Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
When Minami Matsunaga reached the TV station, he excitedly went up to his superior.
“Chief Souma.”
“Hey... Matsunaga-Kun, you’re right on time. How’s it going with the collection of information?” Souma was the producer of the informative program on the styles of Kendo. He was the one who planned and initiated it. He was naturally more prudent and wanted to make something of himself at the TV station.
“I have found the descendant of the Yagyu Flying Sword Style,” Minami Matsunaga said after gasping for air as he came rushing back. After saying this, he saw Chief Souma’s eyes shine.
“Yagyu Flying Sword Style. Is it the lost swordsmanship by Sword Saint Yagyu?” Since he wanted to make an informative program, Souma naturally had a detailed understanding of the history of great Kendo styles.
More importantly, he was also a Kendo enthusiast. Most people from other companies had already started going bald and gained beer bellies in their early forties. However, his body was still in shape, thanks to the Kendo practices he had embraced and practiced since his youth.
“Yes, Chief. You probably do not know about it, but the sword style that the Thunder Master used in the Kendo Competition video on NICONICO is the Yagyu Flying Sword style.” However, Minami Matsunaga did not tell him how he found Kimura Kazuki. He said bluntly, “I found Kimura, the successor of the Yagyu Flying Sword Style, and asked him a question.”
Hara Souma remained silent and signaled him to continue.
Minami Matsunaga’s voice was laced with enthusiasm, “That high schooler named Kimura... he said that he will be attending this year’s Jade Dragon Flag Competition.”
What is that supposed to mean? Hearing this, Hara Souma’s brows slightly furrowed. But at the next moment, he stood up abruptly as he had understood what Minami Matsunaga meant.
“You mean?”
Seeing that Souma-san understood his thoughts, he nodded fervently, “Chief, you brought me to watch the Asahi Kendo Competition two months ago. Those in the junior group are mostly around 16 or 17 years old. At this age, they’re mostly high schoolers. However, these teens have never appeared on the grounds of competitive Kendo competitions. I have never seen these people participating in the Jade Dragon Flag Competition or IH convention. Judging from the strength of the Big Eight of Japanese Kendo, if those from the junior group decided to join the Jade Dragon Flag Competition, the quality of the Jade Dragon Flag Competition will improve tremendously...”
NHK TV station had always held the broadcasting rights to the Jade Dragon Flag Competition. If the quality of the Jade Dragon Flag Competition can be improved, then they could have more things to work with.
However, it was basically impossible to make the junior group from the Asahi Kendo Contest to join the Jade Dragon Flag Competition.
This was due to the differences between competitive Kendo and Ancient Kendo. Although both centered on self-cultivation, one focused on competition whereas the other focused on killing. If there was no important reason, the junior group of the Asahi Kendo Contest would not join the high school competition.
However, the legendary Yagyu Flying Sword Style was a highly powerful skill from the Warring States Period, which was lost due to various reasons. If the news about the successor of the Yagyu Flying Sword Style joining the Jade Dragon Flag Competition is spread, this news would attract many people to watch the competition.
If they did something on the program, perhaps they could really cause the junior group from the Asahi Competition to join the contest.
Hara Souma didn’t overthink. He was amazed and said, “Your idea is amazing. Did you manage to collect any information regarding the Yagyu Flying Sword Style from Kimura?”
Minami Matsunaga smiled bitterly, “Chief, the Yagyu Flying Sword Style is lost. He wouldn’t have told me more about it. He only allowed me to ask a single question and chased me away.”
Hara Souma understood this and nodded. He looked at Minami Matsunaga and complimented him, “You did a great job. So...The reporter for the Jade Dragon Flag Competition post-match interview had been decided. It is Takasaki Junko. But I heard that their team still needs an assistant. Hence, I’m going to send your name over. Do your best.”
“Yes!” Minami Matsunaga bowed. His face was filled with exhilaration. It was extremely difficult for him, a newcomer in this industry, to obtain such an opportunity in less than three months.
After Minami Matsunaga left, Hara Souma picked up his cellphone and made a call. When the call went through, he respectfully said, “Is this Mr. Togoro? I am Hara Souma. Yes, yes... I want to invite you over to the NHK TV station for a season of the informative program on the styles of Kendo, to give comments on the various sword styles of modern Japan...” Hara Souma did not stop after that call. Instead, he continued to make more phone calls. He stopped after making several phone calls. He leaned back against the chair and muttered, “Now we just have to wait and see the effects.”
Three days later.
In the past two days, Kimura Kazuki had noticed a strange phenomenon.
These few days, Furuhashi Sakurakyu had been sleeping during the day and being all energized at night. However, he did not ask since she had been staying home. He was very cautious. In the middle of the night, he would wake up to check if she was still in her room.
Since Furuhashi Sakurakyu always faced him with her back, Kimura Kazuki did not realize that Furuhashi Sakurakyu had been venturing into her daughters’ dreams, engaging in some disguised hypnosis.
Of course, Furuhashi Sakurakyu had encountered some obstacles. She would be stepping into total darkness if her daughter did not have any dreams, but this was never a problem for someone as experienced as she was.
She realized that she could use her mental power to develop an empty world, pulling her daughters’ consciousness into it and force them to have a dream.
Thus for the past two days, Furuhashi Sakurakyu was extremely exhausted. Moreover, she needed to regain her energy by sleeping during the day. Therefore, she did not know whether it took effect or not.
As for Kimura Kazuki, apart from feeling that Furuhashi Sakurakyu was being weird, he also felt that Harunaka was acting odd.
During recess, she would have her head low while she gobbled up her rice and would leave once she was done. Whenever he went to the Kendo club, she would be sitting there spacing out. Her expression was all tangled up. Whenever she saw him, she did not dare to look at him. The good thing was that she would obediently listen to his teaching and practice seriously.
As for Yagyu Shizuka from the Yagyu Kendo Gym, she had been busy memorizing all the acupoints of the human body for the past two days. Whenever she saw him, she would have that bitter look on her face. As for Yagyu Kenichiro, he ordered a mannequin and placed it in the backyard of the Yagyu Kendo Gym. He would ask his daughter to hold a bamboo sword and practice there during her free time.
Today, when Kimura Kazuki arrived at the Yagyu Kendo Gym, he saw a huge crowd surrounding the front desk. Yagyu Kenichiro sat on his seat with a huge smile on his face. He answered as he collected the money, “Don’t worry, the news is true. The inherited sword styles of the Yagyu family are definitely the Yagyu Itto-Ryu and Yagyu Flying Sword.”
“Uncle Yagyu, I had been training here for three months. Why did I not know that you guys are the successors of the Yagyu Flying Sword skill?”
“What I taught you were the basics of the Yagyu Itto-Ryu. You couldn’t even master the basics of the Yagyu Itto-Ryu, so how was I going to teach you the basics of the Yagyu Flying Sword Style?” Yagyu Kenichiro said as if it were an undeniable fact, “This is just like how you guys play games. Yagyu Itto-Ryu is a prerequisite skill of the Yagyu Flying Sword Style. If you can’t grasp the Yagyu Itto-Ryu, how can you learn the Yagyu Flying Sword Style? You want to fly even before you can walk? Are you a bird?”
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