I formed the strongest swordsman group

Every festival, the most indispensable thing in the festival scene is all kinds of vendors.

Today, everywhere in Yushima Tenmangu Shrine is full of various stalls, selling snacks, drinks, souvenirs...everything.

At this moment, Qingdeng, Okita, and Saito were sitting on a bench next to a certain "sugar stand" with Chiba Shigetaro and Sanako.

"Miss Sanako." Qingdeng picked up the bowl of sugar water he just bought in his hand, and took a sip, "That is to say—Chiba Tadomonshiro made a special trip to persuade you to cancel today's competition."

"Yeah." Zuo Nazi nodded lightly, and then sighed silently, "My fourth cousin...he has always been like this since before."

Even though Chiba Tamonshiro had left and there was no more excitement to join in, there were still many people who stayed in place or stopped at a distance, constantly looking at the beautiful Sanako and the recent celebrity Qingdeng.

Qingdeng and the others, who didn't want to be "watched" by so many people like animals, quickly left the "case" after dismissing the priestesses who reprimanded them to "stop arguing and fighting with others in the shrine". Discovery site".

Just now, Chiba Domonshiro kept chanting such a sentence: Take up the responsibility of your little Chiba Sword Hall!

What is "Little Chiba Sword Hall's responsibilities"? Qingtou, who was a little confused about the content and meaning of this sentence, asked Chiba Shigetaro and Sanako about this issue when he left the "crime scene" with everyone.

Under the overview of the siblings, Qingdeng finally understood the meaning of these words, and at the same time knew the details of "Sanako was harassed by Chiba Tameshiro" just now—

...

The Little Chiba Sword Gym is the same as their Gymnasium. They rushed to Yushima Tenmangu early this morning to prepare for the competition venue.

Because the Little Chiba Sword Gym came earlier than the Weiwei Gym, they had already completed the part of the site preparation work they were responsible for first.

The things that should be done have been done, everyone in the Little Chiba Sword Gym has nothing to do, so they decided to temporarily disband first, and each try to pass the time waiting for the official start of the competition.

Both Chiba Shigetaro and Sanako wanted to appreciate the white plum blossoms that bloom only once a year, so the two brothers and sisters walked together in the plum grove of Yushima Tenmangu Shrine.

In the middle of the stroll, Chiba Shigetaro, who was suddenly a bit greedy, asked Sanako to stay where he was waiting for him, and he went to the nearby "grilled squid stand" to buy some grilled squid by himself.

While Sanako waited quietly for her brother's return... Chiba Tameshiro arrived.

The uncle of Sanako and the others, the legendary great swordsman who founded the Hokushin Yidao style and established the Xuanwukan in Edo: Chiba Shusaku, passed away 5 years ago.

Chiba Shusaku has 4 sons.

The eldest son, Chiba Kisutaro, died prematurely.

The second son Chiba Eijiro became an official of the Mito Domain in 1853 and no longer lived in Edo for a long time.

The eldest son has passed away, and the second son has left the other family. Therefore, after Chiba Shuzuosen passed away, the position of the second-generation head of the Beichen Itsou-ryu clan and the head of the Xuanwu Pavilion was inherited by his third son: Chiba Dosaburo.

And his fourth son: Chiba Domon Shiro took over the position of Shifan Dai of Xuanwukan.

Although Chiba Michizaburo didn't have a very good relationship with the testing hall like the Sanako brothers and sisters, he never showed any obvious malice towards the testing hall.

Not so with Chiba Tamonshiro.

For a long time, he has shown a very obvious resistance to the testing hall...to put it bluntly.

He firmly believes that it is meaningless to exchange sword skills with such a weak sword hall as the trial guard hall.

To exchange swordsmanship, you should also go to the military training hall of the Shinto Wunian stream and the Shi Xueguan of the Jingxin Zhizhi stream at the same level as them.

Practicing swords with a weak sword gym like the Weiwei Pavilion? What a waste of time!

It is the responsibility of a swordsmanship gym to spend all his time carefully teaching his disciples, instead of wasting his time playing games with the guard hall, which is quite irresponsible for the future of his disciples ——This is the concept that Chiba Tameshiro has always insisted on.

