6kv #151 - It's really seamless
#151 - It's really seamless
Chapter 151 True · Flawless
A truly flawless technique?
There's no such thing as a truly flawless technique!
No!
Shouldn't the focus be on the fact that we've already won? We should just drive away Kurashiki Kurato and take back the Kendo dojo.
"Son-son, that's enough!"
"Wait, Ayatsuji-senpai."
Kurogane Ikki stopped Ayatsuji Ayase, who was about to step forward to declare the outcome. His eyes were fixed on the two on the field, his expression seemingly ignited with fighting spirit.
"As a swordsman, I can't let you pass. This match isn't over yet!"
"Ugh…!"
Ayatsuji Ayase wanted to say something more, but whether it was Kurogane Ikki or the two on the field, that dojo was no longer a place she could interfere.
"A truly flawless technique?"
Kurashiki Kurato wiped his mouth, his eyes behind his sunglasses filled with murderous intent, his shark-like teeth bared in a ferocious grin.
"—Don't get too cocky, brat!"
He roared suddenly.
He had indeed lost the previous duel, but that was because Kurashiki Kurato hadn't defended. If he had blocked and added his superhuman reflexes, the outcome would have been uncertain!
"Alright, let's start the second round! But…"
—Orochimaru!
A jagged bone blade almost identical to the Zanpakuto Snake Tail Blade broke through the floor and landed in Kurashiki Kurato's hand.
"This time, I'll use my Device!
Alright, let's begin!"
With that, he raised Orochimaru and slammed it down on Son-son.
He's getting impatient.
Everyone present knew that Kurashiki Kurato had been provoked into a rage, but his Device was indeed very powerful, and coupled with a sudden sneak attack—
With a 'smack'!
The wooden sword steadily received the bone blade.
It was just an ordinary wooden sword, yet it stubbornly withstood the Device. This scene surprised everyone.
"This is…!"
"Magic power? Son-son is wrapping magic power around the wooden sword to reinforce it!"
"How is that possible!? A wooden sword is so fragile, injecting magic power requires an extremely high level of magic power control… Ah!"
Ayatsuji Ayase finally remembered.
Son-son's magic power control was on par with Kurogane Shizuku.
"Not bad, but it's not enough! Ora ora ora!"
Kurashiki Kurato began his relentless assault.
He used the same summer-cut style as before, but after switching from a wooden sword to a Device, the power increased several times over. Furthermore, Son-son was still using a wooden sword, and even with magic power wrapped around it, it was constantly denting downwards—the dojo floor couldn't withstand this kind of violence.
"This is bad."
Kurogane Ikki looked worried.
The significant difference in weapons between the two sides was one aspect, but more importantly, Kurashiki Kurato was no ordinary opponent. He was the ace of the Gluttony Academy and a top-eight finisher in last year's Seven Star Sword Art Festival.
The most crucial thing was the Device he wielded.
—Orochimaru.
It could freely transform, extend, retract, and move freely at various distances.
This sword could extend and pierce enemies from a distance, moving as fast as a bullet. Even if the enemy dodged the stab, it could sweep across the entire battlefield, completely crushing the enemy.
If the enemy actively stepped into the sword's attack range, Orochimaru could also shrink to the size of a one-handed sword, using revolving combos to suppress the enemy.
Coupled with Kurashiki Kurato's Blade Art, Serpent Bone Blade.
Regardless of the distance, he could freely choose the most appropriate attack range, leaving no blind spots in sword duels.
Seemingly simple, yet extremely aggressive.
Quite troublesome.
Especially in a pure sword technique clash, if Kurashiki Kurato constantly changed the attack distance, it would be quite disadvantageous for Son-son.
The title of Swordsman Killer came from this.
His ability was like a natural enemy to swordsmen.
Without using the Ayatsuji Itto-ryu secret technique, Flawless, what will you do, Son-son? How will you unleash your own Flawless?
Kurogane Ikki was looking forward to it.
"Ora ora ora!"
Kurashiki Kurato continued to strike, but Son-son remained as steady as Mount Tai. In fact, because his body sank too far, it became difficult to attack.
"Are you just going to keep taking hits?"
Kurashiki Kurato's bone blade in his hand flicked upwards, the serrated edge of the blade catching Son-son's wooden sword. A huge force pulled Son-son out of the floor and sent him flying, leaving both of them at a distance where their swords couldn't reach.
Was he preparing to create distance and attack again?
No, that's not right!
"Pursue the enemy, Serpent Bone Blade!"
This position was still within Kurashiki Kurato's attack range.
