The Master and His Student

Kenji's sword struck Yūto's katana again.

Clang!

Sparks flew between the two swords.

Yūto was pushed several steps backward.

He gripped his katana tightly with both hands, but his palms were beginning to feel numb from the continuous clashes.

Kenji gave him no chance to catch his breath.

He immediately charged forward again.

A slash from the right.

Clang!

Yūto blocked it.

Clang!

A slash from the left.

Clang!

From above.

Clang!

From below.

Clang!

Kenji continued attacking without stopping.

His movements were so fast that Yūto could only see flashes of the sword coming from different directions.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Sparks continued to fly through the air.

Yūto kept retreating while maintaining his defense.

There was no hesitation in any of Kenji's movements.

There was no mercy.

Every slash carried enough power to end the fight with just one mistake.

Yūto tried to find an opening.

But there was none.

Whenever he tried to counterattack, Kenji immediately cut off his path.

Swish!

The tip of Kenji's sword nearly struck Yūto's face.

Yūto tilted his head.

The sword passed only a few centimeters from his cheek.

Yūto quickly moved backward.

"Hah... Hah..."

He was beginning to run out of breath.

His chest rose and fell rapidly.

Yet Kenji was still standing there, barely showing any change in his breathing.

He stared at Yūto with a sharp gaze.

"What's wrong, Yūto?! Is that all you've got?!"

A few moments later, Kenji charged forward again.

Boom!

Kenji's sword struck Yūto's katana with tremendous force.

Yūto was pushed several meters backward.

His feet dragged across the ground.

Skrrt!

Kenji moved incredibly fast.

A horizontal slash came toward Yūto's neck.

Swoosh!

Yūto lowered his head.

Kenji's sword passed directly over his hair.

Yūto immediately turned his body and thrust his katana toward Kenji's chest.

However, Kenji moved his body to the side.

Yūto's attack missed.

With one quick movement, Kenji spun his sword and struck the side of Yūto's katana.

Clang!

Yūto's hand trembled.

His katana almost slipped from his grip.

Kenji then pulled his sword back.

He raised it high.

Yūto quickly raised his katana to defend himself.

Clang!

Kenji's sword came crashing down from above.

Yūto held it back with all his strength.

Both swords trembled violently.

Kenji continued pushing downward.

Yūto gritted his teeth.

"Ughhh..."

Yūto's knees slowly bent.

Kenji stared at him.

Then...

Wham!

Kenji spun around and kicked Yūto hard in the stomach.

"Ughh!"

Yūto's body was sent flying backward.

He slammed hard into the ground.

Boom!

His body rolled several times before finally coming to a stop.

Yūto tried to get back up.

One of his hands pressed against the ground.

His hand was trembling.

"Hah... Hah... Hah..."

Yūto was breathing heavily.

He held his stomach.

Pain spread throughout his entire body.

Kenji slowly walked toward him.

"If that's all you've got, there's no way you can defeat Suyou!"

Kenji's voice was heavy and cold.

Yūto immediately fell silent for a moment.

That name changed his expression.

"Suyou."

The man who'd been the main goal of Yūto's journey all this time.

Kenji watched Yūto's expression.

"You think you can win just by relying on your anger?!"

Yūto clenched his fist.

Kenji continued speaking.

"This world only sides with absolute strength!"

Kenji's gaze grew sharper.

"You're still ten years too soon to fight Suyou, Yūto..."

Yūto slowly raised his head.

Kenji then took a fighting stance.

His body lowered slightly.

His sword was positioned beside his body.

He was ready to attack.

"Perhaps this world doesn't need you yet, Yūto..." Kenji muttered.

The wind blew between them.

Kenji looked at Yūto coldly.

"I will gladly end your journey..."

But before Kenji could move...

"Stop!" a man said.

Kenji suddenly stopped.

The voice came from behind him, from somewhere inside the house.

"I've had enough of listening to your nonsense, Mr. Handsome."

William stood behind Kenji.

His body still looked exhausted, but a mocking smile appeared on his face.

Kenji slowly lowered his fighting stance.

He stood straight and then turned around.

"Hmm..."

Kenji looked at William.

"I think I've already shown you mercy by choosing not to kill you."

His gaze became even colder.

"But it seems you've chosen to die by my hand?"

Kenji gripped his sword.

"If that's what you want, then so be it. This will be quick. I'll make sure you don't feel any pain."

William took a fighting stance.

"You think this time will end the same way as before?" William taunted.

He smiled.

"You're way too confident, Mr. Handsome. Come at me."

Kenji remained silent.

Then...

"Die..." Kenji muttered.

In an instant...

Whiz!

Kenji's body shot toward William at incredible speed.

The ground beneath his feet scattered.

William didn't move.

Kenji came closer and closer.

His sword was already raised.

He was ready to slash.

But...

"Now!" William shouted.

Kenji's eyes widened.

He turned his head to the right.

"What?!"

From the side, an iron bar suddenly flew toward Kenji's body.

Targyan was hiding behind a wall.

Both of his hands gripped the iron bar.

He swung it with all his strength toward Kenji's path.

Whoom!

Kenji was startled.

However, his reflexes kicked in within a fraction of a second.

He twisted his body and avoided the attack in a position resembling a backbend.

The iron bar passed directly over his body.

Whoosh!

But when he looked upward...

...Kenji's eyes suddenly widened.

David was already in the air.

He had jumped from his hiding place.

"What?! How's this possible? They...?!"

David aimed his fist directly at Kenji.

Smack!

David's powerful punch struck Kenji directly in the stomach.

Boom!

Kenji's body was sent flying, slammed into the floor, and bounced off it again.

Blood came out of his mouth.

"Ugh... Arrrghhh..."

