"I haven’t told anyone, including my master, Brother Kondo, and Mr. Hijikata, about my sister asking me to give up learning Swordsmanship."
"So, could you please keep this secret for me and not tell anyone about it?"
"Why haven’t you told them?" Aoto asked in confusion.
"I don’t want them to worry," Toshisuke smiled shyly, "If I tell them my sister is forcing me to stop learning Swordsmanship... they would definitely be like you, unable to stand by idly."
"This isn’t really something worth making a big fuss over."ovel.com
"I’ll solve it slowly by myself."
"Can you promise me not to spread this matter?"
Toshisuke looked up, blinking like a puppy, casting a pleading look at Aoto.
Toshisuke’s request was reasonable and not a troublesome matter.
Therefore, Aoto nodded lightly without hesitation:
"Alright, I will."
Three days later—
The 15th of August, Man’en 1 (1860)—
It was the afternoon, the time of day when Shiwei Hall was most crowded.
In theory, during this time, the dojo should have been filled with the shouts of the disciples and the clashing of bamboo swords.
But at this moment, the dojo of Shiwei Hall was quite quiet.
The shouts of apprentices practicing Swordsmanship and the sound of clashing bamboo swords were present but sparse.
The reason was that most of the disciples were now gathered in the northeast corner of the dojo, watching a sparring match between certain individuals.
"Ha-ah!"
Toshisuke swiftly took a step forward, accompanied by a low shout, swinging the sword down towards Aoto’s chest.
However, just as Toshisuke’s sword swung down, Aoto had already vanished from the spot pointed by the sword edge—Aoto had stepped to his own left front, dodging to Toshisuke’s side.
Such an excellent opportunity for a counterattack could not be left unexploited.
Starting with a right lower rank, Aoto launched a rising diagonal strike towards Toshisuke’s side abdomen, the momentum wrapped in the sword could easily slice Toshisuke’s body in two.
Just a blink ago, Toshisuke had been on the offensive; now he switched to defense.
Toshisuke slightly retracted his front foot, firmly planted his feet, lowered the bamboo sword and his body center, and the bamboo sword stood surely blocking the path Aoto’s bamboo sword must cross. With a "snap," Ai skillfully deflected this imposing strike that seemed intent on splitting him sideways.
The swift exchanges and the rich tactical details in the attack and defense between Aoto and Toshisuke invigorated the spectators around, engrossing them further in the intense battle of "Aoto vs. Chokata".
Observing the fights of experts provide a wealth of learning opportunities.
Whenever there were renowned top fighters like Aoto and Toshisuke having practice matches, Zhouzhu and Kondo would encourage less skilled disciples in the hall to watch and learn.
Currently, only a handful of people in Shiwei Hall, like Toshisuke, Kondo, Hijikata, and the resident Nagakura, Saito, could spar with Aoto.
And the one who sparred with Aoto the most was Toshisuke.
"Aoto vs. Toshisuke"—this scene played out almost daily in Shiwei Hall.
As Aoto’s Swordsmanship kept improving, he became increasingly aware of Toshisuke’s prowess.
Toshisuke was not just 50 times more talented in Swordsmanship than others.
Aoto was sure—Toshisuke possessed several top-level talents! Besides being a "Sword Genius," there were other strong talents within him!
If Aoto had to sum up Toshisuke’s body in one sentence... it would be that every part, every muscle of his body was like it had springs, full of explosive power!
Those unfamiliar with Toshisuke, upon seeing his small, slender frame, would certainly never guess—that Toshisuke was a swordsman with maxed-out ’strength’ and ’agility.’
The extraordinary explosive power gave Toshisuke strikes neither lacking in speed nor force; speeds as swift as lightning; and an ability to leap effortlessly from a standstill over Aoto’s 1.75-meter height without a run-up.
Besides the talent for "explosive power," Toshisuke also had talents related to "reaction speed."
Toshisuke’s reflexes were extremely developed, and like his explosive power, reached an incredible level.
One day, Toshisuke playfully demonstrated his reaction speed to Aoto: he tossed seven dishes taken from the kitchen into the air all at once and easily caught them all before they hit the ground.
Possessing both mighty explosive power and astonishing reaction speed... in a word: Toshisuke was the kind of swordsman who made opponents feel despairing, excelling both offensively and defensively, with both power and agility.
Regarding attack? A casual swing from Toshisuke was a strike of devastating power.
Regarding defense? Before Toshisuke’s reaction speed, all your moves couldn’t escape his notice.
With such explosive power and reaction speed... imagine what level of strength one must have to land a hit on Toshisuke?
The supreme talent in Swordsmanship coupled with this "Divine Blessing"-like body... the so-called "Martial Arts Genius" referred to someone like Toshisuke.
Regarding combat power alone... Toshisuke was undoubtedly the top master in Shiwei Hall for now.
Having grown old, even the slightest intense activity would make his shoulders ache, Zhouzhu had long acknowledged: currently, he was no longer a match for Toshisuke.

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