Ch.107Rise Up, Gambling God (4)

“Yaaaah!!! Nowww!! Let’s begin the Toshin Tournament!!!”

The announcer shouted with overwhelming volume.

“………..”

But there was absolutely no response.

Everyone was incredibly serious. That’s right. This was, after all, a kendo tournament. Everyone was desperately meditating, working hard to recover their condition.

“WOOOOOOOOOOH!!!!!”

Can’t be helped. I immediately let out a loud cheer.

If there’s absolutely no response when someone’s acting as an announcer, it’ll create a lifelong trauma for them. I… have to do something somehow…

“YEAAAAAAAH!!!!!”

Gonzaemon also joined in and shouted with the mood.

There was some inexplicable spirit in his voice. Only then did others begin to cheer as well.

“Now! Then!! The organizer of this Toshin Tournament and a living legend in the kendo world!!!! Please welcome Mr. Saito Tetsu!!”

With the announcer’s shout, a large man dressed in neat clothing appeared.

“Ooooh…….”

This time there was a response. Saito Tetsu. The descendant of Saito Hajime and the perfect successor of the Tennen Rishin style, the undefeated head of the Saito family. His presence was magnificent.

‘He looks incredibly strong…’

Somehow… if this were a manga, he’d be the only one drawn in a different style. He had the kind of deeply shadowed muscles that would appear in a fighting manga.

‘Gulp…!’

I unconsciously swallowed. Just standing there, he exuded an overwhelming killing intent.

“Everyone… fight fair and square.”

Saito Tetsu said just that one line and stepped back. It was a very simple speech.

“W-Well then!!! We’ll now determine the tournament brackets!!”

The announcer displayed a screen and operated an old-fashioned lottery machine.

“Polong.”

The announcer pressed a button with that word. Sigh… do you like Korean streamers?

Only then did numbered balls begin to pop out one after another.

And so the brackets were formed.

It was a tournament, the format of real men. Well, tournaments are the best after all. Better than league matches where people whine about draw luck and fairness while harping on about point systems.

“Now!! The first match!! Player number 135 versus player number 207!!!”

At the announcer’s call, players in the waiting line formed a queue.

One took a standard kendo stance, while the other… well, was holding a pistol. It was a model gun with no lethal power but still had force.

“No!!! Master!! That’s strange, isn’t it?! What’s with the gun?! A gun!!”

I immediately complained to Gonzaemon.

“Hm? What’s wrong? You’re acting like an amateur.”

Gonzaemon replied in a nonchalant tone.

“That’s a gun, but it’s clearly a kendo style. It’s called the Hodo-ryu.”

Gonzaemon kindly explained.

“This is really something else…”

If it’s a sword-based world, just use swords. Why bring in weird stuff?

Like a bare-handed martial artist saying, “Ah, this is definitely swordsmanship. It’s called the Empty Hand style. You use your body like a sword.” Such nonsensical explanations. In that series, by the later parts, someone just casually shoots with dual pistols. Hilariously, they don’t even bother explaining the style. They don’t even try to hide that it’s not swordsmanship. Well… it’s entertaining, so okay.

“Begin the match!!!”

With the announcer’s shout, the sword-wielding player charged forward.

Tadadadadang-!!

The gun-wielding player immediately emptied the magazine, firing rapidly.

But… this was fundamentally an otaku world setting. There were plenty of strong fighters who could deflect bullets.

Tididididing-!!!

The charging swordsman deflected all the incoming bullets and was about to swing his sword.

“…It’s over. This is what happens when you rely on something like a gun.”

Someone muttered.

“The Toshin Tournament’s standards have really fallen these days.”

Another shook his head.

But Gonzaemon shook his head heavily and offered a contrary opinion.

“Hmph. The gunslinger shouldn’t be underestimated.”

Gonzaemon said.

“Indeed.”

You see what you know. I could also easily predict the outcome of the match.

Tiiiing-!

The bullets were perfectly deflected. However, the gunslinger was one step ahead. They had already predicted exactly how the bullets would be deflected.

Tididididing-!!!

The deflected bullets ricocheted off the ground and walls, striking the swordsman in the back.

Bweeork-!

The clear impact sound of rubber bullets hitting muscle rang out.

“Guheoork…!”

The swordsman retired with that.

“Hodo-ryu’s Tina Yang!!! Victory!!!”

The announcer shouted.

Only then did the gunslinger remove her helmet and perform a ceremony. A cheerful cowgirl-like white woman performed a flashy celebration.

She was quite beautiful. Moreover… even through the kendo uniform, her nice body was evident. Western products really are different. I couldn’t help thinking that.

Puk-!

Taiga, who noticed my disrespectful gaze, immediately pressed on my temple.

