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Chapter 1445: Gentle Fist, Gentle Sword, Shifting Stars! (Two-in-One)
"Clare, Priscilla, Riful, Isley." Aburame Shikuro looked at the list Natsuhoshi had copied into the notebook and memorized it carefully.
This was all intelligence they had just received via Den Den Mushi. He wrote it down for easy reference.
As for the source of this advanced list, it was obvious it came from some means of future sight. It could be the pontiff of the Peace Religion, the family head of the Ubuyashiki Family, or perhaps the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku. In any case, the World Government wasn't lacking in such abilities now, so he wasn't surprised by this.
At this moment, their Mist Village squad had followed the 'Seven Swords' to the border between Alphonse in the Northern Land and Toulouse in the Central Land.
Although there was still some accumulated snow in this place, there was no longer the biting cold wind. The sunlight was also quite bright and radiant, making their mood much better.
Helen, one of the 'Seven Swords', felt this the most.
"Yahoo!"
"It's been so long since I've seen a clear blue sky and green earth!"
"I'm really tired of seeing a world that's white everywhere I look!"
Helen cheered loudly, full of excitement. Her personality was the most cheerful among the seven, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she was carefree. However, her strength was not weak; seven years ago, she was No. 22. Her talent characteristic was Attack Type, her special ability was Limb Extension, and her specialty sword skill was Spiral Sword.
Limb Extension was exactly what it sounded like; she could freely stretch her arms and legs. Note, this wasn't through bone dislocation, but elastic stretching, like a rubber man.
As for the so-called Attack Type, a brief introduction to the two types of Claymore warriors is needed: Attack Type and Defense Type. The Organization's records refer to these as 'characteristics'.
The differentiation of characteristics was decided when the human body adapted to the transplanted yoma flesh and blood. According to scientist Dae's research, he believed the main reason determining the characteristic was due to the individual's inner heart.
After completing the surgery, as a person gradually transformed into a half-human, half-monster, if the thought in the depths of their consciousness leaned towards 'protection of self', they would be Defense Type. But if the thought was 'eliminate the opponent', they would be Attack Type.
It was impossible for this matter to be decided by an individual's subjective consciousness. It was purely an instinct, a subconsciousness, or perhaps an inner desire.
For Attack Type Claymore warriors, it was easier to defeat their opponent. For Defense Type Claymore warriors, it was difficult to be defeated by their opponent.
The former had very strong physical strength and excellent attack ability. Their main target was to deliver heavy blows to their opponent. But once they suffered damage, they could easily fall into a disadvantage or even lose their combat ability.
The latter possessed super self-healing ability and could ignore most damage. Therefore, in combat, they often had to serve as 'bait' and 'shield'. They would actively bear necessary damage for their Attack Type teammate while creating attack opportunities for them.
Thus, Claymore warrior squads of four were often composed of two Attack Types and two Defense Types.
It's worth mentioning that if a Defense Type Claymore warrior could perform Yoki Synchronization, meaning using their mental power to control the opponent's yoki, they could quickly treat their teammate's injuries, acting as a medical soldier.
And Helen was Attack Type.
"You're too excited, Helen," Deneve said, looking at her.
"But, this is scenery with color!"
Helen spread her arms and smiled, "Don't you think you can't see enough of it?"
Miria, standing nearby, didn't pay attention to her. Instead, she looked at Tabitha and softly spoke her name.
"Yes!" Tabitha understood, immediately walked to the front, and slowly closed her eyes.
After a few seconds, she spoke again, "Within the range I can sense, I don't feel the yoki of any Abyssal One or Awakened Being."
"And the quantity of warriors is twelve. Among them, there should be some single-digit warriors. There are two in the frontal direction, one at the two o'clock direction, and then one at the ten o'clock direction..."
"Besides these two in the frontal, there are also the yoki of two other warriors, totaling four people. I think they should have just finished hunting Awakened Beings."
Tabitha, seven years ago, was No. 33. Her strength wasn't very strong, and her characteristic was Defense Type, but she possessed the ability of Yoki Sensing. Moreover, the range was quite large, estimated to be several kilometers.
