Edo,
This was one of the most prosperous places in Japan during this era.
With a population of over a million, it was practically a place where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold; even beggars on the streets would be driven away.
Inside the Shieikan, the Kondo dojo of Tennen Rishin-ryū.
In the courtyard, under a blooming cherry blossom tree.
“Are you the one called Watanabe Mitsuyuki?” The young girl looked up slightly, curiously eyeing the slightly taller boy of the same age before her.
Watanabe Mitsuyuki, who held the title of child prodigy and was born into the renowned Watanabe swordsmanship family, already had a certain reputation in Edo despite his youth.
“You don’t look like a monster?”
The innocent girl voiced her pure confusion.
This caused the older sister beside her to quickly pull her hand and look at Watanabe Mitsuyuki with an apologetic gaze.
The title of ‘monster’ stemmed from Watanabe Mitsuyuki’s relentless training and his terrifying progress.
After all, at only nine years old, he had already obtained a Menkyo certificate from Kondo Shusuke!
In Japan, samurai of various schools could be roughly classified into Kirigami, Mokuroku, Menkyo, kaiden, and the highest, menkyo kaiden certificates.
Kirigami: This certificate represents the most basic level.
Mokuroku: Represents having studied and learned some of the school’s techniques.
Menkyo: Means license, signifying the qualification to tell others the name of one’s school, and also representing a certain level of ability.
kaiden: In swordsmanship, this refers to a student having mastered all the techniques of the school and passed all tests.
menkyo kaiden: The highest level of licensing certificate!
In legend, Okita Souji obtained menkyo kaiden at nineteen, becoming a world-renowned genius swordsman.
Watanabe Mitsuyuki naturally didn’t care about these trifles.
He just looked at the girl under the cherry blossom tree, whose hair was as beautiful as the blossoms, and asked, “And you, what is your name?”
“Me?” The girl replied with a smile: “My name is Okita Souji…”
…
[You became acquainted with Okita Souji.
Originally a mere female, she did not initially enter Kondo Shusuke’s sight until you recommended her.]
[After a period of testing, Kondo Shusuke gave her the highest praise, claiming she possessed the same astonishing swordsmanship talent as you, which many of your fellow disciples found hard to believe!]
What do you mean, ‘the same swordsmanship talent’?
Standing beside the projection of Watanabe Mitsuyuki, Mitsuyuki looked at the text in the Heroic Spirit Training Manual and then at the young, cute girl before him.
He couldn’t help but find it somewhat amusing.
After all, the so-called child prodigy Watanabe Mitsuyuki was actually the ‘pirated’ version.
The swordsmanship talent and Mind’s Eye he possessed were actually derived from this genius swordsman, Okita Souji.
[Okita Souji’s arrival gave you someone else to care about, but in reality, it didn’t affect you much.
You continued to hone your swordsmanship daily, swinging the wooden sword in your hand.]
[It was just that your once lonely silhouette now had a companion by its side.]
[Perhaps due to the innate pride of a genius, even though you had studied swordsmanship several years before her and gained fame first, once she formally entered the way of the sword, she was unwilling to fall behind you and closed the gap with astonishing momentum.]
[At age 13, you received the kaiden certificate from your master, leaving you only one step away from the highest menkyo kaiden certificate.]
[At age 15, Kondo Shusuke once again rejected your application.
You still did not possess your own weapon.
You should know that many junior disciples younger than you, even those who had only obtained Menkyo from Kondo Shusuke, had already sharpened their own blades.]
[That same year, the 15-year-old Okita Souji had also obtained the kaiden certificate from Kondo Shusuke.]
[Thus, you made the following choice…]
[A: Ask for the reason, B: Leave in anger, C: Nothing happens, D: Direct Intervention.]
Mitsuyuki frowned slightly, looking at the text presented in the Heroic Spirit Book, and then at the old man before him who had rejected him, his eyes betraying a hint of confusion.
Fifteen was actually not a young age during the warring periods of Japan.
Men of this age often already had their own families.
Furthermore, he had already obtained the qualification for the kaiden certificate two years ago, which meant that his teacher, Kondo Shusuke, had long since recognized his current swordsmanship strength.
Yet even now, he was not allowed to carry a sharpened blade…
With doubt in his heart, Mitsuyuki naturally chose to ask for the reason.
That night, inside Kondo Shusuke’s room, the master lit an oil lamp and sat quietly in the room, waiting for tonight’s guest.
Before long, there was a gentle knock on the door.
Kondo Shusuke’s slightly aged face broke into a faint smile.
“Come in.
It’s Mitsuyuki, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Master.”
Watanabe Mitsuyuki pushed the door open and entered, appearing within Kondo Shusuke’s sight.
In the reflection of his eyes, although the fifteen-year-old Mitsuyuki’s face still held a trace of youthfulness, it also carried a sword intent that seemed ready to pierce the heavens, making ordinary people dare not look him in the eye!
“Master, you knew I was coming?”
