parentshiftbook #150 - Pick it up, I told you to pick it up!
#150 - Pick it up, I told you to pick it up!
After hearing about Ayatsuji Ayase's past, I originally intended to let her reclaim the dojo herself, which is why I taught her various techniques.
But fate has played a cruel trick, and she has lost the qualification for the selection battle, and will never be able to fight the enemy.
It doesn't matter, I will take action.
The day after the duel.
After Zunzun and the others finished school, Ayatsuji Ayase led them to the old Ayatsuji Kendo Dojo.
A large house surrounded by fences appeared in front of the four people. But this mansion was already dilapidated, and could even be described as an abandoned house.
The bricks and tiles were peeling off, and the pillars supporting the gate were blackened and beginning to rot. Cigarette butts and empty cans were scattered around the mansion, and the walls were sprayed with colorful paint, with crude graffiti defiling the white walls.
"This... used to be my home."
Ayatsuji Ayase gritted her teeth.
Her expression was full of remorse, which was heartbreaking to see.
"Zunzun, how do you plan to take back the dojo?"
"Of course, by challenging them."
Zunzun said it as a matter of course.
The others were speechless for a moment, but after thinking about it, it seemed that this was the only way. After all, Kurashiki Kurato used this method of challenging the dojo—an unexpectedly legitimate method—to defeat Ayatsuji Ayase's father and take away the kendo hall.
It has to be said, it's very much Zunzun's style.
"I understand. But Zunzun, please be careful. That man... the Swordsman Killer is really strong."
"Who do you think I am?"
Zunzun waved his hand.
Then he strode into the dojo nonchalantly.
The gate was almost rotten and looked like it was about to fall apart. When it was pushed open, it made a huge noise, attracting the attention of several fierce-looking thugs inside.
Zunzun had seen one of them before, the bald man who wanted to lay hands on him.
However, he was in a bad state now, his whole body wrapped in bandages, with two crutches beside him. When he saw Zunzun and the others, he wanted to shout angrily, but seemed to pull at some painful spot and grimaced.
"Hey, you guys..."
"Light of Saber!"
"Eeeeeyah — — — — — — — —!"
Before the thugs could react, they were enveloped in a powerful electric current. After screaming miserably, their eyes turned white and they fainted, including the bald man who had been hit by a mud truck and had his whole body wrapped in bandages.
Stella twitched her lips when she saw this.
"Zunzun, you..."
"Don't worry, I showed mercy."
Can this be called showing mercy?
The blackened, charred corpses were grotesque and emitted a foul odor. She didn't know if these thugs were dead or alive. She thought her temper was bad enough, but she didn't expect there were even more ruthless people.
"You really don't understand, Stella. When you've determined someone is an enemy, you don't talk about martial ethics anymore."
"I agree with that."
Kurogane Ikki nodded.
He wasn't a saint. They came to challenge the dojo, did they expect to be greeted with fawning smiles? They wouldn't show mercy to you.
"That's not what I meant. I meant, if you kill them all, won't the guy we're looking for be nowhere to be found?"
"Don't worry, I can find him."
Zunzun looked towards the dojo.
There was a huge magical power there, different from these trash, and the person who could have this magical power was obvious.
He came to the dojo and pushed open the door.
The Swordsman Killer, Kurashiki Kurato, was sitting on the sofa in the dojo. The dojo was as he had imagined, with garbage everywhere, dirty walls, and a foul smell.
When he saw Zunzun and the others, his eyes behind his sunglasses lit up, revealing shark-like teeth.
"I was just planning to visit you."
"Too bad, Prowess Academy doesn't allow villains and dogs to enter. I guess you can't get in."
Zunzun's venomous tongue made Kurashiki Kurato's face darken.
He lowered his voice and asked, "So, what are you here for?"
"Are your eyes just for show? Or are your sunglasses preventing you from seeing the situation? I didn't expect that staying with this trash for so long would make your brain rust and become dull... Looking at this scene, you should know what we're here for, right? Of course, we're here to pick a fight!"
"Haha! I thought you were going to say something else. How boring. Never mind what kind of bewitching soup that woman gave you, this dojo is a trophy I obtained through a formal duel. Do you know what that means?"
"I know, I know, so—"
Zunzun took two wooden swords from Ayatsuji Ayase, pointing one at Kurashiki Kurato's nose.
"I'm here to duel you."
"...Challenging the dojo?"
"Don't you dare? Of course, if you admit that you are trash, a weakling, and then bark three times like a dog, I might not let you go."
"You bastard... Fine, I accept."
