Katsu had gotten up quite early that day, in time to have seen the old man jogging past the street they were on each day. He repeated the designated meeting place in his head several times to make sure he'd memorized it. After having gotten ready, he looked at the piece of paper again that read "Training Field 13". He stuffed it back into his pocket, knowing he would want to look at it again in order to make sure. He left through the window, quickly moving towards the location. After a few minutes, he arrived there, seeing a rather well built shinobi sitting on a tree stump. Oh no... Am I late? Katsu rushed over and stopped a few meters away and straightened his back, standing in a respectful pose.
Turning his head towards the boy, he hid a smile behind his shoulder. It was amusing that the boy thought he was late. It reminded him so much of himself when he was 10 years younger. 10 years! Such a long time ago already. He lifted himself from the stump he was sitting on and shook his head. "Not at all, Katsu, is it Katsu, right?" He replied.
Katsu nodded, a faint yet genuine smile forming on his lips. "Yes, sir," he confirmed. With the fear of being late now gone, there was little burden on Katsu's mind. "Thank you for meeting me!" he said as he bowed slightly.
"No problem. I understand you're here for kenjutsu training?" He added, turning around again to grab a long and slender package covered in a linen bag. Undoing the cord as he awaited an answer he grabbed two practice blades made of hardwood around an iron core. It had the same weight and balance as a real decent katana to further stimulate correct the right feeling of a sword. He tossed one of them towards the genin, and gave his own a few swings. It wasn't his own katana, but the feeling was right, and that's what counted.
Katsu snatched the practice sword out of the air, holding it close to his face for a moment, inspecting it. He lowered it quickly and held it with both hands, feeling its weight and calibrating himself accordingly. After having felt comfortable with it, he relaxed his stance and kept the sword low, looking over at the man. "Yes, sir," he answered.
"Good." He said, eyeing how the boy tested his blade. "I heard you are already quite good at using a sword? ¨Please show me as soon as you are ready." He added, sinking into a combat position.
The boy gulped and nodded. He took a deep breath and concentrated on Kensuke's pose. After deciding he had prepared, he lowered the sword to his side, still held with both hands. He leapt forward, not changing his distance from the ground. As he approached the man, Katsu swung the sword upwards lightly yet swiftly.
Stepping forwards he intercepted his opponent's blade with his own before it could gather enough momentum to be a strong hit, and now his opponent's blade was stuck underneath his own, he immediately went forwards to strike Katsu down. Since he was too close to use the edge, he shoved the butt of his katana's handle towards the boy's chest while keeping his own sword over his opponent's, so he couldn't use it to parry his attack.
Katsu drew the sword towards his face as soon as he noticed the situation he had fallen into, gliding its 'blade' on Kensuke's in order to gain more mobility. He noticed the back of the hilt approaching his chest and immediately leapt back, making a rather large gesture to avoid one hit. He raised the sword in front of him again, trying to think of a better way to attack.
Kensuke stepped forwards into his combat stance again, approving of the boy's quick reaction and stance. Kiyomi hadn't exagerrated when she had told him Katsu was good already, since he knew most ANBU, who all received kenjutsu training to complement their skills in case they were low on chakra, would have had trouble defending themselves from such a quick move. He knew, because he trained ANBU in kenjutsu. Stepping forwards himself he attacked with a downwards diagonal right slash, but halfway the attack twisted his wrists and let the sword 'fal' towards an upwards diagonal attack to his opponent's left side instead to see how good the boy's reflexes were and how well he had trained the different combat poses.
Katsu had readied his sword in order to try and parry the blow, keeping it almost completely sideways. When he saw the attack change mid-way, he tilted it a bit more to the left, the tip staying right under the opponent's sword. He lowered his body, hiding it under the sword. He attempted to redirect it with a small push upwards so that he wouldn't have to suffer a second attack right after the first one.
With both swords out of the way Kensuke now charged his shoulder into his opponent in order to stun his opponent and free his sword for a horizontal follow-up attack aimed at his foe's head. He decided to keep the pressure on the Uchiha boy to see what the boy was made of, and how he would perform.
Katsu's eyes opened wide as the shoulder blew him back. He regained his foot work after a brief moment, only to see another attack come towards him. He stepped to the side, his sword up high in a stance to block but tilted once more in order to direct it to the ground. If the sword fell downwards, he would spin and try to hit the man in the back with a diagonal attack from high to low.
Once more twisting his wrists to make his blade flip around he caught his opponent's attack towards his left side on the flat of his blade where he would 'push' aside his opponent's sword towards his own right side, and let his sword fall into a diagonal upwards attack to his opponent's right side.
