"chirp chirp"

"squeak squeak"

The natural sounds of the forest were filling the air.

Rays of sunshine shone like golden arrows, which pierced through the forest to the ground.

The climate was nice, warm, and soothing, in contrast to what was going on in the forest.

Two men were training continuously for hours and breaking a sweat, wearing a tired look on their faces.

'Huff Huff' Takeshi was panting without a break.

"Faster, Faster." Kenichii was yelling this for over an hour.

Takeshi had been running in short laps so as to improve his speed and stamina.

As he ran towards his 20th lap, Takeshi stopped halfway, dropping down on his knees and putting his hand on the ground, gasping for breath.

'Huff Huff'

"Whew, you didn't even complete 20 short laps.

This is gonna be very difficult for you, Takeshi-kun."

"H-Hah, I-I know, but I have to do it." Takeshi was supporting himself by bearing his weight down on his knees, with sweat dripping.

"I'm glad to see your spirit isn't broken, and it is definitely quite evident.

Because in the past two hours, I heard more of your gasps than you actually completing a set of exercises on time." Kenichii was trying so hard to laugh.

"Hey, knock it off, this is my first time."

"Of course, of course, but you see." Kenichii comes close to Takeshi, bends down, and continues to speak as he pats his back.

"No one will consider that when you enter the trial next month."

Takeshi looks at a rather serious-faced Kenichii. He understood the gravity of what he said.

Although he couldn't help it, he hadn't worked out at this level before.

"Hahh, you are on the ground already, and we only just started the session."

Takeshi tried to get up on his two feet, but his legs didn't want to.

"Okay, okay, sit down, we'll take a break.

We'll do this one step at a time.

We'll do a couple of rounds of these basic exercises to get your body used to this, then we'll increase it slowly.

After you are able to withstand that, we'll continue with the weapon training."

"Okay... Haah, this really is hard. I wonder how my grandfather was able to do this even at that age..."

"Your grandfather used to do exercises even after he retired, eh? Well, that's dedication for you. That's a legend for you.

That's the amount of grit anyone should have if they want to get to the top."

"Okay, you're really making me feel bad, you know." Takeshi closes his eyes and looks at the natural green ceiling with gaps of light.

"Ahh, and all I did back then was sulk around, collect fruit and other supplies, and goof off."

Kenichii stood up, dusted himself off, and extended his hand to Takeshi to get him back to his feet.

"Well, that can't be helped. Come on, let's try it again."

Kenichii was, well, for lack of a better word, trying to make Takeshi do normal training sessions.

Sprinting, weight training, sumo...

All these were done in order to give him the basic essentials on balance, speed, and stamina.

Takeshi was finding it very difficult to keep up with these, even with the training done at a slow but steady pace.

Anyone who has never worked out or done any manual work would feel overwhelmed, and it was only natural.

You don't just wake up one day and choose to be athletic or fit, it takes time to adapt.

Takeshi felt guilty while he was doing these exercises.

His grandfather would badger him to do these exercises, and while he didn't mean this to be for preparation to be a samurai, he would still ask him to do this to stay healthy and fit.

And yet, he always ignored him by saying that he'd do it the day he turned his grandfather's age and kept on procrastinating. And now the regret was eating him out.

He would sit under the shade of a tree while eating fruits he had plucked while watching his grandfather swing his sword tirelessly.

'I wonder why Grandpa is swinging his sword all the time, jumping around very quickly, kinda similar to a monkey, but him doing this at this age makes me wonder...

Is he really over 80 years of age as he says he is?

I mean, I've seen other old men during our travels, and they all either walk using sticks for support or they require the help of others to walk.

That is not disrespectful, right? Is it? Oh well.

And here my grandfather is, able to move better than me. I don't think I can be that flexible. Although I've never tried anything like that so, I wouldn't know.

After they were done with the training for the day, Takeshi and Kenichi both returned to their quarters.

They went to the baths to have a relaxing bath.

"Say Takeshi-kun, what all training did your grandfather do while the two of you were travelling?"

"Umm, well, most of the time he just swung his sword in the air.

Sometimes, out of the blue, he would bend backwards to a really weird position and move his sword while he was like that.

