Sword Heart Clarity

Night, Eastern Capital, Toyama Prefecture, within the residence of the Kujo Clan, a family of swordsmen.

A long-haired youth dressed in a white training gi stood there, a black cloth wrapped around his eyes, obscuring his features.

At this moment, he held a bamboo sword level with both hands, standing beneath a tree, motionless.

The tall ginkgo tree in the courtyard swayed gently in the breeze, its yellowing leaves, each the size of a copper coin, fluttering down.

They drifted toward the ground below like raindrops, falling in no particular pattern.

"Breathing..."

Just then, the youth took a light breath, sank his waist, and raised his bamboo sword. With rapid, shuffling steps, he began to slash continuously at the falling leaves in the air.

The bamboo sword in his hands had been swung into a blur.

Yet, strangely, even though the youth's eyes were covered by the black cloth, his footwork and the movements of his hands remained completely unaffected.

A moment later, when the breeze died down, not a single intact ginkgo leaf had managed to land safely on the ground.

As the leaves stopped falling, the youth returned to his stone-like posture, standing in place with his bamboo sword held level.

Only the shredded leaves at his feet served as a record of the incredible scene that had just transpired.

"Cough... cough..."

A stifled cough drifted out from the room behind the youth.

Kujo Tachibana lowered his bamboo sword and untied the cloth from his eyes.

A pair of clear, black-and-white eyes were set into the youth's handsome face.

Upon closer inspection, however, his striking features were currently clouded with a hint of sorrow.

After composing himself, Tachibana stepped toward the room of his father, Kujo Kai.

The dim room was lit only by a short white candle, and the air was thick with the pungent scent of medicinal herbs.

Kujo Kai, Tachibana's father, was sitting on the tatami mat, leaning against the wall with a quilt draped over him.

With a pale face and vacant eyes, Kujo Kai seemed lost in memory.

It was only when he was roused by Kujo Tachibana entering the room that a glimmer of vitality returned to his gaze.

Kujo Kai looked at his son with a gentle expression and said softly:

"Tachibana, I have troubled you. These past few days have truly been hard on you."

Kujo Tachibana shook his head, tucked the quilt in around his father, and remained silent.

The temperature was not particularly low this season, yet even though his father was covered by a thick quilt, his arms still felt somewhat cold.

Moreover, his father's mental state had become increasingly hazy.

Tachibana knew that his father's time was likely running out.

He had experienced such a state himself once before.

Regrettably, Tachibana still did not know how to comfort his father.

I hope that Father, like me, can go to the next world and live a good life.

Tachibana prayed for his father in his heart.

Kujo Kai slowly raised his arm, pressing it with great effort onto the top of Tachibana's head:

"Tachibana, your talent on the path of the sword is immense, far greater than mine. I only hope... cough... cough..."

Kujo Tachibana hurriedly stood up and gently patted his father's back, saying with sorrow:

"No, Father! I still have a long way to go. I only hope you recover soon so you can continue to train me in swordsmanship."

"Heh."

Kujo Kai looked at Tachibana and smiled.

The level of genius his son possessed was truly beyond his comprehension.

Ever since Tachibana turned ten, Kujo Kai had known that his son had already left him far behind.

He had long since ceased to understand the depth of Tachibana's current swordsmanship.

Although the current state of the Kujo Clan appeared somewhat meager, their family had once left a significant mark on the history of Japan.

The reason for their decline was not entirely due to a lack of effort from the younger generation; rather, the external environment had changed too drastically and too quickly.

For ordinary people like them, the gap between Japanese-style iaido and American-style iaido was simply too difficult to bridge.

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The promulgation of the Sword Abolition Edict, coupled with advancements in technology, meant that powerful and easy-to-use firearms naturally replaced the role of the swords they once held.

By the time it reached the generation of Kujo Tachibana, the once prosperous and vast Kujo Clan was reduced to only Kujo Tachibana, his father Kujo Kai, and this old estate.

Kujo Kai did not know that his genius son, Kujo Tachibana, was actually a transmigrator; in his previous life, Tachibana was a genuine person from Hua Country on Blue Star.

Pitifully, at the age of 27, just as his career was on the rise, Tachibana—whether from being squeezed by an unscrupulous boss through excessive overtime or eating too much gutter oil in takeout—was tragically diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer.

Having voluntarily given up treatment, the cancer cells spread rapidly, and in less than two months, Tachibana received his "boxed lunch" from the previous production crew.

Reborn as Kujo Tachibana in this world, it wasn't until he was four years old that he recalled all his memories.

He didn't know if it was because of the fusion of souls from two lifetimes.

Upon arriving in this world, Kujo Tachibana discovered that he possessed memory far superior to his previous life, along with extremely keen five senses!

Even memories he had long forgotten in his past life were now vivid and clear!

Sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch!

These five sensory systems were even more powerful than those of an ordinary person.

Perhaps it was precisely because Tachibana had once suffered the torment of illness in his previous life.

Having come to this new world, Tachibana placed his physical health above all else.

To once again possess a young and vibrant body was truly the greatest gift from the heavens!

In this life, Kujo Tachibana absolutely could not become a sickly weakling!

Holding onto this belief, Tachibana persisted in exercising and practicing his family's swordsmanship day after day for years.

Through long-term persistence, Tachibana also reaped his own rewards.

At the age of ten, having mastered his family's swordsmanship, Tachibana would feel a sense of omnipotent power every time he picked up a sword!

Even if what he held in his hand was merely a bamboo sword.

At first, Tachibana thought this was just an illusion, that he was still just a child with no real strength.

It wasn't until the age of ten, after Tachibana defeated a dozen adult thugs while holding a bamboo sword...

Only then did Tachibana understand that he was, in fact, truly strong!

And this world was quite extraordinary...

How could a normal ten-year-old child possess this kind of power?

In Tachibana's eyes, the strength and movements of these adults were weak and sluggish!

A casual strike from him was enough to knock down an adult.

At the very least, in his previous life, Tachibana had never heard of such an outrageous thing happening.

However, this feeling of controlling power and being strong.

It was truly intoxicating!

This also made Tachibana increasingly obsessed with practicing his family's swordsmanship step by step!

To ordinary people, the practice of swordsmanship is dry and boring, a double torment of body and spirit!

But for Kujo Tachibana, it was a process he savored like sweet nectar, a process of feeling himself become even stronger!

This obsession with swordsmanship, combined with Tachibana's "billion" points of talent!

Also allowed Tachibana to complete the most difficult training method in the history of the Kujo Clan!

"Five Senses Enhanced Sword Training!"

Having completed the Five Senses Enhanced Sword Training, Tachibana unknowingly birthed a sixth, powerful sense that transcended the human five senses!

This sense had been recorded in the clan's historical archives, and its name was "Sword Heart Clarity!"

As for the detailed information on Sword Heart Clarity, it had not been preserved.

The Kujo Clan's history only recorded that the first ancestor to reach the realm of Sword Heart Clarity was already sixty-five years old at the time.

Yet, Tachibana was only fourteen!

After reaching the realm of Sword Heart Clarity, even if Tachibana closed his eyes, he could perceive the minute changes in the surrounding environment without any blind spots.

Even if he plugged his ears, he could hear sounds from very far away.

His sense of smell, taste, and touch!

Were all the same.

He could even feel the internal condition of objects if he concentrated his mind.

Perhaps it was because of this powerful observational ability that the ancestors of the Kujo Clan named it "Sword Heart Clarity"!

As for whether Sword Heart Clarity had other special features, Tachibana had not yet figured it out and would need to explore it further in the future.

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