My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 352 - 138: Aoto vs. Kondo Shuuzo! Passing Down the Secret Art of the Natural Reasoning Heart Stream!

However, Aoto’s timely admission of fault did not work... Kondo Shuuzo still rambled on about the dangers of not maintaining a calm mind during martial arts practice, leaving Aoto listening and sighing helplessly in his heart.

Just as Aoto was thinking about whether to find a way to say or do something to interrupt Kondo Shuuzo’s nagging, Kondo Shuuzo suddenly stopped talking.

Then... he switched to a tone of amazement and looked at Aoto with a meaningful gaze.

"...Looking back and thinking carefully... Mr. Tachibana, your progression speed is truly astonishingly fast."

"To think you would encounter your bottleneck period so quickly."

"Well, given your current level of strength, it’s not unusual to hit a bottleneck."

"Counting from the time you joined our Shiwei Hall, your formal training in Swordsmanship has been, at most, a little under 4 months."

"In just under 4 months, you’ve transformed from an ordinary person who barely understood Swordsmanship into a swordsman who is now making some progress in Swordsmanship... Hohoho, this speed, even Toshisuke couldn’t match."

Having said that, Kondo Shuuzo paused again.

"...I originally intended to teach ’this’ to you later... Well, given your current ability, you are qualified to advance to the ’next stage’ of content earlier."

Kondo Shuuzo smiled slightly, then slowly raised the bamboo sword in his hand and rested it on his shoulder.

"Mr. Tachibana, do you still have the strength?"

"If you still have strength, then come follow me."

"Since it’s rare for us both to gather at the dojo tonight... I will now teach you the advanced content of our Natural Reasoning Heart Stream following the basic technique training—the secret of the Natural Reasoning Heart Stream!"

"Huh?" Aoto blinked his eyes blankly.

Kondo Shuuzo had been talking about things he completely did not understand.

The secret of the Natural Reasoning Heart Stream... Even though he didn’t know what it was, just hearing the name made it sound like something incredible!

Almost without thinking—Aoto nodded vigorously towards Kondo Shuuzo: "I implore you to teach me!"

"Hohoho~ Then come with me."

Kondo Shuuzo led Aoto, swaggering, to... the very center of the dojo.

"As for the secret of the Natural Reasoning Heart Stream, explaining it dryly with words is very difficult to make you understand."

"So—"

Kondo Shuuzo smiled and turned around to face Aoto, lowering the bamboo sword in his hand with the momentum of the Lower Rank:

"I suppose I’ll teach you this secret in a more straightforward and forceful way."

Seeing Kondo Shuuzo’s actions, Aoto couldn’t help but be taken aback.

Before he had time to say or do anything, he saw the tip of a bamboo sword rapidly magnifying in his field of vision!

Aoto’s pupils narrowed slightly, and instinctively reacted—With a "snap," he raised his sword to deflect Kondo Shuuzo’s thrust, then retreated three steps back, widening the distance between himself and Kondo Shuuzo.

Kondo Shuuzo followed up, dragging his sword forward two steps, exposing Aoto’s figure once more under the edge of his sword!

No need for words, just straight into battle, huh... Glancing quickly at Kondo Shuuzo attacking without explanation and the bamboo sword in his hand, Aoto took a deep breath, gripped his sword with both hands, and firmly planted his feet on the ground!

One slash, then another! Kondo Shuuzo slashed at Aoto twice, respectively from the upper left and upper right.

One dodge, then another! Aoto’s body agilely flickered, evading Kondo Shuuzo’s consecutive strikes.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

The heart pounded powerfully and rapidly.

"Lone Brave" activated!

Aoto took a half step back with his right foot, his left shoulder pointing diagonally at Kondo Shuuzo, with the bamboo sword in his hand trailing at his right side, he swept the sword upward, aiming at Kondo Shuuzo’s chest.

With a loud bang, Kondo Shuuzo tilted his body, raised his sword to redirect Aoto’s attack to the side, then mimicked Aoto’s earlier move, advancing with his right shoulder, using the stance of the lower rank to slash upwards.

Aoto simultaneously launched a new round of attack, the tip of his sword drifting upward, switching to an upper rank sword stance, slashing towards Kondo Shuuzo’s upward strike!

Slam!

The tremendous impact transmitted along the sword body to Aoto’s palms, numbing them both.

The two swords clashed tightly together in mid-air.

Previously, he had only witnessed Kondo Shuuzo’s speed; this was the first time Aoto had directly felt Kondo Shuuzo’s strength.

Though Kondo Shuuzo was old, his strength was by no means weak! Engaging Aoto in direct swordplay and grappling, he was not at a disadvantage in the slightest!

Using his height advantage, Aoto leaned over the interlocked swords, peering down tightly at Kondo Shuuzo.

While Kondo Shuuzo, who was locking eyes with Aoto, grinned.

Then, Aoto felt the force that had been pressing directly against him suddenly disperse sideways.

Aoto gritted his teeth and followed suit, guiding the sword horizontally in the same direction with Kondo Shuuzo, maintaining the state of their blade guards locked together, running around in the dojo, heading straight to its edge, only stopping just before crashing into the wall.

With both feet securely planted on the ground, the two locked in a stalemate again, immersing their strength in their waists, countering each force with equal strength.

Aoto saw the muscles bulging in Kondo Shuuzo’s arms, stretching his clothing and aged skin, the veins in Kondo Shuuzo’s neck and arms clearly visible.

When it came to endurance, the elderly Kondo Shuuzo ultimately fell behind.

Aoto gradually felt the force pushing against him from the front begin to weaken.

Kondo Shuuzo gazed emotionlessly at his gradually lowered blade, took a deep breath, and then suddenly flashed his body to the left! Swiftly withdrawing from the grapple, taking sword and all to Aoto’s left side!