Chapter 4: Gohan Village (2).

"Tamemichi, have you ever heard of something called Intent?" Tamemichi paused the application of his bandages and looked up.

"Intent? No, I've never heard of such a thing." Damn, I thought he would know something about it. It's been around 3-4 hours since we were attacked and we are currently resting. I suggested that we run the entire distance and Tamemichi agreed. When we began running, at first I thought I would get tired within 10-20 minutes considering I'm a 12-year-old but I only started to feel the fatigue after an hour. Keep in mind me and Tamemichi we're running full speed along with avoiding obstacles and trees, so going an hour nonstop is impressive. Is this the effect of this alternate Earth?

"Alright, I think I've tightened my bandages enough. We can continue." I simply nodded and we began running again. After a few hours of running and resting, we arrived at a wooden gate and a field of rice paddies. It blows my mind that two 12-year-old boys made a 3-day trip into a 12-hour journey. Tamemichi and I walked through the data and entered the village. The village is moderately sized and was extremely busy.

"How are we supposed to find an old sage in this crowd?" I asked and Tamemichi dug into his kimono and brought out a small piece of paper.

"I may have acted rashly, but I wasn't dumb enough to search for someone without information." Tamemichi handed me the piece of paper and it read that the old sage spends his time meditating by a lake. The lake was across the rice paddies and would take a few minutes to trek.

"Well then what are we waiting for?" I handed Tamemichi the paperback and we went outside the village and made our way to the rice paddies.

"So how do we cross this without damaging the crops?" Tamemichi asked and I shrugged. The rice paddies took up a large amount of space but on the other side, you could see a forest. The landmass the forest was on looked like some sort of island, interesting.

"How about we just walk across instead of running. It'll take us significantly longer but at least we didn't damage the crops right?" Tamemichi agrees with my idea and we began walking through the rice paddy field. After an hour of walking, I think we underestimated the distance we had to walk.

"My legs are on fire! This water is only ankle deep yet it feels like I'm walking through mud." Tamemichi complained and I agreed. This water was unusually thick and the rice plants didn't make it any better.

"And no matter how long we walk, it feels like that forest is getting further away!"

"Kindness comes with a price." I began walking again and I heard Tamemichi complain under his breath. We continued to walk for another three hours and we eventually reached the forest.

Tamemichi and I took a short rest before continuing into the forest.

"This forest is eerily silent..." Tamemichi mentioned.

"Yeah, and it feels like something is weighing on my shoulders. I can resist it but the further we walk the heavy the weight becomes." I don't know if I was hallucinating because of fatigue or some imaginary weight was placed on my shoulders.

"I thought I was the only one feeling that. Maybe there's more to this forest than we think..." Tamemichi and I continued to walk deeper into the forest and the weight on our shoulders only got heavier. After walking for half an hour I felt like I was carrying thousands of pounds on my shoulders, causing me to fall to my knees. Tamemichi fell as well and we soon heard an omnipresent voice.

"Hoh, you two made it this far into the forest without using Intent to shield you. I'm impressed, that takes talent." The voice sounded like it belonged to an old man and moments after hearing it, the weight on our shoulders disappeared.

"Who the hell was that?" Tamemichi whispered.

"How am I supposed to know? Maybe he's that old sage we are looking for!"

"You do know I can hear you right?" An old man interrupted our conversation with his sudden appearance. Although I didn't feel any pain in my head, all five of my senses were warning me. The warning was that this man was incredibly dangerous, more dangerous than that masked man I fought earlier. If he wanted us dead he could do it and we wouldn't even know. Despite my body warning me of danger I still got into an offensive stance. The old man looked at me and sighed.

"You youngin's are always so prone to violence. I'm sure you know that if I wanted to kill you I would have done so already. So, put your blade down or face the consequences." I felt the weight on my shoulders once again but this time it was many times heavier than before. I fell to my knees and with the little amount of strength that I could muster, I stabbed my katana into the ground signifying my surrender.

"Good, at least you aren't dumb. Well, you still are dumb but not dumb enough to die. Word of advice, listen to what your body tells you. It could save your life in the future." I nodded and the weight disappeared. I stood up and Tamemichi decided to speak.

"Um, Oji-san. Are you the old sage I've heard about?" The old man shot a look at Tamemichi.

"Is that what they're calling me? Old sage? I'm not even that old, I'm still in the prime of my life!" The old man grumbled and I saw his vibrant red hair flare with anger. Cool.

"Well uh no but um, that's just a nickname they gave you." Tamemichi's speech was stuttering, probably due to fear or awe or maybe both.

"Well, it's a shitty nickname! Why couldn't they call me the Wandering Sword Saint or the Crimson Samurai? Tch." Is he really that mad about his nickname? Don't get me wrong those nicknames sound badass but Old sage is kinda cool.

"Well anyways, so what if I'm this Old sage you two are looking for. That doesn't mean I'll train you." I knew it was coming but damn. I felt like this whole journey was a waste of time, a shattered hope. I looked over at Tamemichi and he was clenching his fists in anger.

"No. You have to train me." The old man looked at Tamemichi with surprise.

"I have to huh? And are you going to make me?" I felt the ground shake and the weight on my shoulders appeared once again. Tamemichi took his bow off of his back and I took my katana out of the ground. I wasn't going to let him fight alone.

"If I have to then I will." The old man smiled widely and clapped his hands.

"That's some determination you two have got there. Determination is good but," At that very moment, I felt a sense of impending doom creep upon me. When I looked at the old man the only thing I felt was fear, "It's only good if you can back it up."

I fell on all fours along with Tamemichi. This is the strongest person I have encountered since reincarnating.

"Another word of advice. Determination, hope, courage, and bravery are all nothing in the face of power. Sure it's nice to have those things but power can easily strip them away. Power is everything. If you aren't powerful enough you get eaten, understand?" The weight disappeared and we soon rose to our feet.

"Now, as I said previously, I'm impressed by you two. You two walked through my Mud domain with relative ease, and walked for 30 minutes inside of my forest. That's a raw talent that's not seen in many people let alone two kids. So, I will train you two." Tamemichi and I were about to celebrate until we heard his next words.

"But. Only for two weeks." Two weeks?! How are we supposed to learn anything in two weeks?! I was going to refute but Tamemichi stopped me.

"Thank you for taking us in Sensei!" Tamemichi bowed deeply and I followed.

"Good. Now, what sensei would I be if I didn't know my students' names. Introduce yourselves." Tamemichi rose up and went first.

"My name is Nori Tamemichi. I lived in Umi Village and I'm twelve years of age. I'm currently traveling around Nippon to look for my younger brother, Hirashige!" Sensei nodded and I went next.

"My name is Shijou Morikage. I lived in Koishi Village and I'm twelve years of age. I'm traveling around Nippon to help Tamemichi to find his brother." Sensei once again nodded and introduced himself as well.

"My name is Yoriichi Kikuchi but you two will address me as Sensei. I've lived in Gohan Village for most of my life until I became a Samurai. When I retired I came back to protect the village. I have no children or any significant other and I'm eighty-five years of age." 85? Sensei looks like he's in his mid-forties! His vibrant red hair with black highlights along with his crimson eyes don't hint that he's an old man.

"Now that we have introduced ourselves, let's begin training." I don't know why but the smile on Sensei's face tells me that these two weeks are going to be hell...