KATANAGATARI 2

■　■

Azekura had beautifully demonstrated his talents as an entrepreneur.

Except─there had been a tiny change of plans.

As a formality, the challenger, Shichika Yasuri, would need to prove his mettle by besting a choice three of the Armored Pirates on the Basket’s roster─at least, that had been the plan until that morning, when those three men were found dead in a meadow on the edge of town.

Dead─all three of them.

Mercilessly shredded, chopped to pieces, by who knows what kind of a blade.

Strangely, the left arm of one of the men was missing. Despite a thorough sweep of the area, it had not been discovered. Inexplicably, another arm, belonging to a different person, not one of the three men, was found at a short distance away, discarded─

“Left arm…”

After hearing this news from the inn worker, Shichika knew instinctively, and Togame felt justified in her suspicion. “The ninja,” she muttered through her teeth.

Hohoh Maniwa─the ninja.

Making a living out of dirty deeds.

What was stopping them from playing dirty1 in their negotiations?

“Are you saying…this guy swapped one arm for another?”

“I wish I could tell you it couldn’t be done, but we’re dealing with a veteran ninja. Hohoh Maniwa, Captain of the Bird Unit─we need to think outside the box.”

“Yeah, but if he can attach someone else’s arm, why not reattach his own? Why would he just leave his own arm?”

“Who knows,” Togame snapped. What else was there to say?

Whatever was happening, ninpo was certainly to blame. In which case, thinking rationally was not going to get her anywhere. No choice but to postpone.

What harried2 Togame most of all: Hohoh Maniwa’s interference actually shunted Shichika to the final round. The fight at the Basket, decided upon the moment she accepted Azekura’s offer the night prior, had been advertised all over town. It was much too late to cancel or reschedule the event─scrapping the preliminary matches was no justification for canceling the headliner.

And there was no one else for Shichika to fight.

There were other Armored Pirates, but evidently the only ones suited to the Basket were the five who had been beaten by the hotshot swordsman, and the three who had been slaughtered in the meadow, eight in total.

They were an elite few.

Three had gone to listen to Togame confer with whomever dropped by with that letter, but the trio had been killed─it was natural to suspect Togame, but Azekura seemed to have decided not to go there. Perhaps he didn’t care to admit that he’d been watching them─she had no way to confirm this, but it seemed likely she was right.

To Azekura, the three preliminary fights were about saving face. But if they had been called off due to an unfortunate accident─no loss for him.

From his perspective.

Taking down Shichika Yasuri, companion of Togame─was all that really mattered.

Which brings us to the Basket.

The main act started without prelude or fanfare.

“…”

Ready for battle─stripped to the waist, arm guards off and barefooted, no sandals, clad only in his hakama, Shichika tested his footing. The sand piled into the Basket─was not so different from the sandy beaches on Haphazard Island where he had spent so many hours practicing.

He looked at the opponent standing before him.

The foe he was about to battle─Kanara Azekura.

A warrior with no chink in his Armor.

That full metal jacket,3 unparalleled in armor class.

Above all, he was giant.

A bigger enemy─

“Let’s get one thing straight, Kyotoryu.”

Azekura’s voice boomed from inside the Armor, as he turned his gaze on Shichika.

“I’m the type of guy who can’t back off once he gets going─you may wind up dead…or somehow make it out alive, but I promise you’ll be mortally wounded. There’s no way around it,4 even if it hurts the woman I adore.”

Once we’ve been traveling a while, said Azekura, she’ll come around.

“As eager as I am to fight the Strongest Swordsman in Japan, if you give up,5 Kyotoryu, before things go too far…you could live to see another day. You’re so young─why let your talents go to waste?”

“…”

Shichika remembered.

Two days prior, embroiled with the hotshot swordsman, Azekura had taunted the challenger with all kinds of provocative language─and now he was doing the same to Shichika.

Azekura seemed to understand that this fight would not go easily─regardless of his unremitting confidence in Zokuto the Armor.

Dead…or mortally wounded.

