YUKAN HAS BEEN GRADUALLY ADJUSTING TO LIFE WITH A PROSTHETIC HAND. Writing felt a bit odd to him since he no longer felt the pencil in his hand. During this period, he managed to finish Der Landerkrieg. Due to his circumstances, however, the piece could not be submitted to a proper institution for a performance.

❒︎❒︎❒︎❒︎❒︎❒︎❒︎

When he tried to join in on the next battle, Zenpan denied him the ability to participate. He reasoned that Yukan still hadn't yet adjusted to combat with the prosthetic. The consequences of this choice were very apparent, as the troops would often return to the base with another loss under their belt. The army knew that, unless they brought Yukan back in to fight, they would struggle to win any further battles in the war since they were largely outclassed. Zenpan hated to admit it, but his army had grown dependent on their premier swordsman.

As a result, the general began to put Yukan through conditioning to get him ready for the battlefield once more. Kadaina was responsible for helping him hone his skills with the blade through methods that Yukan was all too familiar with, such as throwing fruit at him and having him slice them before they make contact, and some rather unexpected methods, such as Kadaina grabbing a blade of his own and dueling with him. Even more baffling was that Kadaina appeared to be extremely well-taught with a sword, despite not using one on the battlefield.

"How are you so good at this?" Yukan reportedly asked during one training session. "Dare I say, you're better at this than I am. How could this be so?"

"I learned it as a secondary to magic," Kadaina responded as he went for a stab, which Yukan hastily parried. "Master Kashikoi taught me how to do things like this." As he said that, the blade of the sword caught fire, but did not seem to melt. Yukan was thoroughly impressed by this, but Kadaina would later admit that it's not too intriguing.

"You see, Yukan," he would explain to him one day, "enhancing a weapon with magic is a rather simple skill. Casting through a weapon is easier thanks to the weapon acting as a vessel for the magic. Of course, healing magic is rather redundant through this method and, as a result, is considered one of the more difficult varieties."

"Why don't you use that in the war?" Yukan asked. "We'd probably be able to win many more battles if all of us took a more offensive role."

"That's why I have Brildinjr," he remarked in response. "Although, a change in approach could likely benefit us well in the future."

In the next battle, Kadaina decided to try to take a more offensive role when healing was not an option. The result of this conflict was impressively positive for Akuni, with many considering that battle to be a near-complete curb-stomp battle.

❒︎❒︎❒︎❒︎❒︎❒︎❒︎

After a while longer with training, Kadaina considered him adjusted to the prosthetic hand. However, Yukan was still not deemed ready by Zenpan for battle. Therefore, Yukan decided to train with Ite to improve his accuracy and reaction time. The plan was for her to fire an arrow in his direction and he would have to block it with a shield. However, problems began to arise during training when Ite would often intentionally miss out of fear that she might hurt Yukan. Other times, she would aim directly for the shield. It wasn't until about four days into training that Yukan managed to convince her that he was able to fend off whatever came his way.

On the battlefield, however, things were not looking up for Akuni. They'd begun to lose once more as Aotoshi had adapted to their circumstances. The war had, by this point, returned to the position it had started at as the Aotoshi military reclaimed many locations, such as Fort Yaoseyun and the town of Suijidian.

Kadaina was worried about these results. If they'd been backed up to the very beginning of the war, that meant that the past month of vicious combat had been for nothing. He knew that, unless something were to change soon with their attack strategy, they would begin to lose territories and Central Akuni would be at risk. Should Kadaina not figure out a counter-strategy fast enough for their next attack, it would be very likely that the war was effectively lost, despite how short-lived it had seemed thus far.

❒︎❒︎❒︎❒︎❒︎❒︎❒︎

Yukan once more completed his training, but Zenpan decided that the final trial was for the two of them to train in hand-to-hand combat. Yukan was by far the weakest in this area, usually ending up with a bloody nose or a black eye by the end of each training session. It wasn't until about three days into training that Yukan adapted to this environment and managed to defend himself incredibly well. On the fifth day of training, Yukan managed to land a rather powerful right hook, which felt even harder than normal thanks in no small part to the prosthetic hand that Yukan boasted. Even the protective Zenpan noticed at that moment that Yukan had improved. Despite this, he still did not feel that Yukan was ready to return to the battlefield yet. He still feared that Yukan's stubbornness would cost them and result in the death of either Ite or Kadaina, both of whom Zenpan began to care deeply for and saw himself responsible for.

Another advantage of keeping Yukan out of combat emerged from his mind during training. Once Yukan returned to his usual strength, Zenpan realized that his troops had indeed grown far too dependent on this one man. This time around, however, he could see why. Yukan was probably one of the most well-trained of his rank, being taught by the late Kashikoi Masuta, who was often hailed as one of the most skilled teachers in the entirety of Akuni. As a result, Yukan had become one of the most powerful swordsmen in the country, nay, all of Crenon. Placing both the training of the legendary Kashikoi Masuta and an intense bout of military conditioning, he was a true force to be reckoned with. The general thus decided that keeping Yukan out of the fray to strengthen his other men was the best possible option for the time being.