Supernatural/Anime Crossover: Where Did My Romantic Comedy Go?

Below the stage, two cameras, one on the left and one on the right, were aimed at the scene from two different angles, faithfully conveying the scene above to audiences across the country.

"It really is this divine being."

Asagi Yoshino spotted Kujo Toru preparing for his final match on the kendo stage at a glance and nodded silently.

By the way, where did Lord Congyu go?

At that moment, she suddenly realized that she didn't seem to see the guardian spirit of her shrine.

After searching through the crowd for a while, I finally spotted that familiar long green hair next to the referee on the kendo platform, and it was even joining the crowd below in cheering.

"Go, Vice High-ranking General Shui Ming! You don't want to be the first team in this year's Jade Dragon Flag tournament to be defeated by a single player, do you?"

"You're a local Tokyo tycoon, how can you get beaten up by some country bumpkin from Chiba? Where will you put your face then?!"

Lord Congyu is really...

Chao Wufang sighed helplessly, rubbing her forehead.

Oh well, since only those who have inherited the bloodlines of Kenji Shrine and the Asabu family can see it anyway, let her be.

Instead of pushing forward, they stood still and watched.

"That guy Yokota Tsuyoshi seems to have found a really strong person this year, right? That Kendo-ryu Yamahiki Rin? Have you guys met him?"

She heard the voices of several boys discussing something nearby. Turning her head, she saw several boys wearing Shinsengumi haoris with their arms crossed, watching the battle on the stage.

"I've never seen it before, I don't know which small place it's from."

"Speaking of which, the cutting and reversing technique used by Kujo Toru is somewhat similar to the origin of Todo's style. Could it be that there is a lineage between their sword styles?"

A boy spoke up with a frown, and his opinion was quickly agreed upon by his companions:

"You know what, their ideas actually seem to be aligned."

Turning his head to look at the handsome young man who was intently staring at the kendo platform, the captain of the Hisumiyama High School kendo club nudged his arm with his elbow and asked:

"Dongtang, your lineage is also from a school we've never heard of. How likely do you think there's a lineage connection between you two?"

"Absolutely impossible!"

Dongtang Xiuluo gave his answer quite decisively.

The other members of the Shinsengumi looked at him curiously, wondering why he was so certain.

However, Dongtang Xiuluo had no intention of explaining.

Because the teacher said that he is the only inheritor of the thousand-year-old tradition, and it is absolutely impossible for it to be passed down outside.

Refocusing their attention on the kendo platform, after a short break, the final match of the Grandmasters was finally about to begin.

The two people on the stage put on protective gear, held bamboo swords, came to the center, crossed their swords, and began to bow.

Shui Ming, the deputy senior officer, had a very serious expression on his face.

Beneath the mask, beads of sweat had already appeared on his forehead.

Even though everyone in the stadium was cheering him on, he still felt completely uncertain.

This guy in front of me is terrifying. In the previous four games, he scored with a simple one-shot in each game.

He'd rather believe that his own kendo club members had taken money from the other side and were throwing the match.

If not, it means the opponent's switching technique is extremely advanced, and it can be basically assumed that there is an insurmountable gap in skill level between the two.

But even so, he has reasons why he absolutely cannot lose.

It is a great disgrace to have your entire team wiped out by the opponent's vanguard alone.

The kendo club of Vice High School Mizuaki must not be tarnished in his hands!

Even if we can't win this match, there's one guy we absolutely have to beat!

His eyes burned with fighting spirit.

"Tokyo Suimei High School Vice High School vs. Chiba Sobu High School, Admiral Battle! First Match! Begin!"

Kujo Toru had no idea what had happened to the other person to make him look like he was about to charge at him at any moment, shouting about bonds, friendship, and honor.

However, he still followed etiquette and took the initiative to introduce himself:

"Sōbu Kōsen, Seifu Shindō-ryū, Kūjō Tetsū."

However, what greeted him was an extremely unpleasant roar, almost like the mournful cry of a monkey in the mountains.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!"

Immediately afterwards, he saw the enemy general assume the unique full-form stance of the Shigenryu school, raising his bamboo swords high above his head and charging towards him.

Bowing is merely a customary rule agreed upon by both parties and is not part of the competition rules.

Therefore, the enemy general's behavior can at most be criticized as a lack of martial ethics, but cannot be considered a violation of the rules.

He has decided to use any means necessary to achieve victory!

Even if people laugh at us, it's still better than going out and being pointed at and talked about as "Look, that's the first team to be soloed in Jade Dragon Banner this time!"

The opponent came on strong, it was a surprise attack, and the strange cries they made would have intimidated an average player.

This is also one of the goals of the presentation stream.

This school of martial arts once shone brightly among the samurai of the Satsuma Domain during the period of the Tokugawa shogunate. Its distinctive features, besides its great strength, included the strange cries that sounded like those of monkeys.

One benefit is that it can help users better utilize their own strength, and the other is that it can disrupt the opponent's mindset.

It is similar to the concept of Mad Dog Boxing developed by a martial artist who studies criminal law.

However, Kujo Toru was not fooled and instinctively took a step back.

Down in the audience, at Kyoto Hisamiyama High School, the captain of the kendo club frowned slightly upon seeing this:

Why did he retreat?

In his eyes, this player who was demonstrating the flow of the game clearly hadn't mastered the skills yet.

Even though the full-form configuration, also known as the dragonfly eight phases, is the most important configuration for the Shigenryu style, it is too easy for true Shigenryu masters to be countered. Choosing the flat-form configuration to attack is actually a safer option.

