After that stirring speech, Rosinante had perfectly achieved his objective for the day.
But the commanders below were far from pleased.
After all, after the stunt he had just pulled today...
How were they supposed to lead troops in the future?
"Since the General has already come," Commander Uchida stepped forward and said with a smile, "why not let the soldiers broaden their horizons a little? Let them witness your skills for themselves. After all, you'll be leading us into battle from now on. Only if everyone sees the General's strength with their own eyes will they truly submit to you. And only then will the soldiers wholeheartedly follow the training plans you set for them."
"Oh?" Rosinante said lightly. "You want to see my strength? Then is Commander Uchida planning to step onto the field and exchange a few moves with me personally?"
"I wouldn't dare," Uchida replied at once. "If I were the one to fight, people might suspect that the General arranged things in advance and that there was some trick involved. Better to choose one or two warriors from among the soldiers instead. Hmm... Fujino, you."
As soon as he spoke, a man stepped out from among the personal guards of the commanders at the edge of the field.
"Since I'm giving you a chance to perform," Uchida said calmly to Fujino, "spar with the General. Let the General properly teach you a few moves, so you stop burying your head in practice all day and thinking too highly of yourself."
"General," Uchida continued with a sly, fox-like smile, "this Fujino is one of my personal guards. He's quite capable, though a bit arrogant by nature. I ask that you kindly teach him a few moves. Otherwise, I'm afraid he'll never understand what it means that there is always someone stronger."
"Very well," Rosinante said blandly. "I'd also like to see just what kind of talent Commander Uchida praises so highly."
By then, Fujino had already stepped onto the platform.
His face was expressionless.
But the look in his eyes was full of contempt.
It was the kind of look a god might give a mortal.
Seeing that Rosinante was about to spar with Fujino, the soldiers below all showed worried expressions.
They knew exactly how dangerous Fujino was.
Against ordinary men, he could cut down more than a dozen without effort.
"Why did you send Fujino up there to fight that brat?" one commander whispered as he moved closer to Uchida. "Fujino doesn't know when to hold back. What if the kid dies here? Muto won't let something like that slide."
"Relax," Uchida said. "I already told Fujino to hold back a little. He just needs to make that brat embarrass himself in public. You saw it too. If we don't teach this kid a lesson now, there won't be any place left for us in the camp in the future. And if he really goes through with letting those mud-legged commoners become commanders, then our samurai status will be finished."
Hearing that, the other commanders all nodded.
Then, one after another, they cast malicious looks toward Rosinante.
"General, please instruct me," Fujino said calmly.
He was full of contempt toward Rosinante.
In his mind, if Saito Tsubasa hadn't been born into nobility, how could he possibly enjoy a status like this today?
If he himself had been General Saito's son...
Then he would have been a hundred times better than this useless fool in front of him.
"Do you want me to make the first move?" Rosinante asked with a smile.
"I'm afraid that if I move first," Fujino said with open disdain, "you won't even get the chance to strike at all."
"Is that so?" Rosinante smiled faintly. "Then I really will have to make the first move."
"Come, then," Fujino said even more dismissively.
But the instant those words left his mouth—
His expression changed dramatically.
Because somehow, at some unknown moment...
Rosinante had already appeared right in front of him.
Then Fujino saw it.
Rosinante's fist slowly pushed forward.
That punch looked gentle.
Soft.
Almost harmless.
It landed lightly against his body.
Just one soft punch.
A punch so delicate it looked like a flower embroidered on a pillow.
But the moment it landed...
Fujino's face changed completely.
Blood surged uncontrollably up from deep inside him and burst from his mouth in a spray.
His eyes were filled with utter disbelief as he stared at Rosinante.
Then his body went limp.
And he collapsed to the ground.
Rosinante's current strength might not be great.
But a Crushing Fist was still a Crushing Fist.
The perfected form of that technique carried terrifying explosive force.
If Fujino hadn't at least possessed some real ability...
That single punch just now would have shattered all of his internal organs on the spot.
"So this is the extraordinary expert Commander Uchida praised so highly?" Rosinante said calmly. "I thought he'd be stronger than this, so I accidentally used a little too much force. It seems Commander Uchida exaggerated quite a bit."
He glanced over the field.
"Enough for today."
"Tomorrow, I will move into the military camp and train alongside all of you."
His voice carried clearly across the grounds.
"Within one month... I expect to see all of you looking like real soldiers."
After saying that, Rosinante stepped down from the command platform.
Without sparing anyone another glance, he simply left the military camp.
Watching his departing figure, one commander muttered, "General Saito was always a shrewd man. I wondered why he would pass the position to him. Looks like we really underestimated him."
"And what of it?" Uchida said coldly. "At this point, we have no other choice. As long as he fails to take Fujimitsu's head within a hundred days, we cannot allow him to remain seated as General."
"But you saw it too," another commander said darkly. "If this keeps going, all the soldiers will end up on his side. Once he has their support, it'll be very difficult to force him down."
"He may have won over the soldiers," Uchida sneered, "but he's also damaged the interests of the samurai. Just wait. If he fails to fulfill his promise when the time comes, it won't just be us asking him to step down. The entire samurai faction will demand it. And besides... right now, there are people even more anxious than we are."
His eyes turned cold.
"Maybe we won't even need to wait three months."
Hearing that, the others all began to sneer as well.
"But during this period," one commander said in a lower voice, "we should still be careful. If we accidentally fall into his hands, things won't end well. I have no desire to become the next Kimura. I don't have the Second Young Master's road open to me."
The moment those words were spoken...
Every commander's expression turned ugly.