Chapter 8

Kojiro thanked Agnes as he decided he would go back to attempting to achieve the true Tsubame Gaeshi. However he needed a nap first.

Kojiro dreamed of finally achieving the Tsubame Gaeshi at least he was until the dream was cut from the crackling sounds of the fire.

He walked silently through the halls and down the stairs as he decided to head towards the training rooms. Kojiro was satisfied but there was one thing missing from his training. A swallow, he needed a swallow. Remembering the two maids that he had encountered he sought out to find at least one of them.

He soon encountered the maid friend as he waved her over. "What do I call you?" She smiled and replied "You forgot? Maria Yerial." Kojiro nodded before stating his reason for approaching her. "There is equipment missing in the training room." Maria looked surprised "Equipment missing? Are you fucking serious? We should have everything in there." Kojiro smirked "Vulgar but beautiful maiden I see. However I am missing something vital for my training."

Maria stared at him as Kojiro spoke "I'm missing a swallow for my training." Maria blanked out. "A swallow? A swallow!? Why the fuck would you need a swallow for?" Kojiro stared at her, "training."

"Is it possible to get one for me?" Maria looked at him "It seems you also need points so how about 500 points just to get a bird?"

Maria snorted as she left after the points were transferred.

~~~~

Kojiro was in the training room and in a small room that he had purchased, there flying about was a swallow. Every time Kojiro tried cutting the swallow, it would dodge, Kojiro sighed as he continued to watch the pattern of the swallow. He would need to strike once and if the swallow dodged he would need another strike to block of the escape route and the third strike to finish it off. Yet it was not possible at least he didn't think so.

He knew swallows feel the shaking of the wind caused by the sword strike in order to avoid the blade. It is impossible to avoid disturbing the air, no matter how fast the strike, and a sword can only move in a straight line. The swallow can move horizontally or vertically to avoid it, so a single strike cannot possibly cut one down. The swallow's escape route must be completely blocked off, meaning that after the first attack, another is necessary to entrap it. The second blow cannot possibly be done in time to hit the swallow, and it is beyond human capabilities to attack multiple times in one instant. He would need three strikes at once to hit it.

He just kept swinging in an attempt to slay the swallow.

~~~~

Cinzia watched through the monitors as Agnes stared at the screen. Unlike Jihu who had immediately gone on missions, Kojiro was in the training room trying to hit a swallow. Cinzia looked in confusion while Agnes watched on.

Cinzia smirked "I can tell you're curious. Go on. I won't stop you from helping him. Though I'd say give it some time. He looks like he's figured something out. "

~~~~

Kojiro continued striking as the swallow dodged each time. He tried striking three times, first from top to bottom and the second from the direction the swallow dodged and the third trying to hit the swallow that had almost been trapped.

Kojiro kept trying and trying until he realised that the Tsubame Gaeshi was something not to be done by striking three different times. No it was to somehow strike three times at once. Yet he strangely could only ponder on one thing that he heard from the previous Sasaki Kojiro before he passed away. The only clue to piecing the Tsubame Gaeshi together.

"The Tsubame Gaeshi is a technique that leads to multiplicity. A way to acknowledge "multiple possibilities". A single act that is originally finite, a single slash that can only be performed at one time, in one space. It is, so to speak, a technique that gives birth to several "correct answers". To make one's own existence transparent to the extremes, till there is nothing more. And yet to grasp for "something" beyond that."

Kojiro continued to ponder on what he thought were the key words. "A way to acknowledge multiple possibilities and to make one's own existence transparent to the extremes."

Kojiro thought for a bit until he suddenly stood up. He had the answer and know he just had to attempt it.

To acknowledge multiple possibilities he only had to narrow it down to three possibilities, until now he had only thought that he was to strike three times at once, and while he wasn't wrong, he was going it about the wrong way. He had to have the intent to strike three different ways. When a person does something, a signal is sent to the brain, he had to acknowledge the three possibilities of his intent by meaning to do all three.

And finally to become transparent, to reduce himself to the same as his intent to something that can be erased from the world and can only be present through his own acknowledgement of three different possibilities.

~~~~

Cinzia watched as Kojiro suddenly stood up before thinking for a bit. She watched as he took a stance, Agnes watched intensely as their eyes widened. It seemed her help was not needed and could be directed elsewhere.

~~~~

His blade pointed at the swallow who was flying about. He kept his blade pointed at the bird. In that instant he intended on doing three different things at once. Yet at the same time he let go of everything he was. Everything that made him Sasaki Kojiro, he left it behind in this one strike, his existence was transparent and similar to the intent to do three different things.

He swung his blade as it curved downwards as he his intent continued on closing in on the swallow. His eyes widened, at the time that he swung, in that instant before he lost concentration there were three strikes for a bit.

Kojiro smiled before noticing that he had cut a small feather of the swallow.

~~~~

Two Months Later

Kojiro exhaled as he held his blade up at the swallow.

"Hiken- Tsubame Gaeshi!"

He lunged forward at the swallow as he swung downwards causing three simultaneous sword strikes to happen at once. Blood splattered onto the floor and dripped off the blade. Kojiro looked up and exhaled. He picked up the small bird as he buried it in the small pot of earth.

"Thank you for helping me perfect this technique."

Kojiro could now move onto the next bit of his training, more like an idea that popped up to mind during his fight with the Gaekgwi. If he could instantly speed himself up using mana, couldn't he do it with his strikes as well?

Hence the birth of the skill [Mana Burst] Intermediate(Lowest).