Chapter 13: Delivery to the Door

Chapter 13 - 13: Delivery to the Door Muguruma Kensei gripped his wooden sword tightly, eyes locked on the woman in front of him. Judging from their previous bout, she was a worthy opponent—one who deserved to be taken seriously. Still, he felt confident he could win this spar. His strength was a bit greater than hers. As long as he made good use of that advantage, he could end the fight quickly. With a shout, Muguruma Kensei lunged forward and slashed upward from the right. Thud— A heavy impact echoed out. Muguruma Kensei went flying. "No way! Absolutely no way!" He landed on his rear, eyes wide with disbelief. He couldn't accept it. Just last week, during the opening of the semester, they were evenly matched. And now—she had taken him down in a single move! Chijō Kana rested the wooden sword on her shoulder. "Hey~ I've been working my butt off lately on... training in Zanjutsu, you know!" Muguruma Kensei winced at the pain in his wrist. "It's only been a week! How could you have gotten that much stronger?!" In his mind, his Reiatsu and raw strength were both superior to Chijō Kana's. Yet this was the outcome—completely one-sided. He couldn't wrap his head around it. "That's because I've learned how to control my Spiritual Pressure. I use my Reiatsu better than you do!" Chijō Kana beamed with pride. All her effort was finally paying off, and it felt damn good. "Reiatsu control, huh? Tch, guess that's what you get when you've got a family background like yours. I lost this one." Muguruma Kensei sighed and stood up, ready to leave. "What are you talking about? I learned that at the Katori-ryu Dojo—it's got nothing to do with my family." Chijō Kana corrected him, then turned away. "Later! I'm heading to the dojo to scrounge some food—I mean, train!" Her match had made her forget all about the writing punishment she was supposed to do. "Wait!" Muguruma Kensei called after her. "This Katori Dojo you're talking about... does it have anything to do with Katori-sensei?" ... "So this is the Katori-ryu Dojo?" Muguruma Kensei looked at the somewhat worn-down gate. The plaque reading "Katori-ryu" above the entrance was clearly old—the carved characters chipped and faded. If not for witnessing Chijō Kana's progress firsthand, he wouldn't have believed a place like this could actually teach anything useful. But after learning how effective her training here had been, he couldn't sit still. He was someone who cared deeply about winning. Losing made him itch to win it back. So, Muguruma Kensei decided to follow Chijō Kana to the Katori-ryu Dojo and beg Katori-sensei to take him in. "Yep, this is sensei's dojo," Chijō Kana said, noticing the door wasn't locked. She pushed it open and called out, "Sensei, I'm coming in!" "Come on in, the door's open," came the voice of Katori Nanatsuki from inside. Muguruma Kensei felt a twinge of nervousness. He was afraid Katori-sensei might reject him. Unlike Chijō Kana, who came from a noble background, he was from Rukongai—so broke his pockets were cleaner than his face. He couldn't even afford to pay tuition. The two walked through the entry hall and followed the side of the courtyard into the backyard of the dojo. It wasn't a large backyard, and the moment they entered, they saw Katori Nanatsuki there. He was standing, gazing silently at the red maple tree in the garden. "Sensei's practicing sword technique. Let's wait a moment," Kana whispered. "Sword technique?" Muguruma Kensei watched eagerly, eyes glued to Nanatsuki's movements. Nanatsuki didn't acknowledge the two of them. He had sensed the movement of the wind. Placing his hand on the hilt of his sword, he waited. As the breeze lifted a handful of yellowing leaves— Clang— A flash of blade light erupted. The drifting leaves were instantly sliced into precise, symmetrical crosses, falling into four petals and scattering in all directions. "Whooo..." Nanatsuki let out a breath, twisting his wrist to sheath his sword. Ever since his match with Unohana Retsu, his understanding of Senmai-Oroshi had deepened. He'd made a breakthrough. To solidify the feeling, he had been intensifying his practice of Senmai-Oroshi for the past few days. Nanatsuki glanced at the Status Interface's Sword Technique section. Previously, Senmai-Oroshi was only at the Basic level. Now, it had improved to Skilled—and he felt he was only one step away from Mastery. Fighting Batsu'unsai was completely different from crossing blades with Unohana. Unohana's sword had been merciless. The pressure she exerted on him was intense. But as a result, he had gained a lot from the experience. Muguruma Kensei stood there, jaw slack, speechless. He hadn't even seen the sword move. The leaves were already in four pieces before he could register anything. If that strike had been aimed at him instead, his fate might not have been much different from those leaves. So this dojo did have the real deal! But now the real issue was—how could he convince Katori-sensei to take him in? "Sensei, what's that move called?" Kana clapped in admiration. "That was amazing—you actually slashed that many times in an instant!" "That's called Senmai-Oroshi," Nanatsuki explained with a smile. "It's a powerful sword technique. If you master it, you can unleash hundreds or even thousands of slashes in a single instant. But first, we'll build your foundation. Today, I'll teach you Shun Strike—a more beginner-friendly technique." "Muguruma Kensei..." Nanatsuki was actually a little surprised. He hadn't expected Chijō Kana to bring him along. Both Muguruma Kensei and Hirako Shinji were on his personal watch list. He had been looking for an opportunity to recruit them as disciples. From what Nanatsuki had observed, Muguruma Kensei wasn't the type to chat with girls. He rarely interacted with Chijō Kana during breaks, so they didn't seem like close friends. "Sensei Katori!" Muguruma Kensei suddenly dropped into a full kneeling bow. "I want to study Zanjutsu under you! Please take me as your disciple!" He had no money to offer, so he showed his sincerity the only way he could. Nanatsuki blinked. Muguruma Kensei just walked into his net willingly. A pleasant surprise. But it did save him the trouble—he had already planned to take Kensei as a disciple. Naturally, he wasn't about to reject him now. "Very well," Nanatsuki said sternly, "Since you're so sincere, I'll accept you as my disciple. But once you join my dojo, you must respect your elders and never commit betrayal. As long as you're loyal and diligent, I'll pass Zanjutsu down to you." "Yes, Sensei! I will not let you down!" Kensei replied, thrilled at how smoothly things had gone. [Muguruma Kensei has requested to become your disciple. Accept as Personal Disciple?] Nanatsuki looked at the system prompt before him and confirmed without hesitation. [Successfully accepted Muguruma Kensei as a Personal Disciple.] [Muguruma Kensei's reputation has increased. Current reputation level: Friendly.]