"There's an opening!" A sharp gleam flashed in the eyes beneath the white-clad warrior's mask. Just as Ajisai was about to emerge from the Body Flicker Technique and regain control of his body, the warrior's blade flashed. A streak of white halted before Ajisai—but not because his opponent had held back. Several steel puppets had blocked the swift strike.
"The flat of the blade? He wasn't serious?" Ajisai noticed that the white-clad warrior had struck with the back of his blade, allowing the puppets to stop it. It seemed the warrior before him truly had some skill.
"This is interesting. I'll take him on..." Ando had been rather reluctant at first, but after seeing the skill Haku had displayed, his hands began to itch. An expert recognized an expert; judging from the ability Haku showed in every movement, he was undoubtedly a master swordsman.
Ando charged forward, gripping the short blade at his waist diagonally in one hand. He might not have learned much else, but the unwilling look on his face was quite similar to Darui's.
"Excuse me..." The white-clad warrior did not stop moving. He swung another slash backhanded; before the blade arrived, its cold glint did. The angle was exceptionally tricky, cutting diagonally toward Ajisai's left shoulder.
To Ajisai, the slash was too fast to evade. Although Kazeki's powerful sensory abilities allowed her to see the blade's trajectory clearly, her body would never be able to keep up with her reaction.
Yet Ando seemed to trip over a stone beneath his feet. After accidentally spinning around, he perfectly avoided the slash. His movements were so natural that it looked as though the man had genuinely stumbled into good luck.
After turning around, Ando casually threw several shuriken at the warrior.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!" Every shuriken flying amid