My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 623: Chapter 2: Chokata Toshisuke Urged to Marry

Since Shiwei Hall, under the leadership of Aoto, achieved a great victory over Little Chiba Sword Dojo in the Red and White Battle at the ”Plum Blossom Festival” more than 5 months ago, Xuanwu Hall has continuously issued ”duel invitations” to Shiwei Hall.

Regarding the current hall master of Xuanwu Hall: Chiba Daisaburo, Aoto has only met him a few times and has hardly communicated with him.

The deepest impression Chiba Daisaburo left on Aoto is that he is very silent and reserved.

His personality is somewhat similar to Saito.

Both don’t like to talk much and often maintain a poker face.

But beneath Daisaburo’s expressionless exterior lies a burning heart of a martial artist!

To improve in swordsmanship, one must spar frequently with experts! Sparring with others or only with those whose skills are yet to improve will only worsen one’s skills. Only by frequently sparring with experts can one’s skills continually improve — Chiba Daisaburo is a fervent believer in this teaching philosophy.

Thus, under the guidance of Chiba Daisaburo, the ethos of Xuanwu Hall... is quite ”vigilant”.

It is a very fitting gathering place for combat enthusiasts!

Influenced by Chiba Daisaburo, the apprentices inside are increasingly combative, all taking pride in sparring with experts.

In the Red and White Battle, where Xuanwu Hall and Little Chiba Sword Dojo were opponents, Shiwei Hall, which had more often lost than won, surprisingly achieved a great victory over Little Chiba Sword Dojo, defeating masters like Chiba Shigetarou, Sazanoko, and Yamanaka... This piqued Chiba Daisaburo’s intense curiosity!

Wishing to personally test why Shiwei Hall suddenly became so formidable, Chiba Daisaburo issued an invitation for a ”Red and White Battle” to Shiwei Hall shortly after Little Chiba Sword Dojo was defeated by Shiwei Hall.

Shiwei Hall, having achieved a great victory over Little Chiba Sword Dojo, was in a ”growth phase” due to its rising fame.

Zhouzhu and Kondo wished to focus their energy temporarily on developing the sword dojo, thus politely declined Chiba Daisaburo’s challenge.

Very eager to see why Shiwei Hall had become so strong, Chiba Daisaburo was not discouraged by this small setback.

For the past few months, Chiba Daisaburo has been persistently issuing duel invitations to Shiwei Hall at regular intervals.

And Shiwei Hall has continued to politely decline.

Last month, at the end of July, Chiba Daisaburo once again issued an invitation to Shiwei Hall for a ”Red and White Battle”.

This time... Shiwei Hall did not thoughtlessly decline!

Zhouzhu and Kondo father and son both tacitly agreed: after so long an interval of development, it was time to engage in an intense confrontation to test how their current strength has improved.

The formidable Xuanwu Hall... is indeed a challenging opponent worth taking on!

Only by battling a strong opponent can one’s potential be fully unleashed.

Thus, this time, Shiwei Hall accepted Xuanwu Hall’s challenge!

After a brief discussion between the members of the two sword dojos, the date for the Red and White Battle was finally set for August 20th.

With the confirmation of engaging Xuanwu Hall in a long-awaited Red and White Battle, the atmosphere in Shiwei Hall has been exceptionally serious and tense these days.

The list of participants for this Red and White Battle has not been finalized yet.

The apprentices yearning to be selected for a big match against Xuanwu Hall have been training even harder recently.

Speaking of Chiba Daisaburo, he is a man with a very legendary aura.

The founder of the Beichen One-Sword Style and the initial hall master of Xuanwu Hall, Chiba Shusaku, had four sons: Chiba Kisuichiro, Chiba Eijiro, Chiba Daisaburo, and Chiba Domon Shiro.

The eldest son, Chiba Kisuichiro, died young, leaving only the other 3 sons surviving.

After Chiba Shusaku passed away from illness 5 years ago, it was rightfully Chiba Eijiro who should have inherited the position of Sect Leader of the Beichen One-Sword School and the hall master of Xuanwu Hall, based on seniority and capability.

But Chiba Eijiro, before Chiba Shusaku’s illness, had already served in the Mito Domain to broaden his knowledge and improve his swordsmanship skills, thus leaving him without the energy to inherit the family business.

Therefore, the position of second generation head of the Beichen One-Sword School, the second generation hall master of Xuanwu Hall... this vast family inheritance fell upon the shoulders of the third son: Chiba Daisaburo.

Many people who do not understand the Edo Swordsmanship World often have such a misunderstanding — that Chiba Daisaburo got to his high position purely by default.

Indeed, if Chiba Eijiro had not served in the Mito Domain, this vast inheritance would not have fallen to Chiba Daisaburo.

In terms of overall ability, Chiba Daisaburo is indeed far inferior to his second brother Eijiro... but only compared to his second brother; his level in swordsmanship is still lacking in maturity.

Chiba Daisaburo is, after all, a descendant of the ”Sword Master Clan” Chiba family.

Because Eijiro’s brilliance is so dazzling, people often subconsciously overlook... that Chiba Daisaburo is also a top-tier talented swordsman!

Chiba Shigetarou once mentioned in a chat with Aoto — among the younger generation of the Chiba family, if they were ranked by swordsmanship talent, his second cousin Chiba Eijiro would hold the top tier alone, then his third cousin Chiba Daisaburo would hold the second tier alone, while he himself, Sazanoko, and the youngest cousin Chiba Domon Shiro would be in the lowest tier.

Currently, among all the members of Xuanwu Hall and Little Chiba Sword Dojo, only Chiba Dingji, Chiba Eijiro, and Chiba Daisaburo have reached the realm of being able to freely harness ”momentum”!