Chapter 525

Kojima Yoshinobu said in a low voice, his voice carrying unquestionable majesty in the empty hall:

"A-kun, my name is Kojima Yoshinobu, I am your temporary guidance master for the next two weeks, remember it firmly!"

Arai Kotaro stepped forward, stretched out his broad palm, and said with a firm face:

"A-kun, my name is Arai Kotaro, this time I am here as the master's assistant to assist in guiding you."

Horie Kenichi didn't reach out, just stood in place, and said in a slightly light and casual tone, but his gaze drifted toward Jinwei Tong on the side without a trace:

"My name is Horie Kenichi, I am also here as an assistant to 'tutor' you."

Facing the three guidance masters with different styles, Natsume Chikage replied politely one by one, his attitude neither humble nor arrogant:

"Hello, please give me your guidance in the future."

Kojima Yoshinobu took two steps forward, his hawk-like gaze carefully scanning Natsume Chikage's body.

He even reached out directly, held Natsume Chikage's wrist with his unique, calloused hands of a swordsman, and pinched his shoulders and upper arms, as if evaluating a knife embryo that had not been forged.

After truly feeling the solid muscle and bone strength under the fabric that far exceeded the impression of his appearance, a trace of surprise flashed across Kojima Yoshinobu's old-fashioned face:

"A-kun... your physical quality is much stronger than it looks, you have been doing systematic physical exercise, right?"

Natsume Chikage had indeed not slacked off in physical training for the past half month, so he nodded frankly:

"Mm, yes, I have been insisting on it."

Hearing this, a trace of imperceptible surprise flashed in Kojima Yoshinobu's eyes, and he nodded again and again.

He secretly thought that A-kun's physical foundation felt like he had been exercising for several years.

But no matter what, having a good physical foundation is a great piece of good news.

Because the guidance time he can control is only a cruel two weeks.

In such a short time, if this A-kun's body was a weak body that had not been exercised, I am afraid that he would not be able to persist because of severe muscle soreness after a few days of high-intensity training, which would greatly drag down the already slim progress.

And now with this tempered muscle and bone, he could try to impose a harder and denser training load.

Arai Kotaro, who had seventh-dan strength and a steady personality, also relaxed a little after hearing this news.

After all, what they accepted this time was the entrustment of a behemoth like the Yutang family.

Even if the final result is too poor, even if there is Jinwei Tong's words in advance, it is inevitable that there will be some subsequent trouble, at least the idle talk and questioning in the industry are indispensable.

And the stronger A-kun's physique is, the more things they can pour into him in these two weeks, at least they can try their best to ensure that he can have a "decent" swordsman form in the end.

Horie Kenichi, the youngest and fourth-dan, still held contempt for A-kun in front of him.

He felt that even if there was an exercise foundation, it didn't make much sense.

The time left for A-kun to learn was too short, only a mere two weeks.

It would be the limit to barely touch the threshold of the first dan.

As for winning the Tamaryuki championship? That is simply daydreaming.

Kojima Yoshinobu collected his mind, ordered in a low voice, his eyes sharp:

"Kotaro, go and get the prepared rope."

Arai Kotaro understood instantly, responded, and immediately turned to walk to the corner of the hall, taking out a sturdy thick hemp rope from a wooden box.

Natsume Chikage looked at this scene, a bit confused.

For no reason, what is the rope for?

Soon.

Arai Kotaro returned with the rope.

Kojima Yoshinobu instructed with a solemn expression: "Go, tie it on A-kun's two ankles, the distance should be standard."

"Yes!" Hearing this, Arai Kotaro immediately squatted down, skillfully wrapped the rope around Natsume Chikage's ankles, and tied a knot that was both firm and not too tight.

Natsume Chikage felt the restriction on his ankles and asked confusedly:

"Master Kojima, why do this?"

Kojima Yoshinobu hugged his chest with both hands and explained seriously:

"Practice swordsmanship, practice legs first! Practice steps!"

"When beginners learn kendo, the most common and fatal mistake is being unable to precisely control the amplitude and rhythm of movement, thereby creating huge flaws in advance and retreat, being seen through by the opponent, and then defeated."