What she didn't know was that her current actions had startled the four ninjas located behind the seven, about five hundred meters to the north: Aburame Shikuro, Natsuhoshi, Yamanaka Hiromi, and Hyuga Junpei.
"She actually has long-range sensory ability!" Yamanaka Hiromi exclaimed in the spiritual domain.
Hyuga Junpei observed and said in a deep voice, "But she doesn't seem to have discovered us, so this sensory ability only targets the so-called yoki."
"That's right, it's like a sensory ability that can only detect chakra." Natsuhoshi nodded, his tone of voice carrying relief.
As Hidden Mist ninjas performing a tracking mission, they naturally didn't want to be discovered by the other party, unless they chose to reveal themselves.
"Their yoki is quite interesting..." Aburame Shikuro murmured softly. He was now very curious about what else yoki could do.
On the other side.
"I see..." Miria, the captain of the seven-person squad, was thoughtful after hearing Tabitha's report.
"It seems the Organization's situation hasn't changed much from before."
Clare asked, "What about the group of Awakened Beings we exchanged blows with in Pieta Town?"
"With such a large quantity, the Organization probably couldn't solve it."
But just as she finished speaking, Tabitha, still with her eyes closed, suddenly frowned and then spoke sharply, "Wait a moment!"
"Right now, a strong yoki has appeared!"
Miria and the others showed expressions of astonishment. Tabitha's strength now was definitely at the level of a single-digit warrior. An existence that she evaluated as having strong yoki was certainly not an ordinary Awakened Being.
At the same time, Clare, who could also sense yoki over a wide range, recognized the master of this yoki. It was because they had encountered her before.
"A very large yoki is approaching the warrior squad located directly in front!"
"So fast... and very strong..."
The more Tabitha spoke, the more excited she became, and her tone of voice also rose.
Not long after, as the distance between the two sides rapidly closed, even Helen and the others felt this yoki.
"What kind of joke is this!"
"What's going on with this yoki? How can it be so vast?"
Helen recalled the combat from seven years ago. This yoki was several times more terrifying than that of the 'Silver-Eyed Lion King' Ricardo!
At this moment, Clare's body trembled as she whispered, "Riful of the West..."
"Riful?!" Miria, Helen, Deneve, and the others exclaimed in astonishment.
Riful. The youngest ever to reach No. 1 in the Organization's history, the first generation female Claymore warrior. After awakening, she rebelled and occupied Musha in the Western Land, becoming one of the Abyssal Ones.
"Riful?!" Aburame Shikuro and the others in the distance also showed expressions of astonishment. What a coincidence, they had just memorized this name not long ago. Wasn't this one of the Level 1 targets?
"Junpei, can you see her?"
"No, the other party is definitely more than a kilometer away."
Aburame Shikuro turned his head to look at Natsuhoshi, who immediately said, "My Observation Haki can sense a considerably strong life aura three kilometers directly ahead."
Natsuhoshi was from Hoshigakure and was one of the few ninjas who cultivated the Peacock Method. The chakra of the Peacock Method originated from the Ten-Tails, which gave their chakra high vitality. It also made Natsuhoshi's mental power extraordinary, allowing him to successfully awaken Observation Haki.
Aburame Shikuro pressed, "How strong?"
Natsuhoshi pondered, "The life aura is a bit more profound than yours, Captain..."
These words instantly made the moods of the other three heavy. Although life aura couldn't equate to combat power, it could indirectly prove that the opponent's physique was even more formidable than Aburame Shikuro, who was a Jonin.
"Natsuhoshi, immediately send back the news, say we've discovered Level 1 Target Riful, and request support from the Cloud Hidden Ninjas."
"Hiromi, Junpei, we'll continue tracking. This time, we'll get closer to a distance where the video Den Den Mushi can film!"
Aburame Shikuro issued the order. At the same time, lumps of white substance began to emerge from his body.
Seeing this, Yamanaka Hiromi and Hyuga Junpei also immediately used their will to order the White Zetsu on their bodies to package themselves.
In the blink of an eye, the three of them had sunk underground under Natsuhoshi's gaze.
