The Kendo Arena was bathed in brilliant sunlight outside.
Inside, the space was exceptionally vacant, save for one person standing on the pale yellow floor, swinging his bamboo sword with force.
He shouted again and again, brandishing the sword over and over.
For Sunaga Takashi, this life had beco part of his daily routine.
Yet his passion for Kendo hadn’t been dulled by these commonplace practices. On the contrary, he thoroughly enjoyed the tis spent practicing, without having to think about anything else, solely focusing on how to beco stronger.
His father, mother, classmates, and friends—everyone around him supported his practice of Kendo.
Because he was a genius.
From elentary to high school, he had won countless honors related to Kendo and defeated nurous opponents.
Everyone believed he was destined to be an outstanding police officer.
The plan his parents had laid out for him was to get into Tokyo University on his Kendo skills and then join the tropolitan Police Departnt, thus achieving social mobility.
But to Sunaga Takashi, none of that mattered; he simply loved Kendo and enjoyed the process of crossing swords with others.
However, that process was becoming increasingly fleeting.
Geniuses will always be in the minority.
At the starting line of Kendo, those who once kept pace with him had long been left far behind.
Even those opponents who had once been difficult to defeat had beco diocre.
That changed at last year’s Jade Dragon Flag tournant.
For the first ti in his life, Sunaga Takashi realized his shortcomings. His physical strength was too weak; he managed only thirty-five victories before being overwheld and ultimately defeated.
This wouldn’t do.
His goal was to break the record for consecutive wins at the Jade Dragon Flag.
To achieve that, he needed to reach fifty-six consecutive victories.
Last year’s defeat drove him to work hard on improving his physical condition and refining his technique. He was determined to break the record set by his seniors at this year’s Jade Dragon Flag.
Then, at the next Jade Dragon Flag, he’d break his own record. His desire to grow stronger, his eagerness to go further on the path of Kendo, burned within him.
Sunaga Takashi repositioned himself, and before his eyes appeared the figure of a swordsman, dressed like a ronin from an Edo-period play.
As he made progress in Kendo, the other mbers of the Kendo club were no longer suitable as his opponents, prompting him to gradually start fighting with the imaginary enemies in his mind.
The bamboo sword in his hands was no longer just a bamboo sword, but a real blade.
Their gazes locked, and in an instant, the atmosphere was filled with explosive tension.
"n!" Sunaga Takashi spotted an opening in his adversary, stepped forward, and with a loud shout, his strike tore through the air like lightning.
In an instant, blood spurted out.
That warm blood seed to fall on Aozawa’s forehead. Perhaps his Catalyst sensing ability was so strong it allowed him to perceive this scene.
More than the illusion of blood, what concerned Aozawa was Sunaga Takashi.
Dio might not rember how many loaves of bread he had eaten, but he would surely rember being defeated by Jonathan Joestar.
Aozawa was no exception.
He held a deep impression of Sunaga Takashi and had always felt there was a gap between their Kendo abilities.
The scene before him made it even clearer: he wouldn’t be able to beat Sunaga Takashi with brute strength in Kendo.
This guy actually uses ntal phantoms to help him practice!
Aozawa let go of last year’s defeat.
Against such a talented opponent, how could an ordinary person possibly win without an even bigger cheat?
He exited the state of Catalyst Induction and continued practicing Kendo.
「...」
Leaving the club building, Aozawa spotted the girl standing in the sunlight, her wheat-colored cheeks revealing a smile that outshone the sun. "Good morning, Aozawa, here’s your vegetable juice for today."
"Hmm, thanks."
Aozawa took the thermos and offhandedly asked, "Ayaka, do you think soone who sticks with a sport they don’t like can win against soone who loves that sport?"
Ayatsuki Ayaka wasn’t sure why he was asking, but she still gave it so serious thought and replied, "If soone can stick with a sport they don’t love, the effort and sweat they put in must be greater than those who love the sport.
I think that’s really cool, and they can definitely win!
If it were , I wouldn’t be able to study hard for sothing I don’t like.
I like doing makeup and nail art, so I naturally put in the effort in those areas without feeling tired at all.
Look, I got new nail art today."
With that, Ayatsuki Ayaka splayed her fingers, showing off her newly done rose-colored nail art.
Aozawa was caught off guard for a mont but then smiled, taking her right hand with his left, and purposely brought it up close for a thorough look.
His breath brushed Ayatsuki Ayaka’s fingertips.
The warm touch made her cheeks redden slightly, yet she still stubbornly said, "Haha, my ex-boyfriend also really liked to look at my nail art up close like this."
"Is that so?" Aozawa released Ayatsuki Ayaka’s soft fingers, suppressing a laugh. He found this lying version of Ayatsuki Ayaka sowhat adorably clumsy.
Normally, a real Ocean Empress would never pretend to be experienced in front of a guy, but would instead fabricate a persona of an innocent girl.
Soone like Ayatsuki Ayaka, who gets flustered and uses her ’ex-boyfriend’ as a shield, only exposes her lack of real-world experience.
Only a fake Ocean Empress would constantly boast about her exploits loudly.
