Chapter 177: The Return Of The Swallow·Sword Drawing Skill

In a burst of energy, Ikioi Ito focused his mind and spirit into one. Shouting out, he brought down his shinai in a sharp flash!

The extreme speed made them feel as if the very air surrounding them was twisting and turning around... A combination of speed and power boosted his moves, for that split-second Ikioi Ito was unstoppable.

Fwoosh! ——

The audience stood up on their feet at the sound echoing through the area, their faces were painted in shock with fervent amazement gleaming in their eyes.

"This is..."

"What technique is this?"

"Oh my god? Two Ikioi Itos?"

"Nope, there are three! Another one appeared on Kimura-san's left side!"

"That's impossible!"

"Could it be superpowers?"

"Or magic."

The shock was plastered all over both the commentators' faces, "What... what is that move?" Their voices interrupted the moment, not hiding their astonishment.

"It is... The Return of the Swallow·Sword Drawing Skill!" It was a good thing Iwai managed to catch what Ikioi Ito had said. Although he was in awe, he still managed to find his voice to give the audience an answer.

It was apparent that these two have no idea how powerful this technique is... But still,

anybody who has practiced Kendo must have at least heard of the 'Return of the Swallows.' Even so, this technique remained a mystery.

Every Kendo enthusiast would know that the 'Return of the Swallow' was created by the famous swordsman Sasaki Kojiro during the late Warring States Period in Japan.

Kojiro specialized in the long-handled saber, known for its longer length and more extensive attack range. Legend has it that none of Kojiro's opponents ever survived this ultimate move. Hence, aside from himself, no living person has ever witnessed the Return of the Swallow. Moreover, Kojiro had never passed down his art to anyone else.

Furthermore, there was no audience during the final battle with Takeshi Enomoto in Torrent Island. No one had a clue about what kind of move or style the Return of the Swallow was like. The only thing they knew was the legend that struck down flying swallows.

Without any doubt, the 'Return of the Swallow' is the secret weapon of Kojiro, which has always been the research interests of various Japanese families, especially the Sasaki family. They have always been enthusiastic about their ancestor's swordsmanship. But since the 'Return of the Swallow' has been lost through time, no one has ever seen the true form of the legendary move, and no one could find a lead to the research of the Return of the Swallow's secrets.

Instead, the Japanese society has incorporated this move into various animations and games, using their imaginations to fill in the blanks that were left behind by its mystery.

Today, here at the Jade Dragon Flag District Qualifiers, a high school student bestowed the Return of the Swallow's name onto his own sword fighting technique!

But at this moment, no one protested. They were all stunned by the move Ikioi Ito demonstrated.

When Ikioi Ito's attack was blocked by Kimura Kazuki, the audience saw another Ikioi Ito who suddenly appeared behind Kimura Kazuki. In the next moment, the Ikioi Ito behind brought his blade down for a blow!

Clang! ——

Kimura Kazuki turned around to block this attack, but then... on his left, another Ikioi Ito showed up, launching another attack.

Kimura Kazuki raised his brows. His spirits were strong. He could tell that these three were not afterimages. In other words, the three Ikioi Itos were all real. Of course, they could also be regarded as 'fakes' because they were all formed from reiki.

But then again, wouldn't his opponent be worried that if he utilized this technique to its full potential in public, it would cause turmoil within the society? Not that it mattered to Kimura Kazuki, but it would still be troublesome to deal with either way.

At this moment, Ikioi Ito did not really put much thought into his actions. He would do anything to defeat Kimura Kazuki, even by dragging him into an idol group or to get closer to Kotone Mikami, for love. Or just maybe, exposing himself was not a bad idea. That way, his popularity would shoot up, increasing his number of fans when he becomes an idol. Wouldn't it be a breeze to get Kotone Mikami when he confesses his love to her then?

"Kimura-Kun..." At this moment, all three Ikioi Itos surrounding him voiced out in unison, "You should be honored to be defeated by this technique!"

The three voices speaking at the same time completely overwhelmed the spectators. Leaving them breathless as the scene played out before them, like a movie.

"Execute!"

The three Ikioi Itos yelled out at the same time.

While they were speaking, all three Ikioi Itos have already surrounded Kimura Kazuki.

At this time... the audiences were left watching the match insensitively... Another two Ikioi Itos appeared, flanking both sides of Kimura Kazuki's blind spots.

