Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
The reception was flooded by about seven to eight youngsters. There were more boys than girls in the crowd.
As soon as Kimura Kazuki entered the room, he was spotted by a sharp-eyed girl. She screamed with excitement in her voice, “The Thunder Master!!”
Her voice attracted everyone in the room, causing them to turn and look at Kimura Kazuki.
“Wow! It really is him.”
“So, the news was telling the truth.”
“Uncle Yagyu, I want to enroll!”
The arrival of Kimura Kazuki caused turmoil. Luckily, there weren’t a lot of people in the room, and with the intervention of Yagyu Kenichiro, the chaos didn’t last long.
Yagyu Kenichiro saw Kimura Kazuki and shouted at the back, “Masanae, I need your help.”
“Coming.” Soon, Yagyu Masanae came out. She saw Kimura Kazuki and gave him a gentle smile. “Oh, Kazuki, you are here. Hurry up and get in.”
Yagyu Masanae was Yagyu Kenichiro’s wife. She went back to her parent’s house a few days ago, Kimura Kazuki did not get to meet her. They finally got to know each other when he was here yesterday.
Yagyu Masanae went to the reception and started to register with the new applicants while Kimura Kazuki and Yagyu Kenichiro went to the study room.
Clearly, Yagyu Kenichiro knew that Kimura Kazuki was curious. He handed the computer on the desk to Kimura Kazuki without saying a word.
Kimura Kazuki took a look and saw that there was a half-played video on the computer. He clicked on it, and it was a video of the NHK Educational Channel. There were two people in the video, an old man with grey hair but high spirits as well as the host.
“...We have finished talking about the genre of competitive Kendo. Now let’s talk about the sword style of ancient Kendo. Many people think the sword style of ancient Kendo has not much difference with competitive Kendo. This is actually a completely wrong idea. Let’s take the Hokushin Itto-Ryu as an example. The Kendo Gym for Hokushin Itto-Ryu spread all over Tokyo, but few people know that Hokushin Itto-Ryu is separated into the main house and the branch house.”
“The main house masters the core sword style while the branch house is responsible for taking care of the Hokushin Kendo Gym for the main house and teach the basic knowledge of the Hokushin Itto-Ryu to the mundane. If someone is outstanding, they will be recruited and become one of the core disciples. Then, they will get to learn the true swordsmanship of the Hokushin Itto-Ryu. That is why the Chiba family, who have mastered the Hokushin Itto-Ryu, are always one of the top three in the Ancient Kendo Community.”
“I see... A family as powerful as the Chiba family is only in third place?”
“Hehe... it can only be said that the Chiba family is efficient in their management and they have a large family. As for the strength of their sword style, it’s only average. They got on the top three because the rest were lousy.”
“Cough cough... Mr. Nakajo, what about the top two?”
“In first place is the Sugawara family. Sword Saint Sugawara was undefeated in his entire career. The Shinto-Ryu is indeed unparalleled and the public have also acknowledged that the Sugawara Family has the most powerful sword style. There’s no need for us to discuss more of it. Let’s talk about the Yagyu family, which is on the second place instead.” Togoro Nakajo remained seated. Even though he was old, he still had a master temperament with his strong aura and solemn face. He talked delightfully, “Anyone familiar with ancient Kendo will know that there are two Yagyu families in the Ancient Kendo Community, the Yagyu Shin-in Ryu, and Yagyu Itto-Ryu. Not many people know that in the early warring states, these two families actually originated from the same Yagyu Family.”
“Are you talking about the Yagyu family of the Yagyu Flying Sword Style?
Togoro Nakajo was amazed and looked at the host, “You know about it too.”
“No...” The host shook his head, “But I do believe that any local who is familiar with Kendo will know about Sword Saint Yagyu.”
