_________ POV Narration _________

Ken sighed as he decided to finally talk about his past for the first time in quite a while.

The only person that really knew of his past even within the Dark Brotherhood was Tosho, and even he didn't know much when it came to details.

They all knew that the 7 Swordsmen of the Mist had taken something dear from him in the past, which made them the subject of his bloody revenge, but they had no idea what that was.

Ken had somewhat refrained from ever mentioning his age, and part of his backstory was his age.

The only reason that the 7 Swordsmen of the Mist had lived that long was because he was too young and weak to kill them at the time.

Ken's revenge had stretched out for so long, and ended up involving the Dark Brotherhood as well, exactly because he was unable to do it alone at the time.

Afterwards, he had just decided to hunt them down in more sadistic ways with the help of the Brotherhood.

'I guess it's time that the others learn about me as well...'

Ken was sure that his age and story would reach the children within the brotherhood too. He was somewhat worried about how it would affect their view of him.

After all, there were plenty among the children in the brotherhood that were physically older than him.

He had already created and maintained the image of a father figure, but now he did run the risk of losing it.

'... Well, I had already figured that this would be the price of showing my talent to the world.

But even if I am no longer a father figure to them, they will all still be part of the Brotherhood.'

With that said the Blind Assassin was not that concerned with the way the rest of the world viewed him.

But he needed the fact that he was a child to be known.

So sharing his story with the others was no longer that big of a deal.

All of the people present were surprised to hear Ken actually getting into his story.

More specifically, the story of his birth.

The story of a blind and disfigured infant left to die eaten by wolves and frostbite in the middle of a cold mountain somewhere in the Land of Iron.

The tale of how 10 honourable samurai of the Land of Iron discovered him and saved his life.

Mifune felt a bit proud to hear that their land's samurai were truly following their codes of conduct properly and that their honourable nature was kept even in the wild.

Yuichi also felt a bit proud, a slight smile reaching his lips as he thought of how he would have wanted his own child to be helped in such a situation.

Ken's next words did feel like a bucket of cold water over their heads though.

"The 10 Samurai that saved me were deserters, running away from certain death after being ordered to go visit several Hidden Villages."

Mifune blinked a few times, before looking at the ground with a bit of shame.

The man valued honour above all else. For one second, he didn't even want to believe that deserters would be capable of such commendable and selfless actions.

But he knew that Ken had no reason to lie to them. He had nothing to gain from it, at least nothing that Mifune could see.

Yuichi seemed to think the same, although his view on deserters was a bit less radical, he was still taken aback by the fact that the citizen of their Land had abandoned a child.

His own parents were more immoral and unhinged than a group of 'criminals'.

Yue was also surprised to hear that her teacher had had such a past. She still didn't know the full picture, she only understood that her teacher was a lot younger than he seemed.

She was also still processing her thoughts after seeing his true face, but his story now had enraptured her attention completely.

Ken's story continued from that point on.

The Blind Assassin spoke in a melancholic tone, as he told the story of how the group of 10 slowly but surely shrunk to a group of 6.

He didn't go into too much detail about the way he was raised, but he did mention the struggles of constantly having to run around from place to place.

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All until they finally decided to settle into an abandoned temple in a random mountain range... And how that ultimately turned out to be one of the reasons for their demise.

They had a rather thorough escape plan, and they had a lot of tracks that went all over the mountain range and those around it.

But a group of experienced Jonin were still able to pinpoint some places that they were constantly hunting around in.

And one day, when Ken urged all of the samurai to leave the temple to make them a sweet surprise in the form of a memorial for those that had fallen...

That was when it happened.

The explosion, the madness, the anger, the failed revenge.

Mifune, Yuichi and Yue all couldn't help but give Ken a rather tragic look.

But Mifune's eyes also widened in recognition.

"Don't tell me... The Mountain Hyenas..." He blurted out loud as he remembered the group of bandits that had been taken down by the 7 Swordsmen of the Mist all those years back.

"Indeed... That was the nickname that was given to us at that time.

Well, my involvement was unknown as I wasn't ever seen or heard from, but I was the one to track different paths for retreat and create a comprehensive map of the area..."

Ken mused a bit as he remembered how weirded out the Samurai was at his accuracy when drawing maps.

Those 6 samurai were the first ones in that world to understand just how scary Ken's perception was.

Still, their fate was somewhat tragic.

It was unusual, Mifune still remembered it.

