Without a sword, what will you use to fight me?

Ten fingers, ten puppets.

The person controlling them practically covered all the high-ranking figures.

The entire Asagiri Island, along with its most proud Seven Great Dojos and the sword fighting tournament, had unknowingly become a tool for "Carpenter" to make ill-gotten gains.

"So it was you, you despicable scoundrel, causing all this behind the scenes!"

Junyi drew his sword, recalling the miserable experiences of his father and himself over the years, gritting his teeth so hard he felt tears welling up. "I will never... never forgive you!"

Just as he was about to charge at "Carpenter," a whooshing sound came from behind his ear. In an instant, the bamboo sword in Junyi's hand was cut in half.

Junyi stared blankly as he turned around. The one who had cut his bamboo sword was his own father.

Sakuraba Tree's face was now ferocious and distorted. His right hand gripped a pale pink longsword, maintaining a downward chopping motion, while his other hand was tightly grasping his right wrist, desperately trying to stop himself.

Clearly.

That strike was not originally aimed at the bamboo sword in Junyi's hand.

It was aimed at his head.

"Go... Go, get away!" Sakuraba Tree choked out a pained roar from his throat. "Stay away from me, Junyi!"

"Father!" Junyi's eyes widened. Before he could react, snap, a strong hand grabbed his arm and yanked him back more than ten meters.

"Boss Xianuo, let me go! I can't abandon him... I have to save my father!"

"Don't talk nonsense."

Xianuo forcefully threw him into a corner and said coldly:

"Keeping you by his side is only harming him! Have you seen a puppet show? If you want this play to stop, there's only one way: kill the person pulling the strings behind the scenes!"

"Do you think with your strength and a broken bamboo sword, you can get in front of that guy?"

Junyi looked up, staring blankly at "Carpenter" in the distance.

"What are you looking at, brat?"

Carpenter sneered, exhaling a smoke ring, and suddenly waved his left hand, along with the two fingers at the end of his right hand, pointing south.

"These old guys won't be needed anymore anyway. Turn them into puppets completely!"

--Swish swish!

Invisible ripples appeared in the air. They were threads shooting towards the first row of seats in the audience.

The seven dojo masters suddenly made clanking sounds all over their bodies. They rose in unison, walking with stiff steps. Seven gleaming blades were unsheathed with a shing sound.

As they moved, their elbow and knee joints made dull, thudding sounds like wooden balls colliding.

Wooden grain patterns continuously appeared on their exposed bodies, and their eyeballs rolled upwards, covered in dark yellow threads, looking extremely bizarre.

In an instant.

The seven men vaguely formed a semicircle.

While protecting "Carpenter" behind them, they also sealed off all possible escape routes around the arena.

"And you!"

Carpenter laughed wildly, pointing his right index finger at Sakuraba Tree. Another dark yellow puppet string shot out.

"You're quite resistant, aren't you? Try resisting a little more! At this close range, under my power, you have no room to struggle!"

"You beast..."

Veins bulged on Sakuraba Tree's forehead as he resisted with all his might.

But it was ultimately futile.

He could only watch in despair as wooden grain patterns began to grow in circles on his own body.

His left hand lost control and slowly loosened. His right hand, holding the sword, gradually, little by little, turned towards where Xianuo and Junyi were.

His once clear consciousness became increasingly hazy.

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he seemed to have finally made a decision.

"Puppetization is irreversible. I don't want to become a mindless monster..."

"Perhaps this is my best end."

Sakuraba Tree smiled. "Goodbye, Junyi."

"Father..." Junyi's eyes widened. As if suddenly realizing something, he frantically sat up from the ground and scrambled towards the stage on all fours, but Xianuo beside him held him down firmly. He could only flail his arms, tears blurring his vision, and roar, "No... No! Please, don't! Father!!!"

Ching!

In an instant, the blade in Sakuraba Tree's hand suddenly turned, piercing deeply into his left chest, and was quickly twisted.

"..." Junyi's movements froze abruptly.

In the reflection of his pupils, the emaciated body, with a smile squeezed out by his last bit of strength, crashed to the ground in front of him.

The world seemed to collapse at that moment.

"Mr. Sakuraba Tree!"

"President!"

From the audience seats, shouts of grief and anger mixed with sobbing erupted.

Under the spotlight.

The black-haired youth had, at some unknown time, returned to the stage. He stared at the motionless face, frowning almost imperceptibly, but ultimately said nothing.

Then, he turned his head to look at the audience seats.

