With a bruised and swollen face Kurosawa Juhachiro knelt in front of his father, his eyes filled with resentment as he stared at his junior brother standing behind his father.
He was truly ruined by this cheap junior brother, who caused such a huge blunder. Although he disagreed with his father, he respected him greatly. Knowing he was in the wrong, he could only passively take the beating and let his father vent his anger.
It was just so frustrating to be beaten like that!
My own father is indeed a scoundrel; he always hits people in the face. How can I face anyone after that?
Kurosawa Shichirō, kneeling in the main seat, looked at his unfilial son kneeling before him with great satisfaction. He had long wanted to teach this unfilial son a lesson, but he had been struggling to find a suitable opportunity.
Today, I seized this golden opportunity to vent the anger that had been building up in my heart for twenty-eight years, and I felt instantly refreshed.
"Father, please bestow upon me the Kurosawa Divine Sword and grant me the title of Sword Master in the Battle of Swords!"
Seeing that his father's expression had improved, Kurosawa Juhachiro seized the opportunity to speak, his expression extremely solemn.
He must obtain the Kurosawa Divine Sword to enhance his cultivation and strength in preparation for the Battle of Swords six months later.
He wanted to use this Battle of Swords to make a name for his Kurosawa Lineage. This was his plan to restore the glory of the Kurosawa Lineage. Although it went against the wishes of his own father, he still would not give up.
"I have already passed on the Kurosawa Divine Sword and the position of Master of the Kurosawa Sword Dao to Hao!"
Kurosawa Shichirō coldly replied, still disliking this rebellious son who had abandoned his family's Sword Dao tradition. However, he wouldn't give him no chance at all; this unfilial son would have to fight for it himself.
If he could seize the Kurosawa Divine Sword from Hao, he would agree, which would also protect Hao, this prodigy successor.
In any case, given Kurosawa Juhachiro's strength, even with the help of the Kurosawa Divine Sword, he wouldn't be able to defeat someone like Mifune, let alone fight against Admiral Amane. At most, he would just get a little injured in the battle, which wouldn't be a big deal.
If this unfilial son can't defeat Hao, then he can't be blamed.
"Junior Brother Hao, let's have a duel between warriors!"
Standing up, Kurosawa Juhachiro solemnly addressed Wang Hao, extending an invitation to challenge him.
According to the rules among samurai, he could only defeat his opponent with his own sword to earn a nomination for the Kurosawa Divine Sword and the Battle of Swords.
"It just so happens that I also want to see what Juhachiro Brother Shichiro has learned since abandoning Kurosawa Sword Dao and switching to the New Sword Dao!"
With a slight smile on his lips, Wang Hao walked to one side of the martial arts arena and stared intently at his junior brother, who was now his junior brother.
He dared not underestimate this junior brother, after all, a warrior's battle is often decided in an instant, and the slightest lapse in concentration could lead to defeat or even death.
After assuming a horse stance, Wang Hao placed the Kurosawa Divine Sword at his waist, gripping the scabbard with one hand and the hilt with the other, his eyes fixed on Kurosawa Juhachiro with sharp, razor-sharp eyes.
" Iaido Slash!"
Upon seeing Wang Hao's posture, Kurosawa Juhachiro's pupils shrank sharply.
Although he abandoned the Kurosawa Sword Dao and switched to New Sword Dao, he was very familiar with all the moves of the Kurosawa Sword Dao, so he naturally knew that Wang Hao was using now was the starting move of the Kurosawa Sword Dao - the Iaido Slash!
Iaido Slash is the starting move in almost all Ancient Sword Dao, although the variations of Iaido Slash differ slightly from one school to another.
Their Kurosawa Sword Dao has achieved great success in Iaido Slash, making them one of the top schools among all the Ancient Sword Dao styles in the Land of Iron.
Judging from this junior brother's appearance, he's quite skilled in Iaido Slash; this attack won't be easy to withstand!
" Instant Slash!"
Knowing that the Iaido Slash lasts, the greater its power, Kurosawa Juhachiro didn't dare to delay and preemptively unleashed his strongest Instant Slash.
His entire body appeared in front of Wang Hao as if he had traversed space, and the long sword in his hand slashed down, the blade condensed with Lightning Release Chakra, making it even sharper.
As he swung his long sword down, Kurosawa Juhachiro showed no joy whatsoever; on the contrary, his face was deathly pale as he stared in disbelief at his broken beloved sword.
His sword broke, severed by his opponent, but what was horrifying was that he hadn't seen his junior brother draw his sword, nor had he even heard the sound of it being drawn.
