Sephiroth gripped the bamboo sword tightly in his right hand, his face alight with excitement as he looked towards Gion. The challenge Gion had just thrown, seemed to ignite his competitive spirit.
"Come on! Who's afraid of whom?!" Sephiroth exclaimed, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"Hehehehe...! Let's go!" The long-legged woman covered her mouth and chuckled, then walked away first, completely ignoring Tokikake beside her, leaving him to sigh with a dejected expression, his love unrequited once again.
After they both took their starting positions, Sephiroth was the first to swing his bamboo sword, taking the initiative to attack. He tested Gion's speed and reaction time in a standard manner, but Gion easily parried or dodged all his attacks, as if his movements were already read.
"Here I come!" The long-legged woman chuckled and warned, her tone relaxed but full of confidence.
The next moment, Swish! The bamboo sword in her hand immediately formed a perfect arc, attacking the silver-haired youth from a very cunning angle. If Sephiroth used his bamboo sword to parry, considering the angle of the attack, he wouldn't be able to exert his full strength, making it impossible for him to parry with all his might. Therefore, he could only choose to quickly adjust his stance and swing his sword to parry while retreating.
Seeing this, Gion's mouth curved slightly upwards, and the smile on her face became more pronounced, satisfied with her strategy.
Bang, bang, bang!
She seized the moment when the silver-haired youth was in a disadvantageous position and swung her bamboo sword continuously, launching a fierce and rapid barrage of attacks, causing the bamboo sword to leave trails of afterimages.
Although Sephiroth had used Kenbunshoku Haki to predict the trajectory of her attacks, Gion seemed to have anticipated this, pressing him with one sword strike after another, giving him no chance to counterattack.
No! She predicted my prediction! Is this Future Sight Kenbunshoku Haki? Sephiroth thought to himself. That's not right!... She's using her pure swordsmanship experience to draw me into her attack rhythm and design a series of attack and defense sequences for me! From the very beginning, I was trapped in her attack pattern, and her main goal was... to defeat me!
Thinking this, Sephiroth's expression inevitably became a little dazed, and his blocking movements became one beat slower.
Slap!
The bamboo sword struck his forehead hard, leaving an instant hot red mark.
Seeing this, Gion smiled and said teasingly, "Oh dear! I didn't expect little brother Sephiroth wouldn't be able to continue so quickly?" Her tone was full of triumph.
Hearing this, the silver-haired youth's face immediately darkened. He genuinely suspected that Gion was making an indecent remark, but he had no proof! After all... how dare she say he couldn't?
"Ugh! There's nothing I can do. It's your fault for swaying too much and blurring my vision," Sephiroth retorted, his gaze fixed on Gion's two "headlights" that swayed with every movement.
The long-legged adult woman followed his gaze and could barely see her own toes because of her... ahem... ample chest.
"Pervert!" Gion's face flushed slightly, and she spat softly. Feeling embarrassed and annoyed, she once again swung the bamboo sword in her hand and attacked the silver-haired youth more fiercely.
However, her mind was preoccupied, and her sword attacks lost their careful thought. In her agitation, she actually exposed her weaknesses during her attacks, which Sephiroth exploited. He delivered a "slap" to Gion's neck, leaving a conspicuous red mark.
After receiving this blow, Gion immediately snapped out of it, realizing her mistake.
"Oh my! Is this the power of a Sword Master? Impossible? Impossible?" After gaining an advantage with one strike, Sephiroth immediately seized the opportunity to mock her, making Gion grit her teeth in anger.
"If you dare, come again!" Gion challenged, her eyes ablaze.
"Let's do it!" Sephiroth smirked, completely undaunted.
After the strenuous morning training, Gion's physical condition had drastically declined, while Sephiroth remained in prime condition thanks to his Zoan Devil Fruit ability. This meant their current power gap wasn't too significant to be offset by skill.
After more than a month of guidance from Boggart, with his keen understanding, Sephiroth had learned all the basic techniques he needed to learn. Now, what he lacked to become a true swordsman was real combat experience against enemies.
Every one of Gion's movements contained many variations, making it impossible for Sephiroth to fully predict the trajectory of her attacks using Kenbunshoku Haki, which pressured him during the battle. However, he also quickly absorbed her techniques and experience from Gion's attacks and integrated them into his own swordsmanship, learning as he fought.
