Chapter 120: Self-Introduction (Patreon)

Hearing Shiranui Hanzo's sigh, Genryusai Maki said nothing; only the faint clack of a bamboo water fountain drifted in from beyond the paper door.

"So, you're the head of Bushinryu now?" Shiranui Hanzo set down his teacup.

"Yes." Genryusai Maki nodded. "The thirty-ninth head, Senior Brother Guy, is away on a training journey, and Martial Uncle Zeku has retired as well. Before he passed, my father handed the headship down to me."

"And disciples?"

"...We're recruiting." At Shiranui Hanzo's question, a trace of helplessness crossed Genryusai Maki's face.

"Plenty of people sign up, but most are just acting on a whim, or they think the name 'Bushinryu' sounds cool... As for those who actually make it through the basic training, there have only been two in the last three years — and even they just barely got through the technical drills. That's all."

Hearing Genryusai Maki's words, Shiranui Hanzo let out a sigh of his own, moved by her account.

Bushinryu and Shiranui-ryu had been on good terms for generations, and Shiranui Hanzo and Genryusai Maki's father had been the closest of friends.

Genryusai Maki's father, Elder Genryusai, had been the pivotal figure who bridged past and future for Bushinryu, dragging the style back from the very brink of extinction through sheer will.

But now, with the style having passed to Maki's generation... she knew perfectly well herself that she was only a stopgap.

And that was exactly the problem — up until now, Bushinryu still hadn't found a truly suitable successor. But there was nothing to be done about it.

Because Bushinryu placed too much emphasis on a martial artist's intent... Compared to qi, honing one's intent was far, far harder.

With that thought, Shiranui Hanzo spoke up:

"Shiranui-ryu and Bushinryu have always been friends. My granddaughter... Mai, that is, has decent enough talent, so there's no need to worry about our lineage dying out. If a suitable candidate ever comes looking to apprentice, I'll introduce him to Bushinryu."

"Thank you, Senior." At Shiranui Hanzo's words, a somewhat strained smile appeared on Genryusai Maki's face.

While the two of them continued their idle chat, elsewhere, Yang made his way down a forest path and finally arrived at the unassuming-looking dojo. Above the gate, the plaque bore three bold characters brushed in flowing, dynamic strokes — 不知火 (Shiranui). Quite an impressive sight.

The dojo's door stood slightly ajar. Yang stepped forward, about to knock, but stopped himself. Through the gap he could hear a series of whistling strikes cutting the air, one after another, steady and rhythmic. He simply pushed the wooden door open and walked down the corridor toward the sound.

Soon, Yang spotted a girl in a red ninja outfit, deep in focused training.

Though it was his first time seeing her, Yang recognized her instantly as Mai Shiranui.

As everyone knew, Yang wasn't the lecherous type.

So he simply took her in with an appreciative eye.

She wore her signature red kunoichi outfit, though it differed somewhat from her game design — perhaps because she was at home, her current attire was fairly simplified. Even so, the ninja garb was still outrageously revealing. By modern standards, at least, it looked like some kind of specialty costume.

Clothing like that demanded an extremely exacting figure from whoever wore it — any flaw would only be magnified. But this clearly did nothing to diminish Mai Shiranui's own appeal: a full bust, a slender waist, a firm, curved rear, and long legs, all set off by a pair of stirrup socks, lending her a distinctly alluring charm.

Just as Yang was still looking her over, Mai, seeming to sense something, suddenly turned her gaze toward him.

At first, Mai assumed he was some lost traveler or a visitor come to ask about studying here, but the moment she opened her mouth, before she could get a word out, she froze completely.

Her senses moved faster than words — she could clearly feel that the man before her carried an aura she had only ever felt from her grandfather—

It wasn't killing intent, nor fighting aura, but something deeper still.

That presence pressed down heavily around him, like a storm suppressed to its absolute limit — even in complete silence, it radiated an indescribable weight. She didn't know who Yang was, but that presence alone was enough to convince her that this man who had suddenly appeared was no ordinary person.

"Who are you? What business do you have here?!"

Sensing Mai's wariness, Yang fell silent.

In truth, Yang knew perfectly well that all he needed to do was explain why he'd come — given Mai's personality and Shiranui-ryu's current situation, it would be easy enough to clear things up.

He could do that, but... there was no need.

He'd come here specifically to learn their techniques, and the first thing to determine was whether those techniques actually had anything worth learning.

And compared to plain explanations... fists and fighting really were the best way to communicate.

With that thought, meeting Mai's gaze, Yang rolled his shoulders on reflex. In almost an instant, his face was swallowed by inky black, and he said flatly, "I'm here to see for myself just how good the legendary Shiranui-ryu ninjutsu really is."

Hearing that, Mai's eyes narrowed at once, and she said gravely, "I don't know who you are, but if that's your attitude, I won't be holding back!"

"Then I'd be much obliged!" Yang nodded in reply.

But at his answer, a trace of confusion crossed Mai's face.

When Yang first said he wanted to see how strong Shiranui-ryu really was, Mai had assumed this guy in front of her was here to challenge the dojo.

With that warning in mind, she'd bluntly told him she wouldn't go easy — if he was after glory, he'd best try somewhere else. But who would've guessed this guy actually looked... pleased about it?

Nobody trying to challenge a dojo was ever this polite about it.

Mai thought to herself — having grown up deep in these mountains, she'd seen plenty of martial artists come to spar with her grandfather Shiranui Hanzo. She was no stranger to this kind of impulsive challenge from some fighting fanatic showing up out of nowhere.

Meeting Yang's gaze, Mai narrowed her eyes and held his stare without backing down an inch.

Though his face had gone pitch black, hiding any expression, his eyes were remarkably clear and pure, brimming with fierce fighting spirit rather than malice.

