The more Issho thought about it, the more suitable that style felt for him.
So after considering everything carefully, Issho decided to fully learn Fujitora’s way of fighting.
For Issho, swordsmanship was ultimately nothing more than a method of killing enemies.
That was all.
He did not care much about flashy styles or elegant techniques.
Right now, what he truly needed was practical combat ability.
He needed movement.
Sword moves.
Battle instincts.
Ways to attack and defend efficiently despite his blindness.
As for the foundations of swordsmanship, those were already deeply engraved within Elric’s body and memories.
Yesterday’s battle against Fujitora had already helped Issho become familiar with those instincts hidden inside him.
And today, while sparring against Fujitora’s illusionary figure once again, Issho was becoming more and more accustomed to Fujitora’s fighting style.
His movements gradually became smoother.
At the same time, he had also started practicing the reverse grip himself.
Right now, the grip still felt unfamiliar and awkward in his hands.
Certain movements lacked precision, while others felt slightly uncomfortable due to years of instinctively using ordinary sword stances inherited from Elric.
But slowly…
Very slowly…
He was adapting.
And that alone was already a good sign for Issho.
The blade moved through the air repeatedly while sweat slowly dripped down his face once more.
His feet shifted carefully across the courtyard ground while his Observation Haki continuously focused on Fujitora’s movements.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Each swing carried more understanding than before.
In this world, sword techniques were generally inherited by powerful families or created by exceptional individuals over long periods of time.
Most techniques were not merely about sword movements alone.
Rather, they focused heavily on mana concentration and mana bursts.
For example, if an ordinary knight could only channel a single unit of mana into their sword to increase its sharpness and durability, then through specialized techniques and controlled methods, that same unit of mana could be utilized far more efficiently.
The force behind a strike could increase tremendously.
The sharpness could intensify.
The destructive power could multiply.
And naturally, the more mana someone possessed—and the better control they had over it—the more terrifying their sword techniques became.
This was why true sword techniques were so valuable.
They were methods of maximizing power through precise mana application.
Some low-level sword techniques could increase a knight’s attacking power by around 1.2 or 1.3 times compared to their normal strikes.
But stronger techniques…
Those were on an entirely different level.
Certain advanced sword arts could amplify the strength behind an attack by as much as five times.
Such terrifying techniques were usually possessed only by powerful noble families and high-ranking members of the Empire.
Finding such sword arts within ordinary kingdoms was almost impossible.
And this was also one of the major reasons why Blood Forge Knights were generally considered inferior compared to normal mana knights.
A Blood Forge Knight could, at most, maintain their natural physical strength consistently during battle.
Their bodies were far stronger than ordinary people, and their endurance was monstrous, but their mana reserves were pitifully low.
Meanwhile, normal knights could continuously increase the power behind their attacks by pouring more mana into their techniques.
But Blood Forge Knights?
They could perhaps use mana once or twice.
And after that?
Their mana would simply run dry.
Like Issho himself currently.
Right now, he possessed three points in Blood while his Mana stat was only 0.3.
That difference alone already showed how massive the gap truly was.
One-tenth.
And that was an enormous disadvantage.
If a normal knight stood at the same overall level as a Blood Forge Knight, then while the Blood Forge Knight might only possess three units of mana, the ordinary knight would likely have around thirty.
That overwhelming difference naturally created limitations during prolonged battles.
Still…
It was not as if Heaven had completely abandoned Blood Forge Knights.
Because in this world, there existed something known as the Law of Sharpness for swordsmanship.
A faint breeze passed through the courtyard while Issho slowly continued swinging his blade, his mind processing the inherited knowledge from Elric’s memories.
The Law of Sharpness was an extremely vague and mysterious concept even within this world.
Very few people truly understood it completely.
But to Issho…
It felt incredibly similar to the Great Swordsman realm from the world of One Piece.
The state where a swordsman could hear the Breath of All Things.
A realm where if the swordsman wished to cut something, then anything could be cut.
And if the swordsman did not wish to cut…
Then even the world’s sharpest blade would fail to damage a single leaf.
That same philosophy existed here in another form through the Law of Sharpness.
And unlike mana-based techniques, mastering the Law of Sharpness did not necessarily require overwhelming physical strength or vast mana reserves.
It was more about understanding.
Perception.
Control.
A deeper connection with the sword itself.
It was even said that an ordinary mortal farmer with no talent for mana whatsoever could potentially grasp the Law of Sharpness if he practiced swordsmanship long enough with enough dedication.