While Azekura’s provocations did not disturb Shichika, they served to jog his memory.

He looked away─beyond the fence edging the Basket, to the prime seats,6 where a certain Schemer was waiting for the battle to begin─Togame.

That white hair.

Put her in a crowd, and boy did she stand out. It was easy to forget (though Shichika had never been hung up on the color of her hair) after spending so much time alone with her. She was like a swan among a plain flock of birds.

How could she not catch Azekura’s attention?

Togame─

“Shichika, about this fight,” she had cautioned him beforehand. “Try to win without killing Azekura or beating him up so bad he won’t recover.”

“Um…” Shichika had felt stupefied. “What are you talking about? Are you saying to go easy on him? This is serious business.”

“I’m not asking you to throw the match. But think a second─Kanara Azekura is the one who guaranteed no one would harm us. If you kill Azekura, the guarantee could expire with him. That includes them handing over Zokuto the Armor.

“Everything is lined up─Shichika. This is the greatest fight this town has ever seen, and everyone is watching. If you should win, Azekura must honor his promise, come what may─as the Kaoyaku of Dakuon, his reputation7 is at stake. But that only matters if Azekura is alive.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

He got what she was saying, without getting it entirely─but Togame was the strategist. His job was to do what he was told.

In this case: go easy on Azekura.

To be sure, Togame wanted Shichika to take her admonition at face value, but there was another important reason─yet it wouldn’t do to divulge it to him.

Avoiding killing.

A worthy experiment, deemed Togame.

What better place for it than the Basket, though she sure had a lot of nerve to be gambling when her own future was at stake─

Shichika saw things differently.

He couldn’t help but wonder.

This was serious business, but she was telling him to take it easy─was she crazy? Maybe up against a lesser foe, but on his first time fighting someone bigger than him?

Is Togame─okay with me losing?

While she probably wasn’t hoping he would, perhaps, just like Azekura had asserted two nights earlier, she was thinking─no loss either way.

Indeed, if Azekura proved to be stronger, and thus more fit to serve Togame as her bodyguard, what reason did she have to keep Shichika around?

Nobody wants a sword that can’t perform.

Swords are nothing more than tools.

Tools operate without sentiment or feeling.

Fetishizing8 tools is facile─thus Kazune Yasuri, founder of the Kyotoryu, resorted to extremes and forsook the sword entirely.

Presented with a sharper sword, what fool declines to take it?

“Hey, no wandering eyes,” Azekura intoned maliciously. “That’s my woman─you’re looking at.”

“…”

“There, I’ve turned your head─gah ha ha. Well, seems like you’re dead set on not surrendering. Fair enough, but as we’ve lost our opening act, think you could put on a good show? Treat Dakuon to those skills that took down Hakuhei Sabi─”

“Don’t worry, I will, but you might miss it. If you’re torn to smithereens.”

Shichika used his catchphrase.

And assumed a position.

Not Form Four: the Asagao, but Form Seven: the Kakitsubata.

The one he had deployed on Ginkaku Uneri, Lord of Gekoku Castle─the form epitomizing the footwork of the Kyotoryu, where Shichika could change his speed at will.

But Azekura assumed his own position.

He sank into his knees, and lowered his hips─a stance of vigilance.9

Prepared to counter Shichika, whatever move he made.

“May the best sword win…” cried out the referee.

The crowd roared─and most, nay all the voices cheered for Kanara Azekura. True, under these circumstances, killing Azekura would have consequences, especially with Togame, delicate as shoji paper, defenseless to the crowd.

Decent footing, but a nightmare of a venue.

Yet such things were immaterial.

Only one thing matters─I am the katana.

“─Fight!”

On the first punch!

There’s no way I can match him with brute force. If the battle gets drawn out, I have no clue how to handle someone big as him. My only option is to nail him right away!

Hence the Kakitsubata.

Full speed from the starting line.

Shichika closed the distance in an instant.

In the eyes of an amateur, he may as well have teleported─not even Azekura could fathom the advance.

Prepared to counter any move.

