I'm Ornn, and I'm about to be beaten to my knees by the Man-eating Horse Girl!

After pondering for about a minute, Fujii Izumi took a deep breath.

He stood up, gestured, and said, "Phew... This matter is of great importance. I think I need to discuss it with the station director first."

"My name is Fujii Izumi-suke. May I ask your name?"

Orn also extended his hand and said, "No need for such formalities, my name is Orn, and I look forward to future cooperation with your company."

Suddenly, a series of crackling sounds came from the roof, which sounded like large raindrops hitting the roof.

It seems to be raining.

Chapter 76 The Last Piece of the Puzzle

Nagoya, a relatively remote rural area.

"Oguri Hat crossed the finish line!! She's the undisputed champion!! She's successfully dispelled the rumors that she won by luck..."

The old man turned off the radio, and after checking that all the doors, windows, water, electricity, and gas were turned off and locked, he slowly walked to the entrance and changed his shoes.

The gloomy weather outside seemed to mirror the old man's mood. He turned to look at the cabinet in the living room, where dozens of trophies of varying sizes were displayed, along with countless group photos.

The old man, who was about to push open the door and leave, paused again. He pulled back the foot he had halfway out the door, turned around, and walked towards the cabinet.

The old man picked up one of the group photos, the one with the most people and the most elaborately framed, and carefully scanned all the familiar faces in it.

This was the official opening ceremony of the Yae Dojo. Everyone involved in its construction was there, including his disciples, friends, juniors, colleagues, and people from all walks of life who came to learn at the dojo.

The old man in the photo looks quite young by today's standards, with a fierce air about him. His eyes are fixed firmly on the camera, and his spirited appearance would probably charm a lot of women who are attracted to older men even today.

Several equally young colleagues stood beside him, arms around each other, chatting and laughing. Just by gazing at their smiles in the photo, one could feel the joy of the moment.

Among the disciples squatting in the front row, Asuka Izumi was still a young man whose face was barely covered with hair. From his casual squatting posture, one could tell that this kid was impetuous.

But in this photo, the naturally impetuous young man has restrained his personality, carefully cradling a babbling infant in his hands, as if worried that the child might melt in his grasp.

Beside the infant was a couple, seemingly chatting and laughing with birds, who quite comfortably allowed the young man to try and hold the horse-woman infant with deer-haired fur.

Behind the group was the newly completed Yae Dojo, and neighbors from the surrounding area came forward to offer their congratulations and also participated in the group photo.

This resulted in the total number of people in the group photo exceeding two hundred, with so many that their figures were even outside the frame.

Miyazaki Hidetoshi held the photo frame for a long time, but in the end he put the photo back in its original place.

Next to this group photo of a hundred people is a photo of a girl with deer fur and an old man.

The girl's figure has changed dramatically compared to when she was an infant. In the photo, she holds a gold medal from a junior competition and looks excitedly at the camera, while Miyazaki Hidetoshi beside her seems a little awkward.

The girl with deer fur approached him, but Miyazaki Hidetoshi gently placed his right hand on her shoulder, maintaining a small distance between them.

Inside the house, the old man silently gazed at the two photographs, then reached out and turned the group photo of a hundred people face down before turning and walking out of the house.

The taxi that had been hailed in advance was already waiting nearby. Miyazaki Hidetoshi hadn't brought much luggage back from Central, so naturally he didn't need to take anything with him.

He opened the back door, got in, and said, "To Nagoya Station on the Shinkansen, thank you."

"Oh? The Shinkansen? Not going back to the dojo?"

Miyazaki Hidetoshi was taken aback by these words. He looked up at the driver in the front seat and said coldly, "I don't recall ever inviting the chairman of the Satomi family to be my driver, do I? Did he send you?"

Satomi Kazuru took off his sunglasses, shrugged, and said, "No, to be precise, I wanted to see my buddy's senior, and we just happened to run into each other, so I thought I'd have a chat?"

"Don't worry, I will indeed follow your instructions and take you wherever you are. If it's not true, may I be struck by lightning and die on the spot, okay?"

"After all, the last time I was your driver was when Little Invincible was in elementary school, wasn't it?"

Miyazaki Hidetoshi withdrew his hand from the doorknob and snorted coldly, "In that case, let's drive."

Under the dim sky, the taxi lights were the only light illuminating the rural evening.

As Satomi Kazuru drove, he said, "Speaking of which, when I first learned that the school's renowned legendary trainer was also a martial arts master, it really shocked us."

"Although I'm not a trainer, isn't my buddy one? Back in the day, the three of us caused quite a bit of trouble in Central Treisen, and even got you involved a few times,"

"My buddy said it was no big deal. If we had known you were a superhuman who could unleash sword energy, we would never have dared to throw a trash bag at your head! That trash bag should have been caught by that old woman Asama!"

Miyazaki Hidetoshi remained silent, pondering. He naturally knew about the old stories Satomi Kawatsuku mentioned. Since the other party started with this topic, it seemed that he wasn't sent by that young man to persuade him to take action.

