Tokyo: Starting with the Gear-Conscious Male Gods!

Chapter 13 Jade Ring Acquired

While the two were chatting in the locker room, the battle outside had already begun.

After bowing, before he could even stand up properly, Naoki Inoue couldn't contain himself any longer.

He stomped his foot forward, closing the distance recklessly, and charged forward with a surge of anger.

With a flick of his wrist, he swung the bamboo sword and slashed it straight at Shirakawa Yuta's face, his roar carrying a hint of ferocity.

His intention was simple: he wanted to return all of Shirakawa Yuta's attacks on Hoshino Tsukigami to him, and let the other party taste what it was like to be completely suppressed.

However, he overlooked one problem: Hoshino Tsukigen had just taken the hit because they were too close, and she had nowhere to hide.

But Shirakawa Yuta is not.

Yuta Shirakawa watched Naoki Inoue attack him, a barely perceptible smile playing on his lips beneath his mask.

He took a half-step to the side, precisely avoiding the opponent's attack trajectory, showing no intention of engaging in a head-on confrontation.

He's not stupid. Although the equipment gave him a little extra strength, he was just a normal ordinary person before. He could bully ordinary people who had just started practicing swordsmanship or female swordsmen.

But compared to the swordsman who has been training for a long time, it's at best half the same, the cost-effectiveness is too low, and it even hurts my hands from the impact.

It would be better to hide for a while and wear down the opponent's strength.

He allowed Inoue Naoki to unleash a barrage of attacks, relentlessly assaulting his face, forearms, chest, and abdomen, while he consistently dodged and weaved with minimal movement. When faced with a truly unavoidable attack, he easily parried it with his bamboo sword, then immediately resumed his evasive stance.

As time went on, Inoue Naoki became increasingly anxious, and his mind became completely chaotic. His footwork became disordered, and his swordplay became more and more reckless and straightforward. He only cared about charging forward and completely forgot the essential principle of balance between offense and defense in swordsmanship.

Impatience is a deadly poison. His prolonged unsuccessful attacks exposed his weaknesses more and more, causing his shoulder to become crooked and his central goal to be breached.

Every attempt to make quick and easy progress exposes one's weaknesses to Yuta Shirakawa.

But at this moment, he was completely unaware that he had been genuinely or feigning anger just now, and that he was now truly enraged by the blow.

After Shirakawa Yuta dodged yet another attack, he finally couldn't help but shout, "You idiot, all you can do is dodge! Where did your tough stance go? Or is your Bushido spirit just about bullying the weak and fearing the strong?!"

"What's your rush? I'm letting you lose a little later to save face, and you're still not happy? But don't worry, you'll see soon enough."

Yuta Shirakawa remained calm as he spoke, but his eyes beneath the mask began to sharpen.

"Hmph, always so stubborn!"

"Yeah?"

Just as Inoue Naoki lost his composure once again and rashly lunged forward, intending to swing his bamboo sword at Shirakawa Yuta's face, Shirakawa Yuta finally moved.

Yuta Shirakawa's eyes narrowed slightly. He seized the moment when his opponent's arm stiffened as he charged up, and struck out with his sword in advance, directly blocking Naoki Inoue's sword path.

not good!

Naoki Inoue was greatly alarmed!

But there was no way out at this point. Taking advantage of the recoil from the previous impact, Shirakawa Yuta pressed down hard, and the bamboo sword went straight for Inoue Naoki's head.

"めん(面)!"

With a loud shout from Shirakawa Yuta, the bamboo sword struck Inoue Naoki firmly on the head.

He showed no mercy, his strength was immense, and the anger he felt for the push and collar-grabbing from not long ago was now returned with a loud, crisp sound.

"Bang!"

The immense force caused Inoue Naoki to suddenly lower his head, stagger back two steps, and lose his balance.

This blow seemed to completely stun him; he stood there motionless, stunned.

An eerie silence fell over the entire arena. Everyone had guessed that Shirakawa Yuta would win, but no one expected him to win so cleanly and decisively.

The battle was ended with just one counterattack.

After a long silence, Inoue Naoki finally spoke, his voice tinged with bitterness: "I lost."

He removed his face armor and took the jade ring off his neck.

He looked down at it reluctantly, then closed his eyes and tossed the jade ring away.

The jade ring traced an arc in the air before landing in Shirakawa Yuta's hand, which he then wiped with his kendo uniform.

It feels cool to the touch and has a lustrous sheen; it's a fine piece of jade.

Instead of checking the attributes, he called out to Inoue Naoki, who was turning to leave.

"Wait a moment!"

Naoki Inoue turned around, a hint of dejection in his voice, and said, "What else do you want to do? Don't you think you've been humiliated enough?"

Yuta Shirakawa didn't reply, but took two steps back, allowing all the members of the kendo club to appear in front of him.

Then he bowed deeply.

"I'm sorry, I didn't expect my actions today to cause such a big commotion, but that was absolutely not my intention. My reason for wanting to leave is definitely not to be a traitor. On the contrary, I cherish my time in the kendo club and the interactions with all of you."

"But I have more important things to do now, which require energy and time, and I can't participate in the daily training from now on, so I made the decision to withdraw."

"I sincerely wish you all that your swordsmanship will endure and your martial arts will flourish!"

His words were sincere, and although they lacked fancy language, they effectively conveyed his apology, explained the reasons, and expressed his best wishes.

The people looked at him with complicated expressions; no one applauded, and no one spoke.

Even Kurosaki Takeshi, who was trying to liven things up, obediently lowered his hand after noticing the awkward atmosphere around him.

When he first agreed to fight the minister, everyone was very excited, feeling that such a fun thing in their mundane lives was definitely worth celebrating.

When he officially faced off against the minister, everyone was surprised, not expecting that he, who usually kept a low profile, would be so powerful.

After he defeated the minister, the way everyone looked at him changed, especially when Inoue Naoki called him a "traitor," they felt a sense of shared hatred.

It wasn't until he defeated Inoue Naoki again and accepted Inoue Naoki's jade ring that everyone's gazes began to turn strange.

There was hostility, contempt, and of course, excitement from those who enjoyed watching the drama unfold, but more than anything, there was dissatisfaction and confusion over the trampling of the club's sense of honor.

They were unhappy that his departure from the company had to be done in such an undignified manner.

They wondered why he would quit the kendo club when he was already skilled in swordsmanship and so strong.

Yuta Shirakawa's statement just now gave them the answer.

He had his own things to do, and whether it was a real matter or just an excuse he came up with on the spot, at least he had an explanation.

Yuta Shirakawa was not surprised by the silent scene, but his gaze was fixed on the women's changing room behind the crowd.

He seemed to see someone familiar when he bowed, but he wasn't sure.

The coach, who had been relatively unknown until now, looked around and finally stepped forward.

But he didn't say much, just patted Shirakawa Yuta on the shoulder, indicating that he could leave.

Yuta Shirakawa understood, bowed again, and then left.