[Historical Novel] Waves of Serenity, Chapter 6 (1) "You are fighting a life-or-death battle against that heretic."

Synopsis so far

16th century.
A boy of foreign descent, Iruka Kusuba, kills his foster father with his own hands and is forced to work for the Kanrei, Takakuni Hosokawa.
Iruka, who travels with the beautiful Ming Chinese, Song Suqing, crosses from the southern island of Gajajima to the continental port city of Ningbo.
There, they are interrogated by the Ming official Zhu Zijun and the warrior Yu Zhifu, and the group flees to Shuangyu Island to intercept the pirates and the Ming navy. Iruka's swordsmanship overwhelms the Ming soldiers, but he is forced to flee into the sea after clashing with Yu Zhifu.
Iruka, who loses consciousness and dreams of the battle between his father, Sōeki Akazawa, and his foster father, is warmed by the naked Suqing. In fact, Suqing is a former courtesan who had her breasts removed, and after being told of her tragic past, Iruka renews his determination to fulfill the dream of creating a nation for those who live on the borders.
Ordered by Takakuni, the two head to Sakai, where the Chinese ships are being built, to prevent the Ouchi clan's mission to Ming at the last minute, but...

Main Story

Chapter 6

I

Outside the lattice windows, two large ships are moored.
The brand-new masts are shining under the early spring sun.
The view of Sakai port was nostalgic for Iruka. It was the town where he lived with his mother when he was a child, before going to Nushima.
They were terribly poor, but sometimes an extraordinary amount of money would come from somewhere, and for a while, they lived like wealthy people. He remembers that.
"Two masts, with thirty-tan sails and fifteen-tan sails respectively. The hull under the deck is flat and spacious, too."
The floor of the trading house is wooden, and they don't even take off their footwear. Sitting around a round table in chairs, facing each other, is the same as in the Ming dynasty, so he didn't feel like he had returned to his home country.
"They will be able to withstand the waves of the open sea and return loaded with an impressive amount of imperial gifts."
The master of Hyugaya in front of him narrowed his drooping eyes under his long eyebrows. The length and thickness of his earlobes were extraordinary, a truly auspicious face.
Next to him, the master of Kiya is also waiting. He was a very small, wrinkled old man who looked like a dried persimmon. With his eyes closed, he is pulling together the sleeves of his black jittoku robe.
"The timber was assembled at the port of Shimizu in Tosa and brought here to Sakai. It has become a ship worthy of the once-in-a-decade mission to Ming, hasn't it?"
"An impeccable job."
Suqing, sitting next to him, also nodded with satisfaction.
"It is worth it that the great figures of Sakai, Hyugaya and Kiya, have joined hands to work on this."
"We didn't join hands."
The master of Hyugaya wore a chiding smile.
"We competed. We made a formal agreement not to get ahead of each other, but otherwise, it's a contest to build something good. Which one will become the official ship for the envoy will depend on how they turn out."
The person who started to nod was the Zen monk sitting to Suqing's right, wearing a black robe with a brocade rakusu.
He sat with his back straight, looking as composed as a wooden Buddha statue.
His name was Rankō Zuisa, the old monk who would be the chief envoy for this mission to Ming. Iruka didn't know much about his background, but he was apparently a fairly big deal in the Kyoto Gozan temples.
Suqing himself had apparently served as a chief envoy to Ming in the past. However, it was the formal way to have a Zen monk as the head, and since they would be using some quite risky tactics from here on out, he also felt it was better not to be at the forefront.
"Is that so?"
Suqing smiled at the competitive remark of the Sakai merchant.
"Then, how did you find the two ships when you inspected them earlier, Priest Zuisa?"
"I shall convey that to you later."
The old monk nodded slowly without even moving his eyebrows.
"More than that, what concerns me is the movement of the Ouchi side. I hear they have already prepared three large ships in Hakata, and their chief envoy is a man named Kendō Sōsetsu."
"That is what I have heard."
"In truth, when I was young, I studied with Kendō Sōsetsu at Shōkoku-ji Temple."
He tightened the corners of his mouth and looked very tense.
"They say he was originally born in the Ming dynasty. He was an excellent student, but even then, I heard strange rumors. That he was killing and eating the cats, dogs, and deer that entered the temple grounds."
Iruka couldn't help but look at Suqing's profile.
Could it be that the madness he faced at the Ouchi mansion had been manifesting since then?
"A gruesome story. Of course, there is no proof. But eventually, he was half-expelled from the temple and fled to the western provinces. To think that we would encounter him again in a place like this."
The group could not continue the conversation and fell into a heavy silence.
"Since we do not have the latest tally trade permit here, we are prepared for the fact that it will not end easily. We will surely defeat them."
Suqing said this, looking straight ahead with his eyes.
At that moment, a scream went up outside the window.
The shouting continued without ceasing, and the cries of men also began to mingle in.
"What is happening?"
Zuisa also seemed concerned, as he kept glancing in that direction.
Busy footsteps ran through the corridor of the trading house, and a fat clerk rushed in through the door.
"What's the matter, why are you so noisy?"
The master of Hyugaya threw a sharp voice at him.
"The port."
The clerk was out of breath and collapsed onto the floor.
"The port is burning. And the town, too."
Iruka looked at Suqing, and without needing to nod to each other, they stood up.

