Tomorrow would mark the final day of the Kenjutsu Tournament. The remaining four contestants would battle to decide the ultimate champion. Each of them was preparing with everything they had. Having made it this far, none would back down now.
Inside his room at the inn, Gekkō Hoshiyomi was still going through taijutsu exercises with Lobo strapped firmly to his back. But unlike the usual intensity of his training, today he wasn't pushing himself to the limit. His movements were slow, deliberate—without the hundreds or even thousands of repetitions he normally forced upon himself.
Today's session wasn't meant to break through the Sixth Gate. It was just a warm-up. His match with Mifune was tomorrow, and he needed his body in perfect condition.
He cut his usual punishing routine by half and stopped the moment his body began to sweat. That was enough. There was no point in overexerting himself now.
After a quick bath and a simple meal, Hoshiyomi sat at the desk and entered his Sword Heart System.
The past two days of battles had yielded him a hefty amount of experience. His current progress in Intermediate Swordsmanship now stood at 380/500.
Each of his four opponents had granted over ten points, but the most notable was still Scorching Flame. Without Hoshiyomi, that man might have been the true dark horse of the tournament.
Scorching Flame had been the greatest threat so far. If Hoshiyomi hadn't remembered Sasuke's maneuver against Deidara—using his blade as a pivot to launch himself into the air—there was no way he could've dodged that strike in his weakened state.
Perhaps because of how real the danger had been, Scorching Flame alone had provided him with 20 experience points.
In the end, Hoshiyomi's guess had been spot on—this tournament really might net him close to 100 experience points.
More importantly, he'd heard that the top five finalists would be granted a rare opportunity: personal instruction from the leader of the Land of Iron. Someone capable of holding that position had to be at least Kage-level—in other words, a true swordmaster.
With that kind of personal instruction, he might gain a large amount of experience all at once. If he pushed himself just a bit further, he could break past 400. After that, he could spend the next two years journeying through the Land of Iron, seeking out and challenging the veteran swordsmen who stood guard over the nation's great dojos.
Then breaking through to Advanced Swordsmanship might not be a dream. And once he did—he'd return to the village.
He had unfinished business with someone who feared death more than anything else.
The next morning, Hoshiyomi arrived early at the main tournament arena. Overnight, the venue had been altered. The most obvious change was a newly added VIP spectator section in the front row—luxurious and clearly reserved for the leader of the Land of Iron, who would arrive today.
Hoshiyomi didn't linger there. His focus was on sizing up the remaining contestants—aside from Mifune.
One of them was a large, slightly slow-looking man named Kurogane Ida. The other was a girl about Hoshiyomi's height named Kitada Asuka.
It was rare for a girl to reach the top four of the Kenjutsu Tournament—but here she was.
That alone would have been remarkable, but even a casual observer could see it—her body was frail. Deathly pale. This must be what they called "a genius cursed by the heavens."
Asuka had been blessed with a once-in-a-generation talent for the sword—but not the body to carry it.
Reaching this point had pushed her weakened frame to its limits. Right now, she looked as though she might collapse at any moment.
Hoshiyomi wasn't sure which of the two he'd face. As he pondered the matchups, the giant screen above the arena began to spin.
Under the tense stares of all four semifinalists, the pairings were revealed:
Mifune vs. Kurogane Ida
Himura Kenshin vs. Kitada Asuka
Hoshiyomi raised an eyebrow when he saw the result and looked toward the pale-faced girl.
Asuka looked back—but her eyes held no admiration, no softness. Only icy, focused killing intent.
Without speaking, she lifted her ninja blade in a slight gesture toward Hoshiyomi, then turned her attention to the match between Mifune and Kurogane.
Hoshiyomi wasn't bothered. He just chuckled quietly and turned his gaze to the arena, equally eager to watch the upcoming fight.
What he didn't notice was the leader of the Land of Iron, who had just arrived at the edge of the arena, now speaking in a low, worried voice to Kitada Asuka.
Hoshiyomi had taken note of Kurogane Ida earlier in the tournament. The man wasn't weak. From what he'd observed, Kurogane specialized in Earth Release chakra, using his blade as a conduit to perform techniques that mimicked ninjutsu—creating barriers, launching earth-based attacks. A fascinating approach.
This ability could, in theory, counter Mifune's Shunpo (Instant Step). Hoshiyomi was curious: could he actually trouble Mifune?
As the match began, Kurogane acted just as expected—immediately unleashing a series of Earth Release techniques.
But unlike shinobi, who used hand seals to channel chakra, Kurogane's method was simpler. He stabbed his sword into the ground, letting the blade conduct chakra into the earth to produce ninjutsu-like effects.
It was a slower, cruder method than a shinobi's—and more dangerous. To maintain his Earth Release attacks, he had to keep the blade grounded and himself rooted to one spot, turning him into a living target.
That was the current scene. But Kurogane wasn't reckless. As soon as his sword hit the earth, he activated a defense—something akin to Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall.
Four stone walls rose around him, sealing him within a small bunker. No one could see what he was doing inside.
Mifune hadn't expected that—but didn't seem fazed.
"Earth walls, huh? Then I'll just cut them down."
He drew his sword in one fluid motion. White light shimmered along the blade.
In the blink of an eye, Mifune unleashed a storm of slashes—far too many to count. The earth wall before him shattered into pieces, revealing…
A massive suit of rock armor, nearly two and a half meters tall.
The audience gasped. But both Hoshiyomi and Kitada Asuka simply frowned.
They already knew—Kurogane Ida had lost.
His plan was simple: use defensive Earth Release to stall, and buy enough time to activate a powerful enhancement technique. The armor boosted his defense—but also made him a stationary target.
Unless he had some way of ending the fight in one blow, he would fall within three exchanges.
Sure enough, when the match resumed, Kurogane's armored stomp triggered a powerful tremor that shook the entire arena. The tremor disrupted the footing beneath Mifune, neutralizing his movement technique and forcing him to dodge on foot.
It was a clever strategy. But it underestimated Mifune's blade.
After evading two of Kurogane's strongest attacks, Mifune suddenly stepped back and launched a retreating Splitting Slash—dodging a sweeping blow and simultaneously cleaving a chunk of stone off the armored arm.
He didn't hesitate.
Instant Step.
Mifune vanished and reappeared in an instant, drawing his blade in a single, precise Iaijutsu strike—aimed directly at the exposed joint he had just weakened.
Two swift slashes—nearly enough to sever the arm—and the battle was over.
Kurogane Ida was defeated.