to be merely curious and puzzled by this stranger who had suddenly followed Kondo into the room and whom she had never seen before.

After giving Qingdeng a few questioning glances, she seemed to have lost interest in him, turning her gaze away and lowering her eyes, looking down at her nose and inward.

"Jutaro-kun, Sana-san, it's been a while." At this moment, Kondo, with a smile on his face, warmly greeted the couple.

"Hahahaha." Chiba Jutaro laughed heartily a few times. "Yes, it has been quite a while since we last met."

Compared to Chiba Jutaro's casualness, Sana was much more proper and disciplined.

With textbook-perfect posture, she bowed her upper body and greeted Kondo and the others: "Greetings, Yu-kun, Okita-kun. My brother and I have come here unannounced. Please forgive us."

During the brief moment when the two sides were exchanging greetings, Kondo led Aoto and Okita to sit properly on the ground behind Shusuke.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Chiba Jutaro, Kondo cast a curious glance at Aoto, who was sitting next to Kondo.

"Yong-kun, who is this?"

“Oh, Jutaro-kun, let me introduce you.” Kondo smiled and shifted half a body to the side. “You’ve probably all heard his name these past few days. This is the new recruit from our Shieikan who I mentioned to you before: Tachibana Aoto.”

"Nice to meet you." As soon as Kondo finished speaking, Aoto immediately bowed to the brother and sister in front of him. "My name is Tachibana Aoto."

—Is this Chiba Jutaro...?

While introducing himself to the brother and sister, Aoto secretly sized up Chiba Jutaro.

Because Sanako's appearance and figure were so eye-catching, Aoto had been subconsciously looking at Sanako and ignoring her older brother.

Is it because their family has strong genes? Chiba Jutaro, the older brother, also has a handsome face.

Women in Edo during this era preferred men with a strong, masculine presence—and Chiba Jutaro happened to be that type of man.

Chiba Jutaro is tall and strong, with thick eyebrows and big, bright eyes. He looks very energetic and has the appearance of a "hot-blooded man".

In addition to their "beauty genes," the Chiba family also seems to have excellent "height genes."

Both siblings are quite tall.

According to Qing Deng's estimation, Chiba Jutaro's height is similar to his, around 1.75 meters, while Sanako's height is around 1.6 meters.

Sanako's height... in an era where even the average height of men fluctuates only around "1.5 meters", is truly a rare find.

Take the present as an example—in the entire Edo period, there were probably no more than 50 women over 1.6 meters tall…

To Aoto, the only flaw in Chiba Jutaro's appearance was that, like Kondo, he had a shaved head...

Although he had been in this era for some time, Qing Deng still couldn't get used to the incredibly ugly chonmage hairstyle.

In Qing Deng's eyes, this ugly chonmage hairstyle completely sealed away the good looks of Kondo and Chiba Jutaro...

In terms of appearance alone, Chiba Jutaro and Sanako have quite a few similarities, especially their noses, which are so high and straight that they look almost identical.

But in terms of personality... the two siblings are quite different.

Judging from Chiba Jutaro's words and actions, it's easy to see that he is a very forthright person.

Compared to Chiba Jutaro, Sanako appears much quieter.

How should I put it... From the moment Qing Deng first met Sanako, he felt that Sanako's temperament matched her status quite well, very much like a "young lady".

Sanako is the daughter of Chiba Sadakichi and the niece of Chiba Shusaku.

Shusaku Chiba founded what is now considered the "number one swordsmanship school in Japan": Hokushin Itto-ryu.

Chiba Sadakichi, the younger brother of Chiba Shusaku, assisted his brother in developing and perfecting the Hokushin Itto-ryu style.

Therefore... it is easy to imagine what kind of status and identity Sanako holds in the current "Japanese martial arts world".

She is undoubtedly a "distinguished young lady of the martial arts world" and a "martial arts heiress." In terms of her noble status, there are probably few women in the entire "Japanese martial arts world" who can compare to her.

Qing Deng guessed that this Sanako was very likely to have received a lot of extremely strict education from a young age, with the goal of cultivating her into a qualified "Yamato Nadeshiko".

Every gesture she made exuded an extremely elegant aura.

Apart from bowing slightly to Qingdeng and the others, Sanako kept her back perfectly straight the rest of the time. Her two delicate hands were crossed on her lap, and her graceful swan neck was held up in an elegant arc. Her body was neither stiff and restrained nor slumped down in a rude manner.

Her graceful and elegant sitting posture is a beautiful sight to behold.

Whether in his past life or this life, this was the first time Qing Deng had ever seen a woman with such a "young lady" demeanor.

Qing Deng felt that even if this Sanako were to eat sticky natto, smelly snail rice noodles, or durian, she could still make these foods taste "high-class".

However, the only drawback is... this "young lady" doesn't seem to be the kind of person who's easy to get along with...

If Jutaro's aura is "generous" and "passionate," reminiscent of "flames," then Sanako's aura is "aloof" and "unapproachable," reminiscent of "ice."

Aoto observed that ever since he followed Kondo and Okita into the main room, Sanako's expression... had not changed at all—it had remained expressionless...

Her expressionless face made the air around her seem to cool down a few degrees.

—Like Saito, is he also serious and rarely smiles...?

Sanako's aloof demeanor reminded Qing Deng of his bodyguard, who probably didn't say more than 10 words all day...

After Qing Deng introduced himself, Chiba Jutaro was taken aback for a moment, then hurriedly looked Qing Deng up and down with his eyes.

"Oh? You're that Tachibana Aoto?" Two excited gazes suddenly burst from Chiba Jutaro's eyes.

After Qing Deng finished his self-introduction, Sanako turned her gaze back to Qing Deng, her eyes flashing with surprise.

However—just like before, Sanako only briefly examined Aoto before looking away, without glancing at Aoto even once more.

"Hahahaha." Chiba Jutaro slapped his thigh with a light touch. "Tachibana-kun, I've wanted to meet you for ages!"

“When you first joined Shie-e-kan, Yong-jun told me that Shie-e-kan had gained a promising talent.”

"At that time, I was thinking of coming to the Shieikan to see what kind of young man Yong-kun praised so highly, and whether he was really as good as Yong-kun said, a remarkable talent."

"But who knew that before I could even visit the Shiwei Hall, I learned of your feat of 'defeating a strong enemy with fewer troops on a snowy night'."

"When I first heard the rumors, I thought I must have misheard."

"After confirming with others multiple times, I finally confirmed that the person who accomplished such an incredible feat was indeed that newcomer from the Shieikan."

"These past few days, we've often seen our apprentices at Chiba Sword Academy gathering together, discussing this 'monster rookie' who just came up with the Test Guard Hall."

At this point, Chiba Jutaro seemed to suddenly remember something, and paused in his speech.

Then… he narrowed his eyes slightly. With a… intriguing gaze, he carefully examined Qingdeng.

Because Chiba Jutaro's gaze was quite subtle, none of the people present noticed that he was scrutinizing Aoto with a strange look.

He carefully examined Qingdeng while muttering in a voice only he could hear:

"Hmm...you're very tall...about the same height as me..."

"And very young..."

"His looks... are quite handsome too..."

"The only regret is that I didn't have a neat shaved head... I have this kind of perm that looks like it would be hard to manage..."