A world-renowned swordmaster issuing a formal challenge to a young boy—it was a scene that defied all logic to anyone watching.
But to Mifune, it wasn't absurd at all.
Relying on the razor-sharp intuition of a grandmaster, Mifune had sensed a terrifying, dormant power coiled within Saiki's slender frame.
When the boy's battle-lust flared, that power felt like a drawn blade pressing directly against Mifune's pupils, causing a physical sting.
To the spectators, it was a farce. But here on the training ground, the reality was entirely different. Mifune, a bead of sweat tracing down his temple, stood as if facing a mortal enemy. Saiki, however, looked as relaxed as if he were taking a casual spring stroll.
His clear eyes held no fear, no hesitation. It was as if he had already seen the outcome of this duel. To him, this challenge was nothing more than a field test for his new sword.
"Draw your blade," Saiki said, lightly tapping the handguard of his katana, his gaze piercing through the swirling snow like frost. "Let me see the swordsmanship that survived the Demigod—let's see if it truly deserves the word 'excellent'."
Mifune used his thumb to pop his blade three inches from the scabbard. The gleaming steel reflected his weathered, lined face. "Back then, I couldn't even block a single strike from Hanzo. It is a shameful memory. Hanzo only spared my life because he respected my courage to face him alone."
Saiki hadn't expected Mifune to be so brutally honest. He offered a knowing smile. "There's no need for false modesty. Courage is a form of strength. Years have passed; I have no doubt you are a completely different man now. I consider it an honor to witness your Kenjutsu."
With that, Saiki bent his knees slightly, regulating his breathing. His hand rested lightly on the hilt at his waist, and an oppressive, razor-sharp killing intent instantly flooded the clearing.
Mifune took a deep breath, every muscle in his body pulling taut. He drew his blade entirely, holding it in a two-handed grip to brace against the suffocating pressure rolling off the boy.
The tension peaked. Both combatants were ready. A gust of freezing wind swept across the field, and in the next heartbeat, Mifune and Saiki moved simultaneously.
Swish!
They charged at each other at a speed that almost no one in the audience could track. Mifune raised his blade high above his head, executing the most fundamental, yet devastatingly powerful, vertical cleave.
Whether in Taijutsu or Kenjutsu, raw power and speed are the ultimate deciding factors. When the disparity in strength and speed is absolute, flashy techniques become entirely useless.
The first clash is always a test of those basic attributes. If you can't survive the initial impact, there is no fight—because you're already dead.
Mifune's strike carried the full weight of his body and chakra, a vertical guillotine. Saiki met it with an Iai-slash (Quick Draw), perfectly harmonizing his speed and raw physical power.
Using 'Thunderstorm' for the first time in combat, Saiki felt an incredible synergy with the blade. It felt like a true extension of his own arm.
The weight, the thickness, and the razor edge of the blade were all impeccable. It sliced through the air with zero resistance, gliding like a fish through water or a bird through the sky, rising to meet Mifune's mountain-cleaving strike.
CLANG!
The moment the two blades collided, tearing through the blizzard, the sheer kinetic force ignited a shower of sparks that instantly froze in the sub-zero air, clattering to the ground like shattered glass.
Mifune's vertical strike was simple but carried unstoppable momentum. Saiki's draw-slash was like a thunderbolt, the perfect marriage of velocity and brute force.
The impact transferred through the steel. Both men felt the terrifying physical power of their opponent. They shuddered from the feedback and were forced back several steps. Their boots carved deep, ice-glazed trenches into the frozen earth, shattering the hard-packed snow beneath them.
Stabilizing his stance, Mifune locked his eyes onto Saiki. His hands, gripping his hilt, were visibly trembling. The concussive force of Saiki's slash had been so immense that the webbing between Mifune's thumbs and forefingers had split open, and his arms were completely numb!
Saiki's strength had vastly exceeded his worst expectations.
Compared to Mifune, Saiki looked entirely unfazed. His monstrous constitution and the terrifying raw power it generated allowed him to absorb the brunt of the strike with a single arm. Aside from a slight, tingling numbness, he was perfectly fine. He even had the leisure to inspect his new weapon.
