Chapter 33

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"The flow of power comes when we effect an attack. Imagine it like water circulating from a stream, you can't really do something that affects it directly, but if you dig, you can create another path for the water to circulate."

Standing in front of each other, Mokichi explained to Yuji while keeping his arms crossed against his chest, his usual serene expression on his face.

"The flow of power, like a stream, can be easily manipulated if you know what to do. As you can change the trajectory of the water, you can also change the trajectory of your opponent's power flow. Because you are a practitioner of Jeet Kune Do, you already have a basic knowledge of changing the trajectory of attacks, so I believe you will have no problem mastering this technique."

Yuji nodded in agreement, his mind reasoning about the new concept that was presented to him. As proficient as he was at parrying blows and changing their trajectory, he didn't think he had manipulated the flow of someone's power, since even in his old life, he was able to change the trajectory of attacks. The feel of the technique was what he lacked, and if he could feel it first hand, he had confidence in mastering it in no time.

Mokichi seemed to understand the boy's distress. He hadn't really given the boy detailed instructions, because he wanted to see if he would be able to figure out the technique on his own.

"How about I give you a demonstration?" Mokichi asked.

This immediately caught Yuji's attention, the boy putting his thoughts aside while focusing on the master in front of him.

"Try to attack me, I won't even uncross my arms or strike back. You just have to try to hit me with everything you have."

Yuji raised his eyebrow at the man's words. If he didn't know him, he would say he was underestimating him, but knowing who Mokichi is, he knew that wasn't the case. If Mokichi was so confident to keep his arms crossed while receiving his attacks, it was because he had a way to fight him even limited like that.

"Very well, but if I hit your face, it's not my fault." With a friendly smile, Yuji raised his fists as he mounted his stance.

Ignoring his comment, Mokichi just continued as he was, a confident smile replacing his usual friendly one.

"Here goes!"

Propelling his body toward Mokichi, Yuji sent a punch straight at his face, his blow passing straight through as the man simply took a step to the side, dodging it with ease.

'As expected.'

With a dangerous smile appearing on his lips, Yuji swept at Mokichi's legs, the man taking a small leap to escape the attack, his eyebrows raising in surprise when the moment he landed on the ground, Yuji appeared in front of him and grabbed his shoulder with one hand.

"Gotcha!" He said with an excited smile.

Pulling his fist back in one swift motion, he sent it toward Mokichi's face while keeping a tight grip on his shoulder to prevent him from escaping.

'He cannot move to escape the blow. In this position, he will be forced to uncross his arms to defend himself.'

When the fist was halfway down, Mokichi opened his eyes slightly to face Yuji, a mocking smile on his lips.

'Gah!'

Suddenly Yuji felt as if the hand on Mokichi's shoulder was being grabbed, his body being pulled to the side when, with one simple movement, the man moved his torso to the side. This caused the boy to lose his balance completely and stumble forward, but before he could fall to his knees, the sensation of his arm being grabbed came again, his body being pulled up and regaining control when Mokichi moved his torso again.

'What the fuck is that? Is this power flow manipulation? It's like he can control my entire body like a puppet! How can he do that?'

With a confused expression, he was taken by surprise again when Mokichi took a step back and rotated his torso to the side. Yuji, who still had his hand on his shoulder, was suddenly thrown away, his balance affected as he fell to the ground and rolled quickly to get up.

Clutching his own shoulder, Yuji felt an intense pain at the site, his eyes staring at a purple mark that was beginning to form on his skin with analytical eyes.

'Got it... He moves his body with minimal movements when our bodies are in contact, this makes it possible for him to redirect my flow at his will.' Realization hit Yuji as he slowly understood the details about the technique. 'That injury was probably due to him turning my attack against me. I remember Ohma doing something like that vaguely. It probably didn't dislocate my shoulder because I didn't use my hand that was gripping him to attack him.'

Shaking his shoulder to ease the pain in the spot, Yuji closed his eyes as he remembered Mokichi's movements in detail. The [Combat Genius] trait, when it came to combat, enhanced his memory and reasoning to superhuman levels. He could remember without much difficulty techniques he saw, and if he had at least minimal knowledge of the concept of those more complicated ones, he could understand their operation without much effort.

"It seems to me that you understand." Mokichi noticed the expression of realization on the boy's face, concluding that he had managed to unravel the technique.

Opening his eyes, Yuji spread a confident smile on his lips, approaching Mokichi until he was standing in front of him.

"It's really not that hard, I just needed to figure out the little details."

Mokichi laughed lightly at the boy's words, a dangerous smile appearing on his lips.

"How about we do a test so we know if you really understand?"

Before Yuji could even counter, Mokichi's hand landed on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.

'Shit.'

