The Kusanagi Style refers to the near-extinct school of swordsmanship taught by the late Kusanagi Clan deep in their native mountain village. Not only was it a style devised to be used in combat, it was primarily a means of discipline for the family's own practitioners. With the family's demonic curse afflicting their offspring, the men, who were born with the bodies of humans that contained the souls of a demon, were trained to pacify their naturally violent urges (the reverse was applied to the females, who are killed at birth).
The primary technique that was taught was the True Light Style that was developed to fight other individuals. However, one other style existed in the dojo's history and it was used to fight against demons hundreds of years before the events of the story, the Double Edged Style, but was discontinued after the eradication of said demons hundreds of years ago. The dojo and the style itself was culled after Kiseki Kusanagi, the current host of the Hyakki Yakou, destroyed her clan's village. The style lives on through it's last few remaining practitioners.
Only two (previously three) practitioners remain.
True Light Style Edit
Primarily taught by Takeru's father and the "public" image of the family's techniques. Takeru fondly remembers the days he dueled against his father to push himself to grow stronger.
- Hornet Blade: A series of extremely quick strokes that bombard the enemy with countless thrusting strikes.
- Wolf Blade: An upward angled attack that has the user take a lowered stance and lunge forward beneath the target's neck.
- Rhino Blade: A downward thrust technique that has the user rain down a flurry of strikes at a downed opponent.
- Shark Blade: A technique that utilizes the momentum of constant attacks and motion to increase the momentum and speed of each consecutive strike.
Double Edged Style Edit
The ancient style that was primarily taught by Orochi who Takeru sought apprentice-ship from after when he intended to go past the regular limits of his family's teachings. The style staples itself on the ideal of giving into one's inner violence and throw every ounce of strength in each of their attacks. Orochi first taught the usage of the Double-Edged Style's keystone technique, the Soumatou. This was primarily taught onto Takeru where Orochi continuously pushed him off a cliff and Takeru was to grab on to a tree or rock formation, break his fall, climb back up, and repeat the process to have him get accustomed to the feeling of peril. Then he instilled further discipline through teaching weapon stances to fit any situation. At its core, the Double-Edged Style had lethal intent behind its usage and Orochi taught it for it to be used as such.
- Soumatou: The staple ability of the Double-Edged style that accelerates the brain's functions to help the user react to and assist in combat. Repeated usage of the technique however strains the body and can lead to bodily injury, both internal and external.
- Single Wheel: A full-rotational sweep that has the user unsheathe and draw the blade from a low angle to slash a full circle in a single motion. Used to combat multiple enemies.
- Mantis Slope: A downward slash performed after leaping off from a high ground and rotating the body forward to build up immense momentum. While a miss would lead to the user's injury, and full-on hit carried immense force and impact.
- Battle Driving: A simple running technique where the user bends their body forward and unleashes quick but effective slashes while constantly running, using the crushing momentum instead of the slashing motion itself.
- Unicorn's Destructive Lance: A simple thrusting technique that has the the user directly lunging toward the target. Further enhanced accuracy and strength by the usage of Soumatou.
- Pipe Fox: The Double-Edged style's version of the Wolf's Blade where the user tricks their enemy into thinking they're downed and drawing them close before they quickly rise and jump to the air and strike downwards.
- Rain Dragon's Charge: An ability originally used to slay dragons. The user plants his blade by the base of the dragon's neck, where the beasts' arms and tail were not able to reach him, and drives the blade down its back and charges downward towards the tail.
- Snake Belt Drop: A technique only usable if the wielded weapon is a kusarigama. The user hooks the target, lowers his stance and throws the target over his shoulder.
- Inugami: A stance taken when both of the user's arm are unavailable and the blade's handle is placed in the user's mouth. It focused on utilizing one's body weight and flexibility as opposed to slashing with head movement.
- Baboon Menace: A feint attack that poises an enormous weapon above the user's head where the weapon is swung down before it immediately stops before reaching the target's head.
- One-Eyed Storm God: A technique that requires the user to rotate a number of times before sinking his posture low to attack with an upward swing with immense momentum.
- Gyuki: An in-place upward slash that sends the opponent flying with extreme momentum.
- Monk with Iron Mallet: A technique that combines the user's fist or foot to attack simultaneously to push the blade onto the enemy to move onto the offensive.
- Heavenly Evil Spirit: The fastest technique available to the style that automatically pushes the speed limit of the Soumatou to attack with a single quick strike whilst drawing the blade.
- Yamata no Orochi: A technique that requires the user to activate Soumatou to unleash 8 powerful, simultaneous slashes in a single instance.
- Ghost Light Firefly: A technique that utilizes the enemy's attacks to enhance one's own. The user utilizes the force exerted by an enemy's strike to move in continuous motion to gain momentum and repeat until the user feels that they've gained enough force to strike back effectively.
- Demon Heart: Essentially an upgraded Soumatou that is accessed after the latter's over-usage. If the Soumatou was a technique that humans should not have access to, the Demon's Heart was a technique that demon's should not try to surpass. It is a state where the user's brain is constantly accelerating, enough to perceive the entire world stopping. This state significantly shortens the user's lifespan.
- Kusanagi Sword: A technique that requires Demon Heart active to have the user move close to that of the speed of light. The attack is a single blade drawing strike that not only strikes the target at near imperceptible speed but also has the attack's trail explode in a array of light.
- Ama no Habakiri: The ultimate technique that acts as a stronger Kusanagi Sword and similarly requires the user to be under the effects of Demon's Heart. Once the user accelerates beyond the limits of mass and clears the limit of speed, a single attack is made in the heightened state that releases an explosion that is equal in power of a 2-kilometer wide nuclear blast.
- Revolving Lantern: The heightened state that exceeded Demon's Heart during the final moments of Takeru's duel with Orochi. While Orochi utilized Demon's Heart to unleash Ama no Habakiri, Takeru was able to reach a higher speed to strike at Orochi before he could even swing his blade down.