"Suppressing himself?" Even Toshiro Hijikata, the person involved, was completely baffled, let alone the Kondo Group members watching their "spar."
Ozawa was the first to react, coming to a sudden "realization." "I knew it! The Vice Commander and the others are clashing in a realm we can't see! Damn it, we don't even know how the battle's going. Is the Vice Commander going to be okay?"
"What nonsense are you talking about, Ozawa? How could the Vice Commander possibly have a problem?"
"That's right, that's right, Ozawa. Didn't you hear what that guy said? The Vice Commander hasn't even gone all out—he's even suppressing his own strength..."
"But..." Ozawa hesitated. "That Tojo guy still looks like he has plenty in reserve too. Like you said, he even told the Vice Commander not to..." suppress his own strength.
Before he could finish, however, someone shouted, "Damn it, Ozawa, have some faith in the Vice Commander!"
"If even we don't believe in the Vice Commander, how can we hope for him to defeat the opponent? He's the Vice Commander of our Kondo Group... dojo!" another member chimed in.
...After hearing the Kondo Group members' explanation, Gan'an Shinomiya also "understood." Sure enough, those who heard the Way first were the teachers, and each profession had its specialty. If he had been the only spectator, he probably would have remained utterly confused by what was happening. Or rather, this was a contest of the two men's auras, wasn't it?
Fortunately, Gan'an Shinomiya's thoughts were unknown to Toshiro Hijikata. Otherwise, he would have been even more at a loss. "..." Forget the other guy—cough, Commander Shinomiya—even he was completely confused right now. Ah~!
Indeed, as the Vice Commander of the Kondo Group, how could he expose an embarrassing side of himself before outsiders?
But could