So he relaxed his guard a bit, shook his head and laughed, "Back then, you lot were so ignorant. You not only caused trouble for this old man, but you also gave that old rascal Liu Ping'er a hard time. If it weren't for the fact that it was harvest time and you hadn't yet adapted to your work, I would have already..."

"Hey, senior! Stop! Stop! This is a slide you absolutely mustn't touch!"

Satomi Kawatsuku didn't turn around, but his tone became noticeably anxious: "You're senior, so you can naturally say Green Hat's real name, but we juniors can't say it! We can't even mention those four words!"

The old man chuckled and asked, "Is it really that scary? But I don't think she's associated with the north wind..."

"STOP! STOP! Let's get away from this sensitive slide!"

Satomi Kazuru clearly knew the significance of those two names; he certainly didn't want to be targeted by the cuckolded bastard and the orange-haired dwarf right now.

He quickly steered the conversation towards the recent situations of people they knew: who got divorced, who had another child (and a brothel mother!), and who was being forced into a brothel by a brothel mother. The atmosphere in the car gradually became more harmonious.

An hour later, the lights of Nagoya city appeared not far ahead, and after driving 7.5 kilometers, the Shinkansen arrived.

Looking at the city lights, Miyazaki Hidetoshi said, "Heh, they're all doing pretty well lately, unlike an old guy like me."

"After I return to the Central Committee this time, I will devote all my energy to training. This can be considered... my last work before retirement."

This time, Satomi Kazuru did not agree with the old man. He looked at the streetlights flashing past the car window and the rain that had begun to intensify without him noticing, and suddenly asked, "Senior, you didn't tell Mutsuki about your return to the dojo from the central area, did you?"

Miyazaki Hidetoshi did not answer, and silence fell over the vehicle. Satomi Kawatsuru did not ask anything further, but simply drove the car towards Nagoya Station in the silence.

The taxi finally arrived at its destination, and Satomi Kawatsuru, with a professional demeanor, pushed up the idle button that had been pressed down in front of the car window.

He then pulled the handbrake, unlocked the door, and waited quietly for the right moment.

Hidetoshi Miyazaki didn't get off the train. He turned his head to look out the window at the huge LED signboard of Nagoya Station, and at the passengers taking shelter under the platform because of the torrential rain.

The pale light pierced through the raindrops and shone directly onto Miyazaki Hidetoshi's wrinkled, aged face.

His dry lips gradually tightened, and his brown eyes lowered as he looked at the mirror-like surface of the ground, constantly being shattered by the rain.

It could have been tens of minutes, or it could have been only tens of seconds.

The old man took a deep breath, raised his right hand, and seemingly with all his strength, pulled open the handle of the car door beside him.

“I remember Wudi once told me that her reason for wanting to run was not only to fulfill the wishes of her deceased parents, nor just to win glory for her predecessors,”

"[Practice your martial arts in the competition, promote the unique skills passed down from your master, and carry them forward]."

"That's what she told me when she won her first competition held in elementary school. Of course, you were there too."

"......"

The empty license plate on the top of the taxi went dark again. In the pouring rain, the yellow taxi sped off like a bolt of lightning in the opposite direction from Nagoya Station.

Chapter 77 Rainy Night, Dojo, Copper Sword

Nagoya, Yae Gym.

"Oguri Hat crossed the finish line!! She's the undisputed champion!! She's successfully dispelled the rumors that she won by luck..."

Asuka Izumi turned off her phone, isolating herself from the audience's boisterous congratulations and the anchor's slightly harsh praise.

He then looked back at the empty training room and let out a long sigh.

Tonight, after the Oguri Hat Tournament concludes, the gym will change hands.

As the new master and the most senior disciple in the Yae Dojo, he gathered all his fellow disciples and announced his master's last words.

The expressions on people's faces ranged from surprise to anger, but more than anything, they showed bewilderment and helplessness.

Even now, as the Gym Leader of the Yae Dojo, Asuka Izumi is actually quite lost inside.

Amidst the growing murmur of complaints, he stood up and, in his capacity as the curator, issued his final order.

"Everyone... please be quiet,"

"I know this news is very sudden; I just received it myself, and I'm still very unsettled,"

"In three days, the martial arts association will come to take back this dojo. To avoid unnecessary conflict, everyone should pack up their belongings and leave immediately in the next two days."

The noise gradually subsided, and someone asked, "Senior Brother, what about you... will you stay here?"

"That's right! Senior Brother! Just give the order! Even if it means a conflict, we'll stay here with you!!"

"Besides, we outnumber them. As long as we hold our ground, we'll definitely be able to..."

"enough!!!"

Asuka Izumi suddenly shouted, interrupting his fellow disciples' discussion.

He looked at the crowd around him and said loudly, "Master handed over the dojo to prevent this from happening! If we fight them to the death, wouldn't that go against Master's original intention?!"

"Remember when they came to challenge us last time? Didn't they break several of our ribs?! Do you want that tragedy to repeat itself?!"

Someone clenched their fist and said resentfully, "But senior brother! Are we just supposed to swallow our anger like this...?"

"Yes! We have no choice but to endure it! That's the decision Master made!"

Asuka Izumi stood up and gave the final order in a loud voice.

