"I am Sato Soichiro, the Shihan here."
Sato Shihan's voice was resonant. His gaze lingered on Kawakami Tomie for a moment, and he frowned slightly.
"You want to learn the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu?"
No matter how he looked at it, he didn't feel that such a delicate and charming girl could endure the hardships of learning the sword.
"Yes. I previously learned modern Kendo, but I wish to pursue further studies in a school of Ancient Swordsmanship with greater practical combat capability."
Amamiya Rin bowed slightly, his tone sincere.
"You have learned before?"
Sato Shihan looked at Kawakami Tomie's slender, fair arms. There were no muscle lines at all, and her fingers bore not a single callus left by sword practice.
She probably fished for three days and dried nets for two—just learned for a few days, Sato Shihan thought to himself, but he did not point it out explicitly.
He simply lifted his chin, gesturing toward the bamboo sword rack in the corner of the dojo.
"Go get a bamboo sword and assume the Chudan stance."
Before his voice had even faded, a young disciple nearby had already run over. He took down the lightest bamboo sword from the wooden rack and diligently delivered it into Kawakami Tomie's hands.
Amamiya Rin accepted the bamboo sword and adjusted his stance. His feet were shoulder-width apart, left foot slightly forward, knees bent but not locked. The bamboo sword lay horizontally across his chest, the blade tip pointing diagonally upward. His elbows naturally tucked close to his waist. His breathing quietly slowed; every inhalation caused his abdomen to rise and fall slightly, echoing the power points in his arms.
"What a stable stance!"
The arms Sato Shihan had originally crossed over his chest loosened slightly. His eyes widened involuntarily as he praised in surprise.
He had practiced Kendo for decades and taught disciples for ten years. A novice's Chudan stance was usually either stiff or loose, but this young girl before him... The angle of the bamboo sword was precise to the millimeter, and the fingers gripping the sword used no superfluous force. Most rare of all was that sense of stability—like a rooted tree. Despite her frail body, she gave off the impression that she could not be moved.
This stance suggested at least ten years of modern Kendo practice.
"Bring a bamboo sword over."
Sato Shihan ordered the young disciple.
The young disciple hurriedly ran to the corner, retrieved a bamboo sword, and handed it to Sato Shihan.
Sato Shihan grasped the bamboo sword. With a slight sink of his wrist, the bamboo sword stopped steadily in the Chudan stance position, the blade tip pointing at Kawakami Tomie.
"Attack. Use the technique you are most familiar with. Let me see how your foundation is so I can formulate a teaching plan."
The shouting in the dojo had quieted down at some point. The disciples' movements slowed, their gazes drifting toward this side, seemingly unintentional yet attentive.
Amamiya Rin nodded, the fingers gripping the bamboo sword slightly adjusting their pressure points.
In the state of Dhyana, the sounds in the dojo seemed to slow down. The disciples' breathing, the lingering echoes of clashing bamboo swords, and even the subtle sound of Sato Shihan's cuffs rubbing against his gi clearly fell within his perception.
He did not rush to strike. His left foot probed first, followed closely by his right. The stride was not large, but it maintained the distance between both parties.
When Sato Shihan's position entered Kawakami Tomie's attack range, Amamiya Rin suddenly thrust the bamboo sword forward. The sword tip grazed the air, going straight for Sato Shihan's throat, the angle so tricky it was unavoidable.
Sato Shihan's gaze sharpened instantly. He flipped his wrist, the bamboo sword blocking vertically in front of him.
With a crisp ding, the collision of the blades numbed Amamiya Rin's palm.
But Amamiya Rin did not stop in the slightest. Borrowing the reaction force, his left foot retreated half a step.
The bamboo sword sank with the momentum, the blade sliding against Sato Shihan's bamboo sword toward his waist.
"Fast reaction."
Sato Shihan gave a low grunt. While shifting his right foot sideways, he pressed his bamboo sword down, accurately knocking Amamiya Rin's bamboo sword off course.
In the next second, his bamboo sword suddenly thrust forward, pointing straight at Kawakami Tomie's chest. It was an ordinary middle-level thrust, simple yet sealing off all escape routes.
