The Northern Style

[Kuzan POV]

[4 Weeks Later]

"Hakai."

I decided to have a little fun, saying the name of the technique out loud while punching the ballistic dummy in front of me, causing it to rupture from the inside out.

"For the last time, Kuzan, it's Hokuha, not Hakai." It seemed my continuous misuse of his favorite technique was finally getting to the doc, who was currently fighting the urge to 'teach me a lesson'.

"Yeah, yeah, Hokuha, Hakai, the Northern Style, same thing." I continued to play around with the new techniques taught to me by Doctor Shinogi, finding both its theory and its impact extremely interesting.

"Uh, whatever Kuzan, just make sure to use it correctly. I don't want my name getting dragged through the mud because of your actions."

"Of course, Master. I would never." I lied, knowing full well the amount of havoc I was going to cause with his techniques.

Training under him for the past few weeks had been nothing short of amazing. I had learned so many new tricks, not to mention the amount of medical knowledge he passed on to me regularly was astounding.

My [Anatomy Mastery] skill had never grown so quickly, surpassing even my own expectations.

'His 'hands-on' lessons certainly helped in the boost of my progress,' I thought with a grin.

His lectures on the 'art of revival' plus the ones on the 'art of destruction' made his training even more fruitful than Master Orochi's in a way.

'With him, I was just learning another martial art. With Master Kureha, however, it's as if I'm stepping into a whole new field of discipline.'

'And then there's this, his magnum opus, the 'Dashin' technique as he calls it.' It was the most fun skill I had found to date, aside from [Ultra Instinct] and [Mirror Mimicry], of course; those were in a league of their own.

'But it's close. I know I can improve it further; I just don't know how yet.' I could feel it in my bones, that I hadn't fully mastered the technique despite getting it to even Master Kureha's level. 'Of course, the system's confirmation always helps as well.'

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[Status]

Name: Kuzan Rosan

Age: 15.5 years

Title: [Martial Apprentice]

Strength: 260/1000 (Average Adult Value: 10)

Stamina: 265/1000 (Average Adult Value: 10)

Intelligence: 75/100 (Average Adult Value: 10)

Dexterity: 267/1000 (Average Adult Value: 10)

Will-Power: 540/1000 (Average Adult Value: 10)

Perception: 259/1000 (Average Adult Value: 10)

Skills: [Willful Eye (99/100)] [Warrior's Dominion (600/1000)] [Face Mask (99/100)] [Phantom Veil (350/1000)] [Shadowstep (560/1000)] [Anatomy Mastery (96/100)] [Poison Mastery (intermediate)] [Martial Language (intermediate)] [Goutaijutsu (master)] [Hand Pocket (master)] [Mirror Mimicry (intermediate)] [Ultra Instinct (learned)] [Hokuha (intermediate)]

Techniques: [Karate (954/1000)] [Kick Boxing (90/100)] [Boxing (900/1000)] [Judo (99/100)] [Muay Thai (800/1000)] [Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (99/100)] [Wrestling (98/100)] [Chinese Kenpo (999/1000)+] [Xiaoli (978/1000)] [Byaku-Rinji Kung-Fu (943/1000)] [Iai Kenpo (953/1000)]

Genes Synced: [Locked] (1/10)

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'But how? How do I improve it further? What am I missing?' I continued to ask myself the same question for perhaps the hundredth time. It kept me awake at night, knowing how close I was to finding out the solution.

'Okay, let's backtrack. What do I know about the technique currently?'

'Dashin, also called Hokuha or the Northern Style, is an art that utilizes the shockwaves caused by a well-timed blow to cause extensive internal damage to your opponent's body.'

'But how?'

'Using shockwaves, I told you,' I again screamed at myself, frustrated by my lack of an answer to the question that had been haunting me for weeks.

'Come on, we've been over this. The adult human body is made up of roughly 50-65% water according to Doctor Shinogi at least, and because of the massive shock wave directed at that 'water,' I am able to cause extensive damage to the opponent's body from the inside out.'

'Then what am I missing?'

'What is it? What is it? What is-'

"Uh, fine, I'll figure it out later." I sighed in defeat at being unable to derive a solution to my plight.

'I have more important things to worry about right now, especially after what Mr. Tokugawa said to me last night.'

[10 Hours Ago]

"Hello, Mr. Tokugawa, I believe that you called?" I asked the elder in question for permission before entering his residence through the front gates.

"Yes, boy, come on in." He prompted me to enter his abode, thus checking off another one of the places I wanted to see before leaving Japan.

"Now, what I'm gonna tell you is important, so pay attention, young man." It seemed that despite the number of times I had tried to convince the old man of my innocence, of my previous match being necessary and just a 'joke,' he had already cemented in his head that I was 'naive'.

"What is it, Mr. Tokugawa? Could you please stop beating around the bush?"

"Fine, boy, always so hasty," the man spoke his words while shaking his head in disbelief at my behavior and my supposed 'lack of respect for the elders.'

"Kuzan, my boy," the old man's stare turned extremely serious, "have you ever heard of the term 'synchronicity'-"

'FUCK' I screamed in my head, tuning out the old man's whole ass history lesson that he had prepared, already having heard it before.

