One month later, both Sora and Yukio had moved past the next three training exercises.
These had consisted of learning when to stop attacks and when to retreat, how to move in short bursts and how to never hesitate.
In this time, Sora and Yukio had gotten closer to not only each other but they had also gotten closer to Takeo.
Sora had gotten really good at teleportation and his ability to turn invisible.
Yukio had gotten really good at the Mirror Flower Style, Chakra control in general and the sense alteration technique.
"Man, how much do you think we could've progressed if we had never met the old man? Do you think we'd still be stuck on manipulating people's senses?" Sora asked Yukio while the two walked to Takeo's dojo.
Yukio giggled, after a whole month of training with Sora he had started to come out of his shell a little and was now able to talk to Sora quite a bit better. "Hmm, maybe not there but I think we might've discovered something new. Definitely not something on the same level as the things that Sensei has taught us."
Sora couldn't help but nod in agreement. "Hey, you've learned the teleportation technique too right?" He asked.
"Yeah, thank you for teaching it to me, big bro." Yukio rubbed the back of his head right as they reached Takeo's dojo.
A month ago they would've waited for Takeo to let them in, but now they just walked right in and got to training before Takeo could give them any instructions.
They had learned loads of new tricks and attacks but Sora had focused on the skyward slash and Yukio had focused on the downward slash, those were their favourites.
"You two… come here." Takeo's voice came from the adjacent room, the place where Sora and Yukio had first practiced their balance over a month ago.
The two boys looked at each other before Yukio opened the door and walked in.
He quickly took note of the room being completely empty, so much space was available.
On the far end of the room, Takeo sat with a wooden Ninjatō on the floor next to him.
Yukio squinted at the sight before looking at the floor close to him and seeing two wooden ninjatō next to each other.
"It is time that I gauge your current skill and flaws." Takeo said, not moving a muscle.
Sora entered the room next and noticed the swords on the floor before anything else. "Hey, old man… is this what I think it is?" He suddenly grinned.
"You two will be fighting me two on one. No chakra related techniques allowed other than the basic physical enhancement technique. Sora, you are forbidden from using any techniques related to your eyes." Takeo said, grabbing his sword and standing up. His eyes still closed.
The two picked up their swords.
Sora rocked on his heels, his sword playing in his hands with his posture loose and open, waiting for the sign to go. His stance didn't have the careful symmetry that was necessary for the Mirror Flower Swordsmanship, but there was nothing careless about his posture. He was coiled and ready to explode.
Yukio stood right next to Sora, his shoulders were tight but his feet were placed perfectly. His breathing was shallow but even and controlled.
And on the other side of the room…
Their sensei's posture was relatively plain. His sword was raised, but it wasn't aggressive, it was just there. His stance was balanced but he didn't really look like someone that was about to fight.
The two sides just stared at each other, Sora quickly realising that there wasn't a signal to start.
And so he moved.
He flew forward in a sudden burst of speed, the muscles in his legs exploding as he moved directly in front of Takeo, his sword flying upward in an extremely powerful arc. The skyward slash ripped through the air, aimed to cleave upward through Takeo's guard.
The old man smiled softly and shifted just slightly to the side so that the blade passed by, the wood brushing past his sleeve. Sora immediately attempted a follow up, making Takeo click his tongue in disappointment.
Takeo's blade suddenly fell to meet Sora's follow up—
—and then Yukio struck.
Takeo's eyes widened as Yukio slid forward with perfect timing, his sword dropping down in a clean, vertical line. His downward slash fell down like a guillotine, aimed at Takeo's shoulder, forcing the old man to keep moving or to be cut down.
Takeo twisted through the small gap between both of his students' attacks, his blade flicking up to deflect Yukio's strike while moving out of Sora's reach. The sound of wood hitting each other echoed in the room.
Sora landed hard and immediately turned, already moving.
His golden eyes flickered.
Takeo's chakra flowed clean and efficiently, gathering subtly at joints before each movement. His eyes tracked those shifts without thinking about it, his body already moving before his mind could catch up.
He attacked again.
Another skyward slash, much faster this time, his sword ripping upward with enough power to make a gust of wind. Takeo raised his guard, but Sora altered the angle mid-swing, adjusting instinctively as he noticed Takeo's chakra shifting toward a pivot.
Yukio moved at the exact same time.
He didn't look at Takeo's blade. He watched his footwork.
He had already learned the habit from their last clash. Takeo favoured his back left foot when redirecting force, always transferring his weight a fraction of a second before actually committing to the counter. Yukio managed to time his step to that exact transfer, his blade already falling in another downward slash aimed to intercept him before he could finish.
Takeo's decades of experience warned him.
He abandoned his attempt to counter Sora and retreated instead, leaping back as both blades slashed through where he had just stood.
But the duo were not done.
