"Black cat, outsi-"
*Thump!*
Ay's fist landed squarely on Killer Bee's head, cutting his rap short.
It was like the kid never learned. Ay knew that if he let Bee finish that rhyme with a 'fool' or 'bastard,' Takeshi's response would be a lot worse than a simple punch.
"Your brother is just saving you from a real beating," Takeshi said bluntly. "If I decided to hit you, no one here could stop me, meow."
The moment the words left his mouth, the surrounding Kumogakure ninja bristled. He was talking to Ay, their future Raikage! But after the initial surge of anger, a grim reality set in. What could they do?
Their last major failure had been at the hands of two Konoha ninja, after all. And in a one-on-one fight, even the Third Raikage had been nearly killed by this cat. Ay was powerful, but he still wasn't on the level of his father in his prime.
That didn't stop them from cursing Takeshi in their hearts, of course.
'Let them glare,' Takeshi thought, unconcerned. 'Idiots who only curse you in their heads aren't worth the energy. If they had any real nerve, they'd say it to my face and see what happens.'
Killer Bee stewed in silence for a long moment before finally blurting out, "Big bro, you basta-"
*Thump!*
Another punch landed. Ay's method of education was nothing if not direct.
Rubbing his head, Killer Bee went right back to his swordsmanship practice. He was fixated on mastering this Seven-Sword Style and refused to be deterred.
Takeshi watched from the side. The style, known as Acrobat: Seven Swords Dance, involved controlling seven blades at once. Once mastered, it would be a terrifying kenjutsu. Only a ninja as unconventional and wildly imaginative as Killer Bee could even conceive of such a style, let alone attempt to wield it.
At the moment, however, he was a long way from mastery, his movements still clumsy and unrefined.
"Bee, this sword style is pointless," a Kumogakure Jonin sighed. "It leaves too many openings."
"With enough speed I can easily make my enemies bleed," Killer Bee insisted, pushing himself harder.
Ay hadn't tried to stop Takeshi from observing. In fact, he had hoped Takeshi's sharp tongue might be the thing to finally knock some sense into his brother and steer him toward a more practical path.
But after watching for a few seconds, the black cat turned to the Jonin instead. "There's nothing impossible in this world," he said seriously. "Why stop at seven? I could demonstrate an Eighteen-Blade Style for you right now if you'd like."
"Eighteen-Blade Style?"
Killer Bee's head snapped around, his eyes wide behind his sunglasses. Seven blades was the absolute limit he and the Eight-Tails had theorized was possible.
It wasn't just Bee, Gyuki, the Eight-Tails sealed inside him, was intrigued as well. Gyuki hadn't always been so cooperative. It was only after the war, and after the Two-Tails jinchuriki was captured, that Bee's unique approach had finally managed to soften the Tailed Beast's hardened heart, turning him into a willing partner and friend.
'Eighteen blades? How?' Gyuki wondered.
"Bee, tell him to demonstrate," the Tailed Beast said with clear interest.
'No problem, oh yeah!' Bee answered internally. He rushed forward like an eager fan and bowed deeply to the cat. "Please, teach me the Eighteen-Blade Style!"
Ay stared, completely stunned. This was not how he had expected this to go. Not only had the cat failed to discourage Bee, but he was now promising to teach him an even more ridiculous technique.
'Even if such a thing exists, what practical value could it have for a human?' Ay thought. 'And besides, you're a cat. What could you possibly know about swordsmanship?'
While he was still hesitating, the cat hopped forward and crooked a paw at him in a clear challenge. Seeing the blatant provocation, all the other ninja turned to watch, waiting to see how their future Raikage would respond.
"A sword fight?" Ay asked.
"Meow!"
Takeshi glanced around, then hooked his paw again, signaling for the others to lend him eighteen blades. Ay borrowed one as well, he had trained with a sword but rarely used one, so he didn't carry his own.
The two of them took their weapons and created some distance. Everyone watched, their curiosity piqued. How was a cat going to wield eighteen swords? At most, he could hold one in his mouth. What about the other seventeen?
While the Kumogakure ninja were still guessing, Takeshi entered Sage Mode. In an instant, his black fur surged outward, forming eighteen distinct tendrils that wrapped tightly around the hilts of the scattered blades. A moment later, the fur retracted, pulling all eighteen swords into a bristling halo around him.
