My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 400: Chapter 148: Unleashing Momentum! A Shocking Display!

Ultimately——his tightly clenched left fist slowly unclenched...

Immediately after, his whole body slumped like a defeated rooster, his head hanging low in front of his chest, his face pale like a dead man’s...

At that moment, Niitsuma Kan suddenly experienced a burst of severe headache!

He let out a low groan of pain, then instinctively raised his hand to support his head, but because he hadn’t removed his protective gear, his hand only touched his helmet.

This excruciating pain that made Niitsuma Kan feel like his head was splitting came and went quickly.

Within a few breaths, the intense pain slowly dissipated.

However, as the sudden pain vanished, Niitsuma Kan realized that the heightened concentration he had gained from consuming strange medicine disappeared along with the pain...

Immediately afterwards, Niitsuma Kan began to feel his body temperature rising significantly, and waves of dizziness surged in his brain...

...

...

The joyful atmosphere lingering over the audience on the Martial Arts platform persisted for a long time.

For most of the spectators present, this Swordsmanship Competition was truly a feast for the eyes! A series of unexpected and thrilling reversals constantly unfolded!

"Phew..." The master of a small Sword Dojo sighed deeply, then raised his gaze to the Shiwei Hall members seated not far from him, "Shiwei Hall is truly fortunate... to have produced such an unprecedented genius..."

At this moment, many people cast envious or jealous glances towards Aoto on the field and the Shiwei Hall entourage led by Zhouzhu on the Martial Arts platform.

Anyone with a functioning mind knew——after this competition, Aoto would become a sensation!

Before the competition started, many believed Aoto and the "Three Heroes" were evenly matched, thinking their clash would be a fierce battle.

Yet the reality unfolding before their eyes proved them all wrong!

In this competition, Aoto coincidentally fought each member of the "Three Heroes."

Thanks to this, Aoto could use solid battle results to tell everyone: those "Three Heroes" are no match for him!

From the start of the very first match after the competition officially began, Aoto demonstrated absolute strength, crushing everyone of his generation. Be it Adachi, whose strength was second only to the "Three Heroes," or Morioka and Tsuzaki from the "Three Heroes," all were instantly defeated by Aoto’s single sword strike.

After cutting through the tournament like a hot knife through butter to reach the finals, Niitsuma Kan, who suddenly displayed exceptional strength as Aoto’s final opponent, was the first and only one in this competition not to be instantly defeated by Aoto as the battle commenced.

But Niitsuma Kan didn’t last long either.

At the start of the finals, Niitsuma Kan could still hold his ground against Aoto, but within minutes, Aoto quickly overwhelmed Niitsuma Kan with his overwhelming talent advantage.

From today onwards, it is undeniable——Aoto’s fame will surely overshadow the "Three Heroes," becoming the most prominent newcomer in the Edo Swordsmanship World!

While people marveled at another extraordinary talent emerging in Edo’s Swordsmanship, they also felt envy or jealousy towards the Shiwei Hall that housed such a genius.

All matches were completed, the champion had been decided, and the Swordsmanship Competition had only one final segment left: awarding the triumphant swordsman!

The person responsible for presenting the award was none other than the sponsor of this event——Marquis of Aizu, Matsudaira Yoshihiko!

Having taken off his protective gear and temporarily handed his bamboo sword to a vassal of the Aizu Domain for safekeeping, Aoto followed the lead of an old master of ceremonies and walked at a steady pace towards the "VIP Platform" crowded with daimyo from the various vassal states.

Matsudaira Yoshihiko had already stood up, quietly watching Aoto ascend the platform.

When Aoto was just a short distance away from Matsudaira Yoshihiko, he couldn’t resist raising his eyes to quickly glance at Matsudaira Yoshihiko’s face.

Up close, Aoto noticed that this renowned man, praised as the "pillar of the Shogunate," looked incredibly young. If he and Aoto stood together, others might not be able to tell who was the younger one.

Following the master of ceremonies’ guidance, Aoto stopped in front of Matsudaira Yoshihiko and, according to the custom, kneeled on one knee and bowed to the young daimyo before him.

Matsudaira Yoshihiko lowered his gaze, looking at Aoto, his face usually expressionless, showing a faint smile at that moment: "...You are exceptional, your performance surprised me. I hope you can continue to work hard and achieve higher and farther accomplishments on the path of Martial Arts."

Matsudaira Yoshihiko didn’t elaborate much with Aoto. After offering a simple encouragement, he reached out his hand to take the sandalwood tray holding the champion prize of 10 Judgement Gold from the pageboy beside him and handed it to Aoto.

Aoto, while loudly expressing his thanks, raised both hands to receive his deserved prize from Matsudaira Yoshihiko.

Strangely enough, a peculiar feeling emerged in Aoto’s heart at that moment—he had a vague premonition that he would have the chance to meet this stern young daimyo again in the future.

...

...

With Aoto receiving his champion prize, the Swordsmanship Competition, which lasted for two days, finally came to an end!

The daimyo on the "VIP Platform" were the first to leave in an orderly manner.

After the figures of the daimyo, led by Matsudaira Yoshihiko, completely disappeared from view, the spectators on the Martial Arts platform were finally allowed to leave one after another.

Aoto returned to his companions, carrying the rewards he had obtained.

Upon meeting Zhouzhu and the others, Aoto immediately noticed——the intense look of amazement in their eyes hadn’t faded away.

Aoto couldn’t help but furrow his brows: "Master, what’s wrong with you? Why do you all look so surprised?"

No sooner had Aoto’s voice fallen than Chokata bounced in front of him, eyeing Aoto curiously for a few moments: "Mr. Tachibana... don’t you know what you just did on the field?"

"Hmm?" Aoto was puzzled, "What did I do?"

"...It seems you released it unconsciously." Zhouzhu’s mouth twitched into a wry smile, "Mr. Tachibana, during your duel with Niitsuma Kan, you released the ’Momentum,’ you know!"

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