"Mr. Chiba!"

Suddenly, a loud shout echoed in the air of the dojo.

It was Nagakura's voice.

Nagakura's strong body like an iron tower shook, and in a blink of an eye he quickly stood in front of Chiba Eijiro.

Before Chiba Eijiro could ask why, Nagakura said in a respectful voice:

"Mr. Chiba, I...ah, no, can I kindly ask you to give me some advice?"

"Oh?" Chiba Eijiro raised his eyebrows, "You want to compete with me?"

Nagakura's pupils were burning with fiery light - just like Ayoto's just now.

"I have heard of your name before I left my hometown, and I have been fascinated by your power for a long time!"

"I really want to experience for myself how far there is between me and a truly strong person!"

"It's enough to compete with me!"

"I hope you can make it happen!"

After saying that, Nagakura bent his waist and bowed respectfully to Eijiro Chiba at a 90-degree angle.

Nagakura's sudden invitation to compete made Qingto and others stunned.

He is outspoken, speaks out when he has something to say, and acts vigorously and resolutely... very much like Nagakura's stupid personality.

Perhaps after seeing the fierce battle between Aoto and Chiba Eijiro just now, the warrior soul in his heart was ignited. "I really want to compete with Chiba Eijiro" written all over Nagakura's face.

Chiba Eijiro raised his gaze, looked at Nagakura Shinpachi, who was a head taller than him, and smiled slightly:

"Nice look."

Chiba Eijiro put down the bamboo sword on his shoulder.

"Okay, let's have a test with you."

Nagakura's cheeks were filled with visible ecstasy: "I can't thank you enough!"

At this time, a baritone voice that seemed to have no emotional content suddenly sounded.

This baritone voice seemed to have some magical power, causing Qingdeng and others' expressions to change slightly.

"...Mr. Chiba, can you please compete with me?"

The owner of this baritone voice... Saito, looked at Chiba Eijiro with blazing eyes.

"I also want to experience for myself how much I am lacking compared to the strongest swordsman of Edo."

"Mr. Chiba, please make it happen."

Saito remained expressionless as always.

But in his pupils, there was a vague fighting spirit like flames.

Qingto and others... now looked at Saito in astonishment.

The reason why they are like this is not because Saito, after Nagakura, also begged Chiba Eijiro for advice, nor is it because Saito's eyes are shining with fighting spirit.

"Saito." Harada opened his eyes wide and opened his mouth. He looked at Saito blankly. His expression seemed to be that he had seen something incredible. "How can you say so many words in one breath?"

?"

Qingnobu was the one who had the longest relationship with Saito among everyone present - he was also shocked that Saito said so many words in one breath.

Saito, when was the last time he spoke so many words in one breath?

Rather...Has Saito ever said so many words in one breath before?

Facing Harada's doubts, Saito glanced at him lightly: "I have a tongue. Of course I can say so many words in one breath."

What a short but convincing answer... Harada, who was having trouble with his brain, showed an expression of "Ah, it's true."

Saito said seriously, "I have a tongue"... For some reason, it gave Aonto and the others a strange sense of absurdity.

Chiba Eijiro, who didn't understand Saito's taciturn character and didn't quite understand why Aoto and the others reacted so much to Saito's speech, generously shared his soft smile with Saito.

"You also want to compete with me...that's okay."

"Then line up and take your time one by one."

After saying that, Chiba Eijiro put the mask back on his head that he had just taken off.

…

…

The position has been reversed.

Aoto, who had just stood on the stage to compete with Eijiro Chiba, was now sitting on the edge of the dojo watching the battle.

Nagakura and others, who had just been sitting on the edge of the dojo to watch the fight, stood on the dojo to compete with Eijiro Chiba.

Nagakura, who was the first to take the field, took the initiative at the beginning of the game and launched a fierce attack on Eijiro Chiba.

Nagakura has a strong body and uses the Shinto Muken-ryu style that focuses on overpowering the opponent's momentum and strength. At the same time, due to his personal personality, he particularly likes frontal attacks. Nagakura is currently the person with the highest attack power in the entire trial defense hall.