Natsuhoshi, meanwhile, took out a Den Den Mushi to contact the Stargate Camp.
In the forest three kilometers away, a suppressive aura permeated the air. The surrounding trees were tall, with dense branches and leaves, like a gloomy cage.
Four female warriors formed a formation of two in front and two behind, their gaze fixed on the front, their expressions unusually solemn.
The wide-bladed silver swords in their hands reflected a sharp cold light under the bright sunlight.
It was a massive figure, about ten meters tall, wrapped in countless silver-gray metal ribbons.
But its appearance wasn't terrifying. It looked like a stunningly beautiful young girl wearing a long dress.
"Good day... everyone hunting Awakened Beings..."
"It's a pleasure to meet you. No matter the era, meeting is fate..."
"Especially you two, you look absolutely delicious."
Riful's eyes, glowing with red light, looked at the female warriors standing at the very front.
"Speaking of which... who are you!"
"Don't just suddenly run out and talk to yourself!"
"Don't be like that, Rachel. Even if they are Awakened Beings, they were once our comrades. You should be polite to your senior..."
The woman with the strong tone of voice and poor attitude, with short golden hair, was the current No. 5, Rachel. And the one with long, straight golden hair and a gentle voice was the current No. 3, Audrey.
This was information that Aburame Shikuro and the other two, hidden in the dark, learned through the communication between the two sides.
It must be said, the speed of White Zetsu's Mayfly Technique when moving underground was fast. Clare, Miria, and the others had set off first, but they arrived at the scene ahead of them.
Yamanaka Hiromi: "So this is an Abyssal One. It certainly looks like a monster."
Hyuga Junpei: "Her strength should be very strong. It's best if we don't have to make a move to rescue them."
After all, the requirement for a Level 1 Target was to capture alive.
Aburame Shikuro: "Probably not needed..."
At the same time, he aimed the video Den Den Mushi on his palm at Riful and the others, who were about to start fighting.
At this moment, the three of them were only about a hundred meters from the scene. With the help of the Invisibility Technique, they only needed to hide behind the trees to observe.
And Yamanaka Hiromi's 'Sensing Sharing' allowed them to communicate without speaking aloud.
In the court. Riful, in her awakened form, looked down at Rachel, who had taken an attack posture.
"Your stance is really strange. How do you swing your sword from there?"
Rachel was seen gripping the sword hilt with her hands, the sword edge resting against the ground behind her. It did look a bit strange.
But she first shouted at the two teammates behind her, "The low-ranked ones will get in the way, retreat!"
"We'll take care of this 'crazy Octopus woman'!"
Although the two behind had awkward expressions, they exchanged a gaze and then retreated as they were told.
"That's fine too." The silver-gray metal ribbons around Riful began to flutter.
"Opportunities like this are rare, so let me teach you how to speak to your senior."
She had long felt anger towards this rude guy.
Rachel sneered, "Most likely... there's no need for that!"
As she spoke, a 'crunching' sound came from behind her. It was the commotion of the sword edge cutting through the ground and stone.
In an instant, as the metal ribbons transformed into afterimages and attacked through the air.
Rachel also swung the sword edge, which had finished charging strength through the ground, upwards with full strength.
Instantly, a surging strong wind rose with the sword edge, roaring and severing all the approaching metal ribbons!
"What?!" This scene made Riful subconsciously let out an exclamation, "You can actually cut through my body? Just what are you...?"
Her body in this awakened form had two unique aspects. One was the ability to split infinitely vertically, which is why it formed ribbons. This ability also allowed her to ignore vertical attacks. It was somewhat like the Chop-Chop Fruit.
The other was that her body, meaning these ribbons, was very hard. Most people's attacks couldn't even damage them, including many single-digit Claymore warriors.
However, Riful quickly figured out the principle behind Rachel's technique.
"I see. First, she slides the sword beneath the ground, and by bearing the pressure from the ground, she can generate a powerful slash the moment the sword is swung out. However, the strength and speed usually achieved are impossible..."
But before she could finish speaking, Audrey displayed extremely fast speed, closing in instantly. The silver sword in her hands stabbed directly towards Riful's head.
