I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Does your Chiba Sword Academy have too much time on your hands? If you have so much time, why not do something else? Why play these pointless games with a third-rate sword academy like Shieikan?"

Upon hearing the words, "Shiwei Hall is such a third-rate swordsmanship school..." Qing Deng's brows furrowed immediately.

Okita's expression changed slightly.

Even the usually stern-faced Saito raised his gaze and looked at the handsome young man.

Sanako's expression also changed.

Sanako's eyebrows furrowed, and a hint of displeasure appeared on her face.

Suddenly, a cry of surprise came from not far away:

"Hey, isn't this Brother Duomen? What are you doing here?"

Holding a grilled squid in each hand, probably bought from a nearby stall, Chiba Jutaro cast a surprised glance at the handsome young man while struggling to push through the "wall of people" blocking his way.

The "wall of people" blocking Chiba Jutaro's way was very thin, so he quickly passed through all the "obstacles" and arrived at Sanako's side.

“Brother Chong,” the handsome young man said in a deep voice, “I came here specifically to persuade you.”

"Persuade us?" Chiba Jutaro's eyebrows twitched.

"It's a complete waste of time for a third-rate swordsmanship school like Shieikan to play a boring 'battle game' with so few apprentices and generally poor swordsmanship skills."

"Please, as a major sword-fighting academy, Chiba Sword Academy should shoulder the responsibility of 'nurturing disciples into talents,' and use your precious time to cultivate disciples or other important matters, instead of wasting it on playing games!"

"Tsk..." Chiba Jutaro's expression instantly became the same as Sanako's—displeasure appeared on Chiba Jutaro's face at a visible speed.

Chiba Jutaro opened his mouth, about to say something to the handsome young man—

"Mr. Jutaro, Ms. Sanako." At this moment, Aoto finally managed to lead Okita and Saito through the layers of people and squeeze out of the thick crowd.

Chiba Jutaro: "Tachibana-kun? Souji-kun?"

The brother and sister, who were standing side by side, cast surprised and astonished glances at Qingdeng and his group who had suddenly appeared.

The handsome young man also cast surprised glances at Qing Deng and the others who suddenly appeared.

He first focused his gaze on Qing Deng, this stranger, with a puzzled expression.

But upon noticing Okita standing next to Aoto, his expression instantly changed, and he immediately focused all his attention on Okita.

“Okita-kun…?” The handsome young man raised an eyebrow and murmured Okita’s name in a voice only he could hear.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd with varying emotions, Aoto slowly walked to Chiba Jutaro and Sanako's side.

As soon as he stood beside the brother and sister, Qingdeng immediately asked them directly:

"Mr. Jutaro, Ms. Sanako, and who is this?"

Qingdeng, his brows still furrowed, raised his hand and gestured towards the handsome young man.

“Uh…” Chiba Jutaro awkwardly raised his hand and scratched the hair at the back of his head.

Judging from the expressions on Aoto and Okita's faces, he knew that the handsome young man's mockery of Shieikan had been heard by Aoto and the others...

Chiba Jutaro gave an embarrassed, dry laugh a few times:

“Tachibana-kun… This is my uncle Chiba Shusaku’s fourth son: Chiba Tamon Shiro, who is also my and Sanako’s cousin.”

—Chiba Shusaku's four sons...?

Aoto raised his gaze and examined Chiba Tamon Shiro's features closely—his appearance did indeed resemble that of Jutaro and Sanako.

"...Okita-kun, it's been a long time." At this moment, Chiba Tamon Shiro suddenly took the initiative to greet Okita.

"Yes, it's a real shame." Okita snorted coldly, his face indifferent. "I ran into you by chance, and it ruined my good mood."

Despite being thoroughly mocked by Okita, Chiba Tamon Shiro showed no resentment whatsoever; instead, he smiled nonchalantly.

Before Aoto could even express his confusion about the seemingly past grudges between Okita and Chiba Tamon Shiro, Okita moved closer to Aoto and, in a voice only she and Aoto could hear, added to Chiba Jutaro's description of Chiba Samon Shiro:

"Tachibana-kun. This Chiba Tamon Shiro is the instructor of the Genbukan."

At this point, Okita paused, then continued in a somber tone with a complex expression:

"He is also one of those people I told you about before who looked down on our Shieikan and were unwilling to exchange sword techniques with us..."

Qingdeng's eyes narrowed slightly.

Okita's words instantly dispelled the last vestiges of confusion in his mind—he immediately understood why Chiba Tamon Shiro had so brazenly referred to their Shieikan as a "third-rate swordsmanship school" in front of everyone.

"Brother Duomen!"

Aoto and the others overheard Chiba Tamon Shiro's sarcastic remarks about Shieikan... This left Chiba Jutaro, caught between family and friends, so embarrassed that he didn't even know how to put on an expression.

In order to get out of this extremely embarrassing situation as soon as possible, Chiba Jutaro cleared his throat forcefully and sternly addressed Chiba Tamon Shiro.

"Whatever it is, let's talk about it privately later!"

"Look around you, is this the kind of place to talk business?"

"With so many people watching, what kind of behavior is this, spouting nonsense like this?"

"Get out of here! If you don't leave now, I'll tell my cousins ​​about what you did today!"

