"Two points! The winner is Chestnut Mountain!"
Jiro's judgnt was without any bias, rely stating the fact.
From the start of the bout to the end, less than two minutes had passed before Kenji Kojima was defeated.
Such is the brevity and cruelty of Sword Dao.
Kenji Kojima and Chestnut Mountain bowed to each other and exited the competition area, returning to their respective sides.
Aozawa smiled and said, "It's fine. Even if they win four matches, if they lose the last one, the victory still goes to Brilliant High School."
Kenji Kojima smiled back and replied, "It's normal for us to lose. Our Kendo club isn't particularly strong, after all. Don't be too nervous."
"Captain, are you really being sincere?"
After a brief silence, a trace of unwillingness was visible on Kenji Kojima's face behind his mask as he murmured softly, "Aozawa, I hope you can win."
"Don't worry, leave it to ."
Aozawa gave his shoulder a reassuring pat.
...
On the other side, Chestnut Mountain returned to his team without saying anything.
In his view, he would be able to leave shortly. Brilliant High School was even weaker than he had imagined.
"Ready!"
Jiro called out.
Yutaro Shidori stood up and moved to the center of the area, his hands in the standard "chudan-no-kamae" stance.
Aozawa also stepped forward and said, "Shidori-san, please go easy on ."
"Aozawa-senpai, it is I who should be saying please go easy on ."
"Don't worry, I'll take good care of teaching you," Aozawa suddenly said, breaking decorum with his out-of-place remark.
Yutaro Shidori was slightly taken aback but then smiled beneath his mask. "Okay."
He wasn't angry. Making him angry was a difficult feat. Everyone who knew Yutaro Shidori agreed that he was incredibly mild-mannered, to the point where it seed he had no temper at all.
However, his style of Sword Dao was anything but mild. It was extrely aggressive, making him the most ferocious mber of the Qinghuateng Sword Departnt.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, they ceased any further formalities.
Yutaro Shidori's eyes sharpened, and he shouted, "n!"
With his right foot stepping forward, he entered the striking distance of "one sword one step."
Like a sudden downpour, his bamboo sword fiercely aid for Aozawa's mask.
Aozawa retreated quickly, intercepting with his own bamboo sword.
After a sharp CLANG, Yutaro Shidori noticed an opening in Aozawa's defense and roared, "Do!"
His bamboo sword chopped downward in response.
It must be said, the timing was exquisite.
A gray filter instantly covered Aozawa's eyes.
Ti stood still at that mont.
He saw Yutaro Shidori's movent clearly and tried to adjust, anticipating his opponent's action well in advance. An attack that would have caught him by surprise before now had no chance of succeeding.
Ti resud its flow.
Quickly dodging Yutaro Shidori's bamboo sword, Aozawa countered loudly, "n!"
THWACK!
Yutaro Shidori froze.
So did Jiro, along with everyone else present.
No one called the score.
Kenji Kojima snapped out of it and shouted, "One point!"
The other three mbers displayed smiles and clenched fists excitedly.
No one wanted to lose if they could win.
Regaining his senses, Yutaro Shidori still felt bewildered. He had been confident that his strike would have landed on Aozawa. How could it have missed and allowed him to be countered? Could it be that Aozawa deliberately revealed an opening?
Yutaro Shidori took a deep breath. He had been practicing Sword Dao for so long that it had beco instinctual, allowing him to detect an opponent's weakness. Sotis, he knew whether a strike would hit even before the bamboo sword fell. In the previous posture, he had been completely sure of landing his hit.
But reality told him he was being overconfident; he couldn't touch Aozawa at all.
Was there such a high level of feinting?
Yutaro Shidori had a complex expression as he said softly, "Aozawa-senpai, you are truly strong!"
"You're not bad yourself," Aozawa replied genuinely, admitting that without the use of Ti Suspension, he wouldn't have been a match for Yutaro Shidori based on Sword Dao skills alone. This guy truly deserved the nickna of a monster rookie. The innate talent he possessed in Sword Dao had already surpassed the limits an ordinary person could reach.
Since everyone's basically using 'cheats,' it all cos down to whose 'cheat' is more powerful.
...
Yutaro Shidori quickly composed himself. He had lost before; it was quite normal to lose against a strong opponent. The key was whether he could learn from this defeat. That was what mattered most.
He readopted his stance.
Such an attitude was very comforting to Jiro, though it also made him feel sowhat disappointed. Such a perfect student left him with no room to offer guidance. As a coach, it was indeed disheartening, making it seem as if the student's achievents had nothing to do with him.
Yutaro Shidori assud a defensive stance. He sought to find a breach in Aozawa's attacks and then counterstrike to claim victory.
Seeing this, Aozawa stepped forward, using his left foot as a pivot, his body bursting with forward montum.
Now was the mont! Yutaro Shidori was certain that he had caught Aozawa's opening. But was such an opening truly a vulnerability? Or could it be that Aozawa was deliberately showing an opening?
This doubt arose in his heart, causing Yutaro Shidori to subconsciously dodge.
