Ch.109Rise Up, Gambling God (6)

The first match was none other than a showdown between me and Nendo.

It was a high-stakes battle with a woman on the line.

The two of us stood in the center of the arena, swords in hand.

“If I win this fight… as promised, I’ll take Umi. Only I… can make Umi happy!!”

Nendo immediately shouted, setting the mood.

“Ohhh… fighting over a woman, are they?”

“Hahaha! How wonderfully romantic.”

With that, the atmosphere in the arena heated up. People… they love stories about romance. Especially when it’s a battle for someone’s affection—that kind of thing makes them salivate.

“Ugh… so noisy.”

Because of the commotion around her, Umi started to grumble sleepily.

“Umi… they’re talking about you. Wake up already.”

Eri said, lightly slapping Umi’s cheeks.

“Mmm… Oh. Shota and Nendo are fighting?”

Only then did Umi, the subject of this whole affair, open her eyes.

“Hey, hey, you… You were just childhood friends in elementary school, and she rejected you in middle school. If you haven’t been in contact since then, you’re out of the picture. Deep down, you know that too, right?”

I helped Nendo face reality. If she had feelings for him, she wouldn’t have cut contact, right?

“Sh-shut up!!!”

Nendo immediately took the bait.

“Sorry, but Umi is already happily with me. We’re connected in both body and soul. Wake up from your dream.”

I raised my sword.

“B-body and soul… y-you despicable…!!!”

Nendo trembled as he spoke.

“Umi and I have such great physical chemistry, you know. We’re all over each other every day.”

I attempted a psychological attack against Nendo.

But I wasn’t saying it just to provoke him. We really do that stuff every day.

“L-liar… you’re just bluffing, right?! There’s no way shy Umi would do that…!”

Nendo said, flustered.

“She’s only shy around you. Wake up.”

I wanted to attack his mind more… but I should keep it age-appropriate. This baldy is still a minor.

“She’s like a juicy peach. A peach filled with warm juice.”

I said something along those lines. Peach… it does fit Umi’s image. Fair-skinned and plump. That’s Umi’s charm point.

“You bastard… I won’t forgive you!!!!!!”

Nendo immediately roared and raised his sword. Hehehe. That worked well.

“Nendo! Stay calm!!”

Takezo, Nendo’s father, shouted from the stands.

However, Nendo had no intention of listening.

“If we weren’t careful about protection, Umi would be pregnant by now. Since we do it every day.”

I delivered the finishing blow.

“Umi… that’s not true, is it?”

Nendo immediately looked toward Umi in the stands.

“…Shota, you idiot. Why are you saying such things out loud?”

Umi blushed, her expression showing embarrassment. That was answer enough.

“I will definitely defeat you!!!!!!!”

Nendo roared and charged toward me.

Swish-!!!

Though he was small in stature as a man, he had considerable skill. In the blink of an eye, Nendo closed the distance between us.

Claaaaaang-!!

The two bamboo swords collided with tremendous force.

“Die!!!!”

Nendo swung his sword with incredible momentum.

Claaaang-!!

Right after the swords clashed, Nendo’s body began to turn transparent.

“Transparent Strike!!!”

And Nendo’s bamboo sword passed through my blade.

Whoooosh-!!

I immediately created distance to avoid his attack.

Flutter-!!

Nendo’s body, transformed into something like mist, swayed like paper.

Whoosh-! Whoop-! Whoooosh-!

His sword emerged from the mist, overwhelming me. Since he was in a semi-transparent state, I couldn’t cross swords with him. I skillfully avoided his attacks while creating distance.

Whoooooosh-!!

After dodging one sword strike, I backed away further.

“Hahaha!!! Try to hit me!!! What, can’t hit the mist?”

Nendo burst into hearty laughter.

“Well… I’ve figured out your level.”

I said, charging my breathing.

“Your technique is of the same system as mine. Breathing technique. You temporarily assimilate your body with the surrounding air through breathing. However, your physical form remains. If so, I can cut it. With my ‘Single Flash.'”

I raised my sword.

“Arigiri Shota!! I already know you can use Single Flash!!! But Single Flash requires charging time!! Do you think I’ll give you that opportunity?!!!”

Nendo pointed his sword at me and said.

“You’re right. This won’t work.”

I readily admitted.

“Hahaha! So you admit…”

I cut off Nendo’s words.

“Meeting you made me realize something. My girlfriends are so beautiful and charming that anyone would go crazy for them.”

I said, taking a middle stance.

“Sh-Shota…”

“Really… saying such embarrassing things…”

“Hehehe.”

The faces of my girlfriends all turned red at that.

“There will be plenty more people threatening the peace of my harem in the future. There were those bikers, and now I’ve met you. To protect my harem, I need to become stronger than anyone else.”

“Then… what are you going to do?”

Nendo muttered. He seemed confused by my lack of hesitation.

