Chapter Summaries

Hijikata faced the threat of Sala Twin Trees and learned that Sogo’s specialized sword style had been designed to counter him. He tried to abandon techniques and rely on instinct, but Sogo saw through his attacks as their training continued.

• The Kondo Group’s reputation and Sogo’s backing kept Hattori and the other assassins from challenging Hijikata, whom Sogo had named the client’s protector.
• The narration contrasted Hijikata’s brutal, instinctive fighting with the refined swordsmanship taught in modern kendo dojos.
• Sogo explained that he had developed the Hijikata Go Die Style specifically to defeat Hijikata, leaving Hijikata wondering how he could overcome it.
• Hijikata decided to forget techniques and fight by instinct, but Sogo dodged his counterattack and recognized a move Kondo had taught him.
• As their sparring continued, Hijikata nearly turned the tables, while Sogo’s higher Kendo level left him confident.

Toshiro Hijikata reflected on how Sogo Doma and the Kondo Group had shaped his swordsmanship and intimidated their enemies, while Katsura Kotaro’s bombs made him a dangerous threat. Sogo and Katsura then found themselves caught between Hijikata’s suspicions and their friendship.

• The Mountain x Group and other organizations backed away from the Kondo Group after witnessing its strength, while hidden dark-web descendants still dared to target it.
• Toshiro Hijikata recognized that assassins and Sogo Doma, rather than a traditional swordsmanship lineage, had forged his skills and reputation.
• Hijikata considered Katsura Kotaro a dangerous opponent because Katsura used bombs and could threaten the Kondo Group’s members beyond Hijikata’s reach.
• Sogo Doma recalled introducing Katsura Kotaro to bombs, which inspired Katsura to become the Explosive Noble.
• Katsura insisted that he and Sogo were friends, while Sogo tried to reassure Hijikata that Katsura probably would not target the Kondo Group.

Toshiro Hijikata had survived repeated assassination attempts and developed a self-created sword style based on instinct, while the authorities and dark web forces feared the Kondo Group. The chapter leaves Hijikata recognizing that Sougo’s dangerous pranks were never truly meant to kill him.

• The authorities and dark web masterminds targeted Hijikata because they feared the Kondo Group, but his strength made them wary of capturing him.
• Hijikata grew stronger through repeated assassination attempts and came to rely on instinct rather than the Kondo Swordsmanship he had learned from Isao Kondo.
• Sougo could counter Kondo Swordsmanship because he knew its techniques, while Hijikata’s self-created style let him hold his own against Sougo.
• Hijikata kept his sword style to himself because it depended on instincts and perceptions that other people could not reproduce.
• Hijikata sensed that Sougo’s pranks and attacks were meant to embarrass him, not kill him, and noticed Sougo had prepared for accidents.

Isao Kondo explained to Toshiro Hijikata how Sougo’s Hijikata Go Die Style differed from Hijikata’s own swordsmanship and why its power depended on Sougo himself. He left Hijikata stunned by revealing that Sougo had modified the style from Kondo Swordsmanship.

• Toshiro Hijikata recalled that Isao Kondo had taught him Kondo Swordsmanship before he developed his own style.
• Isao Kondo argued that Hijikata’s swordsmanship and Sougo’s Hijikata Go Die Style both grew from Kondo Swordsmanship, though Toshiro admitted Sougo’s style seemed stronger.
• Isao Kondo explained that Sougo’s speed, strength, and ability to exploit openings made his swordsmanship difficult for anyone else to imitate.
• Toshiro Hijikata realized that Sougo’s techniques restrained his overwhelming natural power rather than making up for weaknesses.
• Isao Kondo asked Toshiro whether he could believe Sougo had modified Hijikata Go Die Style from Kondo Swordsmanship.

Toshiro Hijikata told Isao Kondo that Sougo had taught him swordsmanship far beyond ordinary skill, and demonstrated that he could cut steel with a bamboo sword. The chapter left Kondo stunned by the gap between Hijikata and the supposed sword masters he admired.

• Isao Kondo praised Hijikata’s talent and described Sougo as a swordsman whose strength made even legendary sword saints seem insignificant.
• Hijikata said Sougo had taught him that cutting steel with a wooden sword was only the first step toward becoming a great swordsman.
• Hijikata demonstrated by snapping the famous blade Kotetsu in two with his bamboo sword, leaving Kondo speechless.
• Hijikata explained Sougo’s claims about controlling what a blade cut, parting the sea, and eventually splitting the sky.
• Hijikata said he believed the competitors in the Gyokuryu Banner were great swordsmen and that he would not last one strike against them.
• Kondo realized Sougo had misled Hijikata about the strength of other swordsmen, while Hijikata continued to regard Sougo as his only equal.

