Chapter 217 Samurai Life-and-Death Duel
To make it easier to find a samurai without spending too much, the farmers chose a place to stay in a secluded corner within the southern street, where poor people moved about. However, just outside was the main intersection for entering and leaving the small town. Half the people who went in or out of the town passed through this spot.
In this world, it was the season approaching the spring harvest. On the main street, commoners in worn-out kimonos, revealing their thighs, could be seen everywhere. Those in formal attire were mostly weapon-bearing samurai, big merchants, and a few minor government officials. However, these types of people rarely appeared here.
Shirou and young Yukino passed through the alley and came out onto the street, then walked east. Along the way, they gradually began to see some larger houses. The East Street was the accommodation area, lined with inns for lodging and rented houses, which were where respectable merchants and samurai stayed.
Coming here, apart from a few traveling vendors using shoulder poles to carry two large bamboo baskets and hawk their goods, the number of people in formal attire increased.
"Master, where exactly is that swordsman?" young Yukino looked around.
"Don't be anxious. If what Tawara said is true, he should be a swordsman who enjoys dueling. I believe someone will soon tell us where he is," Shirou said with a smile.
Indeed, after walking for less than a minute, a courtyard ahead was surrounded by people.
It was a vacant civilian house. The courtyard was a plot of land overgrown with weeds, and its perimeter was a simple, low earthen wall made of yellow mud and sand, built up to the height of a person's navel, serving as a rudimentary fence. Now, this "fence" only served as a dividing line.
This was because the fence only blocked one side; the left and right sides were completely open. Originally, the sides should have had bamboo fences and been planted with some flowers and vegetation, but this was just a vacant house rented for temporary residence, so they weren't particular about it.
It was precisely for this reason that the people standing outside could get an unobstructed view of the courtyard.
Shirou and young Yukino walked up to the fence and saw two adult men standing opposite each other inside the courtyard.
One was a tall, corpulent man with a full beard, wearing a dark blue kimono. His eyes were fierce, and his body was thick and muscular, making him look very robust.
The other was a handsome man in a blue samurai outfit, his expression calm and unmoving, as if the upcoming event could not stir an ounce of excitement in him.
"Ah, Master, it's that person from before," said young Yukino.
"It is," Shirou recognized the bearded, hefty samurai they had first encountered that day. He hadn't expected him to be here dueling someone instead of looking for work after leaving.
At this moment, the two men were holding bamboo staffs found in a bamboo grove—hard and elastic katsura bamboo cut to the same thickness—with the long, slender leaves and branches removed to serve as practice bamboo swords.
"Sasaki! You're a swordsman who came from afar. In just three days here, you've already defeated nine local samurai. But, as long as I'm here, after you lose, you must honestly leave this town!"
"No, you are not my opponent," the man said arrogantly.
"How arrogant! I'll make you concede right now! Are you ready?" the bearded man cursed and said.
The young man named Sasaki held the temporary bamboo sword steadily with both hands, lowering it and holding it in front of his left leg. He stepped forward with his left foot, adopting a cutting stance. Although it was not as long as the nodachi (field sword) placed on the veranda, he held it with the caution due to a lethal weapon.
The bearded man raised both hands, lifting his bamboo sword high above his head, and shouting repeatedly, trying to show the spirit of splitting a mountain.
The two samurai belonged to different sword styles, and the outcome would be decided in an instant.
The blue bamboo sword flashed with two arcs of light.
Sasaki's strike landed first, from the bearded man's shoulder down to his chest.
The bearded man's downward strike stopped on Sasaki's shoulder.
"Hey! This counts as a draw, right!" the bearded man said with a smug smile.
"No, I won," the blue-robed man said calmly.
"What! I said it was a draw! Your bamboo sword hit me too!" the bearded man shouted in protest.
"If it were a real sword, you would have died before you could strike me," the blue-robed man put down the bamboo sword, picked up the long sword that was on the veranda, and, no longer wanting to argue with the bearded man, turned to leave.
