He gazed calmly into Aoto’s eyes.
“Mr. Tachibana, the Iaijutsu you used to break through my defense and shatter my porcelain bowl... Is that a move you created yourself? Does it have a name?”
Even those feeling the sting of today’s defeat had no choice but to suppress their inner resentment at this time and follow suit, bowing properly and respectfully in succession to Aoto and the others.
Suddenly, Aoto realized: the frequency with which he activated his “Deceiver” recently seemed excessively high...
Seeing this, Aoto and the others quickly bowed in return.
“Hmm...” Toshisuke nodded lightly, “I created this Profound Technique myself. Since the move initiates with ‘Flat Cyan Eye,’ I named it ‘Flat Cyan Eye Three-Stage Thrust.'”
After offering this simple compliment to Aoto, Chiba Daisaburo silently shifted his gaze to Toshisuke, who stood beside Aoto.
Among everyone present, only Kiryu and Mukiwa clearly understood that Aoto had only started officially practicing Iaijutsu at the beginning of this month.
Aoto had promised Kiryu not to reveal his true identity as the famously renowned Ship-Slaying Sword Hero, Mamiya Kurō, to anyone.
Thinking this, Aoto couldn’t help but let out a silent chuckle in his heart, finding it amusing.
Most of those familiar with Mamiya Kurō knew that his signature technique was the Divine Speed Iaijutsu “Flowing Light,” where the sound of the sword unsheathing was only heard after it struck its target.
Fortunately, the final result was fairly perfect; he not only beautifully drew the sword from its “scabbard” but also successfully shattered Chiba Daisaburo’s porcelain bowl.
With the Hall Master leading the bow, there was no way that Chiba Domon Shiro and his disciples could remain indifferent.
The time given for defense or evasion is extremely short.
Before Aoto could ponder whether he had ever seen the old man somewhere before, Chiba Dingji broke into hearty laughter:
“Hmm.” Aoto nodded without hesitation, “I created it myself. As for the name... I haven’t thought of one yet.”
After thrusting the sword with all their force, in the next moment, using superb technique and unparalleled explosive muscle power, the sword is swiftly drawn back in front of the body and reset to the Flat Cyan Eye stance... repeating this for three consecutive strikes.
Until just now, a subtle atmosphere had persisted all around, but in the instant when both sides exchanged respectful bows, much of it dissipated overwhelmingly.
“What a dominating and powerful move. If you had used a real sword and scabbard for this strike, even if I used my best double swords to block, I might not have been able to perfectly defend against it.”
Just as Toshisuke mentioned earlier: for her current self, thrusting three swords consecutively is already the limit, and after thrusting the third sword, she would be too exhausted to send out a fourth thrust.
“Hahaha, what an exciting ‘Red and White Battle’!”
“Mr. Chokata, what about you? Is your three-stage thrust a move you created yourself? Does it have a name?”
However—the flaws do not overshadow the brilliance.
At this moment—
“Profound Technique... ‘Flat Cyan Eye Three-Stage Thrust’... Can this Profound Technique of yours only thrust three times in succession?”
Even someone as strong as Chiba Daisaburo couldn’t completely fend off Toshisuke’s three swords!
Additionally, since Aoto hadn’t used Flowing Light in actual combat before, until the moment he swung the sword, his mood was tense—worried about whether he could execute the move perfectly.
Seeing Aoto respond this way, Chiba Daisaburo ceased further inquiries.
After saying that, Chiba Daisaburo slightly bowed, offering an unyielding yet respectful bow to Aoto and the others in front of him.
Anyone with some vision and martial arts ability could see that the most terrifying aspect of Toshisuke’s ‘Flat Cyan Eye Three-Stage Thrust’ wasn’t that each strike was a full-force straight thrust, but rather the unbelievably quick “resetting of stance!”
“Hmm?” Aoto sent a puzzled look in the direction of the voice.
Unfortunately, this move has quite an apparent shortcoming—the strain it places on Toshisuke’s body is especially great.
“Mr. Saito. It’s been a long time.”
The “resetting of stance” is so fast that these three swords “almost simultaneously” thrust towards the opponent!
The shout came from an elderly man with a weathered face and a long, grizzled beard.
The first half of Chiba Daisaburo’s words were directed at Toshisuke, while the latter half were addressed to everyone at Shiwei Hall.
Aoto didn’t recognize the young samurai, but he found the old man to be somewhat familiar...
——I wonder how everyone would react if they knew that this “Profound Technique” of mine had only been practiced for ten days.
Following behind the old man, who was approaching Aoto and the rest slowly with hands clasped behind his back, was a young samurai with quite composed features.
It’s a technique truly worthy of the name “Profound Technique.”
“Yes.” Toshisuke chuckled softly, “At present, I can only barely manage three consecutive thrusts. After thrusting the third sword, I can no longer hold my posture.”
“... An incredible Profound Technique. Thank you for hosting us today; I concede today’s match willingly.”
Aoto humbly agreed with Chiba Daisaburo’s praise.
Despite such a significant flaw, it didn’t prevent Chiba Daisaburo from casting a gaze of approval toward Toshisuke at this moment.
Thus, Aoto could neither claim his Iaijutsu was learned from Kiryu nor disclose the move’s name.
Though Aoto’s exaggeratedly high swordsmanship talent meant mere ten days of training could equal one or two years of diligent practice for ordinary people, such a short training time inevitably brought a bit of insecurity.
“Hahahaha.” The elder stroked his beard, “Mr. Chiba, forgive me for the long silence.”

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