The cheers had gone on several tis, but still no one took the stage; neither side sent anyone up.
At this mont, Kato Taka and others were stunned. Earlier, everyone was eager to go on stage, but now no one wanted to step up.
Kato Taka called out to both sides, "You two families can proceed with the second match. Who will go first?"
Then they heard Watanabe Kazushi speak up, "According to the rules, we are the initiators of the duel. Since we won the first round, we will send soone first. So in the second round, it's the other side's turn to present a challenger."
Hoshino Yuji said, "The rules are about mutual respect, hence the alternating order. However, it was clearly our person who took the stage first in the first round. Out of respect, you should send your man up first for this second match."
Watanabe Kazushi laughed and said, "Hoshino Yuji, don't think I don't know what trick you're playing. I'm here today just to fight you. I don't care if it's the second or the third round; the person I'm here to defeat is you.
If you're a real man, if you're still worthy of being a family head, then step up and exchange a few moves with .
No matter if you win or lose, as long as you dare to take the stage, I can at least have so respect for you. But if you don't, I'll only despise you, even more than I did twenty years ago."
Hoshino Yuji said, "Why do I need your respect for my actions? What's the use of your respect? I've always looked down on you."
Watanabe Kazushi laughed loudly and said, "Hoshino Yuji, you should be clear about your own shalessness. Do you really think your Hoshino Family's sche can deceive ?"
Hoshino Yuji replied, "What does a mber of the Watanabe Family have to do with us, the Hoshino Family? As long as we can defeat you, that's all that matters."
Watanabe Kazushi burst into anger, "You truly are shaless. If you've got what it takes, let's compete on stage together. I've never seen soone from the Ittō-ryū so shaless. As a family head, you don't even dare to step onto the stage."
Ling Zhenfei knew that Watanabe Kazushi was using taunts. Moreover, Watanabe Kazushi already knew they planned to use the "Tian Ji horse racing" thod for the next two matches; winning just one more match was enough.
So at this point, Watanabe Kazushi remained offstage, continually using taunts to lure Hoshino Yuji onto the stage.
If Hoshino Yuji took the stage, it would ruin Ling Zhenfei's sure-win strategy of "Tian Ji horse racing." But if he didn't, he would be ridiculed.
Ling Zhenfei said to Mingyue, who was next to him, "Go and watch over your father; under no circumstances should he step onto the stage. Otherwise, things will go awry."
Mingyue nodded and then walked towards Hoshino Yuji.
Hoshino Yuji must be under a lot of pressure now; anyone would be uncomfortable being spoken to like that.
In such situations, anyone could make impulsive decisions they'd later regret.
Having soone remind him might help clear his head.
Watanabe Kazushi shouted, "Hoshino Yuji, are you going to be a coward? Or are you waiting to bully one of our young juniors when they step up? Does the Hoshino Family even care about their honor anymore?"
Hoshino Yuji shouted, "A duel is a duel, a fight is a fight. The arena has its rules; don't talk to about face-saving."
Watanabe Kazushi said, "Watanabe Kazushi, are you going to make expose the Hoshino Family's actions to everyone here? There are many families present. Should I tell them?"
"Everyone listen up. Do you know what the Hoshino Family is trying to do? They know they can't beat us, so they want to wait until I step up and then send soone random to fight .
Of course, this person is definitely not here to win; they might just surrender after a couple of moves. And what is the purpose? It's obvious. Have you ever seen such a shaless family?"
Ling Zhenfei snorted coldly. This Watanabe Kazushi is truly ignorant, blaming others for his own ignorance.
But Watanabe Kazushi's words stirred imnse reactions, not only among the crowd but even among the mbers of the Hoshino Family.
"How could this be? This really is quite shaless."
"What do you know! This is called strategy or even cunning wisdom."
"What wisdom? We only know the Bushido way. When soone rides on our necks, we don't even dare to shake them off."
"Is such caution even necessary at a life-and-death mont?"
"While doing this might be reasonable, it's terrible for the family's honor."
Listening to the discussions, Ling Zhenfei grew worried. The Hoshino family placed excessive importance on their reputation, and Hoshino Yuji might not be able to hold out.
Suddenly, soone from the Watanabe family's stands leaped into the air with incredible speed and landed on the arena.
The one who appeared was none other than Watanabe Kazushi, who had just been speaking.
When Watanabe Kazushi landed on the stage, Ling Zhenfei felt delighted - as long as the pre-arranged Hoshino Kuri could take the stage, they would win this duel.
At this mont, Watanabe Kazushi stood on the stage, facing the Hoshino family's arena, and shouted, "Now that I've co, it's up to the Hoshino Family to decide.
Regardless of whether the Hoshino Family sends Hoshino Yuji or a junior, I'll tolerate it. But if it's the family head, we'll have a fair fight.
If it's a junior, I'll concede right away. I won't bear the sha."
Watanabe Kazushi is shrewd, and his words have put the Hoshino Family in a hot seat.
Hoshino Yuji was certainly conflicted. For victory, sending Hoshino Kuri would be possible, but doing so would tarnish the Hoshino Family's reputation.
Had it not been for Watanabe Kazushi's words, sending Hoshino Kuri would have been fine; no one would have overthought the decision, but now it was different.
Ling Zhenfei suddenly had an ominous feeling. In this Island Nation, such samurai families placed extre importance on reputation, and the reputation of such a large family like the Hoshino Family was naturally crucial.
Especially since the Hoshino Family's reputation was also tied to the Ittō-ryū's reputation.
While Ling Zhenfei was contemplating, Mingyue ran back.
"Not good, my father is about to go up."
Mingyue had just finished speaking when Hoshino Yuji's figure soared from the stands towards the stage.
Hoshino Yuji's movents were like a great bird, landing on the stage after a few leaps in the air.
mbers of the Hoshino Family cheered ecstatically because their family head had entered the match.
However, only a few were not so optimistic. While Hoshino Yuji's strength was indeed in the Dawen Realm, Watanabe Kazushi was at the Dawen middle stage, and there was still a gap between them.
Perhaps when both were healthy, they could fight evenly, but Hoshino Yuji's injuries had not fully healed, making him no match for Watanabe Kazushi.
Mingyue naturally understood this and anxiously asked Ling Zhenfei, "What should we do? My father still has injuries; he's not Watanabe Kazushi's opponent."
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