The End of "The Dragon Slayer"

Thirty years ago...

Suyou arrived at one of the largest dojos in the area.

He challenged and defeated every fighter there, including their master.

"Starting today, you'll become part of the "The Covenant" alliance! As we agreed, since you've all been defeated by me!"

After that, Suyou went from one dojo to another, defeating them one by one.

The more dojos he defeated, the more people began to fear him.

Eventually, he arrived at one of the last remaining dojos.

After defeating the dojo, one of its students stood before Suyou.

"You may have defeated our dojo and many others. But if you can't defeat the strongest samurai in Japan, we won't join you!"

Suyou frowned.

"What do you mean?!"

"Kenzo Saegusa!"

The student looked at Suyou seriously.

"He's the strongest samurai in all of Japan. No one has ever defeated him! If you can defeat him, we'll join you and do whatever you ask!"

Suyou smiled.

"I'll shut your mouth! I, Suyou, am the strongest samurai in all of Japan!"

Suyou immediately left to find the man named Kenzo.

He asked several people, and it turned out that many people knew Kenzo.

However, Kenzo wasn't known as a great or frightening samurai.

Instead, he was known as a kind man who was always smiling.

Suyou continued walking down a road until he finally stopped in front of a wooden fence.

Behind the fence stood a small dojo with a sign that read:

Saegusa.

"Kenzo Saegusa! This must be the place. There's no way I'm wrong."

Suyou knocked on the door.

Knock... Knock...

Step... Step...

The sound of footsteps came from inside.

The door then opened.

Creak...

A middle-aged man stood there.

"Who are you looking for, Young Man?" Kenzo asked.

"I'm looking for Kenzo. Does he live here?"

Kenzo looked Suyou up and down.

His eyes then fell on the two katanas hanging from Suyou's waist.

"What business do you have with Kenzo?"

"I want to speak with him."

Kenzo thought for a moment.

"Come in."

Kenzo and Suyou walked toward the courtyard.

"Have a seat," Kenzo said.

"Thank you."

"What would you like to talk to me about?"

"Are you Kenzo? It's an honor to meet you. I'm Suyou."

"Nice to meet you, Suyou."

Kenzo thought for a moment.

"Ah. I think I've heard about you from my friend, Takeshi. You built a dojo, didn't you?"

Suyou nodded.

"That's right. But..."

"But what?"

"I feel like it's still not enough."

Kenzo chuckled.

"You're joking, Young Man. Look at my dojo. I don't have much money, so my dojo is very small. Only about ten people can train here. Isn't your dojo quite large? Why do you still feel like it isn't enough?"

"It's not about the size of the place. It's just... I feel that nothing will ever be enough until I am recognized as the strongest samurai in Japan."

"Suyou, you don't need to worry so much about what other people say about you. Just be yourself and try to become the best version of yourself—"

Before Kenzo could finish, Suyou interrupted him.

"But this isn't because of other people. I... I can't accept being anything other than the strongest samurai!"

Kenzo fell silent for a moment.

"So, that's why you came here?"

Suyou nodded.

"Many people consider you the strongest samurai in Japan. As long as I haven't defeated you, I'll never be considered the strongest!"

Kenzo smiled.

"You don't have to defeat me to become the strongest, Suyou."

"No! Please! Just fight me once!"

There was a pleading look in Suyou's eyes.

Kenzo slowly took a deep breath.

"Wait here."

Kenzo then went inside the house.

Suyou waited outside while taking a fighting stance.

When Kenzo came back out, he saw Suyou with a completely different aura.

'He's strong. But I still don't know the extent of his abilities. Rather than wanting to defeat him, I feel sorry for him. However, this young man has already lost his way. I hope I can help him find his way back,' Kenzo thought.

Suyou and Kenzo stood facing each other.

They were about five to six meters apart.

Suyou stared at Kenzo.

"I'll take this seriously. Kenzo, please give me everything you've got."

Kenzo looked at him calmly and smiled.

"Let's begin, Suyou."

They bowed to each other.

A moment later, Suyou suddenly dashed forward with incredible speed.

His body disappeared from sight.

The ground beneath his feet cracked from the force of his movement.

In a split second, Kenzo turned to his right and took a deep breath.

Suyou was already there, swinging both of his swords at Kenzo.

Swish!

But Kenzo disappeared.

Swoosh!

In an instant, Kenzo moved and appeared where Suyou had been standing moments before.

Suyou was shocked by Kenzo's speed.

Kenzo closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

'I'll fight you seriously, Suyou,' Kenzo thought.

Then, Kenzo began to dance.

Suyou stood still, watching Kenzo dance.

Kenzo's body moved in an unusual pattern.

Every time his feet struck the ground, the marks he left behind were even deeper than Suyou's footprints.

