Chapter 168: Chapter 93: Aoto: "Please Take Back What You Just Said!

The expression on Sazanoko’s face changed as well.

Sazanoko’s willow eyebrows knitted together, a tint of displeasure appearing on her face.

Suddenly, a surprised cry came from not far away:

"Eh, isn’t that Brother Tadomaru? What are you doing here?"

Chiba Shigetarou, holding a roasted squid in each hand likely bought from a nearby vendor, cast a bewildered glance at the handsome young man, while forcefully squeezing through the "human wall" blocking his path.

The "human wall" in front of Chiba Shigetarou was thin, so he quickly broke through all "obstacles" and came to Sazanoko’s side.

"Brother Shigetarou." The handsome young man said in a deep voice, "I came specifically to advise you both."

"Advise us?" Chiba Shigetarou’s eyebrow twitched.

"Playing the tedious ’Battle Game’ with the Shiwei Hall, a third-class Sword Dojo with few apprentices and generally poor swordsmanship skills... it’s a complete waste of time."

"I urge your Little Chiba Sword Dojo to take on the responsibility of being a Great Sword Dojo to ’train disciples into talents,’ and to use precious time for nurturing disciples or other proper affairs. Don’t waste valuable time playing games!"

"Tsk..." Chiba Shigetarou’s expression instantly turned the same as Sazanoko’s—displeasure visibly surfacing on his face at an eye-catching speed.

Just as Chiba Shigetarou was about to say something to the handsome young man—

"Mr. Shigetarou, Miss Sazanoko." At that moment, Aoto finally succeeded in leading Chokata and Saito, breaking through the layers of people and squeezing out from the dense crowd.

Chiba Shigetarou: "Mr. Tachibana? Lord Toshisuke?"

The brother and sister standing side by side threw surprised and astonished glances at Aoto’s unexpected arrival.

The handsome young man also cast an astonished glance at Aoto and the others who appeared out of the blue.

First puzzled, he focused his gaze on Aoto, this unfamiliar person.

But upon discovering Chokata standing next to Aoto, his expression quickly changed, immediately focusing all his gaze and attention on Chokata.

"Mr. Chokata...?" The handsome young man raised an eyebrow, softly murmuring Chokata’s name in a volume only he could hear.

Under the gaze of everyone’s varied emotions, Aoto walked slowly to the side of Chiba Shigetarou and Sazanoko.

Just as he settled beside the siblings, Aoto straightforwardly asked them:

"Mr. Shigetarou, Miss Sazanoko, who is this?" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

With his eyebrows still furrowed, Aoto gestured towards the handsome young man.

"Uh..." Chiba Shigetarou awkwardly scratched the hair on the back of his head.

Judging from Aoto and Chokata’s expressions, he knew: the handsome young man’s earlier mockery of the Shiwei Hall had been heard by them...

Chiba Shigetarou laughed dryly several times:

"Mr. Tachibana... This is the fourth son of my uncle Chiba Shusaku: Chiba Tadomaru Yorozu, who is also my cousin and Sazanoko’s."

—The fourth son of Chiba Shusaku...?

Aoto raised his gaze, scrutinizing Chiba Tadomaru Yorozu’s features—his appearance indeed bore some resemblance to Shigetarou and Sazanoko.

"...Mr. Chokata, long time no see." At this moment, Chiba Tadomaru Yorozu suddenly initiated a greeting with Chokata.

"Yes, it’s quite unfortunate." Chokata snorted coldly, his face indifferent, "Accidentally seeing you spoiled my good mood from earlier."

Despite Chokata’s harsh sarcasm, Chiba Tadomaru Yorozu didn’t show a hint of resentment; instead, he sported a carefree smile.

Before Aoto could express any curiosity about the seemingly past grievances between Chokata and Chiba Tadomaru Yorozu, Chokata leaned closer to Aoto, in a voice only they could hear, supplementing Chiba Shigetarou’s introduction of Chiba Zemon Shiro:

"Mr. Tachibana. This Chiba Tadomaru Yorozu is the Deputy Master of Xuanwu Hall."

Upon this, Chokata paused, then continued in a complex tone:

"He is also one of those people I previously mentioned who looks down on our Shiwei Hall and refuses to exchange swordsmanship with us..."

Aoto’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Chokata’s last sentence cleared the lingering fog in his mind—he immediately understood why Chiba Tadomaru Yorozu had called their Shiwei Hall a "Third-class Sword Dojo" so brazenly in public just now.

"Brother Tadomaru!"

Chiba Tadomaru Yorozu’s previous ridicule of the Shiwei Hall was heard by Aoto and others... This left Chiba Shigetarou, caught between family and friends, so embarrassed he didn’t know how to express it.

To swiftly escape this extremely awkward situation, Chiba Shigetarou cleared his throat forcefully, then turned to Chiba Tadomaru Yorozu with a stern face.

"Whatever you want to say, save it for private discussion later!"

"Look around; is this a place to discuss matters?"

"In front of so many spectators, what kind of decorum is this?"

"Leave quickly! If you don’t, beware of me reporting your actions today to our cousins later!"

Reporting to the cousins—upon hearing this, Chiba Tadomaru Yorozu’s expression suddenly changed.

He turned his head, looking around.

The crowd gathering to watch the excitement was growing larger, encircling them in layers.

In the distance, several young witches in red and white attire noticed the commotion here and were hurriedly heading toward them, lifting the hems of their crimson hakama as they came.