The system sound that prompted the acquisition of martial arts styles - Ogata felt that if he remembered correctly, the last time he heard this series of sounds was in the spring of last year, when he acquired the "Shiranui-ryu Ninjutsu" from Atachi on Chou Island.
Because he hadn't heard this sound for such a long time, after hearing this series of system sounds after a long time, this special feeling of strangeness made Ogata dazed.
——Iga-ryu…forbidden technique…?
The word Iga reminded Ogata of the famous "Iga-no-sato".
Ogata was no stranger to Iga no Sato.
During the Warring States Period 200 years ago, Iga was known as one of the Five Great Ninjas along with Koga, Fuma, Togakushi, and Manten.
But in the end, it was Iga no Sato who followed the right master and had the last laugh.
Two hundred years ago, Iga-no-sato served the Tokugawa clan. After the Tokugawa clan usurped the Toyotomi clan's throne, established the shogunate in Edo and became the new overlord of the world, the status of Iga-no-sato also rose, and the Iga ninjas became the official ninjas of the Edo shogunate - until 41 years ago.
41 years ago, Iga Village, which had enjoyed a peaceful life for more than a hundred years because of its good master, was inexplicably destroyed.
There are many different opinions about the cause of the destruction.
It was not until last autumn, when Ogata defeated Shiranui, that he finally learned the truth about the destruction of Iga-no-sato - it was destroyed by Genichi.
During the campaign against Shiranui last autumn, a group of remnants of Iga-no-sato showed up to help Shiranui.
A-machi and Hyūya's group had all seen this group of ninjas from Iga-no-sato, but they didn't know who they were at that time - except for Genichi.
At that time, Ogata was dueling with Shuntaro, so he happened to pass by this group of Iga ninjas.
At that time, Genichi single-handedly stopped the group of Iga ninjas so that Lin and the others could continue to pursue one of the "Four Heavenly Kings" in Shiranui: Shintaro.
It was not until after the war that Ogata, Lin and others learned from Genichi the identities of the group of men in black who had been stopped by Genichi.
It was not until then that Ogata learned that Genichi, this troublemaker, actually had a different history with Iga no Sato - the destruction of Iga no Sato 41 years ago was one of the works of Genichi.
However, Genichi did not intend to talk too much about his past with Iga no Sato. After telling Ogata that Iga no Sato was destroyed by him 41 years ago, he kept the rest of the things related to Iga no Sato secret.
Ogata was not told the details of his destruction of Iga no Sato, nor was he told why he wanted to destroy Iga no Sato in the first place.
Ogata was not very interested in the Iga ninja, who had been destroyed for 41 years and whom he had no grudges against, so when he saw that Genichirō was unwilling to say more, Ogata did not ask much.
Compared to the feud between Origin and the Iga ninja, Ogata is actually more curious about why there are so many Iga ninjas staying in Shiranui.
Not only Ogata was curious about this question, but everyone in Huluya was also quite curious about this question.
It’s a pity that Genichi killed all the Iga ninjas, leaving no one alive to question.
After the war, Genichi also frankly admitted that he was negligent. When fighting with the Iga-no-sato group, he should have captured one or two alive so as to use this opportunity to ask these Iga-no-sato remnants how they got mixed up with the Shiranui ninjas.
By then, the battle was over, Shiranui had been destroyed, and the remnants of Iga had been killed by Genichi. There was no way to find out why there were Iga ninjas in Shiranui.
In the end - the issue was left unresolved.
After ending the campaign against Shiranui and leaving Edo, Ogata originally thought that for the rest of his life he would no longer have anything to do with this ninja clan that had long been destroyed and had become history.
However... only a few months later, on this inconspicuous smuggling boat, he met a girl who could use the "Iga-ryu forbidden technique"...
At this moment, the questions piling up in Ogata's mind can already be described as excessive...