But this move was too fast to counter.

To convert mass into momentum, Azekura required a running start─otherwise, Zokuto the Armor was a drag10 and nothing more.

When Azekura realized what had happened, Shichika was already inside his reach.

At which point the Kyotoryu changed his stance.

Feet parallel and sideways, torso twisted back as far as it would go─yes, this was the time for Form Four, the Asagao! The only of the Seven Forms in which he made a fist…

“I’ll treat you to my skills,” Shichika said, “but I can’t promise a good show─you’re going down on the count of one.”

Twisting so far he faced away, Shichika unleashed a twirling11 fist on Azekura.

“Fatal Orchid Four─Ryuryoku Kako!”

Not giving his opponent a chance to block.

But even blocked, Ryuryoku Kako could not be stymied or deterred!

Theoretically, the move could blast someone on the other side of the planet!

His fist─landed a direct hit on the breastplate of Zokuto the Armor. Shichika’s torso rotated from the impact, but his fist stuck to its target, as if glued there.

The shock would penetrate the Armor, and tear into Azekura’s chest!

Theoretically.

This secret of the Kyotoryu corrupted all defenses, allowing Shichika to wound any target, no matter what stood in his way─in this case, he had aimed for one of Azekura’s lungs. An attack on his respiratory system might overpower Azekura without injuring him fatally, or that was the plan─however!

“Seriously?” an annoyed voice came from up above.

Over Shichika’s head─this was the first time he’d been addressed by somebody so tall.

Bwum, Azekura swung his arm. At a low angle, as if to scoop Shichika off his feet.

“Nkk!”

After the Asagao and Ryuryoku Kako, Shichika was hardly poised for action, but he managed to dodge the blow with his native reflexes. Well, it may have grazed his hair a tiny bit, but he cartwheeled across the sand─to a good distance from Azekura.

At least, it seemed like a good distance, until Azekura hurled himself across it.

“Boulder─”12

Barreling his armored body forth.

The power behind that charging armor, outfitted head to toe with blades, had been proven in his previous battle at the Basket─Shichika did another cartwheel and dodged the tackle.

Converting mass into momentum came at a cost; barreling forth, Azekura was unable to change direction, and fell over where Shichika had been standing. Throwing your body flat onto the ground usually proved fatal, but suited up in Zokuto the Armor, Azekura was the exception to the rule.

“Gah ha ha.”

Taking his time─free and easy, Azekura stood. His swagger seemed to say: Go ahead, just try and hit me.

Shichika─was unable to act. As much as he wanted to strike, it was out of the question. All he could do was dutifully13 assume Form One, the Suzuran, knowing all too well his intercepting stance was meaningless against Azekura’s body slams.

“What─how’d you get away? I could have sworn I nailed you.”

“Hm? What was that supposed to be─armor-piercing? Well, well, I didn’t realize the Kyotoryu had moves like that,” Azekura teased. “But you’ve underestimated Zokuto the Armor, a sword unparalleled in armor class, forged by Kiki Shikizaki around the principle of defense─sorry, pal, but there’s no piercing this armor.”

■　■

He had told Togame that he was a Kyushu boy, born and raised in Satsuma, but this was a boldfaced lie. At this point in history, Ryukyukoku,14 where he was born and raised, fell outside of Japan and was a foreign land.

Ryukyukoku─an independent nation that maintained trade routes throughout Southeast Asia and advanced its society on those profits.

Azekura was born in a Ryukyuan fishing village, but at that time, he had yet to acquire his surname. As a child, his whole name was “Kanara.”15

Son of a fisherman, like every other boy born in the fishing village─in fact, he was pretty much as normal as it gets, aside from being slightly shorter than the other kids, which chafed young Azekura. If anything stood out with him, it was his bearing toward his little sister, Kokoro,16 five years younger, toward whom he was a tad overprotective.

He was sure he would grow up to be a fisherman, just like his father.

Take some nice girl from the village for his bride, and have some kids.