I'm not sure how to describe the rest, most of the time I didn't pay much attention, only at times when he used to yell, 'Oh my back' would I run to him."

"Ohh, guess he didn't consider age to be much of a hindrance, despite his back not agreeing to it haha."

"Yeah, I guess he never missed a day doing this, no matter how busy we were, he always found time for this. If only I knew back then..."

"Hey, hey, don't be glum, it's fine, it doesn't matter whether or not you knew about your grandfather's past or followed what he asked you to do, that's all in the past.

Thinking about it now won't change a thing. But it's fine.

Rather, you should be focusing on the present. You have a goal now, you are focused and motivated. You know well what you have to do and to what lengths you have to go to achieve that. That's all that matters.

Your grandfather did ask you to learn swordsmanship and surpass the current sword emperor, right? You may not know what that level is, but you saw what the difference was during the time you were attacked.

Keep that in mind. Think about how he moved, how he changed his positions to suit his needs, put yourself in his shoes, and imagine the scenario..."

Takeshi's face turned pale all of a sudden. Kenichii, as always, went overboard with the motivational talk and its explanation and forgot about how sad that incident was for him.

'Ahh, drats, I did it again, didn't I'

"I'm sorry, Takeshi-kun, I didn't mean it like that, I just wanted you to visualise that fight since that was the only time you got to see your grandfather in action.

My point is, we can try emulating that tomorrow, although there's a chance we won't get it right at all. Of course, how can we imitate him? haha, but any progress is still progress."

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"We won't." Takeshi replied suddenly.

"What?"

"We won't get any progress from it."

"Why not? Is it because you wanna do this your own way or something like that?"

"No, well, that's one thing I want to do, but that's not the main reason."

"Then what is it?"

"I don't remember it."

"You don't remember what?"

"I don't remember how he moved or changed his positions, for one thing, it was too fast for my eyes to see, other is that, I was... I was just focused on him alone."

"What do you mean?" Kenichii suddenly stopped and turned to face Takeshi.

"During the fight, the bandit leader said my grandfather was one of the former sword emperors, that kinda threw me off. After that, I was only looking at his face whenever I could see it.

You know, he used to smile a lot during our travels.

But he smiled during that battle, and that smile was really different. I felt that, it was the first time I'd seen him be genuinely happy. It felt as if he were seeing someone whom he hadn't seen for years.

He even had tears on his face. I was lost in that spectacle. A side of him that I never saw, till that day."

Takeshi paused after he said this. He seemed to be reminiscing about the events that happened that night.

Kenichii understood that pause and gave him some time. But he knew that he had to stop him before he got gloomy again.

He then broke the silence.

"You know, Kanroji Sensei is like that too... We've never seen him laugh or smile at anyone or anything. There's this head disciple here, named Aoki, you remember seeing a tall, brawny guy with a hachimaki over his shaved head?

He's like the type who likes to show off, and he's pretty strong, so, like he has his right to show off, but he kinda takes it too far every time.

So this one day, he tried doing this so-called "new move" he invented and fell right on his ass. He tried to turn his body, but while jumping mid-air, that happened.

Hahaha, oh god, I can't even... I can't stop laughing whenever I think about it, even now."

Kenichii was really laughing so hard, and it was starting to edge off in the weird zone, and Takeshi was really feeling it.

But Kenichii never saw his expression and continued.

"So, so, like, this is what happened, right in front of Kanroji Sensei, almost everyone burst out laughing, including the other Sensei's that were there.

But man, Kanroji Sensei kept a straight face just like that. He didn't even move a muscle, except to say,

'This is it? This is your so-called legendary move that will shake the heavens? It didn't even shake the ground, even though you fell on your ass'.

Oh god, the way he said this while keeping that expression was so priceless... hahahaha."

Takeshi, who least expected Kenichii to tell this rather unexpectedly funny story, was stumped.

He kept staring at Kenichii, making a face that screamed the words, 'What are you trying to do here'.

Kenichii noticed this, quickly cut short his laugh, and said

"So anyway, my point is that even Sensei doesn't smile much, but he too has an entirely different expression when it comes to battles, he's very fired up and smiles during his fights. That's when I think there really are two faces to Sensei, eh?"