The series of system sounds that he hadn't heard for a long time, coupled with the excessive number of questions that followed, made Ogata fall into a daze.
"Um...are you okay?"
At this moment, the girl's voice reached Ogata's ears.
The girl's voice suddenly came into Ogata's ears, bringing him back to his senses.
"Sorry, I was a little distracted. The punch you just threw was so powerful that I was a little scared." Ogata lied.
Hearing Ogata's praise, the girl's face broke into a big smile.
"Well? I didn't lie, did I? I and my books are all based on real facts."
Ogata nodded slightly to show his agreement, and then turned his eyes to the pile of books beside the girl: "Excuse me, can I take a look at your books first?"
"sure!"
The girl picked up a book at random and handed it to Ogata.
After taking the "Martial Arts Secret Book" handed over by the girl, Ogata found that the book was unexpectedly thin, with a thickness of only 5 or 6 pages.
Ogata did not start reading from the first page immediately, but instead skimmed through it first.
The girl's "Secret Manual on the Use of Strength" reminded Ogata of the "Secret Manual on the Use of Strength" produced wholesale by Genichi. Both of them are illustrated with text, but the quality of the former is far superior to the latter.
The latter's so-called "pictures" are just a bunch of stick figures that can compete with Picasso's paintings.
The former's paintings, on the other hand, are genuine paintings, depicting the human body, postures, and other subjects in detail.
Ogata turned back to the first page.
The content of the first page is an introduction to what the so-called "Use of Strength" is.
【Seize the opportunity, and at the moment of completing the action, suddenly accelerate the contraction of muscles to send out a short, crisp burst of force, so that the power of punches and kicks increases sharply. This is called "using strength".
Those who are proficient in "Yun Jin" can apply the power of "Yun Jin" to the weapons in their hands, increasing the power of the weapons and making them powerful enough to cut through iron. 】
On the first page, the introduction to "Yun Jin" consists of only two simple sentences.
After reading this introduction, Ogata discovered that this so-called "use of strength" was similar to the famous "inch punch" in his previous life.
According to the introduction of "Yun Jin" in this book, this "Yun Jin" is indeed somewhat similar to the "Inch Punch" in the previous life.
However, compared to the principle of "using energy", Ogata is actually more interested in the second half of this sentence introducing "using energy".
"Strong enough to cut iron..." After repeating the words written in the book softly, Ogata raised his eyes and looked at the girl in front of him, "This book says that the power of 'Yun Jin' can be applied to weapons. Is this true?"
The girl nodded, then smiled awkwardly: "It's true. But it's very difficult. You have to practice 'energy' to perfection before you can do this."
"I have been practicing 'power movement' since I can remember, but even now I can only use the power of 'power movement' on the blade with great difficulty."
After saying that, the girl pulled out a wakizashi from her arms.
Wakizashi had a very special status in the Edo period.
The shogunate prohibited civilians from wearing and using katana, which was a weapon exclusively used by samurai.
However, the shogunate did not prohibit civilians from using or carrying wakizashi, as long as they did not wear it around their waists.
Therefore, some civilians who had extra money would keep one or two wakizashi at home.
When traveling long distances, people would carry wakizashi with them for self-defense.
Therefore, in the Edo period, it was not a rare thing to see civilians taking out a wakizashi from their bodies.
The wakizashi that the girl took out from her bosom looked like just an ordinary sword from the appearance of the handle and scabbard.
The girl did not draw the blade, but just held the wakizashi in her hand high up with the blade and sheath. Ogata saw the muscles in her arm contracting with a specific rhythm and amplitude as before. Then, when the girl chopped the wakizashi forward, a sound of breaking wind was created, which made Ogata raise his eyebrows.
——It seems that… the phrase “strong enough to cut iron” in this book is not just nonsense…
Ogata had just clearly seen that the girl's downward strike was so powerful that it was not something a skinny little girl like her could swing. If it were an average warrior, he would probably not be able to withstand the girl's downward strike.
