I looked at the three swords lying in front of me (Shusui, Sandai Kitetsu, and Wado Ichimonji) with clear excitement written all over my face. I really wanted to immediately pick them up and play with them, and there was nothing stopping me. So, without any hesitation, I grabbed all three swords at once, left my room, and headed straight into the courtyard of my house.
Once there, I secured all three swords in the belt of my kimono. Then, one by one, I began unsheathing them. First of all, I placed Wado Ichimonji between my jaws. Then I gripped Shusui in my right hand, while Sandai Kitetsu rested firmly in my left. The familiar three-sword style stance instantly made my heart race. I took a deep breath. Although my head was still heavy and aching, I ignored it. Or rather, in my excitement to play with these newly obtained swords, the pain seemed to fade into the background. It was still there, but compared to the joy I was feeling right now, it hardly mattered.
Without wasting another second, I immediately began performing all the sword moves that I could execute within the confines of the courtyard, moves that had been taught to me by Zoro. My feet moved across the ground as muscle memory took over. I used Onigiri, then Rashomon. After that came 36 Pound Ho, followed by 72 Pound Ho, and finally 108 Pound Ho.
Of course, none of my sword swings were powerful enough to release an actual flying sword slash. First of all, there was no way I would use such a move in the courtyard of my own house. Secondly, I still couldn't perform flying sword slashes at will. I needed to incorporate 'Breath of all things' more deeply into my swordsmanship and gain a better understanding of it. That would definitely take a few more days of training.
Still, even without true flying slashes, each swing carried considerable force. The moment my blades cut through the air, large amounts of wind were displaced throughout the courtyard. Gusts spread outward with every movement, causing loose dust to scatter and nearby grasses to rustle noisily. The sound of blades slicing through the air repeatedly echoed around the courtyard as I moved from one technique to another without pause.
The more I practiced, the more excited I became. After all, these weren't ordinary swords: Shusui was one of the twenty-one Great Grade swords, Wado Ichimonji was the treasured sword that had accompanied Zoro throughout his journey, and Sandai Kitetsu was a cursed blade famous for its bloodthirsty nature. Now all three of them were in my hands. Just thinking about it made me unable to stop smiling.
Finally, after playing around for nearly a quarter of an hour, my headache began to worsen. The throbbing pain gradually returned and became increasingly difficult to ignore. It was a clear warning that I shouldn't overexert myself, especially in my current condition. The fatigue caused by my near-death experience and the strain on my mind had not completely disappeared yet. Realizing this, I stopped swinging my swords and forced myself to calm down. There was no point in pushing myself further. After all, rather than worsening my mental fatigue, it would be better to rest properly and recover completely so that I could train with full force again later.
With that thought in mind, I sheathed all three swords and secured them once more at my waist before returning to my room. Of course, while I had been playing around with my swords, my parents had already arrived and watched from the side. However, after seeing that I was fine, neither of them said anything.
Well, that wasn't entirely true. My mother had clearly wanted to stop me; in fact, she had even started to say something, but before she could speak, my father gently stopped her. Clearly, he didn't want her to disturb me, and for that, I was grateful. By doing so, my father showed that he had confidence in me and believed in me.
That trust alone made me feel warm inside as I carried my swords back to my room.
As I had already eaten, there wasn't much left for me to do, so I decided to simply go to sleep. The moment my head touched the pillow, sleep overtook me almost instantly; the mental exhaustion from the last day was still present, after all.
The next morning, when I woke up, I got out of bed and walked out of my room. I saw that my mother was already awake and busy with her usual household chores. The aroma of food being prepared drifted through the house, while the faint sounds of daily village life could already be heard outside.
After freshening up, I walked into the main room. The moment my mother saw me, a trace of concern appeared on her face as she asked, "Are you going to train, Ryu?"
After hearing her question, I immediately shook my head. "No," I replied. "I will just do some normal physical exercise at home. Until tomorrow, I won't do any kind of intensive training. Most probably, after tomorrow, I should be fully recovered."
The moment those words left my mouth, I could visibly see the tension leave her shoulders. She let out a small sigh of relief before nodding. "Very good," she said. "I will prepare some nourishing food for you. It will help you recover faster." I simply nodded in response.
After that, I headed straight toward the courtyard. As I had just told my mother, I only performed basic physical exercises: push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups. Nothing excessive. Even the number of repetitions was limited; I made sure not to exceed one hundred for any exercise, and I didn't use any weights while training.
Compared to my normal routine, this level of exercise was almost insignificant. Usually, when I trained seriously while fully healthy, this wouldn't even qualify as a proper warm-up. However, my current condition was different. My body had mostly recovered, but my mind still needed time to fully heal from the strain it had endured. Because of that, I had to be patient. Even so, I didn't want to spend the entire day doing absolutely nothing; if I became too comfortable resting, my body would gradually lose its edge. So I settled for this much: just enough exercise to keep my body active, and just enough to prevent myself from becoming rusty.
After finishing my workout, I took a proper bath and then sat down for breakfast. As expected, my mother had prepared a meal packed with nutrition. By the time I finished eating, my father had already left for the fields. Seeing that there was nothing else for me to do at home, I decided to go help him. So, after finishing breakfast, I left the house and headed toward the fields, following the same route that I usually took. The morning air was fresh, and villagers were already busy with their daily work.
As I walked past a small park along the way, a voice suddenly entered my ears.
"Hey, look. Isn't that the trash who wanted to become a ninja despite not having even an ounce of talent?"
Another voice immediately replied, "Yeah, that's him. He's Ryuma, right?"
The moment those words were spoken, all three of them burst into laughter and began chuckling among themselves. I instantly understood that they were talking about me. However, I didn't react; I simply ignored them and continued walking as if I hadn't heard anything. Unfortunately, it was obvious they had no intention of letting me leave so easily.
"Hey, trash! Come here!" one of them suddenly shouted.
The moment that voice reached my ears, my body involuntarily jolted, not because of the insult, but because I recognized the voice from the memories inside my head.
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