Ryuji was actually quite interested in the Kyokugen style.
Because Kyokugen Karate was an even more extreme form of martial arts than regular karate.
Or rather, calling it the Muay Thai of karate wouldn't really be inaccurate either.
Because what they pursued was their own limits and they pursued them at any cost.
That slogan was something practically every martial arts school shouted about, but most styles simply didn't have the ability to truly accomplish it.
After all, breaking through one's limits placed enormous strain on the body's vitality/life force.
Without techniques like Life Return or methods to repair bodily damage, ordinary people could very easily kill themselves through that kind of relentless limit-breaking training.
So, Ryuji felt that the Kyokugen style absolutely had some unique training method of its own.
Otherwise, it wouldn't deserve to be called the Kyokugen style.
It would just be called the Suicide style.
"As for that…"
Hanzo stroked his beard.
"The Kyokugen practitioners are mostly operating in America these days, so there really aren't many local dojos left around here. And there probably won't be any true masters either."
"But if you're looking for judo masters, there should still be quite a few in the area."
Hanzo himself was somewhat confused as well.
The power structure of the martial arts world had changed enormously during the years he had been dead.
And it even seemed like the relationship between Japan and America had undergone some subtle changes too.
Because judging from appearances, the Kyokugen style, which had once rushed eagerly to America to buy land and expand, didn't seem to be doing all that well anymore.
So, Hanzo felt like something about the situation was strange.
"I see. Then you just pick a few random ones for me."
"Tell me tomorrow morning, and I'll head over to their places in the afternoon."
Ryuji had decided to carry out a 'dawn raid' style challenge.
Meaning that in the morning, he'd learn where your dojo was…
And in the afternoon...
He'd sleep with your wife.
Cough.
No, he'd make you die in your own home.
"Alright."
Hanzo didn't really have anything else to say.
After asking Ryuji a few questions regarding the newly revised Shiranui martial arts system, he quickly left to move over even more secret manuals for Ryuji to read and modify.
After all, opportunities like this were rare.
And in the end, all these things would eventually belong to Ryuji anyway, so handing them over now didn't really matter.
Ryuji himself didn't mind either.
However, most of the material contained within the various secret manuals Hanzo brought over were things he already understood.
Even the few more unusual techniques weren't particularly impressive to him.
Instead, what truly interested him were the hidden historical records.
"So this world actually has vampires, demons, and all kinds of monsters…"
Ryuji looked at one particular passage recorded within the Shiranui secret archives.
It described a demon-like creature that resurrected after death, an endlessly starving monster that devoured anything it saw.
In the end, it had supposedly been slain by a swordsman wielding a blade.
And apparently, the Shiranui family in the past had mostly used explosives and qi techniques to exorcise monsters, essentially acting as anti-demon ninjas…
"Anti-demon ninjas…"
Ryuji suppressed the urge to complain, though he still couldn't help imagining Mai wearing a skintight bodysuit.
After thinking about it for a moment, he nodded seriously.
In the future, he definitely intended to have Mai cosplay as an anti-demon ninja so she could attack the demons lurking within his heart.
"Interesting…"
"Back during the Sengoku era, the land was supposedly filled with demons. But once firearms/gunpowder became widespread, people generally had enough food to eat, and the aftermath of natural disasters could no longer so easily claim human lives…"
"The activity of demons gradually began disappearing."
As he examined the recorded frequency of demon appearances, Ryuji found the pattern fascinating.
As humanity's standard of living and technology improved, the probability of demon appearing became lower and lower. By the era of the Black Ships, demons had basically become things of legend.
Only in remote villages could one occasionally find a weak demon or two.
In fact, even during the Sengoku period, the number of demons had already been far lower than in ancient times.
And it was precisely during that era that the Shiranui family had been forced to transition from professional demon hunters into ninjas in order to earn enough money to survive.
"…There could be a lot of explanations for this."
"Hm? There are even records about Orochi in here."
Ryuji felt there were countless possible interpretations.
For example, perhaps nature itself had retreated before human power. Or perhaps people had gained hope for the future, making resentment and grudges less likely to give birth to demons.
Or maybe gunpowder itself suppressed demons and spirits.
After all, many of the ingredients used to make gunpowder were classified in Daoist material theory as substances of extreme yang energy, so possessing exorcising properties wouldn't really be strange.
And based on his own judgment, even someone like Goenitz, a member of the Hakkesshu, probably couldn't completely ignore pistol bullets when caught off guard.
Still, he genuinely hadn't expected these records to contain information about Orochi.
The Shiranui family's secret archives really did contain valuable material.
"Hm… When Orochi was enraged, Mount Fuji erupted. And the violent power caused the entire world to tremble…'"
"'It is said that this was not even Orochi's true full strength, because it had not yet descended into the body chosen for him by the Heavenly Kings…'"
Reading the description, Ryuji narrowed his eyes.
"If this isn't exaggerated, then Orochi's power level during its two appearances doesn't match up at all…"
He rubbed his chin while continuing to read.
According to the records, merely descending into the world had caused Orochi to trigger tsunamis, shake the entire Japanese archipelago, split the earth apart, and cause Mount Fuji to erupt.
And that was only the aftermath of his appearance.
~~~~~~~~~~
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