CHAPTER 481: CHAPTER 334: THE WOBBLY TRAM

"Uesugi Vice Master, see you tomorrow."

"Mm, see you tomorrow."

After the ordinary farewell words, Uesugi Sakura, who had just left the dojo, glanced at the brand-new silver watch on his wrist.

19:34:27

Not too early, not too late.

There was no sign of the uncle in the courtyard; he might have wandered off somewhere again.

With his right hand, Uesugi Sakura carried the wooden sword that had accompanied him in training these past days, leaving the Sakihara family’s courtyard and walking in the direction of home.

Training with his cousin these days, he had somewhat regained his sense of touch.

The sunset started to dim, yet the bustling atmosphere of people and vehicles intersecting remained.

Pedestrians and vehicles came and went on the road, and as Uesugi Sakura walked on the sidewalk, he glanced at his Sword Dao proficiency.

[Sword Dao] Lv10 (max/0)

He verified it a few months ago.

A Sword Dao level of 10 was probably on par with someone like Hanamaru Hiroki, the Sword Dao champion.

Which meant it was the same level of swordsmanship as his father-in-law, Uncle Sakihara.

And they were people of great talent, who had studied for decades and gained fame by sweeping through many opponents in various competitions.

It could be said that those capable of defeating this batch of people at their peak had nothing left to learn in Sword Dao.

They were already at the pinnacle of modern standards.

Uesugi Sakura also remembered visiting a small room at Hanabi’s house in the past.

Inside, trophies and awards belonging to his father-in-law were displayed on shelves.

Arranged sequentially above: National Police Sword Dao Championship winner, the 68th, 69th, 70th, and 73rd All Japan Sword Dao Championships winner, the 16th, 17th World Sword Dao Championship winner...

Below were some trophies from Hanamaru Hiroki’s high school days, awards from Jade Dragon Flag and similar events.

The mere existence of those four national "Emperor’s Cups" at the top was enough to speak of the true prowess of their owner.

Uesugi Sakura also had an "Emperor’s Cup," in Kyudo, but he didn’t value it, letting it gather dust at home.

As an aside, although the World Sword Dao Championships are held every three years and attract participants from around the world, featuring many outstanding foreign Sword Dao practitioners.

But when advancing to the finals, most of the remaining competitors are involved in a Japanese civil war...

Sword Dao actually had the chance to become an Olympic event to promote itself globally.

But the Japan Kendo Federation voluntarily refused to enter the Olympics.

One reason they gave was not wanting Sword Dao to become a competition for the sake of training.

That’s one reason.

Another reason is that were Sword Dao to enter the Olympics, a portion of the techniques would inevitably be curtailed due to sports regulations.

Because Olympic competitions, especially those that are highly confrontational, always prioritize the protection of athletes’ bodies.

This leads to some techniques having to be omitted.

Like taekwondo, Olympic boxing received much criticism from Asian martial artists, and fencing has been disparaged by European martial artists for a long time.

When people sometimes say watching Olympic combat events is just for fun, they’re not entirely joking.

At the train platform, Uesugi Sakura was flipping through his phone while waiting for the train home.

Besides the office workers who head home early, it was also the time many high school clubs finished for the day.

Although Uesugi Sakura was focused on his phone, a few female high school students in uniforms on the other side were secretly glancing at him, whispering, and occasionally pushing each other playfully with laughter.

How many times has this happened?

Uesugi Sakura sighed inwardly, considering whether he should wear a mask when going out in the future.

When Hanabi went out alone, she had already started wearing a mask.

While he was thinking about these things.

The train, with the sound of a cheerful notification, arrived at the station.

The breeze it brought slightly stirred his hair, and the open-air platform, darkened, gained a warmer glow due to the train’s lights.

Uesugi Sakura watched the train doors slowly open and stepped inside with the other passengers.

It was crowded inside.

Having boarded later, Uesugi Sakura couldn’t find a seat, so he had to stand and hold onto a strap for the ride home.

With the sound of a door closing notification, the train began to move forward again with a gentle sway.

Uesugi Sakura glanced towards the end of the car.

Those two female high school students had followed him onto the train, still sneaking peeks at him, but perhaps noticing the ring on his hand or maybe just being shy, they hesitated to ask for his contact information.

When he turned his head, they quickly looked away.

The atmosphere made it seem like he was their upperclassman.

Uesugi Sakura directed his gaze towards the moving scenery outside the window, pretending not to notice them.

[Yushima, next stop, Yushima]

[This train heads towards North Ayase, thank you for riding with us.]

After the train announcement ended, a sparse number of passengers completed their transfers, and the doors closed again, with the announcement sounding once more.

[Next stop, Chiyoda Line, Nezu Station]

[Next stop, Chiyoda Line, Nezu Station]

"..."

"..."

"..."

Time ticked away, but the train didn’t start moving again.

"...Hmm?"

Just as Uesugi Sakura was wondering, a sudden commotion came from the direction of the car’s rear.

There were footsteps, hurried, erratic.

Who would run inside a train?

The untimely noise made everyone in the carriage instinctively look towards where the sound came from, their faces puzzled.

Soon after, a large group of people suddenly rushed over in a hurry, their expressions anxious and fearful.

"What’s going on? What’s going on?"

The two female high school students were also clueless about the situation, looking around in confusion, only noticing that the approaching people’s faces looked quite dire, and there were occasional screams from that direction.