Chapter 70: Defend! The Pure Photo Collection!
"Martial arts starts with a solid lower body. You've got plenty of power and decent technique, but last night when you were sparring with the drunkard, I saw it clearly—your lower body is way too unstable. I have no idea how you even built up that strength and skill. No matter how high your kung fu is, if your stance is shaky, it's all wasted effort. So today, we're practicing horse stance!"
Akisame said this casually while sitting at the edge of the dojo, sipping tea.
Barely twenty minutes later, Takumi was in horse stance, arms spread wide, each hand gripping a ten-kilogram water-filled jar. A stone Jizo statue (who knows how heavy) was strapped to his back, hovering just ten centimeters off the floor. Bowls of boiling water sat on his head and thighs—one twitch and they'd spill. Sharp blades were tied to his arms; one slip and they'd stab right into his ribs. And beneath his butt? A single stick of incense burning merrily away.
"M-Master! Did you even hear what I said?! This… this isn't a little over the top?! I feel like 'water and fire torture' was invented just for me!"
"With your physical condition, it's not exaggerated at all~~"
Five minutes passed.
"Master, my fingers are about to snap off! Can I put them down for a second?!"
"I've never seen someone say their fingers broke and then actually have them break."
"Arghhh—!"
Ten minutes passed.
"Ma… Master, your disciple really can't take it anymore! Please let me go!"
"I've never seen someone say they couldn't take it and then actually die from it."
"Gah! Ow—!"
Takumi yelped as one of the blades nicked his side. Are you kidding me?! This isn't something a human should endure!
Akisame glanced up, met Takumi's hopeful eyes, walked over calmly, replaced the incense under his butt with a fresh stick, dumped the now-lukewarm water from the bowls, and refilled them with fresh boiling water.
"So… endure one more stick of incense."
"Wahhh, Master!"
"What?"
"You're a demon!"
Akisame just smiled faintly without a word.
In the midst of this water-and-fire hell, a whole week flew by.
"Hah! Hah! Hah! Rear straight punch! Knife-hand strike! Side chop! Front kick! Roundhouse kick!!!"
Takumi roared as he unleashed the basic karate combo. Every punch carried the force to shatter bricks, but his target wasn't stone—it was a towering 190-centimeter beast of a man who blocked the entire storm of attacks with just one hand. Then, with a single step forward, a twist, and a shoulder charge, he sent Takumi flying several meters away.
"Ugh… that hurt."
"Get up! Is that all you've got after burning your fighting spirit? It's not even a tickle! Any random person off the street would hit harder than you!"
Shio bellowed. Takumi scrambled up, assuming karate ready stance. Shio stepped in and unleashed a terrifying knife-hand strike. Takumi's hair stood on end—this move felt like a giant swinging a massive axe straight at his neck. One clean hit and he'd be decapitated!
No way—! Takumi screamed internally. He forced every ounce of strength into his right elbow and fired a devastating strike like a hammer crashing into Shio's hand. They say ten punches can't match one palm, ten palms can't match one finger, and ten fingers can't match one elbow. Elbow strikes are the deadliest in close combat—that's why Muay Thai, with its mastery of elbows and knees, has been called invincible for five hundred years.
Even though Takumi was still leagues behind Shio, the elbow had a massive advantage against an open palm. He narrowly avoided the "decapitation," but his elbow felt like it was splitting open. Fighting Shio terrified him. When Shio attacked, all you could do was block—any counter would shatter your bones. If you didn't block, other bones would crack. Thankfully, Shio controlled his power perfectly, hitting exactly at Takumi's limit. No broken limbs, but the pain was absolutely excruciating.
"Not bad. You finally squeezed out black-belt seventh-dan power this time. Still far from your true potential, though. Take a break."
Takumi let out a huge sigh of relief and plopped down on the wooden floor. At that moment, Fuurinji Miu walked over, carrying a tray.
"Shio-sensei, you've worked hard. Have some tea."
"Ahh, indeed. Teaching such a hopeless disciple is exhausting. Of course, it'd be even better if this tea was sake."
"Wahhh, what do you mean exhausted?! You looked like you were having the time of your life beating me up!"
Takumi grumbled inwardly, but the sight of Miu's beautiful face instantly revived his spirit.
