Hi. Long time no see, Mr. Second.

　Waving a fluttering hand at me, the man-dressed Rejin Masamune had grown some darker hair than I'd seen before.

　But it's only a fraction of an inch or two in length. It's only because we hadn't seen each other for a while that we could notice it.


It's a good thing that you're able to have a good time with your friends.

　I had been thinking a lot about what I would say when I saw him again, but for some reason, the first thing that came out of my mouth was such a trivial thing.


...... You're not doing this on purpose, are you?　Yes, it's a stretch. You're the only one who noticed.

　Masamune's cheeks reddened as if in embarrassment, and she gently stroked her beautiful hair, which was growing but still short for a woman.

　The gesture was exactly like a woman herself, despite the fact that she was dressed as a man.


''A slow operation, huh?''
Yeah, slowly, you know. You taught me that.

　That strategy, which she likened to the change in color of the flowers in a flowerbed, seems to be working slowly and steadily. The day when she will no longer be a prince of the Benzai school of thought may not be far off.


But you know what, Second. But, Second," he said, "there are two things that have changed inside of me, not slowly, but drastically. Are you aware of two things that have changed in my life?

　Two. Two. ...... That's a tough one.


The implication is, yes.

　As I crossed my arms and thought about it, Masamune said, puffing out her cheeks and continuing to speak.

'I've heard all sorts of rumours about you. I heard you have three mistresses?　It was just yesterday that he shot the third person in the line just yesterday. ...... It's called heroic coloration, but you're not a king, so why don't you keep it to yourself?
Well, the first is my impression. But the rumor is a bit wrong.
"Huh?
I'm not a mistress. They're all for real.
"...... and why are you so ...... and why am I still doing this ......

　It's a good idea to have a hand on the forehead and mutter to yourself.

　It's a very good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for. It's not just a matter of time before you're ready to go.


It's a good idea to have a good time.　Ready!

　Again, nice timing on the call.
　Judge, you've been doing that for a while now, but you're good at reading the air, aren't you?

One of the rest of them you're going to teach me now?
Yes. I hope you're happy, Second, I hope you're happy.

　I asked Masamune that question after I got most of the idea.

　Masamune smiled and put her hand on the sword at her hip.


'I guess the implication is this.

　We get into position and face each other.


　The moment - the hot and humid air of midsummer froze.


"Now, the strongest person in the Tohachinochuni is ...... me. Clearly.



Start.


　Interesting.

　It's the best kind of stunt I've ever seen. Anticipation, anxiety, and pleasure all rolled into one, and it seems to instantly make my blood boil.

　She must want it. Then responding to it is the style of the world's best. Or is it the courtesy of a samurai?


　Taste it with Atsushi - the "Seven System".


You're here.

　That's right. The first move was the Dragon King Battoujutsu. A ranged attack skill that increases in power the more you accumulate it.

　The two options to deal with are to avoid it from a distance, or to crush it before it is activated.

　Masamune sprinted diagonally in a horizontal direction, quickly circling around to my side while closing the gap between us. Is this an attempt to kill two birds with one stone, trying to exploit an opening while avoiding the Dragon King?

'Best.'

　I wait for exactly one second, then cancel the Dragon King and start preparing the Kakugyo Battoujutsu.

　It's a skill that twists a gut-wrenching thrust from a forward-directed battou. I can't take it with any skill below the Silver General.

''

　As soon as Masamune noticed my kakugyo, he retreated ...... while preparing the Golden General Battoujutsu (...).


''You're quite cautious,''
''Oh no, we'll see. Besides, I'm not confident that we can win by slashing each other now.
Okay.

　The Gold General is the next good move. It aims to prepare the counter of the King's General and wait for the opponent's move. It was quite a solid move, but to say the worst, it was a passive and weak move.

　The Masamune, however, prepared the Gold General and retreated further from it. This is too cautious (・・・・・) to be quirky.

