Before Ogata and the others could say anything, Naoshu began to explain to the three of them:
"The 'Grand Trial' is a trial jointly organized by my Isshiki Sword Hall and several other sword halls with good relationships. The apprentices in each hall are allowed to compete in order to test the level of the apprentices in their respective halls."
Ogata actually has no need for Naoshu's explanation.
He had heard about the "Great Trial Match" from Isshikika when he accidentally took a bath in the same bathtub with Isshikika.
According to Isshikika - she and Naoshu had to take a fast and convenient stowaway boat back to Japan just to rush back to participate in the "Grand Trial Match".
Because this "Grand Trial Combination" was similar to the "Kung Fu Demonstration" held at the Sakakihara Kenkan where Ogata used to practice swordsmanship, Ogata had a deep impression on this "Grand Trial Combination".
"Mr. Isshiki," Ogata said at this time, "you want me to come to your hotel to watch the 'Grand Trial Match'. What does this mean?"
"Mashima-sama." Naoshu looked at Ogata with pleading eyes, "This is the residence of Master Yuji, and it is not a convenient place to talk."
"There is a teahouse I often go to not far from here."
"Can you please spare some time now and go to the tea house with me to discuss it in detail?"
To be honest - Ogata has no interest at all in this "big test match" that Naoshu talks about.
Asking Ogata to spend time talking about the "Grand Trial Match" in detail at a nearby teahouse on Monday... Ogata was not very happy.
But how can I take advantage of others' short hands?
Ogata had just received Naoshu's care. Without Naoshu's help, he might still be struggling to convince Yuji to help him repair his sword.
"...Okay." After all, Ogata is not the kind of shameless person. Just after someone has helped you, you don't give them any face at all. You can't do this kind of thing emotionally. "I understand, then
Let's go, but don't talk too long."
"Please rest assured!" Zhizhou was full of excitement now, "I will definitely not delay you for too long!"
Naoshu said hello to Yu Er, saying that he had something important to attend to and should take the first step.
At this time, Yu Er had already started repairing the Great Buddha and the Great Freedom.
He held Da Shi Tian and looked at the blade of Da Shi Tian carefully. When Zhi Zhou said goodbye to him, he just nodded and said, "Well, let's go slowly."
His eyes never left Da Shitian's blade from the beginning to the end.
Ogata was very curious about Yuji's behavior of looking straight at the knife.
As soon as he left Yuji's house, Oufang couldn't help but ask Naoshu: What Yuji was doing just now.
"Oh, he was 'looking at the sword' just now." Yu Er replied, "This is a necessary process for repairing the sword."
"Every knife is unique."
"The blade pattern, grooves, ribs, blade curvature of each sword...etc. are all different."
"So there is no unified standard for sword grinding and repair."
"Only a shabby knife maker would get an unfamiliar knife and start repairing it without thinking about anything."
"A truly skillful swordsman will carefully look at the sword hundreds of times and study it thoroughly before grinding or repairing the sword."
"Consider in your mind how to grind it to best utilize the characteristics of this knife, outline the repair and grinding design in your mind, and conceive the sequence of work."
"Whether Yu Er is helping others repair or sharpen their knives, they usually spend a day studying the knife and designing the best repair and grinding methods before starting work."
"So that's it..." Ogata muttered, "There is indeed a lot of knowledge involved in the grinding and repair of swords."
"Look forward to it, Majima-sama." Naoshu smiled, "Master Yu Er's skills will never let you down."
"I can't wait to see my repaired sword in seven days." Ogata responded in a half-joking tone.
While they were talking, they had already left the remote suburb where Yu Er lived and came to a fairly lively street market.
The "teahouse he often visited" as mentioned by Zhizhou was located in the center of this street.
According to Zhizhou, after visiting his old friend Yu Er, he would often come to this tea house to drink a few cups of hot tea and eat some snacks before going home.
Judging from the reactions of the waiters in the tea house, Naozhou was not lying.
After Naoshu led Ogata and the others into the tea house, several waiters working in the tea house greeted Nao Zhou enthusiastically after seeing Nao Zhou, and they looked like they knew Nao Shu very well.
appearance.
This is a tea house with private room service. After Naoshu ordered a private room and the best tea and snacks in the tea house, he sat opposite Ogata and the other three in the private room.
