The year 1865

  The time of the samurai, where chaos is a regular occurrence, But that will soon change as the story goes through the life of Kenzo.

  Kenzo is the man of a prophecy who has yet to find out who he is. Kenzo had brown skin and white hair like the clouded sky and possessed the physicality of a professional athlete. The 21-year-old was raised in a village called Nuville, where he learned to appreciate and cherish the people around him. He stayed on the outskirts of the world, being on the poorer side of the world, where crime rates were slightly higher.

  Morning

  Kenzo in his village was loved by everyone as if he were the people’s saviour in Nuville, wearing his blue kimono and shining more than everyone else as he stood out the most.

  He was going to buy some stuff from the market when a group of bandits approached him, with the bandits wielding nasty, dusty weapons.

  “Give us everything that you have!” growled the leader of the bandits, who was tall and well-built. Kenzo immediately knew this was a bad situation. His eyes darted around, looking for a way to avoid confrontation.

  “I don’t have anything to give,” said Kenzo, trying to sound as brave as possible. It was a lie. Kenzo thought that giving away his money would only influence the bandits even more to commit more threats, so he decided to neglect them.

  "Are you sure you want to do this?” the bandit leader said, glaring at Kenzo.

  “It’s exactly what I want to do,” Kenzo said as he fired back at the bandit leader.

  Kenzo sensed a fight about to break down; there were rare times when Kenzo had to get into a physical fight. The ones who trained him to defend himself were none other than his fellow villagers. The bandit leader charged at Kenzo with his swinging sword. Kenzo dodged the first strike and kneed the bandit leader in the abdomen.

  The bandit leader was in agony, which initiated the rest of the bandits to attack Kenzo, but Kenzo manhandled every one of them, displaying art to the ones watching. All the bandits were knocked out first, flat on the ground.

  “I advise you not to try that again with me or anyone else; do you understand me?” Kenzo said sternly

  “The bandits mumbled, saying ‘yes’. The atmosphere changed once Kenzo defeated the bandits.

  The villagers thanked him and continued with their day. "Now that that is sorted, time to buy some food,” Kenzo said eagerly.

  As he explores the food market, he doesn’t know a mysterious figure is watching him from the background.

  ***

  Kenzo opens the door to his small home and turns on his light, where his heartbeat increases as the mysterious figure stands in his home like a statue. Before Kenzo could say anything, the mysterious person momentarily covered his mouth, preventing him from speaking. The person had a male voice as he whispered, “Be quiet”.

  The person took down their hand and the robe. The man had parted black, shiny hair, was in his 40s, and was wearing a purple tactical outfit. He looked at Kenzo as if he were something he'd been searching for his whole life.

  “Who are you?” Kenzo said

  “My name is Yoshida; I am a former messenger and also the one that brought you here to Nuville,” Yoshida said.

  Kenzo was confused as everything that was happening in the morning went from zero to a hundred.

  “I know it’s weird, but there’s a lot of things that you don’t know about, including yourself,” Yoshida said.

  “What do you mean about me?” Kenzo was lost for words on what Yoshida’s point was.

  Yoshida gently gets on his knees, getting Kenzo even more baffled. “Lord Kenzo Ogushi, it is time for you to fulfil your legacy," Yoshida spoke like a disciple.

  Once Kenzo heard the words Ogushi, legacy, and master, his curiosity reached a high level, as it reminded him that he had no memory of having parents, let alone knowing their names.

  Kenzo always thought he would live a normal life, but he was wrong.

  “Lord Kenzo Ogushi I want you to step out of these doors and say one word to the villagers, Ogushi.” Yoshida politely asked

  “I need answers from you first!” Kenzo desperately said, but Yoshida told him to “just do what I tell you.”

  ***

  He stepped outside once again, looking around the village, preparing to say the word:

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  “OGUSHI!”

  Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Kenzo for a moment until they all bowed to him, responding, “OGUSHI GREAT ONE!”

  Yoshida stepped outside to see Kenzo’s reaction. What he saw was a young man who realised that there was more to him than he thought.

  “The time has finally come." -Villager

  “We raised him for twenty-one years; now it’s the moment he learns about his legacy.” -Villager 2

  “Guys, what is going on? Why’re you all bowing to me? Please stop.” Kenzo said

  Kenzo wished all of these were a dream, but it was real life.

  “Kenzo, you’re not dreaming,” said Yoshida while he tried to reason with Kenzo. Kenzo tried to punch Yoshida, only for Yoshida to grab onto his hand.

  "Who am I?" Kenzo said subtly.

  “You’re the present! If you want to know more about yourself gradually, follow me as I will teach you the way of the samurai."Yoshida said

  It took a minute for Kenzo to listen and take in what Yoshida said, but he went with him. As he looks back, following Yoshida to the outskirts of the village, he sees the villagers in tears. Kenzo wondered why, but there was so much occurring early in the day that he couldn’t ask, “Why are you crying?”

  ***

  The sun was setting as the two arrived at the outskirts of the village, where Yoshida crafted two wooden swords, giving one to Kenzo. “What is this for?" Kenzo said.

  "This, my lord, is for your training,” Yoshida said, warming up.

  “Training right now.” -Kenzo

  “Yes, right now.” -Yoshida

  Yoshida was standing in a fighting position, ready to strike Kenzo. “Don’t lie to me when I ask you this; when you were younger, I used to do a little sword practice with you."

