Chapter 49: The Narukami principles
Isaac stared intently at the page of the manual, his gaze running over every word, every detail of the diagram illustrating the Narukami’s attack posture. The more he read, the more he understood that this technique was more than just a super-powered strike. It was much more than that.
The text emphasized two fundamental elements: controlled imbalance and exploitation of the field of vision.
Isaac squinted slightly as he analyzed the detailed descriptions. Unlike the first two techniques of the Lightning Kata, which emphasized fluidity and continuous acceleration, Narukami imposed an abrupt break in body movement.
"Thunder doesn’t follow a linear trajectory. It strikes in an instant after a sudden release of energy. To reproduce this, the user must voluntarily enter a state of imbalance, forcing his body to abandon its anchor point to accelerate beyond normal limits."
Isaac straightened slightly on his bed, thinking intensely. A state of voluntary imbalance... This was exactly the opposite of everything he’d learned so far. Normally, sword techniques, even those based on speed, sought to maintain perfect balance to ensure fluidity and control.
But Narukami was playing with a different logic:
1. Disconnect the body from the ground - no longer seeking to be anchored, but instead forcing a controlled fall.
2. Exploit the acceleration of gravity - Transform body weight into a power multiplier.
3. Strike at the exact moment when the body reaches its breaking point - The moment when accumulated energy becomes impossible to control other than by attack.
He now understood why this technique was described as unstable and difficult to master. All it took was the slightest delay or error in timing to turn a lethal attack into a useless imbalance... or worse, a fatal opening for the enemy.
The Field of Vision: the instant the enemy loses sight