Takamagahara, the Heaven-Piercing River region, Shōdo Island.
Amid the biting wind and snow, a man sat cross-legged atop a solitary peak.
He had a tall, slender frame and naturally curly white hair. Over his black shirt and trousers, he wore a white kimono patterned with blue flowers, embroidered with black Magatama bearing divine imagery. A high collar concealed the lower half of his pallid face, while his narrow, upturned eyes gazed deeply into the distance.
Ōtsutsuki Kibutsuji, the ninth wielder of the Heaven Sword, one of the Branch Family's four greatest fighters, and Takamagahara's strongest swordsman!
Below the cliff where he sat, a peak rose on either side.
Standing there were the human world's strongest and second-strongest swordsmen, Zatoichi and Mifune!
Facing the strongest foe in the realm of swordsmanship, the two men, both teacher and student and friends, chatted and laughed.
Mifune said, "The strongest swordsman, yet he holds no sword. Could that so-called Heaven Sword be in his heart, just as you perceive the world through your Mind's Eye despite having lost your physical sight, Master..."
Zatoichi said, "You mean having no sword surpasses having one? I heard something similar when Lord Shadow was joking after a few drinks. It struck me as quite refreshing then, but after thinking it over, it still doesn't apply to the world we live in. Everything has a reason to exist. Someone who loves drinking more than life would never say having no wine surpasses having wine..."
Mifune asked with a smile, "Then how much wine would you consider enough?"
Zatoichi answered with a smile, "The more, the better, of course. There's no upper limit. Lord Shadow promised to give me the Heaven Wine Gourd once this battle is over."
Mifune said, "Uh, isn't that rather unlucky? Isn't there a term for