"Hahaha……"
There was a pain in my chest that seemed to tear my entire body apart... Well, my body was indeed torn apart.
Should we say it was a blessing in disguise? Toyotomi Nobuhide's sword did not hit his stomach, but his chest.
If the knife was in the abdomen... the stomach, kidneys, intestines and other organs would probably be chopped into pieces, and then flow out of the wound all over the floor.
When Toyotomi Nobuhide swung his sword, Genichi raised his sword with all his strength to block it, deflecting the sword's path and avoiding a sword hit on his forehead, while also dissipating some of the force on the sword.
Immediately afterwards, the hard sternum and ribs blocked the slash for Genichi.
Thanks to Yuan Yi's best efforts in defense and the protection of the bones, important organs such as the heart and lungs did not suffer serious damage.
However - although his important organs were not damaged, Genichi's current condition was by no means good.
Although his sternum and ribs helped Yuan Yi block the knife and neutralized some of the force from Yoshimitsu's bone food, he also suffered a lot of damage.
The left clavicle, sternum, ribs...the bones in the chest are all injured to varying degrees.
The pain from his bones made Yuanyi feel almost fainting.
But what is most troubling to Genichi is the horrific amount of blood loss...
The blood kept flowing out of the wound and couldn't be stopped.
Due to the massive loss of blood, Yuan Yi's face was as pale as gold paper and his lips were frighteningly pale.
He tried to stand up and continue fighting, but the pain was so severe that even moving his arms was painful.
——Did I…lose…?
Genichi raised his head with all his might and looked at Toyotomi Nobuhide who was walking towards him.
——The person who took my head... is he my blood relative...
--hateful……
——Is this all that can be done…?
Yuan Yi felt his eyelids getting heavier and heavier, his eyes slowly became half-closed, and might close completely at any time.
——I have devoted my entire life to the sword... but in the end... I still cannot reach the higher realms of the sword before I die...
——It’s really… a pity…
As Genichi's eyes slowly closed, the light in them gradually dimmed...
But, at this moment——
"It's a pity that I wasn't born in the same era as you. Although you are my enemy, I am also a swordsman, and I really want to see how terrifying your strength is when you are at your strongest."
Suddenly, Genichi heard Toyotomi Nobuhide, who was walking towards him at a leisurely pace, saying this to him with emotion.
"?!" Yuan Yi felt as if two sharp needles were piercing his eardrums. His expression was startled, and his eyes, which were originally half closed, slowly opened wide...
…
…
(Who are you?! Why are you sneaking around in front of my house! Huh? Kinoshita Genichi ? I don’t have a relative like you! Go away! Go away! Huh? You are my great-uncle? I don’t have any great-uncle! Go away!)
…
…
“…Ha…hahahahaha.”
…
Quite unexpectedly, Genichi, who was kneeling on one knee with his sword on the ground, suddenly laughed softly.
"Hmm?" Toyotomi Nobuhide cast a puzzled look at Genichirō.
No matter how Toyotomi Nobuhide looked at it, Genichirō, who had been stabbed hard in the chest, was now doomed to fail - he really couldn't imagine any reason for Genichirō to laugh now.
Toyotomi Nobuhide, who could not help but become alert, frowned and asked Genichi:
"……why are you laughing?"
Genichi slowly stopped laughing.
"Nothing... it's just... thanks to what you said just now, it reminded me of what I said to someone last night. It reminded me that I shouldn't be so fragile as to collapse like this."
After speaking——
“Hmm…!”
Yuanyi leaned on his knife, stepped hard on the deck, and slowly raised his body.
Genichi's facial features were twisted in pain.
All I could hear was Genichi's voice turning into groans of pain.
But even so, Genichi still stubbornly tried to stand up.
"...Hey." Seeing Genichi ignoring his injuries and pain, a look of astonishment appeared on Toyotomi Nobuhide's face, "Why torture yourself like this? Do you think you still have the strength to fight?"
