Chapter 37: Hakuda
Among the four Shinigami combat arts of sword, fist, movement, and kidou, the "fist"—hakuda—had always been the most overlooked.
Compared to zanjutsu's coolness, kidou's flashiness, and shunpo's elegance.
Hakuda, this bare-fisted combat method, appeared particularly plain and unremarkable.
The training ground's furnishings were also exceptionally simple. Aside from the spacious, flat wooden floorboards and gray protective mats stacked in a pile, only those quietly standing training posts remained.
Suoh had also only regarded hakuda as "body strengthening" and "a final resort after losing other means."
Deep in his heart, he harbored more than a trace of disdain for this primitive combat method.
Until meeting the hakuda course instructor, Suoh had always thought this way.
'Too naive and arrogant.'
These thoughts, the moment he truly saw the hakuda instructor, shattered like glass struck by a heavy hammer, completely collapsing.
Because—
This person merely standing before Suoh allowed him to feel the man's power, and the silent warning issued by his body's cells.
The hakuda instructor was an extremely lean and fit man.
Nearly two meters tall, having removed the teacher's black robe and wearing capable short training attire, the ancient bronze-colored skin exposed beneath revealed a thousand-times-tempered sinewy physique.
But Suoh's deepest impression of him wasn't his body's robustness, but rather "coordination."
The man simply stood there casually, hands naturally hanging at his sides, shoulders slightly sunken.
From his steady stance to the slight rise and fall of his shoulder blades during breathing.
Every muscle's distribution, every movement's detail, all conveyed ultimate stability and balance.
As if whenever he wished, he could explode with astonishing speed and power, or instantly control it perfectly.
This coordination definitely couldn't be achieved through simple body strengthening—it was a realm only reached by controlling one's physical body to its peak.
Terrifyingly strong!
Suoh could clearly sense the furnace-like vigorous life force emanating from the other party, and spiritual pressure powerful enough to rival a vice-captain's.
Though the spiritual pressure intensity felt not far from Shiba Kaien's, under Suoh's direct perception, the sense of oppression the two brought was absolutely not on the same level.
"Everyone here?"
"This year's elite class has no female students."
"I am Yuuki Shinosuke. From now on, I'll guide your hakuda training."
Yuuki Shinosuke surveyed the entire field. His gaze swept across each student's face like something tangible, his voice like a great bell—steady and powerful.
"Many people think hakuda is just simple fist and foot techniques. That's wrong."
Yuuki Shinosuke came before a wooden post. His footwork slightly settled, his right fist instantly striking forth.
Boom—
Only a heavy muffled sound was heard. The instant fist and wooden post collided, time in the dojo seemed to freeze for a moment.
When Yuuki Shinosuke withdrew his fist, everyone's gazes focused on the wooden post.
On the smooth surface, a clear fist imprint remained prominently.
The imprint's texture looked as if forcibly pressed in, the edges without a trace of fracturing.
This punch was not only extremely swift and fierce, but also controlled with extreme precision—not a trace of excess power leaked out.
Yuuki Shinosuke turned to face the students, his gaze like torches as he confidently said:
"See that?"
"This isn't brute force, but concentrating the body's power through proper force generation methods to a single point in an instant."
"Hakuda isn't simple, crude fist and foot techniques, but restrained support."
He slowly raised his right hand, five fingers spreading then slowly forming a fist, filled with a sense of power.
"In the upcoming lessons, I'll make you all recognize your own bodies anew."
"Flesh will ache, will tire, will protest to you, but only by crossing through this pain can you possess strong bodies and resilient spirits."
"Now everyone face me. The most basic straight punch thrust, one thousand times."
Yuuki Shinosuke's words fell. His movements showed no dragging whatsoever.
He was first to stand firm, feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent—a stance stable as a boulder.
His right hand formed a fist drawn to his waist, palm facing up—the standard straight punch starting position.
"Watch the key points carefully!"
He shouted deeply, his right fist sending forward.
The instant his arm straightened, his shoulder moved slightly, his waist and abdomen twisting accordingly.
The entire fist was like an arrow shot from a bow, transmitting power layer by layer to the fist's peak.
"A straight punch doesn't rely only on arm strength, but mobilizes the entire body's power. Your practice goal is to achieve the feeling of 'unified force.'"
"Begin!"
The students immediately spread out, each standing in position and beginning practice while imitating Yuuki Shinosuke's movements.
Yuuki Shinosuke paced among the students with hands behind his back, his sharp gaze constantly correcting students' errors.
The field quickly presented different training states.
Most students needed to stop and rest to adjust their breathing after completing dozens of standard straight punches, or shake their arms to rediscover the feeling of force generation.
Only Suoh maintained an astonishing stable state from the very beginning. Each straight punch was textbook-standard.
He was too familiar with this kind of repetitive, monotonous training method. From the first day of training, he'd been tempering himself day after day.
He immediately entered his personal rhythm.
"This kid must be Suoh. No wonder that guy Saitou praised him to the heavens."
"Looks like that guy really wasn't drunk out of his mind spouting nonsense. He's got something!"
Yuuki Shinosuke's footsteps paused slightly beside Suoh. His gaze swept across—the black-haired youth before him had already completely entered training mode.
A flash of inexplicable approval crossed his eyes. Without changing expression, he directly passed by, continuing to patrol and guide other students.
When other students in the field were still struggling to complete the thousand straight punches in segments, Suoh alone had already finished the final punch without stopping. His movements were clean and decisive as he returned to ready stance.
He released his fist, moved his fingers, his expression as calm as if completing a simple warm-up.
"Don't feel much."
"No particular insights either."
This most basic physical training could no longer bring him any feeling of fatigue. This training volume didn't even make him break a sweat.
Naturally, there were no special revelations either.
As for the unified force Yuuki Shinosuke mentioned, he'd already achieved that long ago.
Standing in place, Suoh wasn't idle either. He closed his eyes and repeatedly played back in his mind all the details of Yuuki Shinosuke's punch just now.
From the center of gravity change as footwork slightly settled, to the trajectory of the fist breaking through air, finally freezing on that clear fist imprint on the wooden post.
"Three-tenths deep imprint, form preserved in a line."
"Everyone can see the power released, but that punch's true essence lies in stopping."
"The Original Style's essential meaning lies in release and stop. Release and control from the heart, hardness and softness together. Slowly comprehend it!"
At this moment, a steady voice came from beside his ear, as if seeing through his thoughts while also somewhat answering the doubts in his heart.
Afterward, Suoh corrected his posture and attempted several more punches, but never felt satisfied. He always felt something was slightly off.
Knowing is easy, doing is hard—roughly that's how it was.
***
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