Hearing Sanjun's assessnt, Hoshiyomi felt a bit disheartened. What he didn't realize was that this level of appraisal already placed him c
Hearing Sanjun's assessnt, Hoshiyomi felt a bit disheartened.
What he didn't realize was that this level of appraisal already placed him close to the skill level of Mifune at age 24—and he himself was only 14.
Sanjun seed to sense what was going through Hoshiyomi's mind and continued:
"Your speed and strength are practically flawless, especially considering you're unable to use chakra right now.
And since your body's still developing, you've got even more room to grow physically."
"But swordsmanship isn't just about power and speed.
Mastery of technique—and the spirit behind the blade—are just as important."
"You were able to face Mifune's Flash head-on in that final match. That says a lot about your resolve.
Which ans the only thing you're still lacking… is technique."
"Now, technique is related to speed, but it's not the sa.
High speed can make up for technical deficiencies to a point, but when faced with true mastery, raw speed alone won't carry you."
"What's strange is—so of your moves are surprisingly refined.
Especially that one you used against Mifune... that was near the pinnacle of technique."
"But despite that, in your regular attacks, I can still see roughness—telltale signs of technical gaps."
Hoshiyomi was stunned.
Sanjun had seen right through him.
Swallow Return (Tsuba Gaeshi) was a system-granted skill.
The mont he activated it, his entire body was controlled by the system.
Without that, with his current ability, he couldn't possibly perform such a move—no matter how hard he tried.
Just as he was wondering how to respond, he heard Sanjun mutter with a sigh:
"This must be what they call divine talent.
To be able to use such a perfect technique despite lacking the proper foundations…"
Hoshiyomi gave Sanjun a full ntal thumbs-up.
Then he quickly changed the subject:
"So… Uncle Sanjun, how do I go about patching these gaps in my technique?"
Sanjun smiled.
"Co. Try the sa technique again—attack ."
Hoshiyomi obediently launched into another Dragon Nest Flash.
But this ti, the result was different.
Midway through the flurry, Sanjun suddenly shifted in his defense.
His blade ca down and pressed directly onto Mikazuki Munechika.
Though Sanjun didn't seem to use much force, Hoshiyomi imdiately felt pressure shoot up his wrist.
Looking down, he was shocked to find that his hand had been bent into a right angle relative to his forearm.
If Sanjun had pushed down just a little harder, his wrist might've snapped.
Hoshiyomi reacted quickly, withdrawing his hand—and in the sa motion, slashed upward with a reverse Kesagiri.
But Sanjun had already read his intent.
Before the slash could land, Sanjun's blade was in motion.
He angled it downward to intercept Hoshiyomi's slash, then took a half-step forward and drove his elbow directly into Hoshiyomi's chest.
The blow forced Hoshiyomi back two or three paces.
He clutched his chest, shocked.
For a mont, he even wondered if Sanjun's real na wasn't Sanjun, but Uchiha.
Wasn't that basically the Sharingan just now?
Sanjun hadn't been faster or stronger, but he'd cleanly countered and punished him.
So this… is the difference technique makes?
Hoshiyomi lifted his eyes and stared seriously at Sanjun.
Sanjun calmly explained:
"The reason you've overlooked technique up to now is simple—your speed and power are already far beyond your peers."
"And since most people your age have even worse technique than you, you haven't been forced to notice the gap."
"But technique can't be shortcut. It must be sharpened through battle, through experience, against those who are technically superior."
He paused mid-sentence, then frowned a little and corrected himself:
"Well, that's usually the case... but you're an exception."
"That technique you used before—the one against Mifune—it's the embodint of refined swordsmanship.
Even I wouldn't be able to fully replicate it."
"I think if you just keep using that move every day, study it deeply, and try to internalize its chanics…
you'll advance in technique faster than most people can dream of."
Hoshiyomi blinked.
He'd always thought it was natural for system-granted techniques to feel perfect—because the system executed them.
But now he realized—these skills weren't just flashy moves.
They were masterworks—condensed knowledge passed down from swordmasters of other worlds.
And here he was, ignoring that treasure trove while aimlessly trying to reinvent the wheel.
Foolish.
He imdiately assud the stance for Swallow Return, activating it again.
This ti, even as the system took control, he didn't let his mind go blank.
He focused—morizing the corrections, the angles, the flow of each movent.
He studied the motion of Mikazuki Munechika, the movent of his muscles, the precision of each strike.
And for the first ti, he felt it.
The subtle elegance beneath the technique.
Just one repetition left him standing there in quiet awe, eyes closed, replaying the sensations.
That single mont had taught him more than three months of hard training.
Sanjun smiled faintly as he watched from the side, then turned to Lobo:
"When he cos back to his senses, just let him know—he'll continue staying in the sa room."
With that, he took Asuka and quietly returned to the council hall.
Hoshiyomi remained in his reverie for a long ti.
He felt like he had gained so much in that brief mont that he wanted to try it again imdiately.
But then—sharp pain flared in his side.
Right. He'd forgotten about the injury near his waist.
The sparring earlier had been mild, so it hadn't flared up,
but channeling his focus so intensely during Swallow Return had pulled the wound open again.
With Lobo silently rolling his eyes, Hoshiyomi limped back to his room to reapply the dicine.
After that, his life in the General's mansion settled into a regular pattern.
Tsunade's dicine worked wonders—within about a week, the wound on his waist had fully healed.
Once recovered, Hoshiyomi threw himself into training.
Each day started with practice under Sanjun,
followed by deep reflection while using Swallow Return.
Thanks to his relentless pestering, he also managed to get access to Sanjun's Instant Step (Shunpo) training.
Every day in the mansion brought new gains.
His experience points were rising faster than he'd ever expected.
Originally, he had thought it would take at least half a year in the Land of Iron to reach Advanced Swordsmanship.
But after just two months of training in the General's mansion—
he had already accumulated enough EXP to break through.
That day, during a spar with Sanjun, Hoshiyomi felt it—
a surge like lightning across his mind.
And in the next mont, his movents suddenly beca more fluid, more refined—almost instinctively so.
Sanjun noticed and smiled in satisfaction.
"Congratulations. You've broken through."
PS: Read Advance Chapters at spatreon/c/ReadJin
PS: Read Advance Chapters at spatreon/c/ReadJin
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