.

Qingto has always felt that weapons such as axes and mallets may be more suitable for "power swordsmen" like Nagakura, who have full attack power and a very violent fighting style.

However, no matter how high the strength is, it is useless if it cannot hit the opponent.

No matter how hard Nagakura swung his sword, until he voluntarily surrendered due to exhaustion, his bamboo sword did not touch Chiba Eijiro at all.

Saito comes up second. He is the opposite of Nagakura, but the same type of "speed and skill swordsman" as Eijiro Chiba.

Because he practices Mudai, a school that focuses on how to kill people efficiently, Saito's fighting style is to "slaughter the enemy's vital points in the fastest and least labor-intensive way."

Therefore, the contest between Saito and Eijiro Chiba presented a battle of speed to Ayoto and others.

The bodies of the two people left a series of afterimages on the dojo. They came and went, and the shadows of their swords flashed rapidly.

However... even though it seemed like he was fighting fiercely with Eijiro Chiba, the result of the battle was almost the same as that of Ayoto and Nagakura - he was suppressed severely, and until the end of the contest, his sword did not touch it.

Chiba Eijiro.

Following Saito, Harada, who was itching to watch the battle, raised his wooden gun and expressed that he also wanted to ask Chiba Eijiro for advice. Chiba Eijiro, not knowing whether it was because he was in a good mood or for some other reason, generously agreed.

Against the King of Hundred Weapons, whose attack range is several times longer than that of a sword, Eijiro Chiba still displayed his king-like strength.

Harada's attack and defense range were nothing to Eijiro Chiba.

Chiba Eijiro was able to rush in front of Harada casually, but Harada's spear could not stop Chiba Eijiro.

Ever since - Harada also followed in the footsteps of Nagakura and the others, without even touching Eijiro Chiba.

After Harada was defeated, everyone except Shusuke, Kondo and Okita had stepped forward to compete with Eijiro Chiba. Judging from the final result... it was Aoto who had the best result - at least Aoto

Noboru relied on "identifying the position by listening to the sound" and successfully hit Chiba Eijiro, but Nagakura and others could not even touch Chiba Eijiro...

After a series of fierce battles with Aonto, Nagakura, Saito, and Harada, Chiba Eijiro finally showed obvious fatigue.

He took off his mask, a lot of sweat poured down his face, and it was difficult to keep his breathing steady.

"Okay, I don't have the energy to fight anymore, so let's end the competition here."

Chiba Eijiro turned his head and half-jokingly said to Shusuke, Kondo and Okita who had not competed with him just now:

"Don't tell me that you want to compete with me."

Kondo shrugged and chuckled with a hint of helplessness: "We won't fight you."

"After all, we have known how big the gap is between us and you a long time ago..."

Nagakura and the others, who had just suffered a tragic defeat at the hands of Chiba Eijiro, now looked at Chiba Eijiro with a look that was almost awe-inspiring.

He took turns fighting them and suppressed them throughout the whole process, leaving them unable to fight back... Such strength is incredible!

At this time, Aomori couldn't help but look at Chiba Eijiro with admiration.

With different perspectives, the world you see will be different.

Sitting on the edge of the dojo, watching the battle between Chiba Eijiro and Nagakura and others, after the perspective changed from "presenter" to "spectator", Aoden saw many things he had just competed with Chiba Eijiro.

Various sights that no one noticed.

For example: after switching the perspective to the perspective of a "bystander", Aoto clearly discovered how perfect Chiba Eijiro's grasp of distance was.

Whether it's offense or defense, Chiba Eijiro's distance control is just right.

When attacking, you can step into the position where your bamboo sword can effectively hit your opponent.

When dodging, you can perfectly dodge the opponent's attack with a displacement distance of neither more nor less.

Just knowing the distance between them and their opponents is enough for Qingdeng and the others to figure it out and study for a long time...

Qingdeng thought silently in his heart:

——The strongest swordsman in Edo... This title is really not a wasted one...

"Hiss... What a complete defeat."
To be continued...