"What kind of teacher are you? So irresponsible towards your own student?"
Giken's reprimand made Kenta's expression a bit awkward.
"Hah, just use this wooden sword for now, it's the one I used before."
He took a wooden sword from the cabinet beside him and handed it to Shinnosuke.
This wooden sword was very good, with many scars on it, clearly used frequently.
For most kendo practitioners, the frequency of using a wooden sword was higher. Whether for practice or sparring, a wooden sword was safer.
Grasping the wooden sword, Shinnosuke felt a different kind of power flowing from within him. This wooden sword seemed to become a part of his body.
"Kojima, come here for a moment."
Hearing Giken's call, a student who looked about Shinnosuke's age, probably also a high school student, approached.
"This is Aoyama Kojima, a third-year student at Shuchi'in Academy, currently kendo level five and the president of the Shuchi'in kendo club."
"This is Nohara Shinnosuke, my son's student, will be entering Shuchi'in Academy soon. I hope you can test his kendo level."
Kojima was about 175 cm tall, with a fairly sturdy build, a broad and friendly face, and squinted eyes. Wearing a white kendo uniform, his squinted eyes made him look strong.
"Hello, Nohara-kun."
Kojima cheerfully greeted Shinnosuke, only his squinted eyes were too conspicuous, and his smile gave a slightly insincere impression.
"Hello."
Suppressing the surge in his heart after holding the sword, Shinnosuke nodded at Kojima.
"I don't know what level Nohara-kun is? Would you like to join the kendo club when school starts? The Shuchi'in kendo club is currently severely lacking members!"
"I've never taken a kendo level advancement exam. Since participating in a competition once in kindergarten, I haven't practiced kendo again."
"Huh?"
Shinnosuke's answer was clearly beyond Kojima's expectations. Giken's son's student should at least be level three or four, right?
"Shinnosuke hasn't practiced kendo for a long time indeed, but his talent is extraordinary, don't underestimate him."
Kenta interjected in time. He highly recognized Shinnosuke's talent and believed that within Shinnosuke lay a terrifying kendo potential.
"Alright, let's test for a bit. Remember, don't injure each other, no need to wear protective gear."
To surpass kendo level six, one had to remove the wooden sword and protective gear and fight for real. People aiming to become kendo masters mostly didn't choose to wear protective gear during practice and sparring.
"Come on, Nohara-kun, let's have a simple match."
Kojima took his wooden sword and stepped onto the training floor. The students who were practicing kendo nearby also gathered to watch the fight.
Shinnosuke held his wooden sword and slowly walked to face Kojima.
"Nohara-kun, please attack first."
He was the senior, and this junior hadn't practiced kendo for a long time. It was only right for him to let Shinnosuke attack first to show his generosity, thus making him join the kendo club!
Shinnosuke didn't answer. Ever since he picked up the wooden sword, he felt very strange. The emotions that had been suppressed in his heart for a long time seemed about to explode, and only swinging the sword could vent them.
Before his system awakened, no one except himself realized that time was still turning.
As a five-year-old, he didn't know how many years he had lived. Shinnosuke's heart had always been suppressed. Pure happiness was too fake, making him feel like a string puppet controlled on a stage. If such days continued, he might go crazy.
Nohara Shinnosuke was a natural swordsman. Such an ability might have originated from a setting in an anime, and after the system changed this world, it became a permanent passive skill.
After all, when he was five years old, he could already cut falling leaves in the air with chopsticks from a distance.
Then, what exactly was his kendo? People who could be called swordsmen in Japanese history were all recorded in history and could establish their own styles.
Then, as a natural swordsman, what was kendo in his heart?
Shinnosuke raised his head and looked at Kojima in front of him.
That gaze alone made Kojima break out in a cold sweat.
Shinnosuke's gaze at him was without any emotion, even bordering on the gaze of a dead fish.
But Shinnosuke's gaze was unexpectedly sharp, making him feel like he was being targeted by an unknown beast.
He was going to die, definitely going to die, he had to run!
But before he could move further, Shinnosuke's sword had already slashed down.
Ever since Shinnosuke raised his head, he had attracted everyone's attention. Clearly, his movements were very fast, but they gave a very slow impression, as if everything stopped because of Shinnosuke's single sword slash.
Shinnosuke's sword slashed down, Kojima's face was still full of fear, and he only had time to instinctively block with his sword.
There was no force as imagined. Kojima only felt the sword in his hand become light, and a strong gust of wind hit his face.
His wooden sword broke. Shinnosuke's wooden sword cut through it like cutting tofu, without any resistance, it slashed through the wooden sword in his hand!
The wooden sword stopped an inch from Kojima's face, not slashing further.
The people watching had a strong sense of déjà vu. If Shinnosuke's sword had really slashed down, it might have directly split Kojima's head in two from his cheeks?
Terrifying, truly terrifying.
Only after Shinnosuke lowered his sword did everyone breathe a sigh of relief.
"Shinnosuke! Truly my student!"
Kenta didn't seem to realize at all that something was wrong.
Giken also came to his senses.
"This is…"
Was this what his son called great kendo talent? This was too exaggerated, wasn't it? Giken asked himself, that slash just now, even if he wasn't injured, he definitely wouldn't have been able to block it.
Reincarnation of a sword master? Who cares! Musashi Dojo was saved!
Kojima was panting heavily. He really thought he was going to die just now. Half of the wooden sword in his hand fell to the ground. Suddenly, he felt something cold on his face, and when he touched it, he found his hand full of blood.
Didn't that slash not hit him? Why was he bleeding?
"Cough cough, stop spacing out! Continue practicing! Shinnosuke is the future heir of our dojo, he has been practicing kendo for a long time. That Iaido slash just now was the result of years of hard training!"
Giken spoke, twisting the facts, establishing Shinnosuke's identity as the sole heir of the Musashi Dojo, and also a genius who had been practicing kendo for many years.
"Alright, Shinnosuke, come with me."