Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
Miru District, Yagyu’s Kendo dojo.
“Hah!”
Fourteen-year-old Yagyu Shizuka held a bamboo sword calmly in her hands, suddenly made a slash at the goza target. Instead of a ‘pop’ sound, a huge booming sound was heard, and the goza target was sent flying violently.
Yagyu Kenichiro, who was sitting far away, felt his eyelid twitch. He then sighed, thinking that it would be great if his daughter was a man. It was not that he’s patriarchal, it was just that he was the only man left with the Yagyu family’s bloodline, but he and his wife still ended up having a daughter.
His daughter would one day get married and assume her husband’s family name. Even if she had a child, that child would still belong to her husband’s bloodline.
Perhaps, he would be the one marking the end of the Yagyu family’s bloodline. As Yagyu Kenichiro sat there, thinking about all these in despair, puffing on his cigarette, he then grabbed the sake beside him and started drinking.
“Dad, didn’t you promise me that you won’t smoke or drink anymore?”
Yagyu Shizuka reprimanded her father, a reproachful look on her refined and classically beautiful face. Her lips were pressed into a thin line, with her canines poking out slightly under her lip. She was not pleased to see her father still drinking and smoking.
Yagyu Kenichiro took another sip before yawning and lying down on the floor. “I did promise that, but it’s under the condition that you acquire the sword power.”
As he finished speaking, he could not help but sit up and stare at his daughter in shock.
At this moment, he could feel that his daughter’s body was flooded with a sharp and overbearing amount of sword power. She stood in front of him as if she was the queen of the beasts in the jungle. The only thing was, this queen was still a young cub.
“When?” Yagyu Kenichiro asked, filled with mixed emotions. Acquiring the sword power at the age of fourteen? Yagyu Shizuka’s talent for Kendo was definitely second to none.
“Just this morning.”
“This morning...” the corner of Yagyu Kenichiro’s mouth twitched. “If I’m not mistaken, we just made this deal yesterday.”
“Correct.”
Upon hearing all this, Yagyu Kenichiro threw away the sake cup he was holding and extinguished his cigarette in the ashtray. Without any hesitation, he said, “Alright, I quit, I won’t be smoking nor drinking ever again.”
As a father, he must become a role model for his daughter, so he could not break his promise. While thinking to himself, he stood up gleefully and said, “Let’s go, this calls for a celebration! We’re celebrating that you, Yagyu Shizuka, has acquired your own sword power.”
“It’s okay, dad.” Yagyu Shizuka shook her head.
“Nishino-san and Uchiyama-san had also dropped out yesterday. There are no more students in the dojo, meaning there is no more income. We have to be thrifty.”
“It’s alright, there’s still enough money for a celebration.” Yagyu Kenichiro ruffled his little girl’s hair until it was all messy, feeling perfectly satisfied. Just when he wanted to pick up a cigarette, his daughter gave him a look. All he could do now was to put the cigarettes down, feeling embarrassed.
“Then, I would like to have Kobe beef.”
“...” Yagyu Kenichiro, had his hands tied, and could only say yes to his daughter, whose glimmering eyes were filled with joy and expectation.
Just when the two of them were heading out, Yagyu Kenichiro’s phone started to ring in his pocket. He looked at the caller ID and was stunned for a moment before he answered the call.
“Kenichiro, I found someone who is using the ‘Rainstorm Style.’”
As he heard the deep voice of Ono Junichi, Kenichiro’s grip on the phone tightened. He took a deep breath, trying to suppress the inexplicable emotions he was feeling. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure this has to be it. I have a video, let me send it to you.”
“Okay.”
After he hung up the call, Kenichiro signaled his daughter that they had to wait for a while. They waited for ten minutes, and only then did he receive the video that Ono Junichi mentioned. The corner of Kenichiro’s mouth twitched as he recalled that this guy, Junichi, was not a phone-savvy kind of guy.
He picked up his phone, played the video, and looked at the progress bar, noting the video was only 15 seconds long. Yagyu Shizuka saw what he was doing, and out of curiosity, came in closer to take a look at the video. As both of them have perfect eyesight, there was no need for them to slow down the video. They got the idea after viewing it once.