Under the influence of this concept, Chiba Domonshiro has never stopped opposing "exchanging swordsmanship with the test guard hall" over the years.

Chiba Domon Shiro went on a long trip some time ago, and he didn't return to Edo until yesterday evening.

As soon as he returned to the home of the Edo Xuanwukan, he learned that the Xiaoqianye Sword Academy would compete with the Test Guard Hall in the "Plum Blossom Festival".

He didn't want to see Little Chiba Sword Hall messing around here again, so he took a few of his companions to Yushima Tenman Palace early this morning, intending to persuade Little Chiba Sword Hall to withdraw from the competition temporarily and not to fight with the Test Guard Hall. Engaging in such gimmicky, pure waste of time.

As soon as he led people to Yushima Tenmangu, he happened to meet Sanako who was standing under a certain plum tree waiting for Chiba Shigetaro to come back from buying grilled squid.

Since I happened to meet my cousin who has always been supportive of exchanging swordsmanship with the Weiwei Pavilion... then take advantage of the situation and reason with her first!

So, he aggressively led his companions to surround Zuo Nazi, and began to "explain the righteousness" to Zuo Nazi with righteous words.

And the next thing...Qingdeng and the others are also clear about it, so there is no need to go into details.

"Mr. Ju, you are really... courageous enough." Chiba Shigetaro, who was sitting opposite Qingdeng, took a big mouthful of sugar water from the bowl, grinned at the corner of his mouth, and showed Qingdeng a complex smile, " Just now, when I heard that the always arrogant brother of the multi-door family retracted what he just said, I was so shocked that I didn't even know how to move my hands and feet."

"Aren't you afraid that brother Duomen would sneer at your request or humiliate you?"

"To be honest——I was worried." Qingdeng smiled wryly, "But in front of so many people, he slandered the testing hall that has been kind to me, and I can't take his words as nothing no matter what. hear."

Leaving aside the "teacher-student relationship" of teaching him swordsmanship carefully, Kondo and the others are willing to help him and Saito and the others when they have no home, and allow them to temporarily live in the test guard hall, which is enough to make Qingdeng To maintain the dignity of the test hall without hesitation.

"When I asked him to 'wait a moment', I was actually prepared to have a very unpleasant fight with him...even to draw a sword against him."

"But fortunately—that person is not a completely reclusive person."

Qingdeng attributes the main reason why Chiba Tamonshiro was subdued just now, to the fact that this person is also a sensible person, not a person who cannot be persuaded.

The persuasion of Chiba Tamon Shiro went smoothly unexpectedly.

Originally, Qingdeng had prepared all kinds of worst-case plans, and it was a surprise to be able to persuade Chiba Tameshiro to admit his mistake so smoothly.

After listening to Qingdeng's words that "the slandered testing hall cannot be ignored", Chiba Shigetaro was stunned for a moment, and then a little admiration slowly appeared in his eyes looking at Qingdeng.

There was another person, after listening to what Qing Deng said just now, his expression changed - he was sitting behind Qing Deng, holding a bowl in both hands, and Chong Tian, ​​who was silently drinking sugar water, his expression darkened at this moment...

"...Tachibana-kun, Director, I was really sorry just now."

At this moment, Zuo Nazi stood up suddenly, and slightly bowed to Qing Deng, with a slight shame on his cheeks.

"When the fourth cousin made rude remarks to the test hall, my brother and I should stop him immediately and let him take back his rude speech."

"I'm really sorry for making you have an unpleasant experience."

Seeing Sanako who suddenly got up to apologize to Qingdeng and the others, Chiba Shigetaro who was sitting next to him froze for a moment, then put down the sugar water in his hand belatedly, stood up and followed Sanako to Qingdeng and the others. The man bowed and apologized.

Seeing the two siblings standing side by side in front of him, apologizing to him and Okita, Qing Deng smiled helplessly: "Don't do that, just sit down."

"That Tameshiro Chiba has retracted his statement and apologized to us."

"The matter has been settled, so don't apologize here and there."

Under Qingdeng's strong persuasion, Chiba Shigetaro and Sanako finally sat back on the bench.

Because I have been talking about that Chiba Tamon Shiro just now, the atmosphere that lingers around everyone at this time has a heavy atmosphere.