　However, it's not a bad idea; advanced PvP players often try to get more of a safety margin than they need when they leave the set trail. Masamune, whose Seven System is as close as the first time he saw it, probably thought it would be more beneficial to retreat wide and choose to re-partition rather than play the game unwisely here.

　Yeah, that's a good gut feeling.


Hey, Second-kun. Have you ever thought about that?
What do you mean?
Who do you think is stronger, the hard-working genius or the super genius?

　There is .......
　It's the kind of question I was asked playfully by a lot of players when I was number one in the world.

　Who is stronger, the ordinary person who works hard, or the genius?

　The answer is the latter, by far. And by far.


　But Masamune's question was a strange one.

　It sounds as if genius is a prerequisite.

　But that doesn't change my answer.


'It's the latter,'
Wow!
It doesn't matter if you're a genius or a super-genius, you're going to have to work to the limit anyway.

　Otherwise, we would never be able to compete with the world's best.


I know that. I know. I worked my ass off.
I know.
But there was only one way to break through that limit.
"...... ho.
You want me to tell you?
By all means.


　It's easy to see that I don't say this lightly. If you think about her upbringing for a moment.

　Raised like a man as a tool to take over the Kisshou style, she was forced to betray her from birth, grew up deceiving those closest to her, matured amidst hatred and hostility, and eventually became independent as Bensai-Ryu.

　His efforts have been filled with sadness. And, always, also in hope.

　With big dreams in her heart, she would have continued to work hard to the limit, but she broke through ...... the limit.

　How is that even possible?


My one and only, my first, very big, very big sprout.

　We rejoined the division and opened the distance between us again. Masamune smiled radiantly as she slowly closed the gap between us, and then she spoke up.


'I've grown to love it so much. And the Battoujutsu, you know. All those things you taught me.

............

You're still holding my umbrella. That umbrella, forever, is yours to keep: ......!


　Suddenly, he steps in and lowers his stance.

　A rapidly jammed pause. A situation where not a single prediction can be made.



"--Bensai-ryu profound knowledge, Hanamizuki.


　It was Masamune who took the initiative.

　《 Incense Car Battoujutsu》. A skill that combines a momentary move called two steps and one strike and a sharp battou, prepared at the very edge of its movement range.

　Now, what should I do, whether to receive it or duck it?

　There is the option of crushing it with the Silver General, but it's a bit of a gamble as to whether or not you'll be able to make it in time. That's how exquisitely timed the move was.

　As expected of an innocent man!　I'm tempted to admire it.


'Then--'

　I moved diagonally backward to the right with a slippery foot while accumulating the Flying Car Battoujutsu.

　While dodging, I prepared a counterattack, and in some cases, a move to respond to an attack. Always have multiple aims, the basics.


''--!

　Immediately after, my eyes widened involuntarily.

　Masamune's incense carriage had switched to the Gui Ma Battoujutsu the moment I started preparing my flying car. A really natural switch, brilliant.

　The Gui Ma is a skill that moves and bypasses the sword by jumping even bigger than the incense car. It's not just a matter of time before our flying car is not able to duck.

　...... fascinating. Was that profound, three moves and one pair of Tesuji?

　It seems that this is not the time to be sulking because the Seven System was partitioned again.


!

　As I began to prepare the 《Incense Car Battling Technique》 after him, Masamune showed a slight reaction.

　You are a super genius, you must have read ahead (...) in this moment.

　Yes, this incense carriage dared to move to that side and prepared to duck your Gui Ma. But that's not all.

　It's also a contraption to crush it when you anticipate it and cancel your Gui Ma and switch to another skill.

　Now, you're left with two options. Which one do you choose--.





　--No.

　Oh, yeah!　I was inattentive. What a mess. Arrogantly, I was still overestimating the Masamune.

　I prepared an incense car and ducked it as well, or prepared a counter to the Golden General. It was the only way, I thought.

　There's still one more thing to do!

　Jumping on a laurel horse, canceling in the air, and getting the infantry ready to go: ......!


I got it!

　Masamune, who jumped on a laurel horse, boldly proclaimed while preparing the 《Infantry Battoujutsu》.

