Kotetsu scratched his head awkwardly uhe curious gazes of his fellow disciples.

  Even though Master Shunichi favored him, he had only seen him a handful of times over the past month.

  However, ohing he was certain of, whe Shunichi yesterday, he had still been wielding Cicada's Cry.

  But today, Cicada's Cry was o be seen in the fe.

  This immediately reminded him of the rumors cirg about Young Master Satoshi, the so-called "Cursed Tool Destroyer" of the month.

  It also reminded him of when he saw Master Shunichi testing a new sword in the fe.

  And of the moment Master Shunichi had handed over his on to Satoshi before leaving.

  Putting the pieces together, Kotetsu could guess what had happeo Cicada's Cry. More importantly, he suspected that the on in Shunichi's hand had been fed by her than Young Master Satoshi!

  This must be the on that had been discussed so often in the retly.

  A Zanpakutō.

  As soon as Kotetsu shared his thoughts, the other disciples of the Gojo Kyokushin-ryu fell silent.

  Due to Kumaen's influend Shunichi's previous alig with the Twin Curse Faost of the disciples leaoward the Twin Curse Fa.

  Now, hearing that Satoshi, whom the elders had always opposed had possibly fed a sed Zanpakutō, they were shaken and began residering their own positions.

  Those who had not fully sided with the Twin Curse Fa started to feel that Satoshi, as a wielder of the Six Eyes and Gojo Satoru's younger brother, should not have beeed as an outcast within the family.

  They practiced swordsmanship and held great respect for swordsmiths.

  And even though Satoshi was only six years old, f takutō was an achievement worthy of admiration in the world of bcksmithing.

  Meanwhile, those with a firmer stance against Satoshi looked troubled.

  They had never believed he could fe a sed Zanpakutō. After all, they had heard nothing but failure ing from the fe over the past month.

  How could he fail yesterday and succeed today?

  Besides, based on Kotetsu's at, wasn't it possible that Shunichi had simply been using Cicada's Cry? If Satoshi hadn't known about today's match, wouldn't that mean Shunichi might have ended up like Yagyū Saemon losing due to a broken on?

  That didn't make sense.

  And in truth, before today, Satoshi had not known that Shunichi articipating in a kendo match. He wouldn't have taken such a risk lightly.

  But, unfortunately, he hadn't known.

  Even Shunichi, the one participating hadn't known about it beforehand.

  Because of this, Suzumushi had uedly made its debut.

  "Whether it's a Zanpakutō or not is still uain. We shouldn't jump to clusions. I remaiical," Gojo Genichi finally spoke, putting ao the discussion.

  He was the senior disciple of the Gojo Kyokushin-ryu and also the grandson of Kumaen.

  Regardless of his personal feelings toward Satoshi or his beliefs about Shunichi's on, at this moment, he o stand with his grandfather.

  Satoshi was the foundation of the Twin Curse Fa.

  Without him, Kumaen wouldn't have gained sufluence.

  Without him, the Gojo Kyokushin-ryu wouldn't have been able to grow so rapidly with the 's bag.

  It aradox.

  The Twin Curse Fa despised Gojo Satoshi, yet they couldn't survive without him…

  …

  Saemon's face darke Shunichi's suggestion. He said nothing.

  He didn't want the match to end like this, but reality had left him with no choice.

  He had no o. What else could he do but cede?

  Sn coldly, Saemon turned on his heel ahe Gojo Kyokushin-ryu dojo without another word.

  Seeing this, the Yagyū Shinkage-ryu disciples quickly stood up and followed.

  As a witness, Yusuke nodded slightly tojo Kumaen and Gojo Satoru as a gesture of apology.

  "Saemon was a bit rude today. I hope Master Kumaen and Master Satoru won't take offense," Yagyū Yusuke said.

  "He has a short temper. After today's events, he lost trol of his emotions. He still o work on his discipline."

  As Yusuke spoke, Kumaen stood up to return the courtesy.

  With Saemon's departure, Shunichi was the undisputed winner of the duel.

  And as the victor, Kumaen naturally adopted the attitude of a gracious host.

  "Shunichi and Saemon both have fiery tempers. It's no surprise that etiquette slipped their minds! Master Yusuke, thank you for ing all this lease five us if our hospitality was g."

  Kumaen showed no over Saemon's outburst.

  Even though Shunichi had his disagreements with the Twin Curse Fa, the Gojo Kyokushin-ryu was still under his fa's trol.

  Shunichi had defeated Saemon.

  The match itself may have been unventional, but that didn't diminish the reputation of the Gojo Kyokushin-ryu within the kendo world.

  In the world of jujutsu, the Gojo was an undisputed giant, far surpassing the Yagyū family.

  But in the realm of kendo, the Yagyū family still held great prestige.

  To suppress them in both jujutsu and kendo was a signifit achievement in Kumaen's eyes.

  The head of the Gojo had been unwell, relying on Reverse Cursed Teique to prolong his life. Eventually, the 's affairs would fall to the elders.

  Satoru was the undisputed successor, but he was still too young to hahe 's administrative matters.

  Which meant that someone else would have to take charge until he came of age.

  And perhaps, that person could be me, Kumaen thought.

  This victory was a major boost for the Curse Fa's influehin the .

  inally, the Twin Curse Fa had already been a dominant force within the Gojo ow, with their kendo prowess overwhelming the Yagyū , the other elders had even less of a pete for power.

  However, Shunichi's on had bee a thorn in Kumaen's side.

  Had this mysterious bde been fed by Takuya?

  Or had it been fed by Satoshi?

  Kumaen frowned, uainty creeping into his thoughts.