Chapter 231: Chapter 228: Santoryu
All of the long-range attacks missed Ryu, surprising both the allies and the enemies.
"Annoying brat," muttered one of the cloud ninjas, frustrated by Ryu's effortless evasion that seemed to happen in an instant.
Kaminari, noticing that his men were resorting to basic attacks, recalled the powerful slap he received and realised that Ryu possesses very strong physical abilities, prompting him to give a warning shout. "Don't go for taijutsu! The brat is strong!"
Two of the enemies decided to take a direct approach after witnessing Ryu evade the projectiles. They took out their swords and moved in, attempting to slice at Ryu. Ryu dodged their initial, predictable slashes, flowing around their attacks with movements that felt instinctively right, guided by his [Fast Thinking], [Parallel Thinking], [Peripheral Awareness] and [Hyperphantasia], all working together.
With a slight, almost unnoticed hand movement, he conjured a carbon card into his hand, pulling it from a hidden slot in his sleeve. He had stored some cards in his sleeve for contingencies.
Ryu... during his close combat, very covertly used the cards with a flick, simultaneously striking the two swordsmen in the chest and exploding with a small burst. It wasn't a lethal explosion like the [Jisatsu Seal] but a focused burst of force designed to incapacitate and disarm. The swords in their hands flew upwards from the impact, sent spinning into the air.
As the swords tumbled, thrown by the explosion, Ryu moved. His movements were smooth and precise, appearing to him to be in slow motion as a result of the enhanced perception that comes along with his enhanced senses and thinking capacity. Ryu positioned himself in the path of the falling blades, his hands extended and skilfully caught one sword in each hand as they fell.
The two disarmed enemies first displayed shock with wide eyes, which quickly turned into expressions of anger and humiliation. To have their swords taken like that was a profound insult. Their comrades reacted with anger and disbelief.
On the other side of the battlefield, Kohinata and the secretary stared, astonished. "Since when could he use Kenjutsu?" the secretary thought, her eyes wide. The secretary had never seen him pick up a sword before.
Ryu's posture shifted immediately, transitioning into a two-sword stance, and Ryu muttered, "Nitoryu: Nigiri."
Ryu assumed a stance reminiscent of a certain pirate hunter. The blades reflected the dim light, and a menacing smile touched his lips as he looked at the enemy.
"These short swords are just perfect for me," Ryu said, testing the weight of the blades, feeling the familiar balance. He tilted one slightly, catching his reflection. "I can see my face in the blade. This is a brand new blade. Thank you for letting me borrow them."
Ryu widened his smile, a dangerous spark in his eyes, and said, "Come on now, let's dance."
"I did not practise kenjutsu much in this life," Ryu thought, his grip firm on the swords. "But all the sword practice and anime from the last life, combined with my current physical stats and abilities, will be enough."
"Now I'm going to kill him!" One enemy yelled and ran at Ryu with a sword drawn, maybe because the show made them so angry they couldn't handle it.
Ryu assumed a defensive stance, preparing for the enemy's attack.
After the initial charge, the remaining enemies surrounded Ryu and hurled shuriken and kunai from all directions, aiming to overwhelm him with their sheer numbers. As the projectiles rained down, the world seemed to slow down for Ryu once more.
His [Fast Thinking] stretched the moment, allowing him to perceive the incoming storm with impossible clarity. He saw everything—every spinning shuriken, every glinting kunai— not just directly but also reflected in the polished blades of his new swords. And [Improved Eyesight] added another layer to his perception.
His [Parallel Thinking] processed every attack vector simultaneously, instantly calculating deflections and cuts. His [Hyperphantasia] visualised the perfect defensive movements and counter-slashes, tracing the trajectory of every incoming weapon, overlaying them onto his vision like augmented reality.
His [Peripheral Awareness] tracked enemy movements outside his direct gaze, ensuring no sneak attack went unnoticed.
Ryu used the swords to expertly dodge, deflect, or cut down every single thrown weapon in midair with precise accuracy provided by his mental and physical prowess.
