The wager

Naomitsu did not have the Divine Dogs bite Naoya Zenin. Wounds would only make things more serious, after all. He merely had them knock him down and considered the job done.

It happened so quickly that even Naoya Zenin only felt something slam into him, without realizing what it was.

Once Naoya Zenin fell to the ground, Naomitsu tapped his forehead with his wooden sword.

"No bullying my big sisters!"

With Naomitsu pointing a wooden sword at him, Naoya Zenin flushed bright red with humiliation. One was a baby barely over a year old, and the other was a child nearing ten.

Naoya Zenin was nine years older than Naomitsu, yet a baby had defeated him with a wooden sword. How could he possibly accept that?

"You little brat! All you can do is sneak up on me. My foot slipped just now. I'll come back in a few days, and we'll have a fair fight, man to man!"

Hastily making an excuse, Naoya scrambled up and fled in disgrace. Watching him go, the two sisters were still too stunned to react.

Naomitsu picked up the lunch box and handed it to Maki.

"Maki, hurry home. If Mother can't find you two, she'll worry."

Remembering Naoya Zenin's parting threat, Maki hesitated to speak. She wanted to fight in Naomitsu's place, but then remembered she was no match for Naoya Zenin herself.

Maybe I'd only get in little Mitsu's way...

After the sisters left, Naomitsu began reviewing the fight, checking whether he had left any openings.

"I was still a little too cocky. I should've acted a bit more innocent, like a kid my age."

The thought of Naoya Zenin pestering him gave Naomitsu a headache. But there was no turning back now. Since he had started this, he had to see it through.

"If nothing else works, I'll have to reveal that I can use the Ten Shadows Technique. Naoya Zenin hasn't grown up yet. I just need to keep him in check while I grow stronger, step by step."

That thought made Naomitsu feel the pressure mount. There was no time to rest, so he resumed training.

[487/315+]

Summoning the Divine Dogs had consumed half his cursed energy. But the Divine Dogs had not been injured, so his cursed energy would soon recover with time.

"I can't even imagine how much cursed energy summoning Mahoraga would take."

He shook his head to clear away the distractions. During those few minutes of idle thought, his cursed energy had fully recovered. It was time to keep practicing Iaido.

Swing after swing, Naomitsu tried channeling cursed energy into his wooden sword. But several consecutive attempts all ended in failure.

There was still a benefit, though. His cursed energy had risen from [487] to [500].

"Looks like I've found a shortcut. Once I manage to coat the wooden sword in cursed energy, maybe I'll break into four digits."

That afternoon, Naomitsu sparred with his sisters for an hour before all three returned to the courtyard, utterly exhausted.

Seeing Ogi Zenin's indifferent expression, Naomitsu knew Naoya Zenin had not tattled this time.

After all, getting knocked down by a child barely over a year old was a lifelong disgrace. Even challenging a one-year-old to a fight was a joke.

But Naoya Zenin could not swallow that humiliation, either. His only choice was to act in secret.

With that realization, Naomitsu knew where things stood and stopped worrying about it. He ate dinner with his sisters and mother, then returned to his room to rest.

For the next three days, no one bothered Naomitsu, and he trained in peace.

Having figured out the trick, he increased his cursed energy several times faster than before. In just three days, it reached [842].

He believed it would not be long before he broke the 1,000 mark.

That day, Naoya Zenin finally lost patience after three days of silence. He secretly sought out Naomitsu, ready to wipe away his earlier humiliation.

"What are you doing here? Want another beating?"

Since he had already offended him, Naomitsu was not about to indulge Naoya Zenin. The two figures, one tall and one short, faced off, infuriating Naoya Zenin.

A one-year-old brat had actually mocked him!

"You! You! Even if your father comes begging for mercy, I'm still going to..."

As he spoke, Naoya Zenin began to feel ashamed. He was bullying a one-year-old and even refusing to let him call for his parents.

"I never said I'd fight you, did I? You shameless brat!"

Beating Naoya Zenin offered Naomitsu no real benefit. But for Naoya Zenin, this fight was essential.

Otherwise, he would be branded with that shame for the rest of his life.

Naoya Zenin grew agitated. "You have to fight me today! You have to!"

"Want to fight me? Then you'll have to put something on the line!"

"What?"

Naomitsu stated his aim. "If you lose to me again, you'll be my lackey from now on."

Hearing the words "lose again," Naoya Zenin's eyes reddened with fury.

"I won't lose! I'll win for sure!"

"Are you agreeing or not? If not, I'm leaving!" Naomitsu asked impatiently.

"What if you lose?"

"If I lose, I'll kneel in front of you and call you boss. As for you losing to me, I won't tell your father,

Naobito Zenin."

Naomitsu's words stabbed like a poisoned thorn, leaving Naoya Zenin red-faced with rage and almost crying.

"Fine! It's a deal!"

"Can we start now?" Naoya Zenin loosened up his limbs, already itching to teach Naomitsu a lesson.

"No problem!"

Naomitsu tossed aside his wooden sword. This time, he openly took up the stance to summon shikigami right in front of Naoya Zenin.

"Eat my fist!"

Naoya Zenin could not be bothered with any of that. All he wanted was to give the brat who had humiliated him over and over a vicious beating.

"Divine Dogs!"

He used the same hand sign as before, but this time the Divine Dogs appeared from the shadow behind Naomitsu.

When Naoya Zenin completed his 24-Frame Movement and arrived behind Naomitsu, he found himself face-to-face with the Divine Dogs' gaping jaws.

"Aaaah!!!!"

Naoya Zenin collapsed in fright, raising both hands to shield his face. Just before the Divine Dogs could bite his cheek, Naomitsu waved a hand and dismissed them.

He picked up his wooden sword, and the two found themselves in the same positions as last time, one standing over the other.

"Naoya Zenin, you lost to me again."

With Naomitsu pointing the wooden sword at him, Naoya Zenin lay sprawled on the ground. Tears slipped from the corners of his eyes before he knew it. He had lost to this brat again.

"Wait!"

Naoya Zenin suddenly sprang to his feet, his mouth hanging wide open as he pointed a trembling finger at Naomitsu.

"Just now! That was... the Ten Shadows Technique! You can actually use the Ten Shadows Technique!"

Naomitsu tapped Naoya Zenin's forehead with the wooden sword and gave him a rather "fierce" glare.

"Keep your voice down. Don't let anyone else find out. Otherwise, I'll beat you up every time I see you, then tell the whole clan you lost to me."

Frightened by Naomitsu's threats, Naoya Zenin hurriedly covered his mouth.

"We already agreed on this. Now that you've lost, remember to call me boss from now on. And neither of us is allowed to tell anyone about today," Naomitsu warned one last time before leaving.