Senju Yūki * Battle of the Bridge

Backstage, Senju Yūki, who played Taira no Koremori, took a deep breath, trying to suppress the unfamiliar throbbing in his chest.

It wasn't because I was about to engage in battle, but because I was confused.

As the son of Hashirama Senju, and as a candidate for the next Clan Head who grew up amidst the trials of swords and Ninjutsu, he had experienced countless real battles, so this simulated dramatic conflict wouldn't cause his heart to race.

What made him uneasy was the task that Izuna had given him.

During the ensuing Battle of Uji Bridge, he displayed fear, exhibiting an emotion that Izuna termed "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder."

Izuna explained it very clearly at the time, "That's not simple fear, Koremori. It's a wound left on the soul after experiencing something beyond the limits of what ordinary people can bear. It's a flashback that, even in a safe place, is suddenly pulled back to hell by similar sounds and sights."

"When faced with danger, the body reacts with stiffness, avoidance, or overreaction before reason, along with aversion and fear of violence and death..."

"The character of Koremori is a refined and gentle scholar, but he is forcibly stuffed into the armor of Samurai and pushed onto the battlefield where flesh and blood fly."

"This was the first time he had truly witnessed the cruelty of war, and it left a mark on his heart."

Yūki listened attentively and tried to understand.

He even privately spoke with several civilians who had miraculously survived the war, listening to their trembling voices describe the despair they felt when the flames of war struck, and the nights they would still be awakened by the sound of footsteps years later.

Those stories weighed heavily on his mind, but he still couldn't truly understand those emotions.

As Ninja, especially as the heir of the Senju Clan who is expected to achieve great things, "fear," especially the fear of battle, is an emotion that must be eliminated.

His instinct is to cope and overcome, not to wallow in it.

The Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder that Izuna mentioned was something that was difficult for him to understand.

He tried various methods to figure it out, but he could never quite grasp it without a transparent wall between them.

Finally, Izuna simply patted him on the shoulder, his dark eyes looking at him, and said, "Just be yourself."

These words confused Yūki even more. To be himself? He was Senju Yūki, who would never flinch on the battlefield; how could he portray fear if he were himself?

At this moment, he held the reins of the prop wooden horse, listening to the cacophony of the Biwa played by Izuna, still feeling uncertain.

Due to time constraints, Izuna never fully rehearsed the "Battle of Uji Bridge" scene. He only roughly moved around the positions and explained a few key points of emotional change, without actually having them "fight".

This makes it even harder for Yūki to accurately convey "timidity" in his actions.

'Never mind,' he made up his mind, listening to the Water Release, thinking, 'Even if I have to act exaggeratedly and stiffly, I have to squeeze out that feeling of 'fear.'

Just then, Hashirama, who had been dragged away by Madara to fight, finally returned with his friends.

When Hashirama saw his son standing on the stage in heavy armor Hashirama lit up.

"Oh! Yūki is on stage! I wonder what role Izuna will have him play?"

"After crossing Mount Kohata, we were soon at the Uji Bridge."

Izuna's voice, acting as a narrator, began to sing.

The stage lights up, and the Ninjas in charge of props form hand seals to simulate the mist along the Uji River.

Led by Tomomori, the Taira Army surged menacingly onto the shore.

Tomomori drew his Tachi "whoosh" and shouted in a powerful voice, "Attack quickly! Attack forward quickly!"

The actors playing Taira Samurai behind them echoed in unison, their shouts deafening and their fighting spirit soaring.

They stepped onto the bridge, intending to rush to the other side in one go.

However, the red-haired general at the forefront suddenly reined in his "warhorse," his face showing astonishment, and shouted, "The bridge planks have been removed! Watch out—!"

But his shouts were drowned out by the shouts of the soldiers behind him who were unaware of the danger and were still pushing forward.

What happened next was enough to make the audience's hearts skip a beat, even if they knew it was an act.

In a deliberately choreographed, chaotic, and jostling sequence, dozens of actors playing Taira Samurai screamed and "fell" off the bridge in various lifelike poses.

A tremendous crash and the roar of rushing water filled the air.

Those who saw it felt a chill run down their spines.

"At this point, the two armies stood on opposite banks, firing at each other in rapid succession."

The stage is divided by the "Uji River".

The two sides began simulating Archery duel.

Among them, the actor playing Gochiin Tajima displayed a wonderful "arrow-slicing" martial Taijutsu, eliciting a chorus of gasps from the audience.

As for Yūki, following the predetermined positioning, he was surrounded and positioned slightly behind the Taira army formation.

He picked up the prop bow, nocked the headless arrow, and "shot" it towards the opposite bank. His movements were precise, and his posture carried the steadiness unique to the Senju Clan.

But as he continued shooting, his gaze was involuntarily drawn to the "horrific scene" at the bridgehead and below.

Although his "fallen" companions quickly and silently returned from the other side of the backstage area, the chaos and screams of that moment still lingered in his ears.

Arrows shot from the opposite bank whizzed past me from time to time.

He saw not far away, Shigehira was kneeling on the ground, quickly and skillfully bandaging a wounded soldier who had been shot in the arm and was soaking wet. The wounded soldier cooperated by letting out a painful and suppressed scream, his face pale.

A strange sense of detachment seized his Yūki.

His thinking seemed to suddenly slow down, or even stop.

The familiar scenes of battle, screams, splashing water, and clashing metal before him now combined to create a feeling of utter alienation.

