In the arena at Kuja Castle, Tashigi faced off against a female warrior of the Kuja Tribe wielding a pirate's cutlass.
Thanks to the Learning Device Sephiroth had given her, Tashigi's overall Haki proficiency now ranked in the upper-middle range among the Kuja warriors.
"Begin!"
The referee's command rang out.
Tashigi leaned forward and shot out like an arrow loosed from its bow. Her tachi became a straight streak of cold light, thrusting toward the Kuja warrior's chest. It pierced the air with a shrill whistle.
Her opening move, a seigan thrust, made Sephiroth's eye twitch in the stands.
"So her style is actually 'Shinsen-ryu.'"
Besides Sephiroth, Baby 5, Uta, and Marguerite were seated beside him in the stands.
Baby 5 kept bustling around, unable to sit still, so Sephiroth had simply "ordered" her to sit beside him and stop moving.
Uta and Baby 5 sat on either side of him.
Watching Baby 5 cling to Sephiroth, Uta wore a complicated, tomboyish expression, equal parts indignant pride and smug, petulant charm.
It made Sephiroth's neck itch, as though arrows were poking into it.
Marguerite sat on Uta's other side. She had been acting as a guide for Uta and the others lately.
She noticed the troubled expression on her revered Great Angel's face, but did not dare say much.
"Yes, Lord Sephi~ Tashigi has been practicing light, quick moves that don't require contests of strength lately."
Baby 5 had spent more time with Tashigi recently, and they had attended quite a few close-combat training sessions together.
This so-called "Shinsen-ryu" was actually a collection of flashy moves based on Tennen Rishin-ryu that Sephiroth had dug out of his memories of various anime and manga.
He had pieced them together into rudimentary action modules, then had the Artificial Angels continually refine them