Ryu, with his abilities synchronised like a clock's gears, commanded the battlefield, his two swords acting as a natural extension of his strength. He handled the rain of shuriken and kunai like a pro. The occasional exploding tags and long-range ninjutsu that he could not block with his sword were blocked using his [ReflexGuard] barriers, forming instantly around him. The rest were not a problem for Ryu.
Ryu thought, "The explosions should have alerted someone by now, and rescue must be on the way now." He glanced back towards his allies, noticing the faint green glow surrounding them as they healed. "Both of them are in the process of healing. I need to buy as much time as I can and also need to find an opportunity to kill as many as I can before all my chakra runs out and I am taken out."
Ryu was breathing heavily, and his chakra reserves were depleting rapidly. He took both swords in a single hand, holding them momentarily against his side, and took a card out of his sleeve with the other. He put the card on his chest, securing it there. He had not activated it yet, as he still had half of his chakra, and the efficiency and speed of the [Chakra Backup Seal] are the best when you have the lowest chakra, just like how charging is faster when your phone battery is almost nil. It would require a few seconds to activate fully, but to be careful, he stuck the card to himself in advance.
"Time to step up now," Ryu said, his voice low but clear. He smiled, his eyes carrying a menacing look that conceals his exhaustion.
Ryu dashed towards the nearest enemy ninja, aiming to deliver a quick sword attack at them. However, the enemy skilfully blocked the attack with a kunai infused with lightning chakra.
"Not every one of the enemies other than the leader is always weak," Ryu acknowledged internally, respecting the unexpected skill. Ryu shifted his grip on the sword, reversing it and holding it like a bottle, preparing for a different kind of strike.
Rather than a direct strike, Ryu surprised everyone by turning his back to the enemy and adjusting his sword grip. With the sword pointing down, resembling holding a fish or a bottle, he stepped back slightly and executed a swift back-flip kick at the enemy's chin while smoothly transitioning the sword from below to deliver an upward cut. The enemy was cut, and his sword fell, stabbing the ground below. All this happened in a second.
It was an unexpectedly complex and beautifully performed movement, not something typically expected from a kid. The enemy, caught off guard by the sudden change in direction and the unique strike, couldn't fully react and was sliced.
Before the enemy Ryu had cut could even collapse on the ground or their [Jisatsu Seal] explode, Ryu grabbed the sword using his mouth and used a [ReflexGuard-Trampoline] beneath his feet to jump around rapidly and reach other targets fast, moving like a blur across the battlefield.
Ryu then, without wasting time, ran towards his new target while muttering, "Santoryu".
Ryu attempted to kill him, lunging with a two-sword strike from above, but again he was met with a good counter. The enemy reacted swiftly, using his lightning-covered sword to block Ryu's attack. Ryu clashed with him and used his chance and used his sword in the mouth to make a shallow cut on his opponent's chest, making everyone realise the sword in his mouth is not for show.
Ryu's opponent muttered, "This brat," before attacking him again.
During a short sword fight with clashes of steel and crackling lightning, more enemies moved in to surround Ryu, aiming to overwhelm him with numbers. One threw a shuriken at him.
Ryu saw its reflection in the polished surface of his sword during a swing in slow motion. A tiny, critical detail, visible due to his [Improved Eyesight] and [Hyperphantasia]. He also traced the imaginary trajectory piercing his head and moving through him and hitting his opponent. Ryu instinctively moved his head and dodged, moving subtly without even looking back.
Instead of hitting Ryu, the shuriken unexpectedly struck the enemy he was fighting in the balls.
The enemies who were closing in on Ryu came to a halt, staring with wide eyes. His allies, Kaori and Kohinata, also looked stunned. The enemies who were safe were also making a painful expression, watching their comrade in pain.
The enemy was now screaming in unimaginable pain, clutching his balls.
Ryu chose not to kill his opponent, thinking, "Shuriken in the balls... may be the worst way to die. Worse than [Thousand-Years-Of-Pain]… Let him enjoy this pain."
As he imitated one of his favourite anime characters and assumed the Santoryu stance—a three-sword stance—Ryu glanced back and flashed a frightening smile.
A/N: When people say they liked the chapter but still do not leave a five-star review on webnovel. I feel Thousand-Years-Of-Pain… *in my heart*. Please, if you liked the chapter, leave a five-star review on webnovel.
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