Mitsuyuki looked at the old man before him, who, under the dim light of the oil lamp, had gray hair and a white beard yet still held his back straight.
How could Kondo Shusuke, the teacher who had taught Okita Souji, Hijikata Toshizo, and Kondo Isami—all of whom would leave behind prominent names—be ordinary?
He had long since reached the realm of a master swordsman!
He simply knew that he was too old to break through further, so he chose to be the master of a dojo and pass down his swordsmanship.
“Your gaze today was not only full of confusion but also because Souji, that child, received her kaiden certificate from me.”
Kondo Shusuke couldn’t help but chuckle as he reached this point, then continued: “So how could you not come…
though I originally thought you would have come to find me two years ago.”
“Because I believe Master would not harm me,” Mitsuyuki replied.
Hearing this, a gratified expression appeared on Kondo Shusuke’s face, but then he laughed again, saying, “But seeing that child Souji is about to catch up, you’ve grown anxious and finally can’t hold back?”
Mitsuyuki did not answer directly and remained silent, for that was indeed the truth.
Although Mitsuyuki could achieve his current success because his talent originated from Okita Souji, extracted from the Holy Relic Kashuu Kiyomitsu…
To this day, every swing of Mitsuyuki’s sword was real.
In these fifteen years, since he first held a sword, he had never stopped.
“Mitsuyuki, how long has it been since you first came to me?”
“Ten years, Master.”
Watanabe Mitsuyuki had indeed joined Kondo Shusuke’s school at the age of five.
“Yes, ten years.
I have been watching you for these ten years, and you have never once disappointed me.”
Kondo Shusuke spoke, looking at Mitsuyuki with a somewhat sentimental tone.
“Though you showed incredibly startling talent since childhood, you never grew arrogant because of it.
You are more hardworking than anyone else, and you have never put down the sword in your hand.
You are my pride!
But…
child,
A person’s eyes might deceive, and their actions might deceive, but their sword never will!”
As Kondo Shusuke reached this point, his gaze toward Mitsuyuki became serious and sharp.
”
Your sword tells me that it…
cannot cut through anything!”
Mitsuyuki was stunned for a moment.
“Although the sword momentum on you is biting, a result of your daily practice, your sword only has momentum, but no intent!”
Kondo Shusuke gazed quietly at Mitsuyuki and said, “Your sword is filled with confusion, and that is why I cannot hand a real sword to you.
You are very talented, but it is precisely because of this that if you were to wield a sword and stain it with the blood of others,
Then in the future, it might not be you controlling the sword, but you being consumed by it!”
Mitsuyuki fell silent; he understood Kondo Shusuke’s meaning.
He had, after all, been swinging his sword for a long time—ten full years.
And in this Dojo, he had seen so many people and samurai.
Although Mitsuyuki’s goal had always been clear—to leave behind a legend and earn the qualification to become a Heroic Spirit—
Just as Kondo Shusuke said, the sword in Mitsuyuki’s hand could not bear the weight of another’s life!
“…Thank you for your guidance, Teacher.”
Mitsuyuki bowed deeply to Kondo Shusuke.
Seeing this, a gratified smile couldn’t help but appear on Kondo Shusuke’s face.
“What about Souji?”
At this moment, Mitsuyuki had already looked up, facing Kondo Shusuke once more.
“She has actually…
already surpassed me, hasn’t she?”
Faced with Mitsuyuki’s inquiry, Kondo Shusuke remained silent for a while before finally nodding to him.
A soft sigh.
Even Mitsuyuki, who was holding the Heroic Spirit Training Manual and lightly stroking the text appearing on the black leather book, let out a soft sigh at this moment.
Although Mitsuyuki was an ‘Observer,’ controlling and choosing this simulated life from a high-dimensional perspective like a God’s view,
His Projection, Watanabe Mitsuyuki, was ultimately him—equivalent to a clone; the two were actually one person.
Therefore, their feelings were connected.
In Mitsuyuki’s heart right now, there was also a sense of frustration.
And just then,
[Having learned everything from Teacher Kondo Shusuke, you choose…]
[A.
Continue studying, B.
Return to the clan, C.
Become a ronin, D.
Personal Intervention.]
Mitsuyuki knew that the next branch of fate had arrived.
However, this time Mitsuyuki did not hesitate for long before placing his hand on option D: Personal Intervention.
Mitsuyuki knew that at this moment, he would only make that one choice.
In an instant, Watanabe Mitsuyuki, who had closed his eyes, slowly opened them.
Kondo Shusuke frowned, his gaze toward Mitsuyuki filled with confusion.
Because in this very instant, he suddenly felt Mitsuyuki’s strength surge by a massive margin!
This was because Mitsuyuki had a total of three opportunities for Personal Intervention, and each time he intervened, the strength of the projected character would double!
“I understand, Teacher.”
Mitsuyuki, having opened his eyes, stood up and bowed once more to Kondo Shusuke.
“I already know what I must do.”
“I will go find Souji, and I will ask her…
with the sword in my hand!”