Chapter 646 - 6: Blade in Hand! Strike Down Aoto! Seize Sazanoko! [7600]

Chapter 646: Chapter 6: Blade in Hand! Strike Down Aoto! Seize Sazanoko! [7600]

The pleasant voice of a woman made Aoto lift his gaze.

He saw a young woman gracefully walking towards him from the direction of the Little Chiba Sword Dojo entrance.

It was Sazanoko.

At this moment, Sazanoko was in her "female warrior" state.

Her three thousand strands of beautiful hair were tied high with a blue satin ribbon, forming a neat high ponytail at the back of her head. Her kendo uniform, white on top and blue below, perfectly outlined her shapely figure. A pair of clean white socks and delicate blue-buttoned flat wooden clogs encased her slender feet.

Just then, a warm summer breeze gently blew through.

The green fallen leaves on the ground danced in the wind.

Along with them danced the blue satin ribbon tying Sazanoko’s hair, her soft beautiful hair on her forehead and temples, and the hem of her skirt hakama.

The swaying ribbon and hair added a different brilliance to the surrounding sky and earth.

"Good morning, Miss Sazanoko."

"Good morning, Mr. Tachibana. I was just playing with Radish in the yard, and when I saw Radish running outside the dojo, I knew it was you."

Aoto smiled, raised his hand, and vigorously rubbed Radish’s large bull head: "Haha, I don’t know if this big black bull remembers my scent or recognizes my footsteps."

Radish: "Moo~~!"

Since being discharged from Ren Medical Hall, Aoto had been visiting the Little Chiba Sword Dojo every 4 or 5 days to see Radish.

Frequent visits to the Little Chiba Sword Dojo had unknowingly made Aoto much more familiar with Sazanoko.

In the past, their relationship was actually rather distant.

They were polite to each other, and their conversations mostly consisted of ordinary pleasantries.

This unfamiliarity made Aoto unsure of what topics to discuss with Sazanoko.

But now, Aoto could chat with Sazanoko about daily life and common topics among friends with a very relaxed mindset.

Even when they were alone, it no longer felt awkward or reserved.

The transformation in their relationship... was greatly credited to the events that unfolded two months ago that night.

In a critical moment, saving Sazanoko, Sazanoko assisting Aoto to reach the settlement... Although the scenes of that night were brief, they fostered a unique bond between the two.

If before, Aoto and Sazanoko could only be described as "acquaintances," then today, it would be fitting to call their relationship a "friendship."

A rare visit to the Little Chiba Sword Dojo, of course, couldn’t be just to visit Radish.

Out of courtesy, Chiba Dingji, Chiba Shigetarou, and others needed to be greeted.

So, after a few words of small talk with Sazanoko, Aoto said:

"Miss Sazanoko, are your father and Mr. Shigetarou at the dojo now?"

"Father has temporarily left for some matters," Sazanoko said, "My brother is in the B Area teaching apprentices swordsmanship."

Understanding that Aoto wanted to greet Chiba Shigetarou, Sazanoko continued the conversation:

"Mr. Tachibana, let me take you to meet my brother."

Aoto nodded in response.

Sazanoko led Radish back to the spacious courtyard of the Little Chiba Sword Dojo, and then led Aoto towards the B Area of the dojo.

As a large sword dojo capable of competing with Edo’s Three Great Sword Dojos, headed by the Xuanwu Hall, the infrastructure of the Little Chiba Sword Dojo matched its name and scale.

The Little Chiba Sword Dojo had three practice halls, and for easy distinction and management, they were named "A Area," "B Area," and "C Area."

The C Area was exclusively for those apprentices whose abilities were still lacking.

The B Area was the "advanced area" or "expert area," where only apprentices who reached a certain level and were recognized for their abilities could enter.

Located at the deepest part of the Little Chiba Sword Dojo, the A Area was the smallest practice hall—this was the private hall of the Chiba family, used only by people from the Chiba family like Chiba Shigetarou and Sazanoko.

On the way to the B Area, Sazanoko, recalling something, turned to Aoto behind her and softly said:

"By the way, Mr. Tachibana, my fourth cousin... Chiba Domon Shiro is here right now. He was sick recently, so my brother and I pooled our money to give him a box of expensive supplements, and he came today to specifically thank us."

Upon hearing this, Aoto slightly raised an eyebrow.

"So Chiba Domon Shiro is actually here now..."

Aoto smiled lightly.

"Haha, it’s been a while since I’ve seen him."

Chiba Domon Shiro... Aoto’s first encounter with this deputy master of Xuanwu Hall dates back to nearly half a year ago during the "Plum Blossom Festival."

Due to his disrespectful remarks towards Shiwei Hall in public, Aoto had some unpleasant exchanges with him.

Aoto guessed that the reason Sazanoko suddenly informed him of "Chiba Domon Shiro’s presence" was to mentally prepare him, who had a minor conflict with Chiba Domon Shiro before.

Thinking of this, Aoto couldn’t help but say to himself: Sazanoko’s little worry... is indeed unnecessary.

Although he did have a minor conflict with Chiba Domon Shiro, that was nearly half a year ago.

The incident between him and Chiba Domon Shiro was never really a big deal, so Aoto had long ago stopped worrying about the unpleasantness that had occurred.

Despite Chiba Domon Shiro’s arrogance and his disdainful attitude and sense of superiority towards medium and small-sized dojos like Shiwei Hall, Chiba Domon Shiro also possessed some qualities that Aoto greatly admired.