Chapter 176: ‘Drizzle Style’
Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
The audience and the commentators were stunned and amazed. At the next moment, Mr. Iwai and Mr. Ito were sitting in a cold sweat.
As a matter of fact, being a commentator for competitive Kendo was easy, because most Kendo matches ended fast, some even within seconds, and they rarely dragged on more than that.
Of course, it would not affect much even if the match time extended. But what if even the commentators themselves could not track the attacks, then how were they going to commentate?
During the intense fight, they were both astounded.
In Kendo, victory or defeat would be determined in a split-second. Therefore, the attack speed of the competitors at the instant when they attacked was invisible to the naked eye. But that was just what it was... a split-second.
Apart from the video of Kimura Kazuki at Akihabara Square, it was totally impossible to maintain the sword-wielding at such a high speed for a long time like Ikioi Ito.
At this moment, three of the referees were buckled under the intensifying pressure. The hall was filled with the thudding of the shinais, indicating that all of Ikioi Ito’s attacks were blocked by Kimura Kazuki. What if... Ikioi Ito stopped attacking? Did that signify that Kimura Kazuki had won the match?
They would not be able to make an accurate judgment without tracking the attack properly.
It seemed like they needed to go through the video of the match when the time to determine the winner comes...
Kimura Kazuki was surprised that Ikioi Ito used the ‘Rainstorm Style’ from the Yagyu Flying Sword Style. In terms of speed, the Yagyu Flying Sword Style was ranked top three in Japanese Kendo history.
To his surprise, Ikioi Ito had mastered the style. This was not his expectation.
He blocked Ikioi Ito’s attack using his shinai, and then he went after him. In the next second, both shinais unexpectedly attached together.
The difference between the ‘Drizzle Style’ and ‘Rainstorm Style’ was the attachment between the swords. Once the ‘Drizzle Style’ is out, the final result would be both swords bonding together, regardless of the attack from the opponent. The ‘Drizzle Style’ was far superior to the ‘Rainstorm Style.’
The ‘Rainstorm Style’ mainly depended on extreme speed, for instance, forming dozens of swords attack all at once, just like a real rainstorm, and it never ceases to end.
Ikioi Ito felt a heavyweight on his hand when Kimura Kazuki struck back. It was the ‘Drizzle Style.’ His breathing started to become uneasy as if the surrounding air was pressing on him. On top of that, the pressure from the match was escalating as time passed.
His sword-wielding speed had slowed down...
“It seems like Ikioi Ito is unable to deal with such a critical attack. I was surprised that Kimura-san managed to block all of Ikioi Ito’s attack. It was truly amazing!”
Mr. Iwai was relieved after he saw the turning point.
“It seemed like Ikioi Ito’s attack technique just now looked similar to the swordsmanship used by Kimura Kazuki in Akihabara Square previously.”
“What you’ve described just then was the ‘Rainstorm Style.’ This technique can be learned in Yagyu Kendo Gym.” Mr. Ito responded right after he heard Mr. Iwai. He suddenly thought of something that made him smile. “I was not trying to advertise. The Yagyu Kendo Gym has already registered their Twitter account, and they tweeted a video of Kimura-san explaining the key points of the ‘Rainstorm Style.’”
“Oh? Kimura-san actually promoted ‘Rainstorm Style’ to the public?” Mr. Iwai replied in a shocking tone.
“According to Kimura-san from the video, ‘Rainstorm Style’ is the basic technique of the Yagyu Flying Sword Style, including ‘Drizzle Style’ and ‘Vibrative Style.’ Only when
you have mastered the three basic techniques can you learn the core of the Yagyu Flying Sword Style.”
“This...” Mr. Iwai was speechless. “The ‘Rainstorm Style’ is just basic swordsmanship?”
