Chapter 83: The Kendo Club
Clocking in, clocking out; for a while, life settled back into a peaceful lull. The Kendo Tournament had been nothing more than an interlude; real life, after all, was defined by the daily grind.
On the second day after their return to Sobu High, the school administration gathered the students to officially announce that Chishima Akishin, representing the school, had secured the championship at the All-Japan Kendo Tournament. In a way, he really did represent the school—whether it was in his personal history or the data floating around the internet, the name "Sobu High School" was now permanently etched right after his own.
Sobu High was now a known name across Japan, at least within Kendo circles. Even if someone from overseas looked up Akishin's data, they would see the name of this school.
For the next few years, a decade, or even decades to come, this title would remain relevant. Everyone would know that a champion of the National Kendo Tournament was a teacher from Sobu High. The marketing value generated by such a title was, quite frankly, immeasurable.
If Akishin managed to win multiple times in the future, defend his title, or even surpass Miyazaki Masahiro to claim the mantle of "Sword Saint" (Kensei), the impact would be astronomical.
Of course, no one was actually thinking that far ahead, nor did they truly believe he could surpass Miyazaki Masahiro. The man was a myth—the kind of figure born once in a century in Japan, someone worthy of being worshipped as a god.
They felt that the current achievement was more than enough.
Furthermore, Akishin had gifted the "Emperor's Trophy" to Sobu High. His reasoning was simple: he didn't like the name of the trophy. He only kept the award certificate for himself.
Originally, he had thought about giving it to Shizuka, but on second thought, such an item would only bring her trouble. Even if it was made of silver, it couldn't be turned into cash unless it was melted down; anyone possessing it would be easily traced. It was incredibly valuable, yes, but only as a symbol of honor—a representation of meaning.
It was better to give it openly to the school. In addition to gaining a good reputation, he received deep appreciation and enthusiastic gratitude from the administration. He didn't care about that small amount of money anyway.
Now, the "Emperor's Trophy" sat right in the center of Sobu High's Hall of Fame.
After the Principal finished his speech, Akishin also went up to say a few words. Then, at the request of the board of directors, several people stood on stage together to showcase the trophy to the student body.
This was all part of the script Sobu High had asked Akishin to follow to build their brand image.
The media came to take photos, and they found fresh material for a story: Chishima Akishin, the selfless hero who donated his hard-earned trophy to his school for free...
Akishin's annual salary saw another bump, rising to 25 million yen. Of course, the base salary was just a small portion; the real weight lay in various invisible benefits.
Two weeks passed by in a flash, bringing them to the end of May. During that time, Akishin took Hachiman to challenge the Kendo Club.
Four out of the five regular players of the Kendo Club lost to Hachiman in under two minutes, while the Club Captain managed a draw.
At that moment, it wasn't just the Kendo Club members who were in disbelief—they knew Hachiman had only been practicing Kendo for a month. How could they possibly lose?
Even Hachiman himself couldn't believe it. Although the Kendo Club hadn't achieved any major tournament results in the last two years, their status in school remained high because their raw fighting strength was formidable.
Last year, seven thugs from outside the school had been shaking down Sobu High students for lunch money. Once the Kendo Club Captain found out, he took three guys with him and absolutely thrashed all seven of them.
The thugs didn't take it lying down; they gathered nearly twenty people to block the school gate in retaliation.
That time, the Captain brought the entire club—over thirty members—and surrounded the thugs, beating them so badly the police had to intervene.
After that incident, no thug dared rob a Sobu High student again.
Consequently, even if the Kendo Club members kept a low profile, no student dared pick a fight with them. Even Hayama had zero interaction with the club. The reason was simple: the Kendo Club members didn't like Hayama. They found him hypocritical, believing his "Mr. Nice Guy" persona was fundamentally incompatible with the Kendo Club's spirit.
The Kendo Club had once seen glory, and even now, without trophies, they were still better than the students at other schools who just whined away their time. They had principles they held sacred.