The opposite would happen to his sister, who would become part of some other family─but no way was she leaving the village.

That was how Kanara viewed the world.

Things would go on happening as they would─he thought their way of life would last forever, into eternity. Life would stay its course, with no surprises, eventless but peaceful.

Yet in hindsight, this was an inarguably childish and naive fantasy.

It happened when he was thirteen.

Entering puberty, and dissatisfied with how slowly he was growing, one fateful day Kanara and his sister Kokoro stowed away aboard their father’s massive fishing boat. According to a stubborn17 village precept, boys were not allowed on boats until they turned twenty, and girls were not allowed at all─but rules were made to be broken, and by no means was this the first time that particular one had been ignored by Kanara or Kokoro.

But it was their first time breaking it together.

Their first and last time.

When the vessel slipped over the horizon, it was raided by pirates.

Armored Pirates.

Owners of Zokuto the Armor─pirates, hailing from Japan, who had evaded conquest by the Old Shogun some hundred-odd years ago, and whose legend had made it to the shores of Ryukyu. Onetime marauders of the Inland Sea, they had shifted operations down to Satsuma, the closest portion of Japan to Ryukyukoku.

Massive as their father’s vessel was, it was still only a fishing boat, ill equipped for putting up a fight. In no time, they were trampled underfoot.

Kanara had not stowed away with anything in mind. This was nothing so laudable as a precocious curiosity about the family trade.

He just wanted to break the rules.

To do what he was taught not to do─and to bask in the danger and the wrongdoing.

The same must have been true for little Kokoro.

But for their mischief, they were punished with an iron fist18─the Armored Pirates plundered the fishing vessel, and the crew lost not only their food and water, and their load, but their very lives. No one was spared─except Kanara.

Not because he had been lucky.

One of the Armored Pirates spared him, on a whim─after they had slaughtered every member of the crew, one of the pirates found him hiding in the shadows─not trying to defend his father or his sister, just cowering and hiding.

The pirate almost killed him.

But before he swung his sword, he thought of something.

“That’s right, we’ve been looking for a cabin boy…”

A whim.

This was not some bigshot, but merely one of many Armored Pirates, at a time when their numbers were vast, who had happened to recall a vacancy─and through this happenstance, Kanara narrowly escaped death.

If only as a cabin boy, his career as a pirate had begun.

The pains of his existence are tough to imagine. He was forced aboard a foreign ship where he could barely speak the language, and tasked with cleaning up after the very men who had killed his father, and his sister, and the sailors of his village.

No time to cry, nor room for hate.

Only pain.

Every single day was hard and painful.

All his expectations had evaporated─that world was gone, without a trace.

And yet.

And yet he was supposed to appreciate his continued survival?

“Shine the Armor.”

At fifteen, two years into his tenure as a cabin boy, Kanara received this order.

They were the Armored Pirates─and their banner,19 as should go without saying, was Zokuto the Armor, which they were famed for having kept from even the Old Shogun. Trouble was, the Armor was enormous, standing well over seven feet tall─rare was the man big enough to fill it. In fact, it fit none of the Armored Pirates at the time, too big even for the captain, and served mainly as a figurehead, an ornament they kept aboard for its symbolic power.

And now Kanara had been asked to keep it shining.

An important duty if there ever was one, and an honor─he may have been a lowly cabin boy, but in two years on the job, he had won their confidence. Kanara did not feel anything like pride. An order was an order. No need to question the particulars.

Feeling was out of the question.

If he felt nothing, surely he would not feel─pain.

“…”

But when he beheld Zokuto the Armor.

He was transfixed, by its silver blade.

The first time in forever he felt something apart from pain.

The Mutant Blades of Kiki Shikizaki that reigned over the Age of Warring States…

The owner does not choose the sword─the sword chooses the owner.

This was not a claim, so much as a philosophy, the first principle of Kiki Shikizaki.

A sword does not choose who to kill.

But a sword will choose its owner.

That instant─Kanara was chosen, by Zokuto the Armor.