As his sword was directed to the side, Katsu figured stopping and redirecting his move to stop the incoming attack wouldn't be quick enough. Instead, he used the momentum from the push in a desparate attempt to block the incoming attack with sheer force, spinning around and slashing at the incoming weapon.
Finding his attack stopped dead in its tracks, he saw the opportunity to step on his foe's blade's tip to disarm him, but didn't. Instead, he stepped back and regained a combat stance, ready to renew the fighting. Katsu could defend himself well enough, but he did take quite sme risks with the turning around, but Kensuke knew that he had forced the boy into taking risks, and that the results of the chances taken had paid off. So far so good.
Katsu took a few steps back, mimicking Kensuke's foot work. He held the sword in front of him once more, his breathing now faster than before. Katsu watched the sword-master's movements as his stance was changing, observing and trying to understand the reason behind each movement of the muscle.
He smiled softly when he noticed his opponent mimicking his gesture down to the movement of his eyes. Kensuke's dojutsu however was a major asset in any fight, as it was a great help in reading one's body language and predicting the path of any projectiles. In this case, combined with his raining and talent, gave him an uncanning ability to know where his foe would attack before his enemy actually started moving, an ability others would need years to master. This boy however showed good beginnings in that skill, and he decided to test just how well he was at it.
Stepping forwards he feinted a horizontal attack to Katsu's head on his right side, but swung his blade around his back, making a shimmering silver half-moon shape when viewed from above, suddenly attacking his enemy's left temple. Should his foe parry it, he would repeat the move and unleash a flurry of attacks on his foe's head with this crescent moon-attack pattern.
Katsu was slowly getting used to the feints his opponent was using, more or less expecting them at this point. As he saw Kensuke's sword change directions, he swung his towards Kensuke's left, ignoring the incoming attack as much as he could, hoping to get a hit while Kensuke was attacking him.
Leaning to the right and letting his sword fall on his opponent's to deflect the attack, he backed off again. His opponent had taken a large risk, but one that had almost paid off. Kensuke concluded that Katsu had more than enough insight in how to predict moves, or just had a lot of luck and guts. Most likely the former, considering the consistency with which the Uchiha managed to take the right risks. Now he would wait for the boy to attack to test how well he could put pressure himself, and try to force a hit on Kensuke.
Katsu stared at Kensuke for a moment, seeing if he would make a move. Seeing how he didn't do anything, Katsu took a few long steps back. After that, he rushed towards the man at a rapid speed, which was quite consistent until he reached the point two or three meters away from Kensuke, when he gathered his chakra on the foot that would land next. He pushed off the ground with much greater speed, his hands on his side with the sword in front of him.
Stepping diagonally forwardsto the right as he noticed the change in speed, just in time, he delivered a horizontal swing aimed at Katsu's belly while avoiding the point of his sword. The speed boost right in front of Kensuke was a dirty trick he had used himself quite frequently, and it was one that he wouldn't be caught off guard by.
Unable to react in time, Katsu learned a valuable lesson. Painful, but valuable. He ran into the sword being held out by Kensuke. With his weight being thrust over the sword, he fell on the other side and rolled a couple of times, landing on his front. Grunting, he forced himself to his feet and ignored the seering pain, putting his sword in front of him once more.
Kensuke had slung his sword over his shoulder and nodded as the genin got back on his feet. All in all, Katsu was an admirable swordsman for his age. He could defend himself adequately and could read his opponent enough to perform well under pressure aswell as recognize faints and had the guts to take advantage of that. He knew some dirty tricks and wasn't afraid of taking a risk to win, which is both a good and a bad thing, considering one has to pick the right risks. Sadly, you only know wether or not the risk you took was the wrong one once you end up hanging on someone's blade.
"Not bad. This means we can skip most of the basics. How much do you know of infusing your blade with chakra? Have you mastered shape manipulation of said chakra or nature manipulation?" He then asked, using the different kinds of chakra coating on the wooden practice katana.
Katsu slightly relaxed his muscles, lowering the tip of the sword and watching the man's sword get covered in visible chakra. "Ah... I don't know how to infuse a weapon with chakra but I can use a wind release technique that uses the same logic as chakra infusion. Though I have no knowledge of shape manipulation..."
"Please show me." Kensuke said, lowering his sword again.
Katsu raised the sword over his head, correcting his stance. He slashed downwards as if cutting down an invisible target, and a concentrated arc of wind left its tip, moving forward and cutting through the air.
"Ah, the vacuum sword technique. I think it did something along the lines of using the vacuum created by your sword and turning that into a slicing wave of wind. I guess." Kensuke said after recognizing the technique. It was a potent and fast technique, but had a short range and not as much destructive power as chakra coating techniques. "There are many different chakra coating techniques that all derive from the same concept. Storing chakra in your sword. Some weapons are better suited for it than others, such as my own sword for example, but the principle remains the same." He explained, performing the technique as he spoke.
