Strength above all else. That was what Hiroka Toru was taught ever since he was brought into the world. A child of the Kami no Mizu clan, the clan was amongst the four most powerful clans on the continent. No child of Kami no Mizu knew who their parents were. All children were treated as equals until they could prove themselves worthy. In this land strength ruled and Hiroka wanted to be one of the strongest to bring honor to his clan. He worked harder than any other clan member of his generation, causing others to admire his tenacity. Hiroka showed tremendous determination in everything he did. Whether it be training with a sword, how to practice calligraphy, or completing missions for his beloved clan, he did all of these things with fire in his eyes. He was trained in the arts of battle, strategy, and most importantly Ki.

Ki is a natural energy that every living thing in the world has. Hiroka was trained to harness this power and do things that would cause the common person to tremble in awe. It caused him to be faster, more powerful, and live longer. These are only a few of the benefits that HIroka gained from training with Ki.

His will and effort lead him to becoming second in command of Kami no Mizu. This earned him the right to challenge the current clan head for the right to lead. This was a momentous occasion for the entire region, as few people could see experts clash at full force without fearing for their lives.

“Come see the experts of the Kami no Mizu clan fight for the honored position of Clan Head! Only five silver coins to see the fight of the century!”

“Could they be any louder?” Hiroka thought to himself

Of course the people who were yelling were collecting money for his clan so he bit his tongue.

“Are you nervous?” asked a quiet childlike voice next to him

Hiroka looked and saw his young apprentice Yoshida standing a few feet away from him. The boy looked to be about seven years old but already showed great aptitude with Ki.

“How can I not be nervous, I am fighting the strongest person I know in a fight that will determine the fate of our clan. Only a fool is not nervous when fighting an opponent. Remember Yoshida never underestimate an enemy no matter who they happen to be. This will help you live longer once you begin to take missions for our clan.”

“Yes Master, I will take your lesson to heart.” He ended his response with a small bow.

Only a privileged few knew the true relationship between Hiroka and Yoshida. They were father and son, but because Yoshida had yet to prove himself Hiroka had to hide this information from the boy. The only people who knew about this were the current clan head, and himself. Yoshida only knew him as his master and nothing more.

“Good, because it may be the last lesson that I am able to teach to you…”

These fights were not necessarily to the death, but there were no rules preventing them from killing either.

“Don’t say that master! Even if you were to lose this fight, you are too valuable to our clan for the head to kill you.” Argued the boy.

Wanting to tease Yoshida a little to lighten the mood Hiroka said

“Oh you think your master will lose do you? You think I am too weak to lead the clan?” and bowed his head in pretend shame.

“No I didn’t mean it like that! My master is the strongest there is and will win!” Yoshida added a little fist pump to show his enthusiasm.

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“I am kidding Yoshida, I know you have faith in me. But I want you to know there is a chance I will not make it back from this fight. If that happens I want you to respect your new master and train hard for me. Ok?”

The boy nods and leaves for the arena to watch his masters fight.

Hiroka also makes his way to the arena, but he makes a few stops along the way. His favorite restaurant, where he met Sarada. The local gardens, where he finally wed the love of his life. Finally he visited the clans graveyard, where his love was buried after she died during child birth.

Laying down the flowers he had carried with him on her grave, Hiroka kneeled down and said

“Sarada, I miss you dearly but I must ask you wait longer for us to be reunited. I have much I wish to teach to our son. Please watch over me in my fight today.”

He then got up and headed to the arena properly this time.

He had prepared himself for this. He is ready to fight. Heading in through the back entrance he could hear people secretly placing bets on who would win. Some people pretended to know who would win so they could take the money of unsuspecting patrons, while others were like himself and did not know who would win this battle.

People stared and whispered at him when he came closer to the arena. He ignored the rabble and the unwanted stares. He was focused, he was determined, and he was prepared to lay down his life to become the strongest.

He let a bit of his aura out, it was not much. To an expert like him this was nothing and other experts would shrug it off. But to the common folk around him who were farmers and merchents and beggers, it had a profound effect. The people gave him a wide birth after feeling the hairs on the back of their necks stand up, caused by only a fraction of his killing intent.

He entered the arena and heard the crowd of people cheering. There were hundreds of people screaming and waiting for the fight to begin. They all knew what was at stake and the anticipation was so thick you could cut it with a knife. The people who lived around the region depended on Kami no Mizu for protection and security from bandits. They all wanted to see who would be the clan head after today. The the winner of this fight would be the person who would control all of their fates.

As both combatants entered, in traditional blue and silver kimonos with katanas at their wastes, the crowd grew silent. Then an elder of the clan spoke.

“Today is a day that will be marked down in history. All of you are here to witness a challenge for the leadership of Kami no Mizu. Our current clan head, Ikeda Moari, is being challenged by Hiroka Toru. As for the Rules of this battle, there will be no outside interference. If someone is caught interfering they will be executed on the spot. The only weapons allowed are the katana, the symbol of our mighty clan, and the body of the fighters themselves. The only way to win is to incapacitate your opponent by any means necessary. Do both fighters understand?

”

“Yes elder.” Answered both men in unison.

“Then let the fight to determine the fate of the clan… BEGIN!”