Kurashiki Kurato, who was angered into laughter, grabbed the wooden sword handed to him. Just as he was about to crush the wooden sword—
"Let me remind you, my inherent divine armaments are not swords, so I can only use a wooden sword. Of course, if you plan to use your inherent divine armaments for an unfair duel, I don't mind."
"Ugh!"
Choked by the words, Kurashiki Kurato forcibly suppressed his anger and didn't crush the wooden sword. If he crushed it, he would have to duel with his bare hands.
Kurogane Ikki, Stella, and Ayatsuji Ayase watched from the edge of the dojo.
Kurashiki Kurato grinned, saying with malice, "Compared to you, you foul-mouthed brat, I'd rather duel with that guy (Kurogane Ikki), but it doesn't matter, I'll defeat you soon, and then have a real, bloody fight with him!"
"Provided you can win."
"Then—let's begin!"
He roared and swung his sword at Zunzun with barely contained excitement. As soon as the battle started, he immediately took a big step to shorten the distance. Each step was enough to shatter the floor, showing his explosive power.
"Hah!"
A head-on, forceful slash!
Kurashiki Kurato was using a rather crude, self-taught swordsmanship. His movements were full of flaws, his skills were clumsy, and it was easy to defend against him. Moreover, he didn't understand the basic attack mode of the katana at all, relying only on the strength of his arm.
It was more accurate to describe it as hammering than slashing.
However, although the movements seemed crude, they were very sharp.
Continuous, uninterrupted chaotic slashes landed on the wooden sword, making the wooden sword body bang. He didn't know where Ayatsuji Ayase bought the wooden sword, but the quality was indeed good.
Zunzun didn't attack.
Instead, he supported the wooden sword, his body constantly sinking.
Kurashiki Kurato's strength was astonishing, like a beast, wielding the wooden sword with wildness, like a beast's claws. Without a trace of belief or reason, he relied solely on strength to subdue people, nakedly powerful.
So that's how it is.
No wonder Ayatsuji Ayase's father lost.
As far as he knew, Ayatsuji Ayase's father was already terminally ill when he dueled with Kurashiki Kurato. Coupled with the theory that youth trumps age, it would have been strange if he had won.
While thinking, Zunzun leaned his upper body back, dodging Kurashiki Kurato's full-force horizontal slash.
Boom!
The sword pressure, like a cannon, swept past his nose.
Because it was a full-force swing, his chest was wide open. How could Zunzun not seize such a low-level mistake?
He flipped his wrist and held the wooden sword in reverse, twisting his body to face away from Kurashiki Kurato, stabbing behind him like a dagger thrust.
"That move...!"
Kurogane Ikki was amazed.
He had never seen such a move before. Although it looked a bit strange, it was undoubtedly a fantastic sword technique. Using one's own body to block the path of the sword, making it impossible for the enemy to predict the sword's trajectory, catching them off guard.
—Got him!
Just as he was thinking this, Kurashiki Kurato let out a cold laugh, his wooden sword standing straight up to block Zunzun's counterattack.
“Impossible!”
Stella exclaimed.
If it were her, she definitely wouldn't have been able to react in time to that move. However, Kurashiki Kurato had barely managed to block it at the crucial moment.
“Haha, too bad.”
He stuck out his tongue and mocked Zunzun.
It was indeed a pity.
Zunzun's timing was perfect. With ordinary people's reflexes, it would be impossible to retract the right hand suspended in the air at that moment.
Unless he had foreseen Zunzun's counterattack and prepared a defensive move from the start. Or perhaps…
Another very tricky possibility surfaced in Kurogane Ikki's mind.
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That is—
“I see, it's powerful reflexes.”
Zunzun stared straight at him.
That's it!
Kurogane Ikki clapped his hands.
Conditional reflexes in the nervous system have three elements: input, transmission, and output. When represented by a few neurons, it corresponds to the individual's response to local stimuli. When extended to neural colonies, it may correspond to the processing method for a certain triggering event.
The average person's reaction speed is about 0.3 seconds, while that of a strong e-sports player is 0.1 seconds.
And this nerve conduction speed, no matter how much you train, will not be lower than 0.1 seconds. However, judging from the offensive and defensive exchange just now, Kurashiki Kurato's reaction speed is probably only 0.05 seconds.
It can be said that he has surpassed the limits of human beings.
With this kind of extraordinary reflexes, he can do many unconventional things. While Zunzun is performing one action, Kurashiki Kurato can perform two or even three actions.
That's right.
His swordsmanship has no technique at all, it's just full of violence, but he can rely on this violence to trample everything.