If it were him on stage, he would definitely use his own body to forcibly block the sword, and then easily strike the opponent's throat or face.

Since most areas of the body are ineffective zones anyway, it doesn't matter if the opponent strikes first.

"If it were me, I would also back down."

Dongtang Xiuluo heard his words and naturally replied with a sentence.

In competitive kendo, one can certainly use parts of the body that cannot score points to forcefully block, and this has even evolved into a shameless fighting style where one uses their left hand to block their own bamboo sword.

Not only can it block most of the opponent's mid-range attacks, but it can also conceal its own blade, making it difficult for the opponent to judge its movements.

However, this move does not exist in ancient swordsmanship, nor has anyone developed it.

It's not because the concept is outdated, but because Koryu Kendo itself was developed based on real, desperate sword fighting.

If you try to block a sword with your body, the opponent can easily cut your body in two. Even if you manage to counterattack successfully, it will only result in mutual destruction.

This is also why traditional kendo is becoming increasingly unsuitable for modern kendo competitions.

Kujo Toru's instinctive dodge just now clearly demonstrates a practical approach to swordsmanship.

He insisted on this fighting style because of his master, so why did Kujo Toru insist on pursuing practical swordsmanship?

Dongtang Xiuluo didn't quite understand.

The battle on the kendo platform continues.

Throughout the match, Kujo Toru did not use his superhuman physique to forcefully overwhelm his opponent with numerical superiority, but instead chose to rely solely on his swordsmanship skills.

After the enemy general's sword missed its mark, he forcibly sheathed it at the middle of his chest, changing from the Dragonfly Eight Phases to the Horizontal Formation, and began a continuous pursuit of Kujo Toru.

Yokota Tsuyoshi, who is also a practitioner of the Jigenryu style, watched from the audience and kept nodding in approval.

Putting aside practical experience, this person's basic skills in manifestation are quite good.

It's a real shame that he ran into Toru Kujo.

In the control room at the top of the Budokan, the commentator is watching the footage from the camera and explaining it to viewers from all over the country.

Kirino Kousaka's face scrunched up.

Although she didn't understand kendo, she could still understand the scene on TV where Kujo-senpai was being chased and beaten by her opponent.

Not to mention the commentators' rapid-fire explanations.

In summary, "Nine players missed their initial advantage," "Nine players' disadvantages became apparent," and "Nine players' defeat was inevitable."

"Kujo won."

Daisuke Kosaka made his conclusion.

Before Kirino Kousaka could ask anything, Toru Kujo's shout suddenly came from the television:

"noodle!"

She only felt a blur before her eyes, and the two had already created distance between them. The two referees raised flags of the same color, indicating that Kujo Toru's score was valid.

what's the situation?

While taking the time to regroup, he looked pleadingly at his elderly father, hoping he could explain things to him.

Daisuke Kosaka was initially reluctant to explain such basic concepts, but seeing his daughter's expression, he finally sighed and relented.

"It was Mikiri. After gaining the advantage, that guy from Jigenryu was too eager to use his secret technique, Cloud Blade, to finish the job, and Kujo Mikiri succeeded."

Blinking, Kirino Kousaka asked a very important question:

What is "seeing the cut"?

Daisuke Kosaka's face darkened instantly. He turned back to the TV, too lazy to pay any more attention to her.

The second trial was pretty much a foregone conclusion.

The opponent tried to replicate the unsportsmanlike sneak attack from the first match, but Kujo Tetsu seized the initiative with his Hira-seigan and Shrinking Ground techniques.

With a clean and decisive strike to the throat, he easily secured the second point.

In eliminating his opponent, he also became the first person in this year's Yulongqi tournament to win all five Grand Slam titles.

When he stepped down from the stage, the stadium erupted in cheers.

In competitive sports, skill is the most valued factor.

However, this was not the only time.

In the subsequent rounds of the competition, several teams also achieved the feat of winning five consecutive matches with their vanguard.

Without exception, they were all athletes who shone brightly in the National Kendo Championships in March of this year.

Only Kujo Toru was a complete stranger.

"Card!"

Kujo Tetsu deflected his opponent's bamboo sword and, following the blade's sinew, slashed upwards with a textbook-perfect reverse kesa slash, striking his opponent's left ribs. Both referees raised their flags.

"Two straight points, Chiba Sougo wins this round!"

On the giant LCD screen hanging in the dome, Soubu High's name appeared at the very top, indicating that the preliminary rounds had ended and Soubu High had successfully qualified as one of the top sixteen.

"Well done, Kujo-sama!"

"It was a one-versus-five victory from start to finish, so exciting!"

"Now there are news articles about Boss Jiu everywhere on the internet. Our Zongwu High School is really famous now."

Kujo Toru removed his protective gear and handed his bamboo sword to the staff for maintenance. As soon as he stepped off the stage, he was surrounded by members of the kendo club.

Listening to what the kendo club member had said, Kujo Toru curiously took out his phone and searched for the Jade Dragon Flag.

As the other party said, Yulongqi's official Twitter account retweeted its own match video and put it together with several other exciting matches to create today's highlight compilation.

They also gave him the chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) nickname "Single-handedly Breaking Through the Army".

However, the so-called fame is complete nonsense.

This is just the preliminary round; the skill levels of the participants vary greatly. There are very few matches where both sides are equally matched and skilled. Not to mention casual observers, even kendo enthusiasts might not pay attention to it.

The real focus of attention will come after the knockout stage officially begins tomorrow.

"Let's go! Let's have a big meal tonight! It's on me!"