I teach judo in Tokyo.

As he spoke, he saw that Iga Yahiko had already boarded the bus with two teachers at the front door.

It seems everyone is here.

Soon, under the instructions of the two teachers, the bus was started by the driver and began to move.

As the vehicle swayed, Yumi Mifune leaned against Sosuke and whispered with a grin, "Yes, Tokyo, being a popular area with many strong schools, can get three tickets. A few other strong prefectures can get two tickets, while most ordinary prefectures only have one spot."

She continued, "What I meant by mentioning the three strongest teams in Tokyo is that if we at Tsurumine want to get a ticket to the national tournament, we need to defeat at least one of them."

Then, while the two listened to the two teachers in front of them taking turns to give instructions on the competition, Yumi Mifune quietly explained the format of this regional preliminary competition to Sosuke.

To put it simply, it's a very simple knockout tournament system with a seeding system. After multiple rounds of competition, the four surviving teams are eliminated, and the final three winning teams qualify for the national tournament.

To obtain this qualification, one must fight against the three recognized top schools and snatch the spot from their hands.

According to the squad leader's secret notebook, every member of the three strong teams is at least a black belt level expert, and each team has at least two genius-level players serving as the backbone and general in key positions.

In previous major tournaments, Iga Yahiko led four mediocre players to challenge such teams head-on, and the result was predictable—they all suffered defeat.

Information on several key powerful figures is as follows:

Shinichiro Midorima, the Perfect One: Shutoku's ace, a top-level black belt, left-handed, a versatile wrestler with comprehensive skills and a flamboyant style.

Saku Seishin of the Flash: Itoyama's ace, a top-level black belt, and one of the nation's most recognized strongest wrestlers last year.

Shohei Tachibana, the Lion King: The ace of Fudomine, a top-level black belt fighter, whose fighting style is characterized by its wide-ranging and powerful movements, resembling a fierce lion on the savanna.

......

"In short, these ace players are all genius judokas who are no less than our Captain Iga. They are all the top players on their respective teams..." Yumi Mifune said earnestly to Sousuke. "In other words, if you want to lead our school to the national tournament, you must at least defeat one of these teams."

The bus was swaying a bit, causing the petite Yumi Mifune to rock from side to side. Sosuke simply put his arm around her slender waist to help the little class monitor steady herself. If the little class monitor weren't so short, people around would definitely have seen the somewhat intimate distance between the two of them.

Thinking of this, Sosuke felt a cold gaze again and couldn't help but turn around to look.

Wufang Mozi: Stare! (￣へ￣)

This kendo girl seems to have decided I'm a bad guy who's trying to fool my junior...

Sosuke chuckled lightly, returning the challenge with a defiant raised eyebrow to Motoko Itako, and tightened his grip on the class monitor's slender waist in a show of defiance.

To be honest, although this class monitor is short and doesn't have a particularly curvy figure, her slender waist is so small that it's easy to wrap your arms around it, and it does give you a strange kind of pleasure.

Wufang Mozi: Angry! (▼ヘ▼#)

She gripped the bamboo knife tighter, but the petite junior (referring to Yumi Mifune) didn't resist, so she didn't feel comfortable helping her.

Sosuke's smile grew even more smug.

However, the judo instructor was preoccupied with provoking the kendo girl.

But he didn't notice that the class monitor's ears were slightly red as he unconsciously tightened his grip around her waist.

***

Before long, the bus arrived at its destination.

After all, it is essentially still within the Tokyo area.

Bunkyo Ward and Chiyoda Ward are very close to each other; the actual distance between them is not far.

As the bus came to a stop, all the participating students from the judo and kendo clubs, along with two accompanying teachers, a total of about twenty people, filed out of the bus.

"Dear students, we are now at the hotel next to the martial arts hall. Please line up and follow me to check in. After that, we will go to our rooms to put our luggage away before heading out to see the competition venue."

One of the two teachers announced the arrangements in a loud voice. He was tall, with thick arms, and exuded an air of great confidence.

Sosuke flipped through his memories and found the teacher's information—Kentaro Zaraki, the physical education teacher and kendo club coach at Tsurumine High School.

