Chapter 21

The Setting Sun gradually sank, and the crescent moon rose into the night sky.

For Mimi, hellish training continued.

She was knocked to the ground again and again, then rushed back in.

Every so often, Old Man Shiki would mercifully let Mimi catch her breath, using the breaks to correct mistakes in her technique.

Mistakes every beginner made.

In a fight to the death, they would be fatal.

"Make your steps lighter!"

"You have no advantage in strength. You can only be fast—faster—extremely fast!"

Speed has to do with strength too, damn it!

"Since you've completed Water Walking and Tree Climbing training, you can definitely do this today!"

"Get up! There's no time for you to dawdle."

Old Man Shiki had started talking more.

Mimi rolled over and reluctantly climbed to her feet.

Then she was knocked flat again.

She rushed in, only to be knocked down again.

It repeated endlessly.

"How many times have I taught you? Why can't you learn it!?"

Three times!

"I'm not some kind of genius."

Mimi replied irritably.

This guy's teaching amounted to this, then this, then this—feel it with your heart.

It was way too abstract...

Who the hell could learn that!?

"No! You are!" Old Man Shiki insisted.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Mimi answered, rising onto her toes.

This move was called Wind Step.

In theory, it was simply expelling air from the soles of one's feet, using the recoil to make one's steps lighter.

It was still very different from Water Walking and Tree Climbing.

"Water Walking uses Chakra spread evenly across the surface beneath your feet," Old Man Shiki said.

I know. Mimi nodded.

It crudely increased the area bearing the force, allowing someone to remain on the water's surface.

Tree Climbing, on the other hand, relied on adhesion.

There were many ways to achieve it.

Mimi did not know how others did it, but she formed hooked bristles on the soles of her feet and drove them into the contact surface to create traction.

Its effect was basically the same as Spider-Man's.

The greatest difficulty in Tree Climbing was core strength.

Under gravity's pull, standing upright on a horizontal surface was a major problem.

When Mimi had practiced it before, she had suffered terribly because of her lack of physical strength.

"And this move is about spraying! Spraying! Spraying! The key is spraying!!!"

Ah, there it was.

Like teaching a child how to do homework.

"I know it's spraying," Mimi muttered.

Feet: I can't do ittt!

"Stop yelling at me all the time! You're making me forget how to do it!!"

As she spoke, Mimi yelled right back with perfect justification.

Old Man Shiki was left at a loss.

Watching Mimi try to calm herself down, he said, "All right, Insect Princess, take it slow. No rush."

Like hell I'm in a rush. You're the one rushing.

Mimi curled her lip.

It was fundamentally a matter of practice volume. Once the body developed instinctive muscle responses and enough experience had accumulated, it would naturally come.

Moreover, the old man had raised the difficulty, making her practice and apply it flexibly in actual combat at the same time.

This was no longer a matter of skipping grades.

He was truly treating Mimi like a prodigy.

"Again!"

With that, Mimi charged forward—then came flying back.

The stingy old man was angry.

She had at least been able to exchange a couple of moves with him before, but now he sent her flying outright.

"What's the point of practicing like this?" Mimi snapped. "I didn't even figure out how I got knocked down!"

"Then come over here!" Old Man Shiki snorted.

"Hmph!" Mimi huffed unhappily.

She climbed back up and charged at him again.

The two of them crashed into a brawl with repeated thuds.

Mostly, Old Man Shiki did the hitting, while Mimi took the hits.

He specifically struck the parts of Mimi's body with more padding.

If he actually hurt her, Old Man Shiki would feel bad too.

As time passed, Mimi gradually grasped a few tricks.

This Wind Step was not the Body Flicker Technique.

The Body Flicker Technique was a technique that required hand seals.

Though they operated on the same principle, the Body Flicker Technique relied on an instantaneous burst of speed and was difficult to control.

Very few ninja could truly master the Body Flicker Technique.

Most simply lacked the reflexes to control the speed and distance.

That was why the joke about using Body Flicker and crashing into a wall was so common.

Mimi had done it herself.

And under such immense thrust, it was extremely difficult to change direction.

Wind Step, on the other hand, provided sustained, stable acceleration. It emphasized freedom and flexibility, complete control over one's speed.

It could be called both a simplified and improved version of the Body Flicker Technique.

Old Man Shiki really had some ideas.

As expected of secret teachings.

A moment later, Mimi was sent flying again.

"That looked a little better this time, Insect Princess."

Mimi climbed to her feet and wiped away her sweat.

I'm exhausted!

I can't take this anymore!

She plopped down on the ground, unwilling to get back up.

"I'm out of Chakra. Not a single drop left!"

Seeing this, Shiki glanced at the sky and said, "We'll stop here for today."

Mimi sprang to her feet, turned, and started to leave.

She did not look like someone who was out of Chakra.

Insect Sister, who had been counting ants nearby, was about to follow.

"Wait, Insect Princess." Old Man Shiho came over just then, carrying a large armful of swords.

"Per your request, I found these weapons. Pick one you like."

Mimi stepped forward and took them, drawing them one by one to inspect.

After a while, she chose a sword.

It was a nearly one-meter-long katana with a straight, double-edged blade. In Mimi's hands, it looked more like she was holding a tachi.

Mimi herself was only around 1.2 meters tall.

Its design was exquisite.

It was very light.

But it was still not something Mimi could wield effortlessly at her current stage.

"In actual combat, the lighter the blade, the better—unless you want to lose strength after swinging it several hundred times in a row." Shiki asked, "Why didn't you choose a ninja sword? It's more practical for a ninja."

"I thought this one was prettier," Mimi said.

Mimi swung it a few times and still found it a little heavy.

"With your physical condition, three hundred full-force consecutive swings is your limit."

That was far stronger than an adult man on Earth.

That was normal. Setting Chakra aside, ninjas had 130 trillion body cells, while ordinary people only had forty to sixty trillion.

In the world of combat, body weight equaled destructive power.

A ninja's body density was two to three times that of an ordinary person. They weighed more, so naturally they were stronger.

"If you switched to a ninja sword, you could manage around two hundred more swings."

"Because it's longer," Mimi said.

"Why?"

"With my strength, slashing isn't suitable for me. Thrusting—a straight line being the shortest distance between two points—is the swordsmanship style that suits me."

Mimi spoke seriously.

"Looks like you've given it some serious thought." Old Man Shiki looked thoughtful.

At that moment, Mimi lightly pressed her hand against the blade and stroked it inch by inch. With the caress of her fingers, a vivid yet dangerous purple coating visibly spread over the sword.

Secret Technique: Poison Coating

"Secret Technique: Poison Coating," Mimi announced proudly.

Then she made a stabbing motion.

"One scratch and it's over." Old Man Shiho praised, "The Insect Princess has a sharper mind than you did back then."

Shiki said nothing.

If I'd known a technique like Poison Coating back then, would I have needed you to teach me?

She could only use it this way after gradually growing up, but her combat style and habits had long since taken shape.

There was no need to use swordsmanship.

So, how was he supposed to teach her swordsmanship?

"Insect Princess, tell us your specific thoughts."

Mimi sheathed her sword, though it was a little difficult because of her height.

"As for thoughts, I have a tiny little idea."

Tilting her head, Mimi said, "Just ora ora ora until it's done."

Shiho and Shiki were both full of question marks.

"Say it in words we can understand!"

"Oh~"