Chapter 56: The Arena
Once Suzuki Tsuyoshi finished his interaction with Haruno, he turned his attention toward Hachiman. Hikigaya took the initiative to step forward and greeted him politely. "Hello, Mr. Suzuki. I am Hikigaya Hachiman. I have heard of your reputation for a long time."
Chishima Akishin, standing beside him, added, "Suzuki-san, this is my disciple. I brought him along today to watch the matches."
"Oh? Chishima-san's disciple!"
Tsuyoshi looked surprised, and his gaze turned significantly more serious when looking at Hachiman. The people following behind Tsuyoshi had the same reaction; they had witnessed Akishin's match, so the disciple of someone that incredible certainly couldn't be ordinary.
As mentioned before, the Japanese placed great importance on the status of the master-disciple relationship.
"That's right! This kid has been training in Kendo with me for two weeks and was only recently acknowledged a few days ago. We haven't even had a formal apprenticeship ceremony yet."
Akishin patted Hachiman's shoulder—a pat that felt incredibly painful to the boy, but he had to maintain a polite smile.
Tsuyoshi naturally noticed Hachiman's strained expression and let out a loud laugh. "If Hikigaya-kun could gain Chishima-san's recognition, he must have something special about him. Since there hasn't been an official ceremony, how about considering joining my school instead? I haven't taken a disciple yet either. If you join, you'll be the senior-most disciple of my Ono-ha Itto-ryu style."
Akishin spoke with a smile, "Suzuki-san, are you trying to poach my student right in front of my face?"
"What's the harm? Didn't you say he's not officially a disciple yet? Don't tell me you want to secure the championship title first before formally taking him in."
"That's about right."
"..." Tsuyoshi was silent for two seconds before erupting into an even louder laugh. "Hahaha! Truly worthy of the man who defeated me. You have grand ambitions, Chishima-san!"
The people following behind grew excited as well. Akishin's words clearly stated that his target was the Kendo Tournament championship.
Even though everyone came with that goal in mind, how many actually had the guts to say it out loud?
More importantly, Akishin actually had the qualifications to back it up.
Hachiman watched the two converse. When Suzuki Tsuyoshi turned back to him, he bowed deeply and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Suzuki, but I have already acknowledged Chishima-sensei as my master, and that is not something that will change easily."
Such a statement could be taken as a joke by the seniors, but as a junior, he couldn't answer with a joking tone. That was basic etiquette—an unwritten rule.
"That's quite a shame then."
Tsuyoshi's expression seemed regretful, but his eyes were full of smiles. He led the four of them into the Kendo Federation building, heading toward the large match arena in the innermost section.
The other middle-aged men and some staff members crowded around them on all sides. Ogura Yuko was there too; she didn't dare approach Akishin, so she could only exchange a few words with Hiratsuka Shizuka.
It was crystal clear: ever since Akishin defeated Suzuki Tsuyoshi, they viewed Akishin as an equal to him.
Akishin's three companions were also swept up in that influence.
The hierarchy system in Japan was incredibly strict and not to be trifled with.
Big corporate bosses in Japan always traveled with a group of people following them, creating a grand procession. Those who looked like they were slightly sucking up to the leader generally held high positions like Section Chiefs, Division Heads, or Directors.
The closer you were to the central figure, the higher your status—a position a common person might never reach in their entire life.
An average employee wouldn't even be allowed in that procession. It was a symbol of status, with major banks being the most prominent example.
Hachiman glanced back; there were nearly twenty people. From the time he was born until now, this was the first time he had experienced such a scene, something he'd only ever seen on television—usually when major figures made an appearance.
Hachiman knew his parents were middle-management staff at a local company in Chiba with a decent income, but in the eyes of a big boss, they probably weren't any different from ordinary citizens.
But honestly... he didn't feel much of anything.
He wasn't the main character here; they were just guests, so they just had to be on their best behavior.
