21st Century Necromancer

Chapter 330 227: The Man in the Black Robe (Seeking Subscriptions, Seeking Monthly Tickets)

"Teacher Chiba, I still don't understand why you would send them an invitation when they have made it clear that they don't take our Kanto Kendo Alliance seriously!" In a ryotei in Tokyo, an elderly man named Chiba was savoring a cup of clear tea, while Shimoe Akiha, seated beside him with a still-pale face and an arm in a sling, was puzzled and unclear about the decision the elder had made earlier.

However, faced with the still indignant Shimoe Akiha, the elder merely lifted the corner of his eye to glance at him.

"Slap!"

"Teacher Chiba, why did you hit me?" Covering his slapped cheek with his still-intact hand, Akiha looked confused and somewhat aggrieved at the elder, not understanding why he had been struck.

"Foolish!" The elder snorted coldly but did not explain to Shimoe Akiha.

It was Imahon Okuyama, sitting to the side, who somewhat understood the elder's intent and spoke to clarify to Shimoe Akiha, "Headmaster Chiba's point is likely first to extend courtesies, then resort to soldiers, to convince with reason rather than to coerce by force. After all, we have already lost face for the Kanto Kendo Alliance by the way we first showed up. Now, if we resolve this with force, it will undoubtedly make others think our Kanto Kendo Alliance is too aggressive, which will also affect the reputation and honor of the alliance."

"But if the alliance takes a loss now and resolves this matter through negotiations, won't our reputation be damaged just the same?" Shimoe Akiha couldn't quite understand, and wasn't clear on the reason behind this approach.

In his mind, the alliance had suffered a loss and lost face, and should have used a thunderous force to thoroughly dismantle the Mingyue Society. Resolving the issue through negotiations, a manner which seemed like a concession of weakness, would only cause others to look down on the Kanto Kendo Alliance.

"Idiot! In your eyes, is the sword merely a tool for showing off bravery and competing for strength?" Shimoe Akiha's words had drawn the elder's displeasure. He slammed his tea cup heavily onto the table, and after a muffled sound, he questioned Akiha, "Why does a samurai delve deeply into swordsmanship, seeking its ultimate art? Is it for killing?"

"It's to improve one's martial skills, to become stronger, to be better at defeating enemies." Intimidated by the thud of the elder's cup, Shimoe Akiha instinctively answered the elder's question, but his answer was clearly not what the elder wanted to hear.

As expected, the elder was very dissatisfied with Shimoe Akiha's response. After snorting heavily in displeasure, he scolded sternly, "A samurai studies the way of the sword to sharpen himself as if he were another sword, to train and thereby strengthen his body and spirit! Swordsmanship is but a method to temper oneself, no different from the arts of calligraphy, the tea ceremony! By merely chasing after strength in martial arts, you have not understood the essence of swordsmanship; you are blindly pursuing sword techniques and martial skills only! It is such a disappointment to me! How did I teach such a fool like you!"

"Teacher Chiba!" Shimoe Akiha was somewhat defiant but, daunted by the elder's authority, did not dare to contradict his opinion. As a disciple of Hokushin Itto-ryu, he could not possibly defy the elder who was the Sect Leader, no matter what.

Moreover, he had no grounds to argue with the elder. Although he was now a Kenjutsu Seventh Dan, on the threshold of Master Rank, the elder had already reached the Master Rank twenty years ago and was now at the pinnacle of Master Rank. This was why he could hold his position as a director of the Kendo Alliance, only a step away from becoming legendary.

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Fortunately, Imahon Okuyama understood the old man's intentions better than Shimoe Akiba, who still seemed unconvinced. Hastily, Imahon Okuyama explained, "Akiha-kun, it's not that Headmaster Chiba doesn't want to resolve the issue with force. It's just that we can no longer resolve this matter through violence."

"Why not? I admit that the girl named Kojo Kyoko is skilled in swordsmanship, with at least the standard of an Eighth Dan, but are we short of Ninth Dan experts in the Kanto Kendo Alliance? With just a command, the Alliance could easily crush the Mingyue Society and they wouldn't be able to fight back!" Shimoe Akiba remained arrogant. Despite having a hand severed by Kojo Kyoko, he clearly still didn't take her seriously.

"We're not in an era of brute force anymore, Akiha-kun!" Hearing him say that, Imahon Okuyama tried to persuade him earnestly, "This is Tokyo. Even if the Alliance has good relations with the Metropolitan Police Department, and they can turn a blind eye to minor actions, if we were to call upon the Alliance's Ninth Dan experts to suppress a Transcendent organization and provoke a large-scale conflict... This is Tokyo, Akiha-kun, do you really want to face those two from the Meiji Shrine?"

"Meiji Shrine..." Although Shimoe Akiba was audacious, he evidently didn't think the Kanto Kendo Alliance could confront the two persons from the Meiji Shrine.

Seeing Shimoe Akiba offer no rebuttal, Imahon Okuyama continued, "Moreover, when we first visited them and tried to suppress them with force, we failed. If we resort to force again, the Alliance will no longer stand as the victim. The situation would turn into bullying, and our justified stance would vanish—this is not good for the Alliance."

After hearing Imahon Okuyama's explanation, Shimoe Akiba, although still resentful, understood that the Alliance really couldn't use large-scale violence in this case. Having the old man step forward was already the maximum extent of force the Alliance could deploy.

Just as Shimoe Akiba was gloomily about to say something else, the room's door slides open, and a figure wearing a black robe and a silver skeleton mask entered, followed by Kyoko Kojo and Kyuuzai Ryousen, among others, whom Imahon Okuyama and Shimoe Akiba had met before.

Upon seeing the figure with the silver skeleton mask entering, the old man's aura completely changed. If before he was a sword sheathed, now the sword seemed to have been fully drawn out, and the authority it exuded even made faint, nearly imperceptible sword marks on the low table before the old man.

Neither Imahon Okuyama and Shimoe Akiba at the old man's side nor Kyoko Kojo and the others standing behind the person wearing the silver skeleton mask could fail to see the sword marks on the table or fail to notice the old man's aura being suppressed.

"Legendary?" The old man finally controlled his own presence and then asked.

The person in the black robe and silver skeleton mask nodded slightly, confirming the old man's guess.

Seeing the person in the black robe nod, the old man then gestured politely, "My apologies, please have a seat."

At this scene, the person in the black robe then sat opposite the old man, and Kyoko Kojo and the others also took their seats behind the black-robed figure.

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