The Sword Deity in Tokyo

Chapter 132: The State of Sword Saint!

Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio

Kimura Kazuki soon reached Akira District and arrived at Yagyu Kendo Gym according to the given address.

He was quite surprised when he obtained this address previously. He did not expect that the Yagyu family would have opened a Kendo Gym. Perhaps he could work part-time as an instructor at the Kendo Gym while teaching Yagyu Kenichiro’s daughter, he would be happy to receive two salaries.

Arriving at Yagyu Kendo Gym, he noticed that it was deserted with no one walking around. He walked through the door and saw a middle-aged man sitting at the front desk. The man was watching something on his mobile phone with his head lowered, occasionally making low sounds of laughter.

“Hello.”

After Kimura Kazuki spoke, Yagyu Kenichiro, lifted his head from his phone. He recognized him as he had seen the video of him on NICONICO’s website. He turned off his mobile phone and stood up immediately with a self-introduction, “Kimura-Kun, I am Yagyu Kenichiro.”

Without waiting for a reply, Yagyu Kenichiro walked out from behind the front desk and pulled Kimura Kazuki along with a friendly expression.

Soon, Kimura Kazuki reached the interior of the Kendo Gym.

It was hard to tell from the outside of Yagyu Kendo Gym, but the interior was extremely spacious. It looked clean and clear with a bright yellow floor. There were rows of bamboo swords in a corner, and a “Yagyu Gym” plaque hung on the wall, with the words “Kenshin Tsumei” hanging below it flamboyantly.

However, there was not even one person in sight within the whole Kendo Gym.

“Hokushin Kendo Gym recently opened on the next street, so all the students of Yagyu Gym left.” Seeing Kimura Kazuki’s confusion, Yagyu Kenichiro explained with a laugh.

Kimura Kazuki nodded.

Hokushin Kendo Gym was a renown Kendo gym chain in Tokyo. Many branches had popped up in various regions all over Tokyo, and there were also branches of Hokushin Kendo Gym in other districts, just not as many as Tokyo. Even Jinwen District had a Hokushin Kendo Gym, and what Hokushin Kendo Gym taught was Hokushin Itto-Ryu.

Hokushin Itto-Ryu believes that Kendo is not just a skill, but an art.

During the late Edo period, Hokushin Itto-Ryu reformed the practice methods of using bamboo swords and protective gear, strongly influencing the Kendo of modern Japan. That was why Hokushin Itto-Ryu was the Kendo that ordinary people were keen on in modern society.

Generally speaking, for the people who lived in Tokyo who wanted to get started with Kendo or wanted to increase their strength in Kendo, Hokushin Kendo Gym was their first choice for most of them. After all, ordinary people would not understand the traditional Kendo circle. Besides learning Kendo for self-cultivation, they would only join various Kendo Competitions.

Of course, there were many styles of Kendo in Japan, each having its own strengths. There were also well-known styles of Kendo in other districts and many Kendo Gyms to choose from.

Yagyu Kenichiro brought Kimura Kazuki to the quiet room. He motioned for Kimura Kazuki to sit and poured him some tea. He laughed and said, “Kimura-Kun, I wonder how strong you are now.” Without waiting for a reply, he said resignedly, “My daughter is childish. She believes that only people who are stronger than she can become a teacher.”

Kimura Kazuki nodded with a smile, “Your daughter sounds like a very confident person, this is a good thing.” Soon after, he changed the topic, and, instead of making a statement, he mentioned casually, “Yagyu-san, the Sword Drawing Skill that you’re practicing should be Yagyu Itto-Ryu.” When Yagyu Kenichiro lifted his head abruptly to look at him, Kimura Kazuki said lightly, “I can feel the sword power within you, calm and tranquil yet eager for action.”

Yagyu Itto-Ryu was the core of the Yagyu family’s swordsmanship, and the Yagyu Flying Sword Style was created using Yagyu Itto-Ryu as a basis.

Yagyu Isshin wandered about and pioneered a new style because he felt contempt towards the core swordsmanship of Yagyu Itto-Ryu, which was “Yagyu’s Sword Drawing Skill.”