Since the opponent could cut his longsword in half, they could certainly cut his body in half as well. If the opponent hadn't shown no intention to kill, he would have really died from that blow.
"Laugh!"
The broken blade, which had been thrown into the air, then spun and pierced a nearby wooden pillar, its edge Gilgamesh coldly.
"I lost!"
With the broken sword sheathed, Kurosawa Juhachiro uttered a forlorn remark before turning and leaving.
He had already seen the huge gap between himself and this junior brother he had acquired through marriage; continuing the fight would only be a self-humiliation.
At the same time, he gave up any thought of the Battle of Swords.
After all, he didn't want to participate in the Battle of Swords to compete for the position of Admiral. He was well aware of his own limitations and only hoped to make a name for his declining Kurosawa Lineage in the Battle of Swords.
Compared to him, this junior brother who cultivates the pure Kurosawa Sword Dao is much stronger and is obviously the best candidate to bring fame to their Kurosawa Sword Dao. He doesn't need to worry about this matter.
"Is this the New Sword Dao?"
Ignoring the departing Kurosawa Juhachiro, Wang Hao frowned and stared at the broken blade stuck in the wooden post, quite disappointed with the so-called New Sword Dao.
He thought the New Sword Dao that could replace the Ancient Sword Dao would be incredibly powerful and profound, but after all this time, it turns out to be just this kind of thing.
The Instant Slash that Kurosawa Juhachiro just performed is actually a kind of Body Flicker Technique produced by activating the body with Lightning Release Chakra, a technique within the ninja system. At the same time, the Lightning Release Chakra increases the sharpness and destructive power of the longsword.
To be honest, he wasn't a samurai at all; he was just a ninja who used a long sword as a weapon. There were quite a few ninjas like that in Leaf.
The most famous one is Sakumo Hatake, known as the White Fang of the Leaf, who is also Kakashi Hatake's father. He is also skilled in this kind of Lightning Release Chakra- based rapid sword technique.
The Hatake Clan itself was one of the earliest families to develop New Sword Dao, but they became ninjas more thoroughly, and have even become a pure ninja family by now.
Simply put, their main profession is ninja, and samurai swordsmanship is just a secondary skill; they only use it as a tool to increase their strength.
"This is the New Sword Dao. Although it may not have the same potential as our Ancient Sword Dao, it is much easier to learn in the early stages. This alone is enough to replace our Ancient Sword Dao!"
Kurosawa Shichirō stepped forward and removed the broken blade embedded in the wooden pillar, letting out a somber sigh.
"Master, I would like to request that you begin sending invitations to all the Ancient Sword Dao- fighting schools in the Land of Iron starting in one month. I wish to witness the lineage of all these Ancient Sword Dao- fighting schools."
After thinking for a while, Wang Hao had an idea for the next step of the plan.
To create a completely new Body Refinement by combining the indigenous Body Refinement of samurai, it is essential to acquire as much of this Ancient Sword Dao heritage as possible.
However, although the ancient Ancient Sword Dao is declining, those schools are unlikely to directly reveal their own Sword Dao traditions to him.
To obtain the inheritance of these schools, the only way now is to challenge them one by one. As long as you win, you will be qualified to observe and obtain their inheritance. This is also a way for the various Sword Dao styles in the Land of Iron to promote each other.
The moment I saw you, I knew you were no ordinary person!
With another sigh, Kurosawa Shichirō said nothing more and turned to leave the training ground.
Faced with such a motivated request from his own student, what reason did he, as the teacher, have to refuse?
Wang Hao didn't linger in the training ground. He turned around and returned to his room, placing the Kurosawa Divine Sword he had just acquired on a sword rack to the side.
The sword rack displayed longswords of varying lengths and shapes, or rather, long knives.
Although the common language of this world is Chinese, and it is standard Mandarin, the swords and other weapons here are very similar to the Japanese swords of the island nation. They are all long, curved swords, and these long swords are also called swords.
Double-edged swords like the Kusanagi Sword are extremely rare; Wang Hao has only ever seen one like the Kusanagi Sword so far.
Even the newly acquired Kurosawa Divine Sword is a single-edged sword similar to a Tang sword, with a long blade and a total length of 1.8 meters.
Fortunately, after he abolished the Chakra within his body, he adjusted his height to about 10 feet, which is 250 centimeters.
This height of 2.5 meters is the optimal fighting form for men.
His height of 2.5 meters allowed him to easily wield the Kurosawa Divine Sword of that length.
