Brotherly Bonds

On the table lay the Nichirin Sword Senju Kyogawa had been longing for. Its blade was silver-white, but otherwise it was identical in shape to the one wielded by the Demon Slayer Marked man.

As soon as Senju Kyogawa saw the Nichirin Sword, he thought again of the man from his dream, who had seemed like a heavenly god.

I can't believe the system directly rewarded me with a Nichirin Sword! It's so generous! Senju Kyogawa thanked the system in his heart.

He quickly got out of bed and grabbed the Nichirin Sword, intending to lift it for a closer look.

Senju Kyogawa applied a little force.

Huh?

It didn't budge?

Senju Kyogawa felt a little awkward.

That must've been my imagination! he thought.

So he tried again, putting more effort into lifting the Nichirin Sword.

Great. He'd failed again.

Senju Hashirama was still looking at the unfamiliar Nichirin Sword with curiosity. "Kyogawa, is that sword heavy? Want me to try?"

Senju Kyogawa didn't have time to answer. All he wanted was to pick up the Nichirin Sword.

He politely declined Senju Hashirama's offer.

After all, this was his first real Nichirin Sword, and he wanted to lift it himself.

For some reason, the Nichirin Sword was extraordinarily heavy. Senju Kyogawa couldn't lift it with one hand.

So he tried a third time, gripping it with both hands.

At least he managed to lift it this time.

Senju Kyogawa raised the Nichirin Sword with trembling hands and managed to get it off the ground. But he soon lost his grip, and the tip of the blade hit the floor with a bang. He had to brace it against the floor just to keep hold of it.

What the hell? Why is this Nichirin Sword so heavy? The one I used before wasn't this heavy... Senju Kyogawa asked the system in his heart.

Host, please don't underestimate the system's rewards. The one you exchanged for before was a knockoff. This is the genuine Nichirin Sword used by ****. the system replied.

What? Who? Senju Kyogawa asked in confusion. The system had automatically censored those four characters.

Still, he could more or less guess that the name belonged to the red-marked man from his dream.

I can't believe a real Nichirin Sword is this heavy... Senju Kyogawa sighed inwardly.

He was struggling just to lift it, let alone wield it.

Seeing the disappointment on Kyogawa's face, Senju Hashirama couldn't help asking, "Kyogawa, is this your sword? I've never seen it before."

Still lost in his disappointment, Senju Kyogawa gave Senju Hashirama a perfunctory reply. "Yeah, yeah, it's mine."

Senju Hashirama didn't quite understand why Kyogawa was upset, but he'd happened to hit the nail on the head. "Kyogawa, are you sad because you can't lift the sword?"

After Senju Hashirama asked, an awkward silence spread between them. Senju Kyogawa didn't want to deal with his big brother, who'd just rubbed salt in the wound.

Seriously, how was it fair that he couldn't even lift his own sword?

"Don't worry, Kyogawa. Kawarama couldn't lift a sword when he was your age, either. Look how well he handles one now. If you keep practicing, you can become just as good as Kawarama."

"Thanks so much, big brother..." Senju Kyogawa had a bead of sweat on his brow, but Senju Hashirama's words did make him feel a little better.

Most members of the Senju Clan had freakish strength and exceptional physical conditioning. But even that strength had to be built through practice. When they were five or six, Senju children couldn't lift something that weighed nearly half as much as they did. And Senju Kyogawa had gone four years without training; he'd only recently started getting back into shape.

Senju Kyogawa's third older brother, Senju Kawarama, had a real talent for swordsmanship. At just seven years old, he could swing a greatsword with such speed that it stirred up the wind, looking every bit the expert. Even the teacher who'd once taught him swordsmanship said he was ready to graduate.

Even someone like Senju Kawarama, now considered a swordsmanship prodigy with exceptional talent, had only just managed to lift a sword at Senju Kyogawa's age.

Under the golden sunlight, Senju Kyogawa exercised beneath the blazing sun.

Although the spring weather wasn't especially warm, the sun was already fierce so close to noon. Exercising in the sunlight was anything but pleasant.

Sweat dripped from Senju Kyogawa's hair. His forehead and temples were covered in beads of perspiration, and his little face had turned bright red. Strands of his white hair stuck to his scalp, and his clothes were soaked through. The shirt clung to his back, damp and sticky. Senju Kyogawa hated the feeling.

After deciding to lift the Nichirin Sword, Senju Kyogawa had humbly asked his older brother Kawarama how he'd gotten so good at swordsmanship.

When Senju Kawarama heard that Senju Kyogawa was interested in swordsmanship and already had a sword of his own, he was more than happy to share his experience.

Once Senju Butsuma had confirmed that Senju Kyogawa could accept missions on his own, he rarely trained him personally anymore. Senju Kawarama had naturally stepped in to fill the role of teacher.

From that day on, the Senju Clan members often saw a tiny, short-haired boy with white hair lifting weights on the training ground.

Yes, lifting weights.

Besides practicing the most basic Taijutsu, Senju Kyogawa had to build his strength by lifting weights.

Senju Kawarama told him that weightlifting was the most effective way to build strength.

Just as Senju Kawarama had said, after several days of weight training, Senju Kyogawa's strength and grip had improved considerably. He could even see a hint of muscle on his thin upper arms.

Senju Kyogawa could now lift the Nichirin Sword without letting it fall. He still needed both hands, but it was already a big improvement.

On top of that, he could feel that his punches had more power behind them. They no longer felt so weak and limp.

The downside was that lifting weights every day left his arms aching terribly. The Pain Immunity Card could reduce the pain, but it couldn't get rid of the weakness and soreness in his arms by the next day. Sometimes it was so bad that Senju Kyogawa could barely raise them.

So every night, Senju Kawarama came to massage the sore muscles in Kyogawa's arms. That way, Kyogawa could sleep soundly and keep training the next day.

Over the past month, the two had trained together, eaten together, and slept together. At night, they even took turns massaging each other's sore muscles. Senju Kyogawa and Kawarama had grown much closer.

"Little Kyogawa~ Come eat~" Senju Kawarama called to Senju Kyogawa, who was absorbed in his training on the training ground.

Senju Kawarama had come to bring Senju Kyogawa another meal.

The two sat together in the little woods beside the training ground, enjoying fragrant rice balls and chatting about their training.

Senju Kawarama used a cloth to wipe the sweat from Senju Kyogawa's face, then had him sit in the shade of a tree and fanned him.

The brothers talked about everything under the sun and dreamed about the future...

But...

It wasn't long before Senju Kawarama fell in battle.

When the terrible news arrived, Senju Kyogawa was practicing his sword swings on the training ground.