After chatting for a while, Fukai led Tamura Zairo to one of the village's training grounds.
For ninja, verbal understanding was always superficial. To truly understand a shinobi, one had to start with combat.
"Attack me with your strongest methods."
Drawing the ninja blade from his back, Fukai gestured for Tamura Zairo to go all out. He wanted to see the boy's limits so he could tailor his guidance afterward.
Tamura Zairo didn't waste words. He activated the sealing formula on his bracers, and two long blades appeared, grasped firmly in his hands.
"These kinds of swords…"
Seeing the two extraordinarily long blades, Fukai felt a trace of surprise. Blades of this length were rare—even among the samurai of the Land of Iron.
In shape, they resembled ninja swords and katana, but they were far longer. The longer one was about 1.6 meters, while the shorter one was still 1.2 meters.
Most ninja swords were under a meter in length for flexibility, yet both of these exceeded that. Their handles were also unusually long, suitable for two-handed grips and powerful cleaving strikes.
The blades themselves were straighter than standard ninja swords or katana, with a much smaller tip angle—clearly optimized for thrusting.
Chains extended from the pommels of both blades, connecting to the elbow portions of the arm guards. This allowed the user to leverage the entire arm to enhance slashing power while reducing wrist strain—effectively equivalent to a two-handed grip.
Just from the form of the blades, Fukai could already infer the style of attacks they were meant for.
"Teacher Fukai, I'm coming!"
With blades in hand, Tamura Zairo called out. He decisively consumed destiny power to boost his comprehension, enhancing his control over all aspects of himself.
This increase in comprehension wasn't limited to training—it was extremely effective in combat as well. It was like entering a sage-like state: calm, detached, rational, and far more perceptive.
The monstrous strength technique he had mastered over the past half month surged into his legs. He stomped forward explosively, launching himself ahead.
"Monstrous Strength Slash!"
Big Meow in his left hand swept horizontally. Little Meow in his right locked against Big Meow's spine to add force, monstrous strength surging into both arms.
"Pretty fast!"
Fukai was slightly surprised by the burst of speed and raised his blade to block.
Clang!
The blades collided, producing a dull, heavy impact rather than a sharp ring—clear evidence of the tremendous force behind the strike.
"Monstrous Strength Combo!"
Knowing his chakra reserves were limited, Tamura Zairo didn't pause at all. He swung both blades in a continuous series of slashes and thrusts.
This was the killing move he had been refining ever since he began practicing dual-wielding.
He had drawn inspiration from the dual-blade combo concepts of Sword Art Online—using relentless chained attacks to suppress the opponent, continuing until their guard and defenses broke and their body was struck.
It was the most beginner-friendly sword path and also the best fit for a ninja like him who specialized in taijutsu.
Of course, it wasn't mindless flailing.
Every strike targeted positions where the opponent found it difficult to generate force—or outright openings. The angles were viciously precise.
Over the past half month, he hadn't just used enhanced comprehension to refine chakra control; he had also further polished his swordsmanship. His overall strength had increased significantly.
Fukai was even more surprised.
He could tell that if a chūnin—one not specialized in taijutsu—were caught at close range by this, they wouldn't fare well at all.
Moreover, the sharpness of those two blades was terrifying. Even his own ninja blade was beginning to show damage along the edge. Ordinary kunai would likely be cut in half outright.
Fortunately, he was a jōnin—and one who specialized in nin-taijutsu.
With precise swings, Fukai blocked each strike while fully focusing on observing the boy's offense and combat style. Soon, he noticed something unusual.
The sword styles of Tamura Zairo's two hands were different.
This wasn't the standard dual-wield style of one blade attacking while the other defended. Instead, it was two distinct sword styles, working in concert—compensating for each other's gaps—giving him the feeling of being attacked by two people at once.
"Divided focus!"
Realization dawned.
This was a form of mind-splitting.
Such techniques were most common among Sunagakure's puppet masters, who needed to precisely control puppets and often trained in dividing their focus.
It was said that Chiyo, one of Sunagakure's elders, could control ten puppets at once, each capable of matching a jōnin—terrifying indeed.
