Chapter 259: Chapter 114: Copying the Talents [Take the Lead] and [See Through]

When Aoto was deliberating with Harada, Fujimura, and others about testing their skills at the Thousand Affairs House—

Edo, Nishiki Bridge, North Guard Station, just outside the gate—

In a particularly dim alley opposite the North Guard Station, obscured by a rooftop, a young samurai nervously observed the distant North Guard Station.

He repeatedly raised his hand to wipe his forehead, but no matter how much he wiped, cold sweat continued to seep out.

He swallowed and took a step toward the alley bathed in bright sunlight, but as soon as his foot left, he instantly withdrew, stepping forward and retreating repeatedly...

After several such hesitations, he clenched his teeth.

"There’s no point in hesitating... I must... quickly find a way to stop that madman Shinno...!"

He slapped his cheeks a few times vigorously, raised his head high, and with a sense of determination like "the chilling wind at Yi Shui" and "the warrior departing never to return," strode out of the alley toward the North Guard Station...

...

...

About ten minutes later, some officials inside the North Guard Station witnessed a strange scene.

All the "Three Times" Yoriki on duty in the station were heading solemnly to Hosoi’s office.

After the Yoriki gathered in Hosoi’s office, they did not emerge for a long time.

Why were they suddenly gathering in Hosoi’s office? Were they holding some emergency meeting?

Nobody knew.

...

...

Edo, Thousand Affairs House—

Aoto borrowed their courtyard and three bamboo swords, along with a wooden spear, from Kiryu.

To say the least, the warehouse at the Thousand Affairs House was quite well-stocked; Aoto never expected they would even have a wooden spear.

Kiryu explained it to Aoto earlier: because they often needed to test the true skills of job seekers, the warehouse stored a considerable number of weapons.

Aoto and Saito were standing on the east side of the courtyard, while Harada and Fujimura stood on the west side.

As for Kiryu, Mukiwa, and Nagakura, they were standing on one side of the courtyard, acting as the spectators for this test.

Aoto was quite eager for this examination targeting Harada and Fujimura.

After all, this was a rare opportunity to test these two’s skills. If he was lucky, he might even replicate some talent from them—a dual benefit.

Having sparred with Nagakura, Aoto knew Nagakura had considerable strength. If such a powerful person was willing to be his undercover informant, Aoto would welcome him with open arms.

No need to interview Nagakura further; however, as for Harada and Fujimura, he needed to fight them to assess their skill levels before making any decisions.

This was Aoto’s first time recruiting subordinates, so he certainly didn’t want to recruit some weak, useless individuals.

Determined not to be careless in this examination, Aoto carefully checked his bamboo sword and warmed up.

"Hmm?" At this moment, Harada suddenly noticed Saito holding a sword in his left hand, "Hey, why are you using an ’Evil Sword’?"

In the Edo Era’s Kendo world, the Left-Handed Sword was considered an "Evil Sword," and those using it were deemed heretical. Left-handed sword learners in dojos were often forced to switch and wield with their right hand.

Thus, swordsmen like Saito using the Left-Handed Sword were exceptionally rare.

Facing Harada’s query, Saito calmly replied:

"True Sword, Evil Sword, any sword that can kill the enemy is a good sword."

Upon hearing Saito’s response, Harada raised his thick black eyebrows and then laughed heartily: "That’s true."

With that said, Harada spread his feet apart, slanted the wooden spear’s cloth-wrapped tip toward the ground in front of him.

"I’m ready now! We can start anytime!"

Standing beside Harada, Fujimura also raised his bamboo sword upright, adopting the Middle Stance: "I’m ready too!"

The tip of Fujimura’s bamboo sword lightly quivered like a sandpiper—a hallmark of the Beichen One-Sword Style.

Softly quivering the sword tip is one of the most classic moves of the Beichen One-Sword Style, a technique to prevent the tip from going stiff, allowing quicker responses to enemy attacks, making it harder for opponents to discern one’s intentions. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Seeing both men prepared, Aoto turned his head to the side to look at Saito.

Noticing Aoto’s communicating glance toward him, Saito firmly clenched his right hand’s fingers several times, then nodded to Aoto.

Aoto exhaled deeply, positioning the bamboo sword in front of him: "Then... let’s begin!"

With Aoto’s words "begin," the atmosphere in the courtyard instantly grew more solemn and intense.

"I’m coming!" With a big shout, Harada sent a step forward, initiating the first attack!

The expansive attack range of the long spear allowed Harada to step forward once and place Aoto and Saito within his attack range.

Harada thrust the spear in his hand forward, stabbing straight at Aoto in front of him.

The white cloth-wrapped spear tip rapidly enlarged within Aoto’s field of vision.

Aoto had a wealth of experience in fighting long spearmen, especially those using Treasure House Stream techniques.

After all, his life’s first all-out, vein-popping life-and-death battle was against a long spearman skilled in Treasure House Gun Technique.

Since Aoto didn’t know the specifics of Harada’s and Fujimura’s skills, he opted for a more cautious approach.