Chapter 65: Full-Power Training
Igarashi Uzen was neither joking nor mistaken.
Exploding gourds, underwater duels, high-altitude suffering... those methods created extreme environments to force the body to adapt to high efficiency and integrate it into a swordsman's daily life.
But the method he wanted to teach Natsuya was different. It was about Integration. It was about Life.
"Think about it," the Storm Hashira said, lifting his coffee cup.
His voice was as calm as the ripples in his drink. "It's not about 'becoming a superhuman occasionally.' It's about making the 'superhuman' learn how to eat, sleep, and drink coffee like a normal person."
"Using not a single ounce of wasted effort, keeping the mind as peaceful as a still pond."
"That is what I want you to do."
"Do not 'maintain' Total Concentration. Let Total Concentration 'disappear'."
"Forget that it is a technique of the Breathing Styles. Let it return to its original essence: the simple act of breathing."
Natsuya scratched his head.
This sounds suspiciously like those cryptic tropes from old-school cultivation manga.
"So, Aizen-senpai... I start by making coffee? What's the specific protocol?"
Igarashi silently handed him a glass jar. It was filled with premium coffee beans.
Natsuya: ≖_≖
Senior, you aren't just using my training as an excuse to get me to be your personal barista for free, are you?
Facing the boy's undisguised skepticism, Igarashi merely cleared his throat, his expression solemn. "This is part of the cultivation."
And so, from that day on, a strange figure appeared in the Igarashi estate and several high-end cafes in Yokohama owned by the Igarashi family.
A boy, maintaining a state of Total Concentration while grinding beans, extracting espresso, and pouring lattes.
It was far harder than Natsuya had imagined.
After a long duration, his lungs felt like they were being scorched by white phosphorus. Keeping the rhythm consistent while performing chores was a nightmare for his stamina bar.
And even when he managed to stabilize his breathing...
The moment his focus drifted toward his lungs, his physical strength would explode as if he were in a life-or-death battle.
Either the manual hand-grinder would be twisted into scrap metal, or he would press the coffee grounds with enough force to turn them into a solid puck of carbon.
"Do not let the lightning roar. You must control it. Learn to let the thunder brew silently within the clouds," Igarashi said, never looking up from his book.
"Thunder Breathing doesn't always need to be vented immediately."
"Sense the aroma of the beans. Relax."
"Do not fight against the breath. Adjust the rhythm with peace in your heart."
CRACK.
Distracted by the advice, Natsuya's palm pressed down too hard, and a large chunk of the solid oak workstation collapsed under his hand.
The manager and staff nearby scrambled back several paces in terror.
Natsuya: "..."
Igarashi: "..."
It seems my Junior finally looks like a normal human being during this stage of training, the Arashibashira thought, a mischievous smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Luckily, the Igarashi family had deep pockets; they could afford the property damage. If this were a regular cafe, Natsuya would have been kicked out (or arrested) on day one.
Of course, the training didn't stop at coffee.
On the third day, Igarashi took him to the banks of the Ooka River. This time, he was tasked with maintaining Total Concentration while fishing.
This was even harder. Under the hyper-alert state of Thunder Breathing, the adrenaline surge was the complete opposite of the Zen-like patience required for angling. Natsuya felt like a nitro-charged engine being asked to perform micro-surgery.
The result? His internal vibrations sent ripples across the water, scaring away every fish within a fifty-meter radius. He spent the entire day "skunked"—going home with an empty bucket.
Starting on the fifth day, Igarashi sent Natsuya to the Yokohama Library. He handed him a massive, dense tome of Western philosophy.
The requirement: Maintain Total Concentration while reading, comprehending, and taking detailed notes.
Natsuya felt his temples throbbing.
How am I supposed to read this?!
With his brain and body overclocked to the max, even turning a page without tearing it was a challenge. His muscles, constantly twitching with suppressed power, made his entire frame vibrate. He felt like the words on the page were jumping out and dancing in front of his eyes.
And it was PHILSOPHY.
Natsuya was certain that even if it were a dirty magazine, he wouldn't be able to process a single word in this state.
He glanced at Igarashi, who was looking out the window at the street scene with an air of profound leisure.
This Senior... this bastard is definitely laughing at me!
By the time Seiko returned from her mission, she was greeted by a bizarre sight.
Natsuya was in the garden of the estate, his entire body trembling as he watered the plants. He looked like someone who was enduring the greatest injustice in history but was forced to remain silent.
She noticed that the water pouring from the watering can was actually splitting into multiple chaotic streams because of the vibrations in Natsuya's right hand.
"Um... what is Natsuya-kun doing?" she asked the other two swordsmen, who had returned a few days earlier.
Kojiro, being a Kanoe rank with zero game-sense, just shook his head blankly. Dojima, who was on the verge of promoting to Hinoe, knew a bit more.
"That... is likely the training for Total Concentration: Constant."
The two Water-users looked lost. Dojima took a moment to explain the concept of Constant—the peak state of maintaining the Breathing buff 24/7.
"Amazing... so Senior is already training to become a Hashira?" Kojiro gasped.
Dojima gave him a flat look. No matter how you look at him, the Lord Successor is already a Hashira candidate.
Seiko stared at Natsuya, her eyes wide with admiration. Natsuya-kun... he really never stops moving forward.
The trio had their own thoughts, but none of them were prepared for what came next.
The difficulty of their daily sparring sessions suddenly hit a vertical wall.
Because Natsuya was now in a state where "holding back" and "guiding" was incredibly clumsy. He couldn't control his output with the same precision as before. Every block and every dodge carried the near-instinctual speed and monstrous strength of Total Concentration running at full capacity.
To Natsuya, it was a light tap. To the three students, it was a heavy-impact collision.
After Natsuya used a near-precognitive step to dodge an attack and returned a "casual" counter, Kojiro was the first to fall. He clutched his stomach, his eyes rolling back as he lost consciousness and hit the dirt.
Seiko gritted her teeth, her body covered in fresh bruises. Her eyes were red from the sheer strain of trying to track his movements. Dojima, thanks to his higher stats, was still standing, but he was forced to use his sword as a crutch, his breathing ragged.
Their heavy training uniforms were soaked through with sweat.
"Natsuya-kun... your strength... it's too much... I can't..." Seiko panted, her voice trailing off.
She had felt so much progress over the last few weeks, but now she was back to square one—unable to even trade blows with him for more than three frames. Even though she knew he was trying to be gentle, the tidal wave of force pressing down on her made it impossible to even draw a full breath.
Dojima was equally battered. "It's not just the strength. His technique and awareness... they're on a level we can't even comprehend."
Natsuya looked at the two of them with an apologetic expression.
He had intended to turn off the "Constant" mode during their training sessions. However, his Senior had insisted that integration was the whole point—if he couldn't maintain it while fighting, it wasn't true mastery.
I didn't want to use these 'Demon Instructor' methods on them, Natsuya thought. Am I that kind of person?
He glanced at his HUD.
His Thunder Breathing proficiency was skyrocketing at an unprecedented rate. It was moving faster than his manual drills, faster than his meditation, and much faster than the coffee-grinding or the philosophy-reading.
Sorry Seiko, Dojima, and Kojiro-taro.
I have to sacrifice your HP bars for my XP bar.
If you need someone to hate, hate the evil Igarashi Uzen.
He's the one who wrote the patch notes for this training.
Natsuya clenched his fists and took another step toward the remaining two.
Up in the balcony, Igarashi Uzen sipped his coffee, enjoying the peaceful afternoon. Suddenly, his eyebrow twitched.
Why do I get the feeling... that someone is talking trash about me right now?
☆☆☆
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