"Oh wow! What an intense match this is!" shouted the host frantically from the platform of the Duel Arena. "Baifeng the Samurai's Iai Beheading is truly incredibly sharp! But he's facing 'Dan the River-Cleaver', the Sword Master known for splitting rivers. Can he really succeed?"
"Oh no! Baifeng's blade has been shattered, and he's fallen to the ground too! It seems the result of this duel is already very clear! Let's give a big cheer for the Sword Master Dan!"
Following his announcement, the entire arena erupted into a deafening chorus of cheers and excited shouts.
"Hurrah! Hurrah!"
"Truly worthy of being the Sword Master! His swordsmanship is amazing!"
In a special room prepared for the participants, Aizen gently shook his head. "A sword master? That's quite an unusual title in this shinobi no sekai!"
In this noisy environment, Karen Kagura raised her voice and asked, "Lord Aizen, which match are you in?"
Aizen looked at the number tag in his hand. "I'm in Match XVII. Heh, just two more opponents to go!"
"I'll definitely record your heroic image!" Karen Kagura said as she waved her small camera.
"Thanks for the trouble!" Aizen smiled softly.
A few old-timers wearing the Mask floated out, marveling at the camera with exclamations.
"Back in our time, we never had anything like this!"
"So this is the power called 'technology'? Amazing!"
As the group conversed, enthusiastic cheers came from outside, followed by the announcement of Aizen's number.
The chakra reserves of these samurai weren't large to begin with, and most of their sword techniques focused on speed and precision. Naturally, the battles didn't take much time, and soon it was Aizen's turn to go up.
"I'm off," Aizen said casually, and calmly strode onto the Arena.
Facing him stood a cold-eyed samurai wielding dual blades.
At this moment, the host's excited voice once again came from the platform. "This match is between wandering samurai Aizen and the Dual-Blade Lone Wolf! Lone Wolf needs no introduction—his dual-blade swordsmanship is lightning fast! Although Aizen is a newcomer, he has managed to survive roaming through the chaotic shinobi world, surely possessing quite remarkable skills as well! Next, let's hand over the stage to these two samurai!"
"Too many words!" Lone Wolf glared at the platform in annoyance, then coldly said, "Newbie, you can attack first. Don't say I didn't give you a chance!"
"In that case, thank you!" Aizen smiled and happily drew his long sword hanging at his waist.
Though not a master of swordsmanship himself, Aizen understood that swordsmanship was a blend of strength, speed, reflex, and technique. With his physical prowess and sharp eyesight, along with advanced taijutsu techniques, he was already more than capable in swordplay.
"Be careful, I'm attacking!"
A flash of sword light, and Lone Wolf was instantly sent flying.
The cheers from the crowd came to an abrupt halt, as if they hadn't yet wrapped their minds around the sudden turn of events.
"I... I'm not dead?" Lone Wolf climbed up from the ground, ignoring the severe pain in his chest as he trembled with fear, patting himself down in disbelief, murmuring to himself, "What exactly just happened?"
"It was the sword pressure! His blade stopped right in front of me, and the sheer wind pressure sent me flying!"
Lone Wolf's eyes widened as he stared at Sosuke in disbelief. Where the hell had this guy come from?
Even the newly promoted General Mifune wasn't that terrifying!
"Not bad," Sosuke calmly thought to himself.
From his perspective, Lone Wolf was about the level of a Chunin specialized in Taijutsu. Unfortunately, the gap between them was simply too great.
At this moment, the spectators finally recovered from their shock and erupted into cheers that shook the Arena to its core.
"Did I see that right? Lone Wolf was defeated in one move!"
"Are you saying he threw the match on purpose?"
"You try faking a fight and see if you can fling yourself back so hard you leave a crater!"
"Incredible! That Lord Aizen must be a great swordsman!"
Especially the host, who got so excited he nearly lost his voice. "Without a doubt, we've witnessed the arrival of a true powerhouse in our Duel Arena! Let's shout his name together—Sosuke Aizen!"
However, Aizen didn't leave the stage but remained there.
Seeing this, the host became even more excited.
"Samurai Aizen remains on stage! What does this mean? Is he about to activate the Champion Defense mode?"
"Although he's extremely powerful, this is the Land of Iron, the homeland of the samurai. Will you let him act so arrogantly?"
The crowd either cheered or booed and jeered.
"No! No!"
"Then let's begin! Let this warrior taste the strength of our Land of Iron!"
Half a day later.
The once lively Duel Arena had gone completely silent. No matter who the opponent was, none could survive a second move against that man called Aizen. Even the sword masters fared no better.
Even facing wave after wave of challengers, the man's stamina seemed endless.
Too strong—he was overwhelmingly powerful!
For Sosuke Aizen, though, this was indeed effortless.
The Land of Iron was strong, but compared to the Five Great Shinobi Nations, it still paled in comparison.
In this land, reaching the level of an ordinary Jonin already meant being at the top of the pyramid.
And dealing with ordinary Jonin, he had been able to take them down with ease years ago.
Even though he was using sword techniques unfamiliar to him, the physical strength of this body surpassed that of his original form. Achieving such results was, in fact, perfectly normal.
...
Three days later, at Mifune's Manor.
"Lord Mifune, how did your bandit suppression mission go this time?" A tall samurai asked in front of Mifune.
"Of course they were all eliminated!" Mifune removed his helmet and replied happily.
"That's good to hear!" The tall samurai nodded. "Many people were unhappy with Lord Daimyo appointing you as general. With this achievement, you should finally silence them!"
Mifune, however, shook his head with a smile. "Musashi, I didn't eliminate the bandits just for my position!"
"I know that's not your style," Musashi replied with a chuckle.
"By the way, Musashi, has anything significant happened in Kokuto during my absence?" Mifune asked.
"As for anything significant, there might actually be something... Don't get too excited first. It's not a bad thing."
"Musashi explained, 'A wandering samurai named Aizen came recently and has already earned a reputation for slaying one hundred opponents in the Duel Arena!'
'Beating one hundred opponents in a row is no easy feat!' Mifune exclaimed.
'It sounds too easy, actually!' Musashi shook his head. 'He usually defeats each opponent with just one sword strike! Almost all the experts from Kokuto have gone to challenge him, but none of them could beat him!'
'One strike!' Mifune's eyes sparkled with amazement, then he asked, 'Did you also go to challenge him?'
Musashi looked a bit embarrassed. 'I barely managed to last until his third strike before I lost.'
'That's still incredibly impressive!' Mifune comforted his friend. 'Didn't you say most people can't even withstand his first strike?'
'You don't need to comfort me. Losing to someone that strong isn't something to feel bad about. However, watching a wandering swordsman strut around arrogantly in the country of samurai... that's just unacceptable!' Musashi stared intensely at Mifune as he spoke. 'Mifune, you're the only one who can beat him!'
In his eyes, Mifune might actually be able to defeat this opponent.
If this were one of the Great Five Nations, Mifune—as a division commander—would be on the same level as their Kage.
Compared to ordinary samurai like himself, Mifune's power was absolutely far superior!
'You don't need to provoke me,' Mifune smiled and shook his head, then tightened his grip on his sword hilt. 'I'd really like to test myself against such a powerful opponent too!'
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