Ch.348Year-End Stamp Rally (3)

“You shall not pass!!”

“If you want to get through here, you must defeat me!!”

On the path leading to the main house, three disciples blocked our way.

“Perfect, there are three of them. Each of you take one down. We need to conserve energy for Jurota.”

Gonzaemon crossed his arms with a smile.

“Hyaaaah!!”

Hearing that, I immediately drew my sword and marked the one on the far left. Kana and Thumbs-up Man naturally marked the remaining two.

Clang-! Clash-! Clank-!

Oh. This guy was quite strong. He didn’t get cut down in one strike. That meant he was strong enough to withstand several exchanges.

However, I had become too powerful now. I no longer felt much excitement when facing ordinary opponents.

“Die!!”

After our swords clashed once, he launched a powerful thrust aimed at my head, trying to finish me off.

Whoosh-!!

“I read you perfectly!!”

I shouted as I slightly twisted my body.

Kwaaang-!

Afterward, I stomped on his shinai with all my might to prevent him from swinging his sword.

“Ugh… how could you read that move…!”

He immediately released his grip on the sword and tried to roll away. The fact that he made such a judgment showed he was quite skilled.

But my sword was much faster.

Whack-!!

My shinai cleanly struck his head.

“Gaaah!!”

He collapsed immediately.

Thud-! Flop-!

Soon after, Thumbs-up Man and Kana also subdued their opponents almost simultaneously.

“Hahahahaha!! Jurota!! I know you’re watching from somewhere!!! My disciples are much stronger!!”

Gonzaemon laughed heartily. So he brought us here for a dojo challenge just to say that line. I couldn’t help but sense that, whether I liked it or not.

Anyway, we entered the main house without bloodshed.

At the entrance of the serene Japanese mansion, disciples gathered.

“We must protect the master at all costs!!”

“Block them no matter what!!”

The disciples immediately grabbed their swords. There were so many of them. This dojo really has a lot of people. I couldn’t help but realize that. If they collected monthly tuition from each person, they’d probably rival any building owner’s income.

“Stand down. These are not opponents you can handle.”

At that moment, a middle-aged man was smiling while tilting his sake cup.

There were two cups, and in front of him sat… a life-sized doll. At first glance, it was a realistic doll that looked almost identical to a human.

“I apologize, Sumiko. I’ll handle this quickly.”

He said while stroking the doll’s head.

“This guy is insane!!”

Kana shouted loudly.

“There are many peculiar people among kendo practitioners.”

Thumbs-up Man said.

“No… Thumbs-up Man. You’re peculiar enough yourself.”

I said to Thumbs-up Man.

“Hmph. You’ve come again this year, Gonzaemon.”

The man called Jurota bit down on a cigarette.

“Ah. Still crazy as ever, I see.”

Gonzaemon said, looking at the doll.

“Hmph. It’s absurd for one who pursues the way of the sword to pay attention to the vulgar 3D world.”

Jurota said.

“The way of the sword exists in 2D.”

Jurota continued.

“But technically, a doll is still 3D…”

Kana couldn’t help but interject.

“Oh? Aren’t you that ill-mannered young lady from the Saito family? Why are you here?”

Jurota stared at Kana.

“Hahaha! You’ll be surprised to hear this! She’s temporarily under our dojo’s care!”

Gonzaemon shouted.

“Indeed! Our disciple has captured this girl! Both body and heart! That’s the pretext for bringing her here!”

Gonzaemon slapped my shoulder repeatedly.

“But… isn’t our Umi better than Kana?”

Then, Gonzaemon glared at me and asked. He seemed concerned about his daughter’s ranking.

“I love everyone equally.”

That’s what I said.

“You bastard!!! That’s not what I asked!!”

Gonzaemon immediately tried to punish me.

At that moment, Jurota made a move, so Gonzaemon stopped his punishment.

“Your proud visit this time was worth it. The disciples you’ve brought are quite excellent.”

Jurota stood up abruptly.

“Let’s have a match! You’ve been waiting for this all year too!”

Gonzaemon started swinging his sword around.

“I don’t mind… but it’s somewhat boring. Given our past record, today will likely be another even match.”

Jurota said.

Wait. He’s on par with our master? This guy must be incredibly strong too.

“Since you’ve made the effort to come here… I’ll teach your disciples a lesson.”

Jurota said.

“I’m busy, you see. I’ll spar with each of them for five minutes.”

Jurota said, raising his hand.

“Hmph. Quite arrogant… but fine. Old men like me shouldn’t have all the fun.”

Gonzaemon surprisingly agreed readily.

“You all, don’t disappoint your master.”

Gonzaemon said that, then leaned against a nearby tree and yawned.

I quietly observed Jurota.

‘Overwhelming Strong One’

The status window immediately displayed the message indicating a strong opponent. If I could win, I could convert his memories into a strong one’s…

‘Victory against this opponent is impossible. However, fighting against a strong one still has meaning. Defeat will teach you a valuable lesson.’

