Chapter 560 - Borrowing Katana (1/2)

Zhang Heng felt that s.h.i.+mizu Iss.h.i.+n had to be a lot better than the young man before this.

Since he was the captain, he was second only to Sugawara Saemon among the dojo’s ranks. He should have been practicing s.h.i.+gen s.h.i.+nkai–Ryu for some time now. Of course, who else would be the one to showcase everything that he had learned so far.

In fact, s.h.i.+mizu Iss.h.i.+n had been following Sugawara Saemon even before he opened the Suzaku Dojo. After practicing s.h.i.+gen s.h.i.+nkai-yu for more than ten years, he finally acquired his Menju status. Now, he taught on behalf of Sugawara Saemon at the dojo. Even Sugawara Saemon himself wasn’t sure if he could defeat s.h.i.+mizu Iss.h.i.+n.

Now that he was standing in the face of Zhang Heng, s.h.i.+mizu looked even more solemn than when facing his master.

Other pract.i.tioners observing them knew that the offensive side always had the advantage over the defenders. Like the saying went, no one could defend forever, where sooner or later, the attacker would creep up and break the opponent’s defense. However, Zhang Heng insisted on staying at the same spot, not even moving his feet an inch. He managed to nullify his opponent’s attack quickly. Even if Koyama Myos.h.i.+n-Ryū was a sect that emphasized defense, it was impossible that anyone maintained such a calm mind in the face of such a formidable opponent.

This could only mean one thing: the gap in strength between the two must be a lot wider than initially expected. s.h.i.+mizu felt the pressure bearing down on his shoulders. Fighting this battle meant carrying the dojo’s honor. Before the battle began, he bowed to his opponent, drew the wooden katana, and said in a deep voice, “Let’s learn from each other.”

Zhang Heng got his hands on the katana crafted by Miike Tenta Mitsuyo a quarter of an hour later. At the same time, he also got to witness the quintessence of s.h.i.+gen s.h.i.+nkai–Ryu. On the other hand, s.h.i.+mizu was sweating profusely, gasping for breath, looking much like a fish out of water. There was fear in his eyes. He had tried his best, but it was fruitless.

He even felt that he was not much different from the junior that fought with Zhang Heng earlier. He failed to break his defense no matter how hard he tried.

No one had ever heard of a sect called Koyama Myos.h.i.+n-Ryū, and they wondered how its disciples could be so skillful. s.h.i.+mizu was known as an experienced master of Suzaku Dojo. No matter what happened, his expression always remained unchanged. Suzaku Dojo’s disciples had always said that as long as s.h.i.+zumu was here, there was no need to worry about anything, even if the sky fell on them.

However, at the end of the battle with Zhang Heng, s.h.i.+zumu’s mind was muddled. This was his first time experiencing helplessness, where the harder he fought, the sadder he felt. It was as if everything that he learned so far had been rendered useless.

s.h.i.+zumu was actually not that weak. When the two of them fought, Zhang Heng could feel that s.h.i.+mizu was stronger than Yamada. s.h.i.+gen s.h.i.+nkai–Ryu had always emphasized taking the first strike. Their iaijutsu was particularly interesting. The rumor was their iaijutsu was a fusion of Kinri Sankyo iaijutsu and So-Ryu iaijutsu.

After the battle with s.h.i.+mizu, Zhang Heng had roughly figured out his strength and speed. When s.h.i.+mizu was using iaijutsu, he unexpectedly managed to infuse an impressive strength into the strike.