"Okay, Mr. Isshiki." As soon as he sat down on the tatami, Ogami said directly to Naoshu, "If you have anything to say, please speak up."
Zhizhou didn't dare to talk nonsense. He cleared his throat and said seriously:
"As I said before, the 'Grand Trial Combination' is a competition jointly organized by our Yiseki Sword Hall and several other sword halls with good relations to test the strength of the apprentices."
"There are 4 sword halls participating in the 'Grand Trial Competition'. They are -"
"The full military hall of the Katori Shinto style."
“The Yuanming Pavilion without leakage.”
“Shimurakan of Shinto style.”
"And the Isshikikan of the Ono Ittōryu—that is, the swordsmanship hall of our Isshiki family."
"They are all from the famous Great Sword Hall in Osaka."
“Every year, the ‘Grand Trial Held’ is held in April at the beginning of spring.”
"The day after tomorrow is the day when this year's 'Grand Trial Combination' will be held."
"Mashima-sama, the reason why I invite you to watch our 'Grand Trial Match' is for no other reason than to fulfill my friendship as a landlord and let you enjoy our annual feast."
Naoshu was chattering about the reason why he invited Ogata to watch the "Grand Trial Match".
Facing the eloquent Zhizhou, his mood was expressionless.
After staring straight at Naoshu in front of him for a while, Ogata said helplessly in his heart:
——What is "trying to be a landlord"... It should be "in order to get close to me" and "cultivate a relationship with me" so that you can successfully recruit me to join your great cause of collapse...
Naoshu talks nicely and has a nose and eyes, but Ogata is not an ignorant fool. He can still understand this kind of "adult diplomatic language".
Ogata didn't believe a word of what Naoshu said about "exhausting the friendship of the landlord". After all, such words were too false and empty.
Then why did he invite him to watch their "big trial"?
Combined with the fact that Naoshu had warmly invited Ogata to participate in their "overthrow", but was directly rejected by Ogata - it is not difficult to speculate that Naoshu is probably still unwilling to give up and does not want to miss Ogata, who is bound to be a great leader.
The heroes who contributed to their downfall.
So I decided to use a different method to win over Ogata - first cultivate a relationship with Ogata, and then continue to invite Ogata to sacrifice for the fall of the curtain after I became familiar with Ogata.
The more Ogata thought about it, the more he felt that his speculation was reasonable.
“If you would like to come and watch the ‘Big Trial Match’, it won’t take you too much time!”
"This year's 'Grand Trial' will be held at the All Arms Hall! It will officially start at 5pm (8am) and end at 9pm (12pm)! It won't take you too much time!"
"If you are free the morning after tomorrow, I sincerely hope you can come and watch the 'big trial' we are waiting for!"
Naoshu's attitude was so sincere... He was only one step away from kneeling on the ground in a Dogeza position and praying to Ogata...
Naoshu now looked at Ogata with a hopeful look on his face.
Atachi and Tsukuba, who were sitting on the left and right sides of Ogata respectively, also turned their heads and looked at Ogata, waiting for Ogata's answer.
As for Ogata - his current mood is as complicated as his current expression.
He really has no interest in any "big trial match".
If it had been in the past, when Ogata had not left Hirose Domain, he might have been quite happy to watch this kind of competition.
And now... to put it harshly, when looking at this kind of competition between apprentices in the sword hall, Ogata just has the feeling... that he is watching the children making noises...
You let a swordsman who has experienced hundreds of battles, fought in all types of battles, and killed countless enemies, watch a group of people who may have never even wielded a real sword compete with each other - what's so interesting about this?
Instead of spending time looking at something like this that will definitely make you yawn, it would be better to spend this time walking around Osaka with Atachi and the others, taking a look and appreciating the elegance of "the best commercial city in the world".
If there were no special circumstances, Ogata would definitely reject Naoshu's invitation without hesitation.
It's just... there happens to be a special situation now...
——Obligating a favor...is indeed very troublesome...
Ogata sighed helplessly in his heart.
Naoshu had just persuaded Yuji to help him repair his sword - this debt of gratitude made it difficult for him to say the words to reject the invitation immediately.
When it comes to things like debt of gratitude, Ogata's point of view has always been "repay it if you can."