"What a powerful move..." Ogata turned his gaze to the "teaching manual" in his hand, "If this move is your family's ancestral self-defense technique... then your family is really powerful, to have passed down such a powerful self-defense technique from generation to generation."
"Are you a descendant of some big family?"
Ogata asked a tentative question in a half-joking tone.
The girl replied calmly, "Look at me selling straw sandals. I don't look like a descendant of a rich family."
The girl smiled bitterly and pointed at the pile of straw sandals beside her.
"I'm just an ordinary merchant's daughter."
"I'm actually not quite sure what this self-defense technique of our family is about."
"Maybe it's because our family was a powerful family in the past. But as the family has been passed down until now, it has become an ordinary merchant."
Ogata had been carefully observing the girl's expression and found that there was nothing unusual about her expression.
This means two things:
1. This girl is telling the truth.
2. This girl is just like Ogata, she can lie without blushing or getting nervous.
What Ogata is sure of now is that this girl can actually use this "Iga-ryu forbidden technique", so she is very likely related to the Iga ninja who has been extinct for 41 years.
Ogata glanced at the "Training Manual" in his palm again.
"…Why did you compile and illustrate the self-defense training methods that have been passed down from generation to generation in your family into a book and then sell it? And you sell it for such a low price."
"Logically speaking, shouldn't the martial arts passed down from generation to generation in these families be kept strictly confidential and not allowed to be learned by outsiders?"
If Ogata had heard the child correctly, then these books seemed to cost only 30 sen each.
Books were not cheap commodities in this era. Although the girl's "training manual" was very thin, with only 5 or 6 pages per book, the price of 30 coins was indeed too cheap.
"The reason is actually very simple - I need money for the trip." The girl smiled, "I left home for some reason and traveled around."
"And I don't have many talents that can be converted into money."
"So we can only compile our family's cultivation method into a book and sell it everywhere."
"Although I didn't make as much as these straw sandals, I still made some money."
"Before, there was a sword hall owner who was very interested in 'Yun Jin' and bought 10 copies at once. He also said that he wanted to invite me to be a guest of his sword hall and wanted me to teach his disciples to practice 'Yun Jin'."
"But unfortunately I was busy traveling, so I declined his invitation."
"Oh, sorry, I seem to have talked too much and said a lot of things that have nothing to do with the topic just now."
Ogata's expression became strange: "So you are selling the martial arts that have been passed down from generation to generation in your family at a low price just to earn money for the journey?"
The girl nodded.
Ogata's expression became even weirder.
The girl's words just now revealed a sense of "prodigal" everywhere...
"In short, this book is my thank you gift for buying me six pairs of straw sandals!" The girl continued, "If you are interested in this 'power movement', you can try to learn it."
"We are going to spend a few days together on this ship. If you have any questions about the book, feel free to ask me!"
"My name is Azhu! You can just call me Azhu from now on."
"My name is Goro." Ogata gave himself a new pseudonym, "Just call me Goro."
After reporting his newly created pseudonym, Ogata stuffed the training manual in his hand into his own arms.
"In that case, I'll take this book ."
"I'm quite interested in this 'power'."
"Especially the part about 'those who are proficient in the use of energy can apply the power generated by the use of energy to the weapons in their hands, increasing the power of the weapons and making them powerful enough to cut through iron.'"
At this point, Ogata changed his tone to a joking one.
"After practicing the power to this level, cooking in the kitchen will definitely be much easier. No matter what kind of fruit or vegetable it is, I can cut it easily."
All along, when fighting with others bare-handed, Ogata always used Shiranui-ryu Jujutsu to attack the enemy.
So after learning Shiranui-ryu Jujutsu by himself, the rest of the hand-to-hand combat styles, whether it was Tang Shou or wrestling, became something that Ogata no longer needed to unlock or master.