With that thought, Mai asked, suspicious: "You... came here to spar?"

"...Yeah."

Yang had no idea why Mai's hostility had suddenly dropped so much, but after a brief silence, he nodded anyway.

Just as Mai was about to say something, an aged voice sounded from nearby. "Someone's come?"

With those words, Shiranui Hanzo stepped out from nearby, Genryusai Maki beside him.

"Maki~" Spotting her, Mai waved cheerfully in greeting. Seeing Mai, Genryusai Maki's face broke into a smile too, but she quickly remembered she was now the head of Bushinryu, and composed herself, nodding back at Mai with practiced dignity.

Not yet aware that Maki had become the new head of Bushinryu, Mai just blinked curiously at her friend's odd reaction, planning to ask about it later.

Off to the side, Yang said nothing, simply watching Genryusai Maki and Shiranui Hanzo with curiosity.

Genryusai Maki, of course, needed no introduction — she wore red as well, and at first glance resembled Mai somewhat, though her outfit was far more modest in every respect.

Though Yang already knew from Vega that Bushinryu and Shiranui-ryu were on good terms, having barely arrived before running straight into the heads of both ninjutsu schools still left a flicker of curiosity in his eyes.

After a quick greeting to her grandfather, Mai pointed at Yang, his face still pitch black, and said:

"I was just training when I noticed this guy had walked in without me even realizing — at first I figured he was an enemy come for revenge, or here to challenge the dojo, but then it seemed like that wasn't it... more like he's here to spar, to hone his martial path."

Hearing this, the aged, stooped Shiranui Hanzo nodded thoughtfully, and after sensing Yang for a moment, a trace of curiosity entered his gaze.

Though he'd reached his twilight years and grown quite frail, Shiranui Hanzo's perceptive senses hadn't dulled with age.

He couldn't be entirely certain, but Shiranui Hanzo could clearly sense that, beyond his sheer power, some unheard-of yet extraordinarily potent force moved through Yang's body.

With that thought, Shiranui Hanzo looked at Yang with curiosity and asked, "May I ask, sir, who trained you?"

At the question, Yang was silent for a moment, then let out a sigh and dispersed the blood-energy around his body, his face fading from black back to normal.

Looking at Yang's handsome, striking face now that he'd relaxed, Mai's eyebrows lifted, her eyes lighting up a little.

When she'd first noticed him, her guard had been up, so she hadn't paid attention to his face at all — her focus had been entirely on the flow of his energy.

But now, with her grandfather and Maki here, she realized Yang probably wasn't the ill-intentioned sort she'd assumed. As she relaxed inwardly, she found herself paying attention to other things too. And now...

"Oh my, he's quite the looker~"

Mai blinked, then walked over and nudged her close friend with her shoulder. "Hey, hey, Maki, he's totally your type~ Want me to introduce you two?"

Hearing that, Maki rolled her eyes, instinctively wanting to snap back, but remembering she was now the head of Bushinryu, she cleared her throat instead and said:

"I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Hmm... you really have gotten weird!"

At that, Mai eyed her suspiciously, then took out her fan and studied Maki back and forth as she spoke: "Fine, you came here and deliberately avoided me, but now you don't even react to a handsome guy..."

"Th-that's not true..." At that, Maki turned her head away, flustered, not daring to meet Mai's eyes.

"And you say it's not true!" Seeing this, Mai huffed. "If it were the old you, you'd have said, 'Eh, he's just okay~' then sneak a couple of glances, decide you weren't interested, and act totally unbothered. You wouldn't be like this!"

"Tch," Maki pouted despite herself at Mai's words, then said, "It's... complicated. I actually came here specifically to see Grandpa Hanzo, that's why I didn't come find you first." As she spoke, she turned her gaze to Yang beside them, asking with some curiosity:

"So what's the deal with this guy?"

"No idea."

Meeting everyone's gazes, Yang thought for a brief moment, then let out a long breath and, cupping his fist toward Shiranui Hanzo, said, "Sou and Ki Ansatsuken — Yang."

At his words, both Maki and Mai looked puzzled — clearly, they'd never heard of "Sou and Ki Ansatsuken."

By contrast, at the same words, Shiranui Hanzo froze completely where he stood. After a moment's hesitation, he looked up at Yang and asked, "Sou and Ki... you're from Hong Kong?"

"Yes." Yang nodded, saying calmly, "I trained under Hundred Battles Blood Warrior — Gen."

Though Yang's tone stayed calm, once he had confirmation, sheer shock spread across Shiranui Hanzo's face. He stared at Yang, momentarily forgetting how to speak.

Beside him, seeing the shock — bordering on stupefaction — on her grandfather's face, Mai blinked in confusion, then turned her gaze back to Yang, unsure why her grandfather had been struck speechless.

A moment later, Shiranui Hanzo realized he'd lost his composure, and quickly collected himself. His expression, as he looked at Yang, turned proper and much more solemn.

"Do you have any token — something to prove you're that man's disciple?"

"No." Yang answered plainly at the question. "I trained under Old Gen, but he never gave me any token."

Hearing this, Shiranui Hanzo was silent for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully. "Then how about a friendly spar?"

"Sure," Yang nodded. "Against who?"

"I'll do it!" Overhearing the exchange between Yang and her grandfather, Mai chimed in eagerly. "I don't know what you two were talking about, but who cares! Let me test your skill!"

At Mai's words, though, Yang couldn't quite feel happy about it.

After all... if this had been before, he could have taken his time properly experiencing Mai's technique.

But now that he'd already announced his lineage, as Gen's heir, Yang no longer had the luxury of time to savor it slowly. Though Gen himself wouldn't have cared, having inherited Old Gen's techniques, Yang had no intention of letting the name "Sou and Ki" lose even a shade of its luster over his own passing curiosity.