"Senpai, where's mine?"
"Sorry, we ran out of tea leaves."
"No way?!"
Even though he half-expected it, hearing the truth still made tears well up. Takumi looked at her pitifully. Miu cleared her throat.
"If you want tea, hand over those shameless photos you got from Ma-sensei."
"How did you know?!"
Takumi's eyes widened. Yesterday he'd secretly spent the small fortune he'd earned in the Interact Play VR world to buy some "very pure" photo collections. This was supposed to be a secret known only to heaven, earth, him, and the seller! How did it leak?! Miu's relatively thick eyebrows (for a girl) shot up as she glared.
"So it's true, huh? You two pervy aliens, hand them over right now!"
An terrifying aura exploded from Miu. Takumi instinctively cried out,
"Miu, are you bluffing me?!"
"Hmph. You're just too dumb. Hand them over."
"No way! No way! I'd rather die!"
"Then die."
Miu leaped, her gorgeous right leg chopping down like a massive blade. Takumi roared and caught the deadly kick with both hands like the Heavenly King holding up a tower. Crack! The wooden floor beneath his feet caved in. The sheer power of Miu's kick was terrifying.
"Hand them over."
"No!"
Miu and Takumi unleashed ferocious fighting spirits and clashed violently. Without burning his fighting spirit, Takumi should have been helpless against Miu's at-least-fourth-dan-level martial arts. But for the sake of protecting his precious "pure photo collection," he displayed unimaginable tenacity. He had no offensive power, yet the rock-solid defense he'd honed from years of sparring with his little sister let him endure stubbornly.
Miu was furious, anxious, and a little embarrassed. This guy trembled like a scared mouse against Shio-sensei, yet turned into an unbreakable demon when fighting her—just for some photos! Damn it, what kind of insane level are those pictures that he's fighting this hard? I was careful… there shouldn't be anything too shameful, right?
The more Takumi resisted, the more Miu burned to see them. Her kicks grew fiercer—taekwondo, poking-foot techniques, fused together. Her power surged; she became a whirlwind, legs flashing from every direction like feathers dancing in the wind.
Yet Takumi stood firm like a mountain. His third-dan strength was fully unleashed. Relying on his natural and trained fighting instinct, he held the line.
"What the hell is this? That idiot disciple actually has this much willpower? Damn it, even I couldn't draw out his potential like Miu did."
"Oh my, how interesting. I was just worried he'd developed a strong resistance to training. Turns out everyone ignites their fighting spirit in different ways."
Wearing a judo gi, Akisame Kōetsuji appeared silently and smiled at the scene. Then a short man in a cap burst in—Kensei Ma. He quickly grasped the situation and teared up with emotion.
"Go for it, Takumi! You're a legendary hero! Fighting a demon lord to protect your 'precious treasure'! Wahhh, I'm so moved! Hold on! I'll sell you all my collection! I've got even more lovey-dovey stuff—Shigure's fresh-out-of-hot-spring exclusive shots, Miu's gymnastics series…"
Takumi had been on the verge of collapse, but those words hit him like a shot of adrenaline. He roared and actually started counterattacking! Miu, hearing Kensei's words, grew even angrier and flustered by the sudden reversal.
"Haha, youth is wonderful. This takes me back to the days I defeated five hundred martial artists and first met Shizuko in the bamboo grove."
Fuurinji Hayato laughed heartily, stroking his beard while watching the fight. When he saw Takumi being suppressed again, Kensei immediately shouted,
"I'm going all-in! Little Takumi! I've got Shigure's ultra-rare just-out-of-the-bath edition, and Miu's swimsuit malfunction exposure shots!"
"Ahhh, no more…!"
Takumi felt his soul ignite. It was like he'd borrowed a magical tool from a certain blue cat robot. Steam poured from his ears as he erupted with fourth-dan power far beyond his normal limit, pushing Miu back.
"Haha, that's it! The power of love is invincible—urgh!"
Clang! A flash of white lightning streaked through the air. In an instant, a blade rested against Kensei's neck. Shigure Kōsaka, clad in black ninja garb, appeared without a sound. Her expressionless face delivered one cold command:
"Hand them over."
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