Kondo did not call a stop to the match, so Suzuki could only continue fighting.
“Haaah–!”
A sharp cleave and a loud kiai were released simultaneously.
The bamboo sword traced an arc, striking Aoto’s helmet-covered head.
Suzuki didn’t have much hope for this strike; through his previous exchanges with Aoto, he already knew that his opponent possessed excellent footwork, making it difficult to hit him.
And indeed, it was as Suzuki expected; his strike was once again dodged by Aoto.
However—even though he had anticipated that this strike would yield no results, a hint of surprise still appeared on Suzuki’s face.
It wasn’t surprise that Aoto could dodge his attack.
Rather, it was surprise that Aoto’s evasion speed seemed to be a little faster than before.
—This person…
why does his dodging speed seem to have increased?
Suzuki quickly racked his brain, pondering the answer to this question, but no matter how he thought, he couldn’t come up with a convincing explanation.
Kondo and Okita, who were off to the side, knew the answer—Aoto had slightly altered his sword-holding posture, adjusting his body’s center of gravity to one more suitable for holding a sword, and this correction of his stance made his evasion more effortless.
After dodging Suzuki’s cleave, Aoto immediately counterattacked.
Unaccustomed to emitting kiai, Aoto silently lowered his stance slightly, pushed his bamboo sword forward, and aimed a horizontal cut at Suzuki’s chest.
Clang!
Suzuki parried Aoto’s strike with his sword.
However, despite making a successful defense, Suzuki still showed a look of astonishment, as if he had been hit.
Having fought intensely with Aoto until now, he clearly felt that Aoto’s previous sword strike, both in timing and angle, was far more exquisite than before…
Suzuki was still surprised by Aoto’s transformation, while Aoto—he was carefully observing the “high-speed camera” in his mind, which hadn’t stopped since the beginning.
The “high-speed camera” in Aoto’s mind was replaying the attack he had just launched against Suzuki.
—No…
this last sword strike was a bit too high, and the center of gravity and the way I held the sword still seem a bit off…
it doesn’t feel smooth when cutting…
Aoto quickly retracted his sword and once again slightly adjusted his body’s center of gravity and his grip on the sword, then quickly unleashed another strike at Suzuki.
—This grip feels much smoother…
…
…
If Kondo and Okita’s faces had only shown a slight hint of surprise earlier, now they were so astonished that their mouths were agape.
They watched Aoto, who was improving at a visible speed on the field, with a dazed, soulless expression.
They saw with extreme clarity—how Aoto’s movements were becoming increasingly refined.
Earlier, Suzuki could unilaterally dominate Aoto.
But now, after only a moment, the situation had undergone a massive change.
From a purely swordsmanship perspective, Suzuki was still stronger than Aoto, but he could no longer unilaterally suppress Aoto as he had at the beginning.
The rapidly improving Aoto had already unleashed several highly threatening attacks on Suzuki, causing Suzuki to appear flustered multiple times.
The three apprentices who had come to the dojo with Suzuki had all stopped their earlier mockery of Aoto.
They, one by one, now stared blankly at Aoto, who was still improving on the field, just like Kondo and Okita, showing an expression of: (Д)
Okita then raised his hands and rubbed his eyes vigorously, then continued to look at Aoto on the field.
After confirming several times that his eyes weren’t deceiving him, excitement slowly appeared on Okita’s cheeks, and his hands, which naturally rested on his thighs, unconsciously clenched the fabric on his legs.
“Kondo-kyo,” Okita said in a low voice to Kondo, with barely concealed excitement, “We…
seem to have hit the jackpot today…!”
Kondo did not reply to Okita.
He was now just staring intently at Aoto, whose movements had become even more exquisite, with wide, excited eyes.
…
…
“Hoo…
hoo…
hoo…
hoo…”
The protective helmet Aoto wore had poor ventilation, and most of the hot air exhaled from his mouth and nose couldn’t dissipate outside the protective gear, making him feel stuffy and uncomfortable.
