Chapter 163: Chapter 163 The Intruder
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Chapter 163 The Intruder
Bang!
In the kendo classroom of Dawn Academy, a fat figure crashed into the wall, slid down and hit the pile of broken bamboo swords in the corner.
First my back touched the wall, then the back of my head hit the wall with a bang, and my whole brain went blank.
Good sound means a good brain.
"Three minutes and twelve seconds."
Yoshitaka skillfully threw aside the broken bamboo sword in his hand that was famous for its durability, looked at the little fat man lying there who had not recovered, and said with a smile: "Asuto is not bad, he is holding on better than last time."
After that, he frowned again, feeling the slight numbness in his palm, and said, "I always feel that you are not suitable for learning swordsmanship. Why don't you try other weapons?"
Although he was recruited, Kumokawa still treated him equally and did not hide anything from him. He naturally taught him the breathing method.
As the person with the strongest kendo attainment in the Amegakure Village besides Musashi and Hanzo, Yoshitaka can achieve twice the result with half the effort by learning breathing techniques.
Therefore, Yoshitaka naturally knew that although Kumokawa-sama used a "sword", his "breathing method" was not the "Kendo breathing method".
Knife, gun, sword, halberd, hammer...
The "Basic Breathing Method" bestowed upon them by Kumokawa-sama was highly malleable. No matter what weapon they chose, they could try to develop a breathing style that suited them as long as they were willing.
As for the fat boy Asuto, his father was just a boatman and they could barely make ends meet, so naturally he never had enough to eat.
Since being taken in by Kumokawa-sama and having his own fishing boat, his life has gradually become better. The little fat boy Asuto has been able to have enough to eat and his talent has gradually been revealed.
His strength far exceeded that of other children of the same age. As he grew older, ordinary swords were too light for him and he was obviously not suitable for learning kendo.
"I... cough, cough! cough!"
At this time, the little fat boy Asuto had not recovered yet. He grabbed the collar of his kendo uniform and coughed. He looked like he was going to cough out his lungs, and his tiny eyes were red from coughing.
In fact, three minutes was already his limit.
All he could see was darkness and the sound of the horrible wind constantly blowing towards him. He gritted his teeth and held his breath, fumbling with several fake moves before he was kicked by Yoshitaka and fell against the wall.
A kick interrupted his barely maintained breathing rate, which made him feel as if his lungs were burned by fire.
Until Yakushi Nonō, who was standing among the students watching the game, couldn't stand it anymore, and ran over with a concerned look on her face, pulled him and helped him calm down.
"Ahem! Thank you, Nonō-nee, ahem!"
The abnormal blush on Asuto's chubby face faded away, and he turned around to thank Nonō.
"It's okay." Nonō smiled and shook her head, whispering, "Don't talk for now, adjust your breathing."
Her performance in actual combat was not outstanding, but as the oldest child in the class, coupled with her gentle and intellectual personality, she also became a kind of "sister" image.
"Forget it. Compared to that brat Yahiko, your mastery of breathing techniques is still too poor."
Looking at the embarrassed Asuto, Yoshitaka gave up the idea in his mind, sighed and said: "Lay a solid foundation first, remember to meditate after you go back, and try to master the 'Total Concentration Breathing:Constant' as soon as possible."
After that, he looked up at the other students and said, "You too, don't slack off after class and don't neglect your practice. Whether it's breathing techniques or sword techniques, they all require practice."
The breathing method, collectively referred to as "Total Concentration Breathing", is divided into two stages. The first stage is the normal form, which is characterized by full concentration breathing only in combat.
The second stage is to "concentrate fully" and continue to concentrate on breathing even when falling asleep, so that the body is being tempered every moment.
Strength, speed, reaction speed, recovery ability...
Meditation is to use breathing techniques to close your eyes and breathe, allowing the air around you to flow through your fingertips to improve concentration. At the same time, you can also summarize your common mistakes in your mind.
It is a fairly basic and elementary technique, but it takes considerable effort to fully master it.
"Yes, Yoshitaka-sensei." Dozens of children in kendo uniforms sat on both sides of the classroom and responded in an orderly manner.
They did not show anger towards Yoshitaka, and there was no contempt in their eyes when they looked at Asuto, only a hint of envy and concern.
