After easily taking down a group of small fry, Kenichi Chiba's strength was finally recognized by everyone.
The members of Rampaging Angels looked at him as if he were a brand-new motorcycle—eyes gleaming with obsession.
'Seriously… I know people tend to admire the strong, but what's with those creepy stares!?'
Kenichi's scalp tingled as a chill ran down his spine.
Still, there was one thing he found satisfying: even the chief's daughter and her circle of refined young ladies.
Who had looked down on him before—were now giving him new, appraising looks.
And who could blame them?
He was just a low-ranking police officer.
If any of those girls picked up the phone and called the precinct, five officers at his level would show up in minutes.
Even though he already had a loving wife, Kenichi couldn't help the slight flutter in his chest.
'If it were Miss Arisugawa, I…'
"This is my senior from middle school. He really looked out for me back then—he's currently studying at Tokyo University," Kyousuke introduced, gesturing to the towering man beside them.
"Oh?"
Chief Arisugawa perked up immediately.
The words Tokyo University always carried weight.
No matter how humble your origins were, once you got into Todai, half your body was already in the elite circle.
"Impressive build," the chief remarked. "He'd make an excellent police officer."
Indeed, the man standing in the ring was none other than the original leader of Rampaging Angels—Tokyo's "Speed King," Makki Hojou.
"Haha, I think so too," Kyousuke laughed. "If you ever became a cop, criminals would be too scared to step outside."
In the ring, facing the massive frame of Makki Hojou—whose arms were thicker than his own—Kenichi straightened his stance.
Swordsmanship might sound all spiritual—talking about "unifying mind, sword, and body," or "perfect offense and defense".
But in a real fight, strength and speed were everything.
The stronger and faster you were, the better your chances.
Power and speed—that's the true essence of battle.
Skill only mattered when you couldn't win with brute force.
And judging by Makki Hojou's nearly two-meter-tall physique, this man was built for pure combat.
'Fine then… I'll make sure your loss is clean and absolute.'
Beating a weakling like Hatake Gorou didn't prove much.
But defeating someone like Makki Hojou, a Todai prodigy and Kyousuke's senior.
That would make even the chief and those girls see his true worth.
Both men bowed formally, gripping their bamboo swords.
The match was on.
A thunderous crack rang out as their shinai collided, muscles straining, bodies surging forward, all power focused at the crossing point of their blades.
Through the gaps in their face guards, each could see the fierce glint in the other's eyes.
They'd both confirmed it—neither could dominate with presence alone.
After a brief deadlock, they broke apart in unspoken mutual understanding.
That first clash was just to test the waters—strength, speed, habits.
The real match would start now.
Both tightened their cores, lowering their shoulders, backs straight as bows, their uniforms puffing slightly from the tensed posture.
Kenichi decided to go all in.
His right foot slammed the ground, his left sliding forward like on ice.
He lunged in a burst of speed, shouting—
"Men!"
His sword swung down with all his weight.
It was an aggressive move.
Fail, and you'd lose balance—or worse, your strike would be judged impure and earn no point.
But succeed, and you'd seize center control—the key to swordsmanship dominance.
This was a technique he'd learned from Kondomo Inui, a top-tier competitor in the All-Japan Kendo Championships—unlike him, a true contender for the title.
'Got it… I've taken center control!'
In kendo, everything revolves around the centerline.
Lose that, and you lose the fight.
'Wait—what!?'
Before Kenichi could follow through, the Todai student suddenly abandoned center.
His left hand released the sword, switching to a one-handed grip.
Twisting his neck aside, he swung with a roar.
'What idiot taught you to fight with one hand!?'
Kenichi cursed inwardly but instantly adjusted his trajectory, meeting the blow head-on.
'Clang!'
The impact echoed.
'He's that strong… with one hand!?'
Kenichi's eyes widened.
No wonder this guy had felt strange holding the sword—he wasn't a traditional kendo fighter.
'He's trained in wild-style swordsmanship!'
"Ahhh…"
Makki exhaled deeply, exhilarated.
'Yeah, single-handed swings feel so much better.'
Sure, the bamboo sword was too light for his taste, but his opponent was strong—this was fun.
From the sidelines, Mikiyo Ryuushi, acting as referee, watched in astonishment.
'He's not even using two swords—why single-handed?'
Kyousuke, however, wasn't surprised.
The first time he'd met Makki at the Higashi Kendo Club, the guy was already swinging a nodachi-style wooden sword.
That was clearly his real weapon.
After several intense exchanges, Kenichi finally grasped the truth.
'So that's it… no wonder that Eikichi Onizuka held his sword like a baseball bat.'
'They're not really doing kendo—they're brawling!'
'Sure, they've trained, but you can't erase that street-fighter instinct.'
Then—
"Dō!"
Kenichi shouted, intentionally exposing a weakness.
He let Makki land a hit, but his own counterattack struck the man's torso a heartbeat faster.
He spun away, holding his shinai perfectly steady at middle stance, tip unwavering—demonstrating zanshin, the composure after a strike.
All three referees raised their flags—point for Kenichi Chiba!
'Huff—huff…'
Both men panted heavily as the audience erupted into applause.
Chief Arisugawa beamed, clearly proud that his subordinate had taken down a Todai elite—a man with a future high in the police hierarchy.
That smug grin reminded Kyousuke of Eriri—specifically, the time she showed off to Kasuko how their dog Momotarou barked once and scared off a huge stray.
She'd worn the exact same expression: proud, self-satisfied, basking in admiration.
Of course, she'd also earned Kasuko's adoration that day—and the two of them spent the entire afternoon parading Momotarou around the neighborhood, visiting every house with a dog, showing off their "mighty guardian."