I was pissed to say the least. I had been waiting for four goddamn weeks for that son of a gun to show up, supposedly arriving back early from his trip just to 'face me,' but it was now too late, they were already here.

The Death Row Inmates.

'Now I have to deal with this new batch of buffoons before getting back to work.'

'It's fine, Kuzan, it's fine.' I continued to placate my anger.

'Is it the best? No, but we've planned for this.'

'It's fine.'

"Hello, young man!" Mr. Tokugawa had long stood up from his chair and was now waving his hands in front of my face, trying to get my attention, "did you hear me?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"So what's your answer?"

Instead of giving a straightforward answer, I decided to play the man at his own game, paying him back for the bush he had just finished beating to oblivion.

I gave a small smile in response to the old man's inquiry, which continued to grow larger by the second.

Just when it couldn't get any wider on my face, I finally gave the old man, who was inching ever closer to my face with expectancy and excitement, my response. Giving him a taste of his own medicine.

"No."

I refused to elaborate, leaving the man stunned as I walked out of his home to go back to my training with Master Orochi.

[15 Hours Later]

"Now why did you do that, boy, you scared?" the Tiger Slayer seemed similarly displeased by the outcome of the meeting, going as far as to try and rile me up, despite knowing it would accomplish nothing.

"Come on, old man," however, I was having none of his nonsense today. "If anyone's scared here, it's you."

"Not even facing me once seriously during training, always waiting for your son to 'have the first go,' I have to say, old man," I continued my statements, dousing them in a heavy dose of sarcasm,

"You're such a good dad."

My attempts to infuriate the man were lacking however, given by his calm response to my accusations.

"I know."

He gave me a smile, or rather a 'grin' as he made his way to the Tokyo Dome for the first "showdown" with the death row inmates.

'Looks like it's finally time.'

I sighed and sat up from my previously collapsed state from my day of training with Master Orochi, stretching my arms as I did so.

"Let's go."

I stood up straight and made my way to the Tokyo Dome, taking great care to not 'run into' any of my future playthings as I did so.

'Which one to choose, which one to choose?' I continued deliberating in my head, despite having made the decision long ago. I finally made my way there, sneaking onto the roof of a high-rise that would give me the perfect view.

I quickly got to work, setting up the long-range camera to capture the exchange that was about to take place.

'It's almost here, it's almost here,...'

'NOW!'

I moved with lightning-fast reflexes, clicking the camera button and capturing the spectacle that was taking place right in front of me. I was going to take further shots of the event when I was stopped by a tiny voice coming from behind me.

"Uh, what are you doing Kuzan?"

"Don't worry about it, Xiao Li, I'm just taking some pictures for my scrapbook."

"Oh, ok." She seemed satisfied by the response to her inquiry, which I'm sure was born out of curiosity.

"Anyways, what are you doing here Xiao Li? I thought I told you that I'll be very busy for the next few months and not to follow me for a bit."

I received the response I was expecting, being met with silence from the girl, who had put her head down in disappointment from my words.

It seemed the girl was hurt at my statements, reasonable considering that I was the only 'friend' she knew in Japan. However, no matter how much it hurt me to see her like this, it was necessary.

"Please Xiao Li, it's not safe for you to be around me right now, in fact, you know what?"

I seemed to have caught the little assassin's attention with my last few words, her ears now prickling with excitement, waiting for me to complete my sentence.

"Why don't I ask Melissa if she's busy for the next few weeks. I know it's her winter break and all-"

I was stopped in my recommendation however, by a tight hug.

"Thank you so much Kuzan, thank you, thank you thank you." She continued to shake her head, snuggling deeper into my chest with every moment.

Not knowing how to deal with this situation, I decided to go for the tried and true approach to dealing with such circumstances.

I patted her on the head.

"It's fine, now come on, let go." I asked her while trying to free myself from the bear hug I was currently receiving.

'Holy hell, even with all my training I'm somehow unable to break out of this lock,' I was surprised by the sturdiness of her hold, 'has she been receiving training from Aunt Elizabeth or something.'

I shook out useless thoughts, not knowing how closely I had hit the nail on it's head.

"Please Xiao Li, I have to get going, I'm running out of time." My last words seemed to have done the trick, as I was finally released from her hold.

"Thanks." I decided to give her a parting smile before determining that to be insufficient and pulling her into an even deeper hug, despite wasting time.

'It was worth it.'

Still, I rushed forth, hoping dearly that I would be able to catch the man before he drifted too far away.

And my prayers were answered, as I was able to intersect the man in an open alleyway.

"Oh?" The man seemed interested by my presence, seeming to have recognized me as expected.

"So boy, you wouldn't be thinking about breaking one of the Temple's rules now were you?" The man spoke slowly, with great amusement, waiting for my response before getting started.

"HAHA, so what if I was?" I widened my eyes while feeling my hair standing on its ends, my body ready for a fight to the death.

"Then," the man spoke, gliding forth, choosing to make the first move, "as your elder..."

"I'll have to discipline you."

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For the *TREASURE HUNT* taking place in chapter 28, there is a *HINT* in the Author's Comments of this chapter. If you want your favorite character from your choice of franchise, try to win!

Also, please vote for your favorite female love interest in chapter 29.