"..."
'What the hell?' Ay thought, dumbfounded. He had been wondering how the cat would hold the swords, and it turned out his fur could just... grow out and grab them. Why had he never seen this before? If he had known the cat was capable of this, he never would have agreed to such an embarrassing spectacle. He already knew he couldn't win. This had nothing to do with swordsmanship, the cat's speed and physical abilities already surpassed his own. With this fur technique, Takeshi could just swing the blades wildly and hack him to pieces.
This was cheating!
"I..." Ay started, ready to surrender, but the black cat was already on him. On instinct, Ay activated his Lightning Release Chakra Mode and swung his sword.
Super Vibrato Lightning Blades.
The technique was incredibly fast, layering high-frequency vibrations over the blade to maximize its cutting power. He didn't aim for Takeshi's swords, he aimed directly for the fur holding them.
'It's just fur grown with ninjutsu,' he reasoned. 'One slice should be enough.'
Ay's speed was impressive, but Takeshi had no intention of dodging.
*Clang!*
A crisp metallic sound rang out as Ay's blade struck the fur. It didn't leave so much as a scratch.
It was only natural. The fur was a product of Sage Mode, reinforced with Wind Release chakra and the Wild Lion's Mane jutsu, being sword-proof was hardly an exaggeration. It would have been strange if Ay's sword had cut through it.
In the next second, eighteen blades came to rest against Ay's vital points.
"This... isn't really a sword fight, is it?" Killer Bee asked, so shocked he forgot to rhyme. His sunglasses had slipped down his nose, revealing his stunned eyes. What kind of fur could withstand even the Super Vibrato Lightning Blades?
The sight seemed to shatter the Kumogakure ninjas understanding of what was possible.
"Meow~ Just instinct," Takeshi purred, offering it as a flimsy explanation. "Want to go again?"
"A 'sword fight'," Ay repeated, his voice tight. He knew it was a weak protest, but he couldn't bring himself to say more. It was humiliating. His best strike hadn't managed to cut a single hair.
He took a deep breath, readying himself.
This time, Takeshi attacked first. His speed spiked, and all eighteen blades began to whirl like a tornado. To make matters worse, chakra natures flickered across the steel, some crackled with Lightning Release, others hummed with Wind.
'You have to be kidding me...' Ay thought. He immediately fell back, but the cat was even faster, the wall of eighteen blades closing in like a nightmare. His face pale, Ay gritted his teeth, turned, and pushed his Super Vibrato Lightning Blades to their absolute limit.
*Clang!*
Eight of Takeshi's swords shattered on impact, but the remaining ten stopped instantly, their tips hovering just inches from Ay's body. If Takeshi hadn't held back, Ay would have been dead.
Of course, this was hardly a fair measure of their abilities. If Ay had fully utilized his Lightning Release Armor, his defense would have been too much for Takeshi's improvised swordsmanship to break. But by the same token, Ay's blade could never have hoped to cut through the cat's sage-enhanced fur. In the end, it wasn't a contest of swordsmanship at all.
Ay tossed his sword aside. "I'm done," he said flatly. "You don't even know what swordsmanship is."
"Meow? So did I win or not?" Takeshi replied with open disdain, letting the eighteen blades clatter to the ground.
Eight of them were now broken. Their owners looked on, heartbroken. The swords weren't priceless, but they had been loyal companions for years.
"He's the one who broke them," Takeshi meowed, flicking his head toward Ay. "Go ask him."
Ay glared at the cat, but after a few seconds, he just sighed. "The village will reimburse you."
Killer Bee stood off to the side, lost in thought. He had come here to learn swordsmanship, but what he had just witnessed wasn't swordsmanship at all. The key was the jutsu, the impossibly tough, prehensile fur. As for the "sword style," there was none. It was just overwhelming force, a flurry of blades moving too fast to counter. There was no technique there to copy.
After a moment, he expressionlessly turned and went back to practicing his own forms.
Still, the demonstration hadn't been a total loss. Seeing what Takeshi could do only made him more determined than ever to master his Seven-Sword Style.
===============
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