I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

At this point, Okita paused.

"You were able to see the value of our Natural Rishin-ryu style? Have you studied swordsmanship before?"

“I only know the basics of swordsmanship.” Qing Deng honestly shook his head. “I am only good at hand-to-hand combat and baton... ah, no, ten-surgery. So I can vaguely see the extraordinary nature of your school.”

"Hand-to-hand combat and the Ten Surgeries?" Okita was taken aback, then quickly looked Aoto up and down several times, finally focusing his gaze on the inro belt on Aoto's right waist. "So you're a magistrate's officer!"

—You just realized that...?

After a silent smile, Qingdeng said:

"Yes, I am a member of the Hokuban-sho-cho town of Doshin."

“Oh! The Sadamachi-kai? One of the ‘Three-King’?” Okita’s eyes lit up again. “No wonder he’s good at hand-to-hand combat and the Ten Surgeries.”

Having said that, Okita, his eyes gleaming with excitement, spoke slowly in a tone that was both cautious and expectant:

"Um...may I see your inro?"

"Hmm? Of course."

Although he was puzzled as to why Okita was interested in his inro, Aoto quickly took off the exquisite inro hanging from his right waist, a garment that only officials like him could possess, and handed it to Okita.

Okita held Aoto's inro carefully in his hands, as if he were holding something fragile, and examined it carefully from all angles.

"Are you interested in the Inro of the Magistrate's Office?" Qing Deng asked curiously.

“No, I’m really interested in the ‘Sanjin’ of the Magistrate’s Office.” Okita carefully examined Aoto’s inro before reluctantly handing it back to Aoto. “Since I was a child, I’ve always admired the ‘Sanjin’ samurai of the Magistrate’s Office.”

"I think they are amazing. They have been working hard to maintain the city's safety."

"If I have the chance in the future, I would also like to join the 'Three Returns'! To fight for the protection of the people and to kill those villains and scoundrels!"

Having said that, Okita, his face filled with determination, raised his hand and patted his flat chest forcefully.

"Working hard to protect the people... that must be exhausting," Qing Deng replied in a half-joking tone.

"If I can eliminate the villains and protect the people, then even if I suffer some hardship and fatigue, I feel it's all worth it." After saying that, Okita once again showed a bright smile to Aoto.

Okita seemed particularly interested in Aoto's "police officer" identity, and immediately pressed him for more information:

"I've always been very interested in the 'rope-catching technique' that's been passed down in 'Three Times'!"

As Okita spoke, he swung his arms in a strange motion, as if performing a ritual.

"I once had the privilege of witnessing a 'three-times' samurai use rope-catching techniques to catch thieves on the street."

"The thief threw a punch, and the 'three-times' samurai raised his hand and grabbed the fist. Then, with a 'whoosh, whoosh, whoosh,' he twisted the thief's hands behind his back and tied them tightly with a rope."

"That's amazing! They managed to tie someone's hands so quickly."

Rope-catching technique – a skill passed down through generations in government offices during the Edo period, using ropes to quickly bind thieves.

This is considered one of the essential skills for the "Sankai" samurai responsible for maintaining order.

"Yuanju Aoto" was quite skilled in rope-catching techniques, so after inheriting his memories, Aoto gained another unarmed combat skill.

"I've always wanted to ask you guys—how did you manage to tie up someone who was throwing a punch at you just a moment ago?"

After asking, Okita blinked his curious eyes.

"Ah, well... how should I put it..." Qingdeng raised his hand and touched his chin, "Just talking about it like this won't make it clear."

"How about this—you throw a punch at me, and I'll demonstrate to you how we can tie up the person attacking us in one go."

As Qingdeng stood up, he took out a sleeve binder from his pocket.

[Note: Sleeve sash: Japanese kimonos have very wide sleeves, which are very inconvenient for doing anything. Therefore, people often tie up the sleeves of their kimonos with sleeve sashes before doing any work. Thus, the sleeve sash became one of the common accessories that people carried when going out during the Edo period.]

When Qing Deng said he wanted to give a practical demonstration, the anticipation in Okita's eyes intensified.

"Can I just throw a punch?" Okita stood up straight.

“Yeah, just hit me directly.” After saying that, Qingdeng changed to a half-joking tone, “But don’t hit too hard. My rope-catching technique isn’t that good. If you hit too hard, I might not be able to catch it.”

"Well... I'll try my best to act like a frail old woman!" Okita chuckled.

"There's no need to pretend to be weak. Alright, you can attack now."

"Okay! Here I come!"

Okita took a deep breath and then delivered a slightly lighter right straight punch to Aoto's chest.

Instead of immediately launching a counterattack against Okita, Qing Deng took a step to the side to avoid Okita's attack.

He was waiting.

Waiting for the best opportunity to tie Okita down in one fell swoop.