Aozawa didn’t expose her but instead played along, "Ayaka is really impressive. How many boyfriends have you had?"
"Haha."
Ayatsuki Ayaka chuckled, her mind spinning rapidly before she finally decided not to give a specific number, to avoid slipping up and forgetting what she said next ti.
Imitating Tama Chan’s expression, she said nonchalantly, "I never rember that sort of thing."
"As expected of the most fashionable Hot Girl in class, you’re different from the other girls."
"Hehe."
The complint made Ayatsuki Ayaka’s expression even more proud, as if a gust of wind could lift her to the heavens.
「...」
Their idle chat ended when they reached the classroom. Aozawa headed to his seat, pulled out a chair, and glanced at the papers on his desk, asking, "What’s this?"
Phoenix Academy Maggie rubbed her temples and said irritably, "Just take a look at these drawings, and you’ll be able to guess whose masterpiece it is."
Aozawa picked up a sheet of paper and laughed, "I couldn’t tell. Tetsuji actually has quite a talent for drawing manga; he draws characters even better than ."
"Indeed, his art was surprisingly good," Phoenix Academy Maggie said. "But the plot is simply atrocious. Even a manga novice like understands that this kind of dood plot will never have a chance at serialization."
Phoenix Academy Maggie had a backlog of criticisms she wanted to vent, and upon seeing Aozawa, she let them all out.
"The manga’s male and female protagonists started cohabiting right after eting each other.
The reason was outrageous.
Just because the male lead bumped into the female lead at a corner, the slice of bread in his mouth fell to the ground, and then the female lead insisted on compensating him for the bread by letting him live at her ho, saying she’d make ten thousand slices of bread for his breakfast?!
What kind of ridiculous plot is this? There’s no way a man and woman would cohabit so casually. And what’s even more dumbfounding is the battle system—one mont it’s Sharingan, then Angel Fruit, then Ninjutsu, then Black Qi.
It’s completely confusing who’s strong and who’s weak!"
Phoenix Academy Maggie felt like reading Hojo Tetsuji’s manga was an assault on her intelligence. She said, "The manga I see Yoshikawa and the others reading never have power systems this chaotic."
"Even so, you still read it all."
"Please, if we weren’t friends, I would have burned this as trash the mont I saw it."
Phoenix Academy Maggie rolled her eyes. Who in their right mind would enjoy this stuff?
Aozawa laughed, "Maggie is really a tsundere."
Phoenix Academy Maggie imdiately put on a stern face, her eyes sharp as if she was fed up with the topic.
But inside, she was happy.
However, the years of training at Phoenix Academy had accustod her to keeping her true thoughts hidden in her heart.
The business world isn’t child’s play. It’s filled with deceit and doesn’t tolerate the slightest bit of sincerity.
"I know I’m handso, but you don’t have to stare so intently. I’ll get shy."
"Wow, that comnt makes want to vomit."
Phoenix Academy Maggie retorted, the tension on her face easing as she turned her attention back to the manga. "You talk to Tetsuji about this plot later and see how he changes it," she said. "I can’t advise him.
Thirty pages in one night. It just shows how rushed the plot is."
Aozawa sat down, organized the drafts, and looked them over while asking, "Were you with Yoshikawa and the others this morning?"
"Hold on, I won’t praise Tetsuji until he produces results."
"I’m not asking about that. I just want to know, are you and them getting along well?"
"Of course." After saying this, Phoenix Academy Maggie suddenly realized sothing and peered forward. "Aozawa, don’t tell you wanted to beco friends with Yoshikawa and the others from the start?"
"You’ve guessed it, but no candy reward for you."
"Mind your own business."
Phoenix Academy Maggie muttered under her breath. If this was before she beca friends with Yoshikawa, she would have had a completely different attitude. Now she just propped her face with her right hand, saying, "Was the expression on my face earlier that obvious?"
"Because I’ve been watching you, Maggie. I know you’re lonely."
"Tch."
Phoenix Academy Maggie snorted. A touch of panic rose in her heart, and she felt a bit wary of looking directly at Aozawa.
She forcibly suppressed that restless emotion and turned away, saying, "Class is starting. I’m not chatting about those trivial things with you."
After turning around, a faint blush crept across her fair cheeks. What did he an by ’watching her all the ti’? she thought. Really now. Is Aozawa really the playboy she suspected? How could he so nonchalantly say those words to a girl without considering the impact?
Phoenix Academy Maggie opened her textbook on the desk, trying to dispel the unusual thoughts in her mind with knowledge.
She was a logical person, incapable of letting fleeting emotions control her heart.
Nor could she ignore the future to focus only on the present.
Phoenix Academy Maggie had always been proud of this trait, but now she sowhat resented her own foresight.
She felt a hint of envy for Ayatsuki Ayaka’s mindset—focusing only on the present without worrying about the future.
Only such people could show such radiant smiles.
She glanced subconsciously at Ayatsuki Ayaka, who was laughing with friends.
Those two dimples are truly adorable, Phoenix Academy Maggie thought, withdrawing her gaze and continuing to review her lessons.
Behind her, Aozawa flipped through the pages of the manga, feeling an inexplicable urge to pick at his feet.
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