Shinmen Musashi-no-Kami Fujiwara no Genshin.
Most people called him Miyamoto Musashi.
Some called him Kanemoto Tōsai, others called him Fujiwara no Genshin, while those close to him would call him by his childhood name, Bennosuke.
He was an unparalleled sword saint who wielded his own Niten Ichi-ryū, slaughtering countless living beings with those two blades.
"Are you talking about yourself?"
A voice seemed to ask that.
Had I ever referred to myself that way?
Ah.
It did not matter.
"Where was I just now?"
That voice asked and answered itself.
"Ah, blades. Blades, right?"
"Blades."
"In the past, they could be called tachi and uchigatana. Nowadays... they seem to be called uchigatana and wakizashi. I believe that's how it is."
"Those permitted to wear swords are called [samurai]."
"[Samurai] are those who serve the nobility, which is why they are also called [attendants]."
"And the one who commands many samurai is a [commander]."
"If you wanted an analogy, they would be something like the foreman among craftsmen?"
"They are rulers. They can distinguish the rules of the world, understand the laws of the nation, and govern the rules of a household."
"Haha."
"You don't understand?"
"Of course not. There was a child named Iori who did not understand either."
"Hmm, besides Iori, Mago no Jō would probably make a strange, thoroughly baffled expression too, wouldn't he?"
"Ah, when I was young, I understood nothing. I did not understand samurai, nor did I understand commanders—I could think of nothing but raising my sword, bringing it down, and killing everything before my eyes."
"By the standards of later generations, I possessed no talent whatsoever for being a commander. At most... I only had the talent to be a minor military inspector."
"Exactly."
That voice grew somewhat more solemn.
"How foolish. How stupid!"