After all, a 1.8-meter longsword is just too long. Even for an average person to use as a two-handed sword, it would be too long. Moreover, if such a longsword were used to perform Iaido Slash, which is a sword-drawing technique, those with insufficient arm span would not even be able to draw the 1.5-meter-long blade out of its sheath.
That would be incredibly awkward!
Of course, while adjusting his physique, he didn't forget to modify his appearance.
His current appearance is based on Sephiroth from Final Fantasy, and he even specially made a set of leather clothes and boots just like Sephiroth's.
It just so happens that Dan Kato's hair was a bit white, so he grew his hair out a bit and got the exact same hairstyle as Sephiroth. He looked incredibly dashing!
It was precisely because of his tall stature that he chose to become an apprentice at the Kurosawa Sword Dao Hall.
Because of the Kurosawa Divine Sword, practitioners of Kurosawa Sword Dao are all tall people. For example, his cheap teacher, Kurosawa Shichirō, is 2.3 meters tall, and Kurosawa Juhachiro is even 2.4 meters tall, almost as tall as him.
This height is most suitable for using the Kurosawa Divine Sword, and Kurosawa Sword Dao is the most suitable Sword Dao for this body type.
After taking off his coat and placing it on the hanger, Wang Hao eagerly opened the scroll that his cheap teacher Kurosawa Shichirō, had given him along with the Kurosawa Divine Sword.
This scroll contains everything about Kurosawa Sword Dao!
Ignoring the various sword techniques and secret methods recorded in the previous chapter, Wang Hao flipped to the last chapter, which contained the cultivation methods of the Swordmaster's Way, and began to study them carefully.
Wang Hao, who was diligently cultivating, was unaware that Leaf was in considerable turmoil because of him.
Ever since she saw through her boyfriend Dan Kato's true colors last time, Tsunade has suppressed her sadness and anger and begun to investigate Dan Kato's past.
It would have been better if she hadn't investigated, because the investigation revealed quite a few things.
Dan Kato used her to do far too many evil things. Even the destruction of the Senju Clan Uzumaki Clan on the battlefield in the Land of Whirlpools was partly due to Dan Kato's influence.
At that time, Dan Kato was someone she personally recommended to her father, and he trusted her greatly.
But now, because of her, the entire main force of the Senju Clan has been wiped out on the battlefield of the Land of Whirlpools.
It seems that Dan Kato has always coveted the Wood Release bloodstains of her grandfather, the First Hokage Hashirama Senju, and the missing members of their Senju Lineage over the years also seem to be related to that man.
After uncovering all of this, Tsunade was on the verge of collapse, and her hatred for Dan Kato, now known as Wang Hao, intensified.
If Wang Hao were standing in front of this girl right now, Tsunade would probably want to tear him to pieces.
Meanwhile, inside the Hokage Building Third Hokage and others were discussing Tsunade and Wang Hao.
" Danzō, are you really sure Danzo will bear the consequences of everything?"
The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, stared blankly at his old friend Danzō Shimura across from him. It wasn't that he didn't trust his friend, but rather that the matter was of great importance.
If it were revealed that they had plotted against the Senju Clan and used the remaining Senju Clan members for experiments to replicate the power of Wood Release, even with their current power, they might not be able to withstand it.
Even if we suppress it, it will alienate us from the major clans of Leaf and arouse their suspicion, which would be disastrous.
"Dan was trained by me personally; he is the most outstanding work of my life. Even though he has defected now, he is still Dan Kato of Leaf!"
Danzō's resolute response demonstrated his absolute confidence.
After all, he had already seen the bond he had with that man, Dan Kato. As long as Tsunade was still in Leaf, that man would remain a sharp blade in his hands.
only...
"Where on earth did that guy hide? How come he hasn't shown up at all in a year?"
Although he answered decisively, Danzō was still quite puzzled.
His Root Organization specializes in intelligence work and has even infiltrated the other four major ninja villages to a considerable extent, so finding a trace of someone in the Shinobi World is not difficult.
But it's been a year, and we haven't found a single clue, let alone made any contact with them.
Although it's a sensitive time when Tsunade has vaguely discovered some things, it would be best for that man to hide so that they can operate more effectively. However, this man is hiding too well!
"Ah! What a pity that child was killed. All of this was for Leaf!"
Seeing Danzō's confidence, Hiruzen Sarutobi also relaxed and couldn't help but sigh inwardly. However, this sigh earned him disdainful looks from Danzo and his two Danzō.
Everyone sitting here was involved in those things; we all know them inside and out. Who are you trying to fool?