"…So fast!"
Kase Masafumi, who was closest to them, was the first to exclaim.
Too fast.
After he had just called out "begin," he had relaxed a little and hadn't even seen Murae's footwork or movements clearly.
Kato Takeshi was even more horrified.
"Because…it hurt a little."
Indeed, Hayato's sword hadn't touched him by a hair's breadth, but where it pointed directly at his throat, he felt a piercing pain.
"...Is it sword pressure!?
How is that possible… What, what the hell is going on?!"
The hairs on the back of Kato Takeshi's neck were already standing on end.
If it had been a real sword,
He, he would have already died…
Hayato seemed to sigh,
"...That's not how you fight."
"?"
Kato Takeshi hadn't reacted yet.
Hayato put away his wooden sword.
But he didn't let Kato Takeshi off the hook; the moment he put away his sword, he struck again.
The sword was like a whip.
"Whap!" It struck Kato Takeshi's hand.
Kato immediately felt a burning sensation on his hand, subconsciously relaxed his grip, and the sword in his hand fell to the ground.
Then,
"Whap," "whap," "whap."
Hayato struck continuously.
He hit his forearm, shoulder, chest, thigh, and calf respectively.
Lightning five-whip strike.
"...It hurts, it hurts, it hurts…" Kato Takeshi cried out in pain, retreating repeatedly from the blows.
"Weak forehand, unrefined backhand, loose footwork, slow reactions."
Hayato muttered to himself, as if reciting something. He had originally wanted to add, "What class, you want to compete with me on the same stage?" but he thought it would be too mocking, so he held back. After Kato Takeshi retreated, Hayato suddenly squatted down and swept his sword a foot above the ground.
It swept right into Kato Takeshi's calves.
He stumbled as if tripped, falling onto his backside with a thud.
"The most important thing is your lower body. Any martial art, skill, or combat technique draws power from the ground. If your lower body is unstable, you've lost eighty percent."
"...Gulp…"
Being criticized by a junior, Kato Takeshi couldn't utter a single word. He swallowed hard, his pupils trembling uncontrollably, filled with terror.
What is wrong with this guy! He's no match at all!
After Hayato finished speaking, he also lost interest.
He had no desire to spar with Kato Takeshi anymore. Instead, he twirled the sword hilt around his wrist, his body turning with it, facing… Kase Masafumi.
"...Huh, huh?"
Kase Masafumi was startled.
He, what is he going to do?
Kase Masafumi was just a first-year student, but the situation was already so clear that he could, of course, see the strength gap between Katō-senpai and Kobayashi-senpai. Although he worked hard, his strength was not yet as good as this third-year Senpai, let alone… So, so why is he coming at me? Is he, is he trying to teach me a lesson too? Damn it…
He felt around in the air, then realized he didn't have a wooden sword in his hand and had no way to resist.
Hayato walked straight up to Kase Masafumi and then raised his sword.
Kase closed his eyes in panic, thinking he was about to receive that infinitely powerful strike.
But.
The wooden sword merely landed gently on his head.
"Did you understand?"
Kase Masafumi heard Hayato's question.
"Eh?" Kase Masafumi opened his eyes and looked at Kobayashi-senpai.
Kobayashi-senpai's hand loosened, and the wooden sword slid down. Kase Masafumi quickly reached out and caught it.
"If you understood, practice. If you didn't, come ask me."
Hayato had already turned his back to him, "Practice your sword well, become stronger."
...And then, protect the people you should protect, kill all the NTRs, Hayato thought to himself.
"...Yes, yes."
Kase Masafumi was a little confused at first, then he realized… Kobayashi-senpai was teaching him!!
Were those words he said meant for him? Eh, eh… Power comes from the ground, lower body training is very important…
Kase Masafumi gripped the sword Hayato had used tightly.
The latter had already casually left the arena, yet his retreating figure made Kase Masafumi feel that,
Kobayashi-senpai, so cool!
I also want to practice my sword diligently and chase after Kobayashi-senpai's footsteps.
Another round finished.
Kato Takeshi was defeated without suspense and extremely quickly. As everyone was in a daze, they heard someone start clapping, and it turned out to be the club president, Miyajima Sakura, who had stood up.
"A wonderful match."
Miyajima Sakura bowed politely, leaning forward slightly: "And thank you for your guidance… What you said, not only to Kase, but also to the entire Kendo Club, has an enlightening effect."
Hayato hadn't intended to do anything so grand; he just wanted Kase Masafumi to put in a little effort and become stronger.
Hayato would handle the hypnosis, but if certain things happened again in the future, Kase would have to bear them himself.
Kase, at least in Hayato's eyes, was a bit more reliable than Matsubara.
Matsubara, he also needed to speed up progress on his side.
"...Where's the water, Senpai?" Hayato asked.
"Oh, oh, over there." Miyajima Sakura quickly led Hayato over.
The entire Kendo Club was silent for a moment due to Hayato's swordsmanship, and a moment later…
"This, this, this, this, this…"
"I thought Miyajima-senpai was already invincible! Whose general is this!?"
"Hey, hey, have you heard about the fight in the alley yesterday? The rumor is that a dozen hoodlums were taken out by a strong person with a wooden sword…"
"The Legend of the Sword Demon of Tokyo!"
"No, could it be––"
"Uh oh,"
Hayato, who was about to become a legend, found himself in a predicament, because he saw the drinks Miyajima Sakura had bought. There were five or six bottles, all Coca-Cola.
However, they were divided into 'Classic Original,' 'Vanilla,' 'Cherry,' 'Lime,' and so on…
"...So many." Hayato said.
Miyajima Sakura tucked her stray hair behind her ear again, and a innocent and sweet smile bloomed on her mature face:
"Kobayashi-senpai only said he wanted Coca-Cola, but I didn't know which flavor he liked, so I bought them all… If you can't finish them, you can take them home…"
"Only 'Classic Original'!" Hayato emphasized, "All the others are cults!"
"...Yes!" Miyajima Sakura immediately straightened her posture and replied, as if everything Hayato said was some incredible truth. If she had a small notebook in her hand right now, she would probably take out a pen and write it down.
"Kase!" Hayato called out, and Kase Masafumi responded, then caught a thrown bottle of Coke.
"Thank you, Senpai!" Kase Masafumi saw it was 'Cherry' flavor, a taste he had never tried before.
He was thirsty, so he took a small sip.
...Ugh. This, this, this, this, this, the only difference between this and traditional Chinese medicine... might be that you can use health insurance to buy traditional Chinese medicine! What a strange taste!!
Kase Masafumi was about to discard it. But then he thought, how could the Senpai who taught him do such a prank…
I get it! The so-called tempering starts here. If I can't even stomach traditional Chinese medicine, what am I talking about enduring hardship!?
Kase Masafumi tilted his head back and "gulped, gulped, gulped."
Hayato was dumbfounded. He had only meant to tease the guy… He never thought there were actually people in the world who loved cherry-flavored Coke…
"Um…" Miyajima Sakura took out her phone and said seriously, "Kobayashi-senpai, to better communicate in the future, shall we exchange phone numbers and email addresses?"
"Ah, I don't have a phone." Hayato turned around and said.