Practical Sparring

After chatting for a while, Fukai brought Tamura Hiroshi to a training ground in the village.

For ninjas, verbal understanding was always superficial. To truly understand a ninja, one had to start with combat.

"Attack me with your strongest technique."

Drawing the Ninja Sword from his back, Fukai gestured for Tamura Hiroshi to attack with all his strength. He wanted to see the boy's limits so he could teach him properly afterward.

Tamura Hiroshi said nothing more. He activated the Sealing Object Spell on his arm guards, and two long blades appeared, which he grabbed.

"These blades!"

Fukai was slightly surprised when he saw the two extraordinarily long blades. Blades of this length were rarely seen. Even the samurai of the Land of Iron seldom used weapons this long.

In shape, they resembled Ninja Swords and samurai swords, but they were much longer. The longer one was about 1.6 meters, while the shorter one was still 1.2 meters.

Ninja Swords were generally less than a meter long. Only then could they be used for flexible attacks. Both of these blades exceeded a meter, and their hilts were also quite long, making them suitable for two-handed use and powerful cleaving strikes.

Their blades were also straighter than those of Ninja Swords and samurai swords, while the tips had a smaller angle, making them suitable for thrusting.

At the same time, chains connected the ends of both hilts to the elbow sections of the arm guards. This allowed him to use the strength of his entire arms to increase the power of his slashes while reducing the strain on his wrists, effectively giving him a two-handed grip on the hilts.

After seeing the shape of the two blades, Fukai roughly figured out the attack style that suited them.

"Teacher Fukai, I'm coming!"

With the blades in hand, Tamura Hiroshi spoke before decisively consuming the Power of Destiny to raise his comprehension, using it to improve his control over every aspect.

Increased comprehension was useful for more than cultivation. It was also highly effective in battle, as though he had entered a sage-like state—free of distracting desires, more rational, and far more perceptive.

The Super Strength Technique he had comprehended and cultivated over half a month was concentrated in his legs. Then he fiercely pushed off and charged forward.

"Super Strength Slash!"

The Great Miao in his left hand swept horizontally. The Little Miao in his right hand braced against the back of the Great Miao to add force, while the Super Strength Technique was likewise applied to both arms.

"Quite fast!"

Fukai was slightly surprised by the speed Tamura Hiroshi unleashed and raised his blade to block.

"Clang!"

The blades collided, but instead of a crisp ring, they produced a muffled impact, showing how tremendous the force behind the collision was.

"Super Strength Barrage!"

Knowing that his Chakra Quantity was limited, Tamura Hiroshi did not pause for even a moment. He immediately swung both blades, launching a continuous series of slashes and thrusts.

This was the killing move he had been pondering ever since he began cultivating the Twin Blades style.

He had drawn inspiration from the dual-wielding combo style in the Sword Art Online next door. The idea was to suppress the opponent with sword techniques and continue the barrage until breaking through the enemy's guard and defense to injure them.

This was the most suitable blade technique for a beginner, and it also suited a ninja like him who specialized in Taijutsu.

Of course, it was not a random barrage. Every strike targeted places where it was difficult for the opponent to brace or exert force, and even areas with openings. The attacks were extremely tricky.

Over the past half month, he had not only used his increased comprehension to cultivate his Chakra control. He had also further refined his swordsmanship, resulting in a considerable increase in strength.

Fukai was even more surprised. He could tell that even a Chunin would suffer if caught at close range by this barrage, unless they specialized in Taijutsu.

Moreover, the edges of those two blades were terrifyingly sharp. They had even damaged the blade of his Ninja Sword, and ordinary Kunai would probably be cut in half.

Fortunately, he was a Jōnin—and a Jōnin who had devoted himself to cultivating Nintaijutsu.

Fukai accurately parried each strike while intently observing the young man's attacks and fighting style. He soon noticed something strange.

The swordsmanship of his two hands was not the same. This was not the typical Twin Blades style of one hand attacking while the other defended. Instead, they were two different types of swordsmanship that could coordinate with each other and make up for the shortcomings between their techniques, giving Fukai the feeling of being attacked by two people.

"Using two minds at once!"

He understood immediately. This was the technique of splitting one's mind in two.

This technique of dividing one's attention was most commonly used by the Puppet Masters of Sunagakure. They needed to control puppets with precision, so they often cultivated techniques for dividing their minds.

He had heard that the elder Chiyo of Sunagakure could control ten puppets simultaneously, with each puppet capable of matching a Jōnin. It was truly terrifying.