Looking at the gleaming edge, he saw no notches or chips—unlike his previous chakra blade. The edge remained as pristine and sharp as the moment it left the forge.
Saiki was highly satisfied. It was ten times the price of his old sword, but it was worth every single Ryo.
Mifune took a deep breath, surging chakra through his system to force the numbness out of his arms. When their eyes met again, they both blurred into motion.
Now, it was a real fight. Chakra boiled within them, condensing along the edges of their blades into glowing, lethal extensions of their aura.
Very few samurai could utilize Ninjutsu, but they were masters at fusing chakra with Kenjutsu, creating a unique and devastating combat style.
Saiki was also a master of this fusion, but he took it a step further: he integrated Nature and Shape Transformation into his swordplay, granting his strikes exponentially higher versatility and destructive output.
Whether it was Wind, Lightning, or Water, infusing a blade with elemental chakra made it infinitely deadlier than raw chakra alone.
Saiki was thrilled with 'Thunderstorm'. As his chakra flooded the metal, a brilliant blue-white light rippled across the blade like flowing water!
'Thunderstorm' was unique. When injected with Water-natured chakra, the hamon (temper line) glowed with a fluid blue light; with Lightning-natured chakra, it erupted with silver-white electricity.
Mastering the Nature and Shape Transformations for Wind, Lightning, and Water before the age of ten cemented Saiki's status as a true anomaly. He had already developed specific sword styles for Wind and Lightning, and now he was doing the same for Water.
'Thunderstorm' possessed flawless compatibility with both Water and Lightning. Previously, he had relied on Lightning Kenjutsu, but today, Saiki decided to test-drive his Water Sword Style!
It takes time to describe, but the entire process of manifesting their elemental auras took only a fraction of a second!
With a low, guttural roar, Mifune flexed every muscle in his body. Chakra exploded from the soles of his feet, propelling him toward Saiki with terrifying speed, his blade cutting through the freezing wind like a streak of lightning.
Saiki matched his explosive acceleration, lunging forward to meet him. His blade, trailing a ribbon of blue, aqueous light, swung to intercept Mifune's slash.
"Sword Style: Kesagiri (Diagonal Slash)!"
"Water Sword Style - First Form: Water-Severing Slash!"
The two blades, condensed with terrifying volumes of chakra, collided in mid-air, erupting in a blinding halo of blue and white light.
Mifune's diagonal slash carried the weight of a collapsing mountain, but Saiki's strike was sharper, cutting through the resistance like a high-pressure water jet piercing solid rock.
The collision of the two forces generated an earth-shattering boom. The resulting shockwave blasted the snow within a ten-meter radius high into the sky, the suspended ice crystals refracting the residual chakra light into a dazzling, rainbow-colored halo.
The frost-covered earth trembled violently. As the blizzard intensified, the spectators watching from the sidelines were forced to shield their faces with their arms.
At the center of the storm, the duel continued without a moment's hesitation.
From that single clash of techniques, Mifune felt a deep groove carved into the edge of his own sword. It had nearly snapped in half. He inhaled sharply, forcibly suppressing his shock as his chakra flared even more violently.
Despite holding the absolute upper hand, Saiki's expression remained neutral. He focused his mind, compressing his chakra even tighter along the edge of 'Thunderstorm'.
"Sword Style: Chaotic Blade Dance!"
Mifune poured an unprecedented amount of power into his technique. His sword became a blur of afterimages, the blade tearing through the air and leaving a chaotic web of unstoppable, razor-sharp trajectories.
"Water Sword Style - Second Form: Wave-Breaker Slash!"
Saiki responded by flooding his Water Sword Style with an even more ferocious burst of chakra. Every swing of his blade seemed to manipulate the ambient moisture in the air. His strikes moved like a crashing tide—each wave higher and more devastating than the last—clashing violently against Mifune's chaotic flurry.
To the onlookers, the flurry of steel and elemental light was so intense it was impossible to tell where the blades ended and the rushing water began.
The tempo of the battle accelerated to a fever pitch. In the heart of the frozen wasteland, the two men moved like a tempest, their clashing blades weaving a breathtaking, lethal dance of war.