"Wait! If neither of us is satisfied with this result, let's use the real things to decide the victor!" the bearded man shouted furiously, throwing away his bamboo sword and drawing his personal sword.
"You are not my opponent. Give up," the blue-robed man advised.
"No! I haven't lost! Duel!" the bearded man insisted.
"Is that so," the blue-robed man said no more, drawing his favorite nodachi, 'Bizen Osafune Nagamitsu,' also known as 'Monohoshi Zao' (The Laundry Drying Pole). The blade was over three shaku and two sun long (approx. 97 cm), with a blue and gold hilt and two blue sword tassels tied to it.
Ordinarily, in an intense one-on-one duel, a shorter weapon holds an advantage, as an overly long weapon, once blocked and closed in on, can put one at a disadvantage. It was even more so for a ridiculously long blade like the Monohoshi Zao, which was over a meter long.
Besides the blue-robed man himself, few others would dare to do this.
Because a katana, in pursuit of sharpness, is very thin. The blade can easily chip or curl if struck forcefully against another. Therefore, a samurai's sword training pursues the secret technique that can deliver a decisive kill in a single strike.
His name was Sasaki Kojiro. He was once a master of the Chūjō-ryū school and later created his own unique sword technique. The reason he chose this long sword was his absolute confidence in his ability to strike his opponent.
"It seems the winner has been decided," Shirou said.
"Is that so? But the other person is much stronger; he should have a chance, right?" young Yukino said, not quite understanding.
The dark-blue-robed, bearded man felt the aura of the blue-robed man and couldn't help but feel fear.
But the words had been spoken, and there was no turning back. A samurai had his pride. The bearded man drew his sword and raised it above his head.
"Hraaaaaa!!!" the bearded man charged toward the blue-robed man, raising his sword.
In that instant, the 'Monohoshi Zao' in the blue-robed man's hand flashed with two streaks of light. Although it seemed to be only one swing, two slashes were performed simultaneously. One flash sealed the bearded man's path of retreat, and the other flash brought the duel to an end.
The bearded man's eyes were wide with disbelief. Before his raised katana could descend, the long blade had already cut across his chest. The hefty, strong man lost his strength and collapsed onto the grass.
"Amazing!" Yukino exclaimed, her round eyes wide.
"Indeed," Shirou had to admit that Kojiro in this world was a top-tier swordsman.
Shirou knew that Kojiro had used his Secret Sword, 'Tsubame Gaeshi' (Swallow Reversal), a terrifying, undefendable sword technique.
Legend has it that Kojiro developed this unparalleled technique while practicing cutting swallows, simultaneously delivering three cuts at different positions, a divine skill akin to a dimensional fold.
The technique used this time only produced two flashes, yet it was enough to instantly kill a competent samurai with no chance of retaliation.
The blue-robed man flicked the blood off his blade and sheathed it. He didn't look at the fallen opponent, turning and walking away.
Although he had won the duel, it was merely a response to the dignity of the one who had proposed it. He took no pleasure in such a one-sided fight.
Since mastering this move, he had traveled across the land, seeking out renowned, true master swordsmen to test his skill against, and he had yet to suffer a single defeat.
Since that one time he cut the swallow, he had never again experienced the joy of swinging a sword. No matter whom he struck down or what honors he gained, nothing made him truly happy.
Seeing the man about to leave, Shirou quickly took Yukino and hurried after him.
"Please wait, Swordsman," Yukino called out.
"Oh, I understand, lady whose voice sounds beautiful," Kojiro stopped, showing a flirtatious side. However, when he saw the person who spoke, he sighed in disappointment, "It's just a child. I really don't have any luck with women..."
"Your sword technique just now was truly incredible," Shirou stepped forward and praised him.
"It was just a boring strike, merely a response required when someone challenges me. Seeing you brought a child, you're not here to duel me, are you? May I ask what business you have?" Kojiro withdrew his smile, sized up Shirou, and said coldly.
