Chapter 126: First Promotion Of 'The Sword Saga'

Tokyo, the Ono family's house.

When Kimura Kazuki was lecturing Furuhashi Sakurakyu, Ono Nakamura was called to the soundproof room by his father.

Ono Junichi had a tall and robust physique. He wore his black hakama loosely as he sat in the center seat with his eyes shut, his breathing long and slow. Behind him was a hanging scroll with the kanji character 'Sei,' meaning silence, written in a lively and vigorous calligraphy style. A single glance at it would put one's heart at ease.

Creak——

Ono Nakamura lowered his head when he came in through the door, a tentative greeting on his lips: "Father." He looked a little scared because he would receive a scolding every time he was summoned to the soundproof room. Therefore, he was feeling sheepish as he was unsure of what his father would scold him for this time.

"Sit." Ono Junichi opened his eyes and gazed at his son. The disappointment was seeping out from his gaze.

In his heart, he believed that Ono Nakamura was the most gifted out of his sons in kendo. Although his second son was not bad either, Ono Maho had an unpredictable personality. He was already 17 years old, yet his kendo skills were still mediocre, as seen when he only got 15th place in the Junior Division of the Asahi Kendo Competition. It was a total waste of his talent.

Therefore, he had always placed his hopes on Ono Nakamura. He hoped that his son could take over the Ono family and not let the family deteriorate after he succumbs to his age.

With the thought in mind, he said with a disappointed tone, "Do you have nothing to say to me?"

Ono Nakamura's lips moved, but he said nothing.

With a grunt, Ono Junichi grabbed the cellphone on the table and tossed it at Ono Nakamura. With much exasperation at his son's failure, he said, "What did I tell you? It is such a crucial time now, yet you still went to Akihabara and instigated a kendo competition with people. Not only that, you were even overpowered by your opponent. Look at what have you done now! Everyone on the internet knows, and soon our family will become the joke of the other families. Did getting eighth place in the Asahi Kendo Competition fuel your arrogance?"

Ono Nakamura held the phone up, realizing that it was on NICONICO's webpage. The video-sharing site was the pioneer of bullet screens and was loved by the youngsters of Japan. The video of him facing off against Kimura Kazuki in Akihabara Square was uploaded.

The video was only 15 seconds long, but the views had already reached millions.

In the digital era, many people had access to the internet, and it was not as astonishing to see a video hit a million views as it was when compared to the past. For a video to reach a million views, it had to have some quality, with the views being accumulated through time. This video was uploaded just around eight hours ago.

[Invincible Kendo Skills, destroyed his opponent swiftly in 10 seconds!]

The rather Chunibyo title in the current era was nothing stellar. However, Muraoka Hiroshi used this video as the first wave of promotion for 'The Sword Saga.' He even spent money on the site to display it on the landing page as an advertisement.

The timing when the video was posted was ingenious as it was half a month before the National High School Kendo Competition. Every single high-schooler, even those who barely knew anything about kendo, were speaking about the competition.

The kendo competition, buzz from the high-schoolers plus 'The Sword Saga', a currently popular light novel. All these keywords combined contributed to the video's outstanding popularity.

Ono Nakamura looked bitter. Brother-in-law really got me into trouble this time. The incident was even made known to his father. Which b*stard tipped my father off? His father would never visit the NICONICO site by himself.

A quick glance later, he realized that the whole video was showered with endless bullet comments.

The bullet comments at the beginning were slow for the viewers to read, then it was a bunch of astonishing exclamations. The viewers were shocked by how fast Kimura Kazuki's hand movements were. Other than that, the fans of 'The Sword Saga' left the most bullet comments. They took an extreme interest in it. The bullet comments were shouting the name 'Thunder Master' excitingly.

Ono Nakamura stopped the 15-second video after just a few seconds. No one would be willing to witness his own self being beaten up. He placed the phone back on the table and said softly, "Father, Kimura-Kun's skills are astounding. It's not shameful that I lost to him."

"You don't seem like you know what you did wrong." Ono Junichi was angered. Is that all he cared about? "You are at a crucial moment of mastering the sword power. Yet, just because of a phone call from your brother-in-law, you ran over to help him with his kendo performance?" The man had scolded Muraoka Hiroshi through the phone earlier, and he was unhappy about that guy's callous attitude. Although he had tried to stop his daughter from marrying Muraoka Hiroshi back then, he still became Muraoka Hiroshi's father-in-law in the end.

I see.

Ono Nakamura heaved a sigh of relief in his heart. He looked at his father with confidence in his eyes, "Father, I have mastered the sword power." He was planning to reveal it during his father's 50-year-old birthday celebration as a surprise, but to soothe his father's anger, he had to reveal it in advance.

With that thought in mind, he lifted his head up and raised his chest. He was looking straight at his father when a reserved but razor-edged aura appeared. However, his delight only lasted for less than two seconds before it was shredded by Ono Junichi's sword power.

"Hmph! You're too weak!" Despite saying so, Ono Junichi's eyes had a trace of joy as he suddenly realized, "Did you master your sword power during the competition in Akihabara Square?"

"No..." Ono Nakamura was not discouraged because his father was much stronger than him. "I mastered it suddenly after the Asahi Competition."

Listening to his son's words, Ono Junichi's face straightened, "This means that your body already contained the sword power when you were competing with the young man in the video?"

"Yes." Ono Nakamura glanced over his father. He said softly, "Kimura-Kun even saw through the sword power in me with a single glance." If he did not take the initiative to reveal his aura, not even his father would know that he had already mastered the sword power. Yet, Kimura Kazuki was able to see right through him.

"It seems like ... that young man is indeed strong." Ono Junichi's gaze was complicated. A while later, he sighed and said, "Did you recognize the technique that young man in the video... I mean, the technique the Kimura you mentioned used?" He did not keep his son, who was in doubt, guessing. He said bluntly, "It's the Yagyu Flying Sword Style."

Yagyu Flying Sword Style?

"Uncle Yagyu!" Ono Nakamura exclaimed in shock.

"That's right." Ono Junichi sighed and added, "The Yagyu Flying Sword Style has been lost for a long time. Only fragments of it were left in this world. Your Uncle Yagyu had spent his whole life searching for the lost sword technique and has been honing his own. Who would have thought that this young man, Kimura, inherited the technique."

"..." Ono Nakamura wanted to speak but he stopped. Finally, he could not hold it back anymore and said, "But Kimura-Kun didn't seem to show any noticeable techniques in the video. He was just very swift and strong. How can you tell that he was using the Yagyu Flying Sword Style? Even if it really was the Yagyu Flying Sword Style, he only used a single sword technique. Perhaps he had only mastered a fragment of the style?"

Ono Junichi shook his head without explaining. He said slowly, "You have now mastered the sword power. It is time for you to silence your heart and learn how to remain calm. Try not to go out and concentrate on honing your sword power."

After Ono Nakamura walked out the door with doubts in his mind, Ono Junichi picked up the phone on the table and dialed a number that he had not called for a long time.

When the call went through, Ono Junichi skipped the small talk and cut straight to the point, "Kenichirou, I've found someone using the Rainstorm Style sword technique."