Oh. So it’s okay to lose? This was a fight to learn a lesson.

It’s like those battles in JRPGs where you’re meant to lose. It was essentially a defeat event.

“I’ll go first.”

Thumbs-up Man said.

“Thumbs-up Man! You should enjoy the bell more!”

I shouted loudly.

“No. I need to drain his stamina so you or Kana can defeat him.”

Thumbs-up Man said.

“Thumbs-up Man… you selfless guy!!”

I immediately shed hot manly tears.

“Hahahahaha! Defeat me? You young people are full of spirit.”

Jurota laughed loudly.

“You’re far from it.”

Jurota then placed his hand on the shinai at his waist with a serious expression.

“Hyaaaah!!”

Such boastful talk naturally fired me up. Thumbs-up Man immediately charged forward with his sword.

Claaang-!

They exchanged the first blow.

Clash-! Clank-! Claaang-!

Surprisingly, Thumbs-up Man was holding his own. Probably due to the practical experience gained from dungeon raids together.

“This… Thumbs-up Man has lost.”

But Kana and I knew the outcome of the match.

Twirl-!

Taking advantage of the timing when Thumbs-up Man thrust his sword, Jurota spun like he was dancing. It was a graceful movement like dancing with Thumbs-up Man’s sword. His body seemed like something slippery.

“Hnngh…!”

Thumbs-up Man tried to regain his composure somehow. But it was too late.

Whack-!

Jurota brought his shinai down on Thumbs-up Man’s bald head.

“Gaaah!!”

Thumbs-up Man collapsed immediately.

“That’s one down. Still, lasting five minutes shows potential.”

Jurota said with a smile.

“Sho, Shota…! I’ve figured out this guy’s techniques and abilities…! This guy is…!!”

Thumbs-up Man tried to give us a hint. It was a desperation comparable to Kakyoin.

“Tsk tsk. Giving hints during a sacred match is unsportsmanlike.”

Jurota smiled and swung his sword again.

Whack-!

The sword struck Thumbs-up Man’s bald head once more.

Thud-!

With that, Thumbs-up Man completely lost consciousness.

“I’ll take the next turn.”

I stepped forward with a smile.

“Shota…”

Kana looked at me.

“I’d be too sad if my lover got hurt.”

I stroked Kana’s head.

“Oh my…”

With that, Kana blushed and stepped back.

“Tch.”

Umi clicked her tongue.

“Please teach me well.”

I bowed with my sword ready.

“Very well. Arigiri Shota. I know your reputation. I was impressed by your performance in the Warrior God Cup.”

Jurota smiled and raised his sword.

“But you still lack something. I’ll teach you a lesson.”

Jurota said.

“Then… here I come!!”

I immediately charged at Jurota with my sword.

Claaang-! Clash-! Claaang-!

Just like with Thumbs-up Man, we exchanged sword strikes. This seemed normal so far… but something felt off.

Slip-!

The two frictionless shinai were sliding against each other with tremendous force.

Drip…

Something wet and slippery fell onto my hand. Yes. It felt like… touching a frog.

Slip…!

My hand holding the sword grip slipped. Because of that, my sword stance became slightly twisted.

Of course, Jurota didn’t miss that opening.

Whoosh-!

A sword strike flew toward my head. I barely dodged it by bending my neck backward like doing the limbo.

“What the… hell…!”

What is this? There’s a strange floral scent… lotion? Is that it?

“You’ve finally noticed.”

Jurota said with a smile.

There was something in Jurota’s pocket. It was…

“Love gel?!!!”

What?! Why is he carrying that around so preciously?!!

“I carry love gel so I can have happy time with my doll anytime. And… I’ve reached the level of integrating it with swordsmanship.”

Jurota said.

“You’re insane!! Seriously!!”

I consider myself quite peculiar, but this guy is something else!!!

“No. This is actually mentioned in the Yagyu family’s secret sword manual. Our ancestors… applied oil to their swords to smoothly execute techniques and link forms. I’ve adapted that using love gel.”

He said with a smile.

“That’s cheating!!”

Umi immediately objected.

“No… it’s not cheating. That’s where the skill difference shows. He had enough leeway to take out love gel and spread it around while crossing swords with Shota. That’s the difference in their level.”

Kana said.

Yes. I was already at a disadvantage from the start, so I wasn’t even angry.

Slip-!

At that moment, Jurota dodged my sword strike by slipping away like flowing water.

“Since you’ve lasted this long, I’ll show you something interesting.”

At that moment, Jurota curled his hand to form a sheath-like shape and inserted his shinai into it.

“This is the Yagyu-style Battojutsu. Consider it an honor.”

After that, Jurota spread love gel on his shinai with tremendous force.

I immediately sensed that he was about to use some extraordinary technique.