The chapter explained how Sogo’s brilliance shaped Hijikata’s studies and earned his trust, which Sogo then used to mislead him about swordsmanship and the Gyokuryu Banner. Hijikata was left bewildered when Sogo argued that the tournament’s competitors had to restrain themselves before ordinary spectators.

• Hijikata became obsessed with studying after Sogo effortlessly solved problems that stumped him, but he wrongly believed he was hopeless because he compared himself to Sogo and Umaru.
• Hijikata trusted Sogo as a learned prodigy, and Sogo claimed the manga he brought for Umaru contained swordsmanship insights from secluded masters.
• Sogo disparaged Kondo’s dojo and argued that swordsmanship should make practitioners stronger and more valuable, while Hijikata defended Kondo and the purpose of training.
• Sogo pointed to the Gyokuryu Banner as a path to a bright future, and Hijikata admitted he thought its competitors were too slow and weak to impress him.
• Sogo explained that ordinary people watched the Gyokuryu Banner and asked what would happen if competitors fought at full speed and power, leaving Hijikata bewildered.

Sogo Doma convinced Toshiro Hijikata and Kotaro Katsura that the Gyokuryu Banner tournament’s contestants concealed extraordinary swordsmanship to avoid frightening ordinary people. After Sogo demonstrated that he could cut steel, Hijikata began questioning Isao Kondo’s understanding of swordsmanship.

• Sogo Doma explained to Toshiro Hijikata that contestants hid their strength so matches could remain visible and kendo would not be feared as a wicked path.
• Sogo Doma split the courtyard rockery with a sword, claiming that cutting steel was only an early stage of mastery.
• Kotaro Katsura witnessed the demonstration and concluded that his own dojo had no disciples because he was unqualified to teach such advanced kendo.
• Sogo Doma persuaded Toshiro Hijikata and Kotaro Katsura that manga revealed secret swordsmanship, and both believed his claims.
• Toshiro Hijikata remembered Shizuka Hiratsuka’s reaction to his steel-cutting slash and Isao Kondo’s doubts about Sogo’s claims.
• Isao Kondo asked Toshiro Hijikata whether he truly believed so many reclusive masters existed, and Hijikata remained silent.

Isao Kondo tried to convince Toshiro Hijikata that Sougo had misled him about swordmasters, arguing that Toshiro and Katsura were simply unusually talented. The discussion ended when Toshiro revealed that Sougo had devised a difficult method for entering the swordmaster realm, leaving Kondo wondering if he could learn to cut steel too.

• Isao Kondo questioned Toshiro Hijikata’s belief that swordmasters lived apart from ordinary people and challenged him to name any besides himself and Katsura.
• Toshiro said Katsura was also a swordmaster, but Isao argued that their ability to cut steel proved exceptional talent rather than the existence of a hidden swordmaster class.
• Isao reasoned that widespread swordmasters could not have gone unnoticed and pointed out that modern steel and weapons explained feats attributed to ancient swordsmen.
• Toshiro suggested Isao might be an extraordinary gorilla spirit, prompting Isao to angrily insist that he was human.
• Toshiro revealed that Sougo had created a difficult training method for entering the swordmaster realm, and Isao asked whether he could learn to cut steel too.

Toshiro Hijikata explained how Sougo's training method led him to master Iron-Cutting, and Isao Kondo asked to learn it. After training for more than half a year, Kondo reached the same realm, only to discover Hijikata had done it in one day.

• Toshiro Hijikata told Isao Kondo that he had learned Iron-Cutting by following the training method Sougo left behind.
• Hijikata explained that Sougo had described becoming one with the sword as a prerequisite, though Sougo claimed he was not a Swordman.
• Kondo agreed that Hijikata should teach him, and Hijikata began training him in Iron-Cutting.
• After more than half a year of training, Kondo entered the Iron-Cutting Realm.
• Kondo asked how long Hijikata had taken, and Hijikata admitted he had reached the realm in one day.
• Kondo lamented the gap between his progress and Hijikata's, while Hijikata compared it to the difference between a human and a gorilla.

Isao Kondo tried to explain why Toshiro Hijikata had reached the Swordman Realm far faster than he had, and concluded that Sogo Doma’s ordinary hobbies concealed extraordinary swordsmanship. Hijikata questioned Kondo’s praise of Sogo, while Kondo pointed out that Sogo had openly shared the secret of Iron-Cutting.