Sosuke glanced at the PE teacher's stats, which prominently displayed "Show-off Stream 11," showcasing his skill level.

As for the other male teacher who was standing idly to the side and looked rather thin, he was a main subject teacher and also a part-time coach for the judo club—Kazuya Hojo.

This teacher, Hojo, is rather incompetent, and since he's only a temporary, part-time coach—he has absolutely no judo ranking.

This coach, who was just there to fill a quota, shows just how much the judo club at Hefeng has declined.

With the help of the two teachers, everyone quickly completed the check-in process.

There are six boys in the judo club, three people to a room.

The Kendo club has both male and female teams, with six men and six women, and they share a room in groups of three.

Yumi Mifune didn't participate in the team competition, so she didn't have any teammates. She registered for the individual competition, so she was given a room by herself.

Sousuke shared a room with Yahiko Iga and Yuta Tasaki.

Back in the room, after putting down their backpacks and choosing their beds, the three of them sat on the beds chatting while waiting for the teacher's instructions.

Yuta Tasaki seemed quite excited. He couldn't help but stand up and pace back and forth in the small room after sitting for a short while, muttering things like, "I'm back for the National Tournament again."

"Don't worry about him. He was the same way last year, and we couldn't control him at all." Iga smiled slightly under Sousuke's puzzled gaze.

"Minister, are you nervous?" Sosuke leaned calmly against the headboard, raising an eyebrow at Iga.

Iga was stunned by what he heard. He was silent for a few seconds, then looked up at Sosuke seriously: "To be honest, two years ago, I wasn't nervous at all, because I knew that our school would definitely be sent home. But this year, with you here—I'm actually starting to feel a little anxious."

Sosuke chuckled: "Minister, don't worry, with the two of us working together, this time we'll storm into the national tournament!"

Seeing Atobe Sousuke's composed demeanor, Iga Yahiko couldn't help but become excited as well.

"Great! Let's make it into the national competition in one go!"

Chapter 48 Martial Arts Hall

Kazuya Hojo: Judo team members, please assemble on the first floor. We are about to depart for the Budokan for a preliminary site inspection.

Atobe Sousuke chatted with Iga and Tasaki in the room for a while, and all three of their phones rang once.

I took it out and saw it was a group message from Hojo Kazuya reminding me to gather.

“Let’s go check out the venue for our match tomorrow.” Iga Yahiko immediately stood up.

Yuta Tasaki, standing next to him, looked extremely excited, his face flushed.

Sosuke smiled and shook his head, then left the room with the two excited men.

As I stepped outside, I saw Yumi Mifune coming out of her door across the street.

Clearly, the school thoughtfully arranged all the judo club members on the same floor.

"Teacher!" Yumi Mifune greeted Sousuke with a grin, her hands behind her back, and approached him.

After a short period of adjustment, the class monitor now calls Zongjie "teacher" without any hesitation.

The gazes of Iga and Tasaki, who were standing next to Sousuke, immediately became meaningful.

Iga Yahiko reacted quickly, immediately pulling Tasaki Yuta along and turning back with a smile, saying, "Sousuke, you can take your time with your 'good disciple,' Tasaki and I will go down first."

Is this minister misunderstanding something?

Sosuke casually touched his chin, pretending to be nonchalant.

"Teacher's College! Let's go! The martial arts hall! I've never been inside an official competition before!" Mifune Yumi's braids stood up high.

?(?>?

Sosuke patted her head: "Let's go."

The two walked through the corridor and entered the elevator. Mifune Yumi excitedly rushed to press the button for the first floor.

As a result, the elevator stopped again after going down just one floor.

As the elevator doors slowly opened, a tall and graceful figure stepped into the elevator.

"Wow, you're so tall!" The usually carefree Yumi Mifune widened her eyes and involuntarily moved closer.

Her petite frame, barely over 1.5 meters tall, made her look like a child in front of him.

Sosuke raised an eyebrow and sized up the newcomer.

Her long, flowing hair cascaded down like a waterfall, her delicate oval face framed a refined and spirited face, and her arched eyebrows, like willow leaves, softened the sharpness of her gaze.

