My Gang of Swordsmen

However, in light of having known Toshisuke’s “true nature,” being tightly embraced together with him now… it just doesn’t seem appropriate.

Upon hearing Aoto’s apologetic voice, Toshisuke seemed to come back to his senses, his eyes regaining a twinkle of light.

“No, no worries, no need to apologize…”

Toshisuke hesitated for a brief moment, then slowly released his arms, separating from Aoto, and his two small feet landed back on the ground with a “pat.”

Mukiwa probably never would have imagined… that Aoto had just been tightly embraced with a beautiful girl whose looks rivaled hers…

Suddenly, after Mukiwa, a voice quite familiar to Aoto rang out from nearby.

“Yo! Mr. Tachibana!”

It was the voice of Chiba Shigetarou.

Led by Chiba Dingji, a group from the Little Chiba Sword Dojo was coming over in a grand procession.

“Hmm…”

Upon seeing Sazanoko walking beside Chiba Shigetarou, Mukiwa immediately seemed to stiffen as if facing a formidable enemy, then subtly shifted her lotus steps to stand closer to Aoto, her beautiful eyes wide and round, staring intently at Sazanoko like a kitten defending its territory.

Unfortunately, Mukiwa’s actions were all in vain.

Because Sazanoko, who had been watching Aoto, didn’t even glance at Mukiwa…

“Mr. Tachibana, congratulations to you all.” Aoto’s old friend, Yamanaka Keisuke, revealed a refined and sincere smile, offering his heartfelt congratulations in earnest words.

Upon finishing speaking, Yamanaka Keisuke shifted his gaze, scanning the faces of Aoto, Toshisuke, Kondo, Hijikata, and the others from Shiwei Hall.

“What a wonderful atmosphere this Sword Dojo has…” Yamanaka Keisuke murmured to himself in a voice only he could hear.

Chiba Dingji, leading the Little Chiba Sword Dojo group, offered straightforward congratulations to Shiwei Hall for winning the victory in the competition.

“Mr. Tachibana, when did you learn the Beichen One-Sword Style swordsmanship?”

Out of the blue, Chiba Shigetarou asked Aoto this question with a face full of curiosity.

Aoto had used the classic opening and moves of the Beichen One-Sword Style—this scene greatly surprised many people.

Even those living under the same roof as Aoto, like Toshisuke, Zhouzhu, and Kondo, didn’t know when Aoto had “secretly learned” the Beichen One-Sword Style.

Therefore, upon hearing Chiba Shigetarou’s question, they immediately focused their attention on Aoto.

“Learned it subconsciously.”

Aoto replied with a smile.

“Apart from Natural Reasoning Heart Stream, the swordsmanship school I am most exposed to daily is the Beichen One-Sword Style. So subconsciously, I ended up learning some moves from the Beichen One-Sword Style.”

It wasn’t a lie or a brush-off.

Aoto was telling the truth, with not an ounce of falsehood.

An innate swordsmanship talent hundreds of times beyond ordinary, Ghost Heart, Gathering Spirit… it’s difficult to measure Aoto’s current swordsmanship talent with exact words or numbers.

Aoto clearly felt: at present, when learning any knowledge or skills related to swordsmanship, his grasp and progress speed were unbelievably fast!

No need to painstakingly delve into it. Generally, almost all sword techniques could be understood thoroughly and imitated after watching a few times carefully.

Aoto had indeed unconsciously mastered many Beichen One-Sword Style sword techniques during his daily interactions with Beichen One-Sword Style swordsmen like Sazanoko and Chiba Shigetarou.

If someone else claimed that they had learned these Beichen One-Sword Style techniques subconsciously, Chiba Shigetarou and the others might think that person was insincere or not telling the truth.

However, when Aoto said such things, Chiba Shigetarou and the others found it very convincing.

After all, Aoto was recognized as a genius, and everyone had long been aware of it.

They had long been accustomed to witnessing all kinds of incredible occurrences and astonishing feats concerning Aoto.

“…Mr. Tachibana.”

Suddenly, a deep male voice arose behind Aoto, making him raise an eyebrow involuntarily.

Aoto turned around and saw Chiba Daisaburo and Tadomaru Yorozu leading a group from Xuanwu Hall, slowly approaching.

The victorious army and the defeated army met… the surrounding atmosphere instantly became somewhat delicate.

Most of the Xuanwu Hall swordsmen, represented by Tadomaru Yorozu, stared at Aoto and the others with a heavy expression… their strong frustration, unwillingness, and dissatisfaction were vividly expressed in their eyes.

To think they lost to Shiwei Hall, whom they had previously defeated… This result was indeed hard for them to accept—this was the message conveyed by Tadomaru Yorozu and the others’ gaze.

Although they had successfully defeated Xuanwu Hall, the people from Shiwei Hall did not display obvious satisfaction… they weren’t foolish, knowing that it was more accurate to say “Xuanwu Hall lost to Aoto, Toshisuke, Kondo, Hijikata, and Inoue” than “Xuanwu Hall lost to Shiwei Hall.”

Basically, it was all thanks to Aoto and the other four contributing the most, with the majority of the “points” going to Aoto, while the others had hardly made any significant contributions.

Aoto, Toshisuke, and the others didn’t show expressions of satisfaction, so the rest had no grounds to act high and mighty either.

Compared to Tadomaru Yorozu and the others, Chiba Daisaburo’s expression was much calmer.