With that thought in mind, Yuji watched Mokichi send a punch in his direction, his fist advancing toward him like a bullet. Squinting his eyes, the boy went over Mokichi's movements in his mind, his next course of action worked out in an instant.

'Minimal use of movement is required. If I waste even a single movement, the technique probably won't work, so to manipulate its power flow, just...'

Taking a step back, Yuji rotated his torso in a simple manner, this surprising Mokichi, who felt his body being thrown forward, causing him to pass right by Yuji.

'Just that I move the torso a little to the side.'

With a smile of accomplishment on his face, Yuji watched Mokichi pass him and regain his balance almost immediately.

"You surprised me. Even if I believed you would learn the technique quickly, I couldn't expect you to understand it on the same day, much less perform it." Mokichi spoke with pride in his tone, this drawing an embarrassed smile from the boy, who scratched the back of his neck.

"I have a little bit of talent."

'A little bit? It took me three years to master that technique.' Mokichi thought to himself.

"Okay, now I'm going to go over the basics of Baritsu with you. Manipulating the flow of power is something that is essential for you to be able to use the techniques of the style."

Yuji nodded in agreement.

[New skill learned: Manipulation of power flow].

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.

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Lying on his back on the mat, Yuji was breathing heavily. His body was covered with bruises, the floor stained by the sweat dripping from his body.

Training for three hours straight with Mokichi served to exhaust him. The man pushed him to his limits, and when he found himself exhausted, he made him continue to train until his body was unable to stand. When Yuji finally gave in after much stubbornness, he let his body collapse to the ground like a rock.

"Okay, that's all for today. Rest and then you can go home, tomorrow I will show you some forms."

Mokichi spoke, to which Yuji merely nodded in agreement as he caught his breath. With a satisfied nod, the man left the room, leaving an exhausted Yuji lying on the floor.

While the boy was recovering, minutes after Mokichi left the room, the door opening caught his attention, making him turn around with curiosity, thinking that his master had forgotten to tell him something.

"You look tired." Elena Robinson, Mokichi's sister, entered the field of vision as she suddenly entered the room.

The girl looked around curiously, her eyes lingering for a while in her surroundings, before landing on Yuji.

"When my brother comes to train here, sometimes I accompany him to watch. He doesn't really like it, but that doesn't stop me." With an excited smile, she approached the boy.

Seeing her coming towards him, Yuji sat down on the floor. He felt his body slowly recovering, gradually dealing with the tension in his muscles.

"I see..." He spoke.

The moment he sat down, Elena couldn't help but freeze for a second, her eyes roaming over Yuji's naked torso, admiring his firm, defined muscles. Although she was used to seeing her brother's muscles, she was not prepared to see someone her age so ripped. A blush stained her face, this not going unnoticed by the boy, who couldn't help but crack a provocative smile.

"Enjoying what you see?"

The girl choked on hearing the boy's words, coughing as she looked away, the blush still clear on her face.

"I was just..." Not knowing what to say, the girl hid her hands as she swayed in nervousness.

"Don't worry, I'm just playing with you." He spoke.

"Tell me, why did you come here?"

The girl sighed, the blush on her face diminishing but not completely disappearing as she turned her gaze to the boy.

"When my brother told me that he had found someone to train with him, I was really excited. My brother is someone friendly, but he is not one to bring someone into our home." She said as she cracked a small smile.

"I see." Yuji nodded in understanding.

Personally, he didn't know Mokichi, but he passed off a serene and friendly feeling, but still, he didn't seem like someone with enough animation to party with his friends. Mokichi reminded him of country men, who are more focused on taking care of their farm than socializing.

"Yuji, from what I remember, right?" The girl snapped him out of his thoughts, Yuji turning his attention to her.

"Yes." He agreed. "And you are Elena."

With a happy smile, she quickly agreed with Yuji's words, seeming pleased that he remembered her name, even though it had only been 1 day since they had introduced themselves.

"You are a high school student, right?" She asked, receiving a nod of agreement. "I'm in first grade, how about you?"

"The second one." He replied.

"Oh, so you're my senior? Should I call you senpai?" With a playful smile, she asked as she bent slightly to approach the boy.

Yuji, hearing her question, immediately remembered how Mokichi had looked upon seeing his interaction with the girl last time, a nervous smile appearing on his lips.

"There's no need for that." He scratched the back of his neck in nervousness.

Elena laughed at his reaction, clearly understanding why he was so nervous.

The interaction between the two continued for a moment, until Elena needed to go to her classes, Yuji leaving the mansion after being sufficiently rested with a satisfied smile on his face.

"She's nice to talk to." He thought, remembering his interaction with the girl, only to have Mokichi's angry face pop up in his mind, ruining his thoughts. A chuckle escaped the boy's mouth as he saw it pop into his mind.