　You are suited for the rear - as per my advice, she brilliantly took the rear first and came to win.

　What a pair of five moves. The miso is the first exquisite pause.

　Great, I didn't know you still had these moves!　Ah, the Bishamon War, so profound: ......!



Yeah.

　Suddenly, Masamune makes a barefaced noise.


　I know why. It's because I cancelled the incense car and drew the sword without preparing any skills.

　And by preparing the 《Infantry Battoujutsu》 while drawing the sword--


Lies ......

　--response in time.


　The red-black blade of the Seventh Zero Ring (Nana Yoleikan) caught Masamune's infantry and bounced them together.

　Masamune seemed confused. It can't be helped since she was able to respond to the infantry in time, which she thought there was no way she would be able to do in time.

　The mechanism is simple. The second taiji is slightly faster to activate than the battling sword. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work. That's all.

　It's a good idea to have a 128% of the Battou bonus, which should be enough to cause some damage to me. But because of the status difference, the damage is rather on the Masamune. That's boring. Let's just pretend that I took the hit. If at the end I have less than this amount of HP for this damage, I vow to surrender gracefully.

　Now, we'll do our best to keep each other's swords, pause again, and start over.


''This is interesting--''

　Totally, really interesting.

　The [Battoujutsu] that you've been fond of and couldn't stand is this interesting.
　The Battoujutsu that you believed was worth risking your life for is undoubtedly the real thing.
　Look at this. They've grown so much since you nurtured them.

　And I will continue to do so.
　I'm going to carry on that legacy.

　I can still have fun. We can still nurture them.
　This is the only thing I can give them so that they can die proudly, so that they can say, "Hey, that guy died with honor.

　It's all because I love you.

　For me, for you. Now, we can fight together.

　Did you see this? Are you feeling it?

　The crystallization of your love, just as our hot and fierce youth returned to those days, now it will regain its dazzling brilliance again. ......!


　--Atsushi and I will show you the Nana Zero System.


!

　The first move, the flying car battoujutsu. A battou that is powerful enough to accumulate.
　In the second move, Masamune countered with the "Golden General Battoujutsu".
　The third move, the Dragon King Battoujutsu from the flying car cancellation. It is a ranged attack skill and cannot be blocked by the Golden General.
　The fourth move, a diagonal lateral sprint from the Golden General's cancel.

　Here, procedurally, he met up with the Seven System. In the Seven System, the player would wait for one second to prepare the move, and if Masamune thought the same as before, the player would retreat while preparing the gold general.

　However, there was one difference. The meaning of this move, with the flying car in the first move. This is the essence of the Nana Zero system.


''Eh, ah, ......!

　After a delay, I realized.


　I didn't wait a second, canceled the Dragon King and started preparing the Kakugou Battoujutsu.

　Masamune hurriedly prepared 《King General Battoujutsu》, but it didn't ...... connect well.

　Yes, the combo of the same skill, i.e. the Golden General from canceling the Golden General, causes a slight delay (...).


　...... Kakugyo is closing in on Masamune. Her golden general is a few tenths of a second and not in time.

　It wasn't a good idea to be so cautious and observe the Seven System.


'............ ah ......'

　When it was no longer possible to recover, Masamune smiled softly and accepted her own defeat.



　A fixed mark is always evolving. They are nurtured slowly and gradually between people.

　Victory is never possible alone.

　Thank you. You were born and raised on that island where he spent his time, and it is because you grew up through the efforts that went beyond the limits that we were able to have such an enjoyable game.

　From me, to 0k4NN, and to Masamune, to everyone watching, I have woven this set of rules, given it a new name and unveiled it with respect.

　It's my, our, soul's fixed point that connects this world to his world.

　From now on, for the rest of my life, the Second Firth Test's Teilhard's Teilhard in [Battoujutsu] will evolve with this name.

　Along with his living proof, I will continue to cultivate it.

　I'll be happy if you all engrave it in your hearts.


''--That's it!　Winner, second first test!