Warring Blades

“P-please! Return it and let me live!”

It was, as usual, a busy day on Hakumai. The wind, which was no more than a peaceful breeze seemed to contrast the frantic atmosphere of its people. Due to its famed Habu Port; Hakumai was the homeland of all merchants and trading. Often, when foreigners arrived, merchants would lure them with their products. Mostly katanas. For some reason, visitors were in love with the weapon. Which made it even easier for shameless sellers to work their magic.

But not today, a careless merchant had lost his latest stock, “The Meito; Shodai Kitetsu” to a ruffian, and he requested the cloaked man to return it in an embarrassing fashion. Those nearby witnessed as the man kneeled down, hugging the ground and pleaded for mercy.

The man, in turn, laughed maniacally as he pointed the sword at the merchant. “Ghehehehe, and why would I do that?” He removed his cloak, revealing the figure underneath. It was a lithe man with no noticeable features outside of his faltering weight. “ Tha’ strongest blade in existence lies in my hands, old fart. Ghehehehe, I, Aigle can’t be stopped now!”

Despite what this scenario might indicate, Wano wasn’t usually like this. The Empire of Wano was a superpower nation, that had prospered under the reign of its matriarch, Daddy L. Legs. It was a place where dreams could be turned into reality, where no matter your standing, one could thrive.

And that is exactly what Kagami Azuma wanted to do; to thrive.

His blue eyes had been glued to the blade the second the thief stole it and when he swung his blade downward to strike the old man; Azuma had to intervene. He ran towards the man at full sprint and before he could react delivered a flying kick aimed at his chest. While the man tried to block the attack with his newly-stolen sword, the impact still caused him to fly back several meters. The blade spun in the air multiple times before Azuma somehow managed to grab its hilt.

“Are you alright?!” he asked, a preoccupied expression on his face.

“Y-yes, thank you fo-“ the merchant responded as he dusted himself off and stood up.

“Glad it’s intact!” Azuma wasn’t referring to the merchant but to the blade.

“W-well, no…”

“I’ll be taking this home with me.”

“No! Please give it back!” but it was too late, as Azuma began to walk, the blade shattered into pieces until he was left with nothing but its hilt.

“...” Nothing but silence, the worried merchant inadvertently took a few steps back.

Azuma’s fists tightened, and he slowly turned around to face the man. “I knew it was fake but I didn’t think it was that fake. If I can’t sell this, I’ll die of hunger. And I’ll take you with me old man!” He said loudly, grabbing the man by the hem of his shirt.

“T-there’s a tournament nearby! Kengoku, I think it's what it's called. Sponsored by the Black Widow Pirates themselves. If you win, you’ll gain enough money to stay afloat for a while a-and a sword as well! But it’s mostly for swordsmen!”

“A tournament you say,” His mouth opened, revealing a devilish grin, “I am a swordsman.” he remarked angrily, and with that, he released the man, “Tell me exactly where it is.”

Let the Games Begin
“So this is it, it’s...grand.” Azuma’s eyes were fixated on the castle that laid before him. Much like he had described, it was an enormous structure built of stone, with several levels, each smaller than the other, with several Yagura on its roofs. Having had previously registered, made evident by the badge number “98” that he was told to wear on his shirt, he made his way into the building.

The first thing he noticed as he walked inside, were the many torches inside the stone-built room. It was rather spacious; despite the quantity of participants inside it. From one glance, Azuma could tell there were at least 100 other warriors in the room, all with the same goal as him. He also noticed that there also several stairways in the corners of the room, but armed Samurai stood in front of them, signaling that there was no way out. He continued to look around, hoping that the tournament would start soon.