Her height, far exceeding that of the average Japanese girl, made her figure appear like that of a model, and the bamboo sword pouch she carried on her back gave her a clean and neat look.

Motoko Goto, the Kendo Girl.

"You must be from our school's kendo club, right?" The class monitor was very outgoing. She stood on tiptoe slightly, held up her hand to show the height difference between herself and the kendo girl, and looked a little dejected. "I'm Yumi Mifune. How should I address you?"

Motoko Itaka pursed her lips and said softly, "Captain of the Kendo Club, Class 1, Year 2, Motoko Itaka."

Her voice was clear, with a hint of coldness, giving the impression of a clear spring.

After she finished speaking, she looked at Sosuke with a sharp gaze.

(￣へ￣)

Sousuke couldn't help but chuckle. He pointed to himself: "Judo Club, Ace, Class 3, Second Year, Atobe Sousuke."

"The ace of the judo club is Iga Yahiko." Motoko Itsuka responded coldly, though she was deliberately trying to expose Sousuke, there was no hint of smugness in her words.

After saying that, she looked at Mifune Yumi, who was still gesturing to her about her height, and couldn't help but reach out and pat her head: "Junior, don't be fooled by him. This man looks very frivolous."

Yumi Mifune looked at her with a puzzled expression: "You mean Atobe-kun?"

Motoko Gofuku nodded and then glanced at Sosuke.

(￣へ￣) I won't let you succeed.

Immediately afterwards, Motoko heard Yumi Mifune's cheerful voice.

"But Atobe-kun is indeed our judo club's ace."

Yumi Mifune continued with a grin, "Gofuku-kun, Atobe-kun is our judo club's newest ace, even Captain Iga is no match for him."

"Hmm?" Wu Fang Suzi paused for a moment.

Sosuke noticed that the tall, aloof girl's earlobes were slightly red.

He shrugged and smiled, meeting the flickering gaze in the other's eyes. "Actually, I also have some knowledge of swordsmanship. If you're interested in sparring in the future, Wufang, we can have a friendly match."

"Huh? Atobe-kun, you know kendo?" Before Motoko Itō could answer, Yumi Mifune's eyes widened.

"Call me Teacher's College!" Sosuke flicked the other person on the forehead. "I know a lot of things. If you behave well, you'll benefit from it in the future."

Yumi Mifune looked skeptical: "Really? I don't believe it!"

A friendly exchange?

Wufang Suzi had a sudden thought: if she could use swordsmanship to warn this frivolous man, it might be a good idea.

She was about to speak.

With a "ding," the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened.

We've reached the first floor.

Yumi Mifune immediately forgot everything else and excitedly pulled Sosuke out of the elevator.

As he ran, he excitedly shouted, "We're on the first floor! Sosuke-kun, let's hurry over, they've all assembled!"

Sousuke reluctantly followed her, and before leaving, he turned back and mouthed a silent gesture to Motoko Itako, who was watching them quietly.

'It's a promise!'

Wufang Suzi did not respond, but a sharp light, like a sword, flashed in her cold eyes.

Very well, a student from Hefeng High School actually dared to challenge me in kendo...

***

After leaving the hotel, led by Mr. Hojo, the judo club members soon arrived in front of a magnificent large building.

Several people stood on the stone-paved plaza in front of the building and looked up, where they could get a preliminary look at the building's appearance.

The building has an octagonal shape and is said to be modeled after the famous Horyuji Temple in Japan. The ridgeline of the main beam is designed based on Mount Fuji.

Above the entrance hangs a huge red plaque with yellow borders, bearing three large characters.

Martial Arts Hall.

"Although I've been here many times, this is the most exciting one yet." Beside me, Iga Yahiko put his hands on his hips and couldn't help but sigh.

Hearing this, Hojo-sensei, who was leading the way, turned around and said, "Iga, I heard that you found a very strong newcomer this time. Do your best and try to secure a ticket to the national tournament in this rare martial arts gym."

Iga Yahiko chuckled: "Don't worry, Hojo-sensei!"