Orochimaru's blade wriggled like a snake, then suddenly extended to chase after Son-son. It was about to pierce Son-son's body, but the wooden sword only slid down slightly, deflecting the extended blade and blocking the attack.
Blocking with the hilt?
Kurogane Ikki was stunned. That was his technique!
"Haha! It's not over yet!"
The attack didn't end there. Kurashiki Kurato immediately pulled back the extended blade, the elastic blade slashing at Son-son in the distance like a long whip.
Given the current distance between them, only Kurashiki Kurato could attack Son-son unilaterally. Son-son could only defend and block in place.
"This is bad…"
Ayatsuji Ayase bit her lower lip.
She had seen this scene before. Even though two years had passed and the weapons were different, she still remembered it vividly because her father had lost in this way.
"If this continues, his defensive stance will be broken. He needs to create distance…"
"It's useless. No matter how much distance he creates, as long as Orochimaru extends a little further, it can still attack Son-son. On the contrary, Son-son won't be able to attack Kurashiki Kurato because of the distance."
Kurogane Ikki saw through the key point at a glance.
"But…!"
"Don't worry, Son-son already has a countermeasure."
On the dojo floor, Son-son, who had been defending all along, suddenly took a step forward, then stopped in place.
This one step made Kurashiki Kurato feel as if he was facing a formidable enemy, and he quickened the speed of swinging Orochimaru. However, no matter how fierce the attacks were, they were all blocked by Son-son, and he continued to move forward.
After blocking again, Son-son seemed to lose his patience and quickened his pace.
"Amazing!"
Ayatsuji Ayase was slightly excited.
But Kurashiki Kurato wasn't so easy to deal with. He wouldn't let his enemy get close so easily.
Orochimaru, which had lost its target after being blocked, suddenly seemed to have a self-aware snake head, bending its blade tip and chasing after Son-son's nape.
"That, that sword can only extend, right!?"
Ayatsuji Ayase cried out in alarm.
That's right, Orochimaru's true ability wasn't extending and retracting the blade, but the wielder's ability to manipulate the blade at will.
The blade was like a living thing.
It flipped over and attacked Son-son again.
If he didn't react in time, he would end up dead, but Son-son seemed to have eyes on the back of his head, and with a flick of his wrist, he easily blocked the move.
"Ah, ah, huh?"
Ayatsuji Ayase was bewildered.
"What just happened?"
"Son-son blocked the move with the wooden sword."
"I know, but…!"
"Ah, that move was perfectly natural."
As everyone knows, any technique requires the coordination of the body's muscles. Whether it's attacking, blocking, or dodging, the posture will have slight changes because different muscles are being used.
But Zunzun didn't move at all. No, to be precise, it was a standard blocking stance.
A standard stance like something out of a swordsmanship textbook.
“In the past, there were a pair of siblings who studied swordsmanship, but they only learned the basic techniques.
The younger brother couldn't help but ask: 'Sister, why don't we learn more advanced and elaborate sword techniques?'
And the older sister replied: 'Foolish brother, all sword techniques are derived from the basic ones. Why should we seek far and wide when the answer is right here? The mysteries of the universe are hidden within them.'"
Well, it's just a way of saying his sister only knows basic swordsmanship.
His mutterings made everyone slightly stunned.
But he wasn't finished yet.
“So the younger brother diligently practiced the basic sword techniques day after day, internalizing every movement until it became instinct. And one day… not on any special day, just an ordinary one, he had a flash of inspiration and suddenly understood a principle.
That is—swordsmanship doesn't matter at all!
That's right! Seeing through the opponent's essence, blocking their attacks, breaking through their defenses, should be as natural as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, following the natural order of things.
Fear of failure, fear of losing.
Fear of injury, fear of pain.
These are all obstacles that hinder progress and sources of pressure, from which various sword techniques are derived.
But this restricts oneself.
When fighting an enemy, one needs to think about the methods of swordsmanship, but one's own swordsmanship can be countered by other techniques.
Only by completely forgetting one's own swordsmanship, guarding one's mind, completely abandoning all theorems and formulas, acting arbitrarily, not adhering to fixed moves, and letting the mind move freely, can one be filled with confidence, the spirit be liberated, the attack no longer be sluggish, and the defense be impeccable.
“You're so noisy and annoying! Who understands what you're talking about! It's about time we finished this…"
Kurashiki Kurando straightened his body and vigorously raised Orochimaru, making a declaration to Zunzun in front of him.
“Next move, I'll finish you off!”
This is bad.
His reactions are starting to become sluggish.
The eyes under the sunglasses drooped slightly, looking at his kidney area. The damage Zunzun inflicted earlier is gradually showing its effects. If this continues, he'll be the one to lose.
