The True Meaning of Isshin-ryu: Seeking Recommendations and Collections

When someone threw themselves wholeheartedly into something, they might not even notice time passing.

After Mu Yu finished ten thousand chopping swings, he was completely drained. He collapsed onto the ground, gasping heavily.

He was utterly exhausted. Right now, he even had the urge to just lie there and fall asleep.

The children in the dojo were all stunned as well.

Mu Yu had trained his chopping swings like a madman. He had practiced nonstop from morning until noon, even missing lunch.

Just thinking about it made their scalps tingle!

Of course, they also found it utterly incomprehensible.

Training with a sword was one thing. When the Instructor shouted commands, they practiced; when he stopped, they stopped. How could anyone train until they forgot to eat?

Even stranger, when someone had wanted to call out to Mu Yu, Master Koshiro had stopped them.

Just as they were wondering what to do, they saw Kuina walking over with a food box.

The little brats immediately scattered in all directions!

To be honest, they were somewhat afraid of Kuina.

Kuina was simply too strong at swordsmanship, and she took it far too seriously. Every swordsmanship match felt like a roundabout way for her to beat them up.

Once was fine, but getting beaten up every single time...

To these children, Kuina was even more terrifying than Master Koshiro.

"Get up. You've overexerted yourself. Lying down like that is very bad for your body."

Mu Yu opened his eyes and happened to see Kuina's upside-down face, along with the food box in her hand.

Mu Yu was surprised. Was it already time to eat?

When he saw the sun overhead, realization dawned on him.

The effects of the skill [Complete Concentration] were a little absurd. He had been so focused on completing ten thousand standard chopping swings that he had completely forgotten about time.

Grrr! Grrr!

It had been fine when he had not noticed, but the moment he smelled the food, Mu Yu's stomach began growling nonstop.

Yet because he had exercised too intensely, Mu Yu had no appetite at all.

"Get up quickly. No matter what, you can't lazily lie around at a time like this. You thirst for strength, don't you? Is this where your resolve ends?"

Seeing Kuina's little face drawn tight in such a stern, serious expression, Mu Yu was slightly taken aback.

It was true that he desired strength, but how had this turned into a matter of resolve?

Besides, there was something odd about Kuina's tone when she spoke to him.

How could Mu Yu know that, under the influence of [Complete Concentration], Kuina had taken him for the sort of avenger burdened by a blood feud, someone who would even throw away his life in pursuit of power?

It had to be said, this was one huge misunderstanding!

Furthermore, Kuina felt somewhat guilty toward Mu Yu!

That morning, she had been a little annoyed because she had painstakingly prepared her lesson but failed to explain it properly to Mu Yu. So she had played a prank on him by making him chop at a tree ten thousand times.

But she had never expected Mu Yu to actually complete ten thousand swings meticulously, without cutting a single corner. He had even forgotten to eat lunch. What an iron-headed fool!

Of course Mu Yu understood that one could not lie down immediately after intense exercise, but everyone had their lazy moments.

Still, since Kuina had put it that way, he certainly could not keep lying there in such an unsightly manner.

How could a man say he couldn't do it?

Mu Yu immediately endured the swelling and soreness in his hands and feet and slowly stood up.

Slow walking, deep breaths...

Following the methods he had learned at school, Mu Yu began doing some recovery exercises.

Soon, Mu Yu's heartbeat gradually returned to normal, and his breathing became steady as well.

He could not help but marvel. Compared to the lazy good-for-nothing he had once been, his physique had truly improved by leaps and bounds.

Awesome!

Seeing Mu Yu's movements, Kuina could not help feeling curious. This set of recovery exercises was completely different from what the dojo taught.

Still, it really did seem quite effective.

Had his father taught him this?

But this was not the time to think about such things. Kuina said, "Eat first."

"Thank you. Sorry to trouble you, Senior Disciple Sister!"

"It's nothing. I'm only following Father's orders."

Mu Yu nodded and said nothing more.

The moment he opened the food box, a rich fragrance rushed at him. Mu Yu instinctively took a deep breath and immediately felt deeply satisfied.

The rice had been shaped into rice balls. The side dishes were a small fish fried golden brown, bright red pickled spicy-sour radish, and miso soup.

The meal was not only exquisitely made, but also very appetizing. There was just a little too little of it!

"Did you make this yourself, Senior Disciple Sister? Arigato!"

Kuina said, "Don't get ahead of yourself. I only cook for Father."

"I see~~~"

Mu Yu dragged out the last word, sounding deeply disappointed.

Kuina became a little annoyed. What was that supposed to mean?

Did he really want to eat food she had cooked that badly?

She was his Senior Disciple Sister! She had not even asked Mu Yu to cook for her!

If she had known, she would have just brought him some leftover rice.

Mu Yu took a sip of soup and immediately frowned, looking as though he could not bear it.

Kuina asked curiously, "What is it?"

Mu Yu shook his head, pretending nothing was wrong, but his expression said otherwise.

"What is it?"

"Too salty!"

Kuina said, "Impossible. I specifically tasted it after I made it—"

Kuina stopped halfway through when she saw Mu Yu's half-smiling expression.

"Fine! You dared to trick me! Food this salty—I wouldn't even feed it to a dog, much less let you eat it!"

"Senior Disciple Sister, I was wrong!"

Mu Yu grabbed a rice ball in one hand, bit down on the small fish, held the miso soup in his other hand, and ran off.

Kuina was dumbfounded. How was this anything like an avenger burdened by a blood feud?

He was simply a shameless rascal!

It had to be said that Mu Yu's little "deception" made Kuina somewhat angry, but her anger vanished in an instant.

Not only that, it had invisibly brought the two closer together.

To Kuina, Mu Yu was the first person who had ever dared to trick her.

He was much better than those little brats in the dojo who acted as though they had seen some monstrous calamity every time they saw her.

Perhaps because she had imagined too much, Kuina was exceptionally attentive when teaching Mu Yu sword techniques.

Kuina said, "There are many schools of swordsmanship. Our Isshin-ryu embraces all styles, and we teach both One-Sword Style and Two-Sword Style."

"Today, I'll mainly teach you One-Sword Style. Its core principle is 'kill the enemy with one stroke,' emphasizing 'cut down the enemy before the enemy cuts me down.' Therefore, the techniques of our Isshin-ryu place the greatest emphasis on the union of heart and sword."

"To put it simply: once you have confirmed someone is an enemy, no matter how powerful they are, you must not fear or retreat in the slightest. Focus wholly on cutting them down. Even defense exists for the sake of counterattacking."

Hearing Kuina explain the principles of Isshin-ryu, Mu Yu could not help thinking of Zoro's famous words—being wounded on the back was a swordsman's shame!

Thinking over all of Zoro's battles, aside from when Luffy told him to flee on Sabaody, Zoro had never once retreated.

Even after Hawk Eyes nearly cut him in half with a single slash, Zoro had drawn his sword and fought the Arlong Pirates head-on.

On Thriller Bark, to save Luffy, he endured all the pain and injuries Kuma had expelled from Luffy's body. When someone asked him about it afterward, he had only one answer: "Nothing happened."

On Sabaody, facing the Pacifista and Admiral Kizaru, even badly wounded Zoro had only one word—fight!

Once he confirmed someone was an enemy, no matter how powerful they were, his mind held only one thought—cut them down!

So this was Isshin-ryu?

Honestly, it was inexplicably cool!

Seeing the fire ignite in Mu Yu's eyes, Kuina could not help smiling.

Just as expected of an avenger!

Still, she was going to become a Great Sword Master acknowledged by her father. They would see who was stronger.