Among the Four Basic Techniques of the Shinigami—Zanjutsu (Swordsmanship), Hakuda (Hand-to-Hand Combat), Hohō (Flash Step), and Kidō (Demon Arts)—Hakuda is consistently the most overlooked.
Compared to the coolness of Zanjutsu, the flashiness of Kidō, and the elegance of Hohō, Hakuda's method of attack—unarmed, using only the fists and body—appears particularly simple and unremarkable.
The training ground's setup was also exceptionally plain: aside from the spacious, flat wooden floor, a pile of folded grey mats, only the silently standing training posts remained.
Suō Tsukasa had also only viewed Hakuda as a means of 'physical conditioning' and 'a last resort when other means are lost'.
Deep down, he harbored a subtle disdain for this primitive form of combat.
Suō Tsukasa maintained this view until he met the instructor for the Hakuda class.
"Too naive."
"And arrogant."
These thoughts completely disintegrated, like glass shattered by a heavy hammer, the moment he truly met the Hakuda instructor.
Because—
The man merely standing in front of Suō Tsukasa made him feel his sheer power, along with the silent warning emanating from the very cells of his body.
The instructor in charge of the Hakuda class was a man of extremely lean and powerful build.
Standing nearly two meters tall, he had shed the black teacher's uniform and wore practical, short martial arts attire. Beneath the exposed bronze skin was a body hardened by a thousand rigorous practices.
But the deepest impression Suō Tsukasa had of him was not his physical robustness, but his 'Coordination'.
The man stood casually, his hands naturally hanging at his sides, his shoulders slightly dropped.
From his steady stance to the slight rise and fall of his shoulder blades as he breathed.
The distribution of every muscle, the detail of every movement, exuded extreme stability and balance.
It was as if, whenever he wished, he could unleash astonishing speed and power, and also instantly control and retract it with ease.
This level of coordination could never be achieved through mere physical conditioning. It was a state reached only by mastering one's physical body to the pinnacle.
Terrifyingly strong!
Suō Tsukasa could clearly feel the vigorous life force on him, like a roaring furnace, as well as a powerful spiritual pressure (Reiatsu) no less than that of a Lieutenant.
Although the intensity of his Reiatsu felt not too far off from that of Shiba Kaien, in Suō Tsukasa's intuitive perception, the oppressive feeling brought by the two men was on completely different levels.
"Is everyone here?"
"No girls in this year's elite class, huh?"
"I am Yuuki Shinnosuke. I will be guiding your Hakuda training from now on."
Yuuki Shinnosuke surveyed the entire room, his gaze passing over the face of every student like a tangible thing, his voice booming like a bell, steady and powerful.
"Many people think Hakuda is nothing more than simple punching and kicking—that is wrong."
Yuuki Shinnosuke walked up to a wooden post, his feet sinking slightly, and his right fist instantly shot out.
Boom—
With a heavy, muffled thud, the moment the fist collided with the post, time in the dojo seemed to pause for an instant.
When Yuuki Shinnosuke retracted his fist, everyone's gaze was focused on the wooden post.
A clear imprint of a fist was starkly left on the smooth surface.
The texture of the imprint looked as if it had been forcefully pressed out, with not a single splintered edge.
This punch was not only swift but also incredibly precise, with no excess power escaping outwards.
Yuuki Shinnosuke turned to face the students, his eyes blazing with confidence as he spoke.
"Did you see that?"
"That wasn't brute force. It was the body's power, concentrated to a single point in an instant through the correct method of force delivery."
"Hakuda is not simple, crude punching and kicking. It is the practice of internal support."
He slowly raised his right hand, opening and then slowly closing his fingers into a fist, full of latent power.
"In the upcoming lessons, I will make you reacquaint yourselves with your own bodies."
"Your flesh will ache, you will be tired, and it will protest, but only by overcoming this pain can you possess a resilient body and an unyielding spirit."
"Now, everyone face me. The most fundamental straight punch (Seiken-zuki), one thousand repetitions."
As Yuuki Shinnosuke's words fell, his actions were swift and decisive.
He was the first to take a stance, feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, his frame as steady as a rock.
His right hand was clenched into a fist and drawn back to his waist, palm up—the standard starting position for a straight punch.
"Watch the key movement!"
He let out a low shout and drove his right fist forward.
The instant his arm straightened, his shoulder slightly moved, and his waist and abdomen twisted accordingly.
The entire fist shot out like an arrow from a bow, transferring power layer by layer to the striking surface of the fist.
"A straight punch doesn't rely on arm strength alone; it mobilizes the power of the entire body. The goal of your practice is to achieve the feeling of 'Integrated Strength' ."
"Begin!"
The students immediately spread out, taking their positions, and began practicing, mimicking Yuuki Shinnosuke's movements.
Yuuki Shinnosuke paced among the students with his hands behind his back, his sharp eyes constantly correcting their mistakes.
The training ground soon revealed differing states of practice.
Most students had to stop to rest and adjust their breathing after completing only a few dozen standard straight punches, or shake their arms to recapture the feeling of force delivery.
Only Suō Tsukasa maintained astonishing stability from the start. Every straight punch was as precise as a textbook example.
He was all too familiar with this kind of repetitive, tedious training. He had been honing himself day after day since the very first day of his cultivation.
He immediately settled into his personal rhythm.
"This kid must be Suō. No wonder Saitou praised him to high heaven."
"Looks like that guy wasn't just drunk and talking nonsense after all. He's got something!"
Yuuki Shinnosuke paused briefly beside Suō Tsukasa, his gaze sweeping over the black-haired youth who had fully entered his training state.
A hint of approval flashed in his eyes. He passed by without comment, continuing to patrol and instruct the other students.
While the other students in the field were still struggling to complete their thousand straight punches in segmented sessions, Suō Tsukasa finished his final punch in one continuous burst, the movement clean and sharp, before coming to a standstill.
He loosened his fist, wiggled his fingers, his expression as calm as if he had completed a simple warm-up.
"Didn't feel much."
"Didn't gain much insight either."
This most basic physical conditioning could no longer bring him any feeling of fatigue. He hadn't even broken a sweat with this volume of training.
Naturally, there were no special insights either.
As for the Integrated Strength Yuuki Shinnosuke mentioned, he had already achieved that long ago.
Standing in place, Suō Tsukasa didn't idle. He closed his eyes and mentally replayed all the details of Yuuki Shinnosuke's punch.
From the change in his center of gravity as his foot sank, to the trajectory of the fist cutting through the air, and finally, focusing on the clear imprint left on the wooden post.
"The force of the punch is only revealed by one part, but the form remains complete."
"The unleashed power is visible to everyone, but the essence of that punch lies in its cessation."
"The key to the Gensui-ryū (Original Flow style) lies in its release and cessation. Control over both the release and the halt, blending firmness and softness. Slowly grasp it!"
Just then, a steady voice came from beside him, as if seeing through his thoughts and partially answering the confusion in his heart.
Suō Tsukasa then corrected his stance and attempted a few more punches, but he was consistently unsatisfied, feeling just a slight difference.
Knowing the difficulty but finding the execution easy—it seemed to be nothing more than this.
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