However, relying on the realm of observation, Amamiya Rin had long since predicted his force exertion from Sato Shihan's small movements.
Amamiya Rin borrowed the momentum to retract his sword. Using a circular step to circle to Sato Shihan's side, he slashed the bamboo sword down in a Kesa-giri, the target locked precisely on the opponent's right wrist gripping the sword.
Sato Shihan hurriedly sank his wrist to evade. The bamboo sword grazed the cuff of his gi, the airflow raising a pleat in the black fabric.
"Such fast adaptation!"
The disciples who were sparring stopped their movements. They still held their bamboo swords up, but their eyes were fixed dead on the center of the arena.
The surprise in Sato Shihan's heart grew even stronger.
He had originally thought the opponent had merely practiced some flower-arranging martial arts for a few years—after all, she didn't even have calluses. But after these few exchanges, every move was aimed at practical combat. There were no superfluous movements; every strike was accurate and ruthless.
Amamiya Rin did not hesitate. The moment the bamboo sword grazed the gi, he turned his wrist slightly. Borrowing the inertia of his sideways body turn, the bamboo sword stabbed straight toward Sato Shihan's right ribs using a drawing technique.
Sato Shihan's eyes turned cold. His right foot retreated a small half-step, and he pressed his bamboo sword down diagonally. The back of the blade struck the side of Amamiya Rin's bamboo sword precisely—the force was not heavy, yet it deflected the attack into empty space just right.
The moment the bamboo sword was knocked away, Amamiya Rin perceived the change in Sato Shihan's strength through Dhyana observation. Just as he wanted to retract the sword and change moves, Sato Shihan pressed forward.
Rooting his right foot firmly in front, Sato Shihan's left hand left the hilt and shot out. His fingertips accurately clamped onto Kawakami Tomie's back of the hand, locking her power point like iron pliers.
"That will do. Sparring over."
Only after speaking did Sato Shihan release Kawakami Tomie's wrist and retreat two steps.
The dojo was quiet for two seconds, and then it exploded with noise. The disciples discussed animatedly, their gazes toward Kawakami Tomie filled with disbelief.
"She... she just exchanged several moves with the Shihan?"
"That's not an ordinary novice, is it? That footwork, that angle of attack..."
"She actually forced the Shihan to use a wrist lock! That's the foundation of Mutodori!"
The disciples had all practiced for some years and their eyesight was not poor; naturally, they could see the intricacies within that brief engagement.
This beautiful young girl, who looked delicate enough to be blown over by a gust of wind, had attacked with such sharp and seasoned ferocity.
Sato Shihan ignored the disciples' commotion. His gaze swept over Kawakami Tomie's palm again.
The slender fingers had no calluses, and the skin was as tender as tofu. It was a palm so beautiful that a murderer would risk being beaten to a pulp just to take it away.
This was not a palm that practiced the sword.
"Your Kendo foundation is very solid—no, it's not a foundation. To train to your level in modern competitive Kendo would take at least ten-plus years. Moreover, every move went straight for the vitals; concise and efficient. It has the style of Ancient Swordsmanship. Without experiencing hundreds of life-and-death duels, one absolutely cannot train this kind of swordsmanship."
Sato Shihan critiqued Amamiya Rin's swordsmanship with uncertainty.
In his eyes, Kawakami Tomie was peculiar from head to toe. Such a beautiful girl could not possibly have trained to this level of Kendo.
"Because I am a genius."
Using Kawakami Tomie's body, Amamiya Rin spoke without blushing or a racing heart.
"That makes sense... or not! Forget it!"
Sato Shihan had wanted to affirm Amamiya Rin's words, because Kendo geniuses were not rare, but as soon as the words left his mouth, the problem arose.
One could be a genius in Kendo level, but what about practical combat level? Without undergoing thousands of practical battles, it was impossible to strike so accurately and ruthlessly.
But Sato Shihan did not delve deeper. Everyone had their own secrets. The current master-apprentice relationship was not like ancient times; there was no need to get to the bottom of things.
____
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