And if such a person truly mastered it…
Then even an elite knight would not dare underestimate him.
Because if that farmer swung his sword using the Law of Sharpness, then theoretically, he could cut through the elite knight’s mana defense with ease.
Even the mana shield coating the knight’s skin could be sliced apart.
That was the terrifying aspect of the Law of Sharpness.
It ignored conventional logic to a certain extent.
A person who truly mastered it could threaten opponents far stronger than themselves.
As Issho thought about all this, his grip around the sword tightened slightly.
Interesting…
For someone like him, whose mana reserves were naturally far lower than ordinary knights, this path was undoubtedly important.
Very important.
The sword slowly moved again through the air.
This time, Issho’s movements became calmer and more focused than before.
So once again, Blood Forge Knights still possessed one path capable of allowing them to stand against powerful mana knights.
The Law of Sharpness.
The stronger one’s mastery over the Law of Sharpness became, the stronger their swordsmanship naturally became as well.
Their attacks would become sharper, deadlier, and more difficult to defend against.
Through this, Blood Forge Knights could contend against knights who relied heavily upon mana-concentrated techniques but lacked sufficient mastery over the Law of Sharpness itself.
But again, the issue remained the same.
It was not as if ordinary mana knights were forbidden from learning the Law of Sharpness.
They could learn it too.
And if a powerful mana knight also mastered the Law of Sharpness to a high degree, then naturally they would become even more terrifying.
So in the end, Blood Forge Knights could only try to close the gap by continuously deepening their understanding of the Law of Sharpness and refining their swordsmanship further and further.
Issho silently kept all this knowledge in mind while continuing his battle against Fujitora.
The blade in his hand continuously moved through the air.
Slash.
Step.
Turn.
Defend.
Attack.
Again and again.
Time quietly passed.
Finally, Issho ended up fighting Fujitora continuously for an entire hour.
Throughout the first half hour, Alex and Donny had almost become completely engrossed watching Issho train.
Because the way Issho moved…
…it genuinely felt as if he was fighting an actual opponent.
The way he swung his sword, the sudden changes in his footing, the moments where he blocked invisible attacks before being pushed backward—it all looked disturbingly real.
Sometimes Issho would suddenly tilt his body sideways as if avoiding a slash.
Sometimes his sword would abruptly rise to defend.
Other times, he would retreat several steps before instantly lunging forward again.
The intensity of his movements unconsciously made Alex and Donny feel as though an invisible enemy truly stood before him.
Even though they could not see anything.
The air around Issho felt strangely tense.
At one point, Donny had unknowingly stopped working entirely, staring at Issho with wide eyes.
Meanwhile, Alex himself had gradually become absorbed into watching the blind young man train.
Then suddenly—
“What the hell are you both doing?!”
Martha’s annoyed voice rang through the courtyard.
Alex and Donny immediately flinched slightly.
“Customers are about to arrive—actually, some are already arriving!” Martha continued while glaring at the two of them.
“And you still haven’t properly prepared the food yet!”
Hearing that, Alex instantly snapped back to reality.
Right.
He was the head chef of the restaurant.
The morning rush would begin any moment now.
Quickly shaking his head, Alex immediately returned to work, while Donny reluctantly followed after helping organize things.
Though even then, Donny still occasionally glanced toward Issho while working.
Meanwhile, Issho remained completely focused on his training.
Clang!
Clang!
Again and again, his sword collided against Fujitora’s invisible blade within his Observation Haki.
Finally, after completing one full hour of fighting—
The familiar system notification suddenly echoed inside his mind.
[Fought one hour with Fujitora.]
[Reward: Insight on Swordsmanship.]
The moment the notification appeared, Issho suddenly felt as if something inside his mind had become clearer.
An epiphany.
Instantly, countless flaws within his swordsmanship became obvious to him.
The unnecessary stiffness in certain swings.
The imbalance in some footwork.
The delay in transitioning between reverse grip and normal grip.
The excessive force he applied during some defenses.
The inefficient angles behind certain attacks.
Everything became clearer.
It was as though his understanding of swordsmanship had suddenly deepened by another level.
Issho slowly tightened his grip around the sword.
Then—
Without hesitation—
He moved again.
Directly attacking the illusionary Fujitora still standing before him.
This time, however…
His swordsmanship was noticeably more refined than before.
Cleaner.
Sharper.
More fluid.
Even his reverse grip movements no longer appeared as awkward as earlier.