Kuina's Shock

Training ground.

Seeing Mu Yu in the dojo uniform, a flicker of surprise passed through Kuina's beautiful eyes.

She had never thought the dojo uniform could look this good!

But the surprise vanished in an instant.

At the dojo, being good-looking alone would not earn anyone respect. At least, it would not earn any from Kuina.

She was not someone who judged people by appearances!

Then Kuina looked at him again and again.

"Senior Disciple Sister, please teach me!"

Kuina grew flustered and hurriedly put on a stern face, imitating Koshiro as she assumed the air of a master.

"Hmph, it's too early to call me Senior Disciple Sister. If you want to become a swordsman, you need to be prepared to endure hardship!"

Mu Yu said, "No problem."

Kuina said nothing more. Picking up a Bamboo Sword, she coolly said, "All right, then I'll start by teaching you Suburi practice!"

"Yes."

Following her example, Mu Yu picked up a Bamboo Sword.

Kuina said, "Wrong. That isn't how you hold a sword. You really are a complete beginner!"

Knowing what he knew and admitting what he did not, Mu Yu was not embarrassed in the slightest.

"Watch how I hold the sword."

Kuina demonstrated, and Mu Yu copied her movements.

But Kuina was still dissatisfied, correcting Mu Yu's grip hand by hand.

The index fingers and thumbs of both hands formed V-shapes. The right hand gripped the spot where the index finger could touch the guard, while the left hand wrapped around the end of the hilt. The strength of both hands should be concentrated in the little fingers, ring fingers, and middle fingers.

Honestly, holding the sword like this felt rather awkward.

There was even firm gripping and loose gripping. It all felt completely unnatural.

As someone who had been through it herself, how could Kuina not understand what Mu Yu was thinking?

"Holding a sword this way may feel awkward for beginners, but it maximizes the sword's advantages and achieves the optimal balance between strength and speed."

Kuina explained in detail why the sword had to be held this way and what benefits it offered. She was meticulous and far more serious than one might have expected.

She was unexpectedly cool!

Once he understood the benefits of this grip, the last bit of resistance in Mu Yu's heart vanished.

Then, under Kuina's guidance, he began Suburi practice!

Simply put, "Suburi" was sword-swinging practice.

In Japanese swordsmanship, every school regarded Suburi as the foundation of foundations.

One would raise the sword roughly forty-five degrees above the head, step forward while slashing down, then withdraw the foot and step back after reaching a certain point.

The point at which the slash stopped varied somewhat between schools. Some stopped at chest or abdomen level, while others slashed all the way down without holding back.

Its basic purposes were to train arm strength, master force generation, and build endurance. Most importantly, it taught control.

Suburi was a process of restraining and releasing force. Consistently holding back one's force was even more difficult than consistently exerting it.

And that was the greatest difficulty and key point of Suburi practice!

After all, it was impossible to guarantee that every strike would hit someone. If a strike missed and one was not used to pulling it back, the opponent could counterattack and kill them outright.

In gaming terms, Suburi practice could cancel skill recovery, allowing for better move changes and combos while minimizing openings as much as possible.

As Kuina explained more, Mu Yu became increasingly astonished. He had never expected a simple "Suburi" to contain so many profound principles.

After understanding the theory, Mu Yu no longer held the slightest contempt for Suburi practice.

One swing, two swings, three swings. Ten swings, twenty swings, thirty swings.

Mu Yu tried his best to make every swing perfect, but saying it was far easier than doing it.

During the swings, either his arms wobbled or he failed to control the landing point. Sometimes, he even slashed crookedly.

As the number of Suburi repetitions increased, his arms began to grow tired.

But Mu Yu did not become impatient. He kept searching for the right feeling through practice.

Kuina stood quietly to one side, deliberately offering no hints.

Suburi practice was simple. As long as one was not an idiot, they would eventually grasp the knack.

But Suburi tested one's perseverance immensely!

Although a Bamboo Sword was not heavy, most people had no problem swinging it three, five, or even a dozen times. But once they had to swing continuously forty or fifty times, or even over a hundred times, the difficulty would only grow.

Because people got tired!

Yet Kuina was soon surprised, and began to view Mu Yu in a new light.

She could tell that this was Mu Yu's first time encountering swordsmanship.

As Koshiro's daughter, she had grown up in the dojo and seen far too many beginners.

Most beginners thought—swordsmanship is so cool, I want to practice it, and once I do, I'll quickly become amazing!

Why was I still practicing a basic move after training for so long?

Did Master dislike me and deliberately suppress me?

To outsiders, swordsmanship always possessed a mysterious allure.

But once they truly got into it, beginners discovered that practicing swordsmanship was completely different from what they had imagined.

Before achieving anything real, it was not only uncool, but dull, exhausting, and tedious!

Many children in the village gave up after only practicing at the dojo for a few days.

"This is..."

Kuina looked at Mu Yu, disbelief showing in her beautiful eyes.

Could someone become completely absorbed just from practicing Suburi?

Shouldn't this kind of state be impossible for someone practicing swordsmanship for the first time?

This new Junior Disciple Brother might be somewhat... extraordinary!

What Kuina did not know was that Mu Yu's system was currently displaying this.

You practiced Suburi with Complete Concentration. Reward: 50 Energy Points.

You practiced Suburi with Complete Concentration. Reward: 50 Energy Points.

You practiced Suburi with Complete Concentration. Reward: 50 Energy Points.

"All right. Let's stop today's practice here. You're still a beginner, so you shouldn't overtrain on your first day. Otherwise, you won't be able to lift your arms tomorrow."

"Yes, thank you for your guidance, Senior Disciple Sister!"

Mu Yu wiped the sweat from his face and flashed a brilliant smile.

Seeing the smile on Mu Yu's face, Kuina was slightly surprised, but she said nothing.

In her heart, she had already begun to regard Mu Yu as a strange person.

Because Mu Yu's performance was different from that of most swordsmanship beginners.

Not only had he thrown himself wholeheartedly into his first practice, he had even completed five hundred Suburi swings without uttering a single complaint about being tired or suffering.

That was far too abnormal!

After taking a few steps, Kuina turned back speechlessly. "Why are you following me?"

Mu Yu said, "It's getting late. We should be preparing dinner, right? I was planning to go help in the kitchen."

Kuina stared at him in astonishment. "Help in the kitchen? You're a boy, aren't you?!"

Mu Yu froze, then suddenly understood.

Koshiro came from Wano Country. He was not only conservative, but also strongly favored boys over girls.

Though he did not say much outright, his everyday words and actions still influenced those around him at every moment.

And the person most deeply affected was none other than Kuina.

"I'm only helping out in the kitchen. It was part of the agreement I made with Master before joining the dojo."

"Do whatever you want!"

After saying that, Kuina turned and headed toward the kitchen. Honestly, her heart was far from calm.

Wasn't it humiliating for a boy to help in the kitchen?!