It was still the day Gan'an Shinomiya came to visit Kondo Dojo, but the location had changed to the Kondo Dojo cafeteria.
Nearly all the members without patrol duties had gathered around the cafeteria. Quietly—well, not quietly. They whispered among themselves as they watched the two men at the dining table and observed their "spar."
"What's going on, Ozawa?" someone asked in a low voice.
"I don't know either..." Ozawa lowered his voice as well. "The Vice-Chief said he wanted to spar with this guy called Tojo..."
"But aren't they eating?"
"Yeah..." Ozawa nodded. "That's why I don't get it. Still, I'm deeply shaken..."
"What's so shocking about having a meal?" someone else asked in confusion.
"Because the Vice-Chief initially suggested hot pot..." Ozawa explained.
"But they're not having hot pot!"
"That's why I'm deeply shaken..." Ozawa wore an expression of being awed despite not understanding a thing. "According to that Tojo guy, eating is also a contest of training. Something like hot pot belongs to sumo wrestlers; as swordsmen, they should eat Japanese cuisine—sushi, tempura, grilled fish, and so on."
"So they're ordering food?"
"No..." Ozawa shook his head. "The Vice-Chief and the others said it was a battle of spirits."
"So what exactly are they competing over during a meal?"
"Didn't I say I don't know?" Even so, Ozawa continued staring at the two men ahead. "But don't you think the atmosphere over there is extremely serious? The Vice-Chief is taking it so seriously, so this must be a battle beyond anything we could imagine..."
"That makes so much sense we can't even argue." Just as Ozawa had said, both Hijikata and Tojo wore serious expressions at the dining table. Neither was looking at the other, yet the atmosphere between them was still oppressively tense.
The two merely