On another day during PE, Akishin swept Hachiman to the ground and then instructed him to rest. He then moved on to "teach" (read: beat) the other members.
The Kendo Club Captain walked over to Hachiman. After that initial challenge, Akishin had moved their training sessions from under the large tree to the Kendo Club's headquarters because of the superior facilities. It also allowed him to mentor the club's five regulars.
Those five had secured permission from the school to leave whatever class they were in during Hachiman's PE period.
"You're really something, Hikigaya-kun. We couldn't even withstand a single strike from Chishima-sensei... You truly deserve to be called the genius handpicked by Sensei."
The Kendo Club Captain was named Mizukawa Masaru. He was a third-year student, slightly taller than Hachiman, with sharp, prominent eyebrows.
His personality was somewhat somber. His family owned a small local dojo in Chiba City, and his father was the CEO of a small company.
He had practiced Kendo since childhood. Despite his social status being much higher than Hachiman's, he was incredibly friendly—bordering on respectful. He was the one who had led the charge against the thugs, and he was the one who had personally come to beg Akishin for guidance.
Akishin admired him quite a bit.
"You don't have to say that, Mizukawa-senpai. Sensei was clearly holding back just now."
Hachiman stared at the hand extended toward him. The fingers were slender, looking more suited for playing the piano.
He thought about the man's words, remembering Akishin's comment that "when people think of you, the first thing they'll remember is my name." He froze for a moment before taking the hand and pulling himself up.
Mizukawa Masaru's words were pure praise, devoid of any ill intent. Hachiman could feel that much.
"In that case, I'll head back in."
Mizukawa's voice was deep, carrying more natural authority than Hayama's, yet it lacked the practiced smile Hayama always wore.
Glancing toward Akishin, who was currently being challenged by four of his teammates not far away, Mizukawa nodded to Hachiman, donned his face protector, took up his shinai, and entered a combat stance.
Akishin taught Hachiman individually, but he taught the five regulars of the Kendo Club by having them gang up on him.
It looked unfair on the surface, but it was the most efficient method. While Akishin mentored Hachiman, the five regulars could watch and learn. While he mentored the five regulars, Hachiman could observe and evaluate.
And what was called "ganging up" wasn't five people charging Akishin at once; rather, it was five people surrounding him from five different directions.
Whenever one person stepped forward, Akishin would strike them back or knock them down, then the second person would follow... and so on.
Throughout it all, Hachiman watched from the sidelines. Occasionally, Akishin would tell them to spar with each other.
Once the practice ended, Hachiman and the five Kendo members used the Breathing Method together to recover their stamina.
This breathing technique didn't need to be kept secret, as it was just a specific way of inhaling. Only when combined with meditation techniques did it become the complete "Sword Meditation."
After returning from Tokyo, Akishin had taught the full Meditation to Hachiman. Unfortunately, Hachiman kept failing to grasp it and couldn't enter a true meditative state.
When Akishin asked the system, the reply was that Hachiman currently didn't meet the requirements to learn Sword Meditation. When asked for specific requirements, the system only provided a series of ellipses.
Since it was just a matter of "not yet" meeting the requirements, Akishin didn't panic. He would wait; perhaps Hachiman was simply still too weak. He would try again in a few months.
Five minutes before the period ended, the six of them came to.
"Alright, that's enough for today. Mizukawa, try to do some physical activity after school to increase your strength and stamina, or do some sparring. You guys are more experienced with those types of drills than I am."
Akishin tossed bottles of water to the six of them while he cracked open a can of bitter black coffee.
"We understand, Chishima-sensei. Thank you for the guidance!" Mizukawa and the other four stood up and bowed sincerely to Akishin.
Akishin nodded. Once Hachiman finished changing out of his Kendo gear, they walked out of the club together. Mizukawa Masaru and his group also changed and headed back to their respective classrooms.
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