Ogata would definitely not be happy to spend his precious skill points to unlock martial arts styles such as Tangshou and wrestling that are no longer useful.
But this "use of strength" is different.
This "use of strength" can not only greatly increase the power of fists and feet, but also greatly increase the power of weapons.
Such a powerful skill made Ogata develop a strong interest in it.
"It's not easy to practice to that level." Ah Zhu suddenly changed his tone to a serious one. "This power has a characteristic, which is that it's easy to get started at the beginning, but it gets harder as you go on."
"It takes at least 20 years of hard training to be able to skillfully apply the power of the energy to the weapon."
Azuki raised two fingers and said this with a serious face.
"I have been practicing hard since I was young, and I have only been able to apply the power of my energy to my sword until now."
"20 years?" Ogata smiled meaningfully. "It seems that it is not easy to practice this method of using energy."
"To be honest, I have a pretty flexible mind."
"Maybe I can master this technique in just two days."
"That's impossible." Azhu said with a smile without thinking, "No matter how powerful a person is, it's impossible for him to master the art of movement in just two days."
After hearing what Azhu said, Ogata remained silent, letting the meaningful expression on his face become more and more intense.
Then——Ogata silently opened his personal system interface.
——Unlock the “Iga-ryu forbidden technique”.
The moment Ogata finished speaking, the system interface in front of him disappeared.
Then a series of system sounds rang out in Ogata's mind:
[Ding! Successfully consumed 1 skill point, unlocked the unarmed combat technique "Iga-ryu forbidden technique"]
[Currently remaining skill points: 5 points]
[Host's martial arts style table begins to update]
[Host martial arts style table updated]
[Martial Arts School:
Sakakibara Ittoryu Level: 13th dan (11185/12000)
Wuwo's ​​dual swordsmanship level: 12th stage (12860/14000)
Shiranui Style Ninjutsu Level: 8th Stage (6990/7500)
Iga-ryu forbidden technique level: 1st stage (0/200)]
[Iga-ryu forbidden technique (1st stage):
Yun Jin: (To be unlocked)]
——Unlock “Power”.
[Ding! Spend 1 skill point to unlock "Luck". Current "Luck" level: Beginner]
[Currently remaining skill points: 4 points]
…
As the system sound fell, a series of knowledge related to "moving energy" flooded into Ogata's mind...
…
…
At this moment——
In a certain sea area——
"Hmm...what a comfortable sea breeze." Miyabe stood at the bow of the boat, closed his eyes, and let the salty and fishy sea breeze blow on his face.
"Hahaha!" Yi Tong, who was standing next to Gong Bu, laughed, "We are quite lucky today! Not only is the weather good, but there is also a tailwind!"
Miyabe slowly opened his eyes and looked around.
At the feet of Gongbu was a huge European-style ship with a strong European style.
Outside the ship is the endless sea.
Previously, after receiving Yi Tong’s invitation to “give them a ride”, Miyabe and others actually accepted the invitation and boarded Yi Tong’s pirate ship.
Now Miyabe and others boarded Ito's ship and headed south across the vast ocean, preparing to return to Satsuma, and then take a ship back to Ryukyu from Satsuma.
"Master Yitong, your new ship is really quite good."
"I spent a lot of money to ask the Dutch to build this boat for me." Yitong stomped on the deck under his feet. "When I gave the money to the Dutch, I felt sad for a long time. But it can be said that it is worth it."
"When I save enough money, I will buy a few cannons from the Dutch!"
"By then, I can almost be a 'sea bully'!"
After he finished speaking, Yi Tong smiled smugly.
"Master Yitong!"
At this time, one of Yi Tong's subordinates came running over.
"Lunch is ready!"
"Oh! It's finally done!" Yitong bowed awkwardly to Gongbu, "Master Gongbu, let's go back to the cabin to eat! Today's lunch is the sea fish we caught this morning, it's very fresh!"
"Yeah." Gongbe nodded gently, "Let's go."