Arc: Fish Without a Sword
Chapter 25
At the end of April 1585, Takahashi decided to tell Yarimato about his decision.
Approaching Yarimato, who was training hard, Takahashi stopped him and, standing in front of him, said, “Listen to me, Yarimato, this is very important.”
Yarimato sheathed his sword, wiped the sweat from his forehead, turned to Takahashi, and said, “I’m listening, Takahashi-sensei.”
Takahashi: I will have to leave, and this time not for a month, but for three whole months, so I will be back before August 1st, and when I return, you will already be 17 years old, and by that time you will have to master the Waterfall technique.
Since you will have one last year of study left, during which you will have to master the Tsunami technique, wait for me and continue training.
Yarimato: How can that be?
How can I master this technique without you?
Takahashi: You already know and understand everything perfectly well.
That’s why I’m sure you’ll manage.
The maids will stay just in case, so that if someone comes, you won’t end up covered in blood again.
They will also feed you and look after the dojo, so you won’t be distracted from your training and will be able to master the Waterfall technique.
Takahashi put on a straw hat, took his sword and belongings in a bag on his back, and left the mountain without even saying where he was going.
Yarimato: Could it be that he needs to see that girl he was talking about?
I wonder how old she is?
Although I don’t even know how old Takahashi-sensei is.
Yarimato was left alone with the three girls, so he began to train even harder to master the Waterfall technique before Takahashi returned.
Yarimato: By the way, I’ve already forgotten what day I was born, because August 1st is when I started my training with Takahashi, and at that time I was 10 years old, so I’ll be 17 now, but when was my birthday before I became Takahashi’s student?
Yarimato thought to himself.
Yarimato continued to train and study the Waterfall technique, but after a month he got bored with it, and since there was no teacher, Yarimato considered himself free to do whatever he wanted.
So, hanging his katana on his belt, he descended the mountain and went somewhere to look at nature or train somewhere near a new body of water.
Yarimato was frightened by the fact that the last time he trained in the forest, he encountered that maniac, so this time, if Yarimato met someone, he would definitely be ready for battle. Read the latest chapters at g.com.
Walking along the path, Yarimato looked at the neighboring mountains, trees, and rivers.
A river flowed near the path, and most likely this river came from the waterfall under which Yarimato constantly trained his endurance.
After a couple of hours, Yarimato became hot, and since summer had already begun, the sun was beating down, so Yarimato went down to the river, took off his wooden clogs, pants, and kimono, put everything together with his katana on the ground, and entered the water to cool off in the crystal-clear river.
The water was not hot, but cool, so he could cool off in it.
Afterwards, Yarimato climbed onto a rock that protruded in the middle of the river, sat down on it, crossed his legs, turned his face towards the river’s current, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and began to listen to the river’s flow.
Yarimato felt as if he had to hear the movement of the water in order to repeat it, but now in the movement of his sword.
Yarimato was calm and focused, and this helped him get rid of any bad thoughts about himself.
Thanks to this, Yarimato learned not to blame himself for everything that happened through no fault of his own, such as the death of his parents and the death of Yoshi.
Even though Yarimato had already begun to forget the faces and voices of his parents, he was still upset and wanted to avenge them, but he didn’t even know that the person who had done this was already dead, and so Yarimato would not be able to avenge his parents’ deaths.
Yarimato: What will I do after I finish my training with Takahashi?
Where will I go?
Who will need me?
Yarimato did not know what would happen next or what he would do, but these questions did not bother him much because the most important thing for him was to learn all three of Takahashi’s techniques and become his first student to achieve this.
Sitting on a rock, Yarimato suddenly heard loud voices and, fearing that someone might be hurt, decided that he could help with his strength.
Jumping off the rock and swimming to the shore, Yarimato quickly put on his clothes, grabbed his katana, and ran toward the loud voices.
Yarimato ran straight down the path he had been walking on and, turning left just behind the hill, he saw a small house by the river surrounded by six bandits with swords in their hands.
Yarimato did not know what was going on there and therefore did not know who needed help.
Moreover, Yarimato thought that fighting six adults would be quite dangerous, as it would take a long time to get back to the mountain if he were injured.
Therefore, after thinking it over, Yarimato just watched what was happening from the sidelines.
The six swordsmen took something from the house and were about to leave when an old man ran out of the house, fell to his knees, and bowed, saying something to the swordsmen, but they laughed and walked away.
Yarimato: What was that?
Were they bandits?
Do they steal from elderly people?
Or did the old man owe them money, and they came to collect?
Yarimato sat behind a tree and in the bushes so that they would not notice him, and when the bandits had gone far enough away, Yarimato decided to check on the old man.
Yarimato approached the house and saw the old man sitting silently on the porch with his head bowed.
Yarimato: Excuse me, I was passing by and heard that something had happened here.
Are you all right?
Yarimato asked in a serious voice.
The old man raised his head and looked into Yarimato’s eyes and replied, “Go home, boy, this is none of your business.”
The old man was sad, and his gray beard and gray hair indicated his advanced age.
The old man got up and went into the house to clean up after his guests.
Yarimato decided to help and, standing on the street, said firmly, “I want to help you. I may be young, but I can still help you in some way.”
The old man turned to Yarimato and said, “I have nothing to offer you in return for your help, so do as you see fit.”
Yarimato took the katana from his belt and placed it on the porch, then tied his sleeves with a tasuki, a special ribbon that ties the sleeves of a kimono, crossing it on his back.
After entering the house, Yarimato helped clean up all the trash and broken items that were scattered on the floor.
Yarimato: It seems that the bandits were looking for food and valuables, so they destroyed everything to find what they needed.
Yarimato thought to himself.
After clearing away all the debris, Yarimato gathered it all into a large bag and took it outside, placing it nearby as he did not know where to throw it away.
Yarimato: I would like to ask what happened to you?
The old man sat down on the floor and replied heavily: They came to take my food and money, and since I am a fisherman, I will definitely have something to live on.
Yarimato: They couldn’t have taken all the food, could they?
Old man: If they hadn’t taken everything, I wouldn’t have begged them on my knees to leave me at least something.
They said that since I’m a fisherman, I’ll get myself some food, but they broke all my fishing rods, so I won’t be able to catch any fish.
Yarimato didn’t know what to do either, but then he had an idea and said, “You said you’re a fisherman? Teach me how to fish, and I’ll catch it with my own hands. I’m agile and have good reflexes. Tell me what to do, and I’ll help you.”
The old man didn’t understand why this guy wanted to help him so much, but since he had no choice, the old man agreed.