KATANAGATARI 2
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Located in the center of town, the building was known as the Basket1─although the structure was so rudimentary it may be going too far to call it a building. More like a tall fence of wooden lattice, built into a circle─with generous eyes,2 so that the interior was plainly visible. The ring had a diameter of about two hundred feet, and the floor was packed sand, probably hauled here from the nearby shore.
Rudimentary.
No more than a fence built in a clearing.
Nevertheless─a crowd had gathered around the space. Mobs outside the lattice─and two warriors within.
The Basket.
You guessed it─an arena.
Built rudimentarily─so that any damage could be easily repaired.
“Play fair. Ready, go!” the voice of the referee cried from beyond the lattice.
Not even the referee entered the ring─for the warriors, the interior of the Basket was sacred ground.
Sacred ground, belonging to them both.
A swordsman in a pale kimono.
Bearing in both hands a katana far too big for him─a gigantic sword, aimed at his foe. His face and eyes were virile,3 and his features wild4 in a way suggesting he was still in training─but even if he was a novice, his menace was inescapable.
His opponent stood across the ring.
At first glance, this did not seem to be a swordsman─no sign of a sword, nor blade, nor any kind of weapon.
No weapon.
None─but fully jacketed.
In armor.
And not the sort of armor5 donned for ages by the samurai; far closer to the variety worn by knights of old in Europe, no section of the body6 was left exposed. As goes without saying, the places where the joints articulated, and where the plates of metal met, were adequately covered by more metal. Gleaming a polished silver in the sunlight, it seemed a perfect monument to dignity.
This was a giant.
The gigantic sword his foe pointed at him looked no bigger than a normal sword, so giant was the warrior clad in armor─even without its threatening demeanor, face to face, its sheer size was enough to overwhelm, easily over seven feet tall.
They were facing off in an arena, and the swordsman cowered not at this disturbing figure─but clearly, also hesitated to step in closer.
“What’s wrong?” spoke the Armored Warrior, as if to poke fun at the swordsman.
His voice booming.
“Weren’t you going to slice my armor down the middle with your precious sword? Or does the sight of it make you want to run?”
“…nkk.”
The swordsman clenched his teeth.
Which only made the Armored Warrior poke him harder.
“What a disappointment. You call yourself the finest swordsman7 in the land, but you can’t even make the first move against an unarmed8 man─is this some kind of a joke? That unprecedented winning streak of yours, over five matches, must have been a fluke.”
“─Rahhhhhhhh!”
Rage overmastering his efforts to be patient, the swordsman lifted his gigantic sword and charged at his opponent─with abandon.9
His style of swordplay relied more on mass than moves─and on the strength needed to swing that mass through an opponent. It stands to reason that a massive sword is slow, but this swordsman could convert mass into momentum!
Yet─
“…Unbreakable.”10
The Armored Warrior countered in a not entirely unexpected manner─but not without an element of surprise. Faced with the charging swordsman, he charged too, the move that he so grandly called “Unbreakable” being no more than a body slam.
Right shoulder forward, leaning forward─charge.
And boy─was that charge fast.
It worked the same as the gigantic sword. Like all armor, it was a burden─but making matters worse, this suit of armor was intended for a seven-foot-tall giant. It should have been a pain to move, or even cart around in pieces. But once you got it going, the momentum was unstoppable.
Mere metal.
Sheer11 metal─heading for its target.
The hotshot swordsman, charging at him, had no time to escape─perhaps by then he realized that the Armored Warrior’s jabs had been calculated,12 but that ship had sailed.
The swords clashed.
Different heights.
And, notably, at different speeds.
As a simple matter of arithmetic,13 the swordsman was the one sent flying─his body savaged,14 muscles slashed through his kimono. After soaring through the air, he slammed down helplessly into the ground, the fact the ring was packed with sand no blessing.
The swordsman did not rise.
Perhaps─he would never rise again.
