"Cough, cough..." Otae coughed several times as if she had choked, then forcibly changed the subject. "Mr. Hijikata, and Lord Sogo, you must think my assessment just now was unfair, don't you? That I was calling it random flailing with bamboo swords..."
"Wasn't it?" Before Sogo Doma could speak, Toshiro Hijikata said coldly. After all, he was the vice-chief who arranged the Kondo Group's training and cultivation. Calling the members apprentices who flailed bamboo swords at random was no longer merely saying the trainees were inadequate—it was mocking Hijikata for not knowing how to teach!
"Lord Hijikata..." But the moment he spoke, Otae said, "Do you really think your students aren't just randomly swinging their swords? They have strength, but as for technique..." Toshiro Hijikata: #^_^ What technique? If you've got the nerve, spar with Sogo!
Besides, as the saying went, read a book a hundred times and its meaning would reveal itself. As long as their foundations were solid...
"Of course..." Seemingly sensing his dissatisfaction, Otae smiled. "I shouldn't have said any of this. After all, even if your students swing their swords like complete amateurs, what does that have to do with me?"
"You..." Toshiro Hijikata gritted his teeth. What did she mean, complete amateurs? Forget Sogo—if she had the guts, she could spar with him!
Shizuka Hiratsuka was also startled. This woman really dared to say it. These are Kondo Group combat personnel. If they're all amateurs, then... Yet as she looked at the massive crater the other woman had just blasted out, the hot-blooded teacher felt something indescribable stir within her. Could the woman be telling the truth?
The Kondo Dojo—no, the Kondo Group's trainees—were all just randomly swinging their blades? She could not give a definite answer and could only turn her gaze toward Hijikata