In this class, they are both friends and opponents. They learn from each other, grow together, and prepare for future battles and fights in order to protect this hard-earned peace.
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Dong! Dong! Dong!
As the evening bell rang, the day's classes were over.
"Hmm, changing weapons? Even if I put it that way, I never expected that."
Asuto said goodbye to his classmates who were going home on the way, rubbed his chest which was still a little stuffy, and the sound of waves gradually reached his ears.
He looked up at the broad river reflecting the red sun, walked towards a black-sailed fishing boat moored at the port, bent over and opened the curtain, and shouted: "Dad, Mom! I'm back! What are we going to eat today..."
Asuto suddenly stopped in his tracks, and the words he was about to say were also stuck. He stood there motionless, like a petrified statue.
In his gradually widening and trembling pupils, there was blood, blood everywhere. The shed and the deck were all covered with glaring blood.
The planks used to store the fish were broken, as were the planks on one side of the cabin. Rain and fog flew in from outside and landed on the cabin. Gusts of damp and cold air blew on Asuto, who was standing there in a daze.
All of this showed what terrible things had happened during the time he was away.
Where are the people? Where are the people?
Asuto looked around stiffly. The narrow cabin was so quiet. He could not see the two figures at all, nor did he hear the familiar words "Welcome home".
His parents disappeared, leaving behind only a pool of pungent blood.
There was also a bamboo sword that his mother had made for him, hanging on the wall of the boat, swaying gently in the cold wind blowing in from outside.
Looking at the bamboo sword, Asuto took a few steps forward and then stopped.
Because, in that cabin, something came into his sight.
It was a twisted arm. Yes, the whole arm. Whether it was the familiar rough grooves on the skin or the rotten flesh and white bone stumps exposed at the end, they all made him feel extremely dazzling.
"Ah! Ugh!"
The moment he saw the familiar arm, Asuto subconsciously took a deep breath, his chest swelled, and the huge smell of blood made him want to vomit rapidly.
No, no, it's impossible.
He shook his head and backed away, then stopped and bent over to vomit. After emptying his stomach, he raised his head and his face was as pale as paper.
He should have screamed, he should have run away, but he did nothing because an idea exploded in his mind.
Where's my father? Where's my mother? Why did she disappear? Blood, whose blood? What happened to her when I left?
His breathing became rapid, but the faster he breathed, the more pungent the smell of blood became, and vomiting kept rushing up his throat and then receding like a tide.
No, no, calm down, calm down, no, nothing will happen.
Asuto bent down and subconsciously reached out to grasp the bamboo sword. The slightly cold and familiar feeling made him inexplicably calmer.
He instinctively used meditation techniques to suppress the fear and uneasiness in his heart.
Although he didn't know what happened on the ship when he left here, the only thing he was sure of was that his parents were missing and might have... met with an accident.
Realizing this, Asuto came out of his panic. He knew what he should do and what he must do. He couldn't just stand there in despair, otherwise he would never let himself go.
Asuto glanced at the broken ship, tremblingly grasped the bamboo sword, and tried to analyze the situation.
The attack was undoubtedly launched from outside. What would his father do at that time?
He knew that his father was very smart and powerful. If it were not for the limitations of his family background, he would not be just a leader of trackers. He might have the opportunity to become a ninja.
A normal person would usually hold his head and scream when being attacked, but his father's first reaction would be to fight back and subdue the attacker, and then his arm was broken.
Asuto carefully observed the broken end of the arm. Even though he felt disgusted, he forced himself to look at it because he was very familiar with this broken end.
It was like a bamboo sword was broken by the huge force. His muscles were twisted and his bones were shattered. You can imagine that in an instant, Dad would lose the ability to resist.
"The attackers were probably ninjas, but there are no bodies. They were not killed outright. Maybe they are useful if they are kept alive. Maybe they escaped. Maybe they are still alive?"
Asuto poked his head out tremblingly, but saw nothing except the unusually calm surface of the river.
What should I do now?
Asuto's mind went blank for a while, but he soon figured it out.
"This is the territory of the City of Dawn. Someone has invaded. I should go find Yoshitaka-sensei and Kumokawa-sama."
This seemed to be the only option before him.