Crash!

Clunk!

His sword slipped from his hand and was thrown far away.

Kenji fell silent.

His body didn't move.

He was unconscious.

David stood in front of Kenji and looked down at him.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Then David touched his earpiece.

"Thanks for the strategy, Torino."

Torino's voice came through the communication device.

"It was also thanks to your teamwork."

William smiled.

"This time, I admit that you're truly amazing, Torino."

David nodded.

Targyan remained silent as he listened to their conversation.

David then looked at him.

"Targyan... Thank you. You were amazing too."

Targyan raised his head.

"I didn't do anything. Even my attack missed."

Torino immediately replied through the communication device.

"Your missed attack is exactly what made David's attack so accurate."

Targyan looked confused.

"Really?"

"Of course. That's why I told David to prepare to jump toward Kenji. I knew that with Kenji's incredible speed, he'd definitely avoid your surprise attack."

Torino paused for a moment.

"And at that moment, Kenji had already stepped into the real trap."

Targyan remained silent.

He looked at William, then at David.

Slowly, the corners of his lips lifted.

A small smile appeared on his face.

William immediately pointed at him.

"Look, the gorilla is smiling."

David also smiled as he looked at Targyan.

"Really?" Torino said.

Targyan suddenly laughed.

"Hahaha... Hahahaha.... You guys really amaze me."

His laughter grew louder.

"I've never had friends who could make me feel useful."

He looked at them one by one.

"I've lived alone for decades without anyone caring about me."

Targyan laughed again.

"Now I truly feel useful. Hahaha!"

Without realizing it, Targyan walked toward William.

Then he tightly hugged William.

"Hahaha!"

"Ugh..."

William immediately had trouble breathing.

"Hey, Gorilla. Put me down. Are you trying to kill me?"

Only then did Targyan realize that he'd been hugging William too tightly.

"Ah. Sorry..."

He immediately released William.

William took a deep breath.

"Hah... Hah..."

David laughed.

Torino also laughed through the communication device.

For a moment, the tension that had filled the place disappeared.

They laughed together.

However, not long after...

David suddenly stopped laughing.

His gaze turned toward the distance.

"Yūto..." he muttered.

Everyone immediately turned around.

In the distance, Yūto's body was lying on the ground.

Yūto had passed out.

David immediately ran toward him.

"Yūto!"

William and Targyan followed.

Torino, who'd been hiding inside their van all this time, also quickly opened the door and ran out to join David and the others.

David knelt beside Yūto's body.

He immediately checked his condition.

"Yūto..."

There was no response.

Yūto's eyes were tightly closed.

His breathing was weak.

David sighed in relief.

"He's still breathing."

They moved Yūto into the van and let him rest there.

A few moments later, they returned inside Kenji's house.

However, after walking only a few steps...

David stopped.

His eyes swept across the room.

Something felt wrong.

"Where's Kenji...?"

William and Targyan immediately looked toward the place where Kenji had been lying.

Empty.

Kenji's body was gone.

His sword was gone as well.

David immediately became alert.

"Torino, please track all the CCTV cameras in Kenji's house."

"What's wrong?"

"Kenji is gone!"

Torino immediately opened his laptop screen.

His expression became serious again.

Torino began operating his device.

"I'll track him. I need a few seconds to break through the security code."

Torino's fingers moved quickly across the device.

A few seconds later, an image from one of the cameras appeared.

Torino narrowed his eyes.

"Found him."

"Good. Where is he?" David asked.

"He just came out of a room."

"Where's he going?"

"He's walking toward you, but..."

Torino paused for a moment.

"But what?!" William asked.

"It looks like he's carrying something in his hand."

David, William, and Targyan immediately took ready positions.

A few seconds later, Kenji appeared from the hallway.

His steps were unsteady.

One hand held his stomach, where David's punch had landed earlier.

His other hand was raised, holding a book.

His face looked pale.

However, the look in his eyes remained the same.

Calm.

Kenji stopped several meters away from them.

"I don't want to fight anymore."

David remained cautious.

Kenji raised the small book.

"I only want you to give this book to Yūto."

Kenji then held the book out toward David.

David slowly stepped closer.

However, William shouted a warning.

"David! Be careful. He's dangerous!"

David turned toward William.

"Your shouting startled me, William."

"Ah. Sorry."

David turned his attention back to Kenji.

Then he took the book.

David looked at the cover.

A name was written on it.

'SAEGUSA — FLOWER DANCE'

David fell silent.

Kenji watched his reaction.

"I think this book will be perfect for him."

Kenji looked at the book.

"This book belonged to the Saegusa Clan, which was wiped out by Suyou and "The Brothers" several years ago."

"Saegusa..." David muttered quietly.

Kenji sighed.

"I'm sure Yūto's kenjutsu will become incredible if he can learn the techniques written in this book."

Kenji looked at David.

David remained silent for a moment.

"I noticed that some of Yūto's movements are similar to those written in this book," Kenji said.

Kenji looked at the book.

David gripped it more tightly.

"Yūto is also from the Saegusa Clan..." David muttered.

David's gaze became sharp as he looked at Kenji.

Kenji was slightly surprised.

"Eighteen years ago, I found Yūto in a house where his family had been killed," David said.

The atmosphere became silent.

"I heard the cry of a baby and followed the sound into a room."

David looked at the book in his hand.

"Then I took Yūto and raised him in America."

Kenji remained silent for a few moments.

"Hmm..."

Kenji slowly nodded.

"So that's how it happened... So meeting Yūto when I taught him kenjutsu in America was fate, leading him back to his homeland of Japan."

David didn't reply.

The atmosphere fell silent once again.

Only the sound of the wind could be heard blowing through Kenji's residence.