This action made Jiro's brows furrow. He knew that Yutaro Shidori's greatest strength was his instinct. That extraordinary instinct allowed Yutaro Shidori to capture the enemy's weaknesses in the shortest ti possible, thus making his move, forming a style as fierce as thunder.
However, such a style was now sealed because Yutaro Shidori could not confirm whether Aozawa's move was a feint or a true opening.
Jiro frowned slightly. It wasn't just Yutaro; even he couldn't distinguish whether Aozawa's movents were real or fake. This person's strength was truly terrifying. Sunaga Takashi was actually able to defeat such a monster. His true strength indeed went beyond what was displayed at the national competition.
Aozawa advanced in pursuit.
More and more openings made Yutaro Shidori unable to refrain any longer.
"Do!" he roared, and his body followed his bamboo sword as he lunged forward, striking Aozawa with extre ferocity.
This strike felt very smooth to him, as though opening a bottle of mineral water would definitely yield mineral water. He was also certain that he could definitely hit Aozawa's body.
The gray filter once again covered Aozawa's eyes, allowing him to see Yutaro Shidori's attack trajectory clearly.
As ti resud its flow, Aozawa imdiately dodged Yutaro Shidori's attack, not giving his opponent ti to react. "n!"
THWACK! The bamboo sword struck Yutaro Shidori's face guard hard.
"Two points, winner Aozawa!"
Jiro, this ti without surprise, quickly announced the result of the match.
Yutaro Shidori lost.
This fact left the four from Aohana Fuji High School in shock.
Yutaro Shidori, despite being a first-year freshman, had already surpassed any mber of the Qinghuateng Sword Departnt. He was arguably the Qinghuateng Sword Departnt's strongest ace.
"How could this happen?" Masato Mogi, the vanguard, growled in disbelief.
Yutaro Shidori was also in a daze. He could not imagine how his strike, which he was a hundred percent sure would hit, was perfectly anticipated. How could this be? He couldn't help but doubt whether his judgnt in that instant had been correct.
"Aozawa-senpai, how did you manage that? No, sorry, I was presumptuous." Yutaro Shidori ca to his senses and quickly bowed. How could soone reveal such things to others?
He straightened up, with only one question in mind. "Last year at the Jade Dragon Flag competition, you lost to Sunaga-senpai. Was your strength the sa as it is now?"
"It's not the sa. I am much stronger now than I was last year. But your strength is far from Sunaga's. In the national competition, you couldn't possibly win against him."
"Many people have said that. Is Sunaga-senpai really that strong?"
"At this year's Jade Dragon Flag, no one besides can stop Sunaga."
"I think, Aozawa-senpai, your judgnt will be wrong." Yutaro Shidori revealed an uncommon sharp resolve and said, "This year at the Jade Dragon Flag, if I face you, Aozawa-senpai, I won't lose again! And I will win the national competition!"
"I will be waiting for you at the peak."
Aozawa smiled, not disliking the young man's spirit.
...
Although the Aohana Vine team won the friendly match overall, none of them were happy. They had lost the most important match. This ant their ace had been defeated. Even if they made it to the final round of the national competition, they would face an insurmountable mountain.
In the van on the way back, the atmosphere was heavy, a stark contrast to their excitent on the journey there.
Jiro thought it necessary to speak up. "Are you scared?"
"Coach Jiro!"
"Mogi, there's no need to object. Everyone feels fear at tis; that's not shaful. Being too frightened to wield your bamboo sword—that's what's truly shaful."
Jiro spoke solemnly, "There is still ti before the national competition. Strive to beco stronger, then push for the peak."
Yutaro Shidori said, "I want to participate in the Jade Dragon Flag."
"Good! Whether it's the national competition or the Jade Dragon Flag, let's win them all!" Masato Mogi exclaid passionately. "I too want to face those strong guys. Facing such formidable people, even if you lose, you gain sothing!"
"Gain confusion? I really can't imagine how Aozawa dodged Yutaro's attack."
"Kumakura, you! Don't say such disheartening things!"
"His movents indeed looked as though he had seen through Yutaro's attack in advance."
"To be able to see through Yutaro's attack? That's really terrifying."
"Right, let's call Aozawa 'Eye of God' from now on. What do you think of this title?"
Masato Mogi's words elicited strange looks from the others.
"This is no ti to be coining such cringeworthy nicknas. 'Eye of God'... why not 'Hand of God' while you're at it?"
"Kumakura, you're really stupid. Seeing through Yutaro Shidori's moves—isn't that befitting of the 'Eye of God'? As for the 'Hand of God,' we'll reserve that for Sunaga."
"Idiot."
"Idiot."
"Agreed."
Listening to their conversation, Masato Mogi shouted, "Chestnut Mountain, how could you agree with Kumakura too!"
As Yutaro Shidori listened to his seniors argue, a smile appeared on his face. It was his fortune to have joined the Qinghuateng Sword Departnt. Next ti, he would definitely win. Sunaga Takashi, Aozawa, just you wait!
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