I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

A competition was held together with the Chiba Kendo Academy during the "Plum Blossom Festival"... This event carried an important "political mission"—to promote the Natural Rishin-ryu style.

Therefore, in order to complete this task, only some disciples of decent skill level in the Shiwei Hall were able to participate in this event.

Qing Deng was very fortunate—he was successfully selected.

One reason he was selected is that Qing Deng's strength has improved by leaps and bounds under the blessing of "Sword Prodigy," making him capable of participating in this competition.

But the main reason... is that there are too few apprentices at the Shieikan (Test Guard Hall)...

The number of "living people" who regularly appear at the testing center is less than 30.

After removing those who didn't want to participate, those who were too busy on the day of the "Plum Blossom Festival," and those who were too weak... the total number of participants was barely enough for 15...

Aoto is really looking forward to the upcoming match against Chiba Kenkan.

Firstly, Qing Deng found this "red and white battle" very interesting.

Qing Deng has always been interested in strategy games that require wit and courage, such as working with his partners to break the porcelain bowl on the head of the enemy general.

Secondly, participating in this competition will give Qing Deng the opportunity to replicate the talent of the apprentices at the Chiba Kendo Academy.

The Chiba Sword Hall is a gathering place for elites, so the chances of finding someone with special talent there are probably very high.

These two reasons combined make Qing Deng very much looking forward to this match.

In order to be in the best condition for this competition, Qing Deng has been practicing his swordsmanship intensively every day.

If there's anything worth mentioning during the time we're waiting for the match, it's that the French legation sent someone to thank Qingdeng for "saving their country's merchants."

The French legation was located in Yokohama, right next to Edo. After learning about Aoto's act of saving their country's merchants, they discussed and decided to send a Japanese man who worked in their legation and held a relatively high rank to Edo with gifts to express their gratitude to Aoto.

The gifts of thanks from the French Legation consisted of two items: a letter of thanks written in French and 80 taels of silver!

These 80 taels of gold truly solved Qingdeng's urgent problem of being penniless.

After receiving the money, Aoto immediately took out a portion of it and gave it to Kondo as payment for his, Saito's, and Kyubei's meals and rent before and afterward.

Kondo initially refused, saying it was just a small amount of money. Only after Aoto used a combination of persuasion and pressure did Kondo finally accept the money.

After Aoto became wealthy enough to pay for his meals and rent, he noticed that Abi's attitude towards him, Saito, and Kyubei had become much warmer.

Although he still often had a cold expression, his tone was noticeably better when he spoke to Qingdeng and the others.

Time passes—

Soon, February 25th, the day for the "Plum Blossom Festival," finally arrived.

……

……

February 25th, around 10:2 AM —

Edo, Yushima Tenmangu Shrine —

"Wow! It's so beautiful!" Okita's eyes lit up as he looked at the beautiful scenery in front of him.

The competition will be held at 2 PM. The venue is an open space in the northeast corner of Yushima Tenmangu Shrine.

However, due to the need to prepare the venue in advance, around 9 a.m., Aoto and the other apprentices went to Yushima Tenmangu Shrine with Shusuke and his son Kondo.

Upon entering Yushima Tenmangu Shrine, Aoto, like Okita standing beside him, was so stunned by the beautiful scenery before him that he was slightly dazed.

The plum trees planted in Yushima Tenmangu Shrine are all white plum trees.

Now is the time when plum blossoms are at their most beautiful and vibrant.

After following Kondo and the others into Yushima Tenmangu Shrine, Aoto saw a grove of magnificent white plum trees.

Large swaths of white plum blossoms were in full bloom on the treetops, and when a gentle breeze blew by, a shower of petals would fall from the sky.

White and pale pink petals drifted down in the wind, some following the gentle breeze and floating into the distance, some landing on the snow under the trees, and some landing on the tourists who were standing under the trees admiring the plum blossoms.

Today the weather is perfect; it's a clear, cloudless day.

The warm sunlight streamed down through the gaps in the branches, and under its glow, the white plum blossoms on the treetops were enveloped in a sacred aura.

The clouds and mist were magnificent and breathtaking.

This was the first time Qingdeng had ever seen such a large and magnificent display of white plum trees in full bloom, and for a moment, he was completely mesmerized.

"Let's go." Kondo smiled at Aoto and the others. "If we finish preparing the competition venue quickly, we'll have more time to appreciate the plum blossoms."

They said they were going to prepare the competition venue, but there wasn't really anything to do.

Sweeping the ground, preparing the porcelain bowls for the competition... these simple, rough, and tiring tasks have all been done by the shrine maidens of Yushima Tenmangu Shrine.

All Qing Deng and his group had to do was talk with the priests of Yushima Tenmangu Shrine and confirm today's itinerary and arrangements.

After about half an hour had passed and there was nothing left to do with the venue preparations, he smiled and said to Qingdeng and the others: "There are still nearly two hours before the competition starts. In the meantime, you can go and have some fun. My father and I will stay here to take care of the last bit of venue preparation."

Okita had been waiting for Kondo to say those words.

Okita, whose mind had already been captivated by the white plum blossoms, jumped up excitedly upon hearing Kondo's words.

Kondo had to stay behind to help Shusuke with the "little tails" of the venue preparations, so he couldn't bring Kondo along. It would be too boring to go sightseeing alone, so Okita invited Aoto to visit the beautiful shrine with him.

Aoto, who was stunned by the beautiful sight of the "white plum blossoms in full bloom" at Yushima Tenmangu Shrine, had long wanted to visit it properly, so he accepted Okita's invitation without hesitation.