“Absolutely! Kimura-san mentioned that in the video.” Mr. Ito looked at the match, and replied confidently, “I had watched the whole video. If I am not mistaken, what Kimura-san is using now should be the ‘Drizzle Style.’”
historical
“According to what Kimura-san said, ‘Drizzle Style’ mainly focuses on attachment, it centralizes all the pressure toward the opponent. Hence, Ikioi Ito was slowed down, and his attack speed was decreasing from time to time.” Mr. Ito was glad that he had watched Kimura Kazuki’s video on Twitter. “But ‘Drizzle Style’ does have a flaw. You need to bind your sword to your opponent’s to pressurize.”
“It seems like ‘Drizzle Style’ is powerful.” Mr. Iwai got the point instantly, he was a professional Kendo player after all. “Once ‘Drizzle Style’ has been successfully structured, the initiative would be in Kimura-san’s hands, and Ikioi Ito would be doing the passive work. If Kimura-san intends to strike back, he can defeat Ikioi Ito at the instant he detaches his shinai away from Ikioi Ito’s.”
“Exactly!” Mr. Ito agreed with his point.
Nonetheless, what they did not expect was, as time went by, Kimura Kazuki removed the shinai without striking back.
After Kimura Kazuki detached his sword, both of Ikioi Ito’s hands trembled slightly. Ikioi Ito tightened his grip on his sword, but before he could loosen them, he heard Kimura Kazuki speaking to him.
“You should try using other sword arts. The Yagyu Flying Sword Style is useless against me.”
Kimura Kazuki stalled because he wanted to show the powerful Yagyu Flying Sword Style to the audience. Additionally, he was interested in watching as Ikioi Ito revealed different sword arts.
This was because Ikioi Ito’s swordsmanship was from the duplication of others. Previously, he thought his duplicating skill was incomplete and rough; however, he was astonished by his transformation of the Kageyama Kiai Style and his capability of performing the ‘Rainstorm Style.’
Therefore, at this moment, he would like to watch what other things he has in store.
“B*stard.”
Ikioi Ito became exhausted, as he was drained from struggling with the burden of the ‘Drizzle Style.’
Whirl... whirl... whirl...
There were streams of air flowing in the atmosphere, and they were attracted to Ikioi Ito. In just five seconds, Ikioi Ito managed to regain his composure.
Kimura Kazuki was amazed by that, “This is...”
“That was the breathing technique from the Momoi family. It helps in relieving fatigue, but there are drawbacks.” Ikioi Ito held onto his shinai with both hands. At this moment, he did not act rashly but instead squinted his eyes and asked, “Do you know what are swallows?”
Kimura Kazuki remained silent and was unsure about the purpose of his question.
“Swallows can withstand wind pressure while avoiding blades that target them, and this has nothing to do with how fast they move. No matter what kind of sword or blades, it couldn’t wield without vibrating the air.” Ikioi Ito feet moved while he was explaining. “Swallows can feel vibrations, so they change their directions of flying. Thus, no matter what kind of attack you hurl at them, you can never reach the swallows. The direction of a sword moves in a line. It is reasonable to say that a sword can never reach the swallows which fly freely in the sky.”
“Some swordsmen thought that we could just surround the swallows in a tight ring. The first attack would be on the swallows, whereas the second would be to seal their route of retreat. Success would come in a split-second, with two swords wielded simultaneously. However, wielding two swords at the same time would be a drag. For this reason, there was a need for a third sword to block the swallows that retreated to the sides”. Ikioi Ito slashed toward Kimura Kazuki, but Kimura Kazuki blocked his attack. He continued, “Too bad... the shinais used in Kendo competitions are too short. Only long swords are capable of blocking swallows. Besides, our body can’t afford to wield three swords at a time. On top of that, my skills in wielding a longsword are not as good. Hence, I developed this technique!”
Right after Ikioi Ito ended his speech, his spirit sprung up, and under his mask, his eyes gleamed with glory.
“I created this technique when I watched the Asahi Kendo Competition, deriving from the Torrent Kendo of the Sasaki family.”
“I named it...”
“The special skill! The Return of the Swallow·Sword Drawing Skill!”