Laid-Back Life in Tokyo: I Really Didn't Want to Work Hard

Chapter 594 - 381 Uncle’s Visit_2

"Haven’t you been wanting custody of the two little girls lately?""Uncle... handed it over to you to handle?" Uesugi Sakura hadn’t yet realized he was talking business.

"Of course, well, who says I’m not as busy as he is? He’s the Police Chief, the staff officer of the Police Headquarters, and the Chief of Shinjuku Police Station, with countless cases to handle every day."

Hanamaru Yugetsu sighed.

"But back in the day, I was quite the ace during police academy and even got an exception to enter the Investigation First Division early. That year, the flowers bloomed... moonlight in the snow..."

"..."

Uesugi Sakura did not interrupt his words.

"Until... uh... never mind, let’s not stray off topic, let’s talk about those two little girls of yours."

"Overall, you want custody of the two of them, no problem. First, you need to get their consent, then have the guardianship registered under your sister-in-law and second brother’s names. The chances of winning the case are high, but if their biological mother gets a proper job, has a stable income, and intent, the judge will likely favor their current guardian."

After pulling out a photo from his pocket, Hanamaru Yugetsu pointed to the woman at the top and continued.

"This Iwakashi Sumiko often appears in Kabuki-cho. As far as I know, she currently has no proper job, but lately, she’s been involved with someone."

Hanamaru Yugetsu pulled out another photo of a middle-aged man with a solemn face.

"Murauma Sanuki."

Uesugi Sakura glanced at it, didn’t recognize him.

"This guy is a lower-ranked member under the Kitagawa Association and considers himself a brother to Kitagawa Association’s current group leader, Beichuan Sakijin. He’s nominally the leader’s brother but essentially holds an honorary position. You can think of it as a position with high status but no real power."

"Kind of like a retirement position?" Uesugi Sakura asked.

"That’s about right. Our internal police informants found out that this guy recently lost a large sum in business, and now filled with anger, he suddenly sent his men to contact Iwakashi Sumiko."

"Contacting Iwakashi Sumiko, a young woman with no income, don’t you find anything odd about that?"

"Lost money, very angry, contacted Iwakashi Sumiko... hmm..."

Uesugi Sakura looked at the man in the photo, thought for a while, then responded:

"...this suggests Iwakashi Sumiko has something he wants..."

"And what might that be?" Hanamaru Yugetsu smiled and asked further.

"...Aei and Chiaei? But they’re just two elementary school kids."

"The point is not age, but identity."

"Identity...?"

Uesugi Sakura thought again about the identity of Aei and Chiaei...

Then there could only be one possibility.

It originated from their biological father.

Hanamaru Yugetsu continued asking Uesugi Sakura, "Do you know the identity of their father?"

Uesugi Sakura nodded.

"Who is it?"

"Kohara Kiyosaku."

"Kohara Kiyosaku?" Hanamaru Yugetsu clearly had no impression of this name.

"He runs a securities company, over in the harbor area, the company is called Kohara Securities."

Hanamaru Yugetsu pondered for a while, "I see... "

Soon after, Hanamaru Yugetsu seemed to have figured something out and hurriedly put away the photo on the coffee table.

"Don’t worry, Sakura, the custody issue will be dealt with."

Just after he finished speaking, the uncle left in a hurry.

Uesugi Sakura looked at the half-eaten snacks on the coffee table and wondered if his uncle just came here to gather information from him?

It shouldn’t be; he could have asked about such a small amount of information over the phone.

Or maybe he wanted to mention something about Aei and Chiaei’s current guardianship situation?

With that thought, his uncle’s image became much more considerate.

He was originally thinking about asking if he could help, but now... he figured it would be best to just stay quietly at home.

...

The whole day seemed uneventful.

Uesugi Sakura sat in the living room, read a book with the TV on, took a nap, and the day just passed simply like that.

But for such a simple day, Uesugi Sakura felt extraordinarily warm.

There was Hanabi cooking at noon, and Hanabi accompanying him to sleep at night. When he wants, if they get married, life might become even more blissful.

————————

The national kendo competition’s semifinals and finals were held over two days.

The finals didn’t begin until two days after the semifinals of four teams concluded.

Kendo competitions are not instantaneous but progressive.

In this tournament, only three maintained a record of complete personal victory.

Naito Genichiro was one of them.

He is 42 this year, Kendo Sixth Rank.

In the Capital City, he’s the new Vice Master of the Katori Shinto Style.

Vice Masters are guides in the martial arts field, second in command to the Master, and is a position or permission given by the Master of the style or the dojo.

In general, a Vice Master in a dojo is akin to a second master.

The Katori Shinto Style, the foremost of all swordsmanship styles, was revered as Japan’s impeccable cultural treasure, historically the first and only martial art to be awarded such, and had dojos established all over the country.

Currently under the main lineage of the Izunaga Family’s twenty-fourth generation family head in Chiba Prefecture.

The branch located in the Capital City has been developed by the Naito Family all along.

Naito Genichiro had good friendships with several friends from the Police Headquarters, so they agreed to participate in this team kendo competition together.

More than a decade ago, Naito Genichiro had already won the national kendo individual championship.

Uesugi Sakura sat in the rest area of the Martial Arts Hall, watching the seniors not far ahead chatting, among them was Naito Genichiro. Orıginal content can be found at ????????????????????•????????????????•????????????

"Junior, they are of the same generation as Master, do you know how hard it is for us to get here every year?"

Uesugi Sakura, though never having witnessed those times, could somewhat understand the experience.

These young ones reaching the semifinals are akin to middle school students participating in a college-level quiz, where any individual from the four teams is a more seasoned senior.

Engulfed in such an environment, not feeling pressure was impossible.

Uesugi Sakura fought his way to the semifinals, witnessing his seniors winning fewer than they lost, and realized the pressure they bore.

The seniors were outstanding among peers, but when pitched against masters gathered at a national kendo tournament, losing some matches was inevitable.

"Confidence, isn’t it earned from competing? Junior, we were the team champions last time and the time before that. This time will be no different."

Uesugi Sakura knew that he couldn’t decide the outcome of the team competition alone, and that his seniors’ performance was also crucial.

He remembered that in the early matches, Kusunoki Kubomaru and Koshin Kagami had beaten those few seniors from the Police Headquarters.

The match hadn’t started yet; it was still the preparation stage for the semifinals.

"Junior, by the way, how do you train in swordsmanship? You’re hardly ever seen in the dojo."

"Just standard, following the method."

"But your techniques and form don’t look standard at all."

"That’s based on understanding, for example, ’looking’ is divided into ’observing’ and ’seeing’; ’observing’ means sensing with the heart, using the heart to look, while ’seeing’ uses the ordinary eye. ’Observing’ and ’seeing’ need to complement each other to be effective."

"What do you mean?"

"In sparring, aren’t we supposed to look at the opponent’s initial moves or feints? That’s ’seeing.’ But if the opponent changes moves and uses feints to deceive your eyes, can you still use ’seeing’ to look?"

Koshin Kagami thoughtfully added: "’Observing’ is about heartfelt understanding, not focusing on one point but grasping the opponent’s overall offensive and movement."

Uesugi Sakura nodded to Kusunoki Kubomaru: "Senior Brother Koshin is right, a skilled opponent will deceivingly engage your eyes, and Senior Brother Kusunoki lost several times due to the opponent’s changed moves and feints."

While that may be the explanation, applying the theory in actual combat isn’t instant. Uesugi Sakura could only share his ways of responding to opponents with his seniors.

This match cannot rely on him alone to win the championship.