And so—Aoto, Okita, and Aoto's "spirit behind him": Saito, the three of them, bathed in the fluttering petals and sunlight pouring down from the branches, wandered aimlessly, constantly glancing around and admiring the beautiful scenery around them.

"It smells so good." Okita sniffed his nose forcefully.

Aoto is currently walking with Okita in a plum blossom grove.

All around were bright white plum trees, and the air was filled with the fresh fragrance of white plum blossoms.

Qingdeng, who quite liked the scent, also took a few deep sniffs of the air.

Aoto and Okita, facing the beautiful scenery around them, couldn't help but feel slightly intoxicated.

But at this moment—

"Why don't you, Chiba Sword Hall, shoulder the responsibilities you should bear?!"

Not far away... came a series of angry shouts.

Startled by the angry shout, Qing Deng and the others quickly turned their heads to look in the direction of the sound.

As soon as he turned his gaze, Qingdeng saw a... familiar figure.

It's Chiba Sanako.

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Chapter 94 Qing Deng: "Please take back what you just said!"

Sanako stood under a white plum tree not far from Aoto.

The Sanako before him was no longer the elegant young lady in a pale yellow kimono and with her hair in a Shimada bun, whom Aoto had first met.

Today, she exudes the air of a martial arts woman—wearing a white kendo tunic with straight collar and short sleeves on her upper body, and a black kendo skirt that reaches her ankles on her lower body. Her feet, covered in plain white socks, are clad in flat wooden clogs with blue buttons. A wakizashi with a blue handle and blue sheath hangs from her left waist. Her jet-black hair is tied into a neat, waist-length high ponytail with a blue ribbon at the back of her head.

Perhaps it was because of the change in her hairstyle and clothing that Sanako's aura changed, and a sharp, heroic air appeared between her brows and eyes.

This heroic spirit adds a unique charm to her.

A beautiful woman in a kendo uniform, possessing both masculine vigor and feminine grace, stands beneath a white plum tree amidst falling petals—this should have been a harmonious and picturesque scene.

However, this beautiful and harmonious atmosphere was shattered by the five samurai surrounding Sanako.

The five samurai were all quite young, and their clothes were relatively neat and presentable. They formed a fan-shaped "formation," menacingly half-encircling Sanako, who was now frowning slightly.

Tourists who were admiring the plum blossoms gathered around to watch the commotion coming from Sanako's side.

Of course... only a few people actually came to join in the fun; the vast majority came to see Sanako.

Hearing the noise, many people turned around and, upon seeing Sanako's face, their eyes lit up. They happily ran over under the guise of "joining in the fun" to "admire" Sanako's beauty and figure.

The kendo uniform that Sanako is wearing now is much more flattering than those women's kimonos.

Kendo skirts are usually pulled up to the waist and then cinched at the waist, which not only accentuates the waistline but also greatly emphasizes the bear's presence.

Sanako's exceptional figure was perfectly showcased in her kendo uniform.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?" Standing next to Qing Deng, Okita looked around blankly. "What happened?"

Okita had been focused on looking up at the plum blossoms fluttering in the air, so he hadn't noticed the loud shout at all. It wasn't until he noticed the commotion around him that he realized something seemed to have happened.

“Okita-kun,” Aoto said in a deep voice, “I saw Sanako-san. She seems to be being harassed by someone.”

"What?" Okita was taken aback, then hurriedly stood on tiptoe and looked in the direction Aoto was looking. "Where? Where is Sanako-san?"

Despite Okita's extreme tiptoeing, his height blended perfectly into the surrounding crowd. No matter how much he tiptoed or craned his neck, his vision was still obscured by the dense crowd and trees, and he couldn't find Sanako's figure for a long time.

“Miss Sanako is over there.” Qing Deng adjusted the sword at his waist. “Okita-kun… let’s go take a look.”

Although he had no idea what was going on, and didn't know who the five samurai surrounding Sanako were or why they were bothering her, Aoto instinctively felt that these five people must have ill intentions.

Because he had just clearly heard one of the five people shout at Sanako, "Why don't you, Chiba Kenkan, take responsibility for yourselves?"

The shouts made Qing Deng think that these five people were very likely people who came to cause trouble for Sanako, the "young lady of the Chiba Sword Hall".

Sanako is a friend of their Shieikan Academy and has a very good relationship with Kondo and Okita. Based on this relationship alone, it is difficult for Aoto to ignore Sanako, who seems to be harassed by unknown people.

As for Okita, who had a very good relationship with Sanako, he was even less likely to ignore his friend who seemed to be in trouble.

Okita nodded vigorously, said "Okay," and then followed Aoto through the crowd toward Sanako's location.

Just as Aoto was struggling to push through the crowd with Okita and Saito, he suddenly heard Sanako shout impatiently at the five samurai surrounding him... or more precisely, at the handsome young man standing in the very center of the five samurai:

"Fourth cousin, I have said everything I needed to say. Please step aside."

"Zanako." The handsome young man put his hands on his hips, ignoring Sanako's request to leave, and said to Sanako in a stern tone, "You've finished speaking, but I haven't."

After listening to the conversation between Sanako and the handsome young man, both Aoto and Okita looked surprised.

“That voice…” Okita was startled by the handsome young man’s voice.

"Fourth cousin...?" Qing Deng was surprised by Sanako's address to the handsome young man.

At that moment, they heard the handsome young man, speaking several octaves higher, shout at Sanako: