As a swordsman, it is almost inevitable that he will face very strong opponents.
Hoshiharu understood this truth long ago, and thinking of Tai Chi, a boxing technique that uses softness to overcome strength, he tried every way to convert it into his own swordsmanship skill.
He usually uses this swordsmanship to fight opponents stronger than himself.
He did not give a name to this swordsmanship technique.
After all, it is swordsmanship developed from Tai Chi, so it should be called Tai Chi Sword.
It would be ridiculous if he renamed Tai Chi Sword and claimed it as his own creation.
Fortunately, Kuraudo's strength did not give him a significant advantage, and there was a huge skill gap between the two sides, allowing him to achieve a thousand pounds with just four ounces.
If his strength exceeded his own by dozens of times, he would have been bankrupt a long time ago.
"However, I have figured out your method."
Hoshiharu narrowed his eyes and looked at Kuraudo with a surprised expression in his eyes.
"Oh?"
Kuraudo grunted softly.
"Theoretically, you shouldn't be able to avoid both swords just now, but you did in an unusual way and even launched a counterattack at me. According to my senses, it shouldn't be a way to lure the enemy in. In other words, you can't predict the future, and it doesn't seem like you rely on intuition… Therefore, you must have an extraordinary talent."
Hoshiharu spoke fluently.
A curious smile appeared on Kuraudo's face, as if he was very interested in what he said.
"If nothing else, your characteristic is actually very simple – it's your extraordinary neurological reaction speed!"
Hoshiharu said firmly, "This is also the real reason why you could fight Ayatsuji Kaito on equal terms."
Kaito's level of swordsmanship is very high, ranking at the top in Japan.
Hoshiharu had watched videos of his matches and knew that if Kaito was at his peak, he would not be defeated by Kuraudo with just a wooden sword.
The reason he was defeated by Kuraudo, who was not proficient in swordsmanship, on one hand, was due to his declining condition caused by heart disease, and on the other hand, because Kuraudo had a neurological reaction speed beyond ordinary people!
The difference in physical strength can almost be ignored. Kaito's swordsmanship can fully compensate for his physical weakness, just as Hoshiharu can suppress Kuraudo with his swordsmanship alone.
"Human neurological reaction speed has its limits. No matter how hard you train, it's impossible to reach the realm of 0.1 seconds, but your reaction speed might be at least around 0.05 seconds."
Neurological reaction speed, also known as reflex speed, refers to the time it takes for a person to complete the entire process of "cognition", "understanding", and "handling".
Hoshiharu's talent is very high.
However, no matter how talented he is, he is still human. Due to racial limitations, his current reflex speed is only about 0.12 to 0.13 seconds.
Kuraudo's reflex speed has surpassed the human realm and reached a state of around 0.05 seconds.
In other words, in the same amount of time, others only have time to perform one action, but he can perform two or three actions.
It is precisely because of this that he can perform unusual moves, stop Hoshiharu's attacks in seemingly impossible situations, and even launch unexpected counterattacks.
Reflex speed is the foundation of all movements.
No matter how much you train your physical fitness, sharpen your skills, or study tactics, it will all be meaningless if you are slow at the start.
His talent is no different from deliberately slowing down the guessing game. All of his opponent's movements are very slow in his eyes.
"Hahahaha! Correct answer!"
Kuraudo laughed loudly, with an indifferent expression on his face.
"You are the first person in history to figure out my Marginal Counter in the first fight. You deserve praise! But so what if you can see it? This is my innate talent, not a Noble Art. How can you break it?"
Fast reflexes are just a special talent he was born with.
There is no way to break it.
Kuraudo was very confident about this.
"Hmph."
But he suddenly heard a sneer coming from the other side.
"So, you think everything will be fine if you have fast reflexes, right?"
"Let me tell you something good, reflex speed is also a type of speed, and as long as it's speed – that's my domain!"
Ha?
What is this guy talking about?
What does he mean by "speed is your domain"?
"Setup, neurological reaction speed, target – opponent Kurashiki Kuraudo."
Hoshiharu set the superpower in his mind, and then slowly opened his eyes.
What kind of eyes are those?
Kuraudo couldn't contain his excitement.
The man's eyes were sharp before, as if he could see all the flaws, enough to make one's heart tremble. But now, his eyes had become even stranger, so deep that they seemed to see all illusions.
"...Then let me see how you plan to break my Marginal Counter!"
Kuraudo looked fierce.
He gripped Orochimaru hard.
Immediately afterward, Orochimaru's blade was like a snake, and then it suddenly stretched out. As he swung it, the sword snaked towards Hoshiharu and pounced!
Not only that, but he could also use his Noble Art to freely manipulate the blade so that the strength and trajectory of the blade were invisible, allowing him to attack and defend freely!
"—Hebigami!"
He opened his sword and attacked from both sides simultaneously with faster speed than before.
In the state of Marginal Counter, he was able to perform two movements in an instant. In other words, he made two slashes at the same time in an instant!
In the eyes of others, there were two giant snakes attacking him from the left and right.
A regular Blazer might panic at this moment and would not be able to distinguish which of the two giant snakes was real and which was an illusion.
But in Hoshiharu's eyes, everything was very clear.
He directed his gaze to the giant snake on the left.
"Already seen?!"
Kuraudo noticed his gaze for a moment and was suddenly surprised.
Then he gritted his teeth.
"How about this!"
He increased the speed of his sword swings again.
The two snakes suddenly split in the middle and turned into four, spewing venomous messages towards Hoshiharu from four corners.
As long as he was hit by the snake's message, Hoshiharu's body would surely be torn apart.
But when the body of the snakes turned into four, his eyes suddenly began to spin, and he calmly focused on the snake in the upper right corner.
"Once again…! How is this possible?"
Kuraudo couldn't understand.
This is not intuition at all!
The man did not rely on his naturally strong intuition, if he relied on intuition, his hands would move first, not his eyes.
Now his eyes could accurately find the real sword, which was clear proof that he had reacted!
But judging from the previous combat experience, it was impossible for this person's neurological reaction speed to reach this level!
"In that case—"
Kuraudo did not believe it.
He pushed Marginal Counter to the limit, developed his physical strength to the limit, and performed his truly unique move.
"—Yamata no Orochi!"