This child had cultivated the technique of splitting his mind in two to a high level. He had clearly put considerable effort into it.

Then there was the strength of his Super Strength Technique. Its application was impressive, comparable to the explosive power of some Taijutsu-specialized Chunins.

Aside from that, Fukai could also see that the child was improving. His sword movements were becoming increasingly fluid. He was a combat genius capable of growing stronger in actual battles.

His powerful explosive force, swordsmanship that split his mind in two, sharp long blades, and battle awareness were all enough to match a Taijutsu-type Chunin.

"I wonder how long he can keep it up!"

Fukai muttered inwardly. He could tell that this was a special explosive state. Combined with the boy's Chakra Quantity, it would not last long.

Tamura Hiroshi did not think about any of that. He focused entirely on his offensive. The Great Miao in his left hand emphasized chopping, with thrusting as a secondary attack, while the Little Miao in his right hand did the opposite, emphasizing thrusts and using slashes as support. Its attacks were more agile and varied.

This was the main reason he had chosen the form of a Chinese Saber rather than a samurai sword or Ninja Sword.

Samurai swords and Ninja Swords both emphasized slashing and chopping, so their blades had a greater curve, especially through the middle.

Although this structure made chopping easier, preventing the blade from deforming under impact and allowing force to be applied more effectively, it also weakened their thrusting ability. Some blades even lost the ability to thrust because of their excessive curve. Forcing a thrust could instead bend the blade or even snap it.

Compared with them, a Chinese Saber had a somewhat straighter blade, especially through the center. Only the tip curved more sharply, and even then, not by much.

Combined with the small angle of the tip, this made it highly suitable for thrusting.

Among the uses of various weapons, thrusts were the most difficult to defend against, especially thrusts from long weapons. Even Fukai could only knock them aside again and again.

Of course, a blade that favored straightness could easily twist under powerful slashes, making it inferior to a samurai sword in that regard.

However, money could solve that problem. He had spent quite a lot on these two long blades. Their blade strength was extremely high, and they used a gradually thinning structure. The tips were the thinnest, while the sections near the hilts were the thickest, reaching a full centimeter and greatly increasing the blade strength.

Even under the explosive force of his current Super Strength Technique, the blades showed no sign of bending or trembling.

If he learned Lightning Release Ninjutsu in the future and infused the blades with it, their sharpness would become even more terrifying.

Strictly speaking, Tamura Hiroshi had forged these two blades for using Lightning Release Ninjutsu in the future. They were also made from Chakra Conductive Metal, which was more compatible with Lightning Release.

"I'm going to counterattack!"

After basically adapting to Tamura Hiroshi's attack style, Fukai spoke, then decisively stepped forward and slashed.

There was nothing flashy about his swordsmanship. It had only one characteristic: speed. He moved so fast that Tamura Hiroshi saw only a streak of blade light before the blade was already in front of him.

He instinctively twisted his body and used his shoulder guard to block the strike. At the same time, when Fukai turned his blade sideways and swept it toward his head, the Little Miao in Tamura Hiroshi's right hand had already moved to block. Borrowing the force, he retreated while sweeping the Great Miao in his left hand horizontally. He twisted his body and kicked out with his left leg, striking the back of the Great Miao hard to increase the power of the slash.

"Clang!"

Fukai swung his blade to block, then used even greater explosive force to knock the Great Miao aside. He stepped forward again and brought his blade down.

This was where the strength of a Jōnin truly showed. Although Fukai still had not used Lightning Release Ninjutsu and was merely using Chakra to stimulate his muscles and bones to increase his explosive power, the strength and speed he displayed were far beyond what Tamura Hiroshi could match.

More importantly, Fukai possessed battle experience forged through countless fights, while Tamura Hiroshi, despite constantly painstakingly cultivating his swordsmanship, had mostly been chopping at rocks and wooden posts.

Fukai's previous passive defense had not mattered much, but once he took the initiative, he immediately disrupted Tamura Hiroshi's attacking rhythm.

With every step Fukai advanced, Tamura Hiroshi retreated one step. His blocks became increasingly difficult and awkward, and his arms began to ache and go numb.

After retreating ten steps in a row, both of Tamura Hiroshi's arms finally became completely numb, making it difficult for him to exert force. Fukai's next slash came down once more.

It was still as fast as lightning, so fast that Tamura Hiroshi could barely see it. Without the support of his arms and Twin Blades, he could no longer evade the strike.