Unlike the shocked siblings in the garden, Yoriichi, who had defeated the sword instructor with unbelievable strength, felt no joy or pride whatsoever.
He looked down at the bamboo sword in his hand and unhesitatingly dropped it to the ground, turning to leave.
He hated this feeling of hitting someone with a bamboo sword, hated this act of hurting others.
"Yo-Yoriichi! Wait!"
At this moment, Michikatsu, who had finally come back to his senses, hurriedly reached out to stop him.
"What did you... just do?"
Perhaps Michikatsu himself didn't even notice that at this moment, the care and affection he had previously felt for his younger brother were gradually fading from his eyes.
Replacing them were strange looks and the jealousy that was growing vigorously.
"What is older brother asking about?"
Yoriichi stopped and asked, his eyes still so clear and hollow.
But for some reason, these eyes that Michikatsu had long been accustomed to suddenly made him feel... somewhat disgusted.
What does that look mean?
Do you know what you just did?
You defeated that sword instructor with superb swordsmanship! This is something even I, your older brother, have never accomplished!
Shouldn't you be... rejoicing and feeling proud about this right now?!
What does that look of complete indifference mean?!
"I mean just now... how exactly did you knock him down?
Your speed, and your sword technique... what exactly..."
Under the intense impact of reality, Michikatsu couldn't even form a complete sentence at this moment, stammering as he spoke.
But Yoriichi still understood what Michikatsu wanted to ask.
So without any concealment, he calmly began to explain:
"Before the opponent makes a move, their lungs will have very obvious changes. By observing the flow of the opponent's blood, the contraction of muscles, and the movement of bones, one can accurately predict the opponent's attack.
By the same principle, by expanding our lungs, enhancing the blood flow speed in our body, muscle contraction, and bone movement, this can also allow our body to burst out with astonishing power in an instant..."
Yoriichi explained very seriously, but Michikatsu completely didn't understand.
What?
Lungs? Blood? Muscles? Bones?
What... is this guy even talking about?
Although Michikatsu didn't understand, Mitsuba, as a transmigrator, understood.
She looked at Yoriichi with an unbelievable gaze and subconsciously asked:
"Brother Yoriichi, can your eyes... see through our bodies?"
Hearing this, a trace of confusion appeared in Yoriichi's hollow eyes.
"Mitsuba, can't you do it?"
We can't do it?
So you can do it?
So only you can do it?!
Yoriichi's calm and matter-of-fact rhetorical question completely crushed Michikatsu's heart.
"Uraaaah!"
With a look as if seeing a monster, staring dead at Yoriichi before him, Michikatsu subconsciously stepped back twice, shouting as he turned and fled from here as fast as he could.
"Older brother Michikatsu!"
Mitsuba subconsciously wanted to chase after him, but saw that at this moment, Yoriichi's face also showed a sorrowful expression.
He seemed to finally realize at this moment that he had unintentionally done something that would deeply hurt his older brother.
Looking at Michikatsu's fleeing figure, he instinctively raised his hand wanting to stop him, but in the end still gently lowered it.
Perhaps he thought it wasn't necessary.
Or perhaps, he felt he didn't have the qualification...
In any case, Yoriichi ultimately didn't chase after Michikatsu, but silently turned around and walked back alone to the small house he had lived in since childhood.
"Brother Yoriichi..."
The two older brothers walked in opposite directions with their backs to each other, leaving only Mitsuba standing alone in the garden, not knowing who she should chase after.
She suddenly realized that bringing Brother Yoriichi to watch Brother Michikatsu practice swordsmanship was likely a mistake.
A terrible mistake.
Looking down and seeing the bamboo sword that Yoriichi had dropped on the ground beside her feet, as if summoned by some unknown force, Mitsuba subconsciously stepped forward and picked it up.
The bamboo sword was somewhat heavy in her hand, and the handle was stained with dark red spots—this was the blood left from when Brother Michikatsu's palms were blistered.
In her mind, Yoriichi's lightning-fast sword-swinging movements from before replayed repeatedly at this moment.
Mitsuba opened her eyes wide, nearly instinctively raising the bamboo sword, and according to her memory, began to imitate Yoriichi's movements.
Stepping forward, first swinging the sword in continuous chops, then thrusting forward, then twisting her body, using the power of her waist to drive her arm and then the bamboo sword in her hand, delivering a final horizontal slash...
In the garden, Mitsuba repeatedly performed the moves Yoriichi had just done according to her memory. Her movements were completely accurate, every strike and every step achieving the optimal degree.
With each repetition, her sword-swinging movements became smoother and faster.
Brother Yoriichi's techniques were so perfect, so natural.
Although they looked like very ordinary sword moves, when performing them, Mitsuba could feel that all the muscles in her body seemed to be evenly and fully mobilized in this process.
At this moment, she felt no fatigue, no soreness, only the full comfort of her entire meridians seeming to be instantly opened.
Until finally, Mitsuba even directly closed her eyes, emptied her mind, letting her body's muscle memory continue to drive her to perform these sword moves.
Gradually, she could no longer feel the weight of the bamboo sword in her hand, and her footwork became lighter and lighter.
Time passed without knowing how long.
It could have been several hours, or perhaps just an instant.
In the darkness with her eyes closed, Mitsuba suddenly felt that she could "see"...
As if she had suddenly grown "another eye," allowing her consciousness to instantly penetrate the surrounding darkness and clearly perceive everything around her.
She heard the sound of wind—the air currents created by her sword swings.
She heard the gurgling sound of water—the flow of blood within her body.
She heard the rumbling sound of drums—the violent beating of her heart.
She saw a body composed of numerous internal organs, muscles, and bones, with bright red blood rushing back and forth within it—this was the sword instructor still unconscious on the ground.
She also saw, beneath the sword instructor's skin, those muscles gradually swelling and bruising from the fierce blows of Brother Yoriichi.
She saw everything!
At this moment, everything in the world seemed to have nowhere to hide from her eyes!
What is this? Where is she? What happened to her?
Is this... the world of gods?
Mitsuba didn't know, and at this moment she didn't want to think about these questions.
Right now, she only wanted to immerse herself in this transparent world, to feel the wonderful sensations this world brought her, until...
"Mitsuba!"