One week had passed since Nēgus was exiled.
Prīōra remained on bed rest while Kutcher continued to hone his swordsmanship outside the village.
Tuziku and Ryōkōjū also continued their daily sparring routine. However, Tuziku had yet to show any signs of improvement.
The old man had explained that he needed to spend more time with his granddaughter as she recovered, and so Tuziku would spend most of his days training in solitude from then on.
And so, after just a few hours of sparring with Tuziku, Ryōkōjū left to be at Prīōra's side and resume his duties as Chief of the village.
As Tuziku lay on the ground, gazing up at the sky, a beautiful hummingbird flew overhead, displaying unique movements that were only possible because of its skilled control over the wind.
Seeing this, Tuziku gained some inspiration on how to develop the first form of his Hakashi Technique.
And so, he continued his training in solitude.
FWOOOOOSSH!!
A powerful and violent burst of wind swarmed around Tuziku as he desperately tried to control it.
FWOOOOOOO!!
"HAAAAAA!!" Tuziku desperately fought to control the powerful winds.
However...
FWOOSH!
Thud!
The powerful winds suddenly vanished as Tuziku fell to his knees.
"Damn it!" he shouted in frustration.
"I just don't get it!"
I know what I need to do now.
I understand...!
He clenched his fists.
But...
My body has no idea what it should be doing!
He let out a huge sigh.
A hummingbird and a human don't have anything in common anyway...
How can I learn from a bird's example?
...
He gasped.
Suddenly, Tuziku remembered.
He remembered how the hummingbird had used its limbs—in this case, its wings—to control the wind.
He remembered how composed and relaxed the bird's entire body had been.
Then—
He realized.
Hold on a minute...
"...What if the hummingbird and I aren't so different after all...?" His expression lit up.
Alone on the outskirts near the base of Mount Yakushi, Tuziku began pacing back and forth, talking to himself as he scratched his chin.
"I mean, sure, we might be different... but what matters is that we can both use our limbs to control the wind!"
"If I remember correctly, its wings and body remained completely relaxed and calm as it effortlessly glided through the air."
Suddenly, Tuziku came to a halt.
"All right..."
"I guess I'll give it a try!"
Tuziku took his stance and placed one hand forward.
Then—
FWOOSH!
A small gust of wind appeared and began violently swirling around Tuziku's body.
He closed his eyes as he exhaled sharply.
I need to calm down...
Now that I've summoned a gust of wind, what I need to do now... is calm down and relax my body...
He relaxed his body and concentrated all his efforts on reducing the intensity of the wind.
FWOOOOSH!!
He struggled as the small yet powerful gust of wind violently swirled around his body.
"Come... on... Tuziku...!!" he struggled.
Perhaps by instinct, Tuziku stretched out both arms and began gently waving them around in a unique pattern.
As he continued to perform these bizarre movements, the wind began to follow the motion of his arms as it slowly grew tame.
Then—
Fwoooooo...
The violent winds suddenly grew calm as they slowly engulfed Tuziku's body.
Did I...?
As he gazed down at the calm streams of air swirling around his body, he let out a bright smile.
"I DID IT!!" he rejoiced, jumping up and down.
Suddenly...
Fwoosh—
As soon as he lost his composure, the calm streams of air surrounding Tuziku's body suddenly dispersed.
"Crap!" Tuziku frowned.
"I got excited and lost my focus!"
"But..."
He clenched his fist, wearing a bright grin.
"I finally did it!"
"I've finally unlocked the Hakashi Technique's first form—Tras!"
That being said...
I wasn't able to actually use it.
"I guess I'll give it a try one more time..."
FWOOSH!
Tuziku once more summoned a small gust of strong wind and began concentrating on clearing his mind and relaxing his body.
Then, after several minutes of concentration, his arms gently began to move in a unique, trance-like motion.
Soon after, the wind began to trace those movements.
Then...
Fwooooo...
Once more, the previously strong winds grew tame and began to swirl around Tuziku's body.
As he gazed at the streams of air circling his body, Tuziku thought to himself...
Amazing...
So this is the first form of the Hakashi Technique—Tras!
But I still need to test it out!
Suddenly, he remembered Ryōkōjū's first demonstration of Tras and how the old man had been able to jump approximately 250 meters high—half the height of Mount Yakushi—using the first form to reinforce his legs.
Suddenly, Tuziku smirked mischievously.
Right...
He clenched his fist.
I'm gonna try to see how high I can jump!
With the calm winds surrounding his body and constantly enhancing his physical abilities...
Tuziku took a squat.
Then—
Fwoooosh!!
He jumped with all his strength.
Swoooooooo...
"HAHAHA!!" he laughed in excitement as his body shot up into the air.
However...
"Huh?"
"Wait..."
After reaching around 200 meters high, Tuziku began to descend.
Fwoooooooooo—
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" he screamed in horror as his body plummeted toward the earth at terrifying speeds.
But before he hit the ground—
FWOOOOOOOSSH!!
Tuziku summoned a powerful gust of wind from beneath him, stopping his fall but sending himself flying into a giant boulder in the process.
"AHHHHHHH—"
THUD!
"OWWWWWW!!" he screamed in pain.
...
A few moments later...
Tuziku sat on top of the giant boulder as he gazed at the sun beginning to set.
I've finally did it, Sailou...
You told Kutcher and Prīōra to follow me... because you had faith that I could change the lives of people like us, right?
He let out a bright grin as the fading sunlight shone upon his face.
Well... I may still be pretty far from achieving that...
But I'm one step closer!
He clenched his fist as a sudden gust of wind blew through his short, messy dark hair.
Suddenly, he got up from the boulder.
"Well... I guess I should head back to the village now!"
As soon as he took his first step—
Tweet! Tweet!
The gorgeous blue hummingbird flew over Tuziku's head from earlier.
He gazed at the bird with a bright grin.
"Yeah..."
"Thank you for everything, little guy..."
Tuziku walked off beneath the beautiful evening sunset.
CHAPTER 53 END