In order to dispel the heavy atmosphere that made people feel uncomfortable, Qing Deng took the initiative to provoke a new topic:

"Miss Sanako." Qingdeng looked at the kendo uniform on Sanako, which is quite easy to move, "Are you... are you going to participate in this afternoon's competition too?"

"Hahaha." Chiba Shigetaro smiled, "Tachibana-kun, don't you know? Sanako really likes 'combat games'."

"She never misses any 'combat games' that she can participate in."

"When she first started to remember things, she often took me, several cousins ​​and the children of the neighbors to play the 'combat game' in the yard behind the house."

"Sanako is so strong."

"Once you lose, you will cry and say you want to fight again, and you must fight until you win."

"Brother." Sanako suddenly squinted his eyeballs, and gave Chiba Shigetaro a sharp look.

She warned Chiba Shigetaro with her movements and eyes: don't talk about her past embarrassment anymore.

After receiving Sanako's silent warning, Chiba Shigetaro subconsciously twitched the corners of his mouth, and while laughing, he bluntly tried to change the topic...

...

...

Sitting on the bench next to the "sugar stand", after chatting with Chiba Shigetaro and Sanako for a while, Qingdeng politely extended an invitation to the siblings—

"Mr. Shigetaro, Ms. Sanako, there is still more than an hour before the start of the competition. It is still early. Would you like to visit this 'Plum Blossom Festival' with us?"

As soon as Qingdeng sent out this invitation, he quickly received a response from the siblings: Sorry, we will not continue to play with you.

The reason why Chiba Shigetaro and Sanako rejected Qingdeng's invitation is also very simple - before they met Chiba Tamon Shiro, the two of them had already wandered around the Yushima Tenmangu Shrine together for a long time. All the beautiful scenery has been visited and seen.

The two of them have no interest in continuing to play anymore, they just want to go back to the competition venue to rest, quietly waiting for the afternoon competition to start.

Since both siblings have no intention of going out to play again, then Qingdeng doesn't force them either.

So after chatting for a while, Qingdeng and the others parted ways with Zuo Nazi and the others.

Chiba Shigetaro and Sanako returned to the playing field.

Qingdeng, Okita, and Saito headed straight for areas they hadn't visited yet.

The current time is roughly 11 o'clock in the morning.

More and more tourists come to Yushima Tenmangu to participate in the "Plum Blossom Festival" and enjoy the white plum blossoms in full bloom.

After struggling to squeeze out of a dense crowd, Qingdeng raised his head, glanced at the sun above his head that was about to rise to the highest altitude, then turned his head and asked Okita and Saito behind him:

"Okita-kun, Saito, it's almost time for lunch, do you have anything you want to eat?"

Saito replied "whatever" as Qingdeng expected.

From the very beginning, Qingdeng never expected Saito to give him any specific answer, so after saying "yes" to Saito, he set his sights on Okita for consultation.

As soon as he glanced at Okita's face, Qing Deng was surprised to find that - Okita, who was always smiling and carefree, now pursed his lips, as if he had something on his mind.

"Okita-kun, what's wrong with you? Is there something on your mind?"

"Ah?" Okita was startled, then grinned and said with a smile, "No, I don't have anything on my mind."

"I just... feel a little guilty."

"Guilty?" Qingdeng raised his eyebrows.

"...Tachibana-kun, you were so amazing just now. You were able to ask Chiba Tameshiro to take back his insulting name for our testing hall and apologize to us in front of so many people."

"Compared to you...I'm not so good..."

"Don't look at me, I'm always careless, but I'm actually very timid."

The smile on Okita's face gradually became a bit bitter at this moment.

"I've never dared to do anything spectacular in full view."

"I was also very angry when I heard Chiba Domenshiro call our test guard hall a third-rate sword hall."

"But I don't dare to stand up boldly like you, loudly demanding that Chiba Tamonshiro take back his words under the watchful eyes of so many people..."

"Haha...the more I think about it, the more I feel ashamed..."

Okita lowered his head slowly, stretched his right hand behind his head, and weakly played with the ponytail on the back of his head.

