"Then, could you teach me?" Kohaku asked, her eyes shining.
At those words, Ginro and Kinro froze, then moved in unison to a spot a short distance behind Kohaku and frantically shook their heads at Chen Yu.
Their antics left Chen Yu dumbfounded.
Sensing something, Kohaku turned around and found Kinro and Ginro resting. She turned back to Chen Yu, her eyes still shining.
Kinro and Ginro immediately started shaking their heads at Chen Yu again.
Seeing that Chen Yu was still looking behind her, Kohaku turned around, only to find everything exactly as before.
"Don't you use short blades?" Chen Yu asked Kohaku. He remembered the sword hilt on her back and the two brushes she had used later when sparring with Kirisame. Kohaku seemed well suited to close combat, every punch landing solidly. She seemed to be a hand-to-hand fighter.
"Learning a little more... wouldn't hurt," Kohaku said awkwardly.
"It's exhausting, you know. Until you've mastered it, you can't slack off," Chen Yu told her with a smile.
"Don't worry. I'll definitely learn it!" Kohaku said excitedly.
Then...
Kohaku held a horse stance for two hours.
Ginro walked up to the disgruntled Kohaku and chuckled. "Oh, isn't this Kohaku? Why are you standing here without moving? Ahahahaha!"
Kohaku glared unhappily at Ginro. She was about to hit him when she remembered what Chen Yu had told her earlier: "You can't move, not even a little. If you can't get this stance right, there's no point practicing anything else."
Kohaku calmed the irritation Ginro's taunting had stirred up, settled her mind, and quietly maintained her horse stance.
Watching Kohaku from a short distance away, Chen Yu noticed a slight change in her posture, but it made little difference. She had potential.
"Don't I need to do that?" Miwa came over and asked.
"You've already built your foundation. You don't need it for now," Chen Yu said after looking her over.
"All right, I'll get back to work." With that, Miwa went over to Reiko and helped process the herbs.
"Chen Yu, come take a look. Is the sword case ready?" Kaseki called out to him.
Chen Yu paused at that. Already? How long had it been since he had asked?
Still, he hurried over and inspected the wooden box Kaseki handed him.
Then he pressed the mechanism, and half of the wooden lid sprang out on each side. An iron chain ran between the lids, holding them in place. To keep the weight down, the links had all been simplified.
There were several large gaps in the chain for holding swords.
"You said it was for storing swords, so I forged these. See if you can use them," Kaseki said, taking out three swords and handing them to Chen Yu.
Chen Yu took one and twirled it, examining the blade and hilt while testing its weight.
"Pretty good. These will work. When we have time, we can forge a few modeled after famous swords," Chen Yu said approvingly.
"Famous swords?" Kaseki asked, picking up on those words.
"Yes, famous swords. Every one of them is a fine weapon with a unique design or unusual properties," Chen Yu said after a moment's thought.
"Then, could you leave the forging of those swords to this old man?" Kaseki asked solemnly.
The fervor in his eyes was practically spilling out.
"Of course. And you could forge a sword of your own, too, old man Kaseki," Chen Yu said after considering it.
"My own... sword?" Kaseki stared blankly for a moment, then burst out of his clothes. "Then I'll forge a sword of my very own!"
Watching Kaseki, Chen Yu chuckled to himself. Hehe, a free sword.
Chen Yu put the three swords inside and slung the case onto his back. Then he quickly took it off, set it on the ground, and slapped it. The sword case opened, revealing the three swords. He hooked one with his hand and drew it into his grasp, then tried a few slashes. It worked well.
Then he returned the sword to the case to see whether he could perform a sword routine.
Afterward, Chen Yu told Miwa and Kohaku, "Watch closely. This sword is pretty impressive."
Miwa and Kohaku were puzzled. The commotion also drew over Kinro, Ginro, and the science research team.
Standing in the middle, Chen Yu set the sword case on the ground and pressed the switch. The case opened, revealing the three swords. He kicked one into the air, immediately used his footwork to launch into a flip, and caught it. Then he began performing the sword techniques he remembered learning.
Everyone stared at Chen Yu in astonishment. Was that something a human could do?
"What was that?" Kohaku asked in surprise.
"Those moves..." Ginro was curious, too.
"That was swordsmanship. Back when I was learning kung fu in my hometown, I specifically asked my parents to find me a teacher, then went to study under him," Chen Yu said after thinking for a moment.
"Can I learn it?" Kohaku asked excitedly. With this swordsmanship thing, could she become that powerful, too?
"It wouldn't suit you, Kohaku. But teaching you some close-quarters combat should work." Chen Yu thought back to his own martial arts training. For a while, his muscles had ached and his joints had kept dislocating. A hospital examination had revealed that his tendons and muscles were all out of alignment, and he had eventually spent some time recovering. Luckily, he had stopped pushing himself before that, or he might have needed corrective surgery. If they had operated to fix it, all the kung fu he had practiced might have gone to waste.
Only after asking several of his teachers had he learned that he had practiced too many conflicting styles. His muscles had been unable to adapt, resulting in that condition.
He had figured that if he learned enough, he could beat Tsukasa at close range and the scientist in America at long range. Whether he could dodge bullets was another matter, but why not give it a try?
Then he could give Tsukasa a beating and put an end to his survival-of-the-fittest thinking.
Then he could use a hidden weapon on that scientist in America, taking a life from a thousand miles away. Afterward, the two could make peace and work together on a spaceship. Getting into space would no longer be a problem.
Unfortunately, he had run out of time and never managed to integrate everything he had learned and put it to use.
What a pain.
Seeing Chen Yu's dejected expression, everyone felt downcast.
Senku and Gen exchanged a glance. This guy doesn't even qualify as human anymore.
"Then, with Chen Yu around, doesn't that mean we don't have to worry about that Long-Haired Man or Hyoga?" Chrome asked after thinking it over.
"Forget that idea. Whatever I do from now on, don't put me in a combat role. I'm just support. I handle logistics, and nothing else is my responsibility. I'm terrible at fighting, and I don't want to fight." Chen Yu cut Chrome off, waving his hands.
Everyone silently looked down on Chen Yu.
Before you continue