Kondo, who was seated at the head of the table, sat with his back exceptionally straight. His notably serious tone unconsciously drew the attention of everyone present to him.
"Some of you might find it strange: The competition in seven days is not a life-and-death battle where not winning means dying, so why all the solemnity?"
As soon as Kondo said this, a small portion of the people present immediately had unnatural expressions.
They looked puzzled and avoided eye contact.
Kondo paused, as if gathering his emotions before speaking again.
"Indeed, our upcoming match with Xuanwu Hall is just an ordinary swordsmanship competition aimed at ’exchanging techniques.’ There’s no gambling involved, and certainly no lives at stake."
"But—"
With a change in tone, Kondo’s voice and facial expression softened.
"A swordsman who competes without the desire to win is not a good swordsman!"
"Even if it’s a competition where losing doesn’t cause any significant damage, I don’t want to lose!"
"I want to win! Do you want to win?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the dojo was instantly filled with a passionate chorus:
"We want to win! We want to win!"
"Let’s show Xuanwu Hall the might of our Shiwei Hall!"
"Beat them!"
Kondo’s resonant voice had a special charisma.
With just a few simple words, he infused the atmosphere of the dojo and the faces of many with a spirited and uplifting air.
"Brother Kondo is increasingly exuding the demeanor of a great man," Toshisuke said with a smile.
However, right at this moment, a sudden deep male voice made the previously enthusiastic expressions of Kondo and the others freeze.
"So—Asheng, have you made up your mind?" said Hijikata, sitting cross-legged on the cold wooden floor, leaning his right elbow against his right knee and supporting his head with his right arm, his face expressionless. "In seven days, what strategy are we going to use against Xuanwu Hall?"
"Ahahaha..." Kondo awkwardly scratched his temple, "I... haven’t made up my mind yet..."
"You haven’t made up your mind?" Hijikata paused, slightly surprised.
"Ahahaha..." Kondo laughed awkwardly a few more times, "The reason I gathered everyone today is to hear your thoughts again."
In an instant, everyone present began discussing with varied expressions.
Since deciding to compete against Xuanwu Hall, Shiwei Hall has almost daily held meetings to discuss competition strategies.
However... even after more than half a month of repeated meetings, no concrete results have yet emerged.
The reason is not hard to explain—it’s simply because Xuanwu Hall is too strong.
Although most of the members of Shiwei Hall do not want to admit it... the fact remains that Xuanwu Hall’s overall strength is indeed far superior to theirs, and this is indisputable
Though Shiwei Hall has developed rapidly in recent months by recruiting many new apprentices, the gap between them and the deeply rooted Xuanwu Hall is clearly not something that can be bridged in such a short time.
The strength levels among Shiwei Hall’s members resemble a very typical "pyramid" structure.
Those like Aoto and Toshisuke stand at the very top, even among renowned sword dojos like Xuanwu Hall and the Training Hall, they could become star-level swordsmen.
As for those at the bottom... each one is less skilled than the next.
The disparity in strength among the members is too great; only a few stand at the top, while the rest linger in the middle and bottom parts of the pyramid—this is the challenge Shiwei Hall currently faces.
It’s precisely this challenge that has left Aoto and the others uncertain about which strategy to adopt for the upcoming match.
Even the most skillful craftsman cannot cook a meal without rice. With the "troops" not strong enough, the available strategies are seriously limited.
From the first "Military Council" until now, they have collectively brainstormed numerous tactics... but none have been convincing to everyone.
"How about... we use the strategy that defeated Little Chiba Sword Dojo before?" someone timidly suggested, "Deploy a small number of elite fighters..."
"That’s not going to work."
Before the person could finish speaking, Aoto, who had originally designed the strategy, interrupted.
"The success of that strategy relies heavily on the element of surprise."
"It only achieves optimal results on the first use."
"I don’t think the people at Xuanwu Hall haven’t studied how Little Chiba Sword Dojo was thoroughly defeated at the ’Plum Blossom Festival’ six months ago."
"In any case, tactics that have likely been thoroughly studied by the opponent absolutely cannot be reused."
As soon as Aoto finished speaking, a large man with a burly build shouted boisterously:
"Then let’s just not use any tactics or strategies! Charge straight ahead! Confront Xuanwu Hall head-on!"
"I agree!" another burly man sitting next to him chimed in, "Half a year ago, even without Mr. Hijikata and Uncle Gen, we were able to dominate Little Chiba Sword Dojo! Now, with all of Shiwei Hall’s top fighters present, why should we fear Xuanwu Hall?"
"Hahaha, that’s not going to work."
Inoue smiled wryly, gently shaking his head as he continued,
"You don’t know the fearsome reputation of Chiba Daisaburo... If Chiba Daisaburo were not participating, we could consider the ’charge straight ahead’ approach you suggested."
"Is Chiba Daisaburo really that formidable?" asked a young man sitting opposite Inoue, tilting his head in confusion.

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