Two days had passed since the Spiritual King revealed the truth about Uzuki. Ryju had been thinking about it constantly—about that boy, the fight, and how close they'd come to death.
But finally, the day arrived when his friends were discharged from the hospital.
Ryju grinned as he saw them outside, finally walking in the sunlight again.
"Hey! So you're all finally out of the hospital!"
Rei stretched her arms up toward the sky, breathing deeply."Yeah, it feels so good to get some fresh air."
Kuroyami looked around. "What are we going to do now?"
Ryju shrugged. "I don't know yet."
"Man, we really need to get stronger," Goro muttered, rubbing his shoulder.
Kenshiro yawned. "Can I go home now?"
"NO!" everyone shouted in unison.
Kenshiro blinked. "Wow… so you can all yell now, huh?"
They all burst into laughter.
Just then, a familiar figure approached them—it was the girl from before.
"Hi," she said, stopping in front of them with her head lowered. "I'm sorry… it's all my fault!"
Ryju stepped forward, placing his hand gently on top of her head.
"It's okay. What happened made us stronger. It showed us how much more we need to grow."
She looked up at him, eyes wide. "So… you're not mad at me?"
"Not at all."
"My name is Misa," she said, voice soft but sincere.
"Nice to meet ya!" everyone said together.
Ryju smiled. "Hey, do you all want to go out to eat?"
"Yeah!" they all cheered.
"We should go to that ramen place," Kuroyami suggested. "I heard it's really good."
"Sounds great. Let's go."
Later at the ramen shop, the table was filled with bowls of steaming noodles and warm chatter.
"OMG! This ramen is so good!" Rei said, slurping eagerly.
Ryju nodded, sipping his lemonade. "This chicken is amazing too… and this lemonade? Perfection."
"This is amazing!" Goro said with a mouth full.
"Told you all," Kuroyami said proudly.
"You weren't lying about this place," Kenshiro added.
Ryju leaned forward, his tone shifting.
"Alright. Since we're all together and having fun… let's get serious. We need to train."
Rei nodded. "I know."
"But how?" Goro asked.
"I was thinking about asking the Spiritual King."
Kenshiro sighed. "Even if I'm lazy… I do need to train."
"Yeah," Kuroyami added. "We should go ask. I'll pay the bill."
Ryju paused, eyes growing distant. "…And there's something else I need to tell you. I met up with the boy. His name is Uzuki."
Rei gasped. "What?!"
"What did he do?!" Goro demanded.
"This guy is really getting annoying…" Kuroyami muttered, noticing Ryju's shift in expression.
Ryju's voice dropped. "He showed up when I went for a walk. Out of nowhere. Said he just wanted to see if you were okay."
"Is he mocking us?" Rei asked sharply.
"I don't know… but I went to the Spiritual King to find out more about him."
Ryju looked at each of them.
"He's the strongest in this year's challenge. The favorite to win. They call him the Prodigy of the Sword. He mastered the One Sword Style at five years old."
"FIVE?!" everyone echoed in shock.
"It gets worse," Ryju said darkly. "He mastered his clan's hardest technique—The Blinded Sword Style. He doesn't even need his eyes. He fights using sound and instinct alone. If he hears you… you're already dead."
Silence fell around the table.
"That's why we need to ask the strongest person in the village to train us."
"Then let's go right now," Shun said, standing.
"Thanks for the food! Have a good day!" they all called out as they left the shop.
They arrived outside the Spiritual King's office. Ryju stepped up and knocked on the door.
"Come in," the voice called from within.
Ryju entered, the rest following close behind. "Hey, it's me and my friends. We came with a request. Please—train us. We need it."
The Spiritual King raised an eyebrow. "Why should I help you? Wouldn't that be unfair?"
"PLEASE!" they all said in unison, bowing slightly.
The king's eyes softened, just barely. "Well… the rules don't prohibit me from helping. And after all, you are the future of this village."
He glanced at their hands thoughtfully.
"Let me see your hands."
One by one, they stepped forward and held them out.
"Ryju… doesn't need a weapon. Rei doesn't. Goro… neither. Shun, same." He paused, glancing at the last two."Kuroyami and Kenshiro—you two… a sword might suit you best."
He stepped back.
"Training starts tomorrow. 7 AM."
"Why so early?!" they all groaned.
But their voices quickly turned to gratitude.
"Thank you so much!"
And with that, their next chapter began. They knew who they were. What they were up against. And for the first time, they were ready to become strong enough to fight back.
Tomorrow… their training would begin.