Aoto firmly planted his feet on the ground, gathering strength at his waist, relying on his significantly enhanced waist power to unleash the "New Year Swordsmanship" with an upper stance, launching a flurry of slashes like a torrential rain at Inoue.
Inoue also noticed that if it came down to a contest of strength, he was absolutely no match for Aoto, whose waist power was currently astounding. Therefore, he stopped competing with Aoto in swordplay and instead used the step technique he excelled at to engage Aoto in a tangled fight.
Inoue quickly dodged Aoto's first two strikes, and just as Aoto was about to swing the third, Inoue's feet shifted, changing retreat into advance! Moving swiftly toward Aoto, the potential threat in his steps left no room for complacency.
In the blink of an eye, Inoue's bamboo sword was already in front of Aoto's eyes. The timing and angle of Inoue's strike were extremely tricky, yet Aoto easily deflected it with his sword.