Seeing that his first punch missed, Okita quickly withdrew his fist and then threw another punch at Aoto, but Aoto dodged it again.

Judging from Okita's actions, it's easy to see that he was completely playing around. He didn't use his full strength at all.

However, perhaps because he had studied swordsmanship, Okita's positioning and attack angles were very skillful, and Aoto found it difficult to find the best opportunity to counterattack.

It wasn't until Okita threw his fifth punch that Aoto finally got his best chance to counterattack—

Just as Okita's small fist was about to strike Aoto's chest, Aoto, following the rope-catching technique from "Hara-Tachibana Kiyoto's" memory, nimbly dodged to the side. Immediately afterwards, he pulled Okita's outstretched right fist and left hand behind him, swiftly binding Okita's hands tightly with the sleeve strap.

How does it feel to be arrested by the "three-times" samurai? — This is what Aoto wanted to say to Okita in a teasing tone.

But just as he opened his mouth, a series of system voices in his head made Qing Deng freeze on the spot, as if struck by lightning.

[Ding! Talent detected]

[Successfully replicated talent: "Sword Prodigy"]

[Talent Introduction: Swordsmanship talent is amplified 50 times the average level]

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Chapter 13 A Stunning Skill (Part 1)

"This rope-catching technique is more difficult than I imagined." Okita, who had been carefully observing and feeling Aoto's movements, exclaimed in a low voice, "To actually tie the rope while controlling both hands... Hmm? Tachibana-kun? What's wrong with you? Why are you staring blankly?"

Okita looked at Aoto, who seemed to be in a daze, with a puzzled expression.

Startled by Okita's words, Aoto chuckled a few times and then said:

"I'm fine. I just noticed a strange-looking bug crawling on the wall, so I was looking for it."

"Insects? Where?"

"I couldn't find it. I must have been seeing things."

After making up a lie to fool Okita, Qing Deng quickly opened his system interface—

【Name: Tachibana Aoto】

[Currently possessed talents:]

Night vision, exceptional swordsmanship.

In the talent list, behind "Night Vision," there is now a new talent: "Sword Prodigy."

— Demonstrating rope-catching techniques to Okita… Can this really be considered as having fought Okita?

Qing Deng carefully recalled the scenes of his playful fight with Okita.

The time spent frolicking with Okita... did indeed exceed 10 seconds, reaching the "time required to copy a talent" mentioned in the system's user guide.

At this moment, Qing Deng realized with a start that the system's scope for judging "combat" seemed to be far broader than he had imagined.

He had only thought he was playing a game with Okita, but the system judged it as a fight between him and Okita.

Once you focus your attention on the talent entries in the list, a virtual screen will automatically appear that introduces the talent.

Unable to believe the system message he had just heard, Qing Deng quickly focused his attention on the entry for "Sword Prodigy".

[Sword Prodigy: Swordsmanship talent is amplified 50 times the average person]

Looking at what was written on the virtual screen, Qingdeng was first so shocked that he couldn't believe his eyes, and then joy burst out of his chest uncontrollably.

This is exactly the type of talent he craves right now!

A talent that can help him become stronger quickly.

After the initial joy, Qing Deng was filled with shock.

—This person... actually possesses such incredible talent?

He couldn't help but cast a surprised glance at Okita in front of him.

At the same moment that Aoto cast a surprised glance at Okita, he heard Kondo's loud voice coming from the dojo entrance—

"Huh? Souji, what are you doing?"

Kondo, carrying a brand-new set of swordsmanship protective gear, strode back to the dojo.

"Just now, Tachibana-kun was demonstrating their rope-catching technique to me!" Okita hopped over to Kondo and cheerfully explained the whole story to him.

After learning what had happened, Kondo raised his hand and tapped Okita on the forehead with a light tap, making a "thud" sound.

"Ouch! What's wrong?" Okita raised his handsome eyebrows.

"Hey... this rope-catching technique is really convenient... Souji, you can't fight back at all." With that, Kondo grinned mischievously and tapped Okita on the forehead again.

thump.

"Ah! You wait!" Okita flailed his hands wildly as if having an epileptic seizure, trying to free his hands that were tied behind his back. However, the knot that Aoto tied was a knot specifically for binding prisoners. Without some skill, it would be difficult to break free in a short time.

thump.

"Ow!"

After being flicked on the forehead a third time by Kondo, Okita, in his desperation, simply gave up on freeing his hands and, like a bull, opened his mouth wide, howling and nudging Kondo's lower back with his forehead.

Watching Kondo and Okita interact, Aoto couldn't help but chuckle.

“You two have a very good relationship,” he said.

"Sorry, you must have found this amusing." Kondo raised his hand and rubbed Okita's smooth forehead, which had just been hit by three "flicks to the head." "Alright, I apologize."