"That's right." Genichi, who was leaning on his sword, raised his head and grinned at Toyotomi Nobuhide, "I haven't... seen with my own eyes that Xiaolin is safe... I can't... just fall asleep like this..."
"...Heh." Toyotomi Nobuhide's face darkened, "Then I want to see what else you can do with your old and seriously injured body."
After saying this, Toyotomi Nobuhide quickened his pace and ran towards Genichirō.
"Old and seriously injured..." Genichi softly repeated what Toyotomi Nobuhide had just said.
A faint smile appeared on Yuanyi's cheeks as the corners of his mouth turned up.
"Don't be complacent...boy..."
"…Who do you think is standing in front of you?"
"I'm not that easy to deal with at this age..."
"You just said: You want to know how terrifying my strength is when I am at my strongest, right?"
"Haven't you seen this a long time ago...?!"
Genichi, grinning widely, now stood up completely straight.
Although he was covered in blood, he still stood upright on the deck like a mountain.
"My strongest moment—"
…
…
last night--
"Kanshi, what's wrong? Why did you suddenly pull me here with a serious face?" Yuanyi casually placed his left hand on the Yangshen sword guard at his waist and put his right hand behind his back.
"It's nothing serious." Feng Mo kneaded his still aching lower back and said lightly, "I just want to stand in the position of a friend and tell you some intimate words from the bottom of my heart."
"Personal talk?" Yuan Yi chuckled a few times as if he was amused. "You looked so serious. I thought you were going to do something. Turns out you just wanted to talk to me."
"Okay, then I'm all ears."
Genichirō pointed his lips in the direction of the temple gate.
"But please keep this short. We're leaving for Koyasan soon."
Feng Mo nodded gently: "There is no need to 'listen attentively'."
"I'm not going to go into any lengths."
"I just want to remind you: always take care of your health and don't forget that you are an old man now."
Fuma's simple words caused Genichi's eyebrows to raise slightly, and his expression changed slightly.
Ignoring the change in Genichi's expression , Fuma continued:
"If I remember correctly, Genichi, you are 65 years old this year."
"I'm older than you, so I know exactly what it means to be 65."
Feng Mo, who was slightly hunched over due to back pain, chuckled at himself.
"We are no longer at the age where we can do whatever we want to us."
"My strength, power, senses, reactions... they're all weakened beyond belief."
“Many movements that were easy to do when I was young are now extremely difficult or impossible to do at all.”
"In the eyes of outsiders who are not familiar with you, most of them will think that you are no longer an old man, and think that you are still the invincible 'Sword Saint'."
"But in my eyes, who knew you when you were still unknown..."
Having said this, Feng Mo pursed his lips as if he couldn't bear to continue.
After a pause, he continued:
"...No matter how powerful you were when you were young, you are still a mortal after all. You can't stop time from leaving its marks on you."
"According to my estimation, whether it's your physical strength or your strength... your current physical strength is not even half of what it was in your prime, right?"
"I don't mean to stop you from rescuing Xiaolin by saying 'old age'."
"I just want to remind you: Don't forget that you are past your prime. You are no longer young and you don't have the strength you had when you were young."
Feng Mo sighed softly.
"I was really afraid that when you went to save Xiaolin, you got so excited that you forgot about your own physical condition and did something that an old man like you shouldn't do..."
Genichi had been listening quietly to Fuma's heartfelt words without interrupting him, and just listened silently to the end.
Until Feng Mo's voice fell completely -
"Hahaha……"
Yuan Yi, who had been holding the sword with his left hand and with his right hand behind his back, chuckled a few times with a hint of joy on his face.
"It's been a while since I've heard someone tell me to pay more attention to my aging body."
Genichi sighed softly.
"The last time I heard someone tell me to pay attention to my age was one night about half a year ago. Xiaolin told me to drink less alcohol and take more health-preserving soups and medicines."
