Chapter 15: The Finals Arrive

At exactly eleven o'clock, Siano and Junichi met Kirin, who had arrived on time, at the Wisteria Restaurant.

"So you must be Junichi?"

Kirin sighed with emotion, gesturing with his hand, "I saw you beside the old president when you were still small; you surely have no impression of me, as you were only this big back then..."

"Let's get to the point."

Junichi kept a stern face, firmly remembering Siano's admonition, "I know my father once did you some favors, but that little gratitude cannot outweigh the changes in the human heart; there is no need for this."

"You child." Kirin shook his head helplessly and let out a sigh.

"Then I'll be direct; I couldn't rest easy, so I came specifically to inform you: although this Kendo Tournament tacitly allows you to compete under the name of Sakuraba Dojo, the championship is impossible to give to you, otherwise it might invite a deadly calamity; it would be better to give up early."

"Someone wants to deal with us? Is it the people who originally ostracized, suppressed, and ruined Sakuraba Dojo?"

"I cannot say."

Kirin's brows knitted deeply, "To be honest, even now I haven't figured out why the other several dojos suddenly united to deal with Sakuraba."

"Clearly, several dojo masters were good friends with the old president... that is, your father, and they were by no means the type of people who would kick someone when they are down."

"Starting four or five years ago, the atmosphere on this island has become increasingly strange; everyone seems to have suddenly forgotten the original intention of this Island of Kendo, focusing their minds solely on making money."

"Especially the masters of the Seven Great Dojos; it's as if they have all drilled into the eye of a coin, and they even occasionally disappear together for a day or two, with no one knowing where they went for private gatherings..."

"In short, the waters behind this island run very deep."

Kirin's tone was sincere, "I know that both of you, especially this Mr. Siano, possess strong swordsmanship skills, but this is not something one or two people can handle, so it is better to curb your curiosity and leave this island as soon as possible."

Siano and Junichi exchanged a glance.

"That is all I have to say; coming to see you has already incurred great risk for me, which counts as doing my utmost benevolence and duty; do not expect me to help you again."

Kirin shook his head, pushed back his chair, and stood up, "Just as you said, that little gratitude from back then is only enough to support me going this far; gentlemen, farewell then."

Watching his back descend the stairs as the sound of footsteps gradually faded, the two finally changed seats, sitting opposite each other.

"Rationally speaking, this muddy water is indeed not something we should meddle in."

Siano crossed his legs and spoke softly, "But I know that with your personality, you certainly won't give up on this championship that is within reach."

"Uh, Mr. Siano, actually you don't need to keep using me as a shield."

Junichi spread his hands with a bitter face, "At this point, even if I wanted to slip away, I'm afraid you wouldn't allow it..."

After spending several days together, he was becoming more and more familiar with Siano.

When first encountered, this guy seemed steady and experienced, very reliable, but his true colors revealed him to be quite frivolous, and once his temper flared, he could be even more stubborn than oneself, hard to say.

"Hey, you kid, you're learning bad habits quite fast."

Siano rolled his eyes wildly and said in a bad mood, "That's true; I'm not like you, where even advancing to the finals is uncertain; the championship trophy already has my name engraved on it, okay? The prize money is five million Berries."

"Moreover, the registration fees and all that messy stuff drained my entire fortune; regardless of how deep the waters are, the East Blue has only this much capacity; whoever dares to stop me from getting my money, I'll chop them to death!"

"Mm-hmm!" Junichi nodded vigorously, "So what do we do now?"

"Idiot, we're already in a restaurant, do you even need to ask!" Siano, full of heroic spirit, waved his large hand to summon a waiter and place an order, "Of course we eat first! Without a full stomach, how can we have the strength to fight?"

"But this seems to be a high-end restaurant; I just checked the menu, and even a vegetable salad costs five thousand Berries; your money..."

A dead silence fell.

In the end, Siano dragged Junichi up and fled in a sorry state under the waiter's contemptuous gaze, returning to the square to queue obediently and eat the free noodle soup provided by the Kendo Tournament.

Come to think of it.

Originally, it was just about returning a coin; how did things get more and more entangled, to the point where I've now fallen to wandering the wilds like a homeless person?

What exactly did I come out of the house to do this time?

In the afternoon, the quarterfinals and semifinals were held in sequence.

On Siano's side, there was absolutely no suspense.

The two opponents he encountered were no different from the small fries during the preliminary selection; both were sent flying out of the arena by a single heavy, powerful sword strike.

This once made the audience present suspect that this person wasn't actually competing in kendo, but had come to play golf instead.

Junichi, however, had a much more perilous time; he fought bitterly for over ten minutes in the quarterfinals before barely securing victory, while his semifinal match was scheduled as the very last one; after Siano finished his match, he watched silently from below the stage.

"Hmm?"

Gazing at that tall, thin swordsman wearing a mask, Siano narrowed his eyes, and a sense of alarm immediately arose in his heart.

The keen intuition brought about by his body's transformation told him that this person was very dangerous, existing on a completely different level from all the swordsmen encountered before.