To avoid embarrassing Akishin, Hachiman even shed the "dead-fish" aura he usually projected. He hid his lifeless eyes as much as possible, which changed his appearance quite a bit.
His eyes in particular were unique, holding a certain sharpness amidst the coldness. This caused several of the middle-aged men in Gofuku to strike up a conversation with him from time to time.
The Chiba Prefecture Kendo Federation actually consisted of three parts: the office building, the gymnasium for daily practice, and finally, the Kendo match arena.
The arena area had an entrance for visitors, while internal personnel passed through the office building area without needing to buy a ticket.
Suzuki Tsuyoshi and Akishin walked side-by-side, followed by the large entourage as they entered the assembly hall. This immediately drew the attention of many people; even the chatter died down as people speculated who they were.
Then, someone spotted Suzuki Tsuyoshi and shouted loudly. Instantly, the crowd fell silent, followed by cheers that were no less enthusiastic than those for a movie star.
Tsuyoshi raised a hand to greet the audience.
As for Akishin standing beside him, the crowd was merely curious. Although news of his previous match had spread, the average person wasn't aware of it yet.
Those who did know weren't the type to talk recklessly. The same went for the journalists; they had received word that Akishin had defeated Tsuyoshi, but implicitly, no one had released the story yet.
With a story this big, no one dared to leak it privately because they would be confronted by other media outlets.
This was a shared interest that, by tradition, they had agreed to report on today.
Nearly ten thousand seats surrounding the match area were completely filled. At the same time, various media outlets had gathered—not just from local Chiba but also from Tokyo—ranging from student journalists and reporters to TV production teams. Camera flashes went off continuously.
And the matches hadn't even started yet.
Behind the spectator stands, besides advertisements, various colorful banners hung—mostly white—bearing slogans like "Absolute Victory" and the like, mostly from the major Kendo Dojos in Chiba.
Kendo practitioners were different from chess players; Kendo wasn't considered a full-time profession, but rather a hobby or a martial art technique. Practitioners generally had their own jobs, such as police officers, teachers, and so on.
However, these people usually belonged to a Dojo before they entered the workforce. After they left, as long as they hadn't officially resigned, they were still considered personnel of that Dojo. When competing, they represented their respective Dojos to bring fame to the school.
Suzuki Tsuyoshi also had his own Kendo Dojo, though he only kept his name there and visited occasionally. Even so, that made it the most famous Kendo Dojo in Chiba.
I'd heard the rules there were incredibly strict; those who didn't meet the standards were kicked out. However, the fees weren't expensive—only slightly above the market price.
"How is it?" Akishin turned to Hachiman beside him and asked with a smile. "Any thoughts?"
Hachiman wanted to look around but was afraid of appearing unrefined, so he could only observe very carefully. He replied, "It's... very impressive. Very exciting. It makes my blood feel like it's boiling, and the atmosphere is so serious..."
Being stared at by so many eyes and becoming the center of attention in the hall, aside from feeling awkward, he also felt a surge of emotion. He didn't know how to describe it, but it felt good.
"That's good then. This is my first time here as well. A view like this is truly intoxicating; no wonder so many people love it," Akishin said as he looked around. His handsome face remained calm and expressionless.
Shizuka and Haruno stood behind them, maintaining an elegant posture while quietly taking in the surroundings.
"What are you two thinking about?"
Tsuyoshi, having finished handling his business, approached them along with the Chairman of the Kendo Federation and two Vice-Chairmen.
They greeted Akishin enthusiastically and then arranged the seating. They didn't sit in the spectator seats, but rather in the participants' seats—the circle surrounding the match arena, which offered a much better view than the front row of the audience.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
50 Power Stone = 1 Bonus Chapter (Up to 5 bonus chapters per week).
Read ahead and support the story on Patreon: patreon.com/FaaanzKun
✅ 105+ chapters ahead of WebNovel
✅ 6 new chapters every day (Monday–Saturday), exclusive on Patreon
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —