That his opening probe could be easily neutralized by the opponent was entirely within Kuguruma Natsunishi's expectations.
After all, the opponent was one of the "Nine Hashira."
However, this sparring session wasn't about defeating the opponent, but about doing his utmost to demonstrate his strength and to experiment with his concepts for future sword techniques and combat styles.
Therefore, he only needed to give it his all.
His fluid string of attacks paused slightly.
Shifting his footwork, Kuguruma Natsunishi quickly raised his arms, assuming a defensive posture. Beneath him, his feet began to tread light, dense, rhythmic bouncing steps.
Igarashi was momentarily stunned.
He had some memory of this stance; he had seen it during his studies in the West...
"This posture of yours is..."
Indeed, it was modern boxing.
A slight smile tugged at the corner of Kuguruma Natsunishi's mouth.
In that very instant of the opponent's astonishment, Kuguruma Natsunishi moved.
Right slip.
With his waist and abdomen as the axis, his body rotated in the opposite direction. He then quickly transitioned into a reciprocal left slip.
Even without activating any Breathing Style, relying solely on high-frequency lateral movement and center-of-gravity shifts, he actually managed to drag out a series of afterimages within a two-body-length span.
It was an "∞" shaped pendulum motion.
The Dempsey Roll!
This was the footwork Kuguruma Natsunishi had learned from a certain boxing game.
And while Igarashi could roughly anticipate the opponent's trajectory, the excessively high frequency of the steps and the mode of action made it difficult for him to capture the optimal moment to strike.
If he didn't use Breathing Styles or sword techniques...
The young swordsman tentatively slashed out with the back of his blade, intending to test Kuguruma Natsunishi's true depth.
However, Kuguruma Natsunishi abruptly leaned to the side mid-movement. While dodging the blade's edge, the "Duan Feng" in his hand thrust forward. Using a cross-armed method, he lunged along Igarashi's arm toward the opponent's neck.
The Cross Counter!
It was as fast as a flash of lightning.
Furthermore, because he had entangled the opponent's arm, Igarashi was unable to immediately change his move to parry.
Seeing the attack about to land, the young swordsman forced his slash to a halt, took a sudden step back, and tilted his head back to dodge.
The jab missed, grazing the opponent's collarbone.
Igarashi was surprised.
Kuguruma Natsunishi was no exception.
He had executed both the combo and a perfect counter, yet the opponent could still dodge from such an extreme position? This was without even using a Breathing Style.
This "cheap" senior brother of his... was indeed strong enough to be exciting, making him feel "high" beyond measure!
Could the prediction of Sen no Sen truly have such an exaggerated effect?
Then, how about trying this move?
Kuguruma Natsunishi did not continue with close-quarters infighting; instead, he also took a step back, pulling more than half a body's length away from the retreating Igarashi.
The next second.
Thunder Breathing.
Massive amounts of oxygen surged into his limbs and bones, causing his physical strength to leap up a massive tier in a short time.
Kuguruma Natsunishi did not perform the sword forms associated with the Breathing Style, but instead executed a very fundamental technique from combat sports.
The Jab.
The most basic and simple, yet it possessed an incredibly high ceiling. Because of speed.
He abandoned full-body power generation, trading power and variation for extreme speed. It was like a "thrust" in Kendo.
Flash Jab: Five-Fold!
Clang, clang, clang! Clang!
Four bright sparks exploded almost simultaneously. The Storm Hashira, with even greater speed, parried all of Kuguruma Natsunishi's offensive strikes.
No matter the speed, if the landing point was predicted, it held no meaning—even if these fast punches carried the precision and ruthlessness of modern combat.
Igarashi turned slightly, his blade's back accurately parrying the power point of "Duan Feng," then gave a gentle lead.
Kuguruma Natsunishi immediately felt as if his final punch had hit empty air, and his center of gravity shifted accordingly. The fifth jab had been broken in advance by the opponent!
Meanwhile, the Storm Hashira's other hand already held his scabbard, pointing like flowing water toward the opening under Kuguruma Natsunishi's ribs.
Wind Breathing!
Kuguruma Natsunishi reacted extremely quickly, forcefully twisting his body. The fluidity of Wind Breathing allowed him to dodge the attack with a minimal margin, while his left arm whipped out like a lash.
It wasn't a cut, but a smash.
It was a heavy strike!
It borrowed the "Pigua" (Chopping-Hanging) energy from a certain ancient martial art, violent, swift, and heavy.
Bang!
Gauntlet and scabbard collided; the muffled sound was like a drum.
"Interesting." The Storm Hashira's voice remained steady. "Completely abandoning sword forms and using the most primitive 'striking' to drive the power of a Breathing Style?"
Immediately, with a light turn of his wrist, a flexible but irresistible force traveled up the scabbard to Kuguruma Natsunishi's fist-blade. It actually caused him to stagger several steps back.
He didn't fall? His lower body is much more stable than I imagined.
In that case, I can try to add a little more pressure.
The next second, Igarashi's Nichirin Sword suddenly accelerated, encroaching upon Kuguruma Natsunishi like an all-pervading breeze.
Kuguruma Natsunishi also caught his breath, using every ounce of his strength to parry.
But every time the fist-blade and the sword-edge collided, his strength would slacken, causing the parries that should have been precise to become increasingly strained.
Igarashi's swordsmanship was exquisite. Every tap, poke, lead, and press landed precisely at the most critical point of Kuguruma Natsunishi's power generation, or at the node where old strength was spent and new strength not yet born.
For a moment, Kuguruma Natsunishi felt he wasn't fighting a person, but an omnipresent web woven from predictions.
This Sen no Sen is so annoying!
Kuguruma Natsunishi changed his moves again. A swift straight punch followed by a low sweep, but the Storm Hashira seemed to have seen through it long ago. The Nichirin Sword parried the straight punch half a beat early. Then, with a half-step backward, the low sweep hit nothing.
He even had the spare energy to swing a slash toward Kuguruma Natsunishi's neck, which was exposed by the sweep.
Sweat began to bead on Kuguruma Natsunishi's forehead. At this moment, the momentum of offense and defense shifted. The incumbent Storm Hashira had completely suppressed Kuguruma Natsunishi.
Amidst the continuous sparks and the crisp sounds of clashing, Kuguruma Natsunishi's stamina was plummeting.
I can't stay passive like this!
Let's try that move...
Kuguruma Natsunishi suddenly pulled away, once again assuming a stance entirely different from boxing.
Water Breathing!
Faint water ripples spread under Kuguruma Natsunishi's feet. This was a defensive zone constructed with himself as the center after highly concentrating his mind, spirit, and soul.
It was the result of his recent attempts to analyze Sen no Sen. It was also a wall of prediction built upon countless hours of gaming. Or rather, it was the prototype of a "Domain."
The Storm Hashira's sharp strike had just crossed the boundary of this defensive area.
Kuguruma Natsunishi's Duan Feng moved.
Blade rubbed against blade, producing violent sparks.
Yet, Igarashi felt no resistance on his Nichirin Sword. It seemed to plunge in effortlessly...
No, it grazed Kuguruma Natsunishi's uniform as the latter spun rapidly... and slashed into empty air.
Minimalist: Flowing Water Control Circle.
This was... extreme neutralization?
A trace of astonishment flickered in Igarashi's eyes.
Before the astonishment could end, he saw Kuguruma Natsunishi, who had repositioned himself, pulling his right fist back to his waist. Power was forcefully compressed and condensed into a single point in his dantian, then pumped back into his limbs and bones.
Stone Breathing!
This was an unfinished move where he borrowed a certain concept of extreme power generation, mobilizing every muscle in his body to converge at a single point.
One step. He stepped into the Storm Hashira's inner gate.
One step. Body as the bow, feet as the pilings.
In the next instant, the stone ground beneath Kuguruma Natsunishi's feet suddenly shattered.
It was no longer a technical jab or a neutralizing skill, but the most primitive, most violent straight punch! Wherever the fist passed, the air was compressed into visible distorted ripples, letting out a low boom.
Layer upon layer.
Power and body entered together; the strength surged like overlapping tides, venting in a way that surpassed limits.
Inch Punch!
Facing this strike that transcended the understanding of swordsmen of the same level, the Storm Hashira, Igarashi, finally shed his composure, his expression turning solemn.
He no longer held his sword with one hand, but switched to a two-handed grip.
Lifting the blade, he stood fast. He braced against Kuguruma Natsunishi's suddenly magnifying fist-blade.
He can block it...
But Kuguruma Natsunishi's technique was not limited to this.
Total Concentration!
His body drew closer. But within this square inch, the force coming from Kuguruma Natsunishi had already begun to overlap, resonate, and undergo a qualitative change!
Following instinct, Kuguruma Natsunishi pushed that force—compressed to the extreme, as if it were about to blow his arm apart—one step further forward.
Inch Punch!
Inch Punch!
Inch Punch!
Inch Punch, for me—
BREAK!!!
In an instant, the punch thrown out was Kuguruma Natsunishi's strike beyond full power. It was the full-power strike of someone who had once broken into the top hundred of the World Championships.
The martial art was recreated by him in this world. It was the extremity of power, and the peak of technique.
Inch Punch: Heaven Splitter!
BOOM!!!
It wasn't the sound of metal clashing, but like a muffled thunder exploding in close proximity.
That was a Total Concentration far exceeding an ordinary swordsman's! A brutal, unreasonable, and intensely condensed explosive impact that nearly doubled!
Igarashi felt as if he had been hit head-on by a siege ram!
What is this?!
Even his Sen no Sen had failed to foresee this move.
In his shock, he no longer held anything back.
Storm Breathing.
Sixth Form: Verdant Mountain Bracing Wind.
The Nichirin Sword, carrying a clear mountain breeze, spun to form a massive amount of clever force, attempting to neutralize this terrifyingly immense power like diverting a flood.
But...
Ultimately, Igarashi had changed his move too late. He couldn't block it.
The next second, while maintaining a flawless parrying posture, he became a fixed fulcrum before this violence that exceeded calculation.
While maintaining an elegant pose, his entire person was blasted backward by this irresistible force, sliding along the ground.
Finally, he was blown off his feet and sent flying!
The Storm Hashira flipped nimbly in the air, continuously shedding that startling force. He finally landed steadily five meters away.
However, on the ground beneath his feet, dense cracks quietly bloomed.
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