"All of you, what are you still watching for! Aren't you afraid of dying? Do you think this is still a competition?!" Xianuo took a deep breath and roared with all his might, "Run!!!"

The audience was startled.

Looking at the sinister-faced "Carpenter" and the bizarre wooden puppets that seemed to have walked out of a horror movie, they finally realized what this scene truly meant.

"Hurry and go!"

"My, my legs are weak... Save me, pull me up!"

"Aaaah! We're going to die here!!!"

Panic-stricken screams erupted everywhere, and people desperately fled towards the two large doors at the front and back.

The host also scrambled out of the staff lounge passage. Before leaving, he didn't forget to grab the two trembling Den Den Mushis on the wall and tuck them into his arms as he fled.

Some unwilling swordsmen wanted to turn back to help fight, but were indifferently stopped by Major Tomte and the police officers, who unceremoniously riddled them with holes using their flintlock guns.

Amidst the blooming mist of blood.

The "Carpenter" leisurely flicked the ash from his cigar.

"I say."

He looked at Xianuo on the stage and said with feigned surprise:

"Kid, I didn't expect you to care so much about the common folk. You can barely save yourself, yet you have the mind to tell them to leave first. It almost makes me want to recruit you."

"You seem to have misunderstood something."

Xianuo slowly raised his head. The "Carpenter" paused slightly. He saw a pair of excited, blood-red eyes, like those of a beast:

"--I told them to get lost simply because I didn't want them to get in the way. It would hinder my movements!"

"Stop bragging, kid!"

The Carpenter felt a pang of unease for some reason under those eyes. He forced a cold laugh, "You also said this isn't a competition. Even if your swordsmanship is good, what can you do with that broken bamboo sword?"

Swish!

The two dojo masters suddenly stepped forward and attacked. Their blades flashed brilliantly, and the bamboo sword in Xianuo's hand was easily cut into several pieces.

Immediately, two swords were held firmly at his neck and chest, one in front and one behind.

"If you have any complaints, blame yourself for trusting this Kendo Tournament too much. As a swordsman, you didn't even bring your real sword with you."

The Carpenter finally relaxed completely and burst into unrestrained laughter, "Now tell me, kid! What's the difference between a swordsman without a sword and a lion with its claws cut off!"

"Talking to yourself, really..."

Xianuo looked at the bamboo sword, of which only the hilt remained, and suddenly let go, allowing it to fall.

He raised his head, grinned, "Really... Who told you I was a swordsman?!"

Thump!!

The moment his voice fell, two large hands suddenly shot out, one on each side, pressing down on the heads of the two masters beside him, exerting sudden force.

Crack!

The crowns of their heads instantly made the crisp sound of cracking walnuts. Their entire skulls rapidly deformed under the crushing force, and their facial features gradually became misaligned and distorted.

Their skin cracked inch by inch, but no blood flowed from the gaps.

Instead, dark yellow puppet strings, like horsehair worms, surged out densely, attempting to coil around Xianuo's wrists.

But the moment they touched his skin, they were instantly shattered by the bulging muscles of his arms.

"That's it?"

The force in Xianuo's fingers grew stronger, more terrifying, and more violent!

Crack crack! The hard frontal bones of the two masters could no longer withstand the force, and ten circular finger imprints were broken through.

The next moment, Xianuo grabbed them like bowling balls and hurled them out with immense force!

Boom!

The two puppets flew like cannonballs towards the audience seats, crashing through who knew how many rows of seats. When the dust settled, their bodies were folded and twisted at sharp angles, unable to move any further.

The wood grain covering their bodies shone with a waxy, pale white under the spotlight.

"..."

The "Carpenter" stared blankly at the scene, and the cigar in the corner of his mouth fell to the ground with a pat.

Screech-- The sound of tearing clothes suddenly rang out from behind.

He jolted and turned back, just in time to see Xianuo crumple the expensive kendo uniform he'd bought into a ball and toss it off the stage like trash.

Freed from the clothing's restraint, his coiled muscles burst forth, writhing and expanding outward as if breathing, his heavy heartbeat audible like a drum.

The already imposing figure on the stage seemed to swell by another size, now looking down at him from above like a small mountain.

"You, you..."

The Carpenter subconsciously swallowed, his legs trembling as he stumbled backward, nearly falling.

"Warm-up complete."

The black-haired youth before him licked his dry lips and grinned, his cheeks twitching as he spoke. It wasn't the reaction of tired muscles, but the excited shiver of a beast about to pounce.

"--Now, it's your turn."