MTLNOVEL Chapter 11: Sake
Yoichi and Shigeru stood in front of the wooden doors of the Takagi house. It was an unremarkable building, similar to other shinobi homes. Shigeru scratched his head, then casually pushed the door open and walked inside.
"Dad, I'm back! I've brought Yoichi, the one we talked about yesterday," he called out loudly.
As Yoichi stepped inside, he heard:
"Good, go fetch a bottle of sake, and I'll talk to him."
Yoichi hesitantly crossed the threshold, looking around the interior. The room was modestly but practically furnished. In the far corner of the room, sitting on a mat, was a tall man with red cheeks from alcohol.
The man looked up, examined Yoichi, and said:
"So it was you who asked my son if I would teach you how to fight with a sword? You know, boy... Swordsmanship is no game. It requires years of training, discipline, and dedication. Wanting isn't enough; you need to be ready for pain and fatigue."
He paused briefly, reaching for the bottle of sake to take a drink, but it turned out to be empty.
Seeing the opportunity, Yoichi handed over the prepared bottle.
Shigeru's father raised his eyebrows as he accepted the offered sake. He unscrewed the cap, poured himself a cup, took a deep sip, sighed with satisfaction, and looked at Yoichi again.
"At first, I was going to turn you down today, but looking at you now, I see that you might have considerable potential for learning the sword."
Yoichi kept a straight face, saying nothing about the alcohol.
"Maybe I can start teaching you. Of course, only so that such a wonderful talent doesn't go to waste. Of course, if you still want to?"
Yoichi quickly replied:
"Yes, sensei!"
Seeing the immediate response, Shigeru's father began to feel he had made a mistake, but he blamed it on the alcohol and said:
"Alright, alright. Remember, you'll now be learning from the great Takagi Jiro. What style would you like to learn?"
Yoichi responded:
"I don't want to limit myself to a specific style. I just want to learn effective close-range sword fighting."
Jiro raised an eyebrow and asked:
"Are you sure? The Moon Style is very well-known. You must have heard about its moves, like Dance of the Crescent Moon, Moonlight, or Hazy Moon Night. If not that, there are plenty of other styles to choose from."
Yoichi nodded, thinking:
"Well, it may be somewhat known, but it seems more like a dance than real swordsmanship. Besides, it's a very restrictive style. If I remember correctly, someone died from a sand ninja attack because their movements were too predictable and easy to disrupt. And other styles seem equally limiting."
Jiro sighed and said:
"Since that's the case, there is one problem, though. I'm leaving this week for border patrol duty, and I won't be back for six months, so we'll start when I return. In the meantime, get yourself a practice sword. If you don't know where to buy one, ask Shigeru. You should also start strengthening your upper body. And don't forget the teacher's gift. Now go tell Shigeru not to bring me any more sake."
After leaving Shigeru's house, Yoichi looked at him questioningly.
"And what did he say? So I don't have to go fetch sake anymore?"
Yoichi smiled and replied:
"He agreed right away when I gave him the sake. His attitude shifted immediately. Additionally, I only start in six months and should focus on upper body training. I also need to buy a practice sword and alcohol. Do you know where the best place to buy a sword is?"
Shigeru said:
"Mine was bought from Andre. He's one of the best blacksmiths in Konoha, so if you're looking for solid weaponry, you should definitely go there. His products are durable and well-balanced."
Yoichi nodded, processing the information.
"That sounds good. I'll probably buy it there."
Shigeru said:
"Alright, I'm off. If mom sees dad drinking again, it's better not to upset her. See you tomorrow."
Yoichi watched his friend leave, then started heading home, thinking:
"I have six months to buy a practice sword. I can save money, but then I won't be able to continue training in fūinjutsu. I should try learning how to create explosive tags and sell them. Then I need to check if I can make more than 350 ryō from them.
Swordsmanship will complement the Senju taijutsu style.
For longer range, I should learn C-rank jutsu. From what I've seen, E and D rank techniques are mostly supplementary or training techniques, like heating techniques, fire-starting, or candle flame manipulation. If I place in the top three in the Academy tests, I'll gain access to C-rank jutsu.
To improve my movement, I need to master the Body Flicker technique. It's only a D-rank jutsu, but it has great potential. In the future, I could try adding lightning elements for greater speed.
The village will be bustling with activity soon. Orochimaru's defection and the treaty signing with Kumo should happen soon. None of these events are likely to benefit me, so it's better not to get involved.
During classes, I'll continue practicing passive sensing.
After class, I'll dedicate an hour to chakra control training. Training Rasengan drains too much chakra. I'll practice gliding over water, similar to figure skating. This will help me better control chakra flow under my feet and improve my balance and coordination.
Next, I'll intensively train hand seals to increase their speed and fluidity.
When I have materials for fūinjutsu, I'll practice creating explosive tags.
I also need to improve my accuracy with kunai and shuriken throws to reduce the gap between me and Uchiha Goro. As long as he hasn't awakened the Sharingan, I should be able to keep up with him.
Then I'll propose joint sparring sessions with Shigeru — this will allow me to familiarize myself with the Senju fighting style and prepare for the exam. I want to learn how to adapt to different fighting styles, and training with him will be a great opportunity.
The rest of the time, I'll spend practicing E and D-rank fire-element jutsu and doing physical training."