In a kind of living proof, once he became caretaker of the Armor, he started growing taller by the day, like a shoot of green bamboo; he had always been embarrassed about being so short, but before three years had passed, he had grown so tall and muscular, he outsized all of the Armored Pirates.

As though his body was growing to fit the blade.

The Armored Pirates used Zokuto as their symbol, but in all of history, including the era of the Old Shogun, there were perhaps not even two who could actually don the gleaming panoply.

And so, it was only natural that one night the captain, in his cups, and out of a desire to see the armor move, half-jokingly told the boy to model it for them.

“Hey, Kanara, let’s see you try this on.”

In over five years as their cabin boy, he had won their confidence.

Even their kindness.20

What could go wrong with having the kid wear a suit of armor? Yet they could not have been more careless.

After seeing the Armor as an ornament for all these years, they had totally forgotten─that despite taking such a shape, Zokuto was a katana.

Kanara, for his part, had not forgotten.

He would never forget.

These men─his sworn enemies, had killed his father and his little sister!

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Screaming─and clad in the Armor, he hurled his body across the room and back.

In a quarter of an hour, the Armored Pirates were annihilated.

Just as they had slaughtered his entire boat five years before, he thoroughly destroyed them, to the man. You see, unlike the slaughter five years prior─Kanara spared not a single life.

Kanara Azekura. The Pirate.

Incredibly, his first plunder was one of the Twelve Possessed of Kiki Shikizaki.

A sword does not choose who to kill.

But a sword will choose its owner─and after so many years without one, Zokuto the Armor had finally found him.

Of course, even with the Armored Pirates eradicated, Kanara could not go home again. No amount of vengeance would bring his murdered brethren back to life, and by then, he had lived too long among the pirates to return to his native village. There was no way he could go and show his face there.

Kanara had no choice but to go through life a pirate. He would organize another band of Armored Pirates and become their self-appointed captain.

This was when he took the surname Azekura, and pledged never to be seen outside of Zokuto the Armor, so long as he lived.

The Armored Pirates were reborn.

But it would be some time before the Basket, the rudimentary arena and gambling facility, was established in the town built up around Dakuon Harbor, for years the stronghold of the Armored Pirates.

■　■

Clearly an insult, but Shichika had no reply, since he was only trying to dodge the various charges the man attempted with Zokuto the Armor.

Unbreakable.

Boulder.

Round Boulder.21

Whirligig.22

Lullaby.23

Frankly, they were all the same to Shichika, just ways of throwing the Armor’s size and heft behind a body slam, but he was certain each move packed enough of a punch to knock him flat.

Togame had ordered Shichika to take it easy, but it would appear that Azekura had no intention whatsoever of taking pity on the Kyotoryu.

Nuisance.

That was how Togame put it─she said that Azekura saw him as a nuisance. When a pirate wants something, he takes it. Far from seeing killing Shichika as out of bounds, Azekura likely saw it as the only way to eliminate an unwanted rival.

But Shichika kept dodging all his moves─

Though this is not to say he had not tried to get in a couple of hits. By now, he had attempted the transition from Form Four, the Asagao, into Ryuryoku Kako a few times, taking the plunge whenever he saw an opening.

Yet every move was ineffective.

Or rendered ineffective.

No piercing─Zokuto the Armor.

It would seem that Azekura had been right. What was the deal? Shichika could not understand what stopped Ryuryoku Kako from working. But even if he understood the reason, he had no hope of arriving at a workaround in the confines of the Basket.

A sword forged by Kiki Shikizaki around the principle of defense─in which case, Zokuto might have some built-in protection against armor-piercing blows. In fact, it would only be natural.

Ginkaku Uneri’s sword, Zanto the Razor, able to cut through anything in a single swing, might slice through Zokuto─Shichika had entertained that notion, but now, he could only conclude that the Armor must have a way of blocking the Razor, too.

An iron wall─unparalleled in armor class!

