章 85: Samurai Training

The hike to the seaweed cultivating area only took two hours. The group had expected to slow down for Natsume's sake, but they underestimated her physique. Since she trained her physical strength on Mount Kakazan, her ability was significantly higher than the year prior. Even she wasn't exactly sure how much stronger she was since he only one to compare to was Saru. When they arrived at the wooden pier, Natsume did not even break a sweat.

"Suzume, your strength seems a bit high?" Yori couldn't help but doubt her.

"Ah, sensei… I trained for a year in the mountains." Strictly speaking, this was the truth.

"I see. Looks like we can increase the intensity early. Unpack the bags. Inside you will find equipment. Weighted clothes, metal armor, and several wooden swords. You will run from here to the village and back fully geared. Once you finish running, you will take a wooden sword and strike the boulders along the coast until sunset."

Natsume started unpacking the gear once he finished and confirmed everything was accounted for. The size of the clothes and armor were a bit big on her, but it wasn't too far off to be problematic. Depending on how long she had to use these training clothes, it would be beneficial for them to be larger. The fabric was very tough and seemed to be mixed with metal. There were even several sewn in weights around the waist, and arms.

Seeing that the weighted clothes were two pieces, Natsume heaved a sigh of relief. She was worried that it would be a green jumpsuit. Instead, the inside of the clothes were lined with a layer of fur and were incredibly soft and warm. The pants were loose fitting with a heavy sash to fasten it to her waist. Fortunately, the design took practicality into consideration and did not make the legs excessively heavy. Instead, there were weights specifically designed for the ankles and wrists separately.

The metal armor consisted of an inner structure of bamboo, and several overlapping layers of metal plates. After putting everything on, she felt her body's center of gravity shift as she stood. Once she donned all of her gear, she looked at the sun in the sky. It wasn't quite noon yet, so there would be plenty of time. Since she had carried the gear here once already, she was already accustomed to the weight.

However, what she didn't expect was that the shift in the distribution of weight on her body, combined with the placement of the weights, would start to put pressure on her. Instead of being annoyed, Natsume was excited. Any means of improving her strength were readily accepted by her. She did not know the principle of the weighted clothes and armor, but they seemed to stress her body in a different way than just carrying the packs.

Another thing she discovered after running for an hour was that the bulky plate armor constantly rattled around while she ran. The constant motion of the plates began to accumulate fatigue on her body. As she moved around, they would shake, rattle, and swing around. It felt as if the armor was hitting her body over and over again. Despite how strong her muscles were, when they were constantly hit with enough force, they would start to lock up.

Natsume finally reached the inn after three hours and had to stop to rest. The sorest muscles were her thighs. The metal plates that protected her groin and upper thighs were moving around the most during her run. Because of this, they received the most impact. She massaged her legs and marveled at the design. Thinking about it, the samurai she encountered were also armored. Although their armor was much more tightly packed with fewer gaps, they were practically silent as they moved. Compared to her just now, she was making excessive noise.

Thinking of this, and her shinobi training as a foundation, Natsume was easily able to deduce the purpose of the armor. In order to prevent the plates from shaking, her running posture would have to change. This would prevent her body from getting beaten, and also stifle the noise. She guessed that the ultimate goal was to be able to wear full samurai armor without sacrificing range of motion and movement. After finishing resting, she turned back to the coast and started running once more. Although she was still unable to stop the noise, Natsume made micro-adjustments as she ran in order to reduce the shaking.

Another three hours passed on her way back. Thanks to her comprehension ability, she was able to reduce the frequency of shaking, thus making her return journey a little easier. However, she was still tired from the first run so her time didn't improve much at all. When she returned before sunset, Yori was naturally surprised at her speed. Instead of collapsing like most apprentices at this stage, she took one of the wooden swords and went directly to a boulder.

Natsume began to strike at the boulder with a basic vertical swing. The sword was made from flexible material so no matter how she hit the stone, it would just bend the sword without leaving a mark. She didn't understand the purpose of the training, but since there were many wooden swords, breaking was expected. However, Natsume could not determine if breaking or not breaking the sword was the goal. She guessed that Yori would explain it to her eventually, so she focused on maintaining her posture and reducing the shaking of her armor while she struck the rock.

…

"Yori-san, are you sure about this?" One of the samurai asked as they watched Natsume from the pier.

"Owner-sama already checked. Suzume really can't do ninjutsu. As for her identity… it's not important. Everyone has their secrets." Yori watched Natsume for a while longer before stepping away from the railing. The other samurai had already set up some tables and a simple meal was laid out. The sky darkened and several braziers were lit on the pier.

Natsume climbed up the pier with a grumbling stomach and sat down in the empty spot. "Thanks for the meal!" Seeing that others were already eating and drinking she didn't hold back and dug in without even taking off her gear.