After watching the video, Yagyu Shizuka curled her lips and said, “This Ono Nakamura is the one who got eighth place in the Youth category of the Asahi Competition, such a weakling. If it’s me before this, I definitely won’t stand a chance against the other guy’s attack speed. But now that I have acquired the sword power, with diligence, it won’t take long until I, too, can defeat this guy. When I grow up, I could absolutely leave him far behind in the dust.”
The Asahi Competition, she did go there too. However, she had not reached the minimum age requirement. If she did, she would definitely participate in the competition.
After Yagyu Kenichiro finished watching, he suppressed the shock that he felt within. Listening to what his daughter had to say, he could not help but laugh, “Have you ever thought that... this teenager on the right hasn’t really given all he’s got?”
“How can that be possible?” Just when Shizuka wanted to grab her father’s phone to continue the video, the phone started ringing. Helplessly, she could only look at her father as he answered the phone.
“Done watching?”
“Yep.”
A moment’s silence.
“So how is it? Is it the ‘Rainstorm Style’?”
Anyhow, Ono Junichi was not a member of the Yagyu family. Adding on to that, the ‘Rainstorm Style’ was a style that had been lost through the generations, so he could not be completely sure.
“Yes.” Yagyu Kenichiro replied calmly.
The Achilles’ heel of man, with the head and the heart being the most vulnerable target of all. The point of attack of the ‘Rainstorm Style’ aims at a person’s arms, legs, and waist. In a sword fight, whether it was the opponent or the swordsman himself, both parties will be focusing on protecting both the area of the heart or the brain.
As so, even though the ‘Rainstorm Style’ was developed from the fundamental movements of the ‘Ten Thousand Flash,’ it was considered as a simplified version of ‘Ten Thousand Flash.’ The ‘Rainstorm Style’ focused on attacking the arms and legs. Pairing it up with extremely high speed, as the opponent would be tired of dodging the attacks, the attacker could make a final strike at the heart and the head.
Diversion, that’s the very essence of the ‘Rainstorm Style.’
The person in the video did not exhibit this essence. Kenichiro knew that he did not need to. He was fully capable of crushing Ono Nakamura without it.
While thinking, he took a deep breath. Before he could say anything, Ono Junichi started speaking. “Since I helped you find the successor of the ‘Yagyu Flying Sword Style,’ I don’t owe you anything now. Don’t call me ever again.”
“Sure.”
Ono Junichi was stunned for a moment. He would never think that Yagyu Kenichiro would be so forthright. He snorted coldly but felt pissed off internally.
“I won’t call you anymore, buy yourself a computer, and we will keep in touch through that.” Yagyu Kenichiro smiled winsomely. He had known Ono Junichi for decades, so how could he not know that this guy was a softie internally although he had a harsh, cold exterior?
Do... do... do...
Ono Junichi ended the call.
The corner of Yagyu Kenichiro’s mouth twitched. He called his number again, but that man was not answering. After calling him for seven or eight times, he gave up and started spamming him with messages.
Kenichiro: You should at least give me the contact details of that teenager. Don’t tell me that you don’t have it, your son was crushed into pieces by that guy.
Junichi: Actually, I have no idea, but I can help you ask around. Also, Nakamura was given some guidance from that teenager, and he had acquired the sword power after the Asahi Competition. Now, he has already become stronger than before. In just a few more years, he will be stronger than you, piece of trash that smokes and drinks every day.
Kenichiro: Yagyu Shizuka, fourteen years old, my daughter, had acquired the sword power this morning.
Yagyu Kenichiro laughed mockingly, as he calmly sent this message.
He thought that this will break Ono Junichi’s heart, but unexpectedly, he replied with another message after five minutes.
Junichi: One day she will get married, and after that, your daughter won’t even get to keep her last name. If she happens to be married to my family, the Ono family, your daughter will still be giving birth to Ono. So, what is it that you’re so happy about?
Ouch, what a b*stard!
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