The Dream Tree

Konaru and the other four samurai attack the middle-rank pirate together. His sword clashes with the pirate's, and the sheer force of the strike sends him stumbling back three steps. 

If I were alone, the second or third strike would have killed me, he thinks. 

He sees his companions also being pushed back by the pirates' strikes. Without hesitation, he lunges forward again. The pirate repels him once more, but another samurai follows up immediately. 

They refuse to give the pirates even a moment to counterattack. Two or three of them strike together, yet the pirate dodges most blows and meets only one head-on. 

Among the five, Konaru is the weakest. He has yet to open the third gate, and a prolonged battle will push him beyond his limits. This is his first time fighting such a frustrating battle—one where he cannot see a clear path to victory. 

On paper, their combined strength surpasses the pirate's, yet while their power is divided among five, the pirate's is concentrated in himself alone. 

If an ordinary person's strength is measured at one, then the first gate is two, the second four, the third eight, and the fourth sixteen. But it is not so simple. Even without opening a gate, Konaru has reached 1.5. 

With the first gate, he reaches three, the second six, and the third twelve. However, he had yet to fully stabilize his strength, and his body could not endure the third gate for long. He can maintain the second gate for about four hours and the first even longer. 

Meanwhile, the pirate has complete control over his strength behind the fourth gate. Even without opening a gate, he can overwhelm an apprentice samurai. If this battle drags on, they will lose. 

Konaru shifts his focus—not on how to kill the pirate, but on how to make the pirate realize that fighting them carries its risks. If the pirate believes killing them is too dangerous, he might retreat. However, there are not just one but three pirates. If any one of their three groups falls first, the others will be in grave danger. 

As he fights, his mind races, searching for a way to survive. He scans every memory he has since arriving in this world, looking for anything that could help. At last, his thoughts settle on what he once read about the sword path. 

The first path is Sword Wind—controlling the power of the wind through the sword. He is in this realm, but only at the initial stage, where he can attack with wind from a distance. The next stage allows the wind to surround his sword, enhancing close combat and doubling his strength. He has only been able to use this ability partially, but now, he forces himself to wield the wind in close combat. 

His sword clashes with the pirate's. This time, he is only pushed back one step. His blade moved too fast, closing the distance before the pirate could fully unleash his strength. A glimmer of hope sparks in their group—they can hold their ground. 

But now, Konaru is in danger. The pirate focuses entirely on him, recognizing him as the greatest threat. Between dodging and defending, the pirate launches relentless attacks. Even if it meant risking injury, he struck at Konaru. 

Konaru understands. If he were in the pirate's position, he would target himself, too. 

At this moment, a buried ability awakens—perfect recall. He can remember everything since birth. Using this, he experiments, channeling wind energy in various ways. Some attacks hit harder, some move faster, some take unpredictable angles, and some weaken the enemy's strikes before they land. As he fights, he studies the wind, memorizing how it behaves with each movement. 

After an hour, he has mastered attacking with wind in every possible way. But now, his chakra is nearly depleted.

He distances himself from the battle and takes a chakra pill for the first time in his life. The pill lives up to its reputation—bitter and unpleasant—but he ignores the taste. His mind is elsewhere, analyzing the different ways he has used the power of the wind. Among the eighty directions he tried, he searched for a common point. He doesn't find just one—he finds thirty-six. 

These discoveries form the prototype of thirty-six sword moves. 

As his chakra replenishes, he rejoins the fight, seeing that his teammates are struggling to hold their ground. He began using the thirty-six sword moves he had developed, and to his surprise, he lands a thin cut on the pirate's wrist. 

When the pirate retaliates for injuring him. This time, he doesn't have to step back. A narrow wind wall forms in front of his sword, slowing the pirate's attack before it reaches him. This made the power behind the pirate's attack the same as him, and the two cancelled each other. 

"Why does my body feel so familiar with these thirty-six moves?" 

As he fights, a realization dawns on him. He searches his memory and finds that thirty of the thirty-six moves are derived from the Sword School of Cat and Snake—two styles he is highly proficient in. He hadn't recognized it at first because these thirty-six moves were his creation. When using them, he can release his full strength effortlessly. 

However, the Sword School of Cat and Snake was not designed for his body. Until he fully masters them, he will never be able to use those styles at his peak. 

So, there is some deviation among them. 

As the battle drags on for two hours, exhaustion sets in. Kanoru's team, along with the other two, started showing signs of fatigue and frustration. 

Then, a horn sounds in the air. 

The three pirates exchange glances and retreat without hesitation. 

No one gives chase. Fatigue weighs on them all—their clothes drenched in sweat, some bearing injuries. More importantly, they know the pirates are stronger. One by one, they collapse onto the forest floor. 

Kanoru says, "Let's rest, then observe the pirates." 

The others nod in agreement. Once the exhaustion fades, they rise and make their way toward the river. Halfway there, they break into a run. Emerging from the forest, the sound of battle reaches them—coming from the blockade they had set up. 

At the cliff's edge, they peer down. 

A battle rages in the river. Amid the wreckage of the three damaged ships, an intact fourth ship looms—larger than the rest. Their gazes shift to the center of the river, where Master Junzo clashes against a high-ranking samurai pirate. 

From the shouts below, they catch the pirate's name—Devil Lu. 

One of the teenagers asks, "Can Master Junzo handle him?" 

Silence. 

Fifteen years ago, no one would have doubted it. But Master Junzo's strength has waned, from a high-ranking samurai to a middle-rank. 

Watching the battle unfold, Kanoru felt a growing sense of confusion. By all logic, Master Junzo shouldn't be a match for a high-ranking samurai.