In a flash, five Ikioi Itos hastened their footsteps, positioning themselves into a formation around Kimura Kazuki. Five shinais struck at the same time, creating five silver poles of light. It then formed a star shape, aiming toward their opponent, who was standing right in the middle.

It was too difficult for one man to manage three moves at the same time to block the swallows.

So Ikioi Ito incorporated Torrent's sword style, Iaido, Ono's One Knife Stroke, and various other techniques together. The amalgamation of these resulted in his creation of a new sword drawing skill.

Yep! It is a sword drawing skill!

The main purpose of a sword drawing skill was to strike down the opponent in a flash while drawing out the sword. This would inhibit any chances for the opponent to attack. It was a trick designed to stop any opponent the moment the battle started and would gain the player victory immediately.

However, the move Ikioi Ito cast could only be deemed as an imitation of a sword drawing skill at this stage.

A true sword drawing skill would mean drawing out the sword while in a stationary or moving position and launching an attack on the opponent the very second the sword was drawn, victory guaranteed in hand. Unlike Kendo, where the victory would be determined after the sword was drawn, the sword drawing skill would determine the victory before the blades even met. Kimura Kazuki could feel the speed and how penetrating these five blades were. In fact, this scene felt familiar. The opponent had even incorporated the 'Rainstorm Style' into this...

Genius! Kimura Kazuki sighed. He could tell, his move was not the complete version of the original. The five shinais were closing in. Seeing this technique, anxious spectators shouted out in surprise. At this moment, Tachibana Budo Gym had lost the peace and quiet from before.

Bang! ——

A strange noise suddenly came out of nowhere, but in the next moment, the spectators witnessed Kimura-san half-kneeling down. With the tip of his shinai, he withstood and blocked all five attacks. With a swipe, he pushed the five attackers back.

In a blink of an eye, all five Ikioi Itos charged back up again.

Kimura Kazuki kept his calm demeanor. Ikioi Ito was just putting up a temporary front. Keeping up five mirages at the same time would exhaust his reiki in no time. All he had to do was to drag the battle, and Ikioi Ito definitely could not handle holding up his forms for so long.

But he did not do so. Wouldn't that be like telling the audience that the Yagyu Flying Sword Style is inferior to Ikioi Ito's Return of the Swallow·Sword Drawing Skill?

Lost in his thoughts, Kimura Kazuki pushed the five back again. With a tap of his toes, he left the Ikioi Itos' circle, appearing behind the five of them.

Kimura Kazuki's was too fast, Ikioi Ito could not even react in time.

In the next moment...

A beam of light appeared, arched into a semi-circle, entirely shrouding the five Ikioi Itos.

'Instant Cut'

A single stream of light sliced past the five Ikioi Itos' torsos. Many of the audiences' hearts were grappled in fear, the same thoughts running through their minds. Will Ikioi Ito be killed?

In a blink of an eye, all five Ikioi Itos disappeared!

"Men!!"

A loud yell thundered through the stadium. Kimura Kazuki lifted his head and saw Ikioi Ito falling from the sky, his shinai coming down on him mercilessly. He subconsciously held onto his own shinai toward the sky to block the attack. Then a thought crept into his mind, he furrowed his brows at this.

Crack! ——

The sound of a shinai splitting into two sounded across the venue.

At this moment, Ikioi Ito's eyes gleamed with glee. When Kimura Kazuki dispelled his five mirages with a single move, he knew that he was no match for his opponent. But being no match doesn't mean that he did not stand a chance to win. At the end of the day, it was still a Kendo competition, after all. As long as he could hit a vital spot, victory would still be his.

So he thought back to Kimura Kazuki's first competition. Kimura had split his opponent's sword into two, smacking the opponent's face at the same time, which brought him victory. Surely he could do the same too!

Now... He has succeeded.

Dong! ——

Ikioi Ito landed on both his feet.

"Men. " Ikioi Ito had not managed to regain his balance, but he felt his mask being hit by a shinai. Stunned, he lifted his head... and was greeted by the sight of Kimura Kazuki calmly sheathing his shinai.

Kimura's sword is... perfectly intact.

He dipped his head slightly, looking at his own shinai, but only half of it was there. The other half had fallen to the side...

How is this possible?

Ikioi Ito was at a loss. Didn't he cut Kimura's shinai into half? Why is it that the one that had been cut in half was his own?

At this moment, the stunned judges finally pulled themselves back to reality.

All three judges raised up their red flags.

"Winner, Sakura Kyu's Taishou, Kimura Kazuki."