"Ohh okay" Takeshi nodded, continuing on with his bath.

There was a pause after this.

It was rather a long pause, as both kept staring at the walls while they were bathing.

"All right, Takeshi, why don't you... why don't you head out to the dorm first if you are done?"

"Before this turns any more awkward..." Kenichii turns his head and speaks softly.

"Okay, I'll be heading out first."

Takeshi stands up and walks out of the bath, changes his clothes, and heads to the dorms.

Kenichii remains in the bath and continues.

"Man, that definitely was a funny story, right?"

"Totally" said three other voices in unison, who were using the bath as well.

'Tough crowd, that guy sure is one hard cookie.

This story often works to cheer people up..."

'Guess he's taking more time to adjust to the present, or rather, is he not trying at all, I wonder.

Well, let's wait for now and see where this is headed.'

Kenichii heads out, and after a change of clothes, he joins Takeshi in the dorms.

"So there's like half an hour before the bell rings."

"Huh? What bell?"

"Did you forget? I told you, remember? The one for dinner?

You have to run fast and real good and get to the front if you wanna eat good."

"Oh that, okay sure."

Silence ensues again...

"Ohh by the way, what exactly is Kanroji Sensei like? Like, other than what you told me earlier about him keeping a straight face."

"Ohh that's well..."

Kenichii thinks hard, and so many memories of him getting his ass kicked for slacking off and not training properly flooded through his mind.

"Well, he's a remarkable teacher, he can accurately pinpoint what exactly you are doing wrong and will help you fix it. He's very reliable and caring when it comes to diligent students.

Not saying that he isn't like that to slackers or people who don't do well, rather, he actually gives more attention to them, especially those who try hard but are unable to keep up. You might end up missing a few dinners or lunches and may get a few ass-kickings, but it's all for the better.

He keeps a very cold and strict appearance, but many a time we see that Sensei really cares for his students. He's more like a second parent to us all.

A lot of the students who came here were actually children of samurai's whose families had died during the war, or they're in faraway places.

Tachibana-san and Kanroji Sensei built this place together, although Tachibana-san left a short while later without telling anyone. Or so I've heard.

So this is a very special place for him. He cherishes it a lot and puts his all into teaching everyone who enrolls in here."

"Ding Ding Ding..."

Takeshi and Kenichii suddenly look at each other.

"Now, run..."

"O-Okay"

Takeshi and Kenichii ran as fast as they could and managed to get into the first 10 in line for dinner. There was quite a smile on Kenichii's face.

"Today you'll know what the reason behind running fast to get in the front line is for, hehehe"

"Heh, okay, sure."

***

At a different place in the empire, around the same time...

The wind was blowing softly, and Sakura petals gently danced through the air.

The air was filled with the natural scent of cherry blossoms, a delicate fragrance that enveloped the surroundings in a sweet, ephemeral embrace.

The Sakura tree was a beautiful and rare sight given where it was growing, the way it stood still for a long time at that attitude even made the people living there wonder about it.

As such, it was seen as a symbol...

Looking up, the clear skies stretched endlessly, like a beautiful portrait of blue with birds soaring freely beneath the ever-so-shining star, the sun.

Looking down, the land lay in serene stillness, but beneath its tranquility, the ever-present threat of disruption loomed, waiting to shatter the peace that it held, at any moment.

A tall man with long grey hair, tied loosely in a ribbon, was standing by the tree. He had a goatee and was dressed in a black and grey hakama, with a dark red kimono worn over it. The hilt of his weapon could be seen from the rearview.

Two men swiftly appeared from behind, barely any footsteps were heard. It was as if they were here the whole time and would be undetectable to any normal person.

They dropped on one knee and bowed their heads. Even if they didn't mean to do it, they would be forced to do so if the man had intended to do so.

"Hmm, so what news do you have to give me today?"

The man in the red kimono spoke with a deep and resonant tone. He had a strong and an imposing air around him.

"My lord." One of the men spoke while looking down to the ground.

"I'm sorry to bring you this bad news.