Sora sprinted forward, playing the aggressor, spamming skyward slashes over and over, each rising slash forcing Takeo to give ground or risk being driven off balance. Sora's strength showed now, every single one of his attacks were far heavier than anything a 13 year old should be capable of.
Yukio stayed behind the edge of that pressure, stepping in only when the timing was perfect. His downward slashes came as decisive cuts that closed any chances Takeo could take.
Sora drew the attention upward, his attacks forcing Takeo to defend his upper body. Yukio exploited this immediately afterward, cutting toward Takeo's lower body, grounding the fight.
Takeo grinned and countered sharply.
He stepped into Sora's swing, his sword flying across to parry the rising slash and drove his elbow toward Sora's ribs. The boy just barely managed to twist enough to take the impact on muscle instead of bone, his grin remained even as he staggered back a step.
Because he knew…
He knew that Yukio was already there.
The pale boy's blade came crashing down in a swift slash aimed at Takeo's shoulder once more, forcing the old man to raise his guard and forget about following up on Sora. The wooden swords clashed once more, splinters flying.
Takeo flowed away to reposition, his blade always between himself and his students.
He chuckled right before he increased the pressure.
He feinted toward Yukio to draw Sora's attention, then he shifted his blade toward Sora's leg in a sharp, low cut. Sora saw the shift in chakra a fraction of a second before it happened and leapt, his legs tucking as the blade passed under him.
While mid-air, he raised his sword.
The skyward slash had been abandoned and Sora delivered a devastating downward slash that Takeo only barely managed to deflect as Sora landed hard and immediately pressed forward once more.
Yukio adjusted accordingly.
He had noticed another habit… Takeo's feints always came before a directional reversal, he never fully commits. Yukio purposely delayed his response by a blink of an eye, waiting for Takeo's true intention to reveal itself, then he stepped in with another downward slash aimed precisely at the point that Takeo favoured when resetting.
This time, the blade was far closer.
Takeo managed to twist away at the last possible moment, the edge of Yukio's sword grazing his haori. His expression immediately hardened.
He retaliated.
Takeo surged forward, his blade moving in extremely enclosed, efficient slashes, driving Sora backward under a flurry of strikes. Sora blocked and deflected, his strength compensating where his timing and precision faltered.
Yukio tracked the exchange from close by.
He watched Sora's shoulders, the way they rose before each skyward slash, the rhythm of his breathing. He predicted when Sora would overextend, when he would carry himself too far forward.
When that movement came, when Sora would slip up, Yukio made his move.
As Takeo deflected yet another rising slash and prepared to counter, Yukio stepped in and dropped his blade in a perfectly timed downward slash, intercepting Takeo's attempt and forcing him to redirect once again.
Sora realised what was going on really quickly.
His grin became feral as he darted forward with a roar, blade flying up in a brutal skyward slash that finally made Takeo retreat more than a single step. The room shook from the sheer force of the attack, Takeo's posture tightening as the pressure started to pile up.
The fight intensified.
These two were the most talented people that Takeo had ever seen. For them to be able to think and move like this at the ages of eleven and thirteen was truly shocking to Takeo. He had hit the jackpot when he had found these two wells of potential.
Skyward slash.
Downward slash.
Sora's eyes tracked the small shifts in Takeo's chakra flow, giving him the chance to strike where Takeo planned to be, instead of where he actually was. Yukio had already figured out all of the old man's habits, predicting his movements through pattern recognition and instinct rather than seeing it first hand.
Takeo was brimming with excitement at seeing his students push themselves to their maximum.
So he pushed back.
He suddenly drove between them, his blade flying toward Yukio's chest. The youngest boy barely managed to parry, the force of the impact making his arms go numb. Takeo immediately spun around, his blade snapped toward Sora's throat—
—and Sora was already moving.
He quickly twisted aside, yet another skyward slash rising from an impossible angle, forcing Takeo to stop his strike and retreat once again.
Yukio followed up with a slash aimed toward Takeo's legs, forcing him to leap back, his breaths were getting sharper, his movements weren't effortless anymore.
All three of them were breathing heavier now, their clothes had darkened with sweat, their muscles burning.
Takeo attacked with more and more intensity, testing the duo's limits.
He forced Sora to retreat, landing a sharp strike across his thigh that made Sora stumble backward. Yukio immediately filled the gap, his blade dropping in another precise slash to deny Takeo the opening once more.
Sora quickly recovered with a loud laugh, his eyes glowing with adrenaline as he surged back into the heated combat.
Together, they pressed Takeo one last time.
They repeated the motions Takeo had forced them to do tens of thousands of times over the past month.
Sora's skyward slashes came over and over, battering down Takeo's guard while Yukio's downward cuts closed every last avenue of escape. Takeo managed to counter, adapt and resist. But… for the first time, he was reacting to the attacks instead of being in control.
Finally, the old man stepped back and lowered his blade.
The fight had ended.
"Beautifully done, you two."