Ch.108Rise Up, Gambling God (5)

My body temporarily became ethereal. And with my semi-transparent sword technique, I passed through the enemy’s blade and delivered a strike.

Shit… this isn’t fair. There should be limits to this nonsense.

“That’s the Tenjoin family’s secret technique, the Transparent Slash. You’ll surely have a chance to fight it later. Don’t try to block it clumsily. Dodge it. Then you’ll see how to counter it.”

Gonzaemon said.

“But… if the body itself becomes transparent, sword strikes won’t work against it.”

I immediately raised an objection to Gonzaemon.

“Well… I could give you hints, but where’s the fun in that?”

Gonzaemon said with a hearty laugh.

“Think while you fight properly, and grow.”

Gonzaemon looked at me with expectation in his eyes.

This old man… he expects too much from me. Well, I should live up to those expectations.

I immediately prepared myself for the match.

After Nendo’s victory was secured, he immediately looked in our direction. He wanted to catch Umi’s attention.

“Kooo…”

But Umi, who had zero interest in kendo, was already asleep. She was in deep slumber.

“…!”

Nendo redirected his arrow of rage toward me. Hey, why me? Seriously.

———–

Anyway, my turn came quickly.

“That guy… is he Gonzaemon’s disciple?”

“Hmm. His top disciple, they say.”

“So he must have some skill.”

People started whispering all at once.

Because my master was Gonzaemon, their expectations seemed to have shot up.

‘But… I’m not nervous.’

I was in peak condition.

Every night, I fought life-or-death battles with monsters. When you’re used to fighting for your life, you can’t get nervous about a mere match.

My opponent was a guy wielding a long spear.

“Now!! Let’s begin!!! The 13th match of the preliminaries!!”

The announcer shouted loudly.

Clank-!!

The spear-wielder immediately took his stance. What? Not even a greeting? How disappointing.

I immediately took a middle stance and stared at him.

He had a stance where he stretched his body and concentrated all his weight on the tip of the spear. I could roughly guess what kind of stance it was.

It seemed like he planned to thrust forward for a one-point breakthrough. The stance itself was full of openings, but his confidence in his speed was evident. Since it was a single-match victory, he intended to end it in one strike. That kind of pride was visible.

If that was the case… accepting that challenge was the way of a warrior.

“Staaaaart!!!”

The announcer shouted with overwhelming volume.

Whoooosh-!!!

The guy immediately thrust his spear.

It was fast, but… slow. I didn’t even need to use Kiryu Second. I had become too strong. Because of that, I could even afford to put on a bit of a performance.

I stepped sideways and stomped on the spear he thrust with all my might.

Claaang-!!!!!!!!!

The clear sound of the spear hitting the ground echoed. The audience fell silent at that resonance.

“What…!”

The spear-wielder’s shocked cry was heard through his face guard. He clearly hadn’t expected his speed to be matched.

Swoooosh-!!

Before he could pull out his spear, I immediately delivered a head strike.

Crack-!!!

After a clean head strike connected directly, the bars of the head guard he wore shattered into pieces. It was something Saito Kana had done… surprisingly, it turned out to be possible when I tried it.

Thud-!!

The opponent immediately collapsed. The time spent on this match was about 4 seconds.

“Aaaah!!!! Arigiri Shota!!! An overwhelming victory!!!!”

The announcer, who recognized an exciting moment, immediately shouted loudly.

Afterward, I returned to my seat amid cheers. As expected of the preliminaries. It was easy.

———

Arigiri Shota’s debut match in the Bushin Cup was enough to shock the surrounding kendo practitioners.

“That’s… a monster.”

“Just like Kiryu Gonzaemon in his youth.”

Everyone seemed to agree with that opinion.

The impact spread to the center of the venue.

“Hmm. Gonzaemon… you’ve got a useful disciple.”

The man called Bushin, Saito Tetsu, chuckled.

“Right? He can even use the Flash Slash. And that was him holding back!”

His granddaughter Kana chattered beside Saito Tetsu.

“Kana… you look happy.”

Tetsu said with a slight smile.

“N-Not particularly. I just… think he’s a decent sparring partner!”

Kana blushed and turned her head away.

“Hmm… you said you fought him before. Surprisingly… his spirit wasn’t broken.”

Tetsu seemed slightly surprised by that fact.

“He has an astonishingly strong mental fortitude.”

Kana nodded as she spoke. Far from having his spirit broken, he was the epitome of a swordsman with a progressive mindset who calmly thought of ways to defeat her and grew stronger.

“For you to praise someone like this. You must like him quite a bit.”