• Isao Kondo suspected Toshiro Hijikata had learned a shortcut and blamed Hijikata’s teaching for his own slow progress.
• Isao Kondo decided Sogo Doma had mastered swordsmanship through every move, including playing video games and reading manga.
• Toshiro Hijikata challenged Kondo’s claim that Sogo had a childlike heart, recalling Sogo’s frequent assassination attempts against him.
• Isao Kondo argued that Sogo had never truly intended to kill Hijikata and had openly told him about Iron-Cutting.
• The narration explained that Sogo’s sword strike and vague explanations, along with Hijikata and Katsura Kotaro’s existing skill, had helped them grasp Iron-Cutting.

Hijikata and Isao Kondo reflected on Sougo’s rare swordsmanship talent and how it had helped them reach Iron-Cutting, while Yamazaki struggled to advance despite his discipline. The Kondo Dojo continued to leave most training to its members, and Hijikata focused more on managing the group as its strength varied widely.

• Isao Kondo told Toshiro Hijikata that Sougo’s guidance had helped him reach Iron-Cutting and praised Sougo as a natural-born Swordman.
• Hijikata admitted that Sougo’s teachings had helped him advance, while Yamazaki had only reached the threshold despite receiving the same principles.
• Hijikata and Kondo recognized that Sougo’s misleading explanations had contributed to Yamazaki’s difficulty, and that the dojo’s expansion had left little time for personal instruction.
• The Kondo Dojo kept its sword techniques open to members and let them choose their own training beyond required practice.
• Hijikata relied on instinctive swordsmanship after sparring with Sougo and devoted more effort to managing the Kondo Group.

Otae criticized the Kondo Dojo’s disciples for their bizarre sword grips, then felt aggrieved that Kondo’s dojo had prospered while her family dojo languished. Hijikata defended the school’s unconventional approach, arguing that training should suit each person rather than follow one rigid standard.

• Otae scolded Hijikata over the Kondo Dojo’s disciples’ chaotic sword grips and questioned its claim to be a prestigious school.
• The chapter explained that Sougo’s encouragement to prioritize looking cool had inspired the members to imitate flashy styles such as Three-Sword Style and Five-Sword Style.
• Otae compared the Kondo Dojo’s thriving grounds and numerous disciples with her neglected family dojo, whose teachings she had failed to pass on.
• Hijikata told Otae that he and Kondo believed the best sword grip was the one that suited each person, noting that the members still used standard postures during mandatory training.

Toshiro Hijikata tried to defend the Kondo Dojo’s sword instruction by arguing that modern kendo had moved away from battlefield techniques, but Sogo Doma repeatedly undermined his explanations. Sogo then challenged Otae over her claim that Isao Kondo was deceiving her, leaving Hijikata to suspect Sogo had been setting up a sharper retaliation all along.

• Otae mocked Toshiro Hijikata’s excuses and questioned why the dojo’s disciples swung their swords wildly if it was not hoarding its skills.
• Toshiro Hijikata argued that modern kendo had filtered out old killing techniques, while Sogo Doma questioned his claims about the dojo’s sword grips.
• Sogo Doma reminded Otae that she had accused the dojo of hoarding skills and pointed out that Hijikata had not addressed her main complaint.
• Otae agreed with Sogo and pointed to Isao Kondo, asking whether the gorilla was trying to deceive her.
• Sogo Doma asked Otae what she had that would make Isao Kondo deceive her, and Hijikata suspected Sogo had been planning a cutting response to her insults.

Toshiro Hijikata tried to manage the conflict between Otae and the Kondo Group while overthinking Sogo Doma’s motives. Sogo reframed Isao Kondo’s stalking as love, leaving the group’s members and observers unexpectedly sympathetic to the gorilla.

• Toshiro Hijikata reasoned that Sogo had urged Otae to hit Isao Kondo so Hijikata could intervene, but Otae had refused to risk making an enemy of the Kondo Group.
• Otae turned Sogo’s questions back on him, and Sogo challenged her to explain why Isao would disguise himself to deceive her.
• Sogo claimed that Isao had stalked Otae because he liked her and defended his behavior as misguided affection.
• The surviving Kondo Group members and Utaha Kasumigaoka and Shizuka Hiratsuka sympathized with Isao’s feelings, while Hijikata questioned whose side Sogo was on.
• The Kondo Group members finally realized that Otae was a woman.

Sogo Doma and Toshiro Hijikata dealt with the Kondo Group members’ mistaken belief that Otae was a man, while Otae warned them to stop Kondo from stalking her. The argument ended with Sogo challenging Hijikata’s defense of Kondo’s behavior, as Shizuka Hiratsuka privately used the discussion to excuse her own past romantic mistake.