  The more Yoshida spoke to Kenzo about his past years, the more Kenzo thought Yoshida was a creep.

  “How do you know all of this?” Kenzo rubs his head.

  “Don’t forget, I am the one who brought you to Nuville when you were born. To add to that, I am the one who gave instructions to the villagers on how to take care of you as well.

  Kenzo was in utter disbelief. “You see, Kenzo, there’s one thing that you need to understand about yourself: you’re not ordinary; you’re a special boy... part of the Ogushi bloodline, who is, as most would say, the chosen ones. The masters of the sword It may be a lot for you to understand, but soon enough, everything will come full circle.” Yoshida spoke most sincerely.

  Kenzo had an idea.

  “I’ll tell you, I’ll fight against you, Yoshida, and you have to leave if I win.” Kenzo boldly challenged Yoshida.

  “Pointless challenge, but I accept; if I win, you will train and fulfil your legacy.” Yoshida chuckles

  Kenzo was in a fighting position to start his duel with Yoshida. Yoshida told him to ‘come’. Kenzo rushed at Yoshida clashing with their wooden swords, Immediately Kenzo was trying to land some offence on Yoshida.

  For Yoshida, he did not need to hit back against Kenzo; it was like fighting an undeveloped child who couldn’t function right. Kenzo slowly boosted his attack speed, like turning up the level of a treadmill.

  Yoshida yawns, irritating Kenzo to even go quicker with his attacks, but struggles to the point that Yoshida is mocking Kenzo. Yoshida swept Kenzo and struck him at the same time, knocking him out clean.

  “I guess I win.”

  ***

  The next day in Nuville, Kenzo wakes up in his house. “That was a weird dream.” Kenzo was feeling relaxed.

  “As I say again, it’s not a dream." Yoshida is standing inside Kenzo’s house, which makes Kenzo scream humorously.

  “Come on, training now.” Yoshida steps outside.

  ***

  The duo goes back to the same spot where Kenzo suffered defeat in a humiliating fashion. The first thing they did was go for long runs around the area. Yoshida incorporated strength, speed, agility, balance, and flexibility into Kenzo’s training using any useful material; everything was going well until it came to the basics of using a samurai sword. Kenzo struggles to understand the power within him, and his training goes on for two weeks.

  ***

  At midnight, Kenzo was sleeping when he started to have visions that weren’t clear to him. When he woke up, his body felt completely different, as if something was hugging him.

  ***

  It was sunset again, with the wind breathing out the leaves into the high sky. Yoshida was sitting down, meditating, as he waited for Kenzo. He senses his presence, opens his eyes, and sees Kenzo standing before him, but this time, there is total concentration coming from the young one.

  “I feel a little different from the master now,” Yoshida said to himself.

  “I’m ready,” Kenzo said with significance. He steps forward, blinks his eyes in an instant, and his eyes start to shine white, which Yoshida notices and stands up.

  Yoshida felt joy.

  The two squared off again, with victory already in his favour. Yoshida remained calm and collected against Kenzo, but none of his strikes landed on him thanks to Kenzo’s lightning-quick reflexes, allowing him to strike back with the same force he suffered the past few days. The two were now fighting like equals as they versed each other, but victory fell into the hands of Kenzo, barely earning the victory.

  Yoshida was a happy man, as Kenzo may be able to travel with him now. “Let me help you up,” Kenzo says, lifting Yoshida back to his feet. They stare at each other, having an intuition that this could be a long-term friendship.

  “Are you ready for your legacy, Master Kenzo?”

  “I am ready, but first I want to say something to my family.”

  ***

  Kenzo called all the villagers, saying one message before he went with Yoshida.

  “It seems everyone knows everything about me. My blood parents and bloodline, and all sorts of stuff. Despite you guys knowing to tell me everything right now, I have decided that I’m going to find out everything for myself.

  Everyone in the village wished him good luck in his adventures as he said, “He will be back.”

  Kenzo says goodbye.

  ***

  As the two are walking, Yoshida tells Kenzo he needs to collect something, and when he comes back, it is a weapon, a bow and arrow.

  “What’s that for?” Kenzo said

  “This Master Kenzo is the actual weapon that I use; I’m not a swordsman; what I was teaching you was a bit more of the basics." -Yoshida said

  “So, what about me? I’m only stuck with a wooden sword. When do I get a real one?” Kenzo said it in desperation. Yoshida put his hand on Kenzo’s shoulder, saying, “The time will come.”

  They set off to fulfil the legacy.

  ***

  The day became night, with bats flying across the sky. Red lights flash everywhere from an empire like a lighthouse. The city was called the Sasaki Empire and was packed with so many people that, from a massive view, they looked like microscopes. Guards wearing their armour were guarding a specific dojo.

  ***

  Inside the dojo, a man sitting on a throne had people worshipping him; for him, it was respect. On the other hand, the worshippers inside felt nothing but terror. The worshippers repeated, “Lord Lei Sasaki.”

  Lei was built like one in a thousand, an Asian man with elderly hair. He wore a red kimono with a black robe behind them. The man was as ferocious as a great white shark, displaying happy emotions. Within him lay a dark history.

  Who is this man?