Ogata pursed his lips, weighed the pros and cons, and finally said:
"Are you sure your 'big test match' will only be held for two hours tomorrow?"
"It's absolutely true." Zhizhou hurriedly said, "It may take a little longer, but the annual 'Grand Trial Combination' will basically end within two hours."
"We have four sword halls and so many apprentices. Naturally, it is impossible for everyone to compete."
"Each sword hall sends the most outstanding disciples from three halls to participate in the trial match. Therefore, there are only 12 apprentices participating in the 'Grand Trial Match'. The competition is almost completed in 2 hours."
Ogata listened carefully and nodded slightly from time to time.
"...Then -" Ogata let out a silent sigh, and then said slowly with the mentality of "I just want to return a favor to you", "I will come to bother you the morning after tomorrow."
Hearing Ogata's words, Naoshu was stunned for a moment.
Then, with a face full of ecstasy, he bent down towards Ogata in front of him and loudly said something like, "I'm really happy that you are willing to come and watch the 'Grand Trial Match'" and other words.
Naoshu's excited look made Ogata a little worried that at such an old age, he might be overly excited and lose his temper...
——"Big trial match"...
Ogata secretly thought in his heart.
——Since it is a sword hall that has a color sword hall participating in it...that means I have to meet that person again...
At this time, a figure in a goose-yellow kimono passed through Ogata's mind.
…
…
Osaka, All Military Hall——
"drink!"
"Yo——!"
"ha!"
"Shout louder! You want to swing a knife when you speak so quietly?!"
In the huge dojo, all kinds of sounds and shouts came and went.
In terms of overall strength, the All Arms Hall is undoubtedly the number one sword hall in Osaka.
There are more than 300 apprentices in total, and there are four grand halls that can accommodate dozens of people practicing swordsmanship at the same time.
The Zen Army Hall is also one of the largest Katori Shinto sword halls in Western Japan.
Many people who are also practicing Katori Shinto-ryu travel thousands of miles to study at the Military Academy in Osaka in order to further their studies.
There are four dojos in the All Arms Hall. For the convenience of management and naming, these four dojos are called "Dojo A", "Dojo B", "Dojo C" and "Dojo D" respectively.
The apprentices in the gym were assigned to different dojos one by one based on their strength.
The weakest apprentices train in the "No. D Dojo", and the stronger ones go to the "No. C Dojo"... and so on, the "No. A Dojo" gathers all the most skilled apprentices in the entire military hall.
Precisely because the people who practice in the "No. A Dojo" are all top players in the military academy, the atmosphere of this dojo is completely different from other dojos.
The air in "No. A Dojo" was filled with a somewhat chilling atmosphere. There was also the least chatter and laughter in this dojo, and everyone was concentrating on practicing their swords.
At this moment, in the corner of the "Dojo No. A", Kitahara was holding a very large wooden sword and practicing Suzhen (the basic sword practice of constantly using downward slashes on the air in front of him).
Kitahara took off his upper body clothes. His upper body was already covered with sweat, and he could vaguely see the heat coming out of Kitahara's body.
The wooden sword he was wielding was a heavy wooden sword specially made by his client. Its weight was twice as heavy as a real sword. Kitahara used this wooden sword to hone his arm strength when he practiced swordsmanship.
"198...199...200..."
When he counted to "200", Beihara let out a long breath, then put down the heavy wooden knife in his hand, took out a clean white handkerchief from his waist, and wiped his face and upper body covered with sweat.
"Yo! Kitahara!"
Beiyuan heard the voice of an acquaintance behind him and looked back, only to see a friend of his walking towards him carrying a wooden sword.
"You are so diligent. What? Are you planning to win first place in the 'Grand Trial' tomorrow?"
"Well, that's right." Beihara nodded without any disguise, "I will definitely win the first place in the 'Grand Trial' this year!"
"Oh?" Beiyuan's friend said in a joking tone, "Why haven't I seen you so motivated in the past few years?"
"Oh, I remembered."
Beihara's friend patted his forehead very artificially, and then continued to say in a joking tone.
"I almost forgot - in the past few years, Miss Isshiki never came to watch the 'Grand Trial Match', but this year, Miss Isshiki has definitely come to watch."