Yagyu’s Sword Drawing Skill paid attention to spiritual conservation. The Yagyu family believed that the spirit of a person was limited daily, but since weapons were dead objects, they could contain unlimited amounts of spirits. Therefore, as long as an individual assimilated their limited spirits into the weapons in their hands every single day, they would definitely win when they pulled out a sword filled with unlimited amounts of spirit.

Yagyu’s Sword Drawing Skill was a typical representation of taking 10 years to grind a sword.

However, Yagyu Isshin was born during the Sengoku Period of Japan. During that period, fathers and sons did not get along, and brothers would fight against each other. The Daimyo throughout the country was split apart, allies were pointing their swords at each other. The war was never-ending, even worse than the war times during spring and autumn in Huaxia. A single tiny area had 10 to 20 Daimyo.

Spiritual conservation of weapons during the Sengoku Period? That was the way to die.

However, after Kimura Kazuki said that he had a look of hesitation on his face. “But... your Yagyu’s Sword Drawing Skill looks a bit different.” This was not what he sensed, he was not that powerful yet. It was because Yagyu’s Sword Drawing Skill required the sword never to leave his side, he should even carry the sword during meals. Obviously, Yagyu Kenichiro did not do so.

This was different from him communicating with the sword’s spirit, as that was him taking the initiative to activate it consciously. On the other hand, Yagyu’s Sword Drawing Skill uses spiritual conservation unconsciously.

Yagyu Kenichiro looked at Kimura Kazuki with astonishment. He took a deep breath upon hearing this question and said, “That’s because I reformed Yagyu’s Sword Drawing Skill. After comprehending the sword power, I used it as a core, and I conserved sword power using spirits instead of basing it on a weapon.” He noticed that Kimura Kazuki was calm, and he laughed bitterly, “This idea was taken from Master Isshin’s ‘Single Flash Sword Drawing Skill.’”

The “Single Flash Sword Drawing Skill” was actually Yagyu Isshin’s innovative creation, derived from “Yagyu’s Sword Drawing Skill.” “Single Flash Sword Drawing Skill” uses reiki as a base, with spiritual as a complement, delivering a powerful strike in an instant. The nature of it was that the more the reiki within the body, the stronger the power. It was the exact opposite of “Yagyu’s Sword Drawing Skill.”

Kimura Kazuki nodded. Glancing at him, he said, “If Yagyu-san does not trust my strength, we can compete now.”

“There’s no need for that.” Yagyu Kenichiro knew that by him pointing out the sword power within his body directly, it clearly proved his strength, so he immediately rejected. “I trust your strength.” Saying that, he stood up. “I have already prepared Kimura-Kun’s remuneration, please give me a moment.” Yagyu Kenichiro left the room, and glanced at the door. The shock at the bottom of his eyes had not yet dispersed, and he murmured, “Is he truly a sword saint?”

Sword saint was the highest honor in the world of traditional Kendo. This title was not something that someone could endow. Instead, it was a state. According to rumors... when you reach the state of sword saint, the most obvious thing was that one could see through the sword power of all swordsmen.

Everyone had different sword power. Some were introverted, some were enthusiastic, some were overbearing, and some were sharp. Even though the swordsmanship of the same style was used on different sword power, the motivational power would be different. Knowing someone’s sword power would allow a person to take precautions and counter effectively.

When he spoke to Ono Junichi previously, Ono Junichi claimed that Kimura Kazuki saw through the sword power within his son! Although they were surprised while talking, in their hearts, they did not believe it.

Kimura Kazuki looked no more than 17, he was probably still studying... Such a young sword saint? The two of them did not believe it.

But after sitting down with Kimura Kazuki, who pointed out the sword power within him with just a sentence, he was shocked.

As for the moment when Kimura Kazuki wanted to compete with him, he had an inexplicable feeling in his heart, so he rejected the offer. Ono Junichi regretted it immediately soon after because he would have been a good test of strength.

There was no such thing as a pill to cure regret. Perhaps after they got to know each other more, he could compete with him a little.