“You are right! Yagyu Itto-Ryu is the original sword style that has been circulated while the Yagyu Flying Sword Style is a genre created by Sword Saint Yagyu. This is recorded in history. After the death of Sword Saint Yagyu, the Yagyu Family has broken down and the family members are separated. Everyone took roots in different places.” Togoro Nakajo slowly said, “There are only two families remained. One became the apprentice of Sword Saint Kamiizumi and inherited the Shin-in Ryu. They also carry forward the name of it. As for the other family, they have been struggling to search for the inheritance of the Yagyu Flying Sword Style, though now they are on their last legs.” The host sighed after hearing what Togoro Nakajo had said. But he thought of something and asked, “Is the Yagyu family who is searching for the Yagyu Flying Sword Style still in existence?”
“Of course!” Togoro Nakajo laughed, “And... they have found the successor. I am not sure whether you have seen the video of a competition that happened at Akihabara Square on the NICONICO website. The teenager on the right in the video has used the Yagyu Flying Sword Style!”
“I see!” The host’s eyes shone, “I knew of the video, and I have watched it. But I did not know that the person was using the Yagyu Flying Sword Style.”
“Exactly.” Nakojo Garo got excited, “With the appearance of the Yagyu Flying Sword Style, I’m afraid that there is going to be a reshuffling in the Ancient Kendo Community. Perhaps... in a few years time, the Yagyu Flying Sword Style will become the strongest sword style. In my opinion, Shinto-Ryu is of no match to the Yagyu Flying Sword Style. They are not on the same level.”
The host tilted his head and smiled, “I got news saying that the successor is a high schooler and has already signed up for the Jade Dragon Flag Competition. I guess this time, we’ll be able to witness the legendary Yagyu Flying Sword Style.”
The video had not ended, but Kimura Kazuki had stopped watching. He looked at Yagyu Kenichiro and pointed his finger at the old man in the video, “Are you the
one who hired him?” It did cost a fortune to promote the Yagyu Flying Sword Style. No wonder the desolate Yagyu Kendo Gym is getting business again.
“No...” Yagyu Kenichiro smiled helplessly. He secretly took out a cigarette from the drawer and lit it up. He took a puff and slowly said, “This Nakajo guy is a troublemaker.”
Togoro Nakajo came from the Nakajo family, but the family was now declining. If the disciples were excluded, then he was the only person left in the Nakajo family. According to rumors, he was impotent ever since he was young.
The Nakajo family inherited the Nakajo Itto-Ryu. It was one of the oldest genres in Japan. But they did not innovate, and thus it gradually disappeared. It was even worse than the Yagyu family.
Togoro hated other families, maybe even had some psychological issues. Whenever he had a chance to speak in front of the media, he would take every chance he had to belittle these families. He would usually disguise insults as compliments.
The other families had no practical way to deal with him. After all, Togoro was almost 70 years old. He wouldn’t live any longer, and after he died, the Nakajo family would cease to exist. The other families could not afford to provoke him. However, they could still avoid him. In a surprising move, the NHK Channel unexpectedly invited him to appear on the program to give his comments on the genre of Kendo. It was what he had always wanted to do. That was why he was so full of spirit in the show.
As a result, he insulted all eight families at once and bragged about the Yagyu Flying Sword Style. Knowing this made Yagyu Kenichiro depressed.
Yagyu Kenichiro had just found Kimura Kazuki and secretly asked him to teach his daughter the Yagyu Flying Sword Style. However, it was exposed in only two days. Wasn’t this creating enemies for him?
Kimura Kazuki frowned. The old man had been bragging about the Yagyu Flying Sword Style while the host revealed that he was going to participate in the Jade Dragon Flag Competition. Aren’t these precisely the actions of putting him at the edge of a cliff? But after thinking about it, it was just the Jade Dragon Flag Competition. What harm could be done to him?
Furthermore, based on the contract, he would teach Yagyu Shizuka the Yagyu Flying Sword Style. After she has mastered it, it did not matter to him as to who she wanted to teach it to. He would have no control over it. It was written clearly on the contract, and he had nothing against it.
Therefore, he would not say anything even if the Yagyu Kendo Gym wanted to teach their students the Yagyu Flying Sword Style.
Since Yagyu Kenichiro showed him this video, it was obvious that there was something else. Thinking of this, he looked at Yagyu Kenichiro and waited for him to speak.
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