In some ways, Natsuo-senpai really was similar to Giyu.
That thought flashed through Sabito's mind the moment he heard Natsuo's answer.
They both said things that were very easy to misunderstand.
No malice, no cruelty, yet the words landed like an insult.
You two come at me together. I'm in a hurry.
It was the kind of line that made people's blood pressure rise even if they knew the speaker probably meant nothing by it.
Sabito smiled.
But the smile did not reach his eyes.
His grip tightened around the wooden sword until his knuckles turned faintly pale.
"Then please be careful, senpai."
Beside him, Giyu did not really feel offended.
In his mind, both Sabito and Natsuo were far stronger than him. So whether Natsuo said it calmly or arrogantly did not change the outcome.
Natsuo, on the other hand, genuinely did not think he had said anything wrong.
His total stats were pushing sixty, and his Wind Breathing was already deep into Level 3. Compared to these two, the gap was obvious.
[Natsuo (Energy Level: 59)] Wind Breathing Lv.3
[Sabito (Energy Level: 28)] Water Breathing Lv.2
[Giyu (Energy Level: 14)] Water Breathing Lv.1
To be precise, he was higher than their combined total.
And that was not even counting the invisible bonuses from the pile of life skills and passive traits he had stacked over a year.
One on one would honestly be bullying.
Two on one at least looked fair on paper.
They moved to a wider patch of ground in the woods, where the trees were spaced out enough to avoid anyone smashing their skull on a trunk.
Sabito and Giyu set their stances.
"Senpai, please teach us!"
Knowing the difference, neither of the two hesitated. Sabito opened first.
With familiarity of the terrain, he chose Water Breathing's Ninth Form.
[Water Breathing]
[Ninth Form: Splashing Water Flow, Turbulent]
Using dense terrain and a specific footwork pattern, Sabito's body flashed between trees. Each step was like water surging through a narrow channel, leaving a tangle of misleading afterimages.
Senpai's physical foundation is too strong. I can't trade head on.
Even while moving at speed, Sabito's eyes stayed locked onto Natsuo's posture and hands.
On the other side, Giyu remained steady, holding a tight defensive stance.
One attack, one guard.
Natsuo saw it immediately, yet still looked relaxed.
Dragging the wooden sword behind him, he walked straight toward Giyu.
Even if their teamwork was perfect, the raw stat gap alone would crush them.
While walking, Natsuo thought, do I hold back a little?
If he ended it instantly, it might hit their confidence. They had been living together for days. It would be awkward if the mood got crushed.
"Don't get distracted, senpai!"
The voice came from behind.
Sabito had already flashed to Natsuo's blind spot. His wooden sword swept across in a horizontal slash, with no hesitation and no mercy.
Normally, someone in a loose state could not defend an attack from their blind side.
But Sabito knew Natsuo was not normal.
Sure enough.
At the moment the blade was about to touch him, Natsuo shifted his torso, stepped to the side, and raised his sword with a clean motion.
Clack.
He blocked it.
Sabito did not get frustrated. His follow up came immediately, chaining in with the smoothness of someone who had been drilled for a year until his body obeyed without thought.
After a year of brutal training and his own natural talent, Sabito moved like a machine built only to cut.
Seamless transitions. Tight pressure. No wasted motion.
Natsuo's eyebrow lifted slightly while blocking.
Not bad. He's tougher than I expected.
[First Form: Water Surface Slash]
[Fourth Form: Striking Tide]
[Second Form: Water…]
The wooden sword carried the intent of a wave, the strikes rolling in like surf that refused to break.
"Opening."
While Sabito pressed from behind, Giyu did not waste the chance.
He stepped in and used the fastest sword technique he knew.
[Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust]
A thrust was the root of swordplay. Simple, clean, honest.
And with enough speed, it became terrifying.
Giyu's blade shot forward like a cold line.
Natsuo looked as though he had not even noticed, still calmly catching Sabito's pressure from behind.
The clacking of wood on wood became as dense as a summer rainstorm.
In that storm, Giyu closed the distance.
Senpai got careless.
That thought formed in Giyu's mind.
His wooden sword darted toward Natsuo's arm.
The next moment, the world flipped.
When Giyu blinked, he was forced down on one knee. A massive hand pressed him into the earth, and his weapon was pinned under a foot, ground into the soil.
For Natsuo, a thrust was the easiest attack to answer, especially when he had superior stats.
Catch the critical moment the blade commits forward.
Step aside.
Step in.
Pin the weapon.
It interrupted rhythm, stole space, and robbed the opponent of options.
It was the kind of thing he had done countless times in action games.
A clean read.
"Don't freeze," Natsuo said calmly. "In a fight, you don't only use a sword."
He kicked.
Not to injure, but to remove.
Giyu slid out of the exchange, tumbling and catching himself.
At the same time, Sabito's downward chop came in.
Natsuo raised his wooden sword and blocked.
Then he countered with a fist that snapped toward Sabito's face.
Sabito copied instantly. He raised his leg and intercepted the punch, knocking it away with a quick block.
Natsuo's lips curled slightly.
"So you get it that fast."