"What I have seen most is the 'jumping' reckless advance, and the unconscious backward tilt of the center of gravity. This kind of action is like a torch in the dark night in the eyes of an expert, and the intention is exposed."

"If you don't want to be like this, you must shape the most stable 'structure' (posture) from the beginning. Body movement must be as stable as a mountain, and attacks must be as straight as thunder, and you must never let the opponent see through your every step and every attack intention in advance!"

He pointed at the rope on Natsume Chikage's feet with his finger.

"The rope tied to your legs now is the strictest 'scale'. It will strictly limit the span of your every step. You have to wear this protective gear and practice the most basic advance and retreat repeatedly, thousands of times, on this special wooden floor."

"Until this feeling of movement is engraved into your bone marrow, forming muscle memory, allowing your upper body to move as stably as sliding on the water surface. This is the foundation for all attacks to be established and effective!"

His tone was decisive.

"Therefore, from this moment on, you must train with this rope tied every day you come to the hall. Before I personally allow you to take it off, you must not untie it yourself. Do you understand?"

Natsume Chikage looked down at the circle of rough hemp rope on his ankles and moved his legs slightly as instructed.

Indeed, the amplitude of movement was clearly limited.

He raised his head, shook his head with a calm look:

"No questions, I understand."

Kojima Yoshinobu was somewhat satisfied with his crisp attitude and said in a low voice:

"Very good! Then start now!"

"Kenichi, A-kun, stand side by side! Perform send-foot and open-foot practice at the same time! Move forward and backward ten times, then move left and right ten times!"

"Kotaro, call the password!"

"Yes!" Arai Kotaro took a deep breath and shouted with a loud and rhythmic voice: "Start! Forward—Backward—Forward—Backward..."

Horie Kenichi, as a veteran of the hall, was naturally familiar with this.

Following the password, he completed every basic step movement easily and precisely, his actions were standard like a textbook, his breathing was steady, showing a solid foundation.

The eyes of Arai Kotaro and Kojima Yoshinobu mainly fell on Horie Kenichi, nodding slightly to his impeccable performance, indicating approval.

Immediately, the eyes of the two turned to Natsume Chikage almost at the same time.

The moment their eyes touched Natsume Chikage's figure, the expressions on their faces froze at the same time, and their eyes were full of unbelievable astonishment.

Natsume Chikage's actions were almost synchronized with Horie Kenichi beside him!

No, it's not just synchronization.

His upper body was surprisingly stable, his waist and abdomen core were tight when moving, his center of gravity had no ups and downs, and his feet were moved precisely and consistently under the restriction of the rope, landing lightly and steadily.

What is even more surprising is that his posture of holding the knife, from finger technique to the angle of his arms, was also close to standard at the beginning, only being corrected quickly with the verbal fine-tuning of Arai Kotaro in the subtle places.

After several rounds, his movements not only had no stiffness, but instead faintly revealed a smooth rhythm.

Horie Kenichi, who had been focusing on his own practice, gradually felt confused in his heart.

According to past experience, when the master and senior brother guided newcomers to do this kind of basic footwork practice, at this time, there should have been stern scolding, or even the "slap-slap" sound of bamboo swords touching the body.

How come it was so quiet behind him today?

Thinking this, he couldn't help but glance at Natsume Chikage beside him quickly in the gap of movement.

I saw Natsume Chikage's eyes were focused and calm, his figure was tall and straight, moving steadily, without any shaking or stiffness common to beginners.

What made Horie Kenichi's heart shake even more was that in his steady moving posture, there seemed to be a kind of "harmony" and "readiness" that he couldn't describe but could clearly feel.

This is definitely not the state a beginner should have!

Horie Kenichi himself was stunned, and his steps even paused slightly because of this.

More than twenty rounds passed.

Natsume Chikage's breathing was still steady, his movements had no deformation or fatigue, and he was terrifyingly stable.

He even felt in this repetitive practice that the breathing and body coordination method taught by Arai Kotaro still had room for fine-tuning according to his own habits to be more labor-saving and efficient, and he made subtle adjustments subconsciously.