Japan's laws on pet ownership were notoriously strict, but Kyousuke had already taken that into account when choosing a house.
He'd made sure to pick a pet-friendly neighborhood.
What Eriri and Kasuko didn't know, however, was that the little bark they heard from Momotarou—the tiny pup that could only go "woof wof woof"—wasn't nearly as innocent as it sounded.
Translated into human words, it meant something closer to "Get lost before my big sis comes over and beats you up!" or "Back off, mutt, unless you want a firsthand experience of my aniki's 'nuclear kick'!"
Yes, that's right.
The reason that every dog in the neighborhood was terrified of little Momotarou wasn't because he was scary.
It was because he had powerful people behind him.
Kyousuke's house was full of fragile, gentle girls.
There was no way he'd let a single dangerous animal roam around unchecked.
So he and Sakura had taken Momotarou on a little "neighborhood patrol," visiting every home with a dog and "teaching" those canines to behave—just to make sure that anyone from the Ruyi Dorm could walk around safely.
It wasn't the first time they'd done something like this.
Back in Suimon City, a new family had moved in with an Akita.
Despite its cute, dopey look, an Akita was still a large, strong-willed breed—and its owner clearly had no idea how to train it.
Within days, the dog had scared Sakura so badly she fell to the ground.
If the owner hadn't held the leash tight, it probably would've attacked.
That afternoon, while the family was away apologizing to the Yamauchi household, Kyousuke and Sakura quietly snuck into their yard.
Staying just beyond the reach of the leash, Kyousuke instructed Sakura to lightly tap the Akita's nose with a stick—nothing serious, just enough to make an impression.
From that day on, whenever the Akita saw them, it would immediately drop to the ground with a whine, covering its nose with its paws.
The owner, puzzled by the dog's sudden behavior, asked Kyousuke what was going on.
Kyousuke had smiled and said, "That's an Akita's way of showing apology."
The owner was overjoyed and started bragging to everyone about his dog's "polite manners."
He even invited Sakura over to "demonstrate" a few times.
With such a strong aniki and big sis backing him up, how could Momotarou not feel proud? And since Eriri was his friend, protecting her was his sacred duty.
Kyousuke chuckled as he told the story of his dog and the local stray cat named Tsuki, earning squeals of delight from Ren Arisugawa and Kiyoko Himeno.
The girls leaned forward, their eyes sparkling.
"He's so cute! Kyousuke-kun, you have to let us visit sometime!'"
Miyamizu Mitsuha, watching the scene, gave a soft, knowing smile.
'Oh, please… You don't want to see the dog. You just want to "woof wof woof" yourselves, don't you?'
With that thought, she decided to share a story of her own.
"In Itomori, the mountains are full of wild beasts," she began calmly. "Once, a starving mother wolf came to the Miyamizu Shrine."
"Oh, how sad," Kiyoko murmured. "Maybe she had pups and was looking for food?"
Ren nodded thoughtfully. "And what did you do, Mitsuha-san? Did you feed her?"
"My mother shot her through the heart with one arrow," Mitsuha said with a serene smile.
"Eh!?" Both Ren and Kiyoko gasped.
"I reacted just like you two," Mitsuha continued softly. "But when my mother told me—'When a mother wolf comes coveting what's yours, you don't hesitate. You shoot first.'"
Mitsuha mimed the motion of drawing a bow.
With her long sleeves draping gracefully and her snow-white neck tilted slightly upward, she looked every bit like a shrine maiden from legend.
One who wielded divine power with quiet authority.
Everyone stared in silent awe.
Only Kyousuke knew the truth: the shrine maiden had probably never even touched a bow.
The "arrow" her mother fired was almost certainly from one of the double-barreled shotguns he'd once found stored in the shrine warehouse—well-maintained and ready to fire.
Yotsuba had even told him that Mitsuha's grandmother used to join the town's annual boar hunts.
Apparently, Lady Futaba had been part of a local hunting club in her youth.
Kyousuke figured that maybe hunting, killing, and eating one's prey was just another form of Miyamizu Shrine's "spiritual training."
After all, what better way to form a connection than by literally taking something into your body?
'…Well, actually, maybe there is a better way,' he thought with a smirk.
"I-It's that so…" Kiyoko stammered, her face stiff with awkward admiration.
She wasn't stupid—she understood perfectly that Mitsuha was metaphorically calling herself the shrine's guardian and everyone else "wolves."
Not to be outdone, Kiyoko puffed out her chest, ready to share her own story about the time she and her father went bear hunting in the mountains last year.
To drive away a wild wolf was one thing—but to hunt a bear? Now that's real courage.
But before she could open her mouth, the two men in the arena approached the group.
…
After the referee's signal, the match ended.
"When I was your age, I wasn't half as good. No wonder you led Higashi to dominate the national tournament. Impressive work, Makki-kun," said Chiba Kenichi, removing his mask with a friendly smile.
Makki Hojou chuckled modestly. "You flatter me, sir. I just managed to last a little longer against you, that's all."
He didn't seem the least bit upset about losing. After all, this was just a match.
In a real street fight, he'd show Chiba what "cruelty" really meant.
Still, he corrected him with a grin. "But I think you're mistaken about one thing, sir. The one who led Higashi to victory wasn't me."
He gestured subtly toward the stands.
Chiba followed his gaze—and his smile froze.
The police chief and his daughter weren't looking at him at all.
Instead, they were completely focused on Kyousuke, laughing and smiling as he talked.
The girls giggled like flowers in full bloom, playfully pleading with him for something.
'What the hell?'
He clenched his jaw. 'I'm the one who just beat a Tokyo University prodigy! Shouldn't I be the center of attention right now!?'