Tokyo: Starting with the Gear-Conscious Male Gods!

Chapter 55 How About Fighting Me?

Yuta Shirakawa followed behind Tsukizo Hoshino as they walked toward Sukera Hattori.

The two stopped in front of Hattori Kaira. Hoshino Tsukizuru bowed respectfully and introduced him, "Hattori-sensei, this is Shirakawa Yuta. His kendo skills are about..."

When Hoshino Tsukigen hesitated, unsure how to introduce him, Shirakawa Yuta stepped forward, bowed slightly, and continued, "Fourth Dan in Kendo, greetings to Hattori Ninth Dan."

Hattori Saki stared intently at Shirakawa Yuta, then suddenly asked, "What were you looking at just now?"

Yuta Shirakawa was taken aback, momentarily at a loss for words. Although he had been surprised, Hoshino Tsukigen had come out quickly, so he hadn't been looking at the wooden sword for very long.

Moreover, given the distance, he hadn't expected the other party to be so perceptive.

Seeing that the other person didn't speak, Hattori Sekira took the wooden sword from his waist and placed it in front of Shirakawa Yuta, asking, "Are you looking at this?"

Seeing that the other party had already directly broken the wooden sword, Shirakawa Yuta simply agreed: "Yes."

Hattori Kairoji's expression shifted slightly with a hint of doubt as he asked, "Is there anything different about this sword? Why are you staring at it?"

As the lightning flashed, Shirakawa Yuta's brain raced. He certainly couldn't say it was because he saw the red light on the knife, but fortunately, a reason was easy to come up with.

Yuta Shirakawa raised his head without batting an eye, his face displaying a perfectly timed expression of curiosity: "I'm just a little curious why you're carrying a wooden sword instead of a bamboo one."

Before Hattori Kairyo could speak, Hoshino Tsukizuru spoke first, saying, "Because when Hattori-sensei started learning kendo, there were no bamboo swords yet."

Yuta Shirakawa glanced at the other person's gray hair and then nodded in realization.

Hattori Sekira noticed a flicker of longing in Shirakawa Yuta's eyes as he looked at the wooden sword, but he didn't point it out. Instead, he brought up something else: "So, you defeated Tsukigami?"

Yuta Shirakawa raised an eyebrow and glanced at the expressionless Tsukizo Hoshino beside him. Was he going to punish the elder after the younger one had been beaten?

However, after thinking about it, he humbly said, "It's just that I had the advantage of being stronger."

Hattori Sekira shook his head upon hearing this: "No, Tsukigami has already shown me your fight. The reason you were able to win wasn't just because of overwhelming strength, but also because your fighting skills were superior to Tsukigami's. Tsukigami is very talented and hardworking, and he's not much worse than I was back then. That's why I was curious about how you were able to defeat Hoshino Tsukigami, and that's why I came here to see."

Yuta Shirakawa didn't know how to respond, so he simply nodded slightly to indicate that he had heard.

Hoshino Tsukizuru then spoke up at the opportune moment: "Teacher, now that you've seen it, shouldn't you arrange for my senior brother to have a match with him? Only in this way can we truly see his skill level."

Hattori Sekira shook his head. Just as Shirakawa Yuta and the other man were both very puzzled, they suddenly heard the other man say, "How about you fight me? Let me test your strength."

Yuta Shirakawa was taken aback and subconsciously looked at Sukeroshi Hattori. After confirming that the other party was obviously serious, he smiled wryly and said helplessly, "Hattori-senpai, please don't joke around. I'm only a fourth dan, fighting against you, a ninth dan. Isn't that just humiliating myself?"

Hattori Sekira shook his head: "I'm old now. My strength and reflexes are not what they used to be. The ninth dan is just an empty title."

Yuta Shirakawa still wanted to refuse, but before he could speak, Sukehiro Hattori spoke again:

"You seemed really interested in this knife, didn't you? If you beat me, I might consider giving it to you."

Yuta Shirakawa was taken aback, and swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue. He had been thinking about how to get his hands on this equipment, but he never expected that the opportunity would be presented to him like this.

Yuta Shirakawa swallowed hard. Since things had come to this point, there was no point in refusing, so he simply replied, "Alright! Then please enlighten me, Hattori-senpai!"

Hoshino Tsukizuru looked at Hattori Saki in disbelief. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but after seeing the other person shake his head almost imperceptibly, she had no choice but to swallow her words back.

While Shirakawa Yuta went to retrieve the wooden sword, news somehow got out that Hattori Kyudan was going to fight a young man.

When he rushed back, the area around the venue was already surrounded by people.

Yuta Shirakawa clicked his tongue in amazement, but his desire for the red equipment still made him suppress the unconscious fear he felt towards the ninth dan.

He pushed through the crowd and stood on the stage.

The onlookers then realized that the person fighting Hattori 9-dan was not from the dojo, and they began to discuss it amongst themselves.

"Who's that on stage? I've never seen him before."

"It seems to have been brought by Hoshino-sensei, not someone from our dojo."

"Junior Sister Hoshino? I think I've heard a rumor that she lost to a high school boy at Meitoku Private School. Could she be the one on stage?"

"My god, Hoshino Junior Sister lost in Mingde? I've never heard of any experts there."

"I don't know, but if it really is her, then is Hattori-sensei standing up for Hoshino-sensei? She's definitely the most favored one."

After seeing Shirakawa Yuta stand on the opposite side, Hattori Saki glanced at the audience, and the surroundings instantly fell silent.

There was no need for formalities; the wooden sword had already been handed to Hoshino Tsukizuru, who was standing to the side, and he had switched to a bamboo sword.

"Make your move."

Hattori Sekira held a bamboo sword loosely in one hand, hanging it at his side. His posture was relaxed and indifferent, seemingly defenseless, with flaws everywhere. However, Shirakawa Yuta had a feeling that if he really went for those so-called weaknesses, he would probably be defeated very quickly.

Yuta Shirakawa took a deep breath. "If that's the case, then let's do it the traditional way!"

Without any probing, Shirakawa Yuta chose to launch a direct attack!

With a sudden stomp of his right foot, he burst forward, his foot slamming against the wooden floor with a dull thud, his entire body shooting forward like an arrow released from a bow.

At the same time, he held the bamboo sword high with both hands, channeling all his strength into it as he slashed straight down the opponent's center. A gust of wind howled past, and his moves were wide and sweeping, revealing the sharp edge and brilliance unique to young people.

A hint of approval flashed in Hattori Sekira's eyes. His opponent's attack was extremely fast and powerful, decisive and clean, and even the distance he was judging was extremely tricky. It was at the moment when the bamboo sword fell and the force was at its maximum, making it difficult to block or dodge.

Based on this move alone, Hattori Sekiryo knew that Hoshino Tsukigen was not far from losing.

However, thinking you can take him down with this trick is wishful thinking.