"You have just joined the guarding hall for less than two months and you dare to confront the people who slandered our sword hall. But I, an 'old man' who has been an apprentice in the guarding hall since I was 9 years old, did nothing..."

Because of Okita's drooping head, Qingdeng could only see the hair twirling on Okita's head, but could not see Okita's current expression.

Looking at Chongtian who could sense his depression even without looking at his face, Qingdeng pursed his lips, and then took a slow breath——

"...Okita-kun."

"Huh...?" Chong Tian responded softly to Qing Deng's call without raising his head.

"You seem to have misunderstood yourself."

"Ah...?" Okita slowly raised his head, blinked his eyes twice, and looked at Qingdeng suspiciously.

"Do you think that you didn't go with me just now to ask Chiba Domonshiro to take back his slander against our testing hall, so you feel that you are a very timid person?"

Qingdeng crossed his hands on his waist, let out another breath, and then smiled faintly at Okita.

"You will be angry because Chiba Domonshiro called the test guard hall a third-rate sword gym, which shows that your feelings for the test guard house will only be deeper than mine, and will not be shallower than mine."

"The reason why you didn't directly ask Chiba Tameshiro to take back his words like I did just now is just because—your temper is gentler and kinder than mine. The words and deeds of Chiba Tameshiro have not totally pissed you off."

"Afterwards, if someone says some bad things to the testing hall that are too extreme and can annoy you..."

"So--"

Qingdeng paused, and then changed into a sonorous and firm tone:

"I believe you will be angrier than everyone else, and will be more active than everyone else in asking that person to take back his bad words."

"Your feelings for the test hall and your determination to protect the test hall will not be lost to anyone—I firmly believe in this from the bottom of my heart."

Okita stared blankly at Qingdeng with a determined face.

"I believe that my feelings for the test hall and my determination to protect the test hall will not lose to anyone..." After whispering what Qing Deng said to him just now, he chuckled at Tian, ​​"Why do you Knowing my feelings for the test hall, and my determination to protect the test hall, I must be stronger than anyone else?"

"Based on my observation and understanding of you during this period of time." Qingdeng replied without hesitation, "A person who doesn't like the guard test hall will not be so enthusiastic about teaching swordsmanship to the disciples in the hall, and will not be so active in caring for this building. Sword hall."

When he first temporarily moved into the testing hall, Qingdeng noticed that Okita, who was usually a little lazy, would become extra diligent in all kinds of matters involving the testing hall.

When scrubbing bamboo swords, protective gear, and the floor of the dojo, Okita has always been the one who scrubs the most seriously.

When helping Shusuke and Kondo to teach and guide the apprentices' swordsmanship, Okita also did his best and was never ambiguous.

These behaviors of Okita observed on weekdays gave Qingdeng the confidence and courage to say what he just said.

Okita's expression became dull again.

"...haha." After a while, the sluggish expression on Okita's face slowly changed into a smile full of complicated emotions, "Tachibana-kun, I always feel that you seem to be using some strange sophistry to comfort me..."

"But—whatever."

Okita took a deep breath, then stretched out his hands towards the sky, and stretched vigorously like a cat.

Immediately afterwards, Qingdeng saw his trademark bright smile on Okita's face.

"Even if it's a sophistry, I'll admit it." Okita chuckled a few times, "Mr. Ju, thank you... After listening to what you said just now, I feel much more comfortable."

"Ahaha, once you feel better, you'll be hungry." Okita patted his stomach with a smile, "Tachibana-kun, Saito-kun, let's go! Let's go have lunch!"

Seeing that Chongtian finally regained his energy, Qingdeng subconsciously showed a happy smile: "Well, let's go. There is a very fragrant fragrance coming from that direction, let's go there and have a look."

Okita, who had returned to his usual cheerful appearance, skipped and walked in front of Qingdeng and Saito.

"Mr. Ju, I didn't realize it before. You are so good at comforting others." Okita suddenly turned his head and teased Qingdeng.

"Well..." Qingdeng smiled awkwardly, "I admit that I have a little eloquence."

"But I only become more eloquent when facing men."

"I rarely get too close to women, so I'm not very good at getting along with women."

"If a woman complains to me, I'm going to be caught blind."

"Hey~~ so..."

