Chapter 177: Chapter 95: Aoto: "Let Me Be the Grand General!

The spectators gathered around the competition venue... numbering close to 400 people...

Because there were simply too many people, those who arrived a step late could only be blocked by the dense human wall, unable to see the view inside the competition venue.

A few people, in order to secure a good "viewing spot," went to climb the nearby plum trees—only to be sternly scolded by the witches of Yudashima Tenman Temple.

What was happening on the Little Chiba Sword Dojo’s side, Aoto was unclear, but he knew what the situation was on their Shiwei Hall’s side now—inclusive of Kondo and Chokata, almost everyone was visibly tense...

Aoto even noticed one of his senior brothers’ hands and feet trembling like a shivering fit, making one seriously doubt if he could still hold the bamboo sword steadily.

Given everyone’s nervousness, Aoto could understand, as everyone probably seldom... or rather, almost never held a "Red and White Battle" with such a large audience.

Feeling tense was inevitable.

Aoto’s current mental state was relatively stable. After all, in his previous life, he frequently participated in events similar to "speech competitions" that required him to showcase his talents in front of a large crowd, having been through such training, the mere presence of 400 spectators was not enough to make Aoto feel tense.

As the number of spectators continued to increase, the scene grew increasingly noisy.

Naturally, some abnormal voices began gradually emerging and making their way into Aoto and his companions’ ears...

Such as, for instance, now—

"What sword dojo is this Shiwei Hall? I’ve never heard of this sword dojo."

"It seems to be a dojo that teaches some kind of Celestial Thought and Reason Heart Stream."

"It’s Natural Reasoning Heart Stream."

"Ah yes, yes, I remembered wrong, it’s Natural Reasoning Heart Stream, not Celestial Thought and Reason Heart Stream."

"I’ve never heard of either the dojo name or this style..."

"This Shiwei Hall seems to be just an unremarkable sword dojo in our Edo."

"Why can such an obscure little sword dojo compete against a prestigious dojo like Little Chiba Sword Dojo? This kind of match is utterly uninteresting, right? With such a disparity in strength, wouldn’t the swordsmen of Little Chiba Sword Dojo just completely overpower the swordsmen of Shiwei Hall?"

"Who knows how these two dojos ended up with the opportunity to compete together. In any case, I came specifically to watch this match just to catch a glimpse of that Chiba Sonako, and see how impressive the famous swordsmen of Little Chiba Sword Dojo really are."

"Tsk tsk, that Chiba Sonako really is beautiful."

"Just look at her curves and butt, how did she grow that way, while the rest of her is so skinny, yet those particular parts are so full."

"Hey, do you all think—when Chiba Sonako participates in the intense match soon, will she shake violently there?"

...

This conversation was transmitted from the "Main Array" adjacent to Shiwei Hall, from the mouths of four middle-aged men on a certain section of seats west of the "Main Array" of Shiwei Hall.

These four middle-aged men were dressed in clothes with many patches. At this moment, they were still conversing incessantly.

They also knew that the topics they just discussed would offend the people of Shiwei Hall, so they tried hard to lower their volume.

However—they were all not very good at speaking quietly.

Despite their efforts to lower their volume, Aoto and the others waiting inside the "Main Array" for the competition to start still clearly heard the content of these four men’s conversation.

Instantly, an expression of resentment spread across everyone’s faces.

Aoto’s brow furrowed at this moment as well, with visible displeasure rising in his eyes and on his face.

However, Aoto was merely displeased and did not become angry like he did before when hearing Chiba Domon Shiro refer to Shiwei Hall as a "Third-Class Sword Dojo."

Because the nature of the two situations was quite different.

The remarks of those four men, while unpleasant, were stating iron-cast, unquestionable facts...

The reputation, scale, number of apprentices, and the quality of students at Shiwei Hall were indeed far inferior to Little Chiba Sword Dojo.

The reason this forthcoming competition was able to attract so many spectators was largely due to Little Chiba Sword Dojo’s fame.

Quite a few spectators in the stands were likely drawn here by the renowned name of Little Chiba Sword Dojo.

Shiwei Hall? What’s that? We came to see Little Chiba Sword Dojo.

Several apprentices with more explosive tempers turned, casting harsh glances at those four middle-aged men.

Noticing the menacing glances, almost condensing into tangible hostility, the middle-aged men quickly realized that their previous words had likely been overheard by people from Shiwei Hall, and their faces instantly turned pale as they hurriedly turned and left.

Someone started to stand up, wanting to pursue these four middle-aged men, but was stopped by Kondo.

"Where do you think you’re going? Come back!"

The person glanced at Kondo with indignation a few times, gritted his teeth, and sat back down in his place.

Kondo had certainly heard the unsavory comments of those four middle-aged men earlier.

With the competition about to commence, Kondo certainly couldn’t allow his apprentices to cause any disturbances.

Moreover... like Aoto, Kondo had a rational judgment regarding the words of those men earlier.

There was nothing incorrect in what they said, and confronting them wouldn’t put the people of Shiwei Hall in the right.

To train Kondo, Zhouzhu had given him full authority and responsibility for managing and directing the entire competition today.

Personally, Zhouzhu would not intervene in any matters related to the competition today; instead, he would stay with Abi in the "VIP seat," quietly observing the competition until it concluded.

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