In some ways, Senior Kurumaji was quite a lot like Giyu.
That was what Sabito couldn't help thinking when he heard Xia Xi's reply.
He often said things that other people could easily misunderstand.
He clearly meant no harm, yet he said things as condescending as, "Come at me together. I'm short on time."
It really was a little infuriating.
The pink-haired boy smiled as he tightened his grip on his wooden sword.
"Then you'd better be careful, Senior."
Giyu, standing beside him, didn't mind. As far as he was concerned, both Sabito and Kurumazuka Natsumi were swordsmen far stronger than he was.
Xia Xi, meanwhile, saw absolutely nothing wrong with what he had said.
Whether it was his total attributes, which were approaching the sixty mark, or his Breathing Style, which was already in the latter half of LV.3,
both were higher than those of the two youngsters before him.
[Kurumazuka Natsumi (Power level: 59)] Wind Breathing LV.3 [Giyu Tomioka (Power level: 28)] Water Breathing LV.2 [Giyu Tomioka (Power level: 14)] Water Breathing LV.1
More precisely, his attributes were higher than theirs combined.
And that wasn't even counting the hidden bonuses provided by his extensive collection of life skills and passive traits.
Honestly, fighting them one-on-one would be a bit like bullying them.
They found a reasonably open space, and Sabito and Giyu took their stances.
"Senior, please show us what you've got!"
Knowing the gap in their strength, Sabito and Giyu didn't stand on ceremony. Sabito launched the first attack.
Taking advantage of his familiarity with the mountain forest, he decisively unleashed Water Breathing's Ninth Form.
[Water Splash Flurry]
Using the dense, complex terrain and a special pattern of footwork, Sabito darted swiftly through the trees.
Every step swept through like a rushing torrent, leaving a jumble of afterimages in his wake.
Senior's physical abilities are excellent. I can't take him head-on.
Sabito thought this as he moved at high speed, his gaze fixed on Xia Xi the entire time.
On the other side, Giyu Tomioka stood steadily in place, adopting a tight defensive stance.
One attacking, one defending?
Xia Xi noticed, but remained casual.
Dragging his wooden sword along, he walked straight toward Giyu.
Never mind that these two children's coordination was still awkward and immature. Even if they worked together perfectly,
they wouldn't stand a chance against the enormous gap in their stats.
As he walked, he thought, Since this is practice, should I go easy on them?
After all the time they had spent together, ending the fight as soon as it began would probably hurt their confidence.
"Don't get distracted, Senior!"
The voice came from behind him.
Sabito had already flashed behind Xia Xi, sweeping his wooden sword across without mercy or the slightest restraint.
Normally, it was difficult for a swordsman in such a relaxed state to defend against an attack from his blind spot.
But Sabito knew that Kurumazuka Natsumi was certainly an exception.
Sure enough, just as his slash was about to land,
sure enough, right before the blade touched him, Xia Xi turned sideways even faster.
He raised his sword and firmly blocked the blow.
Undeterred, Sabito smoothly chained into his next attacks without hesitation.
An entire year of harsh training, combined with his outstanding natural talent, had turned him into what seemed like a tireless slashing machine.
His techniques flowed together as he pressed forward relentlessly.
While blocking, Xia Xi raised an eyebrow slightly. Not bad. He's more tenacious than I expected.
[First Form: Water Surface Slash]
[Fourth Form: Striking Tide]
[Second Form: Water...]
His slashes stirred up surging waves, the wooden sword carrying his sword intent in an unending stream of attacks.
"An opening."
With Sabito putting all his strength into pressuring Xia Xi from the front, Giyu naturally wouldn't let this fleeting opportunity slip past.
He stepped forward and charged, opening with the fastest sword technique in Water Breathing.
[Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust]
The thrust was a fundamental sword technique, simple in execution yet possessing an exceptionally high ceiling.
Speed.
That was its greatest advantage.
Yet Xia Xi seemed not to notice it at all, continuing to calmly parry Sabito's wave-like slashes behind him.
The sharp cracks of clashing wooden swords came as thick and fast as a summer downpour.
Amid that rain of sound, Giyu had already lunged in front of Xia Xi.
...sselerac neeb sah roineS.
That was what Giyu thought.
His wooden sword became a cold streak of light, thrusting straight toward Xia Xi's arm.
The next second,
the world flipped upside down.
By the time Giyu came to his senses, an enormous force had already pressed him down onto one knee.
Xia Xi had also stamped his wooden sword out of his hand, grinding it deep into the dirt.
To Xia Xi, thrusts were the easiest attacks to deal with.
Especially when his own attributes held an overwhelming advantage across the board.
He caught the crucial frame when his opponent thrust, turned sideways to evade, and stepped forward at the same time to pin the weapon precisely beneath his foot.
It interrupted the rhythm of the attack while also locking down his opponent's movement.
This was [Parry] from action games!
"Don't space out," Xia Xi said calmly. "A katana isn't the only thing you can use in a fight."
Before he finished speaking, he sent Giyu out of the fight with a side kick, then raised his sword to block Sabito's overhead slash.
His counterpunch shot straight toward Sabito's face.
But the pink-haired boy followed his example, raising a foot to block it.
"Interesting."
He understood so quickly that fighting doesn't have to be limited to weapons?
