"Too slow!"
Accompanied by a resounding shout, two dark figures suddenly separated. One shadow slowly landed, while the other figure crashed into the ground, kicking up a large cloud of dust.
The one who landed was Suì-Fēng, her face icy and devoid of any emotion.
The person who crashed into the ground was Yamahiko.
"Cough, cough."
Yamahiko climbed up from the ground, brushing off the dust from his body, wearing a helpless expression.
This day was a special training session with Suì-Fēng, mainly focusing on hand-to-hand combat and Shunpo. However, after participating a few times, Yamahiko realized that he was training to get beaten up.
Suì-Fēng coldly said, "Your power technique and the use of Shunpo are flawed. It seems you haven't been practicing seriously."
Yamahiko lowered his head and apologized, "I'm sorry, Captain."
Suì-Fēng snorted and said, "Again."
As Suì-Fēng's words fell, Yamahiko gathered reishi on his legs, and with a bang, he shot towards Suì-Fēng.
In an instant, Yamahiko appeared in front of Suì-Fēng. His right hand, with the first joint of his five fingers bent, exposing his palm, struck towards Suì-Fēng's face.
*Palm Strike*
This was a move in hand-to-hand combat, and when combined with Shunpo, it unleashed reishi and harnessed the power of the entire body. Yamahiko was confident he could shatter a rock with it.
However, facing Yamahiko's attack, Suì-Fēng merely tilted slightly to the side, easily avoiding the strike. Then, she took a side step and reached Yamahiko's side, her hand slicing towards his neck.
Yamahiko took a step back to evade the attack. Suì-Fēng's strike missed, and she instinctively pulled back her arm.
But in that very moment, as Suì-Fēng was retracting her arm, Yamahiko forcefully brought his foot forward, launching himself toward Suì-Fēng with a punch aimed at her chest.
This was the application of a retreat technique in swordsmanship. Retreating could evade the enemy's attack, and the step backward served as a source of power for launching an attack.
Yamahiko's punch struck at the exact moment when Suì-Fēng was retracting her arm, which was the timing for attack that Suì-Fēng had taught him.
However, Suì-Fēng only raised her right hand lightly, moving downwards from top to bottom, slapping Yamahiko's wrist and forcing it open.
As the hand opened, Suì-Fēng's right arm suddenly swung out, delivering a knife-hand strike aimed at Yamahiko's neck.
Yamahiko leaned backward, the knife-hand grazing past his nose. During this backward motion, he lifted his right foot and kicked at Suì-Fēng's abdomen.
Suì-Fēng extended her left hand lightly, grabbing Yamahiko's lower leg.
Yamahiko tried to pull his leg back, but Suì-Fēng had already firmly grasped his shin. She then flung him towards the distance.
In the next moment, Yamahiko flew straight out, crashing into a rock not far away, causing rocks to scatter everywhere.
"It hurts."
Yamahiko felt a sharp pain in his back and took quite some time to recover before slowly getting up.
At this moment, Suì-Fēng calmly said, "Do you know why I was able to throw you out? It's because you kept your body in a backward position, making it unbalanced, so I could easily throw you. Secondly, your attack movements have too much force. While using the body's power for an attack can increase its destructive force, it's difficult to change the body's center of gravity during the moment of force generation, making it easy for others to find openings to attack. Lastly, when dodging, try not to lose balance; maintaining balance is crucial."
Suì-Fēng pointed out the issues in Yamahiko's performance, making him realize how many mistakes he had made.
Moreover, Suì-Fēng responded effortlessly. She sidestepped, deflected, and used knife-hand strikes with these three simple techniques, leaving Yamahiko helpless.
"Can you still get up?" Suì-Fēng asked coldly, looking at Yamahiko sitting on the ground.
Yamahiko didn't dare to delay and immediately got up. He leaped towards Suì-Fēng once again, delivering a punch aimed at her face.
Facing this punch, Suì-Fēng simply sidestepped to avoid the strike.
But in the moment of sidestepping, Yamahiko's right fist suddenly opened, sweeping horizontally towards Suì-Fēng's neck.
Suì-Fēng couldn't react in time to evade, so she raised her right hand to intercept the strike. However, Yamahiko instantly withdrew, creating some distance between them. He adjusted his stance and faced Suì-Fēng once more.
He couldn't be impatient, couldn't mobilize his entire body's strength, and had to leave room for his attacks.
Yamahiko narrowed his eyes and suddenly took a step forward, punching towards Suì-Fēng's face.
This time, Suì-Fēng didn't dodge but instead raised her left arm to block Yamahiko's wrist, preventing his fist from getting any closer.
However, in the next moment, Yamahiko's left hand had clenched into a fist, emerging from under his ribs, aimed at Suì-Fēng's abdomen.
Suì-Fēng's right hand moved downwards to block Yamahiko's left fist, giving the forward momentum a horizontal force, allowing her to deflect the attack with less effort.
Suì-Fēng's techniques were simple yet direct. But as she pressed her hand down, Yamahiko suddenly opened his fist, reaching out to grab Suì-Fēng's hand.
Suì-Fēng's expression froze for a moment, sensing something wrong, and she attempted to pull her hand back.
In the next moment, an electric current surged into her body through her left hand.
Hadō #11. Tsuzuri Raiden – a technique that releases electricity along an object.
Suì-Fēng hadn't expected Yamahiko to use Kidō. Her body momentarily stiffened, but with her level of Reiryoku, the abandonment of incantation for Tsuzuri Raiden only caused a momentary stiffness.
However, that momentary pause was enough. Yamahiko's right fist had already opened and grabbed Suì-Fēng's left hand. He rotated his body using his right foot as an axis, simultaneously retracting his left foot, pressing his back against Suì-Fēng's chest.
Then, he suddenly straightened both knees, arched his back, using it as a pivot, and with his shoulder against her body, he pulled her arm forward forcefully.
A shoulder throw.
Yamahiko utilized the momentum of his body to throw Suì-Fēng entirely.
Suì-Fēng regained control of her body while still in mid-air, twisted her body, and landed gracefully in the distance.
Suì-Fēng frowned as she watched Yamahiko. Yamahiko suspected that his use of Kidō in the fight had angered her. Yamahiko quickly apologized, "Captain Suì-Fēng, I'm sorry; I shouldn't have used Kidō."
Suì-Fēng waved her hand dismissively and said, "No, the purpose of combat is to defeat the opponent. You're allowed to use all techniques available. If Kidō can be effective, then it can be used."
She continued, "In the past, Kidō required incantations and gestures, making it unsuitable for close combat as it would delay the timing. But what you used, Hadō #11. Tsuzuri Raiden, omits the incantation and simplifies the gestures, making it adaptable."
Yamahiko said, "Captain, can I teach this simplified Kidō to other members of the Onmitsukidō?"
Suì-Fēng shook her head and said, "No, your ability to do it doesn't mean they can. After all, the level of Reiryoku and the control of Reiatsu required are too high."
Yamahiko nodded, and Suì-Fēng continued, "However, have you considered another application for Kidō?"
Yamahiko asked curiously, "What?"
Suì-Fēng said slowly, "Combining Kidō with your body, coordinating it with Hakuda(hand-to-hand combat) to create an entirely new combat style."
Shunkō?
Yamahiko naturally knew about this combat style, which Suì-Fēng would use in her battle with Yoruichi Shihōin fifty years later.
So, Suì-Fēng might not have successfully developed this Shunkō yet.
Yamahiko nodded and said, "Actually, I've thought about this issue. Concentrating Kidō on the body to make the user faster and more powerful. And, different types of Kidō have different effects, like the wind element causes cutting and increase in swiftness in movement, fire element causes explosion, and lightning element increases speed and damage. Of course, which Kidō to use and where on the body to concentrate them, those are all things to consider."
What Yamahiko was describing were the three states of Shunkō that would appear in the future.
Sui-Feng's Shunkō and Mukyū Shunkō were wind attribute, She discovered a technique for making the Reiatsu she emits revolve around her like a vortex indefinitely, allowing her to maintain her Shunkō for as long as she wishes once she activates it.
Yoruichi's Shunkō and Shunkō: Raijin Senke were lightning attribute, extremely fast and destructive.
While Yūshirō Shihōin's Shunkō and Shunkō: Bakuen Musō were fire attribute.
Different attributes of Kidō could lead to different forms of Shunkō.
Suì-Fēng's eyes lit up as what Yamahiko described matched her own thoughts closely, and it had broader implications.
She looked at Yamahiko and said, "I have an idea that requires your assistance."