Chapter 560 Borrowing Katana
Zhang Heng felt that Shimizu Isshin had to be a lot better than the young man before this.
Since he was the captain, he was second only to Sugawara Saemon among the dojo’s ranks. He should have been practicing Shigen Shinkai–Ryu for some time now. Of course, who else would be the one to showcase everything that he had learned so far.
In fact, Shimizu Isshin had been following Sugawara Saemon even before he opened the Suzaku Dojo. After practicing Shigen Shinkai-yu for more than ten years, he finally acquired his Menju status. Now, he taught on behalf of Sugawara Saemon at the dojo. Even Sugawara Saemon himself wasn’t sure if he could defeat Shimizu Isshin.
Now that he was standing in the face of Zhang Heng, Shimizu looked even more solemn than when facing his master.
Other practitioners observing them knew that the offensive side always had the advantage over the defenders. Like the saying went, no one could defend forever, where sooner or later, the attacker would creep up and break the opponent’s defense. However, Zhang Heng insisted on staying at the same spot, not even moving his feet an inch. He managed to nullify his opponent’s attack quickly. Even if Koyama Myoshin-Ryū was a sect that emphasized defense, it was impossible that anyone maintained such a calm mind in the face of such a formidable opponent.
This could only mean one thing: the gap in strength between the two must be a lot wider than initially expected. Shimizu felt the pressure bearing down on his shoulders. Fighting this battle meant carrying the dojo’s honor. Before the battle began, he bowed to his opponent, drew the wooden katana, and said in a deep voice, “Let’s learn from each other.”
Zhang Heng got his hands on the katana crafted by Miike Tenta Mitsuyo a quarter of an hour later. At the same time, he also got to witness the quintessence of Shigen Shinkai–Ryu. On the other hand, Shimizu was sweating profusely, gasping for breath, looking much like a fish out of water. There was fear in his eyes. He had tried his best, but it was fruitless.
He even felt that he was not much different from the junior that fought with Zhang Heng earlier. He failed to break his defense no matter how hard he tried.
No one had ever heard of a sect called Koyama Myoshin-Ryū, and they wondered how its disciples could be so skillful. Shimizu was known as an experienced master of Suzaku Dojo. No matter what happened, his expression always remained unchanged. Suzaku Dojo’s disciples had always said that as long as Shizumu was here, there was no need to worry about anything, even if the sky fell on them.
However, at the end of the battle with Zhang Heng, Shizumu’s mind was muddled. This was his first time experiencing helplessness, where the harder he fought, the sadder he felt. It was as if everything that he learned so far had been rendered useless.
Shizumu was actually not that weak. When the two of them fought, Zhang Heng could feel that Shimizu was stronger than Yamada. Shigen Shinkai–Ryu had always emphasized taking the first strike. Their iaijutsu was particularly interesting. The rumor was their iaijutsu was a fusion of Kinri Sankyo iaijutsu and So-Ryu iaijutsu.
After the battle with Shimizu, Zhang Heng had roughly figured out his strength and speed. When Shimizu was using iaijutsu, he unexpectedly managed to infuse an impressive strength into the strike.
Although his attack was still blocked by Zhang Heng, the ability where one could force its body into an overdrive state was actually quite interesting. After defeating Shimizu Isshin, Zhang Heng initially thought that he would face Sugawara Saemon, the ultimate boss of Suzaku Dojo. In the end, he was a no show. Instead, he sent someone to deliver the katana to Zhang Heng. It could also mean that Sugawara Saemon had surrendered.
Zhang Heng had no idea what was going on inside the Suzaku Dojo now. Shimizu Isshin was almost equally powerful as Suwagara Saemon. Since Zhang Heng defeated Shimizu Isshin, Sugawara Saemon would definitely not come to rechallenge Zhang Heng. It must be why he gave the katana to without saying anything
And Zhang Heng kept his promise. After taking a good look at the sword, he left satisfied. To everyone’s surprise, Zhang Heng refrained from blurting out anything arrogant after that. Shimizu was relieved, quickly leaving the dojo and headed to his sensei’s study room. Sugawara Saemon was intently practicing calligraphy, not even looking up when he heard someone knocking on the door.
So Shimizu stood aside respectfully until his sensei completed his brushwork. Suguwara put down the brush and sighed.
Shimizu bowed his head in guilt. “I’m ashamed. I failed to defeat him, and I even lost your beloved sword to him.”
“It’s okay,” replied Sugawara Saemon. “There will always be geniuses in this world. Except for Miyamoto Musashi, the Sword Sage, no one can remain undefeated forever. Look at me. I failed to beat Serizawa Kamo as well. I had to wait for him to die before I could open Suzaku Dojo in Kyoto. It’s just a katana. What more, he’s only borrowing it. He didn’t say he wouldn’t return it to us, did he? He can take a good look at it as long as he wishes.”
“I blame myself for not improving enough,” Shimizu replied, his face sullen. “Now is the best time for the dojo to grow. I didn’t expect this to happen to us, and everyone saw it as well. I’m afraid my loss has brought forth many undesirable consequences…”
“There’s no need to worry…” Sugawara Saemon sneered. “Do you really think this Abe Yuta is only here to borrow the katana? Look, this is just the beginning. Suzaku Dojo isn’t the only one in Kyoto that houses the famous katana. Maybe the man is the next Miyamoto Musashi. By that time, Kyoto would be in chaos.”
Shimizu raised his head with a look of consternation, not expecting his sensei would give Abe Yuta such high evaluation. The weirdest part was Sugawara Saemon did not even go and watch their battle just now.
He seemed to know what Shimizu was thinking in his heart. Sugawara Saemon then shook his head, “You have been with me for the longest time and have the best aptitude. Of course, what I value most is your character. When I noticed that your opponent caused a great stir in you, I could roughly guess how strong he was. It is necessary to guard against arrogance and rashness, but you don’t need to belittle yourself. Your strength is not bad, but your opponent was too strong. You were outgunned. Treat this loss as an opportunity. Everyone says that I traveled everywhere to learn each sect’s best before I finally created Shigen Shinkai–Ryu. But in fact, my most precious moment was when I trained with Serizawa Kami. The tremendous pressure he inflicted on me forced me to fuse the bits and pieces I learned before. It’s the same for you. Relive the battle. If you can find out your shortcomings, you will excel again. Go now. Suzaku Dojo will require your presence again.” After that, Shimizu bowed and exited the study room. Before he left, he heard Sugawara Saemon muttering, “Koyama Myoshin-Ryū, Koyama Myoshin-Ryū… I’ve heard this name somewhere before. Now, why can’t I remember anything about it?”
On the other side, after Zhang Heng defeated the captain of Suzaku Dojo, he realized that sweat hadn’t even broken out. Since it was still early, he visited another dojo. After that, then turned to Shimon-ya at the market and bought some soba noodles, oden, and some roasted glutinous rice dumplings that Akane Koyama had been longing for a long time.
Zhang Heng slowly walked back to his residence.