Muramasa came in low this time, blade angled different from either of the first two strikes, and Jin barely got his guard up before the impact rattled through both arms. He held, though, planted his feet against the force instead of letting it throw him, and shoved back hard enough to buy himself half a step of space.
"Better," Muramasa said, already circling. "Still not enough."
Jin didn't waste breath answering. He came forward instead, testing an angle he hadn't tried yet, a diagonal cut meant to open past the older man's guard rather than through it.
Muramasa turned it aside without visible effort, the parry so economical it barely looked like a response at all, the mist barely stirring around the motion of his blade, and the follow-up strike caught Jin across the ribs hard enough to steal the air from his lungs.