It did not appear that he was dead, but there was no need to confirm if he was conscious. It had only been a simple tackle, but his entire body glowed with blood. What could possibly have happened in the moment they were tangled?
What happened to the massive sword?
That attack intent on slicing through that suit of armor.
Some moments later, scraps of the weapon─rained from the sky. The massive sword had shattered and scattered to the winds.15 The striking blade, meant to crack that armor open, was instead, or maybe not even in stead,16 what cracked from the impact─and literally vanished.
“Match!” yelled the referee─as the crowds watching outside the lattice cheered. It appeared that people gambled on the fights held in the Basket; almost everyone was crying out and waving wooden tags. From the number of smiling faces, the odds must have been in favor of the Armored Warrior, although his unanimous support would make the payout miniscule.
Victory aside, the Armored Warrior was the favorite─the Star of the Basket.
Of course he was.
He was the captain of a band of pirates that ran this harbor town.
As a matter of fact─the band of pirates also ran the Basket.
“…”
“…”
Nearly all the spectators were cheering for the victor and waving their hands to make him look their way─except for a duo, whose arms had been crossed since the fight began, and whose eyes were fixed on the interior of the lattice.
A whitehaired woman dressed in a brash kimono─and behind her, as if to keep her safe, a tall man, stripped to the waist, with tousled hair.
“Hey, Togame.” Despite the din of the applause, the man addressed the woman in a low voice, speaking carefully. “He snapped the sword. What’re we gonna do?”
“I can see that, Shichika,” the woman called Togame answered the man, without turning. “It seems like you weren’t listening, yet again… That sword was nothing special. He blabbed on about how legendary it was, and it was fine, for a regular sword, but it is none of our concern. That guy played a supporting role. His job is over. Say goodbye. Our concern here─is the Armored Warrior.”
“Armored Warrior.”
“Right. His name is Kanara Azekura.17 Captain of the Armored Pirates─and your next opponent.”
“Hmm─”
Hearing this, Shichika took a closer look at the Armored Warrior in the ring.
And just then, the warrior looked his way; to Shichika, it felt like their eyes had met.
But this, of course, was an illusion.
He was too far away, and the warrior was only posing for the crowd─besides, the helm had no apparent slit for seeing─could this guy even see out of the armor?
“So I guess this guy…Kanara Azekura? Did he leave the Mutant Blade at home? Like, was this other guy so weak he didn’t need it? He didn’t look so weak to me.”
“Wrong,” Togame said. “The armor is the katana.”
“…The armor?”
“Didn’t you feel the lifeforce18 or whatever? Maybe we’re too far away. Zokuto the Armor, one of the Twelve Possessed, the masterworks among the thousand forged by Kiki Shikizaki. A katana built for defense, and patterned after western plate mail─it seems to have fallen into dangerous hands.”
Togame was disconsolate, but her smile showed that she would not be beaten.
“Lucky for us to see Kanara Azekura show off the Armor so soon after we landed in the harbor─Shichika. Let’s find a place to stay. I’ll explain the rest once we unpack. From there I’ll spin my scheme.”
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Thus we arrive in Book Five of the Sword Tale.
This one has some significant developments towards the end, so I’d like to get the summary of what has happened “Thus Far” out of the way, as simply as I can.
…
…
Somewhere long ago, there lived a swordsmith who had magic powers. His name was Kiki Shikizaki. A lone wolf, attached to no tradition─“lone wolf” may be a bit too flattering, since in fact he was a heretic, rejected from his field.
But the swords he made were top notch.
They earned themselves the title Mutant Blades, and reigned universally over the Age of Warring States─causing warriors of the era to vie for their possession. Numbering one thousand in total, the Mutant Blades became synonymous with power and were hoarded by the daimyos as signs of status.
Eventually, the merry19 Age of Warring States drew to a close. The nation was united by the sword20─with the emergence of a single man who ruled over the land.