After saying that, Tetsu dropped a shocking statement.

“I’ve heard he’s had girlfriends, but he’s not married yet… he might make a good son-in-law for our Saito family.”

“G-Grandfather, what are you saying?!!!”

Kana shouted with a red face.

“To monopolize those with superior genes. That’s the family motto of the Saito clan. A man like that is good enough. The children born between you two would inherit considerable talent.”

Tetsu said with a smile.

“M-M-Marriage…!”

Kana could only mutter the word ‘marriage’ like a broken cassette radio.

“Go on and seduce him. A beauty like you should be able to do it.”

Tetsu encouraged his granddaughter.

“S-Suddenly saying such things!!!! I… I don’t know much about that…”

Kana became completely flustered.

“Tsk~ Born so pretty, yet your looks are going to waste.”

Tetsu looked at his shy granddaughter with pity.

“Shut up!!!”

Kana immediately got angry.

———–

Shota’s debut match also shocked other kendo practitioners.

“That’s… damn… an 8-ton truck.”

Someone muttered. Yes, the impression of Shota, a runaway locomotive that ran over everyone in sight, was set. He was an overwhelming champion.

Not just Saito Kana, it felt like another truck had appeared. Everyone could predict that the preliminaries would be challenging.

Tenjoin Nendo was also terrified.

‘Uh… he’s this strong?’

It was unexpected. Honestly, he couldn’t guarantee a hundred percent victory.

“Father… this will be quite a difficult fight.”

Nendo immediately looked at his father, Tenjoin Takezo.

“That Gonzaemon… is he ahead of me even in training disciples…!”

Takezo was engulfed in feelings of inferiority toward Gonzaemon.

However, his son was looking at him with eyes seeking help. Takezo immediately regained his composure.

“Nendo. Stay calm. Our family is also a renowned swordsmanship lineage. The Transparent Slash is the ultimate sword technique passed down from our ancestors! No matter how fast he is… he can’t break through an ethereal opponent made of killing intent mist. Understand? Don’t be scared!!! Win the girl with your own strength!!”

Takezo comforted his son.

“Yes!!!”

Nendo immediately nodded.

Nendo looked at Umi, who was sleeping soundly on the mat.

Her beauty was almost angelic.

I want to protect that smile. Nendo sincerely thought so.

He must save Umi from being played by a bad man. Nendo arbitrarily made such a resolution and cast Shota as the villain.

———-

Back to Shota’s perspective.

Because there were so many participants, I had to face more than five opponents in the preliminary stage.

But… they were all weak. I was desperately waiting to use Kiryu Second, but there was no opportunity to use it during the preliminaries.

“Die!!!”

A guy whose name I didn’t even know desperately swung his sword.

Clang-! Clang-! Claaang-!!!

I leisurely raised my sword to block the attacks.

Screech-!!!!

Then a power struggle ensued as the blades collided.

“Lacking in technique… and weak in strength too.”

A disrespectful remark naturally flowed from my mouth.

“What did you say, you bastard?”

Hostile eyes poured through the face guard.

“Hyaaah!!!!!!”

There was no need for further conversation. I immediately pushed the guy’s body with my sword with all my might.

Flash-!!

The guy’s body briefly lifted, and after losing the physical struggle, he rolled dramatically on the ground. A clean out-of-bounds defeat.

In that way, I advanced by defeating everyone in sight.

Thus, after a series of quick single matches, the main tournament participants were decided. A total of 16 people, including myself, stepped onto the platform.

Saito Kana proudly advanced to the main tournament. Given her strength, it wasn’t surprising.

And… Nendo-kun was also there.

‘That guy is here too.’

The gun-wielding cowgirl was also present. She was surprisingly strong. Her name was Milk… no, Tina, I think.

Wink-!

The cowgirl immediately winked at me. Why is she suddenly acting like this?

“Now!!!! The tournament bracket for the 16 participants will be revealed!!!!”

The announcer enthusiastically spun the lottery machine.

As numbered balls came out one by one, the bracket was immediately updated.

The two competitors for the first match of the round of 16 were none other than… Nendo and me.

This match would determine Umi’s fate. I naturally became fired up.

“I will definitely… save Umi from you.”

Nendo, who seemed to have some serious misunderstanding, glared at me with hostile eyes.

“Umi is mine.”

I stated firmly.

During the fierce competition between two men, I glanced at Umi.

“………”

Umi was still in deep sleep mode. She was sleeping soundly, leaning against Eri’s body. That was so like Umi.

Well… I just needed to win and return before Umi woke up.

And so, the main event of the Bushin Cup, the main tournament, began.