“Tell me. Who were you thinking about?”

Taiga said to me.

“T-Taiga-sama, I was thinking about you…”

I immediately became submissive and replied.

“Hmph. You were thinking about that cow, weren’t you?”

“No… I was thinking about you, Taiga-sama…”

I desperately tried to dispel Taiga’s suspicions.

——–

Anyway, the matches continued.

“But… they’re not using a best-of-three system. It’s single matches?”

I asked Gonzaemon.

“Ah. The preliminaries are single matches. Best-of-three starts from the main tournament.”

Gonzaemon said.

It’s a procedure for faster progression. Korea has spread its speed-gaming culture to Japan…!!

Speed-gaming culture… personally, I think it should disappear. Even when I played that famous MMORPG before, I got cursed at for taking dungeons slowly… Why do we have to mob-pull and tank? Anyway.

After that, matches proceeded in order. Since my turn was about five matches away, I also put on my helmet.

———

“No… they use that as a weapon too?”

Taiga muttered in bewilderment.

It was truly a series of absurdities.

There was a player wielding a shinai twice as tall as a person, and plenty who had short daggers like claws attached to their wrist guards, slashing around like Zealots. Those using proper swords were the minority.

But the high level of the matches was also comedic. I could understand why it was popular despite not being an official competition.

There was a visual appeal in watching people fight spectacularly with various weapons. It was more like the Tenkaichi Martial Arts Tournament than a kendo match.

———-

Soon, it was time for the protagonist of this event, Saito Kana.

Chak-!

Saito Kana immediately took the Tennen Rishin style stance.

The opponent was a mysterious swordsman wielding dual swords.

Cheolkeodeok-!!

“Six Sword Style.”

Some kind of unreasonable declaration came out.

No. You have two swords. What Six Sword Style? Are you… Hachi-kun?

But… it really became Six Sword Style.

Shwishishishishishik-!!

The spirit of the body materialized, taking the form of an Asura. Six arms in total. Hence, Six Sword Style.

“No. This is ridiculous!!!”

I immediately objected. Even for an otaku setting, the fact that everyone was watching this scene without any complaints was astoundingly bizarre.

“Shota. Stop nitpicking. The world of kendo is vast.”

Gonzaemon said.

Too vast… I was about to complain but stopped myself.

“Saito Kana!!! Come at me!!!!”

The mysterious swordsman swung all six swords like a storm, closing the distance toward Saito Kana.

Paaaaat-!!!! Chaengeong-!!!!

Saito Kana also charged forward and delivered a sword strike.

Bweeeeeork-!!!!!

A clear impact sound was heard.

That ended the match. None of the six swords touched Saito Kana’s body.

However, Saito Kana’s head strike had already struck the swordsman’s head.

Jjeojeojeojek-!

The metal bars of the helmet were incredibly dented. No way… a shinai can cause this much damage? I was shocked by that.

Cheolpudeok-!!

With that, the Six Sword Style swordsman completely retired.

It was time for them to remove their helmets and exchange brief greetings.

“………!”

I realized the change that had occurred in the Six Sword Style swordsman’s body, no, mind.

He was just standing there blankly, as if his soul had been sucked out. He seemed to have lost everything, including his fighting spirit.

“That’s talent-killing.”

Gonzaemon said in a somber tone.

“Talent… killing.”

That’s right. He had simply hit a wall. Having despaired at the realization that he could never reach that level even after hundreds or thousands of years of training, his will to become stronger had been ‘castrated.’

You could understand it as how Vegeta felt standing before Frieza.

“That guy… had talent, but was unlucky. He met Saito Kana too early.”

Gonzaemon wore a regretful expression.

He had skill, but lacked mental strength. That’s all there was to it.

It’s unfortunate… but well. Can’t be helped. In this field, the strong survive. Whether that strength is physical or mental.

——–

And… Nendo’s turn also approached.

Honestly, I was curious. I couldn’t help but be interested in how strong he might be.

The opponent seemed like an appropriate power level measuring stick, just an ordinary guy.

“Begin the match!!!!!!”

With the announcer’s shout, both players charged forward.

Chaeaaeaaeaeng-!!!

Immediately, their swords began to clash.

But… surprisingly, Nendo was strong.

“Transparent Strike!!!”

With Nendo’s shout, something unbelievable happened.

Paaaaat-!

Temporarily, Nendo’s body, including his sword, became transparent.

Hwuuuung-!!

Nendo’s sword passed right through his opponent’s sword, and headed straight for his head.

Bwaaaak-!!!!!

With that, Nendo took the point and won.

‘Shit… this is too much.’

Even so, becoming transparent is going too far. My mind was dazed from the continuous absurdities.