"Be careful, Junichi," he whispered to his subordinate who was preparing to go on stage, "This guy is not simple."

"Ah, I realized that too." Junichi nodded with a Solemn expression.

"What the hell do you realize? It's just that among the other seven in the quarterfinals, you would have difficulty fighting any of them."

"... Did you really have to expose me? Not everyone is as strong as you, able to whip anyone like spinning a top."

A moment later.

The two stepped onto the field, took their positions, and bowed to each other.

When they raised their heads again, Junichi's eyes were full of tension, while the tall, thin swordsman opposite him simply stared at him quietly, his facial expression hidden behind a white fox mask, impossible to discern.

"Semifinal Match Two! White Fox versus Junichi; the final winner advances to the finals!" Amidst the crowd's anticipation, the announcer sharply slashed his right hand downward and shouted, "Now, begin!"

Crack!

The instant the voice fell, accompanied by the crisp sound of the bamboo sword, Junichi let out a miserable scream as he flew out of the ring, crashing heavily onto the ground several meters away.

Silence fell over the surroundings.

The audience stared blankly at White Fox, who calmly sheathed his sword, and upon realizing what had happened, an immediate uproar erupted.

"This guy, he can actually achieve a one-hit instant kill just like Mr. Siano?!"

"What is wrong with this year's Kendo Tournament? What kind of monsters are participating!"

"There's suspense for the finals now too; I originally thought Mr. Siano would definitely win the championship, but with this, it's going to be exciting!"

Amidst the clamor and uproar, Siano helped Junichi to his feet; after confirming the other man suffered no serious harm, he fixed a cold stare on the White Fox in the arena.

The other party seemed to sense his gaze; their eyes swept over, met his for a moment, then shook their head, turned, and descended from the stage.

The announcer also stood frozen on the spot; only after a long pause did he suddenly come to his senses and hastily ascend the stage to loudly declare the match result.

"In the second semifinal match, the White Fox is victorious! Advancing to the finals, his opponent will be this tournament's greatest dark horse, contestant Siano!"

"Following the convention of the past five years, this final match will be held tonight at seven o'clock, that is, in four hours, at the indoor dojo, giving the contestants ample time to rest!"

"—Spectators with tickets may enter early upon presenting them! At that time, large screens in the plaza will broadcast the event live; stay tuned!"

Do they really need rest?

The audience muttered privately; Siano and the masked man known as White Fox were both monsters who instantly defeated their opponents, stepping onto the stage only to immediately step off—it hardly even counted as a warm-up.

This year truly defied logic; in previous years, once the quarterfinals were reached, matches were almost always evenly matched; when had such a scene ever occurred?

However.

This also made some people realize that the popularity of this year's finals would likely far exceed previous years; both sides were monsters, and who wouldn't want to know which of the two would ultimately prove superior?

Must buy a ticket!

For a competition like this, not watching it live would be unacceptable!

Immediately, many people sprang into action, heading for the ticket office, only to learn with astonishment that the finals tickets, with the lowest original price being several thousand Beli, had been sold out days ago; there were absolutely no spare tickets left.

And just then.

A group of scalpers stealthily mixed into the crowd, searching everywhere for targets and beginning to peddle their wares...

Behind a spacious office desk.

"All the tickets are sold out? Even front-row seats scalped to fifty thousand Beli have buyers?"

Hearing the report through the microphone, the middle-aged man became even more radiant; "In that case, ticket sales alone will bring in tens of millions; adding in all revenue generated during the entire Kendo Tournament, this year's net profit will exceed two hundred million!"

"Truly worthy of you, White Fox!"

Hanging up the phone, the middle-aged man lit a cigar and said with a grin, "Sending that Sakuraba family boy flying with a single sword strike—only a swordsman like you, who has immersed himself in the Way of the Sword for over twenty years, could achieve that; I truly did not misjudge you; without you, how could this year's finals have generated such hype!"

"Want one?"

He offered another cigar; "The finals are best of five matches; try to go the full five rounds, then defeat that boy at the very last moment; you can do that, right? Only then can we continue attracting more tourists next year and keep driving up the finals ticket prices!"

The White Fox stood silently in place, neither responding nor showing any intention of taking the cigar.

"Offering face but refusing it." The middle-aged man lost some composure; snorting coldly, he withdrew the cigar again; "Get out! Go prepare for your finals; later, I will be watching the live broadcast here with several beautiful Young Ladies; having a wooden post like you standing around ruins the mood no matter how you look at it!"

The White Fox turned and left without saying a word.

As he crossed the corridor.

He happened to see, in the distant plaza, Siano leading Junichi as they queued to receive free dinner rice bento boxes; the two were playfully teasing and laughing with each other, clearly having developed an excellent relationship.

"Why did you have to come back..."

The White Fox stared at this scene; a hint of nostalgia flickered in his eyes, but it quickly turned cold.

He had already given a chance back then.

Finally, he glanced once more in the direction of the middle-aged man's office, lingered no longer, turned, and strode away.

He had earned enough money, and grown tired of acting; he truly did not wish to remain on this island any longer; it was about time... to end it here.

(End of Chapter)