He didn't know what was wrong with him. Wasn't this just a battle? Or even a performance? They were just simulating Ordinary People fighting. Where did this feeling of unease come from?

Was it because he couldn't cross the river? Or was he feeling anxious because he couldn't use Ninjutsu?

He knelt down and comforted the "wounded" man, saying, "Please cheer up."

After a short rest, Shigehira suggested to Tomomori that they launch a amphibious attack. The bridge was narrow, which would prevent the Taira from utilizing their numerical advantage.

So the order was given. They began tying their warhorses to thick bamboo poles and simulating crossing a river.

Crossing a river should have been as easy as walking on flat ground for actors who came from Ninja backgrounds.

But at this moment, they must play the role of heavily armored Samurai.

Every step they took in the water became slow and heavy as they struggled forward under a hail of enemy arrows.

Even Ninjas, wearing armor weighing forty or fifty pounds, would find it difficult to walk through water that was almost chest-deep. Even though they knew they wouldn't be in any danger if they were swept away, everyone was still on edge.

Shigehira through the water, he shouted loudly to remind his companions, "If anyone falls into the water! Rescue them immediately! No one can be left behind!"

Yūki also struggled in the icy river.

Water stains soaked through the heavy armor, and the chill seemed to penetrate the fabric.

He reached out and helped up a companion who had slipped and nearly drowned, feeling the real trembling in the other's arm.

Water splashed on his face. He looked towards the opposite bank, where smoke filled the air and arrows flew everywhere.

All he could hear were the heavy breathing of his comrades, suppressed gasps, the rushing of water, and the violent panting of the soldier he had helped up, still shaken by the shock.

Suddenly, Yūki felt himself struggling to breathe.

An invisible force gripped his chest.

The icy river water, the heavy, wet clothes, the sluggish movements, and the sense of crisis coming from all directions.

Everything blended together, creating a thick, suffocating atmosphere unlike anything he could recall from any Ninja mission.

He finally crossed the Uji River, stepped onto the enemy lines on the opposite bank, brandished his prop sword, and joined the chaotic battle.

All around, red flags representing the Taira fluttered in the "wind".

His movements remained precise and powerful, but at the very moment he felled an enemy soldier, a sudden sense of fear gripped his heart without warning.

He gazed at the ongoing battle not far away, the flashing swords, the roars and screams, the blood splattered and the lives lost in the struggle for a bridge or a stretch of riverbank.

Then, his gaze involuntarily, almost pleading for help, turned to the dimly lit audience below the stage, precisely catching sight of that tall and familiar figure.

His father, Hashirama Senju, was looking at him with those eyes, a smile on his face.

He seems excited about his appearance.

At that moment, the young Ninja playing the role of Koremori, who was using Transformation Technique to barely increase his height to match the character's age, felt a sudden shattering in his heart.

Ah.

My father won't come to help me.

My father would treat my bruised and swollen face after Ninjutsu duel, encourage me when I encountered difficult problems in the Clan Head's course, and comfort me when I felt lost about my responsibilities.

But here, on this simulated, bloody battlefield, in the face of this battle he must confront alone.

My father, the ever-reliable father who was like a towering tree, could only sit in the audience, as a spectator, as an observer.

Just like... just like the old Taira no Shigemori is gone, and no one can protect Koremori from the wind and rain anymore, keeping all the bloodshed at bay.

Koremori must don his armor, pick up his sword, and step into this Asura Realm.

Just now, while crossing the river, the icy cold water, the heavy, dragging armor, the ever-present threat of deadly arrows, the slippery pebbles underfoot, and the panicked breathing of my companions...

All those stifling, sluggish, powerless details suddenly gained weight, transforming into a tangible fear that pressed heavily on his heart, making each breath he took tremble uncontrollably.

He looked at everything before him; he knew how to fight, but he didn't know how to end the war.

Even if it's a simulation.

"Koremori!" came a low shout from the actor playing Household General, who simultaneously made a gesture to block the attack aimed at him.

Yūki snapped back to reality, and he hastily raised his knife to parry. His movements were somewhat clumsy and awkward due to that momentary lapse in concentration, completely lacking his previous swiftness.

He even stumbled because the ground was wet, and only managed to regain his balance thanks to the help of his Household General.

He was panting as he looked at the Senju Clan man playing the role of Household General, his eyes still showing signs of shock.

"Th... thank you," he heard himself say.

The Household General frowned, sensing something was wrong with him, and asked in a low voice, "Yūki, are you alright?"

Yūki shook his head. "It's nothing."

After saying that, he grabbed the prop knife and charged heavily toward the enemy.

In the ensuing melee, his movements still retained the foundation of his Ninja training, but his spirit and energy had changed.

His swings were no longer decisive, his dodges were tinged with fear, his gaze would involuntarily avoid overly gruesome scenes, and he would even instinctively flinch at the sudden screams that erupted beside him.

He tried to overcome the feeling, but the fear seemed to grip his heart, suffocating him like the river that had just overwhelmed him.

The sounds of Izuna's Biwa and the shouts of battle gradually faded away, leaving only his own panting and heartbeat echoing in his ears.

When finally, the Taira's red flag was planted on the opposite bank, and the victory horn sounded, Koremori stood amidst the chaos, his hand holding the knife trembling slightly.

His face showed no joy of victory, only the pallor of someone who had survived a catastrophe, and a deep weariness and bewilderment.

He stared blankly at the corpses lying at his feet.

Ultimately, he was led off the stage by the Household General sensed something was wrong with him.