The Final Confrontation

Sakamoto grabbed Jin by the arm and threw him.

Whoosh!

Jin twisted his body in midair and landed on both feet.

Sakamoto then turned toward Yūto.

"Yūto, remember why you came here. Don't you want to stop Suyou?" Sakamoto said while holding his shoulder.

Yūto looked at Sakamoto.

Sakamoto smiled at him.

"Don't disappoint those who sacrificed themselves to help you get this far, Yūto."

Yūto's eyes slowly became focused again.

For a moment, he remembered all the sacrifices his friends had made to help him reach this point.

"Thank you, Sakamoto."

Sakamoto nodded and smiled.

"No problem. Let me handle—"

Before Sakamoto could finish speaking, Jin suddenly rushed forward and kicked him.

Wham!

Sakamoto was sent flying and crashed hard into the wall.

Dust immediately filled the air and covered his body.

"Sakamoto!" Yūto shouted.

Jin stood in front of Yūto and pointed his sword at him.

""The White Ronin", you must die by my hand!"

Jin immediately swung his sword at Yūto.

Swoosh!

Yūto raised his katana and blocked the attack.

Clang!

Small sparks flew as their swords collided.

Yūto then spun around and kicked Jin directly in the chest.

Jin quickly avoided the kick by jumping several steps backward.

The dust slowly disappeared.

From behind the cloud of dust, Sakamoto stood up and brushed the dust off his clothes.

"Hmm... It seems you're the kind of master who's cruel to his student," Sakamoto muttered.

Sakamoto smiled.

"Well, it seems we have the same personality."

Yūto looked at Sakamoto.

"Are you okay?"

Sakamoto nodded.

"I'm fine."

However, blood was flowing from the corner of his mouth.

Sakamoto then looked at Yūto seriously.

"Yūto, go."

Jin smiled.

"You think you can defeat me, Sakamoto?!"

Sakamoto turned toward him and smiled back.

"I'm not just thinking about it. I'm going to prove it, Master."

Yūto helped Kenji up, and the two of them left.

Jin wouldn't let that happen.

He immediately moved to chase after them.

Swung!

His sword swung toward them at incredible speed.

But...

Clang!

Sakamoto appeared in front of him and stopped the attack with his sword.

"Your opponent is me now, Master."

Jin grinned.

"You're too confident, Sakamoto."

Sakamoto smiled.

"Of course. Soon, you'll know why."

Sakamoto spun his body and delivered a powerful kick toward Jin.

Whoosh!

Jin avoided it by jumping backward.

But Sakamoto didn't give him a chance to recover.

In an instant, Sakamoto rushed forward at high speed.

His sword moved rapidly, striking toward Jin from different directions.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Jin blocked every attack.

Suddenly, Sakamoto changed the direction of his movement.

His body seemed to disappear from Jin's sight.

"!"

Sakamoto appeared right behind him.

Without wasting any time, he swung his sword toward Jin's neck.

Swoosh!

Jin was shocked and quickly moved his body to the side.

Slash!

The sword only grazed his ear.

A small part of Jin's ear was cut off.

Blood immediately flowed from the wound.

Jin moved several steps away while holding his ear.

'This boy is incredibly fast! What has he learned all this time...?'  Jin thought.

Sakamoto stood several meters away, smiling.

"That was close. This fight almost ended too easily."

Jin walked toward a burning candle.

He picked up one of the candles and let the hot wax drip directly onto the wound on his ear.

"Aaaarghhh!"

He screamed in pain as the hot wax touched his wound.

However, after a few moments, he stood straight again.

Meanwhile, Yūto and Kenji continued moving closer to Suyou's location.

A few moments later, Kenji's steps began to slow down.

"Yūto, stop."

Yūto stopped as well and looked at him.

"I don't think I can walk anymore. I have to stop here. If I go to Suyou's place in this condition, I'll only slow you down," Kenji said.

"But, Master?"

"You go ahead, Yūto. I believe you can defeat Suyou."

Kenji slowly took a breath.

"Stay calm. Don't let your anger consume you."

Yūto remained silent for a moment.

Kenji then looked deeply into his eyes.

"Yūto, you must remember. The blood of the Saegusa clan flows through your veins..."

Yūto looked deeply at Kenji.

"Master! Thank you..."

Yūto then turned around and ran toward the large gate at the top of the hill.

A few minutes later, Yūto arrived in front of the large gate.

He stopped for a moment and took a deep breath.

He then pushed the large door open.

Creak...