However, there was only a crisp clanging sound, "Clang!"
"Unfortunately, it seems you can't pierce me," Riful said, glancing sideways at Audrey.
But who knew, the latter's expression didn't change. She casually swung her sword edge, slicing through several incoming ribbons.
At the same time, she landed steadily and transferred more ribbons to other directions, even making them turn around and pierce Riful's body.
"Even if my sword can't pierce you... if it's your own sword edge, it seems it can be pierced~"
Audrey narrowed her beautiful eyes, looked up at Riful, and smiled.
"You truly surprise me. You two are such a stark contrast..."
Riful didn't hide her astonishment. Looking at Audrey and Rachel, she sighed emotionally:
"One is the 'Hard Sword' who can move underground and arbitrarily slash everything in front of her."
"One is the 'Soft Sword' who doesn't resist the strength of any attack, but slowly renders it ineffective, even using the opponent's strength to transfer and counterattack."
Riful then showed a smile, "You truly move me. You are indeed powerhouses befitting the No. 3 and No. 5 rankings..."
"But unfortunately, the Soft Sword cannot pierce me, and the Hard Sword cannot hit me. Therefore, you cannot defeat me."
"Pfft—" Rachel was amused by her words, "That's why I say, antiques cannot understand that the era has already changed."
Riful showed an expression of astonishment.
Rachel and Audrey were seen making a move together, instantly transforming into two afterimages, rushing forward one after the other.
The combat between the two sides began again, and Aburame Shikuro and the other two watched with clicks of amazement.
Yamanaka Hiromi: "That Hard Sword doesn't look like much, but the Gentle Sword is very magical..."
"Indeed, it's somewhat like our Hyuga's Gentle Fist, but in terms of 'technique', her swordsmanship is clearly more exquisite."
Hyuga Junpei spoke very frankly. After all, Gentle Fist couldn't reflect incoming attacks, unless using Rotation. But Rotation couldn't control the path of the reflect either!
This made him really want to learn Audrey's Gentle Sword and integrate its technique essence into Gentle Fist...
End of Chapter
"Clare, Priscilla, Riful, Isley." Aburame Shikuro looked at the list Natsuhoshi had copied into the notebook and memorized it carefully.
This was all intelligence they had just received via Den Den Mushi. He wrote it down for easy reference.
As for the source of this advanced list, it was obvious it came from some means of future sight. It could be the pontiff of the Peace Religion, the family head of the Ubuyashiki Family, or perhaps the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku. In any case, the World Government wasn't lacking in such abilities now, so he wasn't surprised by this.
At this moment, their Mist Village squad had followed the 'Seven Swords' to the border between Alphonse in the Northern Land and Toulouse in the Central Land.
Although there was still some accumulated snow in this place, there was no longer the biting cold wind. The sunlight was also quite bright and radiant, making their mood much better.
Helen, one of the 'Seven Swords', felt this the most.
"Yahoo!"
"It's been so long since I've seen a clear blue sky and green earth!"
"I'm really tired of seeing a world that's white everywhere I look!"
Helen cheered loudly, full of excitement. Her personality was the most cheerful among the seven, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she was carefree. However, her strength was not weak; seven years ago, she was No. 22. Her talent characteristic was Attack Type, her special ability was Limb Extension, and her specialty sword skill was Spiral Sword.
Limb Extension was exactly what it sounded like; she could freely stretch her arms and legs. Note, this wasn't through bone dislocation, but elastic stretching, like a rubber man.
As for the so-called Attack Type, a brief introduction to the two types of Claymore warriors is needed: Attack Type and Defense Type. The Organization's records refer to these as 'characteristics'.
The differentiation of characteristics was decided when the human body adapted to the transplanted yoma flesh and blood. According to scientist Dae's research, he believed the main reason determining the characteristic was due to the individual's inner heart.
After completing the surgery, as a person gradually transformed into a half-human, half-monster, if the thought in the depths of their consciousness leaned towards 'protection of self', they would be Defense Type. But if the thought was 'eliminate the opponent', they would be Attack Type.