After making fun of himself, Yuan Yi pursed his lips, then raised his head and looked up at the full moon that was almost rising to its highest point above his head.
"You are no longer a young man... You have passed your prime..."
He softly repeated the words Feng Mo had just said.
"... Ganshi, I have devoted my life completely to the sword."
"Huh...?" Fuma looked at Genichi in confusion as he suddenly changed the topic to a direction that had nothing to do with what he had just said.
Genichi ignored the confused Fuma and continued speaking:
"Ever since I first held a wooden sword in that sword school where no one was taught, I have been hopelessly in love with swords and swordsmanship."
"In order to study swordsmanship and achieve the 'ultimate swordsmanship', I broke up with my father and left the so-called 'Toyotomi Restoration' that should have been shouldered by me, the eldest son. I ran away from home and traveled around to hone my swordsmanship."
"My life is a life dedicated to the sword, a life of travel, and a life of fighting."
"In the past 65 years, I have fought all kinds of people. I have challenged all kinds of masters."
"A swordsman obsessed with swordsmanship like me, an evil monk who has fallen into the devil's way, a stubborn ninja, an English pirate, a French musketeer who calls himself a knight, a former member of the Pope's Guard who once served in the Vatican, a tyrannical Cossack cavalryman, an Indian who almost took my head with an Indian tomahawk..."
"I love swords more than anyone else."
"But unfortunately - the sword doesn't seem to love me."
A bitter smile appeared on Genichi's face.
"I practiced swordsmanship with great effort. To hone my swordsmanship, I risked my life countless times to challenge strong opponents."
"But... since about 20 years ago, I feel like my swordsmanship has completely stagnated."
“It was like hitting a huge wall and I couldn’t move forward.”
"After realizing that I seemed to have hit a bottleneck that was difficult to break through... To be honest - I was quite depressed at that time."
"I am very confused: I have devoted everything I can to the sword, so why can't I climb higher 'mountains' and see new 'scenery'?"
"I can no longer improve my swordsmanship. For someone like me who has devoted my entire life to the sword, this result is extremely frustrating."
"I'm very scared."
"I'm afraid that my swordsmanship will stagnate and I won't be able to make any further progress."
"But the changes in the world are always so wonderful."
“When you are depressed and hopeless, a turning point may come unexpectedly and quietly.”
"Not long after I realized I was stuck in a bottleneck, I finally boarded a ship back to Japan and set foot on my homeland after 30 years."
"Not long after I returned to Japan...I met Xiaolin."
Genichi stretched out his hand and gestured beside his thigh.
"When I first met Xiaolin, she was only 9 years old, only this tall, and very small... Ah, although she is still very small now."
"I suffered a lot when Xiaolin and I first met."
Yuan Yi sighed helplessly.
"Xiao Lin has a strong prejudice against me, a great uncle who she had only heard of but never seen before, and who never showed up after her family lost all their money-making labor and fell into great difficulties."
"Whenever they see me, they roll their eyes at me or say mean things to me."
"They don't call me 'bogong', but 'this so-and-so' and 'that so-and-so'."
"But - even though Xiaolin treated me so badly, I couldn't help but give her all my patience and tenderness."
Yuanyi slowly put away the helplessness on his face, and replaced it with a gentle smile.
"I devote my time, energy...everything I can give to the Sword."
"I gave the 'love' that should have been given to a certain woman to the 'sword' as well."
"In the end, even when my hair turned gray, I still hadn't started a family, and I had no wife, no children, and no daughters."
"I have been alone for most of my life - until I met Xiaolin."
"When I think about the fact that there is a child in this world who can call me 'Uncle'... I can't express how I feel."
"She is obviously just a tiny thing...but I have experienced feelings from this tiny thing that I have never experienced before."
The smile on Yuan Yi's face became more gentle.
"In addition to this emotion, I also gained...new strength from Xiaolin."
"This power is stronger than any power I've ever had before!"
