CLANG!
CLANG-CLANG!!
CRACK!
WHOOSH!
Two silhouettes blurred past each other and came to a halt. Saito Hajime stood motionless, staring down at his shattered blade.
Strong.
Impossibly strong.
It wasn't as though he'd never crossed swords with the Battousai before. But never, not once, had the defeat been this absolute.
"So even Saito-san lost?"
"Seems the rumors weren't just idle talk after all."
Okita watched the departing figure sheathe his sword, a quiet sigh escaping his lips.
"Wait..."
"Stand down!"
One of the squad members lunged forward, but Okita's arm shot out to bar his path.
"Captain?!"
"If you chase him now, he'll draw the killing blade." Okita's voice was calm but final. "It's over. The mission is a failure."
Before Okita could elaborate further, Saito spoke, his eyes still fixed on the ruins of his weapon.
"The rumors say Himura Battousai carries two swords."
"If he draws the one at the lower position on his waist, it means death. The one higher up means life."
"Ironic as it sounds, we owe our survival to his mercy."
Okita gazed toward the forest where the legend had vanished. Something hollow settled in his chest.
He and Saito, two of the Shinsengumi's finest captains, had pursued the man together. The Battousai had stopped them both without breaking stride.
The change in him was unmistakable. Okita desperately wanted to know what this man, a swordsman roughly his own age, had experienced to become something beyond all reason.
Kenshin darted through the trees before coming to an abrupt halt in a small clearing.
"Oh my, found out already?"
"And here I thought I hid rather well..."
"Senior."
Pinned by Kenshin's unwavering gaze, the figure crouching behind a thick oak trunk stepped into the open.
"Shishio. What do you want?"
"Nothing much. I just wanted to see your swordsmanship up close." Makoto Shishio shrugged, spreading his palms in a show of harmlessness. "Unfortunately, it was already over by the time I arrived."
"You're terrifying, Senior."
"But tell me, why didn't you kill those two Shinsengumi captains just now?" A knowing smirk tugged at Shishio's lips. "With your current ability, it would've been effortless, wouldn't it?"
"They are our sworn enemies..."
"Katsura-san would surely app..."
WHOOSH!!
Before the sentence left his mouth, Shishio's eyes went wide. Kenshin had drawn without warning.
'Fast!'
By the time Shishio's hand even twitched toward his own hilt, Kenshin had already completed the swing.
Cold sweat erupted across his skin. He stood frozen, struck by an overwhelming wave of disbelief.
The slash had come and gone. And yet...
"!"
He blinked. Patted himself down.
Not a scratch.
"This sword cannot kill." Kenshin held the blade horizontally before his chest, his voice like winter frost. "It cannot even wound."
"...?"
A sword that couldn't wound? Impossible. Even a reverse-blade sword could still break bones.
Shishio's gaze dropped to the weapon in Kenshin's hand. By any measure, it was a masterwork. Elegant, razor-edged, undeniably lethal in appearance.
And yet, Kenshin had just slashed him point-blank. Not a single mark remained.
Click.
The blade slid home into its sheath. Without another word, Kenshin turned and walked deeper into the forest.
"Tch..."
Watching the retreating figure, every trace of Shishio's earlier desire to test himself evaporated in an instant.
If his Senior had intended to kill him just now, it would have been over before his brain registered the movement.
No wonder the Shinsengumi had deployed both Saito Hajime and Okita Soji. And even then, the outcome had never been in doubt.
Walking alone along the forest path, Kenshin let his thoughts drift to that distant place and understood, with cold certainty, that he had left the realm of ordinary swordsmen far behind.
'The name of this sword is Tenseiga. It can neither wound nor kill.'
'Consider it a consolation prize for your participation.'
'However, Tenseiga's true power is sealed. The condition to release it... I believe you already know.'
'That's right. Participate in the Dragon Ball War once more. Return to this world alive, and the seal will break.'
'The woman called Tomoe will be frozen within the necklace in your possession. Tenseiga can save her, but you have only ten years.'
'If you are not summoned within that time, then both Tenseiga and she will reach a dead end.'
That God's decree had been absolute. No negotiation. No refusal.
In the months since returning to this world, Kenshin had found his purpose. Two purposes, in fact.
The first: continue the work of the Restoration.
The second...
"Himura. We found the information you requested."
"But it appears to be in Kyoto..."
"Are you certain you wish to go now?"
Taking the slip of paper from his informant, Kenshin's expression never shifted. He tucked it into his sleeve and walked outside without a word.
"Is Katsura-sensei really letting him go?"
Watching Kenshin depart, a cluster of men on the second floor exchanged uneasy glances.
"Let him go. He said he's paying a visit. That means he'll return."
"But..."
"If any of you idiots want to test Senior's blade," Shishio cut in with a thin smile, "I certainly wouldn't mind watching you die."
"Shishio, you...!"
"Well, well. What wind blew you back here?"
"The foolish disciple who ran off down the mountain on his own, crawling back at a time like this?"
"Done saving the world already?"
Hiko Seijuro regarded the familiar face before him with undisguised mockery.
"The world will still be saved."
"But before that..."
"I need to become stronger."
The sake bottle froze halfway to Hiko's lips. That was not the answer he had expected.
He'd heard the rumors, of course. Everyone had.
Himura Battousai.
The Peerless Swordsman.
The first title was old news. Lately, the second had eclipsed it entirely.
'His killing intent and bloodlust are heavier than ever, yet his eyes are perfectly clear. No confusion. No hesitation.'
"You don't look lost, either. Hmph."
"At this point, what could I possibly still teach you?"
"The Ougi."
Silence.
"Please, teach me the ultimate technique of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu!"
Studying Kenshin's face, that dead-serious expression and unwavering resolve, Hiko Seijuro leaned back and crossed his arms.
"Why learn the Ougi?"
"I've heard you're unrivaled these days. They call you the Peerless Swordsman Under Heaven, don't they?"
"Your enemies can only pray you draw the non-killing blade."
Sitting with his powerful legs crossed, Hiko's tone was half-mocking, half-curious.
"Because this one is still not strong enough."
"Oh? Showing such humility at the peak of your fame? How remarkab..."
"This one traveled to a place very far away."
Hiko paused mid-sentence. Then he uncorked his bottle, took a slow sip, and listened.
"There, this one encountered many powerful warriors."
"It is shameful to admit, but the Kenshin of that time could barely threaten any of them."
"In the end, in a contest of blade against blade, I lost to a queen from a foreign land."
The story unfolded slowly, told in a form no other could understand.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]
[TN: The author notes that the ending of the previous chapter (Ch 60) was meant as an Easter egg, a glimpse into the future developments of Waver, Tokiomi, and the others after the war.]