Chapter 369: Meeting the Parents
Friday, a bright and sunny day.
As agreed, today was the day Hachiman would visit Saeko's house to meet her father.
After breakfast, Hachiman stepped out of the house, ready to head to the Busujima family's dojo where Saeko lived.
The weather was excellent, with the sun shining brightly, and the temperature was pleasantly warm since it was still early in the day.
Having bought some gifts for the visit, Hachiman made his way to Saeko's house, following a familiar route.
Upon arrival, he was greeted by a traditional Japanese-style house with a spacious backyard, serving as the Busujima family's dojo.
Standing at the door, Hachiman rang the doorbell.
"Ding dong, ding dong."
The clear sound of the doorbell echoed, and soon after, he heard soft footsteps approaching from inside.
With a click, the door opened, revealing Saeko's lovely face.
"Welcome, Hachiman-kun. Please come in."
"Yeah, I'm here, Saeko."
Hachiman smiled softly and nodded, following Saeko inside.
Walking together down the quiet corridor, the sound of flowing water and bamboo filled the courtyard.
They soon arrived at a room of about 100 square meters, which served as the Busujima family's dojo and was often used as a battleground for Hachiman, Saeko, Maki, and Kotonoha.
As Saeko opened the wooden door, Hachiman spotted a tall man seated in the center of the dojo.
It appeared to be Saeko's father, Masao Busujima.
He was tall and muscular, about the same height as Hachiman, with tanned skin and sharp, deep-set features. He remained motionless, kneeling like a statue.
"Father, Hachiman-kun has arrived," Saeko informed her father as she approached.
Upon hearing his daughter's announcement, Masao looked up, his eyes gleaming with a hint of sharpness. Simultaneously, an imposing aura emanated from him, bearing down on Hachiman.
While this might have intimidated an ordinary person, it had no effect on Hachiman.
The imposing aura dissipated the moment it reached him.
Sensing this, Masao Busujima also retracted his aura and stood up from the ground.
"Well, you truly live up to Saeko's praise. I'm Masao Busujima. I apologize for my earlier rudeness, Hikigaya-kun."
Masao's demeanor now resembled that of another Swordsmaster, Chiba Shigetsugu, whom he had met before. Perhaps this was the hallmark of a swordmaster's realm.
"Oh, not at all, Uncle. It's just a small token of appreciation for the first visit." Hachiman smiled and handed over the gift he brought.
"That's very welcome, Hikigaya-kun." Masao personally accepted the gift, but his expression quickly turned serious again.
"However, I heard from Saeko that you've surpassed the level of a Swordsmaster and reached the legendary realm of Sword Saint. Is that true?"
Hachiman smiled slightly at the question. "If the records about Sword Saints are accurate, then yes, I should have reached that realm."
"Oh? Would you mind demonstrating it for me?" Masao asked seriously.
"Of course."
Hachiman nodded and approached a practice dummy.
Without needing a wooden sword, he simply raised his right hand and made a gentle motion towards the dummy.
Even though Hachiman was at least half a meter away from the dummy, as his palm moved down, the dummy directly snapped at the waist, with a smooth cut as if it were sliced by a sharp sword.
"Sword Aura..."
Masao muttered to himself, observing the scene.
"Not only that, but it's also Sword Aura release without relying on any external objects. It seems you've reached the legendary realm of 'without a sword in the hand, but with a sword in the heart'."
With this realization, Masao's eyes lit up with enthusiasm.
"Hikigaya-kun, I have an earnest request. Would you spar with me?"
Hachiman hesitated for a moment and shook his head quickly. "I can't do that. You're an elder, and besides, you're Saeko's father."
"Here, we're just two swordsmen with no status comparison. It's just two swordsmen," Masao said solemnly, bowing slightly to Hachiman.
"Please let me feel how much difference there is between me and a Sword Saint. Please."
Seeing him like this, Hachiman couldn't help but fall silent.
At this moment, Saeko also spoke up from the side, "Hachiman-kun, please agree to my father's request."
The girl understood her father's feelings very well. As a practitioner of kendo and one of the top swordsmen in the Japanese Swordsmanship world, it was natural to aspire to higher realms when seeing them.
It's worth noting that in his early years, Masao Busujima was also hailed as a genius. He broke through to the Swordsmaster realm before the age of forty, setting a record as the youngest Swordsmaster in the Japanese Swordsmanship world.
But compared to Hachiman, all of this seemed insignificant. Hachiman achieved Swordsmaster status at 16, and just a year later, he reached the legendary realm of Sword Saint, a level unseen in the Japanese Swordsmanship world for centuries.
That's what true genius looks like.
No! Genius is completely inadequate to describe it. It's more like a monster, a freak.
Since Saeko also spoke up, Hachiman had no choice but to agree.
"Well then, since you insist, Uncle, I'll have to be rude."
Seeing him agree, Masao's face also showed joy.
"Thank you very much, Hikigaya-kun."
...
Soon, Hachiman and Masao stood facing each other, each holding a wooden sword.
Initially, Masao wanted to use a real sword for the match, but Hachiman refused. After all, he was Saeko's father. If anything happened to him, Hachiman wouldn't be able to explain to the girl.
"Let's begin, Hikigaya-kun."
After warming up, Masao asked Hachiman.
Hachiman nodded, "No problem, come on, Uncle."
As soon as the words fell, Masao charged straight at Hachiman.
At the same time, his Swordmaster aura was fully unleashed, with no reservations.
Although Masao was already one of the top Swordsmasters in the Japanese Swordsmanship world, he didn't dare to hold back against Hachiman, who had become a Sword Saint.
Compared to the imposing Masao, Hachiman appeared quite calm, simply standing there quietly, waiting for the attack to come.
Meanwhile, Saeko stood not far away, her eyes fixed on the scene.
Swordmaster vs. Sword Saint.
A top-tier kendo duel was officially underway.
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