Inside the Kendo Club—for a moment—it was quiet.
Mainly—Sakurai Saki's statement just now was truly bizarre.
"You—no rank?" Yagyu Munehide asked.
"I've only been practicing kendo for a few months at most—so I haven't had time to test for a rank," Sakurai said, holding his sword and assuming a Chudan stance.
'Then you were acting like an ace just now—damn it—you almost scared me to death!' Yagyu Munehide thought to himself.
Usually—the anchor is an ace—and the fifth position is the general's position. How could there be a general with no rank?
Perhaps this school didn't intend to win—it was just for practice?
"Ready! First match!"
The referee gave the command.
The two stood at their designated positions—striking a pose.
The distance was about two meters.
"Begin!!"
As the words fell—
Sakurai took a step forward and struck down directly!
Defeating an opponent in their own specialized field should be quite demoralizing, right?
"Hooah!!!"
Having practiced with Kojima a lot—Sakurai also liked to shout when striking down.
"Thud!"
One strike!
The bamboo swords collided with a crisp sound!
"What? Is this all your strength?" Sakurai's sword pressed against his—preventing him from using his full power.
Yagyu Munehide's hand holding the sword was a little unsteady.
'What did this person eat to grow up?'
His strength—which he had always been proud of—was completely outmatched.
Sakurai released the pressure—then once again made an overhead downward strike!
"Thud!"
Another strike.
"Seeing you've been using the overhead stance—I also felt like trying it out on a whim," Sakurai said with a slight smile.
'Damn it,' Yagyu Munehide cursed under his breath.
Only an overhead stance? And so fast! Damn! Where did this brute come from?!
His response was another attack from Sakurai!
"Bang!"
The continuous attacks were like a violent storm.
The entire hall echoed with the sound of bamboo swords clashing—and Yagyu Munehide moved closer and closer to the edge.
In kendo matches—being struck out of bounds also counts as a loss!
"Hey—don't you know that hitting the bamboo sword doesn't score points?" Yagyu Munehide gritted his teeth and said.
Sakurai didn't speak.
He just curled his lips slightly upwards and chopped down again.
"You were very happy bullying my junior just now—weren't you?"
"I bullied him—so you're going to bully me?" Yagyu Munehide barely resisted his offense.
Sakurai heard this and realized that it was indeed true—the other party hadn't provoked him.
It would be a bit impolite to make him drop his weapon and lose.
So—he began to shift his target from the bamboo sword to the scoring points on the head!
"Thud!"
The attack was blocked again—very barely.
"What? Not giving up?" Sakurai asked.
I thought you were going to surrender.
"All my behind are substitute players—they won't even get past one round with you!"
"Then wouldn't it be fine to lose? As last year's top four—you can't afford to lose?" Sakurai mocked.
"Bang!" Another strike.
Yagyu Munehide's sword almost flew out of his hand—but he quickly grabbed it back.
"Damn! You Tokyo people are really cunning—putting someone with no rank like you at the end!" he shouted.
"I'm from Kyoto," Sakurai retorted.
Go ahead and generalize—just don't badmouth me. I'm from Kyoto—so don't awkwardly slander me—in short—don't awkwardly slander me!
"Referee—isn't this person insulting a player? Is that against the rules?" Sakurai turned to the referee and asked.
"That's not an insult to a player—it's not to the extent of a violation," Ohmonto Saburo said fairly and justly.
You're almost winning—and with such overwhelming strength—you're still messing with the other person's mentality?
Sakurai is a bit of a jerk.
After getting tired of playing—Sakurai raised his bamboo sword high again—chopped down—and shouted:
"Men!!"
With a bang—Yagyu Munehide breathed a sigh of relief.
"Valid strike! Ippon!" The referee raised his flag and announced.
Finally lost.
He turned to leave.
"Hey! There's still one more round!" Sakurai shouted at him.
Hearing this—Yagyu Munehide turned his head—his face filled with despair.
Big Brother—please spare me! Don't torment me anymore!
Do you have to kill someone and then punish their heart too?!
In the afternoon—after practicing kendo—everyone went to the inn for the night.
It was a rather luxurious inn—with even a large courtyard outside—planted with bamboo and seasonal flowers.
A device called a Shishi-odoshi nearby was filled with flowing water—making a light tapping sound as it struck a stone.
The Kendo Club members all said they were exhausted.
Practicing in protective gear was one thing—but there was more than one school that came earlier—and basically everyone had taken turns more than ten times—even the substitute members were not overlooked by Ohmonto Saburo.
Entering the inn—everyone walked towards their rooms.
The rooms booked for the students this time were communal rooms—with six people per room.
The teacher—on the other hand—paid for his own room. He seemed reluctant to sleep with the students—probably fearing he wouldn't be able to join in their youthful conversations—and that it would spoil everyone's mood.
At night—after dinner—
Sakurai went to the bathhouse to soak.
In Japan's inns—it's hard to find one without a bathhouse.
After washing his body and entering the open-air bathhouse—Sakurai's footsteps stopped.
"Hmm? Sakurai-kun?" A sharp-eyed man with a center part in his hair was leaning against the edge of the bathhouse—soaking.
Upon seeing Sakurai enter—he greeted him.
This was the Five Sisters' father.
"Nakano-sensei?" Sakurai Saki couldn't figure it out.
Why would he see his employer at the inn for the kendo training camp?
"What a coincidence—Sakurai-kun," Nakano Maruo said verbally—but in his heart—he was thinking about something.
'Nino suggested coming here—but the other four didn't refuse.' Nakano Maruo had never seen his five daughters so united in opinion before.
Could it be related to this Sakurai-kun?
It must be.
"Yes—Nakano-sensei—are you here on a business trip?" Sakurai remembered he was the director of a private hospital.
He said—entering the open-air bathhouse.
"Family trip." Nakano Maruo's voice was cold—but this seemed to be his speaking habit.
"They came too? What are they doing on Kyushu Island—the southernmost part of Japan—in the middle of summer? Isn't it hot?" Sakurai Saki said—unconsciously revealing a somewhat desperate expression.
I finally got out of Tokyo once—and now I'm going to be entangled with these five idiots?
Am I really that unlucky?
In the middle of summer—why don't you go to Hokkaido to play!
"You don't know?" Maruo looked at his expression and found it interesting.
This tutor seemed to dislike his daughters.
Even somewhat hated them.
'He dislikes them—yet he made them improve fifty ranks in one semester. Interesting.'
Sakurai's thoughts raced—and a few seconds later—he probably guessed who did it.
"Nino suggested the trip to Kyushu," Nakano Maruo gave the answer.
"I told them last time that I was participating in a kendo competition—and I didn't expect them to actually come to watch," Sakurai Saki explained.
"I see—but Sakurai-kun—you actually know kendo? I heard you didn't join any clubs last year or this year."
You certainly did your research thoroughly.
"My skill is average—nothing worth mentioning."
"Is that so?"
Looking at your confident expression—I don't think it's average—Sakurai-kun.
However—knowing Sakurai Saki's attitude towards his daughters—Nakano Maruo felt a bit relieved as a father.
"I am very satisfied with the exam results this time. I will appropriately increase your salary for next semester."
"Sakurai-kun—thank you for being their tutor—truly—thank you very much." Maruo had always been very worried about his daughters' grades.
These words came from the bottom of his heart.
"You're welcome."
Nakano Maruo chuckled at his words.
This young man is truly interesting.
He doesn't even bother to be modest.