It was precisely because of that certain gorilla... Isao Kondo that Hijikata and Sogo had settled down to practice kendo. However, it was also the only skill that gave Sogo Doma a headache.
Even after practicing for so long, his kendo had only barely reached Lv. 3... Though Hijikata, who trained alongside him, was only around Lv. 2, and even that gorilla, Dojo Master Kondo, was merely Lv. 1 and still trying to break through to Lv. 2.
Other skills at least had regional, provincial, or even national rankings, but kendo had no such distinctions at all... Still, after giving it some thought, Sogo Doma figured it might be because this world was too peaceful. A gorilla at the peak of Lv. 1 was practically unbeatable already; Hijikata at Lv. 2 could dodge bullets and even split them apart with his sword. As for him at Lv. 3—who would believe that jumping from dozens of meters in the air was no big deal as long as there was somewhere to brace himself?
If Newton heard about this, he would probably flip open his coffin lid, believe it or not! Ahem... Anyway, that experience had laid the foundation for the bond between Sogo and Hijikata. That was why Hijikata had gone looking for them on his own after hearing there had been no news from Sogo and Umaru. It was also because of that incident that Sogo had truly acknowledged Hijikata. Even if the other guy wanted to be his little sister's big brother... Sogo had only been thinking about making him die of embarrassment.
Toshiro Hijikata: "..." Well, thanks a lot!
Likewise, since he had never sensed any killing intent from Sogo—and because Sogo's moves were mostly pranks—Toshiro Hijikata had not thought much of it. He had even treated Sogo's