The door slowly opened.

Yūto walked inside slowly.

It was 11:30 p.m..

The place was completely silent.

Yūto looked into the distance.

There, he saw Suyou sitting on his throne, while Tadayoshi stood beside him.

Yūto's eyes filled with anger when he saw Suyou smiling in the distance.

"Finally, you have arrived, "The White Ronin"..." Suyou said from across the room.

"Where's Aoi?!"

Suyou frowned.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Let Aoi go! She has nothing to do with any of this!"

"I truly don't understand what you're talking about."

Suyou turned toward Tadayoshi.

"What does he mean, Tadayoshi?"

"I don't understand what he means either."

"Don't lie to me! You sent me a photo saying that you'd captured Aoi!"

"Sent you a photo? I'm not even holding a phone right now. How could I've sent you a photo?"

Yūto clenched his fists.

"Why?! Why do you always do whatever you want?! You've hurt people and taken away what belongs to them! You even kill people just because they're different from you!"

Suyou chuckled.

"Even if I explain it to you, you won't understand. One day, you'll understand."

"Do you really think killing people is the right thing to do?!"

Suyou looked at Yūto seriously.

"Do you really think you understand what's right?"

"Of course! We mustn't take what belongs to others, hurt others, or even kill them!"

Suyou slowly stood up from his throne.

"You call that the truth? To me, it looks like weakness!"

His gaze became sharper.

"Everyone must uphold the truth! Because truth is power!" Yūto said.

Suyou stepped forward.

"Only those who are strong enough can enforce truth and justice. Those who are weak must follow the rules! Do you understand?!" Suyou said with a smile.

Yūto stared at him fiercely.

"This time, I don't need to hold back anymore!" Yūto muttered.

Suyou's smile grew wider.

"Come at me. I want to see how strong you really are!"

Yūto closed his eyes and slowly took a deep breath.

For a moment, the room became completely silent.

"Flower Dance..."

Whoosh!

Yūto's body shot forward.

Swoosh!

His sword moved in a difficult-to-predict pattern.

Swish!

One slash after another flew toward Suyou.

Swish! Swish!

Suyou quickly moved to the side and avoided Yūto's attacks.

Tadayoshi also managed to avoid them, but his arm was grazed by Yūto's sword.

Slash!

A thin line of blood appeared on his arm.

At the same time, Suyou's throne was cut in half.

Crack!

Dust flew through the air.

But Yūto didn't stop.

He used the wall behind the throne as a foothold.

He pushed off the wall with his foot and launched himself toward Suyou again.

Swoosh!

Yūto attacked relentlessly.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Suyou avoided every attack with ease, as if he were dancing.

One step to the left.

One step to the right.

His body continued to move with Yūto's attacks, using precise movements.

Yūto changed the direction of his attacks.

But Suyou jumped backward again.

Yūto immediately used his zigzag attack and moved rapidly toward Suyou.

His body moved left and right at incredible speed.

The first strike was blocked by Suyou's two swords.

Clang!

Boom!

Yūto's katana and Suyou's two swords collided with tremendous force.

Suyou smiled.

"Is that all you've got, "The White Ronin"?"

Yūto frowned.

He spun his body and made a quick forward thrust.

Swoosh!

Suyou blocked Yūto's attack with his two swords crossed in front of him.

Clang!

Yūto didn't stop.

He lowered his body and swept his leg toward Suyou's feet.

Whoosh!

Yūto's leg swept low across the floor.

Suyou lost his balance.

Yūto immediately took advantage of the opening.

He spun his body and swung his sword toward Suyou's neck.

Swung!

However, Suyou quickly moved his neck to the side.

Yūto's sword passed only a few centimeters from his neck.

Swoosh!

Yūto attacked again with several more slashes.

One. Two. Three.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

Yūto then disappeared from Suyou's sight.

"!"

In an instant, Yūto appeared above him.

He raised his sword high before swinging it horizontally toward Suyou.

Swish!

Suyou raised both of his swords.

Clang!

Boom!

The powerful impact forced Suyou backward several meters.

His feet dragged across the floor, leaving marks behind.

He stared at Yūto through the gap between his crossed swords.

Suyou smiled.

For the first time, his eyes showed a much more serious expression.

Tadayoshi felt a chill run down his spine as he watched the two of them fight.

"Who exactly is that boy?"

Tadayoshi swallowed hard.

"But Lord Suyou hasn't even attacked yet. This fight... is truly terrifying!" Tadayoshi muttered.