It was impossible for this matter to be decided by an individual's subjective consciousness. It was purely an instinct, a subconsciousness, or perhaps an inner desire.
For Attack Type Claymore warriors, it was easier to defeat their opponent. For Defense Type Claymore warriors, it was difficult to be defeated by their opponent.
The former had very strong physical strength and excellent attack ability. Their main target was to deliver heavy blows to their opponent. But once they suffered damage, they could easily fall into a disadvantage or even lose their combat ability.
The latter possessed super self-healing ability and could ignore most damage. Therefore, in combat, they often had to serve as 'bait' and 'shield'. They would actively bear necessary damage for their Attack Type teammate while creating attack opportunities for them.
Thus, Claymore warrior squads of four were often composed of two Attack Types and two Defense Types.
It's worth mentioning that if a Defense Type Claymore warrior could perform Yoki Synchronization, meaning using their mental power to control the opponent's yoki, they could quickly treat their teammate's injuries, acting as a medical soldier.
And Helen was Attack Type.
"You're too excited, Helen," Deneve said, looking at her.
"But, this is scenery with color!"
Helen spread her arms and smiled, "Don't you think you can't see enough of it?"
Miria, standing nearby, didn't pay attention to her. Instead, she looked at Tabitha and softly spoke her name.
"Yes!" Tabitha understood, immediately walked to the front, and slowly closed her eyes.
After a few seconds, she spoke again, "Within the range I can sense, I don't feel the yoki of any Abyssal One or Awakened Being."
"And the quantity of warriors is twelve. Among them, there should be some single-digit warriors. There are two in the frontal direction, one at the two o'clock direction, and then one at the ten o'clock direction..."
"Besides these two in the frontal, there are also the yoki of two other warriors, totaling four people. I think they should have just finished hunting Awakened Beings."
Tabitha, seven years ago, was No. 33. Her strength wasn't very strong, and her characteristic was Defense Type, but she possessed the ability of Yoki Sensing. Moreover, the range was quite large, estimated to be several kilometers.
What she didn't know was that her current actions had startled the four ninjas located behind the seven, about five hundred meters to the north: Aburame Shikuro, Natsuhoshi, Yamanaka Hiromi, and Hyuga Junpei.
"She actually has long-range sensory ability!" Yamanaka Hiromi exclaimed in the spiritual domain.
Hyuga Junpei observed and said in a deep voice, "But she doesn't seem to have discovered us, so this sensory ability only targets the so-called yoki."
"That's right, it's like a sensory ability that can only detect chakra." Natsuhoshi nodded, his tone of voice carrying relief.
As Hidden Mist ninjas performing a tracking mission, they naturally didn't want to be discovered by the other party, unless they chose to reveal themselves.
"Their yoki is quite interesting..." Aburame Shikuro murmured softly. He was now very curious about what else yoki could do.
On the other side.
"I see..." Miria, the captain of the seven-person squad, was thoughtful after hearing Tabitha's report.
"It seems the Organization's situation hasn't changed much from before."
Clare asked, "What about the group of Awakened Beings we exchanged blows with in Pieta Town?"
"With such a large quantity, the Organization probably couldn't solve it."
But just as she finished speaking, Tabitha, still with her eyes closed, suddenly frowned and then spoke sharply, "Wait a moment!"
"Right now, a strong yoki has appeared!"
Miria and the others showed expressions of astonishment. Tabitha's strength now was definitely at the level of a single-digit warrior. An existence that she evaluated as having strong yoki was certainly not an ordinary Awakened Being.
At the same time, Clare, who could also sense yoki over a wide range, recognized the master of this yoki. It was because they had encountered her before.
"A very large yoki is approaching the warrior squad located directly in front!"
"So fast... and very strong..."
The more Tabitha spoke, the more excited she became, and her tone of voice also rose.
Not long after, as the distance between the two sides rapidly closed, even Helen and the others felt this yoki.
"What kind of joke is this!"
"What's going on with this yoki? How can it be so vast?"
Helen recalled the combat from seven years ago. This yoki was several times more terrifying than that of the 'Silver-Eyed Lion King' Ricardo!