"Once the chakra coat is around the blade you can alter it to add certain qualities to the weapon, dependant on the nature of the chakra. Pure chakra adds slicing power as samurai use it, and lets you manipulate the form freely. Wind chakra enhances cutting power and can be used to fire off slicing air waves or 'blunt' gusts of air. Lightning chakra can daze, paralyze and slice more effectively. Fire chakra generally sets things on fire, but can also be used to fire waves or even larger balls of fire." He explained, giving a single example of his falcon blade technique, sending a lethal wave of wind over the field that left a long gash in the grass and dissipated after about 30 meters.
"Once you have decided what nature you will use, there's an additional choice; will you use the coating as a literal coating, or as a sort of projectile, as I just did? The first gives a constant effect, while the second is a single attack, as I just did." Once more, he showed how he could drag the wodden sword straight through a wooden treestump with the chakra coating active, and then fired a large gust of wind that made the grass dance.
Katsu listened carefully to what Kensuke was saying, nodding from time to time to show that he understood. After having listened to every word and observed Kensuke's examplary techniques, he looked down at the sword and attempted to pour some chakra into it, but instead, ended up wasting it without doing anything. He stopped after realizing that he wasn't going to get anywhere by just releasing more chakra.
"You should keep trying to infuse your weapon with chakra. Chakra coating is one of the most useful techniques that can turn your blade into virtually anything. With some clever thinking and some skill, you can come a long way with just these chakra coating techniques as a base. I use them all the time, and people even started me naming after them." He explained after seeing him struggle to store chakra in the wooden sword. It was hard to store chakra in such an inefficient chakra-holding weapon, but with enough skill ... "Once you're skilled enough at it, you can infuse nearly any object with chakra. In a pinch, being able to infuse your own hand with chakra coating as I do gives you a very potent and unexpected weapon." He continued, showcasing his hand now infused with chakra.
The boy tried to change his approach, seeing how the previous one didn't do anything. He closed his eyes, concentrating on moving his wind chakra from his body to the weapon. He reminded himself how he would channel his chakra through his sabre to use the Vacuum Sword technique and a very thin cloak of chakra appeared around the practice sword. Though it seemed rather flimsy, it was definitely there.
"There is only one way to get better at it. Practice. Lots of practice. Although, having a weapon that's better at being infused with chakra helps ofcourse. This practice sword isn't meant for that." Kensuke said, unsheathing his own blade. "Which brings us the following possibility." He said, coating his blade with chakra and dragging the sharp edge over his arm, leaving not a scratch. "I use this for training with real weapons, a chakra coating that forms a blunt edge of wind around the true edge. It'll still break bones, but at least you won't lose any limbs."
Katsu looked up from the wooden sword to Kensuke. He watched as Kensuke dragged the sword across his arm, leaving no mark. "I see... It's a form of chakra control training," He looked back down at the sword for a moment. "If it can be used to infused into anything, could it be infused into a projectile and then be thrown?"
"You could put it like that. The first form is a sort of coating as I just demonstrated, the second form is an actual attack where you 'throw' the chakra, as with the falcon blade attack I did a minute ago." He answered, sheathing his blade again.
Katsu nodded, showing that he understood Kensuke's words' meaning.
"Now, is there anything specific, aside from chakra coating, that you wanted me to learn you about?" Kensuke asked, picking up the wooden sword again. "Or did you just want some general training?"
"I would like to train more in the plain sword techniques I could use during combat, or rather get accustomed to using techniques during battle," Katsu answered, his posture now back to its previous, well preserved state. Beneath the dirt on his face, the determined look in his eyes were evident, almost as if challenging the sword master.
Nodding, he started explaining to the boy. "Look, there's one important thing you have to remember. Swordfighting is one thing, but there's a limited use for most pure kenjutsu techniques, as in pure slashes. Most, if not all of them, are all situational. Very handy if you know them by heart so good you can execute them without thought, but you won't always fight another swordsman, or you won't always have the chance to use proper techniques. Improvising and backing up your kenjutsu with taijutsu will save your life more than you know. The chaos of a fight leaves little room for orderly kenjutsu." He explained, and then proceeded to show several short ranged techniques for use against other shinobi in short range. A pummel strike, a very quick twist of the wrists to deliver a light but lightning fast strike from an unexpected angle, ...