A gentle smile still hung on her cheeks.
But at this moment, Genichi's pupils burst into a "sharp" light that formed a sharp contrast with the "softness" on his face!
"When I think of Xiaolin, and when I think of this for Xiaolin, I feel like I might even be able to chop down the top of Mount Fuji!"
"You just said: I am no longer a young person and have passed my prime?"
"Then you are wrong."
"Ganshi, there was a time when I also thought that my heyday was when I was still young and in the prime of my life!"
“But it was not until now, when my hair has turned gray, that I realized that my strongest moment was not when I was young, not when I overthrew Iga-no-Sato single-handedly, and not when I repelled the Cossack army that night.”
"My strongest moment—"
…
…
"——It means that I no longer have nothing but my sword!"
Genichi held the sword to which he had devoted most of his life in front of him!
A dignified temperament bursts out!
"Come on, boy!" he said.
…
(…You finally stopped being obsessed with the sword.)
(In this way... the door to the 'ultimate martial arts' is finally open to you.)
…
--Um?
Yuan Yi stared blankly at everything in front of him.
The rain is still falling.
The wind is still blowing.
But everything in front of me... no, everything I see with my eyes is completely different.
He can clearly capture the trajectory of every breeze and every raindrop.
Everything within his field of vision is visible to him.
This feeling...
It’s like the world is transparent!
But what shocked Genichi the most was not the world in front of him that suddenly became clear, but the voice that suddenly emerged in his heart.
It was a voice he would never mistake—it was his own.
Too many doubts popped up and filled Genichi's mind.
He had no time to consider these doubts.
"Oh, your injuries are so severe that even your mind is not clear anymore?" Toyotomi Nobuhide sneered at Genichirō.
As he sneered, he was already in a position where his sword could hit Genichi.
The sharp blade cut through the air and came towards Genichi's head!
Toyotomi Nobuhide was very confident in his attack.
He did not hold back at all in this attack.
With Yuan Yi now severely injured, there is no way he could dodge his sword.
He smiled smugly.
He looked smugly at the blade that was getting closer and closer to Genichi's forehead.
However - just as his blade was about to hit Genichi's forehead, the smug smile on his face froze in an instant.
In his prediction, Yuan Yi would not be able to dodge his attack no matter what, but he actually moved sideways half a step and easily avoided his attack.
Not only did he dodge, he also fought back!
Genichi retracted the Flame Rong in his left hand into the sheath, held the Yang Shen tightly with both hands, and swung the Yang Shen from bottom to top, slashing towards Toyotomi Nobuhide's chin at an extremely tricky angle.
"Tsk...!" Toyotomi Nobuhide, whose expression changed drastically and uncontrollably, quickly jumped to the right and back to avoid Kaigenichi's upward attack.
Toyotomi Nobuhide jumped back, and just as his feet touched the deck, he saw Yang Shen's blade stabbing towards his throat again!
——What’s going on? !
Toyotomi Nobuhide hurriedly raised Yoshimitsu Boneshoku upright, trying to block the blade that was stabbing at Genichirō.
But just as he raised the Ji Guang Bone Food, the blade of Yang Shen suddenly stopped——
——Fake move!
Seeing Yang Shen suddenly stop, Toyotomi Nobuhide quickly reacted and figured out what this was going to do.
He subconsciously jumped to the right and back, trying to increase the distance between himself and Genichi.
But Genichi seemed to have predicted which direction he would retreat. His Yang Shen changed his stabbing into a slashing move and he slashed in the direction of Toyotomi Nobuhide's retreat one step ahead of him!
Toyotomi Nobuhide, who had no time to change his movements... was like a prey that jumped into a trap.
Just as he retreated to his designated retreat point, he saw Yang Shen's blade slashing towards his head!
The light from the sword in the hand of the "Sword Saint" illuminated the evil demon's eyes which were filled with astonishment!
Just like the moonlight that dispels the darkness of the night!