The Heroines Want to Confess.

Smack!

The two bamboo swords clashed again.

"Bit light there, buddy."

The corners of Sakurai's mouth curled into a malicious grin.

He blocked the opponent's strike with one hand on the bamboo sword, even deliberately showing his empty hand a few times.

In Kendo, only fighters who use dual swords hold a sword with one hand; Sakurai's current action was pure, blatant provocation.

"I'll give you one hand, how about that?"

A few seconds later, the opponent didn't answer, simply widened the distance and then charged forward again.

'Boring.'

Seeing him not fall for the verbal taunt, Sakurai lost interest.

At least past opponents could shoot back with a few sharp words; this time, maybe it was guilt that kept him silent.

And just how did he even manage to bring a rule-breaking sword in here?

Smack!

Their swords locked again, and Sakurai Saki's eyes grew sharper.

...

Inside the arena.

The five Nakano sisters, according to plan, sat with Nakano Maruo to watch the match.

Everyone's attention was on the fight below.

"Looks like Sakurai-san is angry," Yotsuba said.

Sakurai Saki kept pressing with relentless jōdan attacks, as if trying to smash the opponent's bamboo sword to pieces.

Some deep grudge?

Yotsuba didn't know, but when playing games, Sakurai Saki hated cheaters the most. In his eyes, Kendo was just like a game, so naturally he'd feel disgusted by cheats.

And facing an opponent using a weighted bamboo sword, Sakurai Saki chose to crush him head-on!

"Umu, there's no finesse at all, Saki-kun is just overpowering him," Miku murmured.

This attacking style treated the opponent as if he wasn't even worth considering.

Nakano Maruo crossed his legs, eyes narrowing slightly: "Sakurai-kun's strength is terrifying—stronger than that last team."

He was referring to the five "Kumamon" from Kumamoto Prefecture.

'Not like an ordinary person… could he be from the other side? …No, unlikely,' Maruo speculated inwardly.

He had treated many people with incredible physical abilities, most of them Shinto dignitaries, their injuries resembling attacks from some strange creature.

"Impressive," Nino muttered.

Even without understanding fully, she could tell Sakurai Saki held overwhelming advantage. Her eyes never left his figure for even a second.

Nino: (=♡ ᆺ ♡=)

Down on the floor.

"Haaa!!!"

Sakurai let out a resounding kiai.

'!!!'

The opponent was shaken by the shout, momentarily forgetting to defend.

His earlier attacks had no openings, with great strength and incredible speed, making him feel like he and Sakurai Saki weren't even the same species.

The bamboo sword in his vision grew larger and larger, until—

Smack!

The tip struck his head; even through thick protection, he felt dizzy, quickly collapsing to the ground.

"Men!!" Sakurai shouted loudly.

The two referees simultaneously raised their flags, announcing: "Valid strike! Ippon!"

...

On the stands.

Ichika clapped excitedly and said happily, "Sensei got the ippon first."

Though Nakano Ichika usually addressed Sakurai Saki quite casually, with her father sitting beside her, she was much more reserved now.

"No wonder Sakurai-san was so confident last time, saying he didn't want to step on the floor before the knockout stage," Itsuki recalled.

So he had just been looking down on his opponents.

'This match should be an easy win.' — All five sisters thought the same.

A few minutes later.

Sure enough, the five sisters were right.

Sakurai Saki crushed his opponent in a storm-like victory.

Right after,

He didn't immediately return to the starting line to wait for the next opponent, but instead picked up the opponent's bamboo sword and shouted loudly: "Referee, there's something wrong with his sword!! The weight's not right!"

This made the two referees freeze.

If there was an issue, why didn't you say so earlier?

And more importantly—there was an issue, and you still won? Are you a monster?

The referees ignored the cheating player lying on the ground with a vacant look, taking the bamboo sword for inspection.

A moment later.

The organizers directly announced the disqualification of the violating school.

Nearby, many players from other schools began whispering, most of it about how cheating still couldn't win.

Now that was embarrassing.

...

After making it to the top 8, the first day of the tournament ended smoothly.

Getting on the bus, the group prepared to head back.

On the way, nearing the hotel, Sakurai looked out the window and saw preparations for a temple festival.

Nearby was a shrine; this time the festival was hosted by the shrine, which was said to enshrine a tanuki—a type of youkai.

In Japan, tanuki are symbols of good luck; many restaurants and shops display tanuki figures outside.

"A festival, huh, I heard it's tomorrow," Kojima said, following his gaze.

"Oh, right, I probably can't join the victory party after the match tomorrow," Sakurai suddenly said.

"You're talking about the victory party for winning the Gyokuryuu-ki championship, right? We haven't even played the quarterfinals yet, and you're already thinking about popping champagne?" Kojima said, dumbfounded.

"You think Shuchiin will lose?"

Kojima wanted to say "Nah, we'll win," but he wasn't that confident inside.

Sakurai explained, "I've got an appointment tomorrow, going to the festival with someone."

"The Nakano family, huh?" Kojima asked, prying.

"How do you know?"

"We're staying in the same hotel, it's not just me who's seen it," Kojima said, glancing at others on the bus.

The rest of the Kendo club members looked awkward.

"Aren't you dating Hayasaka-san? And now you're going to a festival with someone else?" he asked, voicing what everyone was thinking.

The moment that came out, the bus fell silent.

Sakurai glanced at him.

This guy had thick eyebrows, sharp eyes, looked tough—so why gossip like a teenage girl?

"Can't I have a female friend?"

As soon as he finished, teasing whistles rang through the bus.

"Female friend… you believe that?"

"I don't," someone shook his head.

One even imitated the confession from before—"Hayasaka-san!! I-I-I—love you the most!!"

Sakurai glared at the speaker: "Miyazaki, you'd better watch out later—don't sleep too soundly tonight!"

Sakurai: (◣ ˰ ◢)

Miyazaki Kazuki shut up immediately.

A real threat—blatant, no attempt to hide it.

The topic didn't last long.

Everyone here came from wealthy Shuchiin backgrounds; they'd long been used to such things—some were even children of their father's mistresses.

"Speaking of which, why didn't you report it earlier?" Kojima asked.

Before Sakurai could answer, their advisor Daimon Saburou, sitting in the front row, spoke first—"He thought he was strong enough, so he did it to mess with the opponent's psychology. The rest of you don't copy that—if you notice something wrong, report it early."

Kojima froze for a few seconds, astonished.

"You did that just to play mind games?"

Sakurai, what exactly do you think the Gyokuryuu-ki is?

This is one of the top-level middle school Kendo tournaments in all of Japan!

Aren't you being just a little too arrogant?

...

Note: Hmm, the recent chapters are all Kendo, so there's nothing to add emojis to…