Because reaction speed is the foundation of all movement speed. No matter how much you train your physical fitness, hone your moves, or learn tactics, it's meaningless if you are perceived.
And no matter how casual Kurashiki Kurato's attack is, he can change the position of the attack after the enemy makes a defense.
It's like the [right to attack later] in a certain basketball manga. How can you play when you attack after seeing the other person's move?
“To be able to see through my divine-speed reflexes on the first exchange, you are the first. I admit I underestimated you, but so what if you see through it? Even if you know how divine-speed reflexes work, how do you plan to break it?”
“Heh.”
Zunzun sneered disdainfully.
If you want to break it, there are countless ways.
For example, the筑壁流 (Chikikabe-ryu), or the 流水制空圈 (flowing water control sphere), or even more sword techniques are fine.
However…
Yes, after all, this is the dojo.
Zunzun raised the wooden sword in his hand, pointed the tip at Kurashiki Kurato in front, and then quickly ran towards him. This was the first time Zunzun had taken the initiative to attack.
“Courting death!”
Kurashiki Kurato grinned wildly.
The wooden sword in his hand kept waving, with no technique at all. But he was not flustered at all, and still messed around like this, after all, divine-speed reflexes gave him enough confidence to change his moves at the critical moment.
Zunzun faced Summer Vacation without any defense, as if he was completely helpless against this move.
Ayatsuji Ayase had already closed her eyes in fear.
Stella also lowered her head, unable to bear to watch.
Only Kurogane Ikki stared at Zunzun with wide eyes, he had a hunch… what would happen next would be an unexpected move.
Zunzun fearlessly faced the oncoming gust of wind, advancing bravely. He raised his sword straight ahead, the tip pointing directly at Kurashiki Kurato, without any defensive posture, just moving forward.
Was he giving up?
Or was it just a desperate charge?
—No, this guy!
Raising the tip of the sword in front of him, his red eyes contained a sharp light, all of which was frightening.
Kurashiki Kurato knew this feeling.
He had only once, personally experienced this feeling.
That was when fighting Ayatsuji Ayase's father, at the last moment, that guy seemed to be planning to use a certain move.
He was just like Zunzun now.
He rushed over, disregarding everything and abandoning defense.
Kurashiki Kurato still didn't understand what he wanted to do at that time, but at that moment he did feel danger, and fear that went deep into his bones.
Then and there, just like now.
How interesting!
Kurashiki Kurato did not stop slashing. With his divine-speed reflexes, he could instantly switch to an evasive posture, but he insisted on moving forward.
He had to move forward!
He had been waiting for the sequel to that duel.
Ayatsuji Ayase's father might get better, Ayatsuji Ayase might reach the same realm to challenge him.
He bet on a slim hope, waiting day and night in this place.
So, he can't stop!
And there is no reason to stop!
“You really made me wait! It's been worth the wait for two whole years—!”
In an instant.
The two stopped.
Kurashiki Kurato's wooden sword brushed past Zunzun's neck, while Zunzun's wooden sword stabbed into his kidney, the powerful rotational force causing his upper body to twist slightly.
Zunzun could guarantee it.
One of Kurashiki Kurato's kidneys was ruptured.
“Cough cough!”
Kurashiki Kurato's legs softened and he knelt on the ground involuntarily, coughing. His hands were weak, and the wooden sword also fell to the ground. Only one question was circling in his mind.
Why?
Clearly he had endured the attack of his wooden sword, but Zunzun had not been harmed in the slightest.
“This is…!”
“That's right. Feel everything about the opponent, and use slight movements of the body to deflect the opponent's swords. The peerless stance—the ultimate mystery of the Ayatsuji Ichido-ryu·Ten'imuhō (Seamless Garment).”
Kurogane Ikki slowly opened his mouth.
In fact, he already knew this move, but he hadn't fully learned it yet. He didn't expect that Zunzun, who usually didn't show off, had actually mastered this mystery.
No, considering the realm of swordsmanship he has reached, it is impossible not to master it.
“I see, that old man wanted to use this move at the end…”
Kurashiki Kurato spat out a mouthful of blood.
“Ten'imuhō (Seamless Garment), he's really something…”
“Ten'imuhō (Seamless Garment)? Ridiculous. What's so seamless about this.”
Zunzun's words were contemptuous.
He clearly defeated Kurashiki Kurato with this move, but he still looked disdainful, which made everyone stunned.
“Pick up the wooden sword.
I told you to pick up the wooden sword!”
Zunzun's wooden sword pointed at Kurashiki Kurato, looking down at him: “Next, I will tell you what is truly Ten'imuhō (Seamless Garment).”