He didn’t take the attack head-on but instead used "Eagle Eye" to sidestep and dodge Harada’s thrust.

At this moment, Fujimura also started to move.

Fujimura was small in size, but who would have guessed his speed... more precisely, his explosive leg strength was astonishing!

He slightly crouched his body, then suddenly stamped his rear foot on the ground! His foot peeled off a layer of soil, and his small frame shot forward like a broken koto string, lunging at the opponent Saito!

Fujimura’s tremendous explosive power caused Aoto, Saito, his ally Harada, and the observing Nagakura to show slight changes in their expressions.

Because Thousand Affairs House had already checked Harada and Fujimura’s capabilities beforehand, Kiryu and Mukiwa were quite calm.

"Hiss..." Nagakura watched Fujimura rushing at Saito, stroking his chin, "This person’s leg strength is very strong..."

Fujimura’s explosive display made Saito’s eyebrows slightly raise in surprise — though this surprise only flickered for a moment before his expression returned to his usual indifferent demeanor.

Saito lightly retreated, opening up space for combat, then lifted his sword to parry Fujimura’s slash.

Fujimura, with momentum like a rainbow, raised his sword again, ready to continue his attack. He pushed his feet powerfully on the muddy ground, his small body pressing toward Saito like Mount Tai.

Force comes from the ground—this is an eternal truth in the Martial Arts World.

Thus, "strong leg explosive power" means it’s easier to unleash astonishing force in attacks.

With extremely strong leg explosive power, Fujimura continuously launched attacks that were surprisingly powerful for someone of his stature.

Saito retreated another step, wielding his bamboo sword in an impenetrable manner, blocking each of Fujimura’s slashes one by one.

Meanwhile, the battle between Aoto and Harada was becoming increasingly intense.

This person’s strength seems to be on par with Mogami Shofu — this was the first thought that appeared in Aoto’s mind after exchanging a few blows with Harada.

Harada’s strength far exceeded his expectations... Aoto felt a surge of excitement, his expression becoming more solemn.

In the two months since fighting Mogami Shofu to the death, Aoto had been rigorously training, hardly slacking off for a single day, and had developed several new powerful innate talents.

In terms of strength, he had become incomparable to who he was during the "Snowy Night Chaos."

Yet, even so, facing Harada, whose abilities neared those of Mogami Shofu, Aoto showed not a hint of negligence or relaxation.

After several probing attacks, Harada’s offensive began to grow sharper and more aggressive.

The wooden spear, with its head wrapped in thick cloth, thrust forward again, ferocious in manner, leaving no room for complacency.

In the blink of an eye, Harada’s spearhead reached before him again, its angle exceptionally tricky, making dodging extremely challenging, so Aoto swung his bamboo sword upward, deflecting the spearhead as it passed by his side.

Having just knocked Harada’s spear aside, he quickly retracted it to its original position, maintaining the spear tip pointed diagonally toward the ground.

When the spearhead came thrusting forward again, Aoto dodged aside this time, stepping forward experimentally to take a stance closer to Harada.

Seeing this, Harada deftly retreated half a step, aiming the spearhead at Aoto and swiftly lifting it from below, trying to force Aoto to retreat.

Aoto halted his forward charge, slashing to knock Harada’s spearhead aside, bouncing back to his original position.

The four were locked in battle, neither side gaining an advantage — it seemed that way at a glance.

However, anyone with some understanding of martial arts could see: Aoto and Saito were clearly on top.

If Harada and Fujimura didn’t quickly devise a way to break the stalemate, being defeated by Aoto and Saito was just a matter of time.

Harada and Fujimura mainly fell short in two areas compared to Aoto and Saito.

The first shortcoming against Aoto and Saito — neither of them could contend with Saito’s formidable strength.

"Hey, hey, hey..." Harada glanced at Saito, murmuring in bewilderment, "What’s the deal with this guy...?"

Fujimura’s assault was fierce, akin to a storm during a typhoon.

But no matter how he swung his blade or attempted to provoke Saito into revealing a flaw, every attack was either dodged or blocked by the composed Saito.

Saito’s body seemed rooted to the ground, resilient yet stable, with no detectable weaknesses.

Having noticed that Fujimura seemingly couldn’t match Saito, Harada attempted to provide support.

Yet every attack Harada made toward Saito to support Fujimura was either intercepted by Aoto or blocked by Saito himself.

While dealing with Fujimura, Saito could occasionally spare some focus and energy to support Aoto.

By now, Fujimura, confronting Saito, was breathing heavily, losing his battle rhythm.

Saito, in contrast—his breath remained steady and long, showing no signs of disruption.

Saito’s composed posture leaves no doubt: Even without Aoto, Saito could likely handle Harada and Fujimura on his own and still win.

Fujimura, with his breath now chaotic, began showing signs of fatigue in his attacks, no longer fierce and sharp.

Saito’s counterattack formally commenced.

He stepped forward half a pace, raising his sword from below to Fujimura’s left shoulder.