“That’s why I’ve learned to fight with all my strength. So I won’t lose anyone… so everyone can be happy…!”

As I said this, I charged my breathing.

“Haaaaaah… haaaaa…”

Hissssssss-!!!!!

Along with my breath, steam began to emit from my body. My body temperature was rising moment by moment, but my mind remained clear.

Thump-thump-thump-!

My heartbeat’s BPM gradually increased. My entire body’s metabolism accelerated rapidly.

Hissssss-!!!!!

“Steam from his body… what is that? It’s different from Single Flash…”

Nendo seemed confused.

However, a few people recognized what it was.

“That’s… Gonzaemon’s technique…”

Tenjoin Takezo, Nendo’s father, looked at me with astonishment.

“…He mastered that? A novice who hasn’t even done kendo for a year?”

Saito Tetsu also looked at me with surprised eyes. Wow. Impressing a warrior god. That’s a life achievement.

“He… he couldn’t use that technique when we fought before…”

Kana also seemed surprised.

“With this, all my sword techniques evolve to the next level.”

And I named the technique.

“Kiryu… Secondo!!”

It was a cheesy name, but I couldn’t resist announcing the technique name in this situation.

“What do you think you can do by turning your body into a pressure cooker?!! Huh?!!”

Nendo chose to charge at me.

Swoosh-!!

Nendo quickly tried to score a point against me, but unfortunately, he was too slow.

“Don’t underestimate pressure cookers.”

Swish-!!!

I immediately moved behind Nendo. It was almost like teleportation.

“What…”

Nendo tried to turn around with a confused tone.

“Even Piccolo Daimao was sealed in a pressure cooker.”

“What nonsense!!!!!!”

Seemingly offended by my jokes in this situation, Nendo shouted loudly and swung his sword at me.

Swish-!!!

However, Nendo was already unable to keep up with my speed.

I had already jumped above Nendo. I had already seized air superiority.

“Nendo!! Above!! Above!!!!”

Tenjoin Takezo tried to coach him. But even that coaching was too late.

“Head striiiiiike!!!!!!”

I delivered a head strike from mid-air.

“Ugh…!”

Nendo belatedly realized I was in the air and tried to transform his body into mist.

Thwack-!!

But the speed of my descending sword was faster. The sword I swung from mid-air cleanly struck Nendo’s head.

“Point!!!!!!”

Saito Tetsu, who had taken over as referee, immediately declared a point.

“What… is this…!”

Nendo stood there dumbfounded. He had lost a point in the blink of an eye.

“Well. Aren’t you coming?”

I gestured with my sword toward Nendo. One more point to go.

“You bastaaaaaaaard!!!!!!!!”

Nendo, seemingly furious to the core, immediately transformed his body into mist from the start.

I see. He plans to maintain immunity to slashes by transforming in advance.

Swoosh-!!

However, I had overwhelming speed thanks to Kiryu Secondo. I dodged the strikes coming from the mist and charged my breathing again.

It was simple to buy time to charge my breathing for Single Flash. I was already one step ahead thanks to Kiryu Secondo. It was like I was taking three turns for every one turn my opponent took.

Shhhhhhhh-!!

I could clearly see Nendo’s breathing as he transformed his entire body into mist. He was using a special breathing technique… but it was of the same power system as mine. That’s why I could break it. Whether mist or steel, weaknesses from breathing techniques always exist.

“Single Flash Style Zero… Armor Breaker!!!!!”

Swoooooooooosh-!!!!!!

With enough force to disperse the mist, I swung my sword powerfully.

“Hahaha! Foolish one… thinking you can cut mist with such a weak Single Flash…!”

Nendo seemed relieved that the mist wasn’t completely dispersed.

However, the match was already over.

“Guhaaaaaack!!!!”

Nendo showed the whites of his eyes and returned to human form.

Crack-crack-crack-!! Crack-!!

Clang-!!!!!

The chest part of Nendo’s armor crumbled to dust.

“This… can’t be…”

Nendo muttered, looking at his crumbling armor.

“Umi doesn’t suit you. Give up.”

I said, looking at Saito Tetsu, the referee.

“Point!!!! Arigiri Shota!! Victory!!!”

At Saito Tetsu’s declaration, the crowd erupted in cheers.

And so, I advanced to the quarterfinals.

———-

While Shota himself didn’t think much of it, all the kendoka participating in the Warrior God Cup were shocked.

“Someone who hasn’t even been learning kendo for a year… is this strong?”

“That technique… it’s definitely Gonzaemon’s technique.”

“He even used Single Flash… what kind of training did he undergo…”

A once-in-a-generation talent had emerged. A solemn feeling of witnessing the birth of a legend swirled within them.

The existence of ‘Kiryu Gonzaemon’s direct disciple’ was etched into everyone’s minds.

And so, the round of 16 began with an impactful first match.