Yagyū Itto-ryū

Solvallis Miravine—Kōun Kenja.

Technically speaking, he was neither the head of the Miravine Clan nor a shaman for most of his life. At first glance, one might assume his descendants would view him as a failure. Yet, the reality was quite the opposite. Kōun Kenja was regarded as one of the most important ancestors of the Miravine family, a figure to be honored with the utmost respect and admiration.

From the earliest days of Cyrus's childhood to the present, he had constantly heard tales of this man. Despite never leading the main branch of the Miravine family, Kōun Kenja remained one of its most influential figures—someone who shaped the very history of Japan. To scholars across the world, he was an enigma, a contradiction that defied easy classification.

Cyrus tilted his head, then asked in a confused tone, "If it's him we're talking about, then I have a question to ask, Grandpa Sol…"

His grandfather looked at him with proud eyes and nodded. "Go ahead, Cyrus. I'm glad you're finally taking an interest in our family's history!"

Cyrus sighed, then asked, "Our family… it's older than the United States itself, isn't it?"

His grandfather nodded. "Yes, yes… our family's history can be traced back long before this country was even formed. Historians argue that our lineage could be anywhere from three hundred to five hundred years old."

He lifted his head and looked at his grandfather with a puzzled expression.

"Then why were two branches of our family formed during the… during the…"

His grandfather sighed before responding, "During the Edo period? Really, Cyrus? You're terrible at remembering things."

Cyrus, unfazed, replied in an indifferent tone, "Shut up, you old geezer."

His grandfather tried to punch Cyrus in the head, but Cyrus effortlessly dodged out of the way. He then looked at his grandfather, his confusion deepening.

"But it doesn't make sense, Grandpa Sol… If he was part of our family, that means he was born in the United States. Yet, as a young child, he somehow ended up in Japan. But when I looked through our family archives, I learned that he was born about a hundred and seven years ago… Wasn't that still during the Edo period?

Back then, the country was closed off to the rest of the world. So how did he end up in Japan as a child—and later become the reason for the formation of the two minor branches of our family?"

His grandfather looked at him with surprised eyes and thought,

Cyrus… he knows more about our family history than I expected. Perhaps I've been too hard on him.

He sighed, then gazed up at the blue sky.

"Well, Cyrus, I suppose this is just one of the many mysteries of our family. Given our… 'alien' origins, it really shouldn't be a surprise."

Cyrus looked at him with curious eyes, thinking to himself,

Alien? That's one way to put it.Man.. why is our family so strange…? If we weren't, I wouldn't have been bullied so much at school.

As Cyrus was lost in thought, his grandfather continued,

"How did Solvallis end up in Japan as a child when even seasoned explorers couldn't get close to this country at the time? Well, according to one of his many notes, he was guided by a water spirit as a child. That spirit led him to Japan to save the land of Nippon from troubled times and help usher in an era of peace—the Meiji Period!"

Cyrus stared at him, his expression unreadable. His grandfather smirked and shook his head before adding,

"But there's also a joke that's been passed down in our family for generations… that Solvallis actually just ran away from home, stumbled upon a water spirit, and somehow managed to cross an entire ocean before ending up in Japan. But who k—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Cyrus smacked him in the face with his wooden sword.

His grandfather grabbed his face in anger and spat,

"You damn brat! What the hell are you doing?!"

Cyrus looked at him with an indifferent expression, showing not a hint of regret.

"I don't know. You just pissed me off."

His grandfather let out a long sigh before getting up to continue the lesson.

"Damn you, you violent brat… Just for that, you'll be training before and after school from now on!"

Cyrus looked at him with eyes hinting at boredom.

"But I already do, though?"

His grandfather snapped back in frustration,

"Just shut the hell up and let me finish my story!"

Cyrus, still wearing his usual laid-back expression, smirked and said in a teasing tone,

"You really shouldn't get this worked up, Grandpa Sol. At your advanced age, you might actually have a heart attack…"

Grandpa Sol's face twisted into a smirk, yet his eyes were still filled with anger—it was quite a funny sight to see. After a moment, he took a deep breath to calm himself, then spoke in a more serious tone,

"Anyway… Kōun Kenja was a well-known Sonno Jōi rebel who opposed the Bakufu during the final decades of the Edo period. He was given the nickname Shinigami Battōshi."

For the first time, Cyrus's eyes showed a hint of interest. Tilting his head slightly, he repeated,

"Shinigami Battōshi?"

His grandfather nodded, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Yes… I believe it roughly translates to 'Shinigami Sword-Drawing Death' or 'Death God's Quick-Draw Death.'"

As they walked, Cyrus let out a sigh and glanced at his grandfather.

"So he was a killer? Kind of ironic that one of our most famous ancestors—coming from a family of shamans—is a murderer."

As they walked through the backyard, they came across a formation of trees arranged in a perfect circle. In the center of this natural enclosure, inscriptions were carved into the ground. The word "peace" was prominently written among them.

It seemed to be a designated training zone within the Miravine family estate.

Beside one of the trees, a bokken rested against the trunk. Grandpa Sol picked it up, resting it on his shoulder before speaking in a serious tone,

"Cyrus, you shouldn't judge our ancestor Solvallis so quickly. He came from a different time period than us and experienced the world in a way we can hardly imagine. We don't know his circumstances, so we can't judge him."

