Gentle Fist Art

After the pre-battle trash talk ended, the two advanced toward each other with their swords drawn.

Unlike Tsunade and Nami's explosive opening, and unlike the impatient eagerness of ordinary students, neither of them was in a hurry.

They approached each other slowly and calmly, moving in perfect tacit understanding.

As the distance narrowed, a solemn, murderous tension naturally spread through the air.

In Kendo, there was an interesting concept called Maai.

It referred to the effective attack distance, as well as the distance between both sides.

Viewed from the side, the Maai between two people was obvious at a glance. But when the view shifted to the front, the sense of distance between the two opponents became difficult to control.

Mastering maai meant mastering distance, whether near or far. That was mastering kendo.

This was the most crucial point in Kendo.

That was what Kendo was all about.

To an opponent, the Maai was far; to oneself, the Maai was close. Grasping that sense of distance was Kendo.

Thus, advancing meant either entering the opponent's Maai or entering one's own.

Speed was not important. What mattered was grasping the subtle distance and actually cutting the opponent.

Then how could one enter the Maai that was closest to oneself?

There were many ways. First, one's stance was extremely important. Next came discernment; having keener eyesight than one's opponent was just as important.

There was also a simpler and more brutal method.

Extend the Maai.

As the two approached, Chiri carefully estimated the distance between them.

Ten meters, five meters, three meters...

At that instant, Chiri's brow suddenly twitched.

This distance!?

Hitomi moved, drawing her sword and slashing forward in the same instant.

Had she made a mistake!?

Before her mind could catch up, her body instinctively reacted. As she halted her advance, she narrowly leaned backward.

A dazzling blade flashed before her eyes, tracing a crescent through the air. A strand of hair at her forehead was severed by the blade.

A chill flashed across her brow.

By then, Hitomi had already sheathed her sword. In her side-facing attack stance, her right hand hovered over the hilt.

"Tch." Hitomi clicked her tongue coldly, slightly disappointed.

The distance between them was still more than three meters.

Chiri was certain she had not made a mistake.

She had misjudged the Maai.

But she had still made a mistake—she had misjudged Hitomi's Maai.

This distance was within Hitomi's attack range.

Absurdly long!

That meant Chiri's sword could not reach her at all.

What had just happened?

How had she done that?

The ninjas nearby who had seen through some of it began discussing in low voices.

"Was that a technique that extended the attack distance?"

"How did she do it?"

But many still could not understand.

Then a Hyuga ninja suddenly cried out in a low voice.

"Gentle Fist Art!"

He had recognized the true nature of Hitomi's move.

A high-density release of Chakra.

Chiri had no time to pay attention to that anymore, because Hitomi had already charged at her like a storm.

"Secret Sword: Thirty-Two Slashes."

As Hitomi lunged forward, she drew her sword and unleashed an unending barrage of rapid slashes, striking at all of Chiri's vital points.

Fast—extremely fast!

So fast that her arm became a mass of Phantom, and so fast that the sword itself vanished amid the continuous shadows of the blade.

Because she knew how difficult this was, Nami, watching from the sidelines, could not help being astonished.

That girl had raised her sword speed to this level using nothing but wrist strength.

Was that sword made of paper?

Even if it were made of paper, that would still be ridiculous!

Facing the deadly storm, Chiri continuously dodged backward. Wielding her sword with both hands, she deflected and blocked each attack, barely resisting Hitomi's one-handed assault through sheer sword speed.

Sparks from the colliding blades leaped and flickered around them, while successive clashes of ringing steel filled the air without pause.

The fierce sword dance was dazzling yet filled with danger. One careless move would result in being severed from head to toe.

In a sudden instant, the battle reached its climax.

Exquisitely dazzling sword techniques bloomed silently before their eyes, leaving the spectators staring wide-eyed with their mouths agape.

Even Tsunade wore a solemn expression. Compared with Nami's swordsmanship, facing this kind of swordsmanship meant she might well be cut down in a single exchange.