"Don't stand here talking about what is and isn't." Beihara scolded angrily, "I'm going to continue my sword practice, don't disturb me."
The friend who was "expelled" by Beiyuan shrugged his shoulders, then walked away with a wooden sword in his hand.
The place where Beiyuan stood happened to be adjacent to a window.
After his friend left, he turned his head and looked at the sky outside the window.
"Miss Isshiki..." Kitahara muttered.
The voice and appearance of Isshikika came to mind.
Just recalling Isshikika's face, Kitahara felt that his whole body was filled with strength again.
——This time, I must behave well in front of Miss Isshiki!
After saying this in a decisive tone in his heart, Kitahara once again picked up the special wooden sword beside him.
In order to prepare himself in the best condition for the "big trial" tomorrow, Beihara started bringing his toiletries, changes of clothes and other luggage to the military hall starting today.
From now on, I will practice in seclusion in the military hall. I will not go outside or have any contact with anyone outside.
While Kitahara kept chanting Isshikika's name in his heart, he aimed at the air in front of him again and practiced Suzhen.
…
…
Osaka, Isshiki Kenkan——
Isshiki's Isshiki Kenkan is a very typical structure where the home and the swordsmanship are integrated.
After passing through the dojo and walking further inside, you will find the place where Isshiki and his family live.
In the deepest part of their house, there is a small Buddhist hall.
Isshiki Hana, who is still wearing a goose-yellow kimono, is now in this small Buddhist hall.
This small Buddhist hall houses a golden Buddha statue.
Isshikika knelt down on a futon placed in front of the golden Buddha statue, with a pair of naked white feet buried between her buttocks and the futon. She closed her eyes tightly, clasped her hands together, and held a string of brown flowers between her palms.
Buddha beads, reciting Buddhist scriptures devoutly.
Isshiki's mother is a devout Buddhist.
Influenced by her mother's influence, Isshiki Ka has had a devout belief in Buddhism since she was a child.
Isshiki's father did not have any religious beliefs, but in order to take care of his wife's piety, he spent a lot of money to build this small Buddhist hall and erected this golden Buddha statue.
When she lived at home, Isekhwa would go to this Buddhist hall every day and recite Buddhist sutras in front of the Buddha statue.
After completing the routine reciting of Buddhist sutras, Isekhwa opened her eyes, put away the beads, and quickly left the temple.
As soon as she left the Buddhist hall, she saw her grandfather running towards her excitedly.
"Xiaohua, you are here, I finally found you."
"Grandpa." Isshikihua frowned, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong?"
"Xiaohua, guess who I met outside today?"
"I can't guess." As soon as Zhizhou finished speaking, Isekhwa said coldly, "Grandpa, if you have anything to say, just say it directly and don't play this boring 'guessing game'."
Isshikika didn't cooperate - but Naoshu wasn't angry about it.
Naoshu looked around, and after confirming that no one was around, he put his lips close to Isshikika's ear and whispered:
"I met Mr. Ittosai outside today."
As soon as Naoshu said these words, Isshiki's eyes, which were originally full of indifference, suddenly widened and she almost screamed out in surprise.
Naoshu Yan told Isshikika the whole story of his chance encounter with Ogata today and his successful invitation to watch the "Grand Trial Match" today.
"Grandpa..." Isshiki looked at Naoshu with an expression of disbelief, "Did you really...succeed in inviting Lord Ittosai here...?"
Naoshu nodded proudly: "You must not tell anyone about it. The only people who know that Ogata Ittosai will come are you and me, and we must not let the third person know."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhizhou was stunned for a moment.
Then he slapped his head violently.
"Oops... I forgot to explain to Ogata that the person 'Isshiki Ryoma' does not exist, only 'Isshiki Hana' exists..."
Zhizhou smiled bitterly.
"It's troublesome... When Lord Ittosai sees Isshiki Ryoma transforming into a woman someday... I really don't know how to explain it..."
"...Grandpa, you don't need to explain this matter at all."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Master Ittousai has long known that 'Isshiki Ryoma' is disguised as 'Isshiki Hana'..."
"What do you mean?" Naoshu's eyes widened in shock, "Have you... revealed your identity to Lord Ittousai?"
