Chapter 7: Family and Adversity

Chapter 7: Family and Adversity

Ken didn't know what to think, his mind was filled with thoughts of revenge, but he still took a moment to regain his bearings.

He stood there for a few seconds, seemingly staring into the abyss. If he had any eyes, they would most certainly be both empty and bloodshot at the same time.

The 6 corpses that stood in front of him, the way they were just unceremoniously thrown after being decapitated... It simply didn't sit right with him.

They were his family. The only family he had ever had in both of his lives put together.

They were the first friends he had made, the first people that he had actually cared about.

His mind was simply having a hard time registering the image his senses were describing for him...

At the same time, he felt conflicted... For the longest time, he had placed almost no value on any life, human or otherwise. Yet the people in front of him, he couldn't deny their value to his life.

The first 4 samurai that died Ken hadn't gotten that attached to, but the 6 before him had been there with him through thick and they had all experienced countless hardships together.

All of them had been simply surviving in that cruel world that Ken had ended up in.

He had been far more attached to Daisuke and Keji than the others, but they had all still been his family, and all of them treated him with care.

They had been the first ones to ever do so. And now they were gone. Ken knew he now had to cope with that.

But, at the same time, he didn't know any healthy ways of dealing with loss, as he had never experienced it to such a degree.

So, Ken didn't mourn for long though, getting up from the ground, straightening his back and grabbing his blade.

'Whatever bastard did this is sure to still be nearby...'

He had heard the explosion just recently, the blood was still fresh, and the bodies were still warm.

All signs pointed Ken towards the obvious reality that the killers were near... Very near.

With a deep breath, the young swordsman managed to find the smell of 7 different people besides his family and immediately started dashing into the forest, tracking them down as best he could.

The mountain-raised child now had the nose of a wolf, and the agility of a cheetah as he leapt from branch to branch with the grace of a leopard, not making a single sound as he got closer and closer to his prey.

The smell of blood that was wafting from behind him got further and further, as he now could feel the culprits clearly within his senses.

Stepping from tree branch to tree branch, and eventually landing on the ground. He could now discern some of the features of the men as the air around them fluttered around them.

7 people, all of different heights, all seemed to be carrying strange blades.

Ken couldn't tell much else about their appearance, as he couldn't exactly see how they were dressed or discern any facial features.

With a leap, he pounced on them like a hungry predator. Just as reckless as he always had been in his last life.

His blade was already drawn as he stabbed toward the one dragging behind them all.

It was the largest man among them, with a blade large enough to match that seemed to be oddly round in shape.

The man in question didn't even turn around his hands didn't even move as he simply tilted to the side and dodged Ken's stab.

Ken was a bit surprised by that, his technique had been flawless and he didn't think he'd be detected, still, he didn't let that dissuade him, as he quickly turned his blade and slashed at the man.

The swordsman in question quickly grabbed at the blade on his back and blocked Ken's sword strike, shocking Ken with his reaction speed and agile movements.

Ken immediately used Chakra Flow, his blade flickering with electricity as he tried to dig into the man's blade...

The bones in Ken's hands cracked due to his opponent's strength, making the situation even worse.

Ken fell backwards, his hand losing its grip on the broken katana as he hit the ground.

Jz couldn't help but laugh out loud when seeing the blood spill from Ken's lips.

"Hahahaha! I can't believe this brat! Did you guys see the way he blocked that?!" Jz said as he turned around and looked at his colleagues.

That was a huge mistake on his part. Ken slipped the mask off of his face and Ken quickly jumped onto the man's back, crossing his legs around his torso and instantly biting at his throat with his sharp teeth.

Jz was shocked, quickly grabbed onto the child's hair with one hand, and slipped his fingers onto his lower jaw with the other.

His fingers bled as he struggled against the rabid child's teeth. He eventually succeeded in what he had planned, breaking Ken's jaw with his superior strength and kicking Ken into a tree once more.

Jz was no longer in any mood to laugh, he clutched at his throat as he gasped a few times, spitting some blood as he realised that he had actually been injured rather seriously.

"I told you to be careful..." Kushimaru walked over, he would have stabbed Ken through the head, had Jz not been able to break his jaw.

"S-shut up!" Jz said as he still clutched at his bleeding neck.

"He must've been related to the bandits from earlier. Most likely out for revenge." Another one of the swordsmen walked towards the downed Ken.

This time, it was Jinin Akebino, the wielder of the Kabutowari, which was technically a hammer and an axe tied together.

"Such a pathetic little thing..." Jinpachi said with his blast sword still slung over his shoulder.

"... No need to ridicule him..." Kushimaru said, giving his companion a long look before staring back at the downed child.

At this point, all of the swordsmen noticed something... Their opponent, the one that had almost killed two of them and that managed to block so many of their strikes...

Was completely blind.

Not only blind, but completely missing the upper half of his face, it was honestly jarring to look at even for the trained Jonin.

"... I think it's better we kill this one here." Kushimaru said as he raised his needle blade and stabbed the child directly in the chest, right through where he knew the heart would be.

The other swordsmen also seemed rather weirded out, ultimately, they all agreed with Kushimaru's decision though, seeing no issue with getting rid of a future powerful enemy out for revenge.

Still, their jobs were done, so they went back and collected the sack filled with the heads of the mountain bandits and continued going down the mountain.

Ken didn't have any bounty on his head, so they didn't bother with him anymore. Simply leaving the corpse behind...

The 7 swordsmen were left a bit humbled by the experience, especially the two that had almost lost their lives in the fight against a blind mountain child...

As they were leaving, Ken's fingers twitched a bit.

Not one of them had noticed it though. After all, who would think such a thing was possible, right?

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Hope you liked the chapter! The chapter was a bit long eh? :))

Mc's first encounter with Jonin didn't go that well, huh?

Btw, Grammarly unironically tried to correct Swordsmen into Sworders

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