"With your skill, staying in a town like this is a waste. If you're no longer interested in fighting those who challenge you, would you be interested in cutting down about forty bandits?" Shirou then explained to Kojiro the situation regarding the farmers hiring samurai to fight the bandits.
"Bandits? Do men like you still meddle in others' affairs? It's a miracle you've survived this long. Staying here might cause trouble, so I'll take my leave first." The blue-robed swordsman smiled and said, but did not reply, seeming uninterested. He turned and slowly walked away.
"We're staying at an inn on South Street. You're welcome to visit if you change your mind," Shirou called out to the swordsman.
"Master, what a shame. If a master of that sword skill joined us, the fight would be secure," young Yukino said.
"It is, but we can't rush this. Let's go back for now," Shirou replied.
As Shirou and Yukino walked toward the opposite direction, a group of people came running and swarming toward them. They were likely people who heard about a samurai duel resulting in a death and came to watch.
"Move aside! Move aside!"
"The Security Team is coming! Stay back, idlers!"
Unbeknownst to Shirou, after he left, a group of female samurai walked over—the same fierce female samurai Shirou had encountered earlier.
"Honestly, those foolish low-ranking samurai can't earn merits on the battlefield, so they just fight out of spite here. Now we have to clean up their mess. Even if we have to step in, couldn't it be for men who are at least somewhat useful? Pfft!" a tall, fierce woman glared at the corpse on the ground and complained disgustedly.
"Where is the other samurai? Did he run? If we find him, he must help us deal with the body! They just keep causing us trouble!" The muscular woman gripped her fists, producing a cracking sound.
"Hey! Newcomer, carry him and take him to the local government office to be processed, then we'll bury them all together," commanded the leader, a plus-sized captain who stood over eight shaku (approx. 2.4 meters) tall.
"Eh? I have to carry him alone?" A samurai girl with light pink hair and a black bow, who was the smallest and slightest among the hefty women of the Security Team, reluctantly agreed, clearly struggling.
"What?! You can't carry him, little one? We don't employ dead weight in the Security Team!" the plump captain yelled, glaring at the girl.
"No! I can carry him!" the samurai girl quickly agreed. It was hard to make a living here. In her past life, she had become the captain of the First Division based on her sword skills. She didn't expect that in this ancient world, sword skills alone were not enough, and one also needed strength.
The girl crouched down, suppressed her nausea, and hoisted the burly, bearded man, who was several sizes bigger than her, onto her back. Dead bodies were heavier. She struggled to stand up.
She slightly overexerted herself, getting a stitch in her side. She stumbled and crouched on the ground, coughing twice, and spat out a reddish liquid.
"Not again... Why is it that you're fine when you eat and rest, but you spit blood whenever you have to work..." the captain looked at the girl and covered her face, saying.
"I'm sorry, this is beyond my control," the girl said with a long face. She couldn't control this passive skill at all and had no idea when it would activate.
"Forget it! Newcomer, take a rest and follow us later." The muscular, fierce woman stepped forward, grabbed the corpse by the neck with one hand, effortlessly lifted it, and quickly walked away.
"Yes..." the samurai girl answered, feeling defeated. She had heard there were many female samurai here and thought she could make many friends. She didn't expect the women here to be gorillas even bigger than Kondou-san.
"Pfft... Hahaha! Okita is still so pathetic even in this world!!" At that moment, a unique, haughty girl's burst of laughter came from the side.
A long-haired girl in a black military uniform and a gold sun-crested hat wiped tears from the corners of her eyes, revealing ruby-like pupils.
"What are you laughing at! You Nobu! You got kicked out by the lord of this town when you came here, didn't you!" Okita Souji scolded unhappily.
"No! That couldn't be helped! It's because the bad Nobu ran out on its own! Otherwise, with my original power, I could immediately gather men and take down this castle!" the black-haired girl proclaimed confidently.
"Yes, yes..." Souji replied casually, not believing the black-haired girl at all.
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