—This body…
its stamina is really bad…!
And the arm muscles are also terrible; this light bamboo sword, after only a few swings, is already starting to ache…!
Aoto no longer remembered how many times he had complained about this body’s poor physical fitness since he transmigrated.
The decline in physical stamina also made Aoto’s attacks and evasion movements a bit sluggish.
Suzuki’s stamina, on the other hand, seemed to be on par with Aoto’s; his movements were no longer as agile as when the fight began.
—When will this match…
finally stop?
Just as Aoto was thinking this, he heard the voice he most wanted to hear—
“Alright!
That’s enough!” Kondo stood up and said loudly.
Aoto had been waiting for this sentence for a long time.
As soon as Kondo’s words fell, Aoto immediately dropped his sword stance and retreated, and Suzuki made the same movement.
The two stood still after creating some distance, then bowed to each other.
Aoto had been hoping to hear the system sound in his mind again since the beginning.
But even now, there was still no sound in his mind.
This indicated that—Suzuki did not possess any special talent.
Aoto felt a slight regret in his heart, but he wasn’t too disheartened, as he had already prepared himself mentally; after all, the system’s usage introduction clearly stated: only a very small number of people possess special talents.
“You two have worked hard; you must be tired after fighting for so long.
“Yes!” After shouting a resounding “Yes,” Suzuki quickly walked off the field, knelt down very properly on the ground, and skillfully removed his protective gear.
Aoto, who followed closely behind Suzuki off the field, was now also removing the protective gear from his head.
And an awkward scene unfolded at this moment.
Due to his unfamiliarity with wearing protective gear, Aoto fumbled with the headgear for a long time but couldn’t remove it.
Aoto was now like a cat that had accidentally stuck its head into a chip can, desperately pushing the chip can with its two small paws, trying to pull its head out of the can.
“Tachibana-kun, let me help you.”
At this moment, Kondo’s deep voice sounded from behind Aoto.
Aoto felt a strong hand fumbling around the back of his head for a few moments, then the protective gear loosened and fell from Aoto’s head.
“Thank you…” Aoto turned to thank Kondo, who had helped him remove the protective gear.
However, as soon as his gaze turned to Kondo, the rest of Aoto’s words of thanks were completely stuck in his throat.
He saw Kondo, who was very masculine in both appearance and demeanor, squatting behind him, looking at him with “affectionate” eyes.
[Japanese History Classroom is Open!]
Today, let’s talk about the swords of samurai!
If you’ve watched Japanese historical dramas set in the Edo Period, you should know—samurai in the Edo Period generally carried two swords at their waist.
The longer one was called a [katana].
The shorter one was called a [wakizashi].
Many people have a misconception about the wakizashi, thinking it’s a sword specifically used for seppuku.
This idea is actually incorrect.
The sword most commonly used by samurai for seppuku was the even shorter [kaiken].
If a kaiken wasn’t available, then the shorter wakizashi would be used as a substitute.
If you like, you can even use a katana for seppuku.
The wakizashi was actually the samurai’s secondary weapon.
The wakizashi to a samurai was like a pistol to a soldier; it was a secondary weapon used when the katana was damaged or in confined spaces.
By the way—tachi and katana are not the same thing.
The tachi was popular in the 11th century Heian Period, primarily used in cavalry battles, while the katana was mainly popular in the muromachi period, Warring States Period, and Edo Period, primarily used in infantry battles.
[tachi were hung at the waist, blade facing down.
katana were directly inserted into the belt, blade facing up.]
Generally speaking—tachi used for cavalry battles were longer than katana, and had a greater curve.
But this is only generally speaking.
Some katana were actually longer than tachi.
Author will teach you how to distinguish between katana and tachi in a museum—those placed on a sword stand with the blade facing up are katana, and vice versa are tachi, just like the direction these two types of swords are worn at the waist.
Blade up means katana, and vice versa means tachi.
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