And this boy had cultivated divided focus to a remarkable level. He had clearly put in immense effort.
Additionally, the application of monstrous strength was extremely strong—comparable to the explosive power of some taijutsu-specialized chūnin.
Beyond that, Fukai could tell that the boy was improving mid-fight. His sword movements were growing smoother—he was the type of practical genius who advanced through real combat.
Explosive power, dual-focus swordsmanship, razor-sharp long blades, and refined combat awareness…
All of it together was enough to rival a taijutsu-type chūnin.
"The question is—how long can he last?"
Fukai murmured inwardly.
He could see that this was a special burst state, and combined with the boy's limited chakra reserves, it wouldn't last long.
Tamura Zairo, meanwhile, wasn't thinking about any of that.
Fully focused, he pressed the attack.
Big Meow in his left hand emphasized heavy slashes, with thrusts as support. Little Meow in his right did the opposite—primarily thrusts, with slashes as supplements—making it far more agile and unpredictable.
This was the main reason he had chosen the miao dao style rather than katana or standard ninja swords.
Katana and ninja swords prioritized slashing, which was why their curvature was more pronounced—especially along the blade's center.
That structure made slashes easier and prevented unwanted deformation during heavy cuts, allowing better force transmission.
But it also weakened thrusting capability.
Some blades, due to excessive curvature, practically lost the ability to thrust at all. Forcing a thrust would bend—or even snap—the blade.
In contrast, the miao dao's blade was much straighter, especially along the central section. Only the tip had increased curvature, and even then it wasn't extreme.
Combined with a narrow tip angle, it was ideal for thrusting.
Among weapon techniques, thrusts were the hardest to defend against—especially with long weapons.
Even Fukai could only deflect them repeatedly.
Of course, a straighter blade was more prone to twisting under powerful slashes, making it inferior to katana in that regard.
But that could be solved with money.
Tamura Zairo had spared no expense on these two blades. Their structural strength was extremely high, and they used a tapered design—thinnest at the tip, thickest near the hilt, where the blade reached a full centimeter in thickness—greatly enhancing durability.
Even with his current monstrous-strength-enhanced strikes, the blades showed no sign of bending or vibration.
If he later learned to coat them with Lightning Release ninjutsu, their sharpness would become even more terrifying.
In truth, these two blades had been forged specifically for future Lightning Release augmentation, using chakra-conductive metals that were especially compatible with lightning.
"I'm going to counterattack now!"
After fully adapting to Tamura Zairo's attack patterns, Fukai spoke and decisively stepped forward, swinging his blade.
His swordsmanship had no flashy movements—only one defining trait:
Speed.
So fast that Tamura Zairo saw only a flash of steel before the blade was already in front of him.
Instinctively, he twisted his body, letting his shoulder guard take the hit. As Fukai's blade swept sideways toward his head, Little Meow in his right hand blocked it.
Borrowing the force, Tamura Zairo retreated while Big Meow in his left hand swept horizontally. He twisted his body and kicked hard against Big Meow's spine with his left leg, adding power to the slash.
Clang!
Fukai blocked again, then used even greater explosive force to knock Big Meow aside and stepped forward with another downward strike.
Now the difference between them became obvious.
Even without using Lightning Release, relying only on chakra to stimulate muscles and bones, Fukai's strength and speed were far beyond Tamura Zairo's.
More importantly, Fukai possessed battle experience forged through countless fights.
Tamura Zairo, despite years of sword training, had mostly been cutting rocks and wooden posts.
Earlier, when Fukai was on the defensive, it hadn't mattered much.
But once he took the initiative, Tamura Zairo's rhythm was completely disrupted.
Fukai advanced one step—Tamura Zairo retreated one step.
Blocking became increasingly difficult and awkward. His arms began to ache and go numb.
After retreating ten steps in succession, Tamura Zairo's arms were completely numb, unable to exert force.
And Fukai's next strike came crashing down once more.
Still as swift as lightning.
So fast that Tamura Zairo could barely see it.
With both arms and blades failing him, there was no way to evade this strike anymore.