My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 644: Chapter 5: Training Iaido and the Demon Sword Vishnu

...

Aoto gathered his spirit and stood at the spot where Kiryu had just been standing.

With his eyes tightly closed, Aoto tried hard to recall Kiryu’s movements he had just seen.

—I remember... Boss Kiryu seemed to lower his center of gravity like this...

—And then... the body should stand slightly sideways like this... the arms shouldn’t be too open...

The three great talents of ”Sword Genius,” ”Ghost Heart,” and ”Gathering Spirit” activated simultaneously at this moment!

Aoto slowly opened his eyes, staring intently at the bamboo mat in front of him, which had already had a small section chopped off by Kiryu.

His breathing lengthened and deepened... his mental focus became sharper... soon, the world before Aoto’s eyes consisted solely of this bamboo mat.

At the instant when mind, spirit, and body were united, Aoto fiercely drew his sword!

Buzz...!

The Ghost-Slaying that sprang from the sheath emitted a sharp wind-cutting sound as it swept towards the bamboo mat!

Snip!

The sound echoed like a cloth sack being sliced open, and the poor bamboo mat had another small section chopped off.

However... although Aoto successfully cut through the bamboo mat, even a layman could tell Aoto’s slicing technique was far inferior to Kiryu’s.

One could discern a vast disparity in skill just by looking at the cuts of both sides.

Kiryu’s cut was exceptionally smooth, so smooth it did not seem like it was cut with a sword.

Whereas Aoto’s cut was very rough.

Nonetheless, although Aoto’s slash wasn’t great, it’s crucial to understand this was Aoto’s first time using Iaijutsu.

”Oh...” From behind his glasses, Kiryu’s eyes sparkled with a faint light of surprise.

”Well done.” Kiryu walked over, picking up the section of bamboo mat Aoto had just chopped off, ”Your movements were more precise than I anticipated.”

”Achieving this level on your first try with Flowing Light is indeed a bit astonishing to me.”

”Your arms were still too wide; tuck them in a bit more...”

Kiryu patiently corrected Aoto’s movements.

Finally, Kiryu stepped aside, took a few bamboo mats that had been prepared earlier beside the yard, rolled them up, and lined them up in front of Aoto.

”You can practice freely now.”

”Try to cut through all of these bamboo mats.”

”Boss Kiryu, why do you have so many bamboo mats here?” Aoto couldn’t help but ask.

”I wove all these bamboo mats myself.”

”Huh?”

”I once learned how to weave bamboo mats in the Hizen Domain of Kyushu. After setting up this Thousand Affairs House in Edo, I often wove bamboo mats to pass the time. Initially, I planned to sell them, but I kept forgetting. They just accumulated in the warehouse. So now I can make good use of them as equipment for you to practice Iaijutsu.”

Aoto silently glanced at the high-quality bamboo mats that seemed crafted by a professional...

”Boss Kiryu, you know too much, don’t you? You can mend kimonos, understand calligraphy, know carpentry, how to drive away termites, and you’re excellent at swordsmanship...”

Kiryu smiled slightly, ”It’s all just some insignificant tricks.”

—You call these insignificant tricks...?

Aoto couldn’t help but glance again at the expertly crafted bamboo mats...

...

Aoto did not rush to immediately complete the ”learning task” Kiryu assigned to him.

Feeling somewhat thirsty, Aoto, with Kiryu’s permission, quickly walked over to Mukiwa, taking the prepared water bottle from her.

He gulped down the water in big, satisfying swigs, and as he did so, his sight involuntarily drifted to the sword hanging at Kiryu’s waist not far from him.

”What’s the matter?”

Noticing Aoto’s gaze, Kiryu inquired.

”Nothing... I just feel that your sword is quite special,” Aoto said, setting down the water bottle, ”Boss Kiryu, why does your sword emit a purple hue?”

”Oh, my sword, huh...”

Kiryu smiled faintly, then ran his left hand along the sheath, flicked open the sheath’s mouth, and gripped the sword with his right hand, drawing it inch by inch from the sheath.

The bewitching purple glow filled Aoto’s vision once more.

”Why the blade emits a purple hue... the reason isn’t complicated. It’s just that the blade uses some special materials.”

Aoto didn’t quite understand swords.

But as a Samurai accustomed to living with swords day in and day out, he at least had the basic eye for quality.

The purple sword in Kiryu’s hand... even just looking at it, one could tell it was of exceptional quality.

Aoto felt that, quality-wise, his Ghost-Slaying was likely far inferior to Kiryu’s purple sword.

”Boss Kiryu, what is your sword’s name?” Aoto couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity.

”...Vishnu.” Kiryu softly pronounced a name that would be well-known to anyone with even a slight understanding of Buddhism.

”Vishnu?” Aoto was taken aback, ”Isn’t that the Buddha title of the Great Sun Buddha?”

”Yes.” Kiryu held a faint smile at the corners of his mouth, ”Because holding this sword feels as if possessed by the Great Sun Buddha, thus it was given this name.”

”Besides its true name Vishnu... my sword also bears the nickname ’Demon Sword.’”

”Demon Sword?” Aoto blinked, then couldn’t help but chuckle, ”Boss Kiryu, is your sword inhabited by some kind of demon?”

”A sword inhabited by demons... such things only exist in myths and legends.”

Kiryu said this with some exasperation, then slightly raised his eyebrows, gazing at the Vishnu in his hand.

Its blade reflected the purple glow, clearly mirroring Kiryu’s eyes, which were sparkling with a trace of reminiscence.

”Vishnu is the ancestral sword of a family burdened with severe bloodshed... people deemed it ominous, hence called it the ’Demon Sword.’”

”There is no demon actually inhabiting it, the so-called ’Demon Sword’ is merely a misconception spread among people.”