"Oh dear! Little brother Sephiroth, are you unable to continue again?" Gion taunted.
"Ah! Nothing can be done. It's your fault for being a dissatisfied woman!" Sephiroth retorted, unwilling to lose.
Every time Gion hit Sephiroth with a bamboo sword, she would unconsciously taunt him, and Sephiroth, not to be outdone, would retort. Their fight transformed into a comical duel of swords and verbal jabs.
As time went on, Gion, who had expended too much physical energy, began to slow down her movements, and Sephiroth took the opportunity to counterattack.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk! Big Sister Gion, it seems you're only good at talking, but not physically adept!"
"That's because little brother Sephiroth's techniques don't interest me at all!" Gion snorted, trying to save her pride.
On the other side, Tokikake, who was sparring with Maynard, being an experienced man, felt the conversation between Sephiroth and Gion becoming increasingly strange. What was going on with these two...? Why were their words getting weirder? Were they playing around or sparring? Distracted, Tokikake was hit several times in the face with a bamboo sword by Maynard, adding a humorous touch to his lecherous face.
Ding-a-ling-ling-ling!
Hearing the class bell, everyone's swordsmanship class ended. The next class was hand-to-hand combat, which would be held at the school training grounds. So, everyone could only return their bamboo swords and prepare to leave the dojo and head outside.
"Sephiroth, let's fight fairly!" Tokikake shouted to the silver-haired youth who was about to turn and leave, his voice full of determination.
Sephiroth: "(•ิ_•ิ)? What are you saying? Why should I duel you?" He stared at Tokikake in confusion, not understanding his intention.
The conversation between the two immediately caught the attention of others. Even Zephyr, who had already walked to the dojo entrance, stopped. He looked at the two with an interested gaze, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"Of course, it's for Gion!" Tokikake said with a wide smile, as if it were the most logical reason in the world.
"Huh!?" Sephiroth stared at the other party in a daze, somewhat unable to comprehend what was going on in Tokikake's peculiar mind.
"A man like me, who is handsome and rich, there's no reason for Gion not to like me..." Tokikake said with full confidence.
Hearing this, Sephiroth repeatedly waved his hands and retorted directly, "No, no, no! I think you've misunderstood what handsome means."
"Exactly! Exactly!" xN Several Military School Students who were watching and gossiping also nodded in agreement, some even stifling laughter.
"How can that be? The young ladies at the Pleasure Quarter all said that I'm not only humorous and witty, but also handsome and rich," Tokikake insisted.
"No! I think you've really misunderstood. The essence of what they said is that you're rich," the silver-haired youth rubbed his forehead, almost losing the will to respond to the confident man in front of him. Arguing with Tokikake felt like a waste of energy.
"I don't care, beauty is for the strong! Let's fight fairly. The winner gets to continue pursuing Gion, and the loser has to back off!" Tokikake exclaimed passionately, as if this were the greatest duel of his life.
"..." Sephiroth was silent for a few seconds before he said, "Why don't you go fight that woman, Gion? If you win, lock her in the basement and write 'mine' (correct) all over her body. If you lose, stop pursuing her."
Gion was skilled in various erotic geisha arts, and she was also very good at understanding men's minds. She almost instantly understood Sephiroth's words. Having been mocked by the silver-haired youth for so long, she was already full of anger! So, the long-legged woman, intending to watch the drama unfold, narrowed her eyes and smiled faintly as she fanned the flames from the side:
"Oh dear! You're truly heartless! And yet you said things like that to her before."
Sephiroth: "..." If a woman is dirty, a man cannot stop her!
Zephyr gently pushed aside the surrounding Military School Students and came to Sephiroth and Tokikake's side. He said firmly, "Hey! You two rascals, private duels are not allowed in school!"
"Exactly! Exactly! In that case, I'm leaving now!" The silver-haired youth nodded repeatedly, then turned to leave, relieved that Zephyr had stopped the ridiculous duel.
However... Zephyr suddenly grinned, revealing a row of large white teeth: "However... the next class is close-quarters combat. To hone your fighting skills and endurance. Therefore, in the next class, you will pair up, and it will only end when one person passes out. If both of you are still standing when class ends, you will be penalized two hundred laps. If you two want to fight, you can join the next class."
Sephiroth: "..." His eyes widened, realizing he had just fallen into a trap. Zephyr indeed had his own ways of "educating" them.
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