"Don't tell you fight using that ridiculous little knife," Nobunaga chuckled, who didn't know whether to feel tenderness or pity for his new guildmate.
"Actually, I don't use it very often. No offense, Takamori-Sensei," Yoichi smiled, looking at his master. His right hand was still on the back of his head, trying to mask his embarrassnt.
"No offense taken, boy. Nobunaga has never seen your power and doesn't know that your Oracle possesses an enhancent skill," Takamori specified.
Yoichi, Nobunaga and Takamori continued to converse quietly on the beach east of Goldhaven, under the uncurious gaze of Rinji, who at tis seed to be sleeping standing up.
Nobunaga explained to Yoichi that the stance he took during the defense phase could not coincide with that of the attack phase: although Kenji's power allowed him to parry blunt and sotis sharp weapon strikes successfully, it made his response ti much longer.
The experienced warrior who once belonged to the Rogue Syndicate showed Yoichi that preferring the dodge to the parry opened up an incredible range of possibilities for him. If the enemy's attack missed the target, he would have much more ti to act, thus deciding in which direction and with which limb to counterattack.
The two Nightblades warriors started training again, but unlike in the previous fight, Nobunaga did not use the 'Thief Wind' movent, the unique ability with which he could move as fast as the wind.
He simulated a slow-motion fight, allowing Yoichi to acknowledge the most common mistakes in his combat stance.
One movent after another, Yoichi began to store those moves in his mind: perford by his inexperienced body, they were imperfect and still predictable. Instead, when Nobunaga moved his arms and legs, he seed to dance.
The purple-haired tar's attack and defense stances were harmonious and perfect. Making relatively simple movents, Nobunaga never left any side of his body uncovered and always had the ability to counterattack.
Studying his young teacher's movents in-depth, Yoichi realized that those moves, combined with his superhuman speed, made him a much stronger than average warrior.
"Co on, try to hit one more ti," Nobunaga chuckled, who was starting to enjoy that kind of training. He tried to hit Yoichi with a kick in slow motion, allowing the young tar to step back and dodge.
In the next instant, a punch was dodged sideways and an elbow was deflected by a hand from Yoichi, who had now figured out how to move.
"I'm going to increase the speed now. Are you ready?"
"Uhm... can we have a mont..."
"Go!" - Without giving Yoichi ti to reorganize his ideas, Nobunaga carried out the sa series of attacks, but in a much more sudden manner.
Yoichi relied solely on his muscle mory and, keeping his concentration level high on his opponent's hands and feet, parried and dodged every blow.
Suddenly, without even realizing it, he blocked his hand, locked in a fist. Surprised at his own abilities, Yoichi noticed that his knuckles were grazing Nobunaga's cheekbone and that the counterattack had succeeded perfectly.
"Excellent! Good job, guys!" Takamori Sada rejoiced, clapping his hands. Ayaka, his mantis demon, simulated the sa movent with its front legs. The Gokirama was steady on the guild leader's head, as always.
"Wow! I can't believe it!" Yoichi exclaid, pulling his arm back and returning to a standing position.
Nobunaga did the sa, positioning himself in front of him. "All you need is a little practice, but... Takamori-Sensei was right. You're a quick learner." After those words, the purple-haired warrior flared his nostrils and sketched what remotely looked like a smile of encouragent.
Hearing those words co from the mouth of his guildmate gave Yoichi an incredible charge. Nobunaga didn't seem to be the most sociable or conversational kind of person; that advice probably ca from the bottom of his heart, hard as a rock.
"Seeing two of my warriors train with such spirit fills my old heart with joy," Takamori breathed, taking a step toward them. "Today, you have learned what your deepest shortcomings are. I expect you to put Nobunaga's advice into practice every day, Yoichi."
"It will be done, Sensei," the young tar replied, leaning his upper body forward.
"The hand-to-hand fighting style is perhaps best suited for you, boy. However, we still have a problem to solve," Takamori added, creating so suspense.
"You do not possess a weapon worthy of the warrior you will beco," he asserted. The guild leader drastically changed the tone of his voice, as if he was talking about sothing sacred.
After that suggestion, Yoichi thought it was finally the perfect ti to talk to his master about Tetsuiasa and Shusaku, the blacksmith exiled by the current Emperor of Tentochu.
Referring to Ryutaro and explaining to his master that it had been his idea, Yoichi showed Takamori, Rinji, and Nobunaga the rare material he had obtained by solving the riddle of the three spirits of the Blackvault Mines.
The mbers of the Nightblades looked at the Tetsuiasa with interest, taking it out of its wooden container and twisting it in their hands. Sunlight reflected off the rough, raw surface of that tal, strong as steel and shining like a golden nugget.
"Hmm... Skusaku..." Takamori murmured, repeating the blacksmith's na in a low voice. "I'm sorry, boy. I really have no idea where he might be. In any case, I understand why Ryutaro told you about him. This tal is a rather rare commodity and needs to be worked by the right hands," he added.
"Ryutaro-Sensei told that he knew soone who might know Shusaku's whereabouts. However, after his arrest, I doubt he can still help and..."
"I'll help you, boy," Takamori interrupted, turning to Yoichi with his usual smirk.
"What? Really?"
"Sure. I don't know all the people who the supre Ryutaro knows, but... I'm sure I can glean so clues. You just take care of your training. When I know sothing, you'll be the first to be inford," Takamori spoke.
Yoichi was unable to express his gratitude in simple words. In recent tis, the young tar had co across several evil beings, ready to exterminate the entire population of Tentochu to achieve their goals, and he had always relied on his own force of will.
Knowing that he could count on the help of an honourable man like Takamori heartened his spirit.
Reviews
All reviews (0)