Although there were no overwhelmingly destructive techniques on display, the danger was even greater!

"Impossible! This is impossible!"

The Hyuga ninja from earlier muttered to himself.

He could not accept the scene before his eyes!

As for the reason—

"This can't possibly be Gentle Fist Art!"

And yet it truly was Gentle Fist Art.

The main family's secret foundation: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!

Because she was wielding the sword with one hand, the density of the two-handed fist technique had fallen, being reduced to Thirty-Two Slashes.

But it was just as fast!

This shattered the worldview the Hyuga ninja had built since childhood. Simply by picking up a sword, Gentle Fist Art had completely shed the calm and defensive traits of fist techniques, transforming into a brutal and vicious sword style!

So this was impossible!

He refused to believe that the Gentle Fist he had practiced since childhood was fake!

He would never believe that what stood before him was the true face of Gentle Fist!

The others paid no attention to his thoughts.

At this moment, the wave of thirty-two rapid slashes ended. Chiri used her Twin Blades to evade and barely blocked every attack.

She then consciously pulled away from Hitomi, creating a safe distance.

Both bent slightly at the waist, panting heavily as they recovered from the immense burst of stamina they had expended in an instant.

"This girl!"

Hitomi was deeply shocked that Chiri had blocked her killing move without a sound.

Chiri was equally shocked by Hitomi's swordsmanship.

When her narrowed eyes opened again, their blood-red color had already returned to ordinary black.

Ah, this is a move I can't learn.

At most, she could imitate its form. She lacked the conditions to reproduce its essence.

Ultra-precise Chakra release and control.

Like Tsunade's Monster Strength and Nami's insects, it required extremely demanding conditions to execute.

The principle itself was surprisingly simple.

Then, she would try this move.

Watching Hitomi, Chiri slowly lowered her body until she was lying flat against the ground.

Insect Secret Technique: Centipede Dance: Devouring Dust.

She clenched the short sword between her teeth.

Her left hand was freed to control her changes in direction.

The moment she lay down, Chiri noticed something wrong.

Her vision!

She had completely lost her field of vision!

She had to crane her head up with great effort just to see anything at all.

How had Nami solved this problem?

This move did not suit her. Still, this level was barely sufficient.

"Chiri learns quickly, doesn't she? That convenient Sharingan." Nami laughed. "My technique isn't that simple."

"A clever little girl." Third Hokage spoke around his cigarette. "Against swordsmanship with a fixed structure, Insect Princess's move is its natural nemesis. Its extremely low attack angle will inevitably force the opponent to disrupt their own structure, drastically reducing the power of their sword techniques."

Third Hokage did not understand Kendo very well, but he knew that Nami's move itself was a perfect interpretation of Maai, taking the most important element—stance—and pushing its unorthodox application to the extreme.

Close to oneself.

Far from the opponent.

Tsunade had suffered because she did not understand Maai.

This was no longer human swordsmanship. Or rather, would an ordinary human even think of such swordsmanship?

"They're both geniuses." Third Hokage's eyes were full of cheerful amusement.

Although Chiri had done it without making a sound, being able to directly withstand Hitomi's sword techniques was remarkable in itself.

However...

"Why isn't she using Fire Release?" a ninja familiar with the Uchiha asked. "Does she not know how?"

"Hmph!" an Uchiha answered. "Of course she's going to defeat her opponent head-on with a sword!"

Defeating an opponent with their own ability.

Uchiha-style pride and malicious fun.

"I'll give you some advice!" Hitomi said coldly to Chiri. "Nami's move is useless against me!"

"That's not it!"

"Insect Princess's move is useless against me!"

There was only one person in the class who would call Nami by her name.

That person was Chiri.

Calling someone directly by their name was a sign of intimacy.

The look Chiri gave Hitomi became strange.

"How would you know without trying?"

"Then come and get me!"