At this moment, Clare's body trembled as she whispered, "Riful of the West..."
"Riful?!" Miria, Helen, Deneve, and the others exclaimed in astonishment.
Riful. The youngest ever to reach No. 1 in the Organization's history, the first generation female Claymore warrior. After awakening, she rebelled and occupied Musha in the Western Land, becoming one of the Abyssal Ones.
"Riful?!" Aburame Shikuro and the others in the distance also showed expressions of astonishment. What a coincidence, they had just memorized this name not long ago. Wasn't this one of the Level 1 targets?
"Junpei, can you see her?"
"No, the other party is definitely more than a kilometer away."
Aburame Shikuro turned his head to look at Natsuhoshi, who immediately said, "My Observation Haki can sense a considerably strong life aura three kilometers directly ahead."
Natsuhoshi was from Hoshigakure and was one of the few ninjas who cultivated the Peacock Method. The chakra of the Peacock Method originated from the Ten-Tails, which gave their chakra high vitality. It also made Natsuhoshi's mental power extraordinary, allowing him to successfully awaken Observation Haki.
Aburame Shikuro pressed, "How strong?"
Natsuhoshi pondered, "The life aura is a bit more profound than yours, Captain..."
These words instantly made the moods of the other three heavy. Although life aura couldn't equate to combat power, it could indirectly prove that the opponent's physique was even more formidable than Aburame Shikuro, who was a Jonin.
"Natsuhoshi, immediately send back the news, say we've discovered Level 1 Target Riful, and request support from the Cloud Hidden Ninjas."
"Hiromi, Junpei, we'll continue tracking. This time, we'll get closer to a distance where the video Den Den Mushi can film!"
Aburame Shikuro issued the order. At the same time, lumps of white substance began to emerge from his body.
Seeing this, Yamanaka Hiromi and Hyuga Junpei also immediately used their will to order the White Zetsu on their bodies to package themselves.
In the blink of an eye, the three of them had sunk underground under Natsuhoshi's gaze.
Natsuhoshi, meanwhile, took out a Den Den Mushi to contact the Stargate Camp.
In the forest three kilometers away, a suppressive aura permeated the air. The surrounding trees were tall, with dense branches and leaves, like a gloomy cage.
Four female warriors formed a formation of two in front and two behind, their gaze fixed on the front, their expressions unusually solemn.
The wide-bladed silver swords in their hands reflected a sharp cold light under the bright sunlight.
It was a massive figure, about ten meters tall, wrapped in countless silver-gray metal ribbons.
But its appearance wasn't terrifying. It looked like a stunningly beautiful young girl wearing a long dress.
"Good day... everyone hunting Awakened Beings..."
"It's a pleasure to meet you. No matter the era, meeting is fate..."
"Especially you two, you look absolutely delicious."
Riful's eyes, glowing with red light, looked at the female warriors standing at the very front.
"Speaking of which... who are you!"
"Don't just suddenly run out and talk to yourself!"
"Don't be like that, Rachel. Even if they are Awakened Beings, they were once our comrades. You should be polite to your senior..."
The woman with the strong tone of voice and poor attitude, with short golden hair, was the current No. 5, Rachel. And the one with long, straight golden hair and a gentle voice was the current No. 3, Audrey.
This was information that Aburame Shikuro and the other two, hidden in the dark, learned through the communication between the two sides.
It must be said, the speed of White Zetsu's Mayfly Technique when moving underground was fast. Clare, Miria, and the others had set off first, but they arrived at the scene ahead of them.
Yamanaka Hiromi: "So this is an Abyssal One. It certainly looks like a monster."
Hyuga Junpei: "Her strength should be very strong. It's best if we don't have to make a move to rescue them."
After all, the requirement for a Level 1 Target was to capture alive.
Aburame Shikuro: "Probably not needed..."
At the same time, he aimed the video Den Den Mushi on his palm at Riful and the others, who were about to start fighting.
At this moment, the three of them were only about a hundred meters from the scene. With the help of the Invisibility Technique, they only needed to hide behind the trees to observe.