Shin'en 01, one of our strongest assassination unit, which was tasked with the capture of Kaguya, that was sent to Mt. Kyūkokuzan...

It has disappeared. There is no trace of the squad or its members.

We initially assumed they fled with the two swords, but upon inspecting the forest, there seems to be a large crater on the ground.

And there were several trees cut in half, and some seemed to be forcibly plucked out of the ground.

There is a chance that they were annihilated, my lord."

"Hmm...

Well, do not be mistaken; they were indeed annihilated.

I thought the old coot might have gone rusty, which is why I sent that Arashi boy to finish it if Satsuki messed up. He could kill anyone from a range with his meticulous control over ranged weapons."

He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. His anger was making his underlings really nervous, which was evident from their shaking.

The man sighed. "Hahh, Takahiro Tachibana, even at this age, you stand in my way as a thorn. Why won't you just cease to exist?" The man released his fists as he caught a sakura petal in his palm and then proceeded to crush it.

"About that, my Lord, we heard there was a cremation ceremony in the village held for him."

The man in the red kimono, who had a rather disappointed look on his face till then, slowly changed to a smirk. He then laughed.

"HAHAHAHA!" His laugh thundered throughout the mountain.

The two men suddenly started to feel a bit better, and they were able to breathe with ease, as the aura that was almost crushing him was a bit lighter now.

"Ahh, so you finally bit the dust, how nice, how wonderful, how magnificent."

The man said it in a rather gleeful tone.

"So was it Kaoru who did him in?"

"We don't know that, my lord.

But he's missing too.

Everyone in that squad is missing. The swords as well."

"WHAT!"

The two men shuddered in fear as he spoke. The two men could see the pinkish-red aura surging and rapidly increasing, which suddenly felt like a death grip on their necks.

"After we went to the trouble of killing the Ming prince to obtain the Kageki, when that news gets out, it's gonna turn quite a few heads, if not another all-out war.

Not to mention the prodigy that we groomed to be the successor to Hisakawa. He was supposed to be a major piece in my quest.

And that wretched Tachibana's sword.

That's a lot of losses considering the only gain we had was the death of one major thorn."

"I-I'm very sorry, My Lord. I deeply apologize for this-" One of the men spoke, while his voice shuddered and his body was shaking in fear.

The aura suddenly stopped surging. For a second, it was as if it had completely disappeared.

The man next to the one who spoke could only see a glimpse of the sword falling back into the sheath, and he turned to the side to see a part of the man's head sliding down and falling to the right side of the man's body.

Blood was gushing from his head like a relentless waterfall, staining everything in its path with the color crimson.

"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU APOLOGIZING FOR THIS?

DO YOU THINK I NEED YOU TO COVER UP FOR MY OWN INCOMPETENCY??"

The ki surge stopping suddenly was like a calm before the storm, a brief respite that only heightened the tension as it exploded at an even higher intensity right after.

The man in the red kimono then kicked the dead body, and it was thrown to the wall of the shrine. He calmed himself down afterwards.

"Damn Bastard, getting ahead of himself." The man said it in his normal voice.

The other man, who came with the dead man, was shaking even now. He was panting non-stop, and his eyes reflected the terror that he had just witnessed.

He was even more terrified, thinking of what his fate might be.

"You."

"Tell the Shin'en 03 unit to keep a close eye on the mountain and the village, keep an eye on who's exiting and entering.

We won't be able to enter the village with Kanroji there, but any chance you get to inspect, you search for the swords.

Whatever you do, under no circumstances should you engage Kanroji. If you happen to encounter him, deploy your ki to shield your ears and make a hasty retreat. Drop anything and everything and focus on escaping.

Understand that even this defense is futile against him, but every effort at damage control is critical when dealing with him.

I can't let my men be deer walking into the lion's den.

Now get moving, and get rid of this body while you are at it."

The man left quickly, carrying the dead body and the severed portion of the head.

"Hmm, the board is in motion once again. Some of the older pieces have receded from the field, and some new pieces have taken stage.

I can't help but ponder, who are the newcomers? What surprises do they hold in their arsenal for me?"

"I hope they give me some entertainment... before it's all over."

To be continued.