"I'll tell my cousins ​​about you"—upon hearing this, Chiba Tamon Shiro's expression changed drastically.

He turned his head and looked around.

More and more people gathered to watch the spectacle, surrounding them in layers.

In the distance, several young shrine maidens dressed in red and white shrine maiden outfits noticed the commotion and hurried towards them, pulling up the hems of their scarlet hakama.

“…Alright.” Chiba Tamon Shiro turned his gaze away from the surrounding crowd. “Then I’ll talk to you all properly in private later.”

"Let's go." Chiba Tamon Shiro waved to his companions standing on either side of him, then turned around and prepared to leave.

But, just as Chiba Tamon Shiro turned around—

"Please wait a moment!"

A powerful and resonant voice clearly reached the ears of everyone present.

Chiba Tamon Shiro stopped and slowly turned around with a puzzled look on his face.

Okita, Saito, Sanako, Chiba Jutaro, Chiba Tamon Shiro, the onlookers... everyone focused their attention on the owner of the voice from earlier—namely, Aoto.

Without a trace of fear or hesitation in his eyes, Aoto stared directly into the eyes of Chiba Tamon Shiro, who was looking at him.

"Please retract your statement that 'Shiwei Hall is a third-rate swordsmanship school'."

"Huh?" Chiba Tamon Shiro's brows furrowed suddenly.

"Tachibana-kun?" Okita stared blankly at Aoto, mouth agape.

After Aoto suddenly appeared, Chiba Tamon Shiro didn't really pay attention to this stranger he didn't know, and he didn't even care about how Chiba Jutaro, Okita and others addressed Aoto.

It wasn't until now, after Aoto's surprising remark, that Chiba Tamon Shiro noticed that Okita and the others had always called Aoto "Tachibana-kun".

“Orange…” Chiba Tamon Shiro chewed on the word, and after a moment, as if he had remembered something, his eyes widened slightly.

He stared intently at Qing Deng's face and asked, enunciating each word clearly, "...May I ask your name?"

"Shieikan, Tennen Rishin-ryu," Aoto said calmly. "Tachibana Aoto."

The crowd that had gathered around suddenly became noisy.

"Ju Qingdeng? Why does that name sound so familiar?"

"Of course it sounds familiar, we just talked about this person two days ago."

"Oh, I remember now, it's that 'Three Times' Tongxin from the Northern Expeditionary Bureau that's been making a name for itself lately, right?"

"He's so tall."

"It was this person who solved Granny Ping's murder case and defeated the large group of 'radical anti-foreigners' who tried to intercept and kill foreign merchants..."

……

The onlookers all stared at Qingdeng as if he were some rare species, scrutinizing this celebrity who was so close to them with great interest.

The moment Aoto finished his self-introduction, Chiba Tamon Shiro's eyes twitched: "You are... that Aoto Tachibana, I've heard so much about you."

Chiba Tamon Shiro had heard about Aoto's deeds more than half a month ago.

Therefore, after discovering that Okita and others were calling Aoto "Tachibana-kun", Chiba Tamon Shiro was already mentally prepared that this "Tachibana-kun" was the recently famous "Tachibana Aoto", so his current reaction is relatively calm.

In response to Chiba Tamon Shiro's compliment, "I've long admired your name," Aoto politely nodded, and then—

"Chiba Tamon Shiro, indeed, our Shieikan is currently just an unknown little sword school. Neither the number of apprentices nor the quality of students can be considered outstanding."

"But our Shieikan should not, and cannot, be labeled a 'third-rate kendo club' for such a reason!"

Qing Deng raised his voice several decibels with an air of righteous indignation.

“Only those sword schools where the masters and instructors don’t teach with their hearts and mislead students are truly third-rate sword schools.”

“Those sword schools that tirelessly and diligently provide correct guidance to their students, regardless of the number or quality of their students, are all first-class sword schools worthy of respect.”

"Although I haven't been at Shieikan for very long, less than two months in total, in that short period of time I have clearly seen with my own eyes that there is no one in Shieikan who would slack off in teaching."

"Whether it was Master Kondo Shusuke, or Instructor Kondo Isami, or Okita Souji who often helped teach swordsmanship, none of them were not dedicated to teaching swordsmanship."

"So—please take back the derogatory term you just used for Shieikan."

Deep within Qing Deng's tranquil eyes lies an unwavering conviction.

Since just now, something very strange has happened... a spectacle that Qing Deng and the others didn't even notice.

When Qing Deng began to speak, many of the onlookers involuntarily fell silent upon hearing his voice, watching him intently and listening to his impassioned speech.

The originally noisy crowd gradually quieted down.

Chiba Tamon Shiro stared blankly at Aoto, who was staring at him with calm eyes.

You want me to take back what I just said in front of so many people? Are you kidding me!

Chiba Tamon Shiro instinctively wanted to refuse such a humiliating act.

however……

Qing Deng's gaze at this moment seemed to possess some kind of unique infectious power.

Chiba Tamon Shiro felt extremely uncomfortable being stared at like that.

Even though he had already prepared his words to refuse Qing Deng, the unease he felt under Qing Deng's gaze made it impossible for Chiba Tamon Shiro to utter the words that were already on the tip of his tongue...