Chapter 649 - 6: Blade in Hand! Cut Down Aoto! Capture Sazanoko!

Chapter 649: Chapter 6: Blade in Hand! Cut Down Aoto! Capture Sazanoko!

Speaking of this, Chiba Domon Shiro, who rarely showed emotion, allowed himself a rare proud smile.

"For my third brother to hold his ground as the second-generation Hall Master of Xuanwu Hall and the second-generation Head of the Beichen One-Sword Style’s main family, he relies on much more than just the identity of being ’the third son of Chiba Shusaku.’"

"Let me be straightforward—none of you, not Kondo, Hijikata, Chokata, or Inoue together, would be a match for my third brother."

This confident and somewhat provocative remark from Chiba Domon Shiro did not provoke Tachibana Aoto’s displeasure or annoyance.

Instead, he showed an expression that had nothing to do with displeasure or annoyance.

"...Hahaha."

When Chiba Domon Shiro finished speaking, Tachibana Aoto simply chuckled a few times.

"Hearing you say this makes me even more eager for the battle in 8 days."

"Please be sure to guide me by then!"

Tachibana Aoto’s words and expression were adorned with a genuine, unadulterated smile of joy.

"...?" Chiba Domon Shiro was momentarily stunned, not expecting Tachibana Aoto to show such an expression or make such a statement.

More familiar with Tachibana Aoto, and knowing a bit about his character, Sazanoko pursed her red lips, her beautiful eyes glancing sideways, and looked at Tachibana Aoto standing beside her with a faintly amused gaze—as if to say to him: I knew you would say that.

The words "looking forward to the battle in 8 days" that Tachibana Aoto said to Chiba Domon Shiro were not an empty bravado.

He truly was looking forward to the Red and White Battle in 8 days!

If he could fight Chiba Daisaburo, who could multitask, maybe he could turn such a strong talent into his own!

For a young talent like Chiba Daisaburo to have attained such outstanding swordsmanship skills at such a young age, Tachibana Aoto wouldn’t believe it without a Swordsmanship Talent Amplification several times that of ordinary people.

Even if he couldn’t copy that multitasking talent from Chiba Daisaburo, he might be able to obtain the talent of Swordsmanship Strength Amplification.

Anyway, fighting such a strong opponent as Chiba Daisaburo can’t possibly come without rewards.

Putting aside the pragmatic matter of copying talents from Chiba Daisaburo, Tachibana Aoto himself genuinely wanted to witness firsthand the strength of this young Sword Master, often lamented by others as being overshadowed by his monstrously talented brother, eliciting comments like "Why was he born when Daisaburo was already around."

——Must wait another 8 days...

The thought of having to wait another 8 days to have a grand battle with Xuanwu Hall and Chiba Daisaburo made Tachibana Aoto feel restless with anticipation.

At this moment, Tachibana Aoto did not realize—while he was talking with Sazanoko and Chiba Domon Shiro, someone in the distant corner of the dojo was glaring at him with eyes full of envy and hatred...

...

...

After chatting with Sazanoko and Chiba Domon Shiro for a while, Tachibana Aoto suddenly felt a bit of an urgent biological need.

To address this need, he had to temporarily bid goodbye to Sazanoko and the others and briskly headed out of Area B towards the distant restroom.

Having visited the Little Chiba Sword Dojo numerous times, Tachibana Aoto certainly remembered where each restroom was.

After swiftly traversing several corridors, in no time, Tachibana Aoto detected the distinct smell of the restroom.

But just then, he suddenly heard some muted conversations with deliberately lowered voices—

"I can’t wait any longer, let’s teach that Tachibana Aoto a good lesson today."

The first words he heard made Tachibana Aoto instinctively pause...

...

...

Not far from the restroom, around a corner in a corridor, five apprentices who specifically trained in Area B were gathered together.

Their expressions were surprisingly similar—all of them had serious faces, with eyes glinting with displeasure and resentment.

"Why is that Tachibana Aoto so brazen? Coming here every few days to show his face." One of the five, a burly man with a thick build, gritted his teeth.