"Now! In the name of the newly appointed [Model], I hereby disband the Yae Dojo! Everyone, pack your things and leave immediately! And you are not to return until the handover of the dojo is complete!"

He glared at his fellow disciples and roared, "What are you all standing there for?! Get up there!!!"

After a long while, they finally left. Even though many were reluctant to part with the gym, they still obeyed the new gym leader's orders.

For the last three days, Izumi Asuka stayed in the dojo, exploring every corner of it.

Finally, he picked up the bronze sword he had used against Orn and sat down in front of the hall to watch Little Chestnut's match.

"Wow, Little Chestnut Hat is amazing. My junior sister has been studying in the central government for two years now, right? I just wonder who is stronger, her or this monster."

"However, as her master's last disciple, her mentality wouldn't be too bad. I suppose she'll even have a chance to try and get that three-crown title, right?"

A relieved smile appeared on Asuka Izumi's face. He put his phone back in his pocket, then put the bowls and chopsticks that had held food into the sink to wash them. After washing them, he skillfully put them into the cupboard next to him, closed the cupboard door, and walked towards the lobby.

The dark clouds overhead pressed the entire sky low, and raindrops the size of soybeans began to fall from the purplish-black clouds. They struck the tiles crisply, then dripped down the eaves through the gaps.

Soon, the rain grew heavier and heavier, and the rainwater rolling down the eaves gradually formed a straight vertical line, like a string of pearls falling to the ground.

Despite the torrential rain, Asuka Izumi simply sat quietly facing the main entrance, waiting for the other party to arrive.

The gradually darkening sky made the surroundings gloomy, but a few beams of orange light pierced through the rain, slowly moving towards the Yae Dojo.

Four black luxury cars pulled up in front of the dojo's main entrance, and several young people dressed in black training uniforms stepped out of the cars.

"Oh, I didn't expect there were actually people left here? I thought all those incompetent people from the Yae Dojo had run away! Just like that so-called Sword Saint, what a disgrace!"

Among the group of men in black, the leader was a middle-aged man wearing sunglasses and a short-sleeved shirt. His two exposed arms were tattooed with cherry blossoms and a tiger, respectively. His right ring finger, which he inadvertently revealed, appeared to be missing a section.

This is a typical characteristic of the Japanese underworld, and a symbol of his past life of danger and bloodshed.

Kongo Yae-gaki-ryu saw Asuka Izumi-suke, and the latter naturally saw him too.

Faced with the threat from the tattooed man, Asuka Izumi, now a veteran, completely ignored him. He simply looked down at the ground, seemingly not having heard a word the man in front of him said.

The tattooed man removed his sunglasses, looked at Asuka Izumi, who was dressed in a plain white robe in the lobby, and said in a low voice, "Interesting."

He winked at the men in black around him: "Go, all of you go up and test its quality."

"Hi!!"

The man in black pulled out several metal rods from the back of the carriage. These weapons are often more effective than swords in situations like this.

The blows inflicted by clubs are mostly blunt force injuries, not immediately fatal. They only leave the victim unable to care for themselves, after which they are sent to the hospital and locked up for a few months. This method is extremely common in small-scale gang conflicts.

At the same time, this is also an excellent way to drive away holdout residents. After all, a group of strong men wielding sticks and beating up the holdout residents is extremely intimidating, even if they don't actually hit them. If an ordinary person were subjected to this several times a day, even if they weren't sick, they would be scared into becoming ill.

But Asuka Izumi is no ordinary person; on the contrary, he is now a samurai filled with melancholy and anger.

Therefore, he reacted completely differently from ordinary people when faced with the threat of these sticks.

The stick swung towards Asuka Izumi's head, but struck a steel knife encased in brass, producing a sickening clang of metal striking metal.

In a mere instant, the iron bar in the black-clad man's hand was cleaved away by Asuka Izumi's bronze sword. The force was so great that the black-clad man was forced to take two steps back, crashing into the tattooed man standing in front of the gate.

Without pausing, Asuka Izumi didn't stop. After repelling one of the attackers, he immediately turned and slashed back, forcing back the two black-clad men who were trying to ambush him from behind. Then, he sheathed his sword and thrust, before using a nimble sidestep and upward flick to knock away the clubs in the hands of the two men.

The tattooed man roughly shoved away the underling who had fallen on top of him. He picked up a stick from the ground and sneered, "Kongo Hajūgan-ryū? Hmph, you're that old man's most prized disciple, aren't you?"

Asuka Izumi nodded: "Let's say so. Last time at the martial arts tournament, you sent people to injure my junior brother. Was it one of your men who did it?"

"I never expected the tournament would invite people like you. You've completely disgraced all martial arts practitioners!"

The tattooed man picked up the stick and twirled it around, chuckling, "Hey, you high-achieving student from the ivory tower, you can't say that. We're just doing this for money."

"After all, the old man who opened this dojo adheres to the so-called saintly idea of ​​teaching without discrimination. He accepts all kinds of people, even those from other schools of martial arts, and even foreigners. This is somewhat blocking the path to the tournament's profits, isn't it?"