Yarimato grabbed the wound on his right chest with his left hand, and while he was holding the wound, Death spun the naginata behind his back and then leaned forward to deliver a horizontal attack from his right side, inflicting a deep wound on Yarimato’s right leg just above the knee.
Losing his footing, Yarimato fell to his right knee and grabbed his leg with his left hand and his chest with his right hand, which was holding the sword.
After two attacks from the enemy, Yarimato was already on one knee and bleeding profusely from deep wounds, unable to even move.
Death: Well, Yarimato Takahashi, your time has come, and I have come for you.
Death raised his naginata above his head and swung it down, sending the blade flying toward Yarimato.
Yarimato: Is this all I am capable of after so much effort?
Once, I fought an enemy and managed to stay alive, although I wouldn’t say I won.
But I can’t just sit on my knees again, bleeding to death, can I?
Why is everything repeating itself?
Why am I still alive?
And why am I so weak?
Suddenly, time stopped around Yarimato, and he began to remember his entire life, but he still didn’t know what to do.
Yarimato knew only one thing, and that was that he was not ready to die without mastering Takahashi-sensei’s style and technique.
Therefore, through the pain and blood, Yarimato grabbed the Bakken with both hands and, standing directly to the side of the blade, Yarimato delivered a blow that broke the naginata and tore off three fingers on Death’s right hand.
Yarimato managed to strike, and it was so lightning fast that he cut the naginata in half as if he were holding a katana in his hands.
Death, dropping the staff from his hands, grabbed his right hand with his left hand and, gritting his teeth in pain, looked viciously at Yarimato.
Death: HOW!?
How could you cut off my fingers and break my naginata with your wooden sword!?
But Yarimato, barely standing on his feet, concentrated on his breathing and, gripping his wooden sword tightly, was ready for the final blow.
Death grabbed the wakizashi hanging behind his back with his left hand and, drawing the sword, attacked him with fury, but Yarimato swung first and struck his opponent in the neck, causing blood to gush out.
Dropping his sword, Death grabbed his neck with his left hand and, choking on blood and standing on his feet, could not believe that Yarimato was able to deliver such a perfect blow with only a piece of wood in his hands.
After that, Death fell to the ground, choking on his own blood. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
Yarimato, realizing that he had won, fell to his knees and then fainted from blood loss.
Meanwhile, Takahashi-sensei, sitting in the dojo, watched their battle, and when they both fell to the ground, Takahashi and three maids lifted Yarimato and saved his life.
Yarimato woke up two days later and, lying on the floor under a blanket, tried to get up, but the wound could have opened, so Yarimato remained lying down, and then Takahashi came to check on his student.
Takahashi sat down next to Yarimato and said, “I can congratulate you; you have defeated your first opponent.
You almost died, but the most important thing is that you were able to master my style.
Of course, you still have a long way to go to master it completely, but that’s not bad.
Yarimato: Thank you, Takahashi-sensei, but I don’t think it was a deserved victory because right after my opponent fell to the ground, I fell down just like last time.
Takahashi: You are still young, Yarimato, and therefore weak.
But even so, at your age and as weak as you were, it’s a miracle that you are still alive.
That’s why you fought to the end, and that alone shows that you are a strong warrior.
Yarimato: Who was that man?
He looked like a homeless traveler.
Takahashi: Yes, he is.
He is an ordinary warrior who, believing in himself, decided to travel the country and fight the strongest warriors in order to become famous throughout Japan.
Yarimato: You were watching me, weren’t you?
Takahashi: Of course, because I knew you were close to figuring out my style.
Know this, to defeat any opponent, fight as if you were already dead, and then you will cast aside all unnecessary thoughts and be able to concentrate fully on killing your enemy.
Takahashi got to his feet and left Yarimato behind.
Yarimato began to ponder his teacher’s words, and he continued to believe that he was no longer as weak as he had been before.
In mid-August 1584, Yarimato turned 16, and a little over three months had passed since his battle with Death.
Having recovered, Yarimato continued to train, and Takahashi, noticing his progress, decided that Yarimato was ready to learn his three techniques.
Takahashi and Yarimato stood in front of the dojo, and Takahashi decided to show and explain his three secret techniques to Yarimato for the first time.
Takahashi: From this moment on, you will learn my technique, and I will start with a technique called “wave strike.” Watch carefully, Yarimato, because if you learn to watch your opponents’ techniques closely, you will be able to understand them and, thanks to this, defeat your opponents.
Having said that, Takahashi, holding the scabbard in his left hand, quickly stands in a stance, bends his legs, lowers his torso slightly, grabs the sword, and delivers a lightning-fast strike from the bottom up, and when he is already on his feet, the sword is back in its scabbard.
Takahashi: Well, what did you see, Yarimato?
Yarimato did not expect the teacher to demonstrate the technique immediately after finishing his sentence, and before he could blink, the thick bamboo was cut cleanly in half vertically.
Yarimato: Yes, I didn’t expect that.
Takahashi: Bad.
You must be ready for anything, even when you don’t expect it.
You must be ready for an attack because your opponents will not wait for you when you pick up your sword.
Yarimato: Okay, I understand.
I will watch more carefully.
Takahashi: Good.
What I showed you just now, I delivered this strike up close, but it can also be delivered from a distance.
You just need to take a step forward on bent legs and also lean your torso forward, while pulling the sword as high and as far as possible.
This technique is lightning fast and can serve both as a quick parry of an opponent’s attack and as a quick and unexpected attack.
Of course, you don’t have to deliver such a perfectly even strike here; you can also deliver a strike upward, but slightly to the right.
With such an attack, you won’t cut your opponent in two, but you will inflict a deadly deep wound.
Takahashi demonstrated this technique from a distance, and doing everything as he said, Yarimato began to practice it.
The difficulty was that the strike had to be lightning fast and accurate, but since Yarimato already understood the Storm style, it was easier for him to master this technique.
But no matter how many times Yarimato struck, he could not make a perfectly even cut, and so the sword constantly got stuck in the bamboo, or because of his too-fast movements, Yarimato often got confused, his step turned out to be too long, and so his support was worse and the strike was crooked, either he couldn’t keep his balance and, after expending his energy in the strike, he simply couldn’t stay on his feet and fell forward, or because the strike is done with one hand, it was difficult for Yarimato to strike and hold the sword, as he is weak and always holds the sword with both hands.
Months passed, and Yarimato got better and better at this technique, and it’s not even about the usual repeated practice of the technique, but about having maximum control over your body, from the tips of your toes to the top of your head.
To withstand such a blow and inflict such a deep wound, one must apply enormous strength and, most importantly, spiritual energy, which must be distributed throughout the body so that everything works together with equal power, because if something is lacking anywhere, the whole technique will fall apart.