CHAPTER 515: CHAPTER 350: FIRST DAY OF THE PRELIMINARIES

"Could you please confirm if you were the one who won the Kyudo Emperor’s Cup at the Martial Arts Hall last year?"

"Are you currently the captain of the team?"

"Can I ask..."

"Can I ask..."

...

Uesugi Sakura had seen this scene before; it was the same situation when he had just won the championship, gaining popularity.

Even walking through the corridor, he would be surrounded for interviews.

But now, in Sword Dao, he was a complete unknown... As for why he was popular... it was probably because the team had won the championship twice, and as the captain of the champion team, he was in the spotlight.

After answering some questions he could respond to, Uesugi Sakura declined the remaining interviews.

Before leaving, he glanced at the front of the hall.

The lottery results were displayed on the big screen in the gymnasium; Uesugi Sakura’s group had two strong competitors.

One was the Kasumi Shinto Style, and the other was the Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto Style.

They were said to be prestigious schools with hundreds of years of history.

The competition began in the afternoon, so the group went out of the gym at noon to find a restaurant for lunch.

Senior Brother Kusunoki looked at the few fellow members around and said with a smile, "It feels like our team is quite peculiar; going out to compete and neither the Master nor the Vice Master bothers to show up."

In their words, watching the competition was meaningless anyway, since they would win regardless.

Koshin Kagami looked at Uesugi Sakura, who was focusing on his meal beside him, then turned his head and said, "It seemed like our junior brother handled those reporters pretty well just now."

Higuchi Yoshiaki inquired, "I think I heard something about the Kyudo champion. What was that about?"

"It’s exactly as it sounds."

"I saw a video of our junior brother online, and the comments were full of praise for his archery skills, so at least the championship was definitely real."

"Junior brother, you actually also practice Kyudo? I’ve heard it’s quite complicated with its etiquette and footwork."

"... It’s alright..."

The four senior brothers were discussing his Kyudo championship.

To be honest, it was uncomfortable having his past dug up like that because it brought many subsequent questions.

Answering those questions was inevitably troublesome and irritating.

"I’m going to the bathroom."

Uesugi Sakura put down his utensils and stood up to exit the dining area.

As he reached the passage entrance, two people were standing on either side of the passageway.

They seemed to be waiting for someone.

"Here he is."

They saw Uesugi Sakura and quickly approached him.

"Sorry, but could we trouble you for a moment of your time?"

"Reporters?"

Uesugi Sakura saw the work badges hanging on their chests.

Miyata Kazuhiko, Jiang Teng Qihiko, Daily Sports?

The latter seemed to be the name of a publication. Uesugi Sakura wasn’t too surprised and simply said, "Sure, ask quickly, but I don’t have much to say since your colleagues have already asked a lot of questions."

Questions about identity, rank, why as a Kyudo champion he was participating in a Sword Dao competition, dreams, and so on.

For a newcomer, it seemed their aim was to scrutinize him thoroughly on his first appearance.

Miyata Kazuhiko was in charge of the questions, while Jiang Teng Qihiko took notes.

He first smiled and asked, "Mr. Uesugi, you are practicing Sword Dao at Bushin Dojo, right?"

"Yes."

"Then, may I ask what your relationship is with Sakihara Fan Shi?"

"I’m sort of his disciple." Uesugi Sakura thought for a moment and said, a few years ago, his master still diligently taught Sword Dao, but within two months of returning to Tokyo, he seemed to have no intention of continuing to teach and just let him practice on his own.

"Could you tell us your age, if it’s not too inconvenient?"

"Eighteen."

"Eighteen!?" Both seemed a bit stunned, glancing at each other.

Miyata Kazuhiko quickly asked:

"Do you know which team Fujimaki Chidori is currently with? I checked the participants’ list twice and didn’t find his name."

"I’m not sure about that." Uesugi Sakura shook his head.

"If I may ask, is there some discord between you two? After all, Fujimaki Chidori was in the previous two events in your current position."

Was he suspecting a conflict within the team?

But it did seem to be the case.

Uesugi Sakura didn’t think he had done anything wrong; it was all his master’s doing.

"I don’t know about that either; after all, I’ve only met him once."

Miyata Kazuhiko pondered for a few seconds, then offered a smile in return: "Thank you for answering our questions; as a token, we will provide you with some information. I’ve been watching these competitions for seven to eight years, and recently I’ve heard of a particularly skilled player in one of the teams in Group A."

Uesugi Sakura wasn’t too concerned, lightly nodded: "I see, got it."

After exchanging a few more casual words, Miyata Kazuhiko politely left with his colleague.

Uesugi Sakura’s gaze lingered in the direction they left, not really caring about the information mentioned, then turned and headed towards the other side, to the restroom.

....

"Why did it take so long for you to come back?"

"I was just approached by two reporters with questions."

"Haha," Senior Brother Kusunoki patted him on the back, "looks like our junior brother is really popular. Bet your name might end up in a corner of the newspaper tomorrow."

Uesugi Sakura replied offhandedly: "Yeah, I’m looking forward to it."

Higuchi Yoshiaki: "We’re in Group C, so nothing much for us this afternoon, right?"

"Then should we head back to the dojo?"

"Ah~ Let’s go back."

Uesugi Sakura asked: "Aren’t you going to watch the competition, senior brothers?"

"You go and have a look, junior brother; we won’t."

"Haha, to be honest, there’s not much worth watching!"

————

The Sword Dao match took place in a square field within the stadium.

This preliminary match had already been narrowed down from teams selected out of the 23 districts of the Tokyo Circle, plus the capital and six prefectures.

This means the current 16 teams are the promising skilled players coming from various fields throughout the Kantou Region.