• Sogo Doma clarified that Otae was a woman and that Katsura’s cross-dressing was an exception, prompting Otae to object to the squad members’ insults.
• Toshiro Hijikata apologized to Otae on behalf of the squad, and she warned him to keep Kondo from following and stalking her.
• Hijikata said he would try to persuade or stop Kondo, then argued that Kondo had acted out of affection for Otae.
• Sogo Doma challenged Hijikata, saying that liking someone did not excuse committing crimes, leaving Otae and Utaha Kasumigaoka unsure whose side he was on.
• Shizuka Hiratsuka reflected on Sogo’s words and used them to justify having been deceived in the past because of love.

Sogo Doma defended Kondo Isao while arguing that his love for Otae did not excuse hurting her. Otae accused the Kondo Group of stalking her and trying to steal her family’s swordsmanship inheritance, leaving Sogo and Toshiro Hijikata baffled by her conspiracy theory.

• Sogo Doma said Kondo Isao had given his heart to the wrong person, and Otae accused him of seeking her family’s inheritance.
• Otae claimed Kondo Isao had repeatedly stalked her, broken into her family dojo, and nearly crushed her little brother.
• Otae accused the Kondo Group of pursuing her inherited swordsmanship and using Kondo Isao’s affection as an excuse.
• Sogo Doma and Toshiro Hijikata exchanged confused looks as Otae insisted the group wanted to steal her family technique.
• Sogo Doma asked whether Otae had read too many conspiracy theories, and Otae said she should thank him.

Utaha Kasumigaoka realized that Sogo had brought her to the Kondo Group, which she mistook for a dangerous yakuza organization connected to his upbringing. She imagined reforming him as a storybook heroine, but his lazy, harmless behavior shattered the fantasy and left her baffled about his ties to the group.

• Sogo admitted that he had relied on others and lied openly, startling Otae, Shizuka Hiratsuka, and Toshiro Hijikata.
• Utaha recognized the Kondo Group as a feared yakuza organization and wondered if Sogo had grown up among its members.
• Utaha considered persuading Sogo to distance himself from the group, while secretly imagining herself as the heroine who would reform him.
• Utaha abandoned the fighting and intimidation scenarios because Sogo rarely fought and looked too harmless to fit her imagined role.
• Utaha decided she should stay away from the Kondo Group and recruit Umaru to help, then realized Umaru also knew Hijikata and wondered why the Doma siblings were close to an armed group.

Sogo Doma challenged Otae’s accusation that he was arrogant and denied that the Kondo Group wanted her family’s dojo legacy. As their argument exposed the Kondo Group’s uneven swordsmanship, the chapter ended by explaining how its rival styles shaped the group’s strengths and weaknesses.

• Sogo Doma argued that being unafraid was no more arrogant than Otae going about her daily life without fear.
• Otae insisted that the Kondo Group wanted her family’s legacy, while Sogo said they had no reason to covet it.
• Otae criticized the Kondo Group’s members for relying on strength rather than sword technique, while acknowledging Hijikata as an exception.
• The narration explained that the Hijikata Go Die Style targeted Kondo Swordsmanship and Hijikata, while Yamazaki’s faithful Kondo Swordsmanship made him strong against outsiders but vulnerable within the group.

Otae judged the Kondo Group's students to be poor swordsmen after watching them fight, and her criticism challenged her assumptions about men and her own ability to carry on her family's dojo. She also condemned Hijikata for failing to respect his sword, after noticing the damaged dagger Sogo had left behind.

• The Kondo Group's members embraced self-developed sword techniques after concluding that these could counter Hijikata Go Die Style, which in turn countered Kondo Swordsmanship.
• Otae knocked down the Kondo Group's students and looked down on their swordsmanship, despite their strength and physiques.
• Otae reflected on her father's preference for Shinpachi to inherit the family dojo and on how her doubts had made her rely on Shinpachi's future.
• Otae told the group that its students were more like armed yakuza than swordsmanship apprentices.
• Otae called Hijikata an unqualified swordsman because he did not cherish his sword, then noticed the damaged dagger on the tatami, which Sogo had prepared as Hijikata's razor.

Otae mistook Sogo Doma’s chipped fruit knife for a treasured weapon, while Hijikata struggled to explain that it belonged to Sogo. Sogo offered the knife to Otae, and the chapter ended by explaining how his and Hijikata’s sword skills made ordinary weapons largely irrelevant.

• Otae praised Hijikata as a swordsman and lamented that he had discarded a supposedly peerless blade.
• Hijikata tried to explain that the chipped dagger belonged to Sogo, who insisted it was merely a fruit knife used for seppuku.
• Sogo privately spoke to Hijikata, who then offered the dagger to Otae, prompting her to suspect he was insulting her.
• The narration explained that Hijikata, Kondo, and Sogo could cut iron, making the quality of their weapons unimportant.
• The narration revealed that Sogo had repeatedly ambushed Hijikata but had only cut his clothes rather than killing him.