“Nkk…”

“Go ahead and roll around, but it won’t save you, Kyotoryu. Could you be any more of a sore loser? Quit making such a fool of yourself. It makes me sick to think that you’re my predecessor.24 And to think you call yourself the Strongest in Japan─man up now, just stay put and let Zokuto the Armor do the deed.”

“Man up…”

What─was that supposed to mean?

The words were meaningless to Shichika.

He was a katana incarnate, with no agenda─how could a sword man up?

No emotion or sentiment.

None of that was necessary.

But perhaps Azekura had a point.

If the Armor could not be pierced, then Shichika was fresh out of options. Neither Shichika Hachiretsu, that ultimate secret of the Kyotoryu, combining all seven of his secret moves, including Ryuryoku Kako, nor any other of the various methods of his school would work on Zokuto the Armor. And even if one did, it would need to be an armor-piercing move to do any damage. There was no chink in the Armor─and apart from Ryuryoku Kako, he had no way of injuring Kanara Azekura without damaging the Armor. Since the secret technique had proven ineffective─

He was stuck.

As if his hands and feet were tied.25

Keep dodging Azekura’s body slams, and eventually Shichika would exhaust himself─until finally he failed to get away and met his unfortunate end. That much was clear.

It would happen sooner or later. Just a matter of time.

In which case…

Was surrendering an option, after all?

His job was to win every fight.

But in this case─losing was forgivable.

If the Kyotoryu lost, Togame, his employer, would continue with her Sword Hunt─though the journey would end here for Shichika. Kanara Azekura would step in to replace him. If the pirate captain was indeed the better of the swords─it was probably for the best.

Rather than screw up Zokuto the Armor in the process…

He would man up─man up and let it happen─

“Idiot!!”

Beyond the fence edging the Basket.

Someone was yelling at him.

The voice was straight behind Shichika─when he spun around, Togame the Schemer, clinging so hard to the wooden lattice that her nails were digging in, leveled a glare more severe than any she’d given him before.

“T-Togame─”

“You think you can give up just like that? Who gave you permission to lose! I told you to win. Were you even listening, dunderhead?!”

Without killing Azekura or beating him up so bad he won’t recover… But before that─

Try to win.

She may have told him to take it easy, but she certainly hadn’t told him he could lose.

Losing─was not an option.

“Listen, Shichika! Alright?” shrieked Togame.

Addressing not only Shichika, but the whole world, in a resounding voice that could be heard by every person in the crowd gathered at the Basket.

“I would never give myself up26 to a man who wouldn’t reveal his true face to the woman he loves! Who wants to spend all day traveling with a guy who can’t join her for a long soak in the hot spring! Guys like that─cannot be trusted!”

“Togame…”

“So what if not one of your moves works! Who cares if you can’t use the Kyotoryu! You may not be wearing armor, but you have a body you’ve been whipping into shape for twenty years!”

If you’ve really fallen for me─

Wham─

Togame beat her fist against the fence.

“Give it everything you’ve got and fight for me!”

This─amounted to a death wish.27

Almost everybody in the Basket was a fan28 of Kanara Azekura, the folks around Togame being no exception. Making such a direct rebuke of Azekura in their midst was not the cleverest thing she could have done.

No.

Her schemes always put her life and soul at stake.

Her schemes taxed her brain and veins alike.29

And now, her scheme─warmed Shichika’s heart.

“Got it. Absolutely,” he said, assuming a stance.

Kyotoryu Form One, the Suzuran.

There was no use trying to intercept a body slam, but something had changed─this time Shichika had something in mind. You could see it in his eyes.

“Whoa, whoa. Almost lost track of my simple nature, what had gotten into me? Lately I’ve been thinking way too much. Not thinking at all is no good, but overthinking things─”

“…”

Azekura was silent.

“Mister Jilted,30 come on,” Shichika beckoned. “I was a little shy at first, but now I’m ready.”

“Don’t get too excited.”