The Mist Swordsmen had been travelling the world on some secret mission for the Mist Village, and they were hunting down bounties all over the world to build a name for themselves.

And it seemed that the people that had raised Ken were on that list. It was simply bad luck, it wasn't like the Mountain Hyenas were the most dangerous group either.

Mifune hadn't bothered to dispatch a full battalion against them exactly because they mostly minded their own business.

It was just pure bad luck...

"I must admit, my mind was not in the best of places back then..."

Ken sighed as he remembered just how close he was to going mad all over again.

The guilt he felt, although he had never wanted to admit it or even think about it, subconsciously he did also somewhat blame himself for their deaths.

The only people he had cared about till that point in his life. It was a wonder that he didn't spiral back to his old way of coping with reality...

Which was killing people. Well, he essentially did do that, but he justified it by completely dehumanizing a group of people.

It was still better than becoming a mad dog and biting at everyone that came close to him.

The only thing that kept him sane was the knowledge of how those he had lost would react to his madness and the promise he had made to them... Well, to their corpses anyway.

How would those who had put in the effort to raise him react to him becoming a madman in his second life as well?

Even so, he had done his fair share of things he wasn't proud of...

And he wasn't shy about admitting his sins either.

"One of your higher-ranking samurai had reached our former home by following my bloody tracks that had barely been covered by snow...

He acted quickly, cutting apart the temple that was my former home... I killed that man in cold blood, and all those that were sent with him."

Neither Mifune nor Yuichi knew how to react to that information, that much was a given.

'Yeah... The squad we sent back then never returned... I think I remember reading a report about their corpses being found and brought back for burial...'

Yuichi mused a bit as he remembered the situation quite clearly despite the time that had passed.

It was considered an unsolved case. Well, not anymore.

They had the culprit. But it wasn't like they could do anything about it. It was hard for the two of them to even blame Ken for what had happened.

He was nothing more than a child in their eyes, even if his situation forced him to adapt and mature faster than the rest.

In the first place, it was also their nation that had put a bounty on all deserters. It was them that had sent those 10 samurai on a suicide mission.

"It seems our nation has wronged you quite a bit..."

Yuichi sighed as he shook his head, deciding not to bother bringing up the Hatamoto that had died at Ken's hands.

There was no point to it. How could he, in his right mind, try to hold a child accountable for something he had done at the age when most were still learning how to play tag?

"I've no reason to blame anyone for what has happened. Not anymore. I played the blaming game, and it didn't bring anything of value to my life...

Well, we did get some nice swords out of it, but overall it wasn't worth the hassle and preparation."

Ken shook his head before sighing deeply.

"This is the gist of it anyway. This organisation was originally born as a way for me to have some eyes in the world. It grew to what it is today as my aspirations grew with it."

"I understand... Thank you, Ken. For sharing your past with us. For trusting us enough to do so."

Mifune spoke out this time, closing his eyes and bowing his head slightly towards Ken once more.

Yuichi nodded at his gesture and followed suit, also thanking Ken and bowing.

Yue at their side seemed to mimic her father, she smiled warmly at her teacher and thanked him with a strange glint in her eyes.

"I've already said this, but there's no need for that." Ken would've rolled his eyes to the back of his head if he had any, instead, he just waved his hand dismissively at them.

The two leaders of the Land of Iron eventually straightened up once more.

They were preparing to leave after that, having already received more than enough information to think about.

But before they left, Yuichi turned to Ken one last time.

"Just so you know, people will start aiming for you now that your age has been revealed.

It's surprising how many are willing to forget your strength in the empty hope of being able to take advantage of you due to the perceived naivety your age gives off."

"That is fine... That's what I was hoping for anyway.

Let them come, and when they do, I will crush them into the earth.

The forests at my doorstep are in need of some fertilizer after all..."

Ken smiled eerily, silently thanking the Daimyō for the warning he gave.

Yuichi himself smiled widely at Ken, and Mifune narrowed his eyes.

"If push comes to shove, then know that you will always find an ally and shield in the Samurai of our Land of Iron.

If you wish for shadow, then our Land of Iron will be the tall tree to provide you with it."

Mifune vowed with a serious gaze as he nodded to Ken one last time before both he and Yuichi left the room.

Ken couldn't help but smile as he felt their back getting further and further away. The meeting had gone a lot better than he had expected.

Who knew that revealing his past would lead to their alliance being completely solidified?

Ken's smile did die down a bit, as he turned his head towards Yue, who was still in the room.

"Now then... Anything on your mind, Yue?"