"Well..." Isshikika lowered her head and said in a very vague tone, "The night before...I and Ittousai-sama parted ways in northern Oshu, when I went to take a shower, Ittousai-sama bumped into Chuan in the corridor.
I was dressed as a woman, and my daughter’s body was exposed like this..."
Because she was not good at lying, Isshiki's eyes kept darting wildly - but because she lowered her head, Naoshu didn't notice anything strange about Isshiki at this time.
"Did something like this happen before...Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"This is not something worth telling anyone, why should I tell you."
"You...well, forget it. Now that the adult knows that you are a girl, it will be easier." Zhizhou cleared his throat, "The adult will come to visit in the future. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be with him."
An opportunity to build a good relationship.”
"Because he only knows you and me, so in order to prevent that adult from being embarrassed by having no acquaintance around, I plan to have you sit next to him when the 'big test match' begins and watch the test with him.
combine."
"how do you feel?"
"……whatever."
"Okay, then it's decided." Naoshu warned Isshikika in a serious tone, "Please remember in the future - never say anything rude to Lord Ittosai."
Naoshu talked very verbosely about various regulations to Isshikika.
An impatient Isshikika gradually appeared on his face, and he said angrily:
"I know...it's just Ittosai, why do you make it so grand..."
After saying that, Isshikihua turned around and left quickly.
Naoshu shouted at Isshikika's back, "I haven't finished speaking yet," but Isshikika was completely unmoved and didn't make any pause...
…
…
——That person... actually came to Osaka...
Isshiki Hana, who was walking quickly along the corridor at home, whispered softly in her heart.
The first time I met Ogata - it was quite a long time ago.
But when I recall this past event carefully, I feel like this experience seemed like yesterday.
Memories... especially those of taking a bath with Ogata in the bathhouse, appeared one by one in Isshikika's mind as if they had their own consciousness.
Isshiki Ka suddenly felt her blood rushing to her cheeks.
He raised his hands and touched his cheeks - they were as hot as if they had just been roasted by fire.
…
…
Isshiki's mother's original name was "Mitsu Kazama", but she changed her name to "Isshiki Minoru" after marrying into Isshiki's family.
As the daughter of a martial arts family, she received a very good education since childhood and was proficient in all kinds of music, chess, calligraphy and painting.
On weekdays, she likes to do these elegant things to pass the time.
At this moment, Ash was in his room, humming a nice tune and drawing on the desk.
"Mother……"
Suddenly - Ash heard his daughter's voice coming from outside the room.
As soon as Xun Sheng turned her head, she saw Yi Shihua opening the paper sliding door of her room and kneeling in front of her.
"Xiaohua, what's wrong?" Ash put down the pen in his hand.
"Mom...can you...teach me how to put on makeup?"
"Ah?" Ash raised his right hand and lightly covered his mouth, looking surprised, "What's wrong? Why did you say you want to learn makeup so suddenly?"
"When I wanted to teach you before, didn't you always say you were not interested?"
At this time, Ash suddenly realized something, and hurriedly asked Isshikihua in an expectant tone:
"Do you have someone you like?"
"...There is no such thing." Isshikihua muttered.
…
…
Just as Issekika muttered and asked her mother for advice on how to put on makeup——
Koyasan, Sengenji Temple——
"Toyotomi Nobuhide...Long time no see..." An old man with gray eyebrows smiled at a young man sitting in front of him.
"It's not that we haven't seen each other for a long time." The young man shrugged.
"What's the reason for this sudden visit?" the old man asked.
"Master, something unexpected happened at the shogunate and here." The young man stretched out a finger, picked out his ear, and continued in a casual tone as if he was talking about what he had for dinner today,
"So, I decided to launch the third 'Osaka Battle' ahead of schedule!"
"Recently, the long-lost 'Taiko Paulownia' was hung on Osaka Castle!"
*******
*******
Please vote for me! Please vote for me! Please vote for this book! QAQ
Thanks to the book friend [L5??] for the reward!
This book friend has already rewarded three alliance leaders for this book. I am really grateful. I burst into tears and don’t know what to say (Leopard Head Crying.jpg).
The author will immediately try to follow the rules and update 12,000 as soon as possible to thank the book friend!
PS: The character Isshikika has a historical prototype~~ She is a very famous female swordsman in Japanese history. I wonder if anyone remembers this person.