Chapter 358: You're Still Just A Sword Enthusiast
"Sword Saint."
Upon hearing this title, some of the girls who were unfamiliar with swordsmanship looked confused.
Seeing their expressions, Hachiman sighed and turned to Saeko, signaling her to explain.
Saeko nodded understandingly, smiled slightly, and began, "So far, the highest achievement in the Japanese Swordsmanship world is the Swordmaster. Hachiman became the tenth Swordmaster in the Japanese Swordsmanship world during the competition a year ago, I believe everyone knows about this."
Upon hearing this, the girls nodded.
"There are only ten Swordmasters in the entire Japanese Swordsmanship world, so you can imagine the difficulty of reaching such a level," Saeko continued her explanation.
"However, beyond the Swordmaster, there is said to be another realm, known as the Sword Saint!"
"Unfortunately, Sword Saints haven't appeared for hundreds of years, so it's just a legend now."
"In Japanese history, there have only been five Sword Saints: Tsukahara Bokuden, Kamiizumi Nobutsuna, Yagyu Munenori, Miyamoto Musashi, and Yagyu Jubei."
"I'm sure you've heard these names somewhere."
"Unfortunately, even the last Sword Saint, Yagyu Jubei, has been gone for over three hundred years."
"For over three hundred years, there have been several Swordmasters in each era, but there's only one legend of the Sword Saint left. Many masters acclaimed as the closest to the Sword Saint, like Kenji Kuki, couldn't break through that final barrier in their lifetime..."
At this point, Saeko paused, then her tone became excited.
"But things are different now! A Sword Saint has finally emerged in the Japanese Swordsmanship world, and that's Hachiman-kun."
Hearing her words, the girls looked at each other, and finally, Erina spoke up, "So, Saeko-neechan, how can you be sure that Hachiman has truly reached the level of a Sword Saint? Do you have any evidence?"
"Naturally, there's evidence," Saeko smiled faintly.
"The standard for the Swordmaster realm is being able to wield Sword Aura. Under the cover of Sword Aura, even a wooden sword can easily cut through steel."
"In legend, the Sword Saint realm can release Sword Aura externally, achieving the effect of harming enemies from a distance."
"Hachiman-kun can do this, so I'm confident that he has become the Sword Saint that hasn't appeared in the Japanese Swordsmanship world for over three hundred years."
After listening to Saeko's explanation, the girls were somewhat perplexed.
"Sword Aura projection?"
That sounds a bit too fantastical, like something out of an anime.
Seeing their reactions, Hachiman shrugged.
"Let me demonstrate for you."
With that, he raised his right hand again and gestured towards the nearby great white shark corpse.
In the girls' eyes, there was clearly about half a meter of distance between Hachiman and the shark's body, but as he swung his right hand down, a wound appeared on the shark's corpse.
This...
Seeing this, the girls couldn't help but believe.
Although it sounded fantastical, the truth was right in front of them.
They hadn't expected Hachiman to suddenly become the legendary Sword Saint, which made them feel somewhat unreal.
Seeing the girls' stunned expressions, Hachiman shrugged.
"There's no need for you to react like this. Regardless of what I become, whether it's a Sword Saint or a Sword God, I'm still me, Hachiman Hikigaya."
Hearing his words, the girls also came back to their senses.
Yeah, no matter how much he achieves, he's still that Hachiman.
Yumiko was the first to adjust her mood, "Hmph, even if you become a Sword God, you're still just a sword enthusiast."
Hearing this, the girls burst into laughter.
As for Hachiman, although he appeared unaffected on the surface, he made a mental note of Yumiko's words.
I'll deal with you later.
Thinking this to himself, Hachiman looked at Erina.
"I'll leave some shark meat for tonight's meal. Erina, do you think we should have the rest of it taken away and preserved by the staff from your family?"
After looking at the huge great white shark on the beach, Erina thought for a moment and nodded.
After all, they wouldn't be able to finish such a large shark, and if it wasn't preserved in time, it would soon go bad.
With that, Erina returned to the villa, picked up her phone, and dialed a number.
"Alright, I've informed the staff from my family on the island. They'll come soon to take the shark away." Returning to the beach, Erina nodded towards Hachiman.
Upon hearing this, Hachiman also nodded and approached the carcass of the great white shark, beginning to divide the parts he needed.
In addition to the familiar shark fin, shark meat also contains rich protein, which is considered a low-cost source of protein by fishermen along the coast. However, shark meat has a fatal flaw—it has a strong urine-like smell.
Because sharks excrete through their skin, over time, shark meat will emit a strong urine-like smell. However, if you have excellent cooking skills, you can still make shark meat taste delicious.
Naturally, this was no challenge for Hachiman.
Moreover, sharks are the only animals that don't get cancer, so consuming shark meat has a certain inhibitory effect on cancer cells.
Since he had already demonstrated his Sword Aura in front of the girls, Hachiman didn't bother hiding anything and simply used his hand to cut off the parts he wanted.
But watching him divide the shark meat into chunks, the girls still found it quite intriguing.
Soon enough, Hachiman successfully cut several large pieces of shark meat, but for the huge great white shark, it was just a drop in the ocean.
After marinating the cut shark meat and giving a simple treatment to the shark fins, he prepared them for the barbecue party in the evening.
...
At six in the afternoon, the girls finished their fun on the beach, and Hachiman had already completed all the preparations in the afternoon. Marinated meats, prepared vegetables and fruits, and of course, the beer that Shizuka had specifically requested to buy, were all ready.
After assembling the barbecue grill, loading it with charcoal, the lively barbecue party began.
As the marinated meat slices were placed on the preheated grill, the sizzling sound of barbecue filled the air.
With the meat slices heating up on the grill, the enticing aroma gradually wafted out, tempting the girls who couldn't help but salivate, wishing they could eat right away.
Hachiman occasionally flipped the meat slices with tongs.
Before long, the meat slices were almost done, sprinkled with some seasoning, and the first batch of barbecue was ready.
Handing out the grilled meat slices to the girls, Hachiman placed the second batch of ingredients on the grill.
The girls had been teased by the aroma and couldn't wait any longer. They eagerly grabbed the meat slices and took a bite.
"Mmm... it's hot..."
"Mmm... Mmm... so delicious."
"So this is shark meat? It tastes similar to chicken."