The corners of Xia Xi's mouth lifted slightly.
He stopped using his Breathing Style and engaged Sabito in a pure, head-on exchange with nothing but his wooden sword.
He let the pink-haired boy pour out every sword technique and attack he had learned.
Xia Xi was like a reef standing amid raging waves, breaking every surge without moving an inch himself.
Every block and counterattack was simple and precise, as though he were silently breaking down and guiding each of Sabito's breaths and exertions.
"Watch my hands. You need to observe both hands to predict my next attack."
"Your footwork-don't keep using explosive leg power for too long. Moving around randomly only drains your stamina bar and needlessly adds recovery frames and openings."
"Keep your distance. Too close, and you can't put your strength into your attacks. Too far, and your slashes won't reach. Find the distance that feels right."
Even as they fought, he didn't forget to pass along the experience he had gained from his usual gaming.
Behind him, Giyu wasn't discouraged in the slightest either.
He quickly adjusted his stance and rejoined the fight.
He took a deep
breath and changed his fighting strategy.
[Tenth Form: Constant Flux]
This was one of Water Breathing's more powerful sword techniques. Its distinctive footwork and sword trajectories allowed each strike to build on the lingering momentum of the previous one.
The force accumulated layer by layer, each slash growing stronger.
Every slash in the continuous sequence became more powerful than the one before.
It was a sword technique that used finesse and skill, even incorporating an opponent's strength into its own attacks-a slash that overcame force with softness and strength with weakness.
At that moment, the black-haired boy was like a dancing water dragon.
At that moment, the black-haired boy was like a water dragon swimming upstream, disregarding the recoil as he crashed again and again into the silent reef that was Xia Xi.
One slash, two slashes, three slashes...
By the time he blocked the fourth blow, Xia Xi could clearly feel the force coming through the wooden sword growing noticeably heavier.
If he let it continue, after a dozen or so slashes, the force Giyu had accumulated would surpass his own.
But...
He turned his wooden sword lightly, first forcing Sabito back with a simple horizontal sweep.
Then his wrist gave a slight flick. Like the tip of a leaf lifted by the wind, his wooden sword's point struck precisely at the weakest point in Giyu's sword-wielding wrist as he exerted force.
As that deft force struck, the Uchiha boy felt his wrist go numb, and the momentum he had spent so long building instantly collapsed.
Naturally, his offensive could only come to an abrupt halt.
"Don't apply techniques rigidly."
"In a real fight, your enemy won't stand there waiting for you to fully stack your passive."
Giyu staggered half a step backward, a thoughtful look appearing on his face.
On the other side, Sabito's attacks were already coming at him again.
[Third Form: Flowing Dance]
This time, Xia Xi didn't even raise his sword to block.
Instead, he kept close to his opponent's wooden sword, repeatedly turning aside to evade. He let the attacks flow past him like water, yet none could ever truly land.
"No matter how powerful a sword technique is, it's still fundamentally a slash."
"If it doesn't hit, it means nothing."
"Sabito, stop rigidly inputting combos all the time. You don't need to think about beating me, either."
"Pay more attention to the paths of your own slashes and my movements. Try using whichever attack feels most comfortable and fastest to you, and see if you can touch me."
By now, the pink-haired boy also understood that Kurumaji was trying to teach him.
As he swung his wooden sword, Sabito answered emphatically, "Yes, Senior!"
Xia Xi didn't favor one over the other, turning to address Giyu as well.
"Don't just stand there. Support Sabito from the side, but don't block the paths of his slashes. Time your attacks around his slash cooldowns."
"Fast and slow strikes, alternating slashes-that gives you better skill coverage. That's what coordination actually means."
Giyu paused, then looked at Sabito.
Sabito gave him an encouraging look. "Let's attack together, Giyu! Just like we do in practice!"
The next second, the three of them were fighting again.
"So that's why you missed dinner today?"
He looked at the two youngsters before him, their faces covered in bruises, then at Kurumazuka Natsumi, who had only worked up a light sheen of sweat.
Urokodaki said helplessly, "Compared with Kurumaji, you still have a long way to go in your training."
"It's too soon for you to challenge him."
Sabito lifted his head, his eyes earnest and bright. "Master, I learned a great deal from Senior!"
Giyu nodded along and added a brief remark.
He said, "Senior is stronger than Sabito."
Wearing the Tengu Mask, Urokodaki shook his head gently.
"I'm not blaming you..." He turned to Xia Xi. "Kurumaji, sorry for the trouble."
Xia Xi had only just pulled his attention away from the "panel" that had appeared in his mind.
"Oh, it was no trouble."
"Sabito and Giyu are both very talented. Besides, I gained something from sparring with them, too."
[Giyu Tomioka (Power level: 28 → 29)] [Giyu Tomioka (Power level: 14 → 16)]
It wasn't just their attributes that had increased. Their Breathing Style experience progress had also risen slightly.
Of course, most importantly,
Xia Xi's own system panel had changed as well.
His progress toward learning Water Breathing had increased a little.
At the same time, he had activated a new life skill.
[Guidance LV.0 (56/250)] NEW Remaining achievement points: 8
Looking at it that way...
Maybe I should put these two boys through some high-intensity training every day?
That was what Xia Xi thought.
Before you continue