"There's also a whole load of grapples for all purposes." He said, and suddenly stepped forwards, pushed Katsu's practice sword aside while holding his own vertically with one hand on the blade, and then levelled both swords, using his handguard and a twist of his body to disarm the boy, or throw him on the ground should he hang on,to the blade. Then, before giving the boy a chance to react, stepped forwards so his right leg was between Katsu's, and hooked his sword's handle to the boy's throat and twisted his body again, making the boy fall over his leg if he wouldn't have stopped halfway. "These are in fact very simple moves, but the idea is to execute them quickly so your opponent won't know what's coming next. Ofcourse, they're relatively easy to escape from if you're smart enough, but escaping only enables you to use the tip of your sword again." He explained, releasing Katsu and demonstrating that now the boy stepped backwards, not really willing to undergo another grappling session.
Katsu gulped after the sudden movement and nodded at the explanation Kensuke had given him. He picked up the practice sword and stood up straight, one foot now behind him with the sword in front of him, the tip dug into the dirt. "I see," he said, nodding, trying to visualize Kensuke's movements.
"Now, these close combat techniques are very well documented in books and scrolls, you will definately find some in the Konoha libraries, but they are all very situational. The trick is to practice them so much you can execute them without effort or though, and make them as known to your body as breathing itself. Then you can use them in combat to great effect." Kensuke explained, showing how several of them worked by demonstrating them on the boy once more, but a lot more slowly, and now with the intention to teach him.
Katsu nodded, thinking about how he could automotize techniques in a way that he would be able to do it without thinking. Whenever he was in a sword fight, he would always concentrate on his movements and focus on what he was supposed to do next instead of what felt right. Though that would probably change over time, he hoped. His eyes followed the movements, darting from limb to limb.
"Now, you must learn to do them yourself. I shall teach you some basic ones that have a lot of practical applications." He said, stepping back. "These are relatively simple and are applicable to non-swordsmen as well." He stepped forwards and did a slow horizontal attack, and stopped once Katsu blocked it. "Now you step forwards with your left foot into my sword, and lower your own blade to a horizontal position, keeping my blade caught in your handguard. Then you place your blade roughly over mine so the back of yours is facing the back of mine, and grab your own sword about 2/3rd of the way towards the point. Now you have my sword locked behind yours, while my edge is still pressed into your handguard so I cannot slice you. Now you step back with your left foot, and pull your arms into the movement as you turn your body, forcing my sword out of my hands, or me onto the ground." He said as he slowly let himself be disarmed. "I used a variation of this one just a moment ago. You can use it to disarm any foe with a weapon about the lenght of a human forearm, for example, a kunai."
As he followed the narrated instructions, he kept his eyes on his own movements. He listened carefully as the wooden sword clinged onto the other one. When Kensuke's sword fell, he revised what he'd done in his mind, trying to remember it. He took a step back and lowered the sword. "A kunai?" He seemed rather confused at the suggestion. "But how... Isn't a kunai's blade too small?" His thoughts drifted off to how much easier it would be to simply cut off the enemy's hand entirely.
"A kunai is longer than it looks. In the case of a kunai we, instead of hooking around the kunai itself, use the opponent's arm. Dependant on what you do, you can in that single move disarm him, deliver a nasty gash on his arm, and give him a pummel strike and plan a dentist appointment for your opponent." He said, slowly demonstrating the different possibilities. "It'd be easier to cut off his hand of course, but sometimes your opponent does not allow you to do that, so you need to lure them with a similar trick."
"I see," Katsu said, nodding, his face lighting up with the small joke. He stabbed the tip of the wooden blade into the ground and rested his palms on the back of its hilt. After a long moment of thought, he lifted it again and quickly did the same movements on an invisible opponent. "After the punch, it shouldn't be too hard to follow up with a slash or a harder hit," he thought out loud.
"Indeed, pretty much anything really." He replied. "Here, I'll show you some more." He added, sending the kid a wink.
Katsu smiled and raised the wooden sword up, holding it tightly. He kept his eyes on Kensuke's hands, carefully observing the movement.
Kensuke cleared his throat to catch the attention of Katsu, who seemed to be dazing off in the bright sun of the early afternoon. They had been training pretty much nonstop, and even he had felt a lethargy of boredom and exhaustion sneak in his veins, so he did feel some pity as he saw the tired boy stand up from the ground he had just thrown him on.
"Let's call it a day, shall we? You need some rest and I need to eat something. Actually, you might need that too. Anyhow, it was a pleasure training with you, Katsu Uchiha. I shall be honest and state that I find you a rare example of an Uchiha I do like."
Katsu was still determined to continue but when he heard that Kensuke proposed ending the training, he didn't object. He was at his limit physically. "Thank you, Kensuke-sensei," he said, smiling. The last comment about the Uchiha bothered him a bit. He hated being seen as 'an Uchiha' rather than 'Katsu'. "I've learned a lot today!"
"Good. Now remember the one golden rule about everything I taught you; practice." He added, before nodding the genin goodbye and turning around, having picked up both practice swords. He really was hungry now he thought about it.
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