They were learning faster than he expected.
Natsuo stopped using Breathing entirely.
No special rhythm, no boosted output.
Just pure sword fundamentals and physical control.
He traded directly with Sabito, letting the boy pour out every form he knew.
Sabito's slashes came like waves.
Natsuo became a reef.
Every block and counter was short and precise, as if he was silently dismantling Sabito's timing, teaching him where his power leaked, where his posture opened, where his gaze betrayed him.
"Eyes on the hands," Natsuo said while exchanging blows. "Watch my hands and shoulders. That's where the next attack is written."
"Footwork. Don't explode your legs for too long. Random movement burns stamina and gives you longer recovery. You create openings for free."
"Distance. Too close and you can't generate power. Too far and you can't reach. Find the range that feels correct."
While fighting, he kept feeding them the kind of advice he used when analyzing combat in games.
Behind them, Giyu did not lose heart.
He reset his stance, drew a deep breath, and changed strategy.
[Tenth Form: Constant Flux]
One of the stronger Water Breathing techniques.
A method that stacked momentum. Each swing carried the force of the previous one, building and building.
A skill built on technique, on leverage, on borrowing and redirecting force.
If done right, it could allow the weak to climb toward the strong.
Giyu moved like a small water dragon surging upstream. He attacked Natsuo again and again, crashing himself against the "reef."
One strike.
Two strikes.
Three strikes.
By the fourth block, Natsuo felt the weight increasing clearly through the wooden sword.
If he allowed it to continue, after ten or so strikes, the accumulated pressure would surpass his own.
But.
Natsuo rotated his wrist. A simple horizontal lift pushed Sabito away for half a step.
Then the tip of Natsuo's wooden sword flicked like a leaf lifted by wind and tapped the weakest point in Giyu's wrist leverage.
A sharp jolt.
Giyu's wrist went numb.
The built momentum collapsed instantly, like a wave losing its shape.
His attack line broke.
"Don't rigidly follow a form," Natsuo said. "In real combat, the enemy won't stand still and let you stack power."
Giyu staggered back half a step, his face showing a rare hint of thought.
He did not look angry.
He looked like someone who had been given a key and was trying to find the right lock.
On the other side, Sabito rushed again.
[Third Form: Flowing Dance]
This time, Natsuo did not even raise his sword.
He moved tight along Sabito's blade line, shifting his body by tiny margins, letting the attacks flow past his ribs and shoulders, always close enough to feel the wind of them, never close enough to get hit.
"Even the best technique is still a slash," Natsuo said. "If it doesn't land, it means nothing."
"Sabito, don't obsess over forms like they're buttons. Don't try to beat me."
"Watch your own cutting line and my reactions."
"Use whatever feels fastest and most natural to you, and just try to touch me."
Sabito understood.
This wasn't humiliation.
This was instruction.
He swung with more intent now, trying to adjust his line mid strike, trying to change angle without losing control.
"Yes, senpai!"
Natsuo did not neglect Giyu either.
"You, don't just stand there. Support from the side, but don't block Sabito's line."
"Work around his recovery windows. Alternate fast and slow."
"Stagger your timings. That's what teamwork is."
Giyu blinked and looked toward Sabito.
Sabito gave him an encouraging look.
"Together, Giyu. Like we always practice."
The next second, the three of them collided again.
Wood clacked.
Footsteps thudded.
Leaves trembled.
The clearing filled with the sound of young swordsmen forcing their bodies and minds to grow, one exchange at a time.
…
"So this is why you missed dinner."
Sakonji stood there, masked, staring at the two children with bruises on their faces and purple marks along their arms.
Then he glanced at Natsuo, who only had a light sheen of sweat.
Sakonji's voice carried helpless resignation.
"Compared to Natsuo, you two still have a long way to go."
"Challenging him was too early."
Sabito lifted his head. His eyes were bright, serious, alive.
"Sensei, I learned a lot from senpai."
Giyu nodded once and added, short and blunt.
"Senpai is stronger than Sabito."
Sabito's smile froze a fraction, but it didn't become ugly.
He did not deny it.
The truth was the truth.
Sakonji shook his head gently.
"I'm not scolding you."
He turned to Natsuo.
"Natsuo, sorry for the trouble."
Natsuo's attention returned from the "panel" that had flashed in his mind.
"Oh. It was nothing."
"Sabito and Giyu both have good talent. And sparring with them helped me too."
[Sabito (Energy Level: 28 → 29)]
[Giyu (Energy Level: 14 → 16)]
Not only did their stats rise, even their breathing progress ticked forward slightly.
But more importantly, Natsuo's own system shifted.
His Water Breathing learning progress climbed.
And he had triggered a new life skill.
[Teaching Lv.0 (56/250)] NEW
Remaining Achievement Points: 8
Natsuo stared at that line.
If that's the case…
Maybe I should "train" these two at high intensity every day.
He lifted his head and looked at Sabito and Giyu again.
For once, the words that came to his mind weren't about winning quickly.
They were about efficiency.
If he could turn their growth into his growth…
This mountain might be the best grind spot yet.
(End of Chapter)
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