When they rushed to the port, the houses with shingled roofs around the Tsukishima area, the lattices of the storehouses, and the masts of the ships were already engulfed in flames.
As far as the eye could see, it was ominously bright, illuminated by the flames, and it was hard to breathe due to the thick smoke.
"Ah, the Chinese ships!"
It was the master of Hyugaya who let out a voice that sounded like he was about to cry.
Looking, the two large ships that boasted their majesty moored at the quay were already about to be engulfed in flames. Especially the one in the front, the fire was spreading quickly, and black smoke was crawling even over the bulwarks.
"Call the warehouse keepers and put it out!"
It was the master of Kiya who was shouting orders to the sailors.
"Is it just a fire, or..."
When Iruka muttered this, Suqing next to him turned his face toward him.
"Iruka, I will run to the Hosokawa guard station and ask for reinforcements. You stay here and keep an eye on the area."
"Understood."
"Be very careful. The Ouchi's hands might already be at work."
As he watched Suqing's back, Zuisa, who had pulled his black-dyed sleeves together, approached with a strangely composed demeanor.
"Inferior things are lost. It is the same with humans."
Looking, the ship that was burning beyond salvation was the one prepared by Hyugaya.
At that moment, a strange figure appeared from between the houses that had become pillars of fire.
He was about seven feet tall. He was a large man, large enough to be called a giant.
With his hair slicked back, he wore a small kimono like a black flag, and he was wearing a long nagamaki sword at his waist without carrying it on his back. His limbs, like pillars, were toned, but only his belly protruded strangely.
In both hands, he held a log-like torch, and the fireball at the tip was roaring. He seemed to be using it to set fires. Every time he took a heavy step, a massive amount of sparks scattered.
"What on earth is that guy?"
Iruka stared, and in an instant, he had drawn the sword at his waist.
"Where is Song Suqing? Hosokawa's dog, the eunuch's whore. I will peel off that mask and violate you in the middle of this hellfire!"
It was precisely because he heard those words that Iruka ran toward him before he could even think.
He faced the giant head-on. Large eyes like those of a Nio statue looked down at him. One could even call it demonic.
"Who are you?"
"It's decided that I'm the one who gets to deal with monsters."
"Ho. I know you. You're the brat of a strategist kept by Song Suqing. It seems you're being used well by that slut of a woman."
Suqing's identity is starting to be known.
While glaring back, Iruka just tried not to let his breathing become disordered. He was determined never to let go of the state of mind he had found during his training with Eishun.
"Who are you, you giant?"
"Me? I am Kojirō Gentarō. A warrior kept by Lord Ouchi, the Sakyō no Daibu."
"So it is the Ouchi. By going this far, do you intend to stop the Hosokawa mission to Ming at all costs?"
"Hmm? You have no logic, you people. Our tally permit was entrusted to us directly by the late Shogun. To think you would even sneak into the master's mansion to steal it, which one of us is truly wicked?"
"If you intend to burn down the town and port of Sakai for that, then you are the evil ones."
Iruka gripped the hilt and re-aimed his sword in the seigan stance.
"In the first place, a heretic like you cannot be a warrior. At best, you're a sumo wrestler from a sideshow."
The opponent bared his missing front teeth and laughed. The corners of his mouth were torn, and he could see his back teeth breaking through his gums.
"Iruka Kusuba. I will rip open that belly and eat your entrails."
He threw the torches in both hands over the earthen walls on the left and right, and skillfully drew the nagamaki at his waist. The tip of the blade drew a line as if the stars were circling.
Just as he thought that, he rushed toward him with agile movements that didn't match his giant body.
A thrust is coming.
Iruka knocked it down with his blade. But it was too heavy. He jumped back as if he had been flicked away.
His brute strength was exactly as it looked. However, he realized it in that one clash. He didn't seem to be a master of martial arts. Because he was too blessed with his physique, he was inevitably fighting with brute force.
With those long arms and a weapon that was about seven feet long, he was trying to keep the distance between them strangely far. He saw that he didn't want to be entered into his inner circle.
Iruka pushed his own thinking that far. Fighting is momentum. Technique is for creating that.
Without hesitation, he stepped in.
Once again, a thrust of the nagamaki came. As expected, it was rough.
Iruka read the tip of the blade, circled to the opponent's right side, and entered up to the hand holding the long handle. While slightly hunching his body, he turned the tip of his sword slightly and slashed upward in a single stroke.
The blade reached his wrist. Flesh tore, and blood spurted out.
He thought he had him.
However, something unexpected happened.
The front of his belly, which was protruding quite plumply, split open on its own above his belt. As if it were opening a large mouth wide.
From there, another arm jumped out.
"What!"
He didn't even know if he had made a sound. Only something flashing appeared in the corner of his eye.