Okita's smile suddenly became a little brighter, and both eyes smiled into two crescent moons.

"Huh? Why are you laughing like this?" Qingdeng winked at Okita suspiciously.

"It's nothing." After Okita chuckled a few times, he turned his head and gaze back to the front.

...

...

At this very moment—

"...Brother, I really am not mature enough."

"Huh?" Chiba Shigetaro opened his mouth wide to Sanako beside him, "What's wrong? What do you mean?"

Sanako half-closed her eyes, lowered her gaze, and said to her tiny toes:

"Just now, when the fourth cousin spoke rudely to the test hall, I should have stopped him immediately."

"If I could stop and reprimand at the first time, there shouldn't be so many unpleasant accidents in the future..."

Seeing the guilty look on his younger sister's cheek, Chiba Shigetaro raised his hand and scratched his hair, then sighed heavily.

"Okay, it's useless to feel guilty here, just be careful not to make such mistakes again in the future."

"If you think about it carefully, your brother and I have made bigger mistakes than you, and our behavior is more immature than you."

"After Qingdeng and the others showed up, I was only thinking about making peace with each other, so I hurriedly dismissed this matter... I also have to be careful not to make such a mistake again..."

After all, Chiba Shigetaro sighed again.

Both myself and my sister are sighing here... It seems a bit out of shape.

So, Chiba Shigetaro cleared his throat in order to restore himself and Sanako quickly.

"Tachibana-kun is really courageous... On such an occasion, dare to stop a sword-wearing warrior I don't know at all and ask him to take back his words and deeds just now... This kind of thing is not something everyone can do... ..."

Chiba Shigetaro originally wanted to chat with Sanako about some light and interesting things, so as to ease the atmosphere between the two.

But for some reason, what came out of my mouth was something related to Qingdeng...

Sanako didn't immediately answer what Chiba Shigetaro had said just now.

She was silent for a while.

After a while, she nodded slowly.

With gentle movements, she responded to what Chiba Shigetaro had just said.

...

...

After having a simple lunch with Okita and Saito, and then wandering around Yushima Tenmangu for a while, the time came to 1:00 p.m. unknowingly.

The start of the match against Chiba... is less than an hour away.

Although Qingdeng still hadn't seen enough of the beautiful scenery of flying plum blossoms and falling petals, but because the game time was approaching, he had no choice but to end the game.

As soon as he returned to the competition venue with Okita and Saito, an exclamation of astonishment came out of Qingdeng's mouth uncontrollably.

"so many people……!"

Qingdeng looked at the number of people in front of him in surprise.

Obviously, there are still about 40 minutes before the start of the game, but the surrounding area of ​​the game site is already full of spectators preparing to watch the game on the inner three floors and the outer three floors. There are at least 200 people, and this number is still is increasing...

Although Qingdeng knows that such extremely rare events as "samurai fights" are bound to arouse the interest of many people, the number of viewers present in front of Qingdeng's eyes is still beyond Qingdeng's expectations.

Okita and Saito were obviously also frightened by the number of people, and they all followed Qingdeng to watch in surprise as more and more people gathered around the competition site...

At this time, Kondo's voice suddenly came from beside Qingdeng and the others:

"Oh, Tachibana-kun, Chief Director, Saito-kun, you are back."

"Brother Kondo." Okita asked Kondo who was walking towards them in a daze, "Is the audience too much...?"

"Ah..." Kondo smiled helplessly, "I heard from my father that the shrine master of Yushima Tenmangu has been sparing no effort to promote today's game these days."

"Thanks to his vigorous publicity, there are extraordinarily many people who know that we will hold a competition with Little Chiba Sword Hall."

"Okay, come with me quickly, it's almost time to warm up your body."

The venue provided by Yushima Tenmangu for the Test Guard Hall and the Little Chiba Sword Hall is very large, about the size of three basketball courts.

The "Honjin" of the Test Guard Hall is located on the east side of the site, while the "Honjin" of the Xiaoqianye Sword Hall is located on the west side of the site.

After Kondo led them to the east side of the venue, Qingdeng saw Chiba Shigetaro and Sanako on the west side of the venue not long after they parted.

No one from the Xiaoqianye Sword Hall has arrived yet.