Just as this decision came into Asuto's mind.
A man's deep voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Sure enough, there is another little devil."
The dim setting sun cast a red glow, shining on Asuto in the broken cabin, while two shadows were projected on the deck.
During this period, Asuto, who had been practicing breathing techniques, had become extremely fast in reaction speed.
Before his brain could react, it was as if someone was whispering in his ear, telling him what to do, so at the moment of life-and-death crisis, he made the best choice in his life.
BANG!!
Asuto did not choose the bamboo sword in his hand, but swung the hammer beside him towards his head.
The deafening sound shattered the rain and fog, and on the broken roof, a black shadow leaped into the air and dodged sideways with ease.
"This little brat..."
The force and speed of the hammer surprised the black shadow.
Although it undoubtedly missed, the shattered pieces of the sail flew everywhere, making a deafening sound in the quiet harbor.
This is exactly the effect he wanted. Since the other party sneaked in, he would attract other people's attention!
As it turned out, this did buy Asuto a few seconds, and death did not fall on him as expected.
Plop!
Asuto didn't even look at where his enemy was. After throwing the hammer, he flipped into the river without hesitation.
As the child of a boat tracker, he has lived on the water since childhood and is an extremely good swimmer.
He stored a large amount of oxygen by using the breathing method, and adrenaline was secreted like crazy. He held his breath and swam wildly underwater.
Run, run, run! Live! You must live!
Unable to think and with his mind blank, he instinctively hid in the safest place in his mind.
And in his subconscious, Kumokawa-sama's residence is undoubtedly the safest place.
However, the port is far away from Kumokawa's residence. Even if he runs at full speed, it will take a full half hour to get there, let alone swimming.
"Huh!"
An unknown amount of time had passed, but after finally getting tired of swimming, Asuto suddenly poked his head out of the river. When he looked up, he discovered that he had swam all the way from the harbor to the farthest shore in one breath.
Even with the breathing method, it could only increase his explosive power. His physical fitness obviously could not support him to carry out a sustained attack.
Feeling his sore muscles groaning, Asuto looked back with heavy breathing, but the sloop was no longer in sight, nor could he see anyone chasing him from behind.
"Can't catch up, have you given up?"
This thought naturally arose in Asuto's mind.
But even so, he had no intention of stopping completely. He climbed up the shore while gasping for breath and ran towards the city of Dawn.
He couldn't be sure whether he was safe. The fear of being shrouded by murderous intent just now still hung over him, making his mind a mess. He kept imagining all kinds of bad outcomes, but kept comforting himself and rejecting these horrible thoughts.
"I must go find Yoshitaka-sensei and Kumokawa-sama. Only they can save Dad and Mom." This was the only thought left in his mind.
As long as you can escape into the city and shout for help, you will attract the guards.
In a trance, in order to escape into the city as quickly as possible, Asuto subconsciously took a shortcut into a dim alley, stepped into a puddle, and the sudden loss of balance almost made him fall. Fortunately, due to long-term practice, he regained his balance with just a stumble.
However, the moment he lowered his head and bent over subconsciously, he saw his reflection in the puddles on the ground, reflecting the gray walls on both sides, the line of fiery sky in the middle, and... the pair of eyes behind him that were ready to devour anyone.
There was a person standing behind him, raising his hand to him.
Squeak! !
Asuto suddenly lunged forward, and a fierce wind blew through the back of his head and tore the air apart, which was enough to show how fierce the force was!
After falling into the puddle of water on the ground, he crawled forward without hesitation, climbed up using his hands and feet, and turned his head to look at the attacker in horror.
In the distance, there was a man wearing a nightgown and a Konoha rebel forehead protector on his forehead. His eyes were full of indifference, and in his hand was a kunai that made the eyes hurt just by looking at it.
Just now he wanted to use this thing to stab Asuto in the back of his head, so that he would die peacefully and instantly.
"you..."
Asuto wanted to turn around and run, but after seeing the blood on the kunai, he couldn't help but hissed, "What did you do to my father?"
"Strange place, strange kid."
The man spoke, but did not answer his question. Instead, he said in a hoarse voice, indifferently: "I wanted to keep you and ask for information, but now it seems better to get rid of you."
(End of this chapter)