With that provocation, Shichika was trying to outdo his adversary at his own game─Azekura was not amused. His face was hidden by the Armor, but you can be sure that his gaze was trained on Shichika, and at Togame behind him. Being snubbed like this, before the masses, was the worst possible affront to his public image─

“I am a pirate, my enemy’s intentions do not concern me,” he went on nevertheless. “If there’s something that I want, I’ll swat whatever pests are in my way, and make it mine.”

“If you want it, go ahead and try. Still…” Shichika’s voice was calm. “Isn’t your sword, Zokuto the Armor, for protecting things?”

“…”

“Strength comes─from having something to protect.”

“You defy Zokuto the Armor, one of the Twelve Possessed, the masterworks of Kiki Shikizaki. And now for a Zokuto the Armor exclusive…”

Kanara Azekura leaned forward.

“Galleon Gull!”31

Scattering the sand packed into the Basket─he charged full speed ahead toward Shichika. The move looked no different from the others; only this time, the spirit driving it was palpable.

A giant mass.

And that giant mass─was heading straight for Shichika.

Behind him stood Togame, and Azekura was charging with abandon, as if to throw Shichika into the fence and crush her too.

No─if Shichika dodged this body slam like he had been doing so far, Azekura might plow straight through the fence and send Togame flying like the fragile shoji paper that she was.

In fact─that, precisely, could be his aim.

“Phew…”

If so.

Or even if not, Shichika was done evading Azekura’s assaults.

Through sheer force.

There, the old Shichika would never have thought to dodge an enemy─if someone came right at him, he would stand right there and stop the bastard!

So what if the guy was so much bigger?

“Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Zokuto the Armor was sharp around the edges.

Shichika would need to rely on his strong arms and firmly planted legs─using his entire body would be fatal─and not let the myriad blades touch him.

To stop Kanara Azekura, the giant.

To stop Zokuto the Armor, and all its weight.

When Togame, blinded by humiliation, bulldozed into Shichika at the meadow, he was swept off his feet, but not this time.

“Nkk!”

“Wha…”

Gripping the pauldron and cuirass32 of the Armor with his open hands, with toes dug deep into the sand of the Basket, Shichika brought the ballistic Azekura to a halt.

Stopping the sword midflight─but this show of force was no move he could name!

“Size gives you the upper hand, but being big is only helpful to a point!”

Dodging Azekura’s body slams over and over may have helped him out─the pirate captain may have been a giant, but even giants know exhaustion. But regardless: Shichika had stopped the Armor and its “exclusive” move with his bare hands and a move that barely qualified as such. Game over.

The Kyotoryu summoned all his energies, flexed his arms─and picked up giant Azekura.

Formidable biceps, a death grip─a show of muscle!

Shichika lifted the giant form toward the sky, high over his head!

The spectators had fallen silent.

Surely this was the first time in the history of the Basket that anyone had evaded charging Azekura, much less hoisted his great body like a puncheon, surely the first time that the audience had fallen silent. They held their breath,33 eyes fixed upon the scene in the arena.

An outlier, Togame beamed among them, nodding happily.

“That’s the stuff.”

She was talking to herself, sounding like she already knew the outcome of the fight.

“You’ve put too much stock in the Kyotoryu, which makes sense, since it’s all you knew for twenty years─but you ought to broaden your horizons. Even without your crafty moves, your tempered body is plenty strong!”

“Gah…arggggggggggh!”

Shichika howled like a beast, drowning out Togame’s mutterings. Howling, and maintaining a firm grip on Azekura, he leaned back─winding up.

He wound up to throw the giant Azekura to the ground.

No need for an armor-piercing move.

No need to try and drown or fry him.

Zokuto the Armor may have been unparalleled in armor class─but whoever was inside of it was only human. Such was its weakness; it was simply a hard shell, and in a crash landing, hard surfaces are not your friend.

Unbreakable, perhaps─but unshakeable? No.

Toss a shell onto the ground, and its contents would be scrambled.

Mass becomes momentum─and the impact passes through.

The full metal jacket, the wall of iron─was now a lethal weapon, and it was turned on its owner.

“Ugh, you bastard…Kyotoryu─what the hell is this? I thought you were a swordsman!”