And Yamanaka Hiromi's 'Sensing Sharing' allowed them to communicate without speaking aloud.
In the court. Riful, in her awakened form, looked down at Rachel, who had taken an attack posture.
"Your stance is really strange. How do you swing your sword from there?"
Rachel was seen gripping the sword hilt with her hands, the sword edge resting against the ground behind her. It did look a bit strange.
But she first shouted at the two teammates behind her, "The low-ranked ones will get in the way, retreat!"
"We'll take care of this 'crazy Octopus woman'!"
Although the two behind had awkward expressions, they exchanged a gaze and then retreated as they were told.
"That's fine too." The silver-gray metal ribbons around Riful began to flutter.
"Opportunities like this are rare, so let me teach you how to speak to your senior."
She had long felt anger towards this rude guy.
Rachel sneered, "Most likely... there's no need for that!"
As she spoke, a 'crunching' sound came from behind her. It was the commotion of the sword edge cutting through the ground and stone.
In an instant, as the metal ribbons transformed into afterimages and attacked through the air.
Rachel also swung the sword edge, which had finished charging strength through the ground, upwards with full strength.
Instantly, a surging strong wind rose with the sword edge, roaring and severing all the approaching metal ribbons!
"What?!" This scene made Riful subconsciously let out an exclamation, "You can actually cut through my body? Just what are you...?"
Her body in this awakened form had two unique aspects. One was the ability to split infinitely vertically, which is why it formed ribbons. This ability also allowed her to ignore vertical attacks. It was somewhat like the Chop-Chop Fruit.
The other was that her body, meaning these ribbons, was very hard. Most people's attacks couldn't even damage them, including many single-digit Claymore warriors.
However, Riful quickly figured out the principle behind Rachel's technique.
"I see. First, she slides the sword beneath the ground, and by bearing the pressure from the ground, she can generate a powerful slash the moment the sword is swung out. However, the strength and speed usually achieved are impossible..."
But before she could finish speaking, Audrey displayed extremely fast speed, closing in instantly. The silver sword in her hands stabbed directly towards Riful's head.
However, there was only a crisp clanging sound, "Clang!"
"Unfortunately, it seems you can't pierce me," Riful said, glancing sideways at Audrey.
But who knew, the latter's expression didn't change. She casually swung her sword edge, slicing through several incoming ribbons.
At the same time, she landed steadily and transferred more ribbons to other directions, even making them turn around and pierce Riful's body.
"Even if my sword can't pierce you... if it's your own sword edge, it seems it can be pierced~"
Audrey narrowed her beautiful eyes, looked up at Riful, and smiled.
"You truly surprise me. You two are such a stark contrast..."
Riful didn't hide her astonishment. Looking at Audrey and Rachel, she sighed emotionally:
"One is the 'Hard Sword' who can move underground and arbitrarily slash everything in front of her."
"One is the 'Soft Sword' who doesn't resist the strength of any attack, but slowly renders it ineffective, even using the opponent's strength to transfer and counterattack."
Riful then showed a smile, "You truly move me. You are indeed powerhouses befitting the No. 3 and No. 5 rankings..."
"But unfortunately, the Soft Sword cannot pierce me, and the Hard Sword cannot hit me. Therefore, you cannot defeat me."
"Pfft—" Rachel was amused by her words, "That's why I say, antiques cannot understand that the era has already changed."
Riful showed an expression of astonishment.
Rachel and Audrey were seen making a move together, instantly transforming into two afterimages, rushing forward one after the other.
The combat between the two sides began again, and Aburame Shikuro and the other two watched with clicks of amazement.
Yamanaka Hiromi: "That Hard Sword doesn't look like much, but the Gentle Sword is very magical..."
"Indeed, it's somewhat like our Hyuga's Gentle Fist, but in terms of 'technique', her swordsmanship is clearly more exquisite."
Hyuga Junpei spoke very frankly. After all, Gentle Fist couldn't reflect incoming attacks, unless using Rotation. But Rotation couldn't control the path of the reflect either!
This made him really want to learn Audrey's Gentle Sword and integrate its technique essence into Gentle Fist...
End of Chapter
