After chatting for a while, Fukuroi led Tamura Hao to a training ground within the village.
For ninja, verbal understanding was always superficial.
To truly understand someone, you had to see them fight.
"Attack me with your strongest technique."
Fukuroi drew the ninja blade from his back and gestured for Tamura Hao to go all out. He wanted to see the boy's upper limit before deciding how to teach him.
Tamura Hao didn't waste words.
He activated the sealing formula on his armguards.
Two long blades appeared in his hands.
"Those swords…"
Fukuroi was mildly surprised.
Blades of this length were rare. Even samurai from the Land of Iron seldom used swords this long.
In shape, they resembled ninja swords and katana—but were significantly longer.
The longer one was about 1.6 meters
The shorter one was still 1.2 meters
Standard ninja blades were usually under a meter for flexibility.
These clearly favored powerful two-handed strikes—the long hilts made that obvious.
The blades were straighter than katana, with sharper tip angles—well-suited for thrusting.
Chains connected the pommels to the elbows of the armguards.
This allowed Tamura Hao to use the strength of his entire arm, reducing wrist strain—effectively simulating two-handed control even when wielded one-handed.
Just from the weapon design, Fukuroi could already infer the intended fighting style.
"Sensei Fukuroi, I'm coming!"
With blades in hand, Tamura Hao decisively consumed destiny power, boosting his comprehension to enhance total control.
This increase in comprehension wasn't limited to cultivation—it worked in combat as well.
Like entering a calm, hyper-focused sage-like state, emotions faded, perception sharpened, and judgment became crystal-clear.
The monstrous strength technique he'd refined over the past half month surged into his legs.
He stomped forward explosively.
"Monstrous Slash!"
Big Meow in his left hand swept horizontally.
Little Meow in his right locked against the spine of the larger blade, adding leverage.
Monstrous strength surged into both arms.
"Fast!"
Fukuroi was slightly surprised by the burst speed and raised his blade to block.
Clang!
The collision produced a dull, heavy impact rather than a sharp ring—proof of tremendous force.
"Monstrous Combo!"
Knowing his chakra reserves were limited, Tamura Hao didn't pause for even an instant.
Dual blades flashed as he unleashed a relentless sequence of slashes and thrusts.
This was the killing technique he'd refined since committing to dual-blade combat.
Inspired by the continuous-pressure style of dual-sword combat, the concept was simple:
Suppress the opponent with nonstop offense.
Break their guard.
Force an opening.
Then strike flesh.
It was the most suitable path for a beginner—and especially for a taijutsu-focused ninja like himself.
But it wasn't mindless flailing.
Every strike targeted awkward angles, leverage points, or subtle gaps.
Precise. Ruthless.
During the past half month, he hadn't only trained chakra control—his swordsmanship had also undergone refinement.
Fukuroi grew even more surprised.
If a chūnin were caught at close range by this assault—unless they specialized in taijutsu—they would be in serious trouble.
The blades themselves were terrifyingly sharp.
Even Fukuroi's own ninja sword was beginning to show damage along the edge.
Ordinary kunai would have been cut clean through.
Fortunately, Fukuroi was a jōnin, and one who specialized in nintaijutsu.
He blocked with precision, calmly observing the boy's rhythm and combat instincts.
Soon, he noticed something strange.
Tamura Hao's two hands were using different sword styles.
This wasn't the typical dual-blade pattern of one attacking and one defending.
They were two independent systems—yet perfectly coordinated.
It felt as if he were facing two attackers at once.
"Split focus…"
Fukuroi understood immediately.
This was dual-minded control.
A technique most commonly trained by Sunagakure puppet masters, who needed to coordinate multiple puppets simultaneously.
It was said that Chiyo could control ten puppets at once—each comparable to a jōnin.
Tamura Hao's split focus wasn't at that level, but it was already highly developed.
And his monstrous strength application rivaled that of specialized taijutsu chūnin.
On top of that—
Explosive speed
Coordinated dual-blade offense
Razor-sharp long swords
Excellent combat awareness
All of it placed him firmly at taijutsu-chūnin level.
"The question is—how long can he last?"
Fukuroi could tell this was a burst state.
With Tamura Hao's chakra reserves, it wouldn't be sustainable.
Tamura Hao, meanwhile, wasn't thinking about endurance.
He focused entirely on offense.
Big Meow emphasized heavy slashes, supplemented by thrusts.
Little Meow focused on thrusts, with slashes as transitions.
This asymmetry was exactly why he'd chosen miaodao instead of katana or standard ninja blades.
Katana favored cutting—their curvature made thrusting weaker.
Some curved blades could barely thrust at all without bending dangerously.
Miaodao, by contrast, were straighter—especially along the central blade—with only the tip curving slightly.
The narrow tip angle made them ideal for piercing.
And among all weapon techniques, thrusts were the hardest to defend against—especially long-weapon thrusts.
Even Fukuroi could only deflect them repeatedly, never fully neutralize them.
The trade-off was that straighter blades could deform under heavy cutting force.
But that problem was solved with money.
These blades were built with layered thickness:
Thickest near the hilt
Gradually thinning toward the tip
The base was nearly a centimeter thick.
Even under monstrous-strength-enhanced strikes, the blades showed no warping or vibration.
Once Lightning Release could be channeled through them, their lethality would increase even further.
These swords had been forged specifically for that future.
They were made with chakra-conductive metal optimized for Lightning Release.
"I'm counterattacking."
Having fully adapted to Tamura Hao's offense, Fukuroi spoke calmly and stepped forward.
He swung.
No flourish.
No wasted motion.
Just speed.
So fast that Tamura Hao only saw a flash before the blade was already upon him.
Instinctively, he twisted his body, letting the shoulder guard absorb the blow.
As the blade slid sideways toward his head, Little Meow intercepted.
He borrowed the force to retreat while sweeping Big Meow horizontally.
His body twisted.
His left leg snapped out—
Kicking the spine of Big Meow to amplify the strike.
Clang!
Fukuroi blocked again.
This time, he unleashed greater force, knocking Big Meow aside and stepping in for another cut.
This was the true difference between jōnin and everyone else.
Fukuroi still hadn't used Lightning Release.
He was merely reinforcing muscles and bones with chakra—
Yet the speed and power he displayed far exceeded Tamura Hao's limits.
More importantly, Fukuroi had battle-hardened experience.
Tamura Hao had trained endlessly—
But mostly against stone and wooden posts.
When Fukuroi was on the defensive, that gap didn't show.
Once he went on the offensive, it became brutally clear.
Step by step, Tamura Hao was driven back.
Ten steps.
His arms went numb.
Grip strength faded.
The next strike came down—
Fast as lightning.
With both arms and blades failing him—
This slash was unavoidable.