The Martial Unity

To say that Prime Minister Edward was upset was an understatement.

He was furious.

He had sent the new wonder Master that the Sekigaharans had spoken so highly of with the hopes that he would kill the Harbinger—ridding them of one of their largest thorns—and prove himself worthy of taking on the ultimate challenge.

In turn, all he got was the birth of a new enemy Sage.

He truly felt like losing his temper at the thought of it. Once again, he couldn’t help but feel that it was his rival and enemy, Rael, who had been dealt a much better hand than he had been. “So let me get this straight.” He leaned forward on the table. “You’re telling me that you defeated the Harbinger, were on the verge of killing her, and then she broke through to the Sage Realm, causing you to retreat?”

Opposite to him sat a man.

A Master.

His black eyes calmly met the cold fury in the Prime Minister’s eyes.

“Yes.”

Prime Minister Edward’s eyes flashed with anger. “And there’s nothing you could have done to prevent it?”

“Yes.”

“Could you have killed her sooner?”

“Yes.”

“…Why didn’t you?”

“I was copying her Martial Art. I had informed you of my intentions of doing so before the fight. Her Martial Art was complicated and highly non-standard so it took me more time to copy it and then refine my use of it.”

The Master didn’t seem bothered in the slightest despite being interrogated by the strategic leader of the East Panamic Treaty Alliance.

“So you held back for the sake of obtaining her power?”

“Yes.”

“Couldn’t you have killed her after you copied her?”

“The best way to master a Martial Artist’s power is by refining it against them. Thus, I sought to kill her with her own power. But my personality and temperament were minimally compatible with her Martial Art. Thus, I wasn’t able to use it as well as she herself could, in certain regards.”

“And you wrote that the only reason that the Sage was unable to kill you was because her condition was too severe to pursue you?”

“Yes.”

The Britannian Prime Minister eyed him with a hint of suspicion.

So far, his story added up.

Prime Minister Edward had managed to get his hands on the report filed by one of the Kandrian Martial Masters. They had indeed reported how the Harbinger had been unconscious in a pool of her own blood, on the brink of death.

It would add up to the Master’s own story without any real contradictions.

Prime Minister Edward didn’t have any proof, but his intuition told him something was a little off about the story.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have too much power over the strange young Master. Their signed agreements merely required the latter to kill Rui Quarrier Silas Kandria and provide them with breakthroughs after copying his Martial Art.

He didn’t swear loyalty to the alliance.

It was at moments like these that the Britannian Prime Minister cursed the Sekigahara Confederate and their absurd Martial culture. They had screwed up raising this Martial Artist, allowing him to become someone who couldn’t be controlled.

He had almost attempted murder when he had read through the declassified records on Tokugawa Ieyasu.

The boy had broken through to the Apprentice Realm at the age of eight.

And to the Squire Realm at the age of twelve.

His Martial Art was magical and his talent was truly extraordinary.

The Sekigaharans regarded him as the chosen one.

A great debate had unfolded among the Sages of the Sekigahara Confederate.

Some had believed that they ought to turn him into a loyal servant of the Sekigahara Confederate, yet others had believed that even forcing him to remain in the polity would crush his endless potential.

They had believed that the only way for the Sekigahara Confederate to obtain someone destined to become the strongest Martial Artist in history was to allow the young Martial Artist to absorb and evolve everything that the world had to offer.

Thus, they had allowed him to leave the Sekigahara Confederate and had told him to return when he had taken everything that the world had to offer.

The fools obsessed with Martial Art seemed more interested in witnessing the birth of the strongest Martial Artist than they were in actually controlling him or instilling loyalty.

Just reading those records almost made the prime minister want to wage war against the Sekigaharans instead of the Kandrians.

“Your operation has caused far more harm to us than it has benefited us.”

“I am aware. But I am also aware that your confidence in my ability to accomplish my end of our agreement has increased.” The Master’s tone was stoic and calm. “As long as I kill him and take his Martial Art, it will all have been worth it for you, will it not have?”

He demonstrated that he had a clear understanding of his circumstances and his strategic importance. He was indeed correct.

If the battle with the Harbinger would allow him to kill the Void Prince, letting the Harbinger break through to the Sage Realm would be more than worth it.

“As long as you are able to kill him, that is.” Prime Minister Edward’s eyes narrowed. “Until then, your only contributions to the East Panamic Treaty Alliance have been liabilities. How confident are you in defeating him?”

Tokugawa Ieyasu fell silent at his words.

He seemed to enter an introspective mood.

“…I’ll know when I see him.”

“That doesn’t sound like absolute confidence.”

“Absolute confidence is a liability against him.” His tone was as composed as ever. “He is not someone against whom anybody can have absolute confidence. His power is beyond measure—ever-changing and endlessly malleable. It changes with the environment. It changes with his opponent. Almost like…”

His black eyes narrowed. “…water.”

“That sounds like a rather intimate understanding of his power.” Prime Minister Edward frowned. “Almost as though you have fought him before.”

Tokugawa Ieyasu remained silent as he looked back on their past.

A single question escaped him.

“When…?” His dark eyes shifted back to the prime minister. “When is our battle?”

“…In three days.” Prime Minister Edward peered into those black eyes as he tried to get a handle on the strange Master sitting before him. “Then, the battle to decide the fate of the war will commence.”

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