Cyrus didn't respond, simply nodding in quiet acknowledgment. His grandfather patted him on the head, causing Cyrus to blush slightly. Letting out a long sigh, Grandpa Sol continued,

"Our ancestor was a samurai during the final years of the Edo period—perhaps one of the most chaotic eras in Japan's history. That time, known as Bakumatsu, was an age of turmoil, where new sword styles and weapons were developed daily just to survive.

For Solvallis to bring about the era of peace that would become the Meiji Period, he needed the strength to uphold his ideals. And to do that, he had to create a sword style that would guarantee his success—no matter what."

Cyrus responded in a low yet clear voice,

"The Yagyū Itto-ryū style…"

His grandfather nodded.

"Yes. The Yagyū Itto-ryū style, from the Yagyū Itto-kan school, was the sword style he used to help bring about the Meiji Period. Cyrus, I'm going to be blunt—this style, the one our family has practiced for generations, was designed and perfected for killing."

Upon hearing those words, Cyrus felt a weight settle in his chest for a brief moment.

His grandfather continued,

"But that doesn't mean we should abandon it entirely. Yes, this style has taken lives, but our ancestor shed his own sweat and blood to forge an era of peace—one where people would be free from inequality and suffering.

And yet… he passed this style down to us, his descendants. Do you know why, Cyrus?"

Cyrus responded in a low voice,

"To protect people…"

His grandfather nodded.

"Not just to protect people, but to protect the spirits and nature around us… To shield humanity from itself and from each other… even to protect our enemies. It might sound contradictory, but even though Kenja may have been the least 'shaman-like' of our ancestors, he was still a shaman in the end.

Don't think for a second that he enjoyed taking human lives, Cyrus. Yes, his style was designed for killing. To perfect it, he likely had to take countless lives. And yet… we now wield that same style without taking lives.

Because of his sacrifices, we can fulfill our role as shamans more effectively. And for that, I will always be grateful to him."

Grandpa Sol glanced at the wooden sword in his hand before continuing.

"Eventually, he did manage to overthrow the Bakufu. Some time later, during that era of peace, he found a beautiful woman to marry. He even decided to take his wife's last name, which was unusual at the time… Harusakura."

Cyrus's eyes showed a hint of confusion as he asked,

"But aren't there two minor branches in Japan? How did the second one get created?"

He sighed, then looked up at the bright blue sky before answering,

"We don't have the full story in his notes, but from what we know, something happened, and his son vowed to defeat Kōun Kenja in a sword duel. His name was Shinki Harusakura. They fought to the death on his eighteenth birthday. Naturally, Shinki lost. Afterward, he disowned himself from the Harusakura clan and founded his own clan to oppose his father. That's how the second branch of the Miravine family—the Kurokumo Clan—was born.

Over the years, the two branches were at war with each other, both claiming to follow the founder's will. It turned into a senseless conflict where neither side even knew what they were fighting for, especially in an era of peace. Many of our relatives lost their lives in that war. Eventually, though, during the Meiji Period, the main branch—us—made connections with both minor branches, the Harusakura and Kurokumo clans. By aligning with the Harusakura clan, we were taught the Yagyū Itto-ryū style."

He walked toward a tree, facing it, and assumed a battle stance with his wooden sword. In a serious tone, he spoke,

"Listen to me very carefully, Cyrus… The Yagyū Itto-ryū style isn't really a style on its own. It's a perfect fusion of the Itto-ryū and Yagyū Shinkage-ryū styles. A blend that combines the direct, overwhelming cutting power of the Itto-ryū with the fluid, adaptive strategy and deflections of the Yagyū Shinkage-ryū."

Cyrus's eyes widened as he spoke in shock,

"That's why I had to learn the Yagyū Shinkage-ryū and Itto-ryū styles… because the Yagyū Itto-ryū style is a perfect mix of those two?"

Grandpa Sol nodded.

"Yes. You cannot expect to truly learn this style without understanding its foundations. The entire mentality behind the Yagyū Itto-ryū is to end the battle with a single strike, leaving the enemy no time to retaliate. I'll show you one of its techniques, and perhaps you'll understand why this style hasn't changed at all in a hundred years."

He placed his hand on the tree, and with inhuman strength, he pushed it gently. The tree groaned and shook, causing all the leaves to fall gracefully to the ground. Breathing heavily, his grandpa looked at Cyrus, who stood silently, eyes closed.

In a low voice, his grandpa said,

"This is an offensive technique of the Yagyū Itto-kan school—Kagerō Giri!"

In an instant, right before Cyrus's eyes, his grandfather performed a series of consecutive cutting motions with his wooden sword, slicing through the falling leaves with deadly precision. The blade moved like a mirage, as if it were everywhere at once. The strikes were so perfect, so controlled, that Cyrus couldn't even tell where the blade truly was. Before he knew it, all the leaves had been cut down.

His grandpa stopped, letting the wooden sword rest at his side. Cyrus almost forgot to breathe, still in awe of what he had just witnessed.

With a smirk, his grandpa spoke,

"Now, I hope you don't think learning it is useless anymore, Cyrus."

***

As Cyrus opened his eyes again, he found himself back in his backyard, having just emerged from his memory. He sighed, reflecting, I really took that style for granted back then... Anyway...

With a deep breath, he placed his hand gently on the tree and, using inhuman strength, shook it. The remaining autumn leaves fluttered and fell around him.

In a low voice, he muttered,

"Yagyū Itto-ryū, offensive technique of the Yagyū Itto-kan school... Kagerō Giri."

chapter eighty-two end...