In that case, he will hold nothing back.
Kurashiki Kurando decided to focus all his power on the next strike, shortening the blade of Orochimaru to the length of a one-handed sword, abandoning attack range in favor of speed.
This strike will use every ounce of his strength, unleashing the fastest possible speed. Gathering the culmination of his Godspeed Reflexes, only the Swordsman Assassin in the world can perform such an extraordinary feat.
“—Yamata no Orochi!”
Exhausting his entire body.
In the exact same instant, he unleashed an eight-fold slash, the eight white snake heads, as pale as bone and devoid of luster, bared their fangs and attacked Zunzun.
Zunzun casually swung the wooden sword in his hand.
Crack!
One sound? No, eight sounds!
In that instant, Zunzun blocked all the slashes, even striking out in the instant Kurashiki Kurando couldn't react.
Shred—
Blood splattered everywhere, almost reaching the ceiling of the dojo, and this blood spray was erupting from Kurashiki Kurando's body.
The wound slanted open from his right shoulder, extending all the way to his left abdomen, and his massive body swayed precariously.
Conversely, Zunzun was unscathed.
How could this be!?
It's clearly not Ayatsuji Itto-ryu's Ten'i Muhou, clearly just ordinary sword swings, clearly there were several meters between them…
“True Ten'i Muhou.”
Kurogane Ikki clenched his fist.
He still hasn't learned anything.
Beyond that, there must be something!
He wants to have his selection battle with Zunzun right now!
At the same time, Kurogane Ikki couldn't help but lament.
“Why aren't you a swordsman…”
Having a Device that isn't a sword is more troublesome than not having a Device at all. For a swordsman to not have a suitable sword is too painful.
Kurogane Ikki can't imagine a worldline where he doesn't have Intetsu.
“Really… amazing…”
Ayatsuji Ayase covered her mouth.
Just then—
“Aaaah!”
Kurashiki Kurando suffered an obvious fatal wound, but he roared while supporting his swaying body, refusing to fall to the ground just like that.
Blood dripped like a fountain, gathering into a pool at his feet.
Such a massive amount of bleeding.
He'll be dead in at most ten minutes.
Even so, he refused to kneel, choosing to die standing. No, he hasn't died yet.
“I see, so this is the true Ten'i Muhou…”
Kurashiki Kurando muttered softly to himself.
The fighting spirit had already disappeared from his eyes. He dragged his blood-soaked body, straightened his back, and looked at Zunzun again.
“Your name?”
“Zunzun.”
“…Are you kidding me?”
“That's just how names are in the Crimson Demon Clan! If you have a problem with it, go ahead and complain!”
“Ugh!”
Kurashiki Kurando clicked his tongue. Even if he wanted to continue fighting, he no longer had the strength.
“Let's continue at the Seven Star Sword Art Festival.”
After saying that, he turned around and left.
He was facing the exit of the dojo.
Kurogane Ikki noticed this and asked his gradually receding back, “Kurashiki, this dojo…”
“Do as you please, I no longer need to wait here…”
He waved his hand and walked out of the dojo.
And when he walked out of the dojo—
“Kurando, hey, pull yourself together!”
“We're done for, he's completely lost consciousness!”
“Hurry and call an ambulance!”
Faint screams of panic came from afar, probably from his companions who had arrived and saw Kurashiki Kurando collapsing on the ground, unconscious.
“Seriously, he's too amazing…”
Kurogane Ikki looked at the outside of the dojo and sighed in admiration. Ayatsuji Ayase also looked at Zunzun, who was unscathed in the dojo, in amazement.
“Is this the true Ten'i Muhou?”
She had to admit that it was much more powerful than her father's.
Zunzun sighed in disappointment.
Stella asked curiously, “What's wrong, Zunzun? Aren't you happy even though you won?”
“How should I put it… I even said 'Tekishuu waga kyo tatsui', but I didn't manage to achieve it. That guy, although he only had Godspeed Reflexes, he still saved his own life at the crucial moment.”
Hey, hey, hey!
Did you really want to cut off his head?
Tekishuu waga kyo tatsui.
Although it's a meme, the real meaning of this sentence is 'I defeated the enemy leader, I took the enemy leader's head', and Zunzun really wanted to cut off his head just now, but Godspeed Reflexes saved him.
Just as the group was about to return, Zunzun's student handbook sent a message.
The content was—
【Student Zunzun's fifteenth selection battle opponent has been officially decided. The opponent is third-year student Toudou Touka.】
There's no time to celebrate, next up is Toudou Touka!
Am I fighting the strongest in the academy?
Really?