Only after hearing Makino did Ogata belatedly realize that everyone in the dojo—including Sakakibara Hanbei—was staring at him in confusion.
Another senior disciple already stood in the center of the training floor, watching Ogata with the same bewildered expression.
Ogata had been so absorbed in studying the system that he had completely failed to hear Sakakibara Hanbei call him for his next match.
He gave an awkward, dry laugh, rose at once, and hurried to the sword rack nearby.
After casually choosing a bokken, he crossed the floor and stopped directly before his opponent.
The man was one of Ogata’s senpai.
Although Ogata did not know him particularly well, the memories in his mind told him that this senior disciple was far more capable than Makino.
Because the two were not close, the man dispensed with pleasantries.
He drew his bokken toward his left hip and lowered himself into a half crouch.
Ogata mirrored him, bringing his own bokken to his left side and bending his knees.
Once both men were ready, Sakakibara Hanbei bellowed, “Begin!”
* * *
Ogata and his senior disciple both adopted chūdan-no-kamae.
Chūdan-no-kamae was one of the standard stances used in Japanese swordsmanship.
The three principal stances were jōdan, chūdan, and gedan.
Beyond them were less common forms such as hassō-no-kamae and waki-gamae.
Each stance possessed different offensive characteristics.
In chūdan-no-kamae, the sword point was directed toward the opponent’s face.
It was the stance samurai used most often, a versatile guard suited to both offense and defense.
Jōdan-no-kamae placed the sword high above the head and emphasized attack.
Raising the blade in that fashion left the body exposed, however, making the stance comparatively weak in defense.
Gedan-no-kamae held the sword lower, its point aimed near the opponent’s knees.
It was a defensive posture with strong protection but limited offensive reach.
Great swordsmen treated the ability to shift between stances according to the needs of a fight as a fundamental skill.
Ogata plainly had not reached that level.
At present, he was proficient only with jōdan and chūdan.
With any other stance, his ability could only be described as painfully poor.
The two men faced each other in chūdan-no-kamae.
Neither attacked.
The first person to move was often the first to reveal an opening.
Unless one was confident of ending the match in a single blow, no swordsman would act rashly—unless he was a fool.
After the standoff stretched on, the senior disciple was the first to lose patience.
He stepped forward, entering Ogata’s range while bringing Ogata within his own.
The instant he reached thrusting distance, he unleashed Sakakibara Ittō-ryū’s piercing technique, Bird Thrust, straight toward Ogata’s chest.
His movement was fast, but Ogata’s eyes could still follow it.
Clack!
The sharp report of colliding wood cracked through the dojo.
Ogata knocked the thrust aside, then retreated several quick steps and reopened the distance between them.
Their first exchange ended without a victor.
As expected of a senior disciple…
Ogata steadied his breathing as he considered what he had seen.
That speed was no joke.
In terms of pure ability, he should be roughly my equal.
Sakakibara Ittō-ryū was a relatively young school of swordsmanship.
Its founder was Sakakibara Den’ichirō, the elder brother of Ogata’s teacher, Sakakibara Hanbei.
Den’ichirō had been a master swordsman versed in many schools.
As he approached middle age, he gathered the strengths of those varied traditions and developed an entirely new single-sword art: Sakakibara Ittō-ryū.
It was an exceptionally plain and practical style, consisting of only four techniques: Bird Thrust, Waterfall, Ascending Tower, and Dragon Tail.
Bird Thrust: a piercing technique.
Waterfall: a downward-cutting technique.
Ascending Tower: an upward-cutting technique.
Dragon Tail: a horizontal-cutting technique.
There were no elaborate secret arts.
From beginning to end, Sakakibara Ittō-ryū contained only those four highly practical attacks, each delivering its strike along a different line.
After creating the style, Den’ichirō passed it on to his younger brother, Hanbei.
Regrettably, he succumbed to illness not long afterward.
To spread the sword art his brother had spent nearly a lifetime developing, Hanbei founded the Sakakibara Dojo.
He devoted himself to establishing the young school and carrying it into the future.
Ogata had been fortunate enough to join the first group of disciples accepted under Hanbei.
This senpai truly is strong.
If I don’t use some kind of strategy, defeating him will be difficult.
Ogata considered the problem for a moment, then changed his stance.
He lifted the bokken above his head, shifting from chūdan-no-kamae into jōdan-no-kamae.
Murmurs of surprise rippled through the dojo.
Makino, watching from seiza at the edge of the floor, whispered so softly that only he could hear, “Is Senpai going to use Waterfall, his best technique…?”
It was no secret within the Sakakibara Dojo that the downward cut known as Waterfall was Ogata’s strongest technique.
The disciples sparred so often that everyone knew which attacks the others favored.
When Ogata assumed jōdan-no-kamae, many of the spectators reached the same conclusion as Makino: Ogata intended to defeat his opponent with Waterfall.
His senior disciple thought so as well.
The man swallowed and quietly prepared to defend against Waterfall.
Ogata moved his feet, slowly closing the space between them.
His opponent did not retreat.
He allowed Ogata to approach, letting the distance diminish little by little.
The instant they came close enough for either bokken to reach its target, Ogata sprang lightly upward, making it appear as though he were about to deliver a crushing downward blow.
His opponent, already prepared, raised his sword with great speed to receive the strike.
A faint smile touched Ogata’s lips when he saw the weapon rise.
I win.
With that certainty in his mind, Ogata tightened his waist and abdomen and abruptly dropped from the air back to the floor.
The feint had completely deceived his opponent, who was still holding his sword overhead in expectation of the descending blow.
His entire body was open.
In a sword match, there was no state more likely to get a man “killed.”
Ogata aimed at the man’s chest and immediately unleashed Sakakibara Ittō-ryū’s only thrusting technique—Bird Thrust.
“Ugh!”
The tip of the bokken struck his chest.
He staggered backward several steps and dropped heavily onto his rear.
Ding!
You defeated an opponent using Sakakibara Ittō-ryū: Bird Thrust.
Personal Experience gained: 30.
Sakakibara Ittō-ryū Experience gained: 40.
Ding!
Your Experience is full.
Personal Level increased by 1.
You gained 1 Skill Point.
Remaining Skill Points: 1.
Current Personal Level: LV 8 (0/700).
Sakakibara Ittō-ryū Level: Rank 3 (460/500).
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