On the west side of the field, a few people headed by Chiba Shigetaro and Sanako are checking their bamboo swords.

After noticing that Qingdeng was coming and looking towards them, the two brothers and sisters raised their heads and nodded to Qingdeng.

"Kondo-kun, are Boss Kiryu and Ms. Kinoshita not here?" Qingdeng looked around at the "audience seats", and found that Boss Kiryu and the others were nowhere to be seen.

But he did not see his wife Abi.

Until the end, Ah Bi was quite opposed to co-hosting the "Red and White Battle" with Xiaoqianye Jianguan at the "Plum Blossom Festival".

However, she, who has always been against this matter, finally came to watch the game pinching her nose.

At this time, she was sitting side by side with Zhou Zhu in the "VIP seat" which was located at the north side of the venue, the best position, and only those who had a deep relationship with the Test Guard Hall and Little Chiba Sword Hall could sit.

His face was so stinky that he didn't look like he came to watch the game, but more like he came to find someone to fight...

"Boss Kiryu is usually very busy." Kondo said, "and he doesn't like to come to such noisy places, so he probably won't come to watch the game. Come, here, Tachibana-kun, this is you bamboo sword."

Boss Kiryu and Miss Kinoshita couldn't come... Qingdeng felt a little regretful.

After all, these two were already his close friends.

Qingdeng still felt a little regretful that he and the friends Okita had kindly invited a few days ago had not been seen in the "audience seat".

Qingdeng took his bamboo sword from Kondo's hand, and then began to exercise his muscles and bones with Okita and others to warm up his body.

Time passed little by little, and more and more spectators gathered around.

Suddenly, unexpectedly——the audience around suddenly became agitated.

"Ah..." Standing beside Qingdeng, Okita who was warming up with Qingdeng looked at them and muttered, "The 'big troop' from Little Chiba Sword Gym is here..."

Qingdeng raised his head, and followed Okita to the opposite of them...that is, to the west of the venue.

I saw a dozen or so youths, all in their prime of life, file in along a corner of the "audience seat", striding towards the "main formation" of Xiaoqianye Sword Gym.

They should be the contestants who will represent Little Chiba Sword Gym today.

The commotion in the "audience seat" just now was caused by them.

Many people stretched their necks, curiously looking at the contestants who finally arrived at the Little Chiba Sword Gym.

With a grinning face, Chiba Shigetaro strode towards this "big army", talking and laughing happily with them.

Qingdeng glanced around the "main formation" of the Little Chiba Sword Gym, and then looked at the "VIP seats". He didn't see the person suspected to be the current owner of the Little Chiba Sword Gym: Chiba Dingji, So he couldn't help but asked Okita beside him:

"Mr. Chiba Singkichi hasn't come yet?"

Qingdeng was still a little curious about this legendary swordsman who helped his brother carry forward Beichen's one-sword style, and really wanted to see what this legendary swordsman looked like.

"Mr. Chiba Sakakichi doesn't seem to be here yet." Okita looked around, "It should take a while before we see him."

Having said that, Okita turned his eyes back to the "Honjin" of the Little Chiba Sword Gym, which is now very lively, and the audience who are still commotion and are still curiously looking at the participants of the Little Chiba Sword Gym. them.

"...The well-known Little Chiba Sword Hall is indeed more popular than us." Okita smiled at Qingdeng, and then continued jokingly, "When we showed up just now, there were not many people around. Watch us."

"Compared with Xiaoqianye Sword Hall, there is still a big gap..."

Okita smiled and said it in a joking tone.

However, after saying this, a trace of imperceptible loneliness flashed in his eyes, which Qing Deng didn't notice...

At this moment, suddenly——

"Orange, long time no see."

A gentle male voice came from Qingdeng's side.

Hearing this male voice, Qingdeng was startled at first, and then quickly followed the sound - the source of the sound was a young man with a pretty face and a refined temperament.

"Shannan?" Qingdeng asked in surprise.

The owner of this male voice is none other than Qingdeng's old friend whom he hasn't seen for a while: Shannan Jingzhu.

*****

*****

Originally wanted to blow up more 1W, but I couldn’t write it anymore (Leopard Head Crying.jpg)

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