"I suspect he deliberately left his big black bull here as an excuse to frequently come and go from the Little Chiba Sword Dojo." The burly man’s short companion echoed in a deep voice.

"Damn it, did you guys see? That Tachibana Aoto was just standing by the dojo, shoulder to shoulder with Miss Chiba, chatting away with Chiba Domon Shiro." Across from the short man, a tall guy ground his teeth audibly.

"How could I not see!" retorted the tall guy, a balding fellow, in agreement.

"Shh... Lower your voice." The last of the five, with a somewhat decent appearance, urged with clear-cut features.

"Damn, the more I think about it, the angrier I get." The balding man grumbled bitterly, "I’m convinced he’s visiting frequently to pursue Miss Chiba."

"It’s also possible he’s trying to curry favor with the Master or the Deputy Master by exploiting the huge favor of rescuing Miss Chiba and thereby climb the tall tree that is the Chiba family." The tall guy sneered, "Tch... He just got lucky saving Miss Chiba that one time..."

"Anyway..." The burly man lowered his voice significantly, "I’ve had enough... Let’s properly teach that bastard a lesson today. Since Kumai, Sakurai, and Hirose are all at the Sword Dojo today, there’s no better opportunity."

"I agree." The short man nodded solemnly, "I’ve also had enough. Just thinking about him talking shamelessly with Miss Chiba makes my stomach churn..."

"Hmm." The tall guy pondered, "Alright, I agree too, let’s teach that Tachibana Aoto a lesson today."

"Then I’ll contact Kumai and the others later." The handsome one among the five declared seriously.

"Alright, it’s settled then. Let’s execute our plan later," the balding man clenched his fists, "I’ll take the lead. If I happen to fall, you guys will go one by one. I refuse to believe he can withstand our carousel of challenges."

"Hmph." The burly man snorted coldly, exuding strong confidence, "After the big achievement of severely damaging the Anti-Foreigner Group, he might still be full of himself, thinking he’s become some remarkable swordsman."

"The pests in a shady organization like the Anti-Foreigner Group are no match for us swordsmen of the Little Chiba Sword Dojo," the tall guy chuckled coldly, adding, "Even if he could single-handedly fight evenly against sixty-some pests of the Anti-Foreigner Group, he won’t withstand our twenty-plus swordsmen’s continuous challenges."

The five gathered, plotting to "teach Aoto a lesson," were members of the "Anti-Aoto Alliance" within the Little Chiba Sword Dojo.

Recently, Tachibana Aoto had been frequently visiting the Little Chiba Sword Dojo primarily to check on his highly intelligent pet.

Meeting and chatting with Sazanoko, Chiba Shigetarou, and the others was just a side endeavor.

Though Tachibana Aoto’s visits were genuinely pure, not all of the dojo’s apprentices viewed his frequent appearances in the same light.

If Tachibana Aoto came solely to see the bull, most apprentices wouldn’t mind.

But the problem was—every time he came to the Little Chiba Sword Dojo, he would also take the opportunity to meet and chat with Sazanoko.

This could not be tolerated!

Sazanoko... is the untouchable goddess to countless apprentices of the Little Chiba Sword Dojo!

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Next Chapter—An essential scene in any swordplay novel: A one-man dojo challenge is coming up~~ Tomorrow, I’ll aim to write 10,000 words.

My cousin visited yesterday, so I spent a lot of time keeping him company and entertaining him, which left me with much less time for writing... To write as much as possible, I didn’t even chat in our group last night, which I’m sure those in the QQ group noticed since the author was unusually quiet (leopard-depression.jpg)

Even with all the effort, I couldn’t manage to write a full 10,000 words... (leopard-sad.jpg)

Although today’s Chapter isn’t 10,000 words, 7,600 words is still quite a lot, so I still ask for a wave of monthly votes! Since starting the National Day holiday, while my peers in the field have been on leave or reducing their writing, I’ve been diligently updating daily.

In consideration of the author’s diligence, please cast your monthly votes for me (leopard-headache-cry.jpg)

Begging for monthly votes! Begging for recommendation votes!