Suyou swallowed hard.

'This man is incredibly strong! I can't attack him recklessly,' Suyou thought.

Kenzo spun around, moved to the side, and then came to a stop again.

Kenzo opened his eyes.

"Get ready, Suyou..." Kenzo muttered.

Suyou spun both of his swords and prepared to attack.

"Flower Dance..." Kenzo said.

Kenzo stomped his foot against the ground.

Crack!

The ground beneath his foot cracked, forming a deep hole.

Then, Kenzo disappeared.

Suyou hadn't even had the chance to attack.

He stood frozen as he witnessed Kenzo's incredible speed.

Several footprints suddenly appeared on the ground, surrounding Suyou.

Then...

Whoosh!

A powerful gust of wind swept across Suyou's body.

Kenzo was already standing directly behind him.

Suyou's clothes were torn apart by Kenzo's sword strikes.

His body was covered in bruises from the attack.

"Argghh!"

However, there were no deep wounds.

Suyou fell to the ground in a sitting position.

He was completely confused.

He had absolutely no idea what had just happened.

Suyou looked around.

There were many footprints left behind by Kenzo around him.

Yet he hadn't heard Kenzo's footsteps at all.

Suyou remained frozen.

His eyes trembled as he realized the incredible power Kenzo had just displayed.

Kenzo sheathed his katana.

"I'm not injured? How's that possible?!" Suyou asked as he grabbed his torn clothes.

He also groaned softly from the pain caused by the bruises left by Kenzo's sword strikes.

Kenzo turned around and looked at Suyou.

"This is a sword passed down from my ancestors. It has a reverse blade. My ancestors have used this sword for generations, and it can't be used to kill."

"Then you weren't fighting me seriously."

"Quite the opposite. Because I wanted to fight you seriously, I used this sword. That way, I could use all of my strength without having to kill you."

Kenzo simply smiled.

After that battle, Suyou never returned to challenge Kenzo again.

He also never attacked another dojo again.

At present...

"Tell me your name!" Suyou demanded.

"I'm Yūto Saegusa."

Suyou laughed.

"Hahaha... Hahaha... So that's it! You're just like him!"

Suyou stared deeply at Yūto.

"Kill me! You haven't defeated me if you don't kill me!"

Yūto turned to face Suyou.

"Come on, kill me! You're weak! If you don't kill me, I'll come back and take the lives of everyone you care about!" Suyou said.

Suyou smiled.

Yūto remained silent.

"How about this? Since you're a member of the Saegusa clan, would you like me to tell you about the night your entire family was massacred?!" Suyou said.

Yūto became furious when Suyou brought up the massacre of his family again.

His grip tightened around his katana.

He slowly drew it from its sheath.

"They screamed! They cried! You know? Even the police had trouble identifying their faces because I ordered "The Brothers" to tear all their faces apart!" Suyou said.

"Shut up! Stop talking!"

"Why?! You can't accept the fact that you're alone, Yūto! You're just like me! That's why you have to kill me so you can avenge your family!"

"Shut up! I said shut up!"

"Yūto, don't let him provoke you! You mustn't kill him!" Kenji shouted from a distance.

Suyou laughed.

"Come on, kill me!"

Yūto's eyes turned dark.

He immediately swung his sword toward Suyou's neck.

Swish!

But at that exact moment...

...the sound of someone running came from behind.

Step! Step!

Then...

Hug!

Someone hugged Yūto from behind.

"Yūto... Stop... That's enough... It's all over now..."

Yūto froze.

That voice felt so familiar.

"A true samurai doesn't kill an opponent who can no longer fight. A true samurai respects and protects the honor of his family," Aoi said.

Yūto was completely frozen.

"If you kill him, you'll only destroy your family's honor," Aoi said.

'Mother?'  Yūto thought.

He stopped his sword.

'Is that really you?'  Yūto thought.

Eighteen years ago...

Mikoto was holding ten-month-old Yūto in her arms.

"Yūto, one day you'll become the heir of the Saegusa clan."

Yūto looked into his mother's eyes.

"If you become a samurai, you must never kill an opponent who's no longer able to fight," Mikoto said.

Mikoto smiled gently.

"One day, you must also protect and preserve the honor of our family name. Do you understand?"

Yūto simply stared at his mother's face.

Mikoto smiled and hugged Yūto.

At present...

Yūto stopped his attack just before the blade of his sword pierced Suyou's neck.

The tip of his sword left only a thin cut on Suyou's neck.

Yūto remained silent for a moment.

"Aoi... Thank you," Yūto muttered.

Then, he sheathed his sword.

Not long after, all of Yūto's strength suddenly left his body.

His vision slowly turned dark.

His body staggered.

Then...

Thud!

Yūto lost consciousness and collapsed.