Sensing the danger, he instinctively pulled back. It was shallow because of that, but he was slashed sideways, and the chest of his hitatare robe was ripped open along with the strings of the chrysanthemum knots.
After a breath, blood began to overflow.
"You..."
More than the pain, he was so surprised that he couldn't continue his sentence. A third arm was extending from the opponent's flank. It seemed quite short, but it was firmly gripping a drawn dagger.
"Surprised, are you? This is my, Kojirō Gentarō's, one-in-a-million body."
He laughed while spreading his torn mouth sideways and showing his back teeth.
It didn't even feel like reality.
Iruka's mind, which should have been clear, was immediately thrown into chaos.
Calming it down again from here was not an easy task.
He barely looked at his opponent. Blood was dripping profusely from the back of his right hand, and he probably couldn't swing the nagamaki with both arms anymore.
However, the wound he received at close range was also deep. As he lost blood, his strength faded, and his vision began to darken. Which one would fall first? There was no doubt that he, with his smaller body, was closer to death.
Time is precious for him.
Iruka re-aimed his sword and struck down recklessly from the upper stance. But the opponent jumped back nimbly with his giant body, trying to keep the distance again.
After all, when you stand on a battlefield where you don't know what will happen, the techniques you have learned are too powerless.
"You called me a heretic."
The jagged teeth protruding from his cheeks were like the fangs of a beast.
"Yes, that's right. You are fighting a life-or-death battle against that heretic. Do you think you can win against me, Kojirō Gentarō, with that?"
Fighting is momentum.
Having been shown an unimaginable, literal "ace up his sleeve," his momentum was easily crushed.
The opponent's body structure was not that of an ordinary person. However, that is no excuse. It is nothing more than the barking of a loser.
Since they are both trying to take each other's lives, the battle is always a one-time thing. If he had his spirit broken in that one time, it meant that was all he was worth.
Kojirō, with his injured right hand hanging limply, was tucking the nagamaki under his left arm. With the short arm extending from his belly, he held the dagger in a reverse grip, preparing for him to step into his inner circle.
It was a figure that he hadn't even seen in the scrolls of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons.
"So the 'Shadow' style or whatever it is will end here, too."
He said it more calmly than expected, and conversely, he unleashed a powerful slash.
Iruka turned his back and avoided it. Or rather, he fled.
"Uwaa!"
He even let out a thin voice.
"Pathetic, disciple of Hatakeyama Bokusen."
When he looked back, the enemy's giant figure with the flames in the background looked up at him like an angry Fudo Myoo.
I am afraid.
The opponent lowered his hips again and swung the nagamaki wide.
I'm going to be killed.
That was when it happened.
An arrow shaft pierced deep into Kojirō's right shoulder with a sound of flesh.
"Unu!"
The opponent let out a groan.
When he looked in the direction the arrow had flown, there was someone on the stone steps of Tsukishima holding a crossbow. He was aiming as if shrugging his shoulders, with his finger on the trigger.
It was Suqing in blue Hanfu.
"Iruka, now!"
The voice pierced through the smoke.
Iruka nodded. This time, he didn't think about anything.
He stepped in powerfully, slashed with his sword, and cut the tendon of the knee in front of him.
"Nuguu!"
The opponent twisted his monstrous face, dropped the nagamaki, and hunched his back. He seemed to be doing his best just to support his giant body by putting his hands on his knees.
Without a moment's delay, he thrust the tip of his sword into the opponent's flank.
The small arm tried to block it with the dagger, but it was far too late.
The wall of flesh is thick. But when he thrust it in with all his might, he felt it reach the internal organs.
"I don't care!"
While dripping blood from the corners of his mouth, Kojirō roared.
"The plan to burn your Chinese ships has been achieved. You are the ones who lost. Are you frustrated? Are you sad? Hosokawa's dogs."
"If we are dogs, you are pigs kept by the Ouchi."
"Funuu!"
The opponent gathered his spirit in a flash, arched his body, and pulled out the blade buried in his belly.
While spraying dark blood, he turned around and started running. His left knee was unsteady, and his upper body was waving violently, but even so, it was unbelievable speed.
A small boat was moored at the quay of the port. Kojirō boarded it as if dragging his giant body. The boat rocked back and forth as if it were about to sink, but the sailors wearing belly protectors didn't care at all and began to move the oars with all their might.
The giant sat cross-legged on the deck as if collapsing, and while looking up at the pitch-black smoky sky, he laughed brightly.
"When reason is followed, the unreasonable retreats. Kojirō Gentarō, I have arrived."
The masts of the mission ships were burning like a forest fire, casting red shadows onto the dark, murky sea.
The warriors from the guard station who had rushed to the port were shouting loudly at each other, pouring water from wooden buckets onto the ships, or starting to tear down houses.
But literally, it would be like trying to put out a fire with a cup of water.
Iruka stood there blankly, hanging his grease-covered sword and with his chest stained dark red.

~To be continued in (2)