With a single thought from Amamiya Rin, the conscious exchanges within the [Tomie Network], which had been as noisy as a vegetable market, came to an abrupt halt, plunging into an eerie silence.
Several seconds passed before the Tomies seemed to collectively recover, and the [Tomie Network] instantly exploded into chaos.
(I nominate Number Three! She deliberately made eyes at a man who was with his girlfriend today!)
(Slander! It was clearly him who kept staring at me! Number Five is the real culprit! She didn't flip a single page of her books at school, she just kept smiling at those male students, provoking a swarm of flies to circle around her!)
(Nonsense! That is natural charm, I couldn't stop it even if I wanted to! What about Number Eleven? She was too lazy to even pretend today; she slipped out to go shopping before two o'clock!)
(The pot calling the kettle black! Number Twenty was even ordering that guy Tsuneyoshi to buy her limited edition jewelry!)
...
The Tomies attacked and exposed each other.
In fact, before Amamiya Rin spoke up, they had been discussing cooperating to resist him.
But as soon as Amamiya Rin's thought entered the [Tomie Network], they immediately threw their solemn vows of unity and joint resistance to the back of their minds. Everyone was eager to find a scapegoat to extricate themselves.
This, right here, is called using Tomie to fight Tomie.
Eventually, a Tomie marked as Number 25 won the nomination by a narrow margin of votes, the reason being that she had not learned any knowledge whatsoever.
(Why does it have to be me?!)
Tomie No. 25 screamed in unconvinced defiance.
(I am already at that school! Are you expecting two Kawakami Tomies to appear in the same classroom at the same time?)
(That is not an excuse. Even if you cannot go to school, you can go to the library, or hire a private tutor. There are too many places to acquire knowledge in modern society. You simply chose the easiest path: doing nothing.)
Amamiya Rin said with complete indifference.
(Exactly, exactly!)
(Stop struggling and honestly go cultivate!)
The [Tomie Network] was filled with the schadenfreude of the other individuals, causing the cheeks of the Tomie marked No. 25 to puff up in anger.
However, under Amamiya Rin's unquestionable will and the unanimous nomination of the other Tomies, she knew very well that resisting would only mean asking for trouble.
(Damn it! I got it, I got it! So annoying!)
Tomie No. 25 complained grumpily within the [Tomie Network].
(So? Great Lord Rin, what do you want my delicate body to learn today? Karate? Judo? Or Boxing? Hmph! Just thinking about it is crude.)
Amamiya Rin turned a deaf ear to her sarcastic tone and issued a direct command.
(It doesn't need to be that complex. Go out now and hail a taxi. Tell the driver to take you to the most famous Ancient Swordsmanship Dojo in this city.)
Karate, Judo, Boxing—he would have to complete these close-quarters combat skills sooner or later, but what Amamiya Rin needed currently was to learn superior swordsmanship to enhance his practical combat capabilities.
(Ancient Swordsmanship Dojo?)
Tomie No. 25's voice rose an octave, carrying obvious disdain.
(That kind of place full of the stink of sweat? I don't want to!)
Anyone who understands Kendo knows that while it looks cool, it is not actually as dashing and glamorous as it appears on the surface. Due to high-intensity exercise, the protective gear becomes soaked with sweat by the end of the day; as soon as one enters a Kendo club, the smell of sweat is everywhere.
Amamiya Rin did not stand on ceremony with Kawakami Tomie. He directly entered a state of deep Dhyana, observing Kawakami Tomie's body and mind along the neural lines of the [Tomie Network].
In this moment, the two consciousnesses achieved one hundred percent synchronization.
A strange tranquility spread through Kawakami Tomie's heart.
All conditioned things are impermanent; all dharmas are without self. For a moment, even the thought of resistance itself became a phantom of arising and ceasing, failing to stir even half a ripple in her heart.
Picking up her handbag, Amamiya Rin controlled Kawakami Tomie's body to leave the apartment and hailed a taxi by the roadside.
She sat in the back seat. The driver was a middle-aged man with a kind face. When he saw her appearance in the rearview mirror, a look of undisguised awe flashed through his eyes.
"Miss, where would you like to go?"
The driver asked enthusiastically.
"May I ask which dojo teaching Ancient Swordsmanship is the most prestigious? Take me there."
Amamiya Rin asked directly. To learn intelligence about a city, there was no faster way than asking a taxi driver.
"Okay! Is Miss going to learn the sword? If we're talking about the most famous, that would definitely be the Toto Yagyu Association. I heard it's a dojo opened by a legitimate successor of the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu."
The driver thought for a moment and answered immediately.
"Mm, let's go there."
Amamiya Rin nodded, then cast his gaze out the window, speaking no further.
The driver responded, started the car, and wove through the city roads.
Inside the carriage, Amamiya Rin used Tomie's senses to familiarize himself with the subtle feedback of this body through the state of observation, adjusting the coordination between breathing and muscles.
This was not a difficult task for Amamiya Rin; his own physical constitution was not much stronger than Kawakami Tomie's, so he could easily adapt to the techniques he had mastered.
About forty minutes later, the car stopped in front of a rather imposing traditional Japanese residence. A plaque reading "Toto Yagyu Association" hung on the tall wooden gate. The area in front of the gate was swept spotless, and the sounds of shouting and bamboo swords clashing could be faintly heard from within the courtyard.
Amamiya Rin paid the fare, pushed the door open to get out, and stepped into the dojo.
The person responsible for reception in the front hall was a young disciple. Seeing such a beautiful young girl walk in, he couldn't help but freeze, forgetting to greet her for a moment.
"Hello, I am here to apprentice. May I ask what procedures are required?"
Amamiya Rin smiled faintly and greeted him politely.
The young disciple snapped back to reality, the tips of his ears flushing red. He hurriedly put down the registration book in his hands in a fluster and stammered.
"Ah, h-hello! If you want to apprentice... we need to register your basic information first, then I will take you to see the Shihan."
As he spoke, he handed over a pen, his gaze unable to stop itself from sweeping over Kawakami Tomie again.
Amamiya Rin took the pen and wrote 'Kawakami Tomie' in the name field.
"Then I will take you to see Sato Shihan. He is the current person in charge of our Edo Yagyu Association, and also the 50th generation successor of the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu..."
The young disciple put away the registration book. While introducing the dojo to Amamiya Rin, he led him through a wooden sliding door.
Behind the door was a spacious dojo. The floor was paved with deep green kendo mats. More than a dozen disciples wearing indigo gi were sparring in pairs. Sweat dripped down their chins, and the faint smell of perspiration wafted through the air.
In the center of the dojo, a middle-aged man wearing a black gi stood upright. His hair was combed neatly, the ends slightly graying. There was no expression on his face, but his eyes were very bright, his gaze as sharp as a knife.
"Shihan, this is Miss Kawakami Tomie. She wishes to apprentice and learn the sword."
The young disciple walked up quickly and bowed slightly.
Sato Shihan turned around, his gaze landing on Kawakami Tomie's face.
Even for a swordsman who had cultivated Kendo for decades, a trace of awe inevitably flashed through his eyes, but he soon recovered his usual composure, leaving only a scrutinizing gaze.
____
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