As the siblings continued sparring, Uchiha Shizhi arrived in the courtyard wearing a fresh ninja uniform. The two immediately stopped fighting and obediently approached him to greet respectfully.
"Shiyu, it seems you're already prepared. Then let's begin. Mikoto, you should also watch even if you don't plan to learn it. Understanding is still beneficial. After all, once you become a ninja, you might encounter any kind of opponent."
"Yes," both siblings responded crisply.
Then they watched in silence as Shizhi drew out a wooden practice sword and started demonstrating techniques in the courtyard. Though just a wooden blade, in Uchiha Shizhi's hands it became something completely different—dangerously sharp and deadly precise. It carried his willpower—exuding an aura sharp enough to cut through anything, yet flowing gracefully with immense destructive force.
Shiyu Uchiha suddenly felt like he was witnessing a masterpiece of artistry when observing Shizhi's sword techniques. Enchanted by the demonstration, he remained transfixed for quite some time even after Shizhi completed his movements.
At this moment, Shiyu's enthusiasm for learning swordsmanship grew even stronger, his excited gaze locking onto Shizhi.
Even Mikoto Uchiha, who previously hadn't shown much interest in swordplay, found herself drawn to the way her mother, Shizhi, demonstrated the techniques. While she might not have loved sword techniques themselves, she greatly admired her mother's captivating posture.
Seeming to notice that they had bitten the hook, Shizhi smiled slightly before saying, "This was the Foundational Thirteen Sword Techniques, including [Pi] (horizontal slash), [Kan] (downward chop), [Liao] (upward sweep), [Duo] (chopping thrust), [Tiao] (lifting strike), [Jie] (intercepting cut), [Tui] (pushing extension), [Ci] (piercing stab), [Hua] (gliding slice), [Jiao] (twisting whirl), [Beng] (snap rebound), [Dian] (targeted flick), and [Ba] (sudden draw) for a total of thirteen fundamental techniques. Each technique contains numerous additional variations, which I won't go into detail about now. I'll explain them thoroughly when you begin practicing.
These techniques and their variations represent basic swordsmanship fundamentals. No matter how advanced sword techniques become, they cannot escape this framework—just like hand seals in ninjutsu, forming the very foundation upon which everything builds.
By practicing these fundamental techniques and their variations, one can gradually improve proficiency and combat effectiveness in swordsmanship. Each form possesses specific applications and skills that, through repeated practice, make sword techniques smoother and more effective.
Every swordsman begins with these thirteen movements. Otherwise, their foundations would inevitably prove insufficient to support reaching the pinnacle of mastery. Conversely, those who completely master these thirteen techniques could carve a new path forward even when none previously existed.
Next I shall provide detailed explanations of each movement."
Before Mikoto Uchiha and Shiyu Uchiha could respond, Shizhi continued, "First, [Pi]: A horizontal, straight cutting strike delivered with the blade's flat surface. Considerable force is short but powerful. Both of you watch carefully."
He then began demonstrating the 'Pi' motion from the Foundational Thirteen Sword Techniques. During this display, his movements were executed extremely slowly while simultaneously providing exceptionally detailed explanations regarding both the primary motion and its derived variations.
At this point, Mikoto had unconsciously activated her single-tomoe Sharingan, which although lacking replication capabilities, certainly improved her learning efficiency.
Though Shiyu didn't possess a Sharingan, he had his own learning methods too. Entering a state of complete concentration enabled him to achieve twice the learning effect with half the effort.
Since this sword form wasn't complicated, the young siblings had already clearly observed their mother's movements. They had already memorized it by watching carefully.
They then began imitating their mother's movements to practice the sword strike "Pi" (horizontal slash). As they continuously swung their wooden swords and executed repeated strikes, various issues kept arising.
Beside them, Uchiha Shizhi patiently pointed out their shortcomings over and over again, correcting them each time.
After an hour had passed, Mikoto Uchiha, who had a better foundation, was the first to reach the standard form for this technique. However, she still couldn't guarantee that every execution of this slash would meet such standards. Therefore, Uchiha Shizhi instructed her to continue practicing.
Soon afterward, Shiyu Uchiha also reached this level, and Uchiha Shizhi gave him the same instruction.
But now gradually emerged their differences. Mikoto Uchiha, whose talent in taijutsu wasn't particularly outstanding, relied on continuous standardized swings to develop muscle memory to remember this slash.
Shiyu Uchiha, however, after each strike would pause to summarize and reflect, then fully concentrate before executing the next slash. After that strike, he would summarize again until he felt satisfied before repeating the entire sequence.
Uchiha Shizhi, watching them both, didn't interrupt. Instead, he felt very pleased. He was extremely satisfied with how his children performed, as both had found learning approaches that worked perfectly for them.
Especially impressed was he with Shiyu. Unlike Mikoto, who had a head start—being ten years old and nearly graduation age—and having received years of guidance, forming her own style early on, her performance came as no surprise.
But Shiyu's performance surpassed expectations. When it came to mastering the fundamentals, his progress might not be faster than Mikoto's—possibly even slightly slower.
Yet once he succeeded, it meant he had completely mastered this foundational sword technique. With such thorough understanding, his foundations could become more solid. After finishing basic training and moving on to higher-level techniques, his progress rate would surely surpass Mikoto Uchiha's.
Although Shiyu's approach was superior, it simply wouldn't work for Mikoto. It required extremely high martial insight—if Mikoto attempted to adopt Shiyu's method, she might remain stuck at the foundational level of swordsmanship forever. Moreover, her true talent lay in genjutsu; swordsmanship was merely a supplementary skill for her.
Conversely, if Shiyu adopted Mikoto's method, it might delay his path toward becoming a supreme swordsman. Therefore, finding one's own suitable method was always best.
With the current approach, once Mikoto completed foundational swordsmanship training, he would help her master several moves combining swordplay with Sharingan. Just through swordsmanship alone, Mikoto could reach the rank of a special jonin, which would be more than sufficient.
As for Shiyu, if he continued maintaining this pace while ensuring adequate effort, he truly had the potential to achieve Man and Blade Unity, inherit Mikoto's sword techniques, surpassing even her achievements, and ultimately forge his own path toward mastery at the level of a Kage.
In the future, he might even become another swordsmanship peak in Konoha, following closely behind the young head of the Hatake household.
In Uchiha Shizhi's eyes, that future individual would inevitably become the pinnacle of [Swordsmanship] in Konoha; it might even take only a few years before surpassing Shizhi himself.
And indeed, although Hatake Sumao was currently showing extraordinary talent, no one from the Hokage lineage guided him or pointed out his flaws. Once he became a Jonin, the inheritance of the Hatake household had already reached its limit; every step forward required independent exploration and self-cultivation, yet this couldn't stop Hatake Zuoyun, who possessed extraordinary talent.
Moreover, in canon, he underwent purification during the early stages of the Second Great Ninja War—cleansed of all impurities—and finally broke through during the conflict, rising to prominence afterward and becoming the brightest new star in Konoha.
Even the energetic Third Hokage at his prime couldn't rival his brilliance—the Sannin of Konoha could only match him when united as one.
As Uchiha Shizhi drifted into thought, Shiyu Uchiha's body quickly approached its physical limit. Seeing this, Uchiha Shizhi quickly stopped him from continuing